Always and Forever
Hey, I decided to go and do a one shot instead of doing another a full story.
Plop. Plop. Plop.
The rain fell heavily, as the many people ran about to find shelter. It was the beginning of May. The weather becoming warm and the rain revealing itself, excited in watering the earth, growing beautiful flowers for the coming season.
In the town of Karakura, people sought out for shelter. Kids were rushing inside their schools to keep themselves dry.
All but one.
A certain raven-haired girl remained standing. She was looking up at the sky. She didn't look more than fifteen. As she stood still glued to the ground, her face remained passive. She neither blinked nor budged from her spot. All she did was stare up at the sky as if waiting for something to fall.
Not long after, she brought her head down to stare at her feet.
My feet look bigger.
The girl continued to stare at her feet pondering on the past. She knew five years had gone by like a quick breeze passing through the trees.
But, it doesn't feel like time passed by.
She looked up again but not at the sky. She saw something a few feet of her land softly on the ground. This peeked her interest and she decided to go check it out.
What is that?
The thing that fell from the sky seemed pretty interesting to her. It wasn't too far from her so she simply jogged a few feet and saw that it wasn't an it. More like a person. As she slowed down, she drew closer and closer to a person. She couldn't make out what they looked like at first because of the heavy rain. Soon she saw that the person was a boy. He looked about her age.
The mysterious boy seemed agitated. He was tall, had pale hair, and a sea-blue colored eyes. He seemed to be looking for something. He fussed around him looking at the ground as if he lost something precious.
The girl stopped before him and just stared.
"Excuse me, are you okay?" she asked. The boy stopped looking at the ground and brought his head up to stare at her. He didn't say anything but continued to stare at her.
She was beginning to feel annoyed because the boy didn't answer her question. He just, kept looking at her. Then, she saw that his lips opened debating whether to answer her or not.
"Okay, you don't have to answer that. What's your name?" she asked.
Again, he did not answer her back but closed his eyes. She patiently waited until he finally spoke.
"I'm looking for something."
The raven-haired teen stared at him as he told her that he seemed to have lost his phone around the area. She decided to help him look for it. She didn't know why she bothered to help the guy look for his phone. She could be off on her own, watching the sky. Although she really should be in school but hey being absent just for one day wouldn't hurt.
Actually, she really didn't know why she skipped school that day. Sure, it was her birthday being the sixth of May already. She had turned 15 but, that really wasn't it. For some reason, she felt that today was something she would remember. That something or someone she wouldn't expect to see would be there and somehow ease her pain a bit.
Pain, what pain? I'm not hurting. I'm perfectly fine.
That was what she thought.
But then again, why am I out here in the pouring rain?
It wasn't long when she felt something small and metallic hit the palm of her hand. She quickly seized it and called the other person that was with her. He looked up and saw her waving his cell phone at him.
Staring at the cell phone in her hands, she examined it. For some reason, it caught her attention. She kept running her fingers through the texture of the phone. When the boy finally stood beside her, he reached to retrieve his phone but realized she wouldn't let go.
He looked at her and noticed that she was studying it really hard. He tugged the phone again and saw her still holding it but looking at him. His sea-blue eyes stared straight into her gray eyes.
Her lips parted as a single word escaped from them, barely loud enough for either of them to hear.
"Toshiro."
The boy continued to hold the phone sitting in between their hands. From a distance, it looked like they were holding hands but they weren't. He gave her a suspicious look until he asked,
"You know who I am?"
"No way, Toshiro? Is it really you?"
Toshiro nodded and the gray-eyed girl's eyes widen. It was then she realized that he didn't recognize her.
Who would? Last time he saw me, I …I was still a tomboy looking brat.
"You don't recognize me do you?" she asked somewhat upset.
He was about to shake his head no until he took a good look at her. This time taking every part of her, her eyes, hair, lips, even the structure of her face. Finally, it clicked to him.
"Kurosaki."
Without realizing it, Toshiro brought his other hand up to her face, still clasping the phone and her hand to his hand.
He couldn't believe that he would see her again and if he did, he didn't think it would have been this soon. He realized how much she changed. She was no longer the shorthaired tomboy he once knew. But somewhere, deep inside, he knew that she was still the same. He looked into her eyes once again and saw pain.
The happiness and worry for her brother was no longer present. Only a deep, and sadden pain lingered within her eyes. Toshiro suddenly felt something slipping from his grasp. It wasn't until then when he realized that he was tracing his finger on the side of her cheek and holding her hand.
"Uh … sorry." He muttered.
She shook her head and turned her back to him.
"No, it's fine."
She walked by him and signaled for him to follow her. As they walked, Toshiro just stared at her back. He felt something he hadn't felt for a while. He was worried about her. He thought about her as they walked in silence. Why was she just standing out side in the rain? It was pouring out side and she was soaking wet. Also, why wasn't she in school like everyone else?
He didn't realize that she stopped walking when he suddenly crashed into her. She looked at him questioningly as he apologized. Toshiro looked about and saw something familiar about the place she led him to. It took him sometime but he knew where they were.
It's the place where I had a real conversation with her.
He followed her as she jumped over the guardrail and stood looking up at the sky again.
"Shouldn't you be in school right now?" he asked, going over the guardrail.
"Hn…" she didn't budge. She just kept looking up. Silence fell over them once again. After some time has passed they both stood soaking wet in the rain. Suddenly, she faced him and pushed him into a puddle on the ground near by. Toshiro quickly opened his once closed eyes and stared at her angrily.
She lay beside him laughing her head off. Soon his anger dissipated as he saw her laughing now rather than staring off into space with those sad gray eyes.
Her laughs quieted down and she turned herself to him laying sideways fetal position. Toshiro did the same thing. Blue eyes clashed with gray battling each other, waiting for the other to look away.
"What are you doing here?" she asked.
"I have a day off. I just wanted to go look up at the sky."
"You came all the way from Soul Society to stare at the sky, right like I'm going to believe that."
"You're right I didn't come here to just stare at the sky. I came here for something else."
"Oh really, and what would that be oh great captain." She said sarcastically. Toshiro rolled his eyes.
"You still have that stupid attitude after all this time." He said.
"You still have that stupid I'm – so – tough look on your stupid face."
"I'm not stupid."
"Oh sure you are!" she grinned as she smacked her hand on his forehead rubbing it.
"Damn it! Even lying down you still do that to me!" he swatted her hand from him. She smirked and brought her hand up to his forehead once again. Toshiro swatted her hand again but she kept going at him.
They wrestled each other not caring that it was still pouring out side and all the mud was getting on their clothes.
She pinned Toshiro to the ground and sat on him holding both his hands above his head.
"Okay enough dodging my question. Why are you here?" she demanded. "Is there going to be another attack in Karakura? Do you people want Ichi-nii again?"
She stared at him seriously.
"No. I'm here for myself."
"So, why are you here? I know it can't be just to look up at the sky. I know for a fact that you could do that in Soul Society. I'm not a fool Toshiro. So spill."
Toshiro ripped his hands from her and pinned her down. "No." he clearly stated.
"What?! Why not? C'mon Toshiro! Tell me!" Toshiro got up but she pulled him back down.
"Why do you want to know so much of why I'm here?" He asked. She looked at him and paused.
Why am I so interested in why he's here? It's not like I care or anything.
She was stuck. She didn't really know why she wanted to know why he came back.
"I…….. I just wanted to know okay?" she spat. Toshiro stared at her and got up. She too stood up and followed him.
"I'm not mad at you if that's what you're wondering Toshiro," she paused. "I just thought that it was weird that after all this time, you just come out of nowhere."
"Forget it."
"Fine, but you're not getting away with it so easily. I just want to know why you are here."
Toshiro stopped and turned to face her. After a few minutes passed, his facial expression softened.
"Kurosaki, I came back to see you."
She stared at him and froze. She couldn't believe what he was saying. With every word, he spoke her heart beat faster and faster.
He came to see me? What the hell.
"Toshiro, I don't understand –
"I don't know why or what happened but, I felt something was missing. I couldn't think of anything but, every time I thought about what was missing, I kept thinking of you. I know this may sound ridiculous but it's the truth. I –
"Stop." And so he stopped. She began to shake, the wall she had up around her began to crumble. Toshiro put his hand on her shoulder and she fell into him. She clung onto his shirt as he wrapped his arms around her.
"Toshiro," she looked up at him as he did her, "What took you so long to come back?"
Toshiro blinked. That was completely different from what he expected her to say. He thought she would either laugh at him and make fun of him or just slap him and never talk to him again.
"I didn't think you would care if I didn't come back."
"Well you thought wrong."
In a blink of an eye, her lips crashed onto his. He slowly closed his eyes. She felt the tip of his tongue rub against her lip begging to enter. She let him in and soon their tongues wrestled against each other.
After a few seconds, they broke apart. It was all too fast but neither of them cared. After all this time, they finally realized how they felt for each other. She held him to her and never let him go. She trembled in his arms as he brushed the strand of hair from her face.
"I'm not letting you go." She said.
"I'm not going anywhere."
"I'm scared."
"Why?" he asked.
"You're a shinigami. I'm just a human. Aren't we not allowed to be together? What if they come after you? What if they take you away from me?" her eyes began to well up and she looked away.
"Don't worry. I may be a shinigami, but I'm not going anywhere. I'm not going to let anyone tear us apart."
"Are you sure? You don't know what will happen. Someone could just –
"Karin, I'm not going to let anyone tear us apart. I'll make sure of it. Okay?"
"Okay." she said hesitantly.
The two of them remained together, clinging to each other. There they stood wet in the rain savoring this moment as if it's the last thing they be able to do again.
"Karin?"
"Hai Toshiro?"
"Happy fifteenth birthday." Toshiro pulled out a silver bracelet and put it on her right wrist. She stared at him surprised.
"How did you know it was my –
"I love you." He cut her off. Karin glanced at her wrist and saw a heart on it with a 'T & K Always and Forever' engraved in the center.
"I love you too."
For the rest of the day Karin and Toshiro stayed with each other enjoying each other's presence, that is until Ichigo had caught them lip locked on the sidewalk. As Ichigo kept rambling on and on about their 'Public Display of Affection' Karin thought about a certain someone as she stared at her bracelet smiling.
Always and Forever huh.