Disclaimer – I do not own Bleach.
Chatter
Time contains one of the essential items for healing from the wounds given to ones mind mentally by someone whom they thought that trust existed within the relationship that they had with said person. However, in truth, there are more things needed to heal from this onslaught that one received from the mind, including the building of previous relationships that may have thus suffered.
This was why Unohana, with a soft smile, sent Hinamori Momo to the living world to spend time with her childhood friend Captain Hitsugaya Toshiro. The news came as quite a surprise to everyone that had been stationed on earth to keep an eye out for incoming trouble from the former captain Aizen, so those knowing what had happened to the young girl wondered if she found out, if she might snap.
While he didn't act like it, likely hood had it that Toshiro was the one most worried about the situation and was inclined not to have her come, as he had seen someone he had known for so long break so much that they had in actuality done some things that they would possibly always regret. Even though the white haired boy had told her in his own way that all was forgiven, with her personality, she would still hold on to it for some time.
He waited at Urahara's for the senkaimon to open up, allowing the older girl to pass through. He waited with his hands in his pockets, his best hopes for what could happen today that Aizen's men wouldn't show up, causing Hinamori to become even more unstable then she already was. As the gate formed into existence, and the door opened, he saw a shadow appear then step out.
"Shiro-chan?" Momo had a lack of her usual smile and there were still bags under her eyes.
"It's Hitsugaya Taicho," the boy muttered, then smiled. "Put a smile on your face. If Abarai sees you without one, he'll most defiantly not be happy."
"Oh… Abarai-kun is here too? They didn't tell me that," Momo suddenly had a smile on her face, but it quickly turned into a frown. "Are you sure it isn't a bother me coming here like this?"
"Of course it is a bother," Toshiro muttered. "I mean, I have to take time off from my duties for this… however… since they did assign me this as a special duty, do you think that really matters?"
"Yes, but…" Momo protested.
"No buts Hinamori, you are under Unohana's orders to rest and have a bit of fun. If you don't I will get in trouble, so let's head over to where Matsumoto is staying," the boy gave her another smirk.
"You're always the same," Hinamori suddenly stated, her smile coming back. "Hold on… why not where you are staying, why where Matsumoto is staying?"
"Because I stay on the roof," the white haired boy commented, regaining his icy exterior and Hinamori walking next to him as he crossed his arms behind his head, acting like he was bored with the whole situation.
"Shiro-chan! That isn't healthy!" Hinamori commented, her voice upset. He glanced over at her with his teal eyes, mirth in them.
"Well, Matsumoto invited herself into Inoue-san's place, which was rather rude. Plus I could care less about what those two happen to be talking about," Toshiro frowned, suddenly turning away from her.
"That means that they can talk about you," Hinamori suddenly had a huge grin on her face, something popping into her head.
"Oi… bed wetter Momo, what the hell are you thinking?" the boy gave her a wary look. "From the tone in your voice, there was something specific that you were thinking about, wasn't there?"
"That they might be talking about your love life," came Momo's quick remark.
This caused Hitsugaya to suddenly stop still, a little bit of surprise in his eyes at her odd comment, with air coming hard out of his nostrils. "Hinamori, why would you be interested in that? Why would anyone be interested in that? I'm not interested in that, for crying out loud."
"Which proves that you're still a child," Hinamori suddenly muttered under her breath so that he might not hear him. However, his turning to her with an angry look on his face caused her hands to fly to her mouth. "Sorry, I forgot… but still… it still shows how old you really are."
"Maybe Hinamori I just don't have time like you do to think about those kinds of things," the boy snapped.
"I said I was sorry," came Momo's hurt voice.
"Look, it isn't that big of a deal," Toshiro let out a breath of air. "I still don't understand why it is such a big deal to you."
They took a few more steps and arrived at the apartment that Orihime was staying at. Toshiro raised his hand to knock on the door, when it suddenly sprung open, reveling an overly happy Matsumoto, with a piece of paper in her hands. "Taicho! You're back! I have a list of groceries for you and Momo-chan to go and get!"
"Matsumoto…" the boy gained an irritated look on his face.
"This way Orihime can make something nice for Lieutenant Hinamori," Matsumoto stated all knowingly, sticking some money into his hands too. She then quickly closed the door in his face.
"Nice…" Toshiro muttered. "She just gets better and you want to poison her."
"What was that supposed to mean?" Momo asked, surprise in her eyes.
"Ahh, nothing," Toshiro sighed, walking off. "Let's get going to the stupid grocery store."
Hinamori gave a positive reply, which inwardly made him smile a bit, as she actually seemed to be returning to normal. This was far from what he had hoped would happen for her. Seeing her too as they gazed over the aisles for the groceries also was rather calming, as he hadn't seen her smile since the whole mess that had sent her into her comma had actually started.
However, as he went to pay for the groceries, he happened to take his eyes off of her for a few minutes, then turned around to find that she had somehow disappeared on him. His eyes suddenly went frantic. The man behind the counter spoke up. "Ahh… you're sister took off as you were paying. I think something caught her attention."
"And you didn't think to say something!" Toshiro snapped, not bothering to correct the man about the fact that they were not related, at least by blood.
He stepped out of the store and pulled out his soul phone. "Matsumoto, I have a small problem. Hinamori disappeared on me."
"Taicho… how could you go and lose her?" Matsumoto's worried voice came.
"I didn't try to lose her!" Toshiro suddenly yelled. "I was paying for the groceries and she wandered off! She doesn't do this!"
"She is still recovering, you know, so don't be so hard on her," came the lieutenants reply.
"Matsumoto! Just help me find her!" the boy suddenly yelled, clicking his phone off, popping Soul Candy into his mouth. He turned to his gigai, "Please take the groceries home, then find me so I can look for her without her having to pretend not to see me… or worse… causing her to actually talk to me and people put her in a mental institute."
M
What had drawn Hinamori away was the fact that she had glanced out and seen the sunshine. She had been so withdrawn into her depression, that she really hadn't seen the world around her, thus she hadn't noticed that the day was actually very nice. She then felt like she wanted to go on a walk and enjoy the sunlight on her skin, forgetting that she was with someone, her mind had so become distracted.
Thus Hinamori had wandered off, her reiatsu untraceable as it was instinct to her mind to hide her spiritual pressure in order not to attract hollows to her, especially when in a gigai. She wandered a few blocks away, until she came to a nice park, the sun shining down on her and decided to go sit on the bench, watching the children play around her, a smile coming to her lips as she remembered her childhood memories, so much nicer then many that she had.
"Hey girlie…" a guy suddenly snorted, causing her to look up. "What is a cutie like you doing here?"
Hinamori glanced up, her eyes filled with confusion. Two males were there, looking at her with perverted smiles on their faces. A second one then spoke up, his behavior very unbecoming. "Want to go get a drink with us? The bars are going to be opening up soon."
"I'm sorry, but I don't drink. I've seen too many people act really funny when they do drink, including some of my friends," the girl smiled.
"You trying to insult us girlie," the first suddenly stated, a cold look on his face, suddenly grabbing the front of her shirt. However, he found himself being interrupted.
"Leave her alone," came a very young voice. All three glanced over to see a girl with short black hair and a soccer ball perched under her feet.
"And why should we kiddo?" the first asked, only to suddenly find the soccer ball kicked right into his face, knocking him backwards.
"Ahh… you little brat!" the guy bounced up and made a charge at the small girl, only to find himself punched in the back of the head by the girl that he had been hitting on. Momo's eyes had suddenly turned dark.
"I suggest that you leave please, as while I will not tolerate you being mean to her," the girl stated, her mouth pressed into what should have been a serious scowl, however… Momo wasn't really the type to pull off a good one.
"And I can do just as bad as her, so get lost creeps!" the black haired girl suddenly jabbed her fist into the air for reference to the fact that she would not hesitate to harm them if the continued with their behavior. "Plus, if the cops find you were asking a minor to drink with you, they will haul your sorry buts off to jail."
At that, the two men took off running. Hinamori watched them, then turned to the girl, a small smile on her face. "Arigotto."
"You really don't have to thank me, I mean, that was pretty cool yourself, even though you don't look all that tough," the black haired girl suddenly smiled.
"No, I really don't like fighting unless I absolutely have too," the older girl smiled. Hinamori then looked around, realizing she had left Hitsugaya somewhere by himself, possibly making him worry about what had happened to her.
"Something the matter?" the girl suddenly asked. "Oh, and by the way, my name is Karin."
"Momo," the girl smiled, sticking out her hand to shake the younger girls. "It was just that, I was with someone else and I rather wandered off on them, so I probably made them worry about me."
"Who would that be?" Karin suddenly asked. "The only one I can think who might worry about me is my brother or sister, as my dad is a bit on the odd side, as his definition of worry is out of sorts."
"One might call this person my brother," Hinamori smiled, suddenly sitting down on the bench, going back to watching the children run around, a good deal of them younger then Karin.
The girl with black hair sat down next to her. "I don't quite get how someone might call someone their brother."
"Just that we grew up in the same household but we aren't related," the girl suddenly smiled.
"Kind of like the foster care system," Karin smiled. "I haven't met anyone in a situation like that."
"Well, it isn't quite like foster care, but that is close to it," Momo smiled. "Shiro-chan doesn't call me sister since we were really little and I haven't called him my brother since he stopped. But then he was very, very young when he stopped, so he probably doesn't even remember calling me that."
"He might have a crush on you," Karin suddenly commented. "Or a sister fetish, much like my little sister has with Ichi-nii, except a brother fetish. Don't tell Yuzu that I told you this, but she still wants to take baths with him, and he's in high school while Yuzu and I are still in Elementary school."
"Shiro-chan refuses to take baths with me," Hinamori suddenly sighed. "Yet he still is a little kid, though he won't admit it to any one. Doesn't help that he's a child genius and he has most of the time the maturity of the adult, but he can act like a major brat at times."
"My brother Ichi-nii… he's really good at keeping secrets from me. I know about this secret, but the only person who really ever told me anything about it has been people around my age. He thinks that just because I am a kid that I can't deal with what all is going on, but I've already dealt with a lot of these problems."
"My little brother keeps things from me, but then I have proven to have had problems with dealing with certain things like this," the girl sighed.
"Hey, you just called him your little brother," Karin laughed.
"I guess I did, didn't I," Momo suddenly laughed. "But I was right about me not being able to take things well. Maybe it was something along the lines of why he keeps things from me, because there are some things that have happened that are really hurtful."
"I would say yes, except I have little connection with his friends, but a lot of connection with Ichi-nii. I mean, shouldn't I know, when I know that he is up against something and I know what that something is, that he is going to be all right. He can't even stop to tell me that he is going to come back," the girl smiled.
"That isn't nice," Hinamori frowned. "Shiro-chan is really bad at telling people where he goes. He can disappear at times, unless he knows he is needed. He's really good at not being found by others, not to mention he tends not to tell people about things that are bothering him."
"My brother is like that. When our mom died, he took off on his own and pretended that everything was all right and tried putting on a smile from us. Dad told him it's all right to let us know he is hurt," Karin frowned. "I rarely see him smile unless he is around me and Yuzu."
"That's kind of like me too. He never smiles… never, ever," Hinamori frowned. "Unless he's teasing me or trying to get a reaction out of me. Do you know what he calls me? He calls me bed wetter Momo and spitting water melon seeds at me."
"That is rather mean," Karin suddenly laughed. "Yuzu is so lucky. She thinks our brother is mean to her, when all he is trying to is grow up and get Yuzu to grow up a little bit."
"Yes, well he told me too that I could take more naps and grow some so that I am more like Ran-chan! Ran-chan with her big boobs," Hinamori frowned. "And I know that she annoys him with them, instead of charming him like she does with older guys."
"Ahh…" Karin didn't know quite what to say about this statement from the older girl. Then it came to her. "Don't you think he was joking perhaps?"
"If I was pretty then maybe Aizen-sama wouldn't have taken off like that. I also have never had any guys ask me out either," the girl frowned.
"I think most guys are immature, unless they are older. I've only met one guy who seemed to be around my age who actually acted mature, and then he wouldn't tell me his age,"
"Why wouldn't he tell you his age, wouldn't he be in Elementary school too?" Hinamori asked with confusion.
"Well, he got upset whenever any of us called him out about being around our age, so I asked him how old he was and he told me it was none of my business," the girl smiled. "He acts absolutely stuck up, but it's more of he just doesn't know how to fun. He said he wouldn't help us with our soccer game, but he actually did."
"He does sound mature for his age," Hinamori commented, "If he is around your age."
"Anyways, out of all my guy friends, though he probably doesn't consider me his friend, he's the one who actually acts mature," Karin laughed. "It's kind of ironic, as that is like my brother, who tends to act more mature then his friends, unless you count that cockatiel guy, and then he only utters one to two word phrases to answer you."
"The only guy my age who acts mature is Kira-kun. One should see it when Ran-chan gets sake in him. This is very scary. They tell me why I wasn't feeling good, she got him really good."
"Umm… if he is your age, then how can he legally drink? Are you a college student or something?" Karin suddenly asked.
Momo gave her a surprised look, then glanced at the sky. "I guess it is best to say that some of the laws that apply here, don't apply where I come from, so it is legal for him to drink."
"I think that my brother would refuse to drink. I mean, alcohol when consumed too much can kill brain cells, and my brother is too smart for that," Karin suddenly chuckled.
"That might be why one of my other friends tends to say stupid things. Then again, he's always had a weird sense of humor," Hinamori smiled, referring to Renji. "He's around here, so he probably hasn't been allowed to drink like he wants to. Nor can Ran-chan."
"All my friends are too young to drink, though I do have some classmates who like to skip gym class to play videogames. They don't very well like me because I am a tomboy," the black haired girl suddenly stated. "I also can also run circles around them in sports, but it really isn't my fault that they don't participate like they should in gym class. They would probably have more get up and go if they didn't spend all their free time on video games."
"Is that the only reason that they don't like you?" Momo suddenly asked, out of the blue.
"I haven't ever been able to get close to people, and I am not afraid to beat up a guy if he makes my sister cry," Karin suddenly stated. "The only guys I've gotten close to are the ones who play soccer, and that is really the only thing we have in common, so I don't spend any other time with them. As for girls, I happen to know Yuzu's friends, and hang out with them sometimes, but we're not really close."
"Reminds me of Shiro-chan," the older girl suddenly sighed.
"Yes, well why exactly?" Karin suddenly wondered.
"He has a major problem with making friends. He calls even me by my last name, possibly due to the fact that granny raised him, perhaps not," Hinamori suddenly folded her legs up to her chest.
"My brother isn't one to purposely go out and make friends, he just finds them. He then has no qualms about calling them by their first names or accepting them for who they are. People who find it hard to make friends actually find it easy to make friends with them, or so it seems to me," came the younger girl's reply.
"I am not sure how well I can make friends. I kind of am a misjudge of character, or so people have been saying, but I still don't think I am wrong about this person. I mean, when I first met the person, I was so amazed by them," the other girl sighed. "Yet everyone say he's a bad person… even Shiro-chan… so, I don't know what to think. And I don't want Shiro-chan to…"
"To what?" Karin suddenly asked, curiosity in her eyes.
"Well, if I mentioned it, this might get him in trouble, as there are other circumstances to the situation," Hinamori twiddled her fingers. "He…"
However, both suddenly heard someone calling out someone's name, agitation in their voices. "Hinamori!"
Both girls suddenly looked up to see that Hitsugaya Toshiro was there, in his gigai, none to happy about having to have found the older girl. Momo then smiled, glad to see him, though feeling that she would possibly get a lecture from him. "Shiro-chan!"
"It's Hitsugaya Tai…" however, he suddenly stopped short as he saw that Karin was sitting there. "Kurosaki-san?"
"Hi Toshiro," Karin suddenly smirked. She then turned towards Momo. "If he's your little brother, then you must be a shingami too, right?"
"Yes… he's not supposed to tell humans about that though," Hinamori suddenly frowned. "Shiro-chan, this isn't like you! Shame for breaking protocol!"
"Protocol my ass Hinamori! First thing, you took of on me when you're on medical leave. Second, she's Kurosaki's little sister and can also see shingami and hollows," Toshiro suddenly stated.
"No I can't," Karin smirked. "I am in permanate denial Toshiro."
Hinamori suddenly watched as Toshiro's face suddenly became flustered. He spoke to the black haired Kurosaki twin, trying to remain calm. "Why did you just deny seeing me as a shingami! As I recall, there was the incident at the soccer field…"
"Because you're being mean to your sister," Karin suddenly commented, causing Momo to smirk again.
"I don't know what Lieutenant Hinamori has been telling her, but we aren't blood related… we just grew up with each other," the boy snapped, becoming more irritated.
"See… a fetish like Yuzu, except the opposite," Karin suddenly laughed.
"The exact opposite I would say," Hinamori suddenly laughed. She then blinked a couple of times. "What's this about soccer field?"
"He's the guy I met that I said was mature for his age that got upset when we called him an elementary school student," Karin suddenly laughed out loud. "He helped me and my friends out with a soccer game against some middle schoolers who were bulling us."
"Shiro-chan, so sweet," Hinamori suddenly cooed, a smile on her face.
"Hinamori, its Hitsugaya Taicho…" the boy muttered.
"You didn't correct Karin-chan on calling you Toshiro," Hinamori suddenly pouted.
"What?" came the suddenly confused reply.
"This is fun, confusing him isn't it?" Karin laughed.
"Oh yes," Momo also laughed. "I told you he was a genius. He can pass as a high schooler, if not a college student, even though he is so young for his age."
"That's really cool for an elementary schooler," Karin suddenly commented, causing Hinamori to giggle.
"How many times to I have to tell you Kurosaki-san, I am not an elementary school student!" Toshiro suddenly snapped, the temperature dropping a few degrees.
"Cool it Toshiro," Karin suddenly smirked, causing Momo to laugh again. "There is no use losing ones temper."
"Shut up. You are extremely annoying," the white haired taicho muttered. "And it's Hitsugaya, not Toshiro."
"The two of you would make such a cute couple, perhaps," Hinamori suddenly smiled.
"We are not a couple," both of the younger two stated at nearly the same time with the same level of annoyance.
"Sorry Karin-chan… I was trying to annoy Shiro-chan some more. The most I've ever been able to tease him is to call him Shiro-chan, and then that really wasn't teasing him. This is a great deal of fun," Momo smiled.
Toshiro glared at Karin. "What exactly are you teaching her? No, I have to ask, what all is it that the two of you talked about?"
"You mean what we talked about pertaining to you?" the older girl suddenly laughed.
"Oh… she told me how you call her bed wetter Momo," Karin suddenly blurted out, laughing as she did so. "And spit watermelon seeds at her."
Toshiro blinked a couple of times, then turned to his childhood friend, hissing at her. "Hinamori!"
"What I don't get is how two people raised by the same person end up with such different personalities. I mean, Hinamori is so much more soft spoke then you are and less forthcoming, not to mention has a more welcoming aura about her," the black haired girl watched as his face set itself in a scowl.
"From what you've told me, your twin sister and you are opposites of each other," Hinamori suddenly laughed.
"I was trying to tease him again," Karin suddenly laughed.
"Oh… well, there was that thing about your brother and sister…" Momo suddenly nodded her head.
"Oh, that thing that drives Ichi-nii nuts?" Karin suddenly commented. "Oi, Toshiro… don't tell anyone I told you this, but my sister Yuzu still tries to take baths with my older brother. He tries telling her no, but she finds that mean. So that's how Momo knew that Yuzu and I were different."
"I see. I really didn't need to know that," the young boy rolled his eyes. "I still don't understand too why this had to do with me."
"I told Karin-chan that you refuse to take baths with me," Hinamori suddenly got a serious look on her face. "I mean, you are still a little kid."
"Hinamori!" came the yell that was slightly on the upset side.
"Oh, taicho… Momo-chan, there you are!" Matsumoto suddenly chirped as she approached them. "Hello Karin!"
"Hi!" Karin waved to the older women. "And there is that thing we talked about, but we'll tell Matsumoto later."
Momo giggled at this and Matsumoto raised her eyebrows as her taicho turned his back on the girls, fairly upset. However, Matsumoto turned towards Hinamori. "Don't they make the cutest couple?"
At this, Karin suddenly fell over laughing, at the fact this was the second person today who had said this and she knew that Toshiro might likely get upset. She was rewarded with a drop in the temperature and him yelling one word. "Matsumoto!"
Author's note – I kind of got tired of all the Toshiro x Karin fans bashing Momo and all the Toshiro x Momo fans bashing Karin, not to mention the pairings! So, I went looking for a good bonding fanfic between Karin and Momo and to my dismay, I found none. So, I decided to write one. This probably leans towards Karin as that is the pairing I enjoy, but hopefully both can enjoy.