Disclaimer: I do NOT own Bleach plot/characters/anything.

Author's Note: Back with a new story, hopefully you guys like it 'cos I've been racking my brain for concrete ideas. And again, hope you enjoy it. It's a bit slow and an attempt to be less angsty like The Bridge of Silence and Red Moon Winter, but we'll see. On with the story...


+|Captive Orchid|+

+|---|+

+|Wintry Lens|+

Spring—

It had taken place during the spring, beneath a vast dark sky filled with bright stars, underneath the cherry blossom tree in the park; the place where anyone hardly ever went because it was hard to find. Atop the small hill above the grazing cool grass, as the perfume of the cherry blossoms surrounded the two bodies on top of the ground while the soft breeze wrapped around them like a blanket.

Being suffocated by an immense feeling was haunting, yet he could not help but feel her flesh so close to him. How had a simple meeting had lead them to this? A love so strong, so deep existed between the two that it seemed almost impossible despite how much time they had known each other. The silver metal glowed with the light, indicating a small light of their bond.

His eyes stared at hers, so deep and passionate they were underneath the starlight. Her touch so faint and almost fragile, her dark tresses sprawled on the floor as her smooth white skin glowed with the moonlight. She looked like an angel beneath that scenery around them; it was far too perfect for a night like this. The white gown lay on the grass along with the simple white shirt and dress pants—they wanted to stay there longer.

The possibilities of thinking about the consequences now was impossible, not when they were wrapped around each other so tightly and tomorrow would be different then today. Tomorrow would speak of another story because right now that tomorrow did not exist, not when they did not wanted for the moment to be over. A love was sealed on a blossoming spring day. It all had begun on a windy and wintry day…

+|---|+


"Is there a soul in this whole universe that holds that precious key to a sacred treasure chest beyond the level of the sea?"~Cherry



Winter—

The howling wind smacked against the window with great force, stumbling forward Kurosaki Karin frowned while shoving away the chair besides her desk. Everything looked fuzzy, rubbing her eyes, everything became clear once again and she yawned. Opening the curtains, the once bright day had turned into a dark abyss as the lamps lit the entire street—surely she hadn't slept for that long. Glancing at the clock on the nightstand, the green numbers highlighted the darkness inside the room—it was simply nine o'clock.

Faintly, she heard murmurs from downstairs and knew that the entire family was already home and it seemed that they were watching television. Her dark eyes stared at the simple silhouettes of the objects inside her room as there was barely any light, gently she opened the door and made way downstairs to join the rest. Perhaps there was some dinner left over, Yuzu always made sure to bring lots of food before going back to her own place.

Today had been an exhausting day, running around town trying to take pictures of this and that surely hadn't been the dream assignment for her journalism class—there was still some doubt as to why she had to be part of that club to begin with. There was nothing interesting about the social life in Karakura nor was it really important to write about who got married or who had an anniversary; it was silly and it was a nightmare. Though, tonight wouldn't be so easy as there was an event taking place at the Grand Plaza Hotel in the downtown area of Karakura, some big shot was hosting a birthday party.

The idea of becoming a photographer surely was less appealing now in comparison to many years ago while she had been in high school, the idea seemed well then. Now it was nothing but a torturous road to a tragic life of working on some crappy newspaper, much like the one the university funded and seemed proud of. As she reached the bottom of the stairs, everyone looked at her.

"Finally awake, eh?" Her brother smirked.

"Shut it, Ichi-nii." Karin muttered, running a hand thru her long dark hair and breathing. "Is there leftovers?"

"Karin-chan, there is some in the fridge," Yuzu said, smiling at her.

She nodded simply, walking towards the kitchen and looked for the leftover food to eat before leaving. The event was set to start at ten, some celebrities were supposed to come and other things that were useless for her to know—only were she glad to be taking pictures instead of wasting time interviewing. The smell of pasta filled her nostrils, which made her stomach growl and mouth water slightly. Just how many more days would she continue live like that?

During the mornings there were classes to attend, during the afternoon there were projects to complete and at night there was work to do. Only having slept for three hours at times was hard, especially when finals were nearing and she needed to study. Then there was that job that suddenly had popped up recently that she couldn't refuse—it was exhausting living like this.

"Are you alright, dear?" Her mother entered the kitchen, smiling at her.

"Huh? Oh, yeah," she answered, holding back a yawn. The look on her mother's eyes showed worry; of course, it was evident that her body was weak from the lack of rest.

Masaki sighed, opening the refrigerator and pulling out some fruit. She worried over her daughter, that girl was putting too much effort on something she didn't seem to enjoy at all and was only getting hurt without resting and eating properly. Karin was barely at home, taking jobs far away or staying up somewhere while finishing some group project and she rarely slept at all.

"Are you going out tonight?" She asked her daughter, seeing the disgruntled expression on her pallid face.

Karin turned to her mother, staring at the moving plate wasn't interesting at all. "Ah…yeah I have to go to some event downtown. I have to take pictures for the paper."

"You're staying late out again?" Masaki frowned, surely Karin's dream was becoming more like a nightmare and she didn't want her to continue like that. "You have to get rest, you haven't slept much for an entire week." It was very much evident on the small dark circles that were forming underneath her eyes.

Karin sighed; truly this was a discussion that would only end up on not eating anything again.

"No, it is the very last thing I'll do," the microwave beeped. "My job in the university paper is over after a request to have me removed from the photography department."

Her mother said nothing, simply taking the fruit and began cutting up in small pieces. It was true that she worried over her and there was nothing to be done, but there was also that thing that Karin wanted the most out of life itself. Wanting to be independent seemed harder compare to how Ichigo or Yuzu had reigned over their own freedom. It wasn't like she was tied down inside the house at all, but it felt like she couldn't be her own individual self unless she managed to finish college and get a decent job.

Though, it was almost like a punishment for leaving Karakura for almost six entire years for England on a proposition to stay on good behaviour. Surely having a fiery spirit had its own drawbacks, all those girls back in middle school only enjoyed to tease, but she wasn't the type to hold anything inside. Fearing expulsion, she had decided to move out of the country instead and return with a change in her attitude.

"I'm concerned over your health dear," Masaki expressed, handing her the bowl with the cut up fruit. "Karin, you don't eat well…"

"Thank you," she cut her mother off. "And I'm sorry, but I have reached my limit too." With a smile, she took the bowl and began to eat before leaving for the night.

The cold air felt good against the stiffness on her body, packed with camera and a warm jacket, she left the house while saying good night to everyone. Ichigo was due to return to his apartment on the other side of town with his girlfriend and Yuzu was to return to her own house on the outskirts of town with her husband. Sometimes it was hard to think that they were leaving on their own, which wasn't really a big deal at all.

Nothing could be really said about Ichigo leaving, he was the eldest and wanted to get away from the house to be an individual on his own rights. Though, Karin couldn't comprehend the situation with her younger sister at all; especially since she was married now with a baby on the way. Truly things turned out in a different order, but maybe it was just meant to be like that.

"I was about to leave you." An angry toned voice called out in the dark street.

"Senna cut the crap for the night, will you?" She groaned, continuing walking as the girl stepped out of the sidewalk and joined her on the open road.

The night was clear, which was one of those rare nights since winter had begun. The snow was still piled up in the streets and sidewalks, the cold was present too and the wind was still fierce. It smacked against her face, though she declined to even notice as they reached the bus stop. Senna seemed to be shivering violently, that girl was a total freak at times, especially with a small coat on.

"I haven't volunteered to carry your frozen body," she expressed while blowing hot air into her hands.

"What nonsense are you going on about now, Karin?" Senna turned to glare at her; it was obvious that she would die of hypothermia before reaching the party.

"Add to the fact that you are wearing a damn skirt…there must be something seriously wrong with that brain of yours." That was enough said, though the other girl seemed reluctant to continue with the argument, though Karin avoided most of it by shrugging.

Senna continued to ramble on about something, though it was useless to pay attention. There were many questions that remained as to why she had become friends with a crazed girl that didn't have much limits at all. Though, she was a good listener and great supporter.

"Maybe I'll get lucky tonight!" Senna expressed happily.

The dark haired woman groaned—that was the kind of conversation that was avoided most of the time.

"Senna just shut the hell up."

The girl glared at her and crossed her arms. "Bitch,"

They glared at each other momentarily before the bus arrived; neither said anything as they got on. Tonight seemed to be for the long run, taking photos of the big event and standing out the most inside the place. Karin didn't care, being a photographer was much more important than worrying over what she was wearing at the moment and showing up on a gala event. Senna began to blabber on her choice of wardrobe; sometimes that girl was difficult to deal with but was about the only one that understood her better out of the rest of those so called friends.

During the six year stint in England, many lessons had been learned after reflecting upon the many fights she had gotten while in middle school and the special of them all was to tune out the entire world. Her dark eyes stared at the passing streets with mild interest, somehow it was still hard trying to get used to the boring life in Karakura, but it was still hard to come to enjoy it again. She sighed deeply, the nerve of her friend to continue with her endless argument about clothing.

"…that is just hideous!" Senna ended her rant as the passengers stared at her.

"Done already?" Karin stood up as the bus came to a stop. "Just get off the bus now!"

The hotel was located right in front of the stop; surely it wasn't hard to miss the party. Music was loud enough to be heard from outside, a few cars dropped off people and there was a large group of press from the local newspapers already out there. Surely she wasn't being part of the paparazzi crowd at all, especially since she had a pass to enter freely without being questioned at all. The night seemed to stretch out farther and farther away.

"This job sucks already…" she muttered as the two of them walked towards the entrance.

+|---|+

The many lights in the room were bright; people conversed with others about different subjects. Social events made life feel less interesting and created a self-doubt, especially since there was a lot of behaviour that was uncalled for already. Truly there was a lot of questioning about belonging to this type of society, not that it was by choice to begin with. The laughter that filled the cheerful night was becoming annoying; Hitsugaya Toushiro was becoming restless with just being around many people.

His presence wasn't really necessary, though for his grandparents it was important to show up for the birthday celebration of the future president of some company his grandfather had business with—something about a sign of respect. That had made him laugh, curse those social events and the people that attended them for being a pain in the ass. Toushiro wanted to sit back in a nice pair of sweat pants and a shirt to enjoy some reading before turning up for the night, tomorrow was a long day and a lot of rest was necessary.

Today hadn't been an easy day, having to travel back and forth from construction site to another was no joke in life. Except that there was also class to attend in between working for his grandfather, it created a major confusion hole of sorts in life and sometimes it was hard to keep up with it; though as diligent as he was Toushiro wasn't superhuman at all. Besides, he could be working on his final blueprints for a mock project for class and there was a manual to read, but his grandfather had insisted on being dragged into a party.

"Hitsugaya-kun, always the scholar no matter the setting," the birthday man, Ukitake Jushiro appeared behind him.

"Ukitake-san," Toushiro looked up, creasing the corner of the book he was reading currently. "Social things are not really in my list."

The man smiled, patting his shoulder briefly. "A studious young man like yourself is needed in this kind of society. Times are rough during this time period, so the young people need to become more grounded like you are."

Toushiro nodded simply, it was true that the young population was turning up badly lately. No one cared for grades or education like in the past, there were many in his classes that didn't even bother showing up at all because they simply lived under the pretence that there was no need to become better in life. It was truly disappointing to see those kinds of people, but he couldn't possibly sit down and worry over it.

"Ukitake-sama, the photographer girl is here!" A cheerful voice belonging to a young woman was heard.

A young woman with long dark hair appeared, many stared at her with dirty looks for the way she was dressed. Toushiro did not bother himself to worry over trivial things; he returned to his book once again and ignored the rest. Only that it was not easy as everyone began to whisper to themselves—this felt like an examination of sorts.

"Karin-chan, it is nice to see you again," Ukitake greeted her, smiling like always. "Though, why are you here during the very late night hours?"

"Good evening, Ukitake-san." He heard the woman reply softly. "School assignment, not something I do for pleasure at all." She seemed to be rude speaking like that, but the man simply laughed at her words.

"You haven't changed in that way at all; tell me…how are Isshin and Masaki doing?" Ukitake asked curiously.

Toushiro left, ignoring the fact that people were beginning to annoy him with their talks. Needless to say, there was only one thing to do and was to find the nearest empty place and scream his head off—maybe not the last part of course—only to find some quiet peace. The world truly plotted to suffocate his being with social gatherings and annoying women, especially since his grandfather continued to insist if he ever settled for one woman.

The many that came and went truly weren't interesting at all, simply they flocked at him to be showered with diamonds and he couldn't comply with such requests. He didn't sleep with them nor visited them; they simply came to him during those unexpected visits to the store or whatever. Maybe there had been one he had been serious about while in high school, but she wasn't really interested on him either and treated him like a child.

The balcony seemed empty, the party was still going on a few feet away but there were no people to bother him. The continuous questioning regarding the presidency of his grandfather's company seemed to be a huge topic lately, his grandfather retirement was nearing and the company needed a new president. Toushiro still had about half a year to finish college to earn that architecture degree, to understand the ordeal of business and the whole presidency thing as well.

"…and I heard that she was threatened to be expelled from school." A woman said.

"That girl seems to be tamed; a wild girl shouldn't be allowed to live in society." Another woman spoke. Toushiro simply watched them pass, hiding behind a statue to avoid being seen. "Those six years in England truly changed her." He heard them laugh.

The high society always judged others based upon many things, who really cared about those kinds of things in the first place? Looking at his watch, it was already a little past eleven and he needed to get home to finish some of this work before tomorrow—there was no other choice but to stay late to finish it.

"…always doing the best you can, I have seen your work." A voice said which belonged to Ukitake. Toushiro wasn't the one to eavesdrop on people's conversations at all.

There was a soft sigh; he peered thru the lace curtain of the balcony to see the girl standing in front of the man.

"Thank you, that is most appreciated it by my account," she expressed. He looked at her properly, she had long dark hair, and her skin was unusually pallid and looked like a high school girl. Slightly tall, unnaturally skinny as if she wasn't fed much and dressed in plain jeans and a plaid shirt—an outcast in a crowd that was dressed in fancy clothes.

Ukitake patted her shoulder, a gesture to any person who he kindly admired. "It's always been a pride of yours, the pictures I mean, and truly this year's competition isn't going to be disappointing."

"The course of seasons is this year's theme, there's still one more shot to take before submitting the prints," the girl informed, holding onto the camera that hung across her chest. "I will try not to disappoint your eyes with the shots, though I have to search for the proper picture for winter."

So, the girl seemed to be known for her pictures. Toushiro wasn't much into the arts, let alone into photography to know what was going on. Though, how could a high school student be entering into some competition so early in her life—well perhaps she had some talent. As she turned to leave, her dark eyes looked at his indirectly, the empty look in her eyes shocked him entirely and he felt frozen.

Thankfully, she couldn't see him at all as her dark eyes moved away and stared at something else instead. In an instant, she disappeared quickly and only the sound of her footsteps resounded on the quite hall. Ukitake remained in his spot, smiling from side to side as he turned towards where he stood.

"Truly a man like you enjoys the quite frontiers," his voice was always kind. "Mind if you step of there, it is difficult to have a conversation with someone who isn't present…makes me feel like I've gone mad."

"I'm not the one to intrude, my apologies," Toushiro bowed as he stepped out of the balcony and into the light. His turquoise eyes adjusting slowly to the light, he frowned simply.

"Don't mind it; simply don't be a stranger dear boy." Ukitake chuckled. "She's an interesting girl with pure talent, a rare type to come around that seeks something beyond what people most normally see and she makes you wait in anticipation—she's truly a gift."

"When she grows older, her talent might expand. For a high school student it must be hard to do this job." He commented, stuffing his hands on his pockets.

The man looked at him with an incredulous expression, almost breaking into laughter for hearing such words. Karin was not a child and certainly not a high school student.

"She's twenty-two, Hitsugaya-kun," he laughed. "She's on the arts department in the university, I'm sure you've seen or heard of her."

"No, the campus is large and there are many things that occupy my life to worry over who attends the university and who doesn't." Always blunt and ruthless, Toushiro shrugged.

"Perhaps getting to see the campus more might drive you to meet, but let us not worry over that and return to the party." He led them both back to the loud party and music. "I shouldn't let her waste her time here, it is best to allow her to finish her job and get some rest."

Everyone was enjoying themselves with the fancy drinks and other people, dancing into the very late night and growing tipsy with the consumption of alcohol. Some people began to leave the party, though most of the crowd remained and Toushiro was growing relentless with having to shake hands with random people, smiling decently to the camera as the girl that took them stared with that forlorn gaze. He wondered how she could manage to ignore the rest of the world, filled her ears with something to avoid the words that attempted to wound her or even those glares from women that could literally kill her.

His turquoise eyes met so many times with her dark ones, slowly he felt being pulled by her in an unthinkable way and almost like she seemed to seek him out in comparison to the rest. She would smile at the few compliments from the older men that greeted her, somehow they seemed to be interested on the things she saw thru her lens and he slowly began to gain an interest.

"Mind if you put a little effort on your fake expression," her voice filled his ears suddenly. "I do not wish to take a picture with fake expressions, especially from the likes of you."

"Toushiro, your attitude is always so stiff—loosen up a bit son." His grandfather reprimanded him, turning to the girl. "You're very frank for a photographer young lady, but I admire your spirit."

"I wouldn't mind if you addressed me with a name," she began to take pictures again.

"Karin-chan, so it is true that you are here." Urahara Kisuke stepped out of the crowd, smiling widely. "I'm surprised that old Isshin let his precious daughter out, especially tonight."

Karin groaned, rolling her eyes with great emphasis and looked away. "Can it old man, I'm working here. Get in there so I can take the damn picture and go home."

The blond man chuckled, pulling his companion with him and getting behind the group of people. "Don't be rough on him Karin, he's merely mocking you." Yourichi smiled at her.

The dark haired woman said nothing in return, she clicked and clicked. The facial expressions of the rest seemed to met half of her expectations, but it was impossible to work with real beings and wasn't something that interested her. Nature seemed to be the only thing that could create expressions without being told, though that cold gaze from those blue-green eyes was getting to her. A lot of people in this party were family friends, though it was bizarre to not see her parents here since they formed part of this circle. It was annoying to be part of it, especially since her profession was much different compare to the business or medical things.

The rest continued to be still, she took pictures here and there without anyone noticing her there. The clock tower hit the two o'clock mark, slowly her body was growing weak with sleep and her eyes couldn't focus properly any longer. The way back home was going to be rough, walking was going to take at least an hour without having to meet any trouble and she wasn't going to call on her brother either. Senna had long left; saying something about going with a man that she had met—truly that was some friend who needed mental help—at least she hoped that her friend would get safe home tomorrow.

The cold remained, the streets were practically empty and the world seemed silent as most laid inside their beds asleep. Karin sighed, turning to her right to walk back home and hoping to reach soon to drop on the mattress to get some sleep. Tomorrow there was a long day to be spent while editing and picking out the pictures for tomorrow's deadline, truly everything was going to be a mess. Then there was going to be a lecture from the editor and such—thinking about it would only bring a headache.

"You shouldn't walk home by yourself," a voice came from behind her.

"There's no other alternative, I don't make miracles," she answered, recalling that voice from the crowd inside. "There's no fancy car or limousine like the rest inside, I'm sure you're aware of it."

Toushiro grunted, unable to understand why he was following her at all. He stuffed his hands deeper into his pockets; the weather was like the warmth summer to him. When he had seen her step out of the building, in an instinct he followed her.

"How far is it?" He asked, catching up to her with his long strides.

"In car about thirty minutes, walking and with luck in an hour," Karin responded, feeling at ease with the stranger. "Despite being part of that kind of crowd, our family enjoys the quite suburban life instead." It was odd to just simply say stuff like that, normally people would try to get her to talk about her home or other things; yet she felt the need to say them to this stranger besides her.

They walked and walked, crossing streets and ignoring those who lived during the night like this. A few drunkards crossed their paths, but none dared to say anything at all. Karin noted that the man besides her was known around the area and people feared his demeanour, but it was perhaps that bizarre hair colour and eyes. She began to examine him carefully, he had a strong face fit for any person who held power and intelligence, his eyes were cold filled with strength to them and he was exceptionally tall. From a stand view point he was handsome, dressed nicely in expensive clothing and did not speak much.

Expressions seemed to be hard to find on him though, Karin felt rather captivated by his mere presence and wanted to find something more. Besides that, as her eyes kept on looking at him, this guy was mysterious in so many ways and she wondered what lay beneath that exterior that he showed the rest of the world. Toushiro was his name, glanced at her and she looked away.

"What?" Toushiro asked glancing at the woman called Karin.

She shrugged mildly, looking away to avoid his gaze. The walk continued to grow longer and longer, though soon they entered the street where Karin lived and was glad to finally get there. Though, what about him? He didn't seem to have a car and the streets were dangerous for a man like him to walk around, especially looking like that.

"How are you planning to get home?" She asked, nearing her house by only a couple of blocks.

"That's nothing you should worry over," he responded.

Karin wanted to laugh, but found herself just unable to do so. "Why did you walk with me?"

"No reason at all, a woman shouldn't walk alone and you look fragile." He answered nonchalantly.

She stopped in front of her house, the lights were already out and probably her parents were already asleep. She turned and came face to face with the man; his face was a little too close for comfort. His eyes glowed with the outside light of her house, they examined her closely and he felt his breath fan across her face. Karin wanted to pull back, to look away but it was difficult to avoid the beautiful colour of his eyes.

"W-what the hell…" she pushed him away and stepped back.

Toushiro cleared his throat, what the hell was wrong with him? Her expression had changed, she looked like she was blushing slightly and was fidgeting with the sleeves of her coat, her face contorted into an angry expression with some slight confusion mixed there. He wanted to smirk widely; surely this girl was extremely interesting and quite beautiful.

"Get some rest, those circles might start to make you look like you get beaten up," Toushiro turned to leave.

"Wait!" Karin called out for him.

He turned. "Yes?"

"Ah…thank you. Be careful on your way back." She expressed, bowing at him.

He gave her a curt nod and began to walk away. Somehow he could not help but look back, watching as she opened the door and entered her house to finally get the rest she needed. How come he had missed her around campus, they surely went to the same one and never met each other—how strange. Karin was exceptionally beautiful; he could not help but feel attracted to her and wanting to find more about here.

Once inside, Karin put her hand on her chest to feel her heart beating erratically. That guy was truly attractive, the way his eyes stared deep into hers was quite frightening, but intriguing at the same time. The warmth that was felt when his face was near was truly something else, never had she longed to be near a guy like that in her life. Somehow there was a connection, truly bizarre though, but she could feel it by looking into his eyes. She sighed deeply, making her way to her room and sleep it off instead—there was no way. That night, dreams were filled with turquoise eyes and soft lips, a dream so strong that felt so real that it awoke feelings that had not existed there for a very long time.

+|---|+


Author's Final Note:

1) Some of the plot is still on the works

2) Yes Masaki and Senna are part of the story, necessary and wanted to work with them.

3) Yuzu is indeed married, with a child. It will be explained throughout the story.

Hope you guys enjoyed it, there might not be updates regularly or often. I breath, sleep, eat, dream school. Until next chapter! Thank you so much.