Disclaimer: Bleach does not belong to me but to Tite Kubo sensei. If it did, Karin would be a shinigami . The songs mentioned in this fic also do not belong to me, but to their amazing artistes. I apologize for any grammatical errors and any inaccuracy.
Chapter 1 - Males Only
Kurosaki Karin gazed out the window, chin resting heavily on her supporting hand and onyx eyes staring dully at the shifting sceneries outside the bullet train. 'The Beginning' by One OK Rock was playing from her headphone but not a word or even its loud, catchy tune was heard. With her wandering mind, everything seemed to be blending into the background.
Graduated from high school and successfully accepted into Seireitei University, one of the most prestigious university in Japan, the nineteen year old was now on the Shinkansen bullet train heading for Tokyo. While she was happy that they had accepted her, leaving her hometown was not exactly as exciting or something to be glad about.
Born and raised in Karakura Town, she was deeply attached to it and to the people in it. Especially her girlier, prettier twin sister, Kurosaki Yuzu who had enrolled into a fashion school in Karakura. Not needing to leave the town for her school, she was of course, living with their goofy father and doctor of their neighbourhood, Kurosaki Isshin.
Her older brother, Kurosaki Ichigo was happily married to Kuchiki Rukia and they are living on the other side of Karakura Town, thank god. She just felt like gagging every time she caught them doing lovely dovey stuff. Yuck!
And now she was travelling to a foreign city full of strangers for a completely new school.
Just great.
Karin let out a silent sigh.
As the taxi pulled into the spacious driveway of Seireitei University, Karin leaned over to the window and peeked out at the approaching campus. Her eyes sprang wide in awe at what greeted her. It was huge! She felt a thrill of exhilaration for the first time of the day run up her spine.
Before her eyes could finish exploring the buildings, the taxi came to a gentle halt at the drop-off point.
"Let's go get your luggage, miss." The taxi driver turned to her with a polite smile before stepping out of the vehicle. Getting out of the backseat, Karin pushed the door closed and strode over to the boot where the driver had already started unloading her bags.
Once her luggage were placed on the sidewalk with her help, the driver turned to her, wrinkles at the sides of his eyes mapping out when he smiled. "First year, you say?"
Like a cue, the memory of the conversation she had with him during the ride from the train station surfaced.
"Yeah, first year." Karin replied, scratching the back of her neck.
The driver chuckled. "Starting a new school can be quite daunting, huh. Good luck and work hard!"
"I will." Karin handed him the taxi fare with a slight grin. "Thanks."
Giving her a thumbs-up, the driver went back into his taxi and drove off.
Turning around to face the campus, Karin felt the thrill of exhilaration come back to her as she admired the chic look it bore.
The exterior walls of Seireitei University's main building were made of massive steel framed windows that covered the campus from the ground, up to the roof and over to the other side like a blanket. And from where she stood, she could see more similarly designed buildings peeking from behind the main one.
Glancing down at her watch, Karin swung her duffel bag onto a shoulder and the mesh bag holding her soccer ball over the other as she stepped out of the sheltered drop-off area, dragging her luggage along with her.
Making her way across a short pedestrian crossing, she gauged that it would take another five minutes for her to make her way through the wide courtyard to the main building.
Looking around the courtyard, she noticed there was barely anyone here. So far, she only spotted two men smoking by a bin at the far end to her left.
But of course, it was not too surprising for a school to be nearly empty on a Saturday.
Finally reaching the main building, what greeted her behind the sliding doors lifted her mood even further. Like what she had saw from the outside, the framed windows made the walls around her and so was the ceiling, allowing natural light from the outside to filter into the building.
Breaking into a grin, Karin made her way to the administration office right by the main door.
It looked like she was going to have a great school year, she could almost feel it.
"May I take a look at your acceptance letter?" The burly man behind the counter, Jidanbo Ikkanzaka as stated on his name tag, asked in a voice thick and slurred.
Pulling a folded paper out of her duffel bag, Karin passed it to the man and watched him return his attention to the screen. Drumming her fingers against the counter absentmindedly, she boredly looked on as his fingers ran across the keyboard.
"You're Kurosaki Karin and you're taking a three-year degree course in Banking and Finance, am I right?" Jidanbo asked, but this time his eyes never left the screen.
"Yeah."
Grown bored of watching the admin, Karin glanced around the office briefly and was about to turn back to him when a tall man with long black hair and cold eyes stepped through the office door.
"Kuchiki-sensei, how may I help you?" Karin heard the Jidanbo guy ask.
Did he just call this dude Kuchiki? Could he be…?
Karin watched the tall man approach them with mild curiosity and noticed that there was a sort of grace in the way the man walked despite his rather tall build.
Nah, Rukia told me she was born and raised in Karakura as well. This is probably just a coincidence. 'Kuchiki' is more common than I thought, I guess.
"The key, Jidanbo-san, I need the key to the conference room at the East building now." The man barely spared her a glance.
The man behind the counter immediately shot up from his seat and hurried to the back, disappearing into a room with a cry of 'Yessir'.
Realizing that she was left alone with the intimidating man, Karin swallowed thickly as she suddenly became aware of the thick blanket of uncomfortable silence between them. She peeked out at him from the sides of her eyes and studied him as subtly as possible.
His dark, long ebony hair framed a strong yet delicate face. And from his face that looked like it was painted by Greek gods on a particularly favourable day, his cold slate grey eyes impassively stared out at the door Jidanbo disappeared through. He was what people would have called 'beautiful' despite his strong jawline and lean figure in his cleanly cut suit.
The only thing unpleasant thing about his face was the slight sneer that suggested that he was impatient.
Karin also noticed that his suit was immaculately pressed and tailored to fit his form perfectly. One quick glance showed that it was probably worth more than her pocket money for a few months. Standing next to him in a gray hoodie and dark skinny jeans with a cap over her high ponytail, she suddenly felt extremely underdressed.
He must be one hell of a scary lecturer…Hopefully, not mine.
Glancing back to the front, Karin was about to start drumming her fingers against the counter again but quickly caught herself.
God help her, this silence was starting to become unbearable.
"Found it!"
Shoulders dropping in relief, Karin silently thanked Jidanbo when he finally reappeared through the door with a key between his large fingers. "Here you go, sensei," He handed the key over to the man.
"Thanks." With that said, the man swept past her and disappeared out of the office.
As if he was the one brought tension into the office along with him, they both let out a deep sigh as the heavy tension upon his arrival dissipated.
"Man, he's scary." Karin turned around, scowling slightly. "What does he teach?"
"He is," Jidanbo chuckled. "Unfortunately for you, he is the programme chair of Banking and Finance, and he conducts lectures for students of your course quite frequently." Jidanbo chuckled again when he saw the horrified look on Karin's face.
"Oh greaaaat, can't wait." Karin said unenthusiastically with a scowl.
"Heheheh," Jidanbo scratched his head sheepishly before slipping a paper over to her. "Anyway Kurosaki-san, I need you to sign on this acknowledgment form."
Done what she was asked, Karin slipped the paper back to him. "Oh by the way, my request for a room in your hostels was approved two months ago and my room number is 3024 of the West Wing. I was told that I have to collect my key here."
Jidanbo suddenly looked surprised. "Room 3024?" He gave her a strange look. "Weren't you informed? The water pipes in that room burst last month and your neighbour had to move back to his house because his room was affected as well."
"No, I wasn't, " Karin shook her head with a scowl. "Why didn't the school notify me about that?"
"You didn't get the notification?" Jidanbo looked at her in puzzlement. "It was sent to your school email. Are you sure you didn't receive it?"
"School email? There's a school email?" Karin looked at him, surprised.
"Yes, it's written here," Jidanbo slipped her acceptance letter over to her and pointed to an email written at the bottom of the page. "You were given your school email at the same time the school informed you of their acceptance."
Karin glanced down at the email with stunned realization as she read the paragraph of the letter he pointed out to her.
…Your school email has been created for you. You are strongly advised to check your email regularly for more information and updates regarding your enrollment…
Karin looked up with an incredulous look. "But how the hell did I miss…"
Then as if it was cued, she suddenly recalled herself throwing the half-read letter down onto her bed before giddily rushing out of her room to share the news.
"Oh." Her face fell. Idiot.
A heavy sigh escaped her. "So, Jidanbo-san, has the problem been fixed?" She asked hopefully.
Jidanbo shook his head apologetically. "The floor and walls were damaged so your rooms had to be completely renovated. I heard it's going to take a few more months before the rooms become usable again."
Karin felt her stomach sink. "Then where am I supposed to stay now?"
You've gotta be freakin' kidding me!
"I'm really sorry about this, Kurosaki-san." Jidanbo squirmed in discomfort in his chair, looking guilty for something he did not do.
"It's okay," Karin forced a smile. "It's my fault for being so careless. I'll try to figure something out."
"Alright then, I wish you all the best." Jidanbo said, "All you need to do is to find a temporary place to stay and the school would cover the cost for you. Just report back here once you've found a place and I'll do the rest."
"I will." She nodded.
Jidanbo handed her a file of documents. "You'll find your schedule inside this file." He explained. "School will start in four days' time, hopefully you'll find a good place by then."
"Thanks Jidanbo-san." Karin gave him a grin and gathered her stuff before turning to the door.
"Good luck!"
The grin on Karin's face slipped as she walked out the office with a heavy heart.
Aargh, a great school year can kiss her ass!
Matsumoto Rangiku skipped down the stairs, humming happily as she flipped through the bundle of freshly printed pamphlets in her hands. The strawberry blond beauty let out a mischievous snicker as she gleefully thought of what she had just done.
A certain Ice Prince of Seireitei University was not going to be happy when he finds out but she could care less!
A week ago, she had readily offered to help her favorite cousin (to annoy) Hitsugaya Toushiro, the school's unwilling It Boy to create pamphlets when she learnt that he had finally decided to rent out the other spare bedroom of his two-storey house to earn himself some extra cash.
Busy running the school's Kendo Club as its captain and learning the ropes as the next heir of the Grand Oriental Corporation along with a considerably heavy workload of a sophomore, he eventually gave in to her persistent offer to help him find a tenant.
Remembering that he had specifically told her that he only wanted male tenants, Rangiku looked down at the pamphlets in her hands once more and broke into a grin as her eyes landed on a bold, eye-catching line, 'All are welcome!".
She let out another snicker as she suddenly imagined that big scowl on his face if he were to ever find out that she had typed an 'All are welcome!' line instead. She could practically hear him yell 'Matsumoto!' with full of annoyance in that curt, deep tone of his.
But even without him telling her the reason why he wanted only male tenants, she could easily guess why.
Abandoned by his mother at a tender age, betrayed by his long-time girlfriend who he had loved deeply and the unwanted attentions from the females in their school…
And ever since he had broken up with Hinamori Momo two years ago, he grew more bitter and became more wary of the opposite sex who were especially around his age. Well, except her.
Rangiku felt her mood dampen as she thought about how her cousin wouldn't let any woman get close to him. It was like he had completely given up on his love life. This was especially worrying since the bullheaded old men of the company's advisory board were expecting him to be wedded by the time he took over his father.
The strawberry blond beauty walked down the rest of the stairs with a pretty pout on her face, the spring in her steps lost to her dampened mood.
Preoccupied by her concerns for the twenty year old, she plopped down on the first bench she saw with a perplexed furrow between her neatly trimmed eyebrows.
Karin looked up from her phone in surprise when she felt the bench under her shifted to a new weight and turned to find a tall curvy strawberry blond woman in a cropped shirt and a pair of skinny jeans sitting on the other end of the bench.
Shrugging, she popped another piece of M&M chocolate into her mouth and returned to her seemingly hopeless search for a room to rent with a heavy sigh. For past fifteen minutes, she had been going around the net to find a place but to no avail, most of them required her to put in a deposit first and they were pretty pricey. A lot of them were pretty far away as well.
Scrolling through her phone with a tired look on her face, Karin let out a groan. Damn, this is hopeless!
It was already coming to five and she was still lugging her bags around. And she haven't even made a call home yet!
"Can I have some of those?"
Karin looked up from her phone the second time and quickly realized it came from the woman beside her. "This?" She raised the packet of M&Ms in her hand when she noticed how the woman's eyes had lingered on it.
"Can I?" The woman asked with a small grin.
"Oh yeah, sure." Karin held the packet out to her. "Go ahead, knock yourself out." She added when she noticed how stressed the woman looked.
"Mmmm," Karin watched the woman relax with a satisfied sigh as she munched on the M&Ms she took from her. "Chocolates are the best! Even better if there was some alcohol in these, don't you think?" The woman suddenly turned to her with a wide smile.
Karin agreed. "Yeah, that'd be nice, huh. Especially when you're stressed now."
"Oh, you're stressed too?" The woman shifted over to her enthusiastically. "Aww, me too. What's your name, dear?"
The way the woman addressed her made Karin smile. This woman reminded her of an older sister.
"Kurosaki Karin. You?"
"Such a nice name, Karin-chan." The woman gushed, clapping her hands together. "I'm Matsumoto Rangiku. Call me Rangiku!" She said cheerfully.
Karin smiled even wider at her cheerfulness and popped another M&M into her mouth.
"Sooooo," Rangiku eyed the girl with a curious look. "What exactly are you stressed over, Karin-chan?" She twirled her hair thoughtfully.
Karin felt her heart sink at the mention of her problem and sighed loudly. "I just enrolled into this school today and I just found out that the room that I'm supposed to stay in had some water pipe problem and I can only use it after the renovation is completed."
She failed to notice how Rangiku's blue eyes had grown wide with a knowing gleam in them."I was told that the renovation's going to take at least a few more months. And so-"
"And so you've nowhere else to stay now?" Rangiku cut in excitedly. "Am I right?"
Karin looked surprised. "Yeah!"
With a puzzled look, Karin watched a smirk creep across Rangiku's face and wondered what it meant.
"Oh thank you so much Karin-chan!" Rangiku crushed the girl to her large breasts, giving her a squeeze before letting go. A stunned Karin blinked back at her when she pulled back. "You've solved my problem!"
Karin frowned. "Huh? What do you mean?"
Rangiku giggled. "Well, you see these pamphlets here?" She gestured to the pile of papers beside her. "A cousin of mine is renting out a room at his place and I offered to help him create these advertisements. And I was kinda worried about finding a tenant for him…"
She wasn't telling the complete truth, of course. It was just that Hitsugaya Toushiro has been avoiding girls his age for far too long! If it needed a girl for him to open up to the opposite sex again, she knew she could count on this girl! She had a good eye for discerning a person's character and she felt that the girl could be trusted.
A gleam of determination appeared in Rangiku's eyes as she turned to Karin. "Since you need a place, why not take up this offer? The house is pretty nice, ya 'know!" She passed a pamphlet to Karin eagerly. "I'll even make sure you get a discount for this!"
Reading the advertisement, Karin felt something lift inside her as she took in the details on the pamphlet. The 'All are welcome' line and the affordable price printed on it were very uplifting.
Karin quickly arrived to a decision.
"Hell yeah, I'll take it!" Karin looked over at Rangiku with a wide grin, returning the pamphlet to the woman. "Thanks, Rangiku!"
"It's the right thing to do for a nice junior like you! Rangiku waved her hand dismissively, chuckling. "Plus, by agreeing to this, you're also helping me in some ways!"
Karin quirked an eyebrow at her.
"I am?"
"Yeah, you are!" Rangiku rose up from the bench with a wink, "C'mon Karin-chan, I'll give you a lift," said the strawberry blond beauty as she started walking.
Realizing she was going to be left behind if she didn't hurry, Karin flew off the bench."Get into the bag already!" She spat at no one in particular as she tried to shove everything she had taken out back into her bag.
Hastily, Karin grabbed the rest of her bags and ran after the busty woman.
Heaving the weight bar for the eighty-sixth time, Hitsugaya Toushiro could feel his muscles protesting under its weight but ignored them with clenched teeth. His turquoise eyes held a steely gleam in them and his lips were pressed together in a determined line.
87…
88…
His eyebrows furrowed deeper with focus.
89…
90…
Suddenly, a loud, sharp 'ding' sounded from his phone, notifying him of a new text.
Pausing in his workout, the snowy haired man released a deep sigh and set the bar back to its holder before sitting up from the bench. Wiping his face with a towel, he tossed it aside and walked across his spacious bedroom to the study table.
Picking up his phone, the man tapped in his password into the lock on its screen and was instantly greeted by a name. Matsumoto.
What did she want now? He thought with a sigh and opened the text.
Found a tenant~ We're on our way!
Be nice!
P.S. giving a discount would be nice!
As night drew closer, the orange sky above was starting to turn dark. On the driveway of a small street, a single maroon BMW convertible slowed down and gently came to a halt in front of a house which fence was marked by a name – Hitsugaya.
Karin gazed out at the house from the front passenger seat. "So this is the house?" She turned back to Rangiku expectantly.
"Yup!" Rangiku replied cheerfully. "It's pretty, isn't it?"
"Yeah, it is." Karin turned back to the house, nodding.
Set not so far back from the curb and enclosed around by a perimeter of white wooden fence, the cobblestone winding path from the road led up to a medium-sized double storey house which stood between two pine trees. It had white plaster walls with a brick-red tile roof and blue-tinted medium windows.
It was a pretty house like her new friend had promised.
Apart from its appearance, the distance taken between school and this house was also a bonus, being only three streets away.
Except there was one factor she should be concerned about…
Karin glanced over to the woman, slightly scowling.
"But Rangiku, you mentioned that your cousin is a guy right?" Practically growing up with martial arts, she can defend herself perfectly fine but still, any girl would be concerned.
Blinking at her question,Rangiku burst out in chuckles. "Oh no worries, he has no interest in women!" She patted her on the shoulder.
Karin let out a relieved sigh at her reassurance. So I guess he's a…
"Go on, don't keep the landlord waiting!" Rangiku shooed.
"You're not coming with me?" Karin glanced over at her in surprise.
Rangiku shook her head vehemently.
There was going to be a high likelihood of him sending Karin away if she came along with her. With a poor stranded girl, it was going to be harder for him to say 'no'. Even with his dislike toward the opposite sex, he was no heartless bastard…right?
Plus, she would be yelled at anyway!
"Nah, I have a TV drama to catch at home," The strawberry blond beauty took a glance at the clock on the car's dashboard and pretended to panic, "Oh no, and I only have ten minutes before I miss its opening song!"
Feeling disappointed, Karin nodded. "Awww man. Oh well…Thanks a bunch."
"Here, take a copy." Rangiku passed her a pamphlet. "Contact me whenever you like, Karin-chan, my number is on the paper."
Her eyes suddenly lit up.
"Ooh, maybe I should bring you around Tokyo before school starts! And we're shop till we drop!"
Karin laughed sheepishly at her comment. Shopping was her least favorite thing to do, but she couldn't bring herself to say that.
"Err, yeah sure!" Karin faked enthusiasm, "Anyway, I'd better get going now." She pushed open the door and stepped out. She heard the other door open as she strode to the boot and saw Rangiku walking over to join her.
With Rangiku's help, unloading her belongings only took a few seconds.
"I'll be off then!" The busty woman pulled open the driver's door. "Remember to send me a text once you've settled down~ and don't worry, I've already ask him for a discount!" She waved and disappeared back into the car.
Waving back at the woman peeking out at her with a smile in the car, Karin watched her turn to the front and drove off.
Looking down at the pamphlet in her hand, Karin stepped forward and pressed the doorbell. Waiting with a hand in her pocket, her mind wandered back to what Rangiku had told her about her cousin's disinterest in women and snickered to herself.
She had always wanted a gay friend so maybe this could be her chance to make one!
But before she could delve deeper into her thoughts, the sound of shuffling footsteps sounded from behind the door. Snapping out of her reverie when she heard it open, Karin's eyes widened when she found herself staring at a young man only in sweatpants standing by the doorway.
What was more surprising was the snow-white hair he bore.
But then thinking about her own brother's hair, there was nothing strange about it. C'mon, Ichigo's hair was bright orange!
Framed by his short, spiky white hair, his piercing turquoise eyes stared out blankly at her from his handsome face. "Can I help you?" He asked with a raised eyebrow, his voice sounding bored and uncaring.
Clearing her throat in embarrassment, Karin quickly snapped into action when she realized she was gawking.
"I met your cousin, Matsumoto Rangiku, and she told me that you're renting out the extra bedroom of your house." She extended the pamphlet in her hand to him. "And she told me to show you this."
Slowly uncrossing his arms, the boy took the pamphlet and looked down at it with a scowl.
Karin watched him with anticipation.
"So can I come in now?" She demanded, eyeing the boy eagerly. "I have enough to pay for the fee."
Karin couldn't help it.
Everything that had happened to her so far was draining and she couldn't wait to get some sleep.
The expression on his face didn't change at all. If there was any change to it, it was only that his scowl got bigger.
Then the boy suddenly looked up from the pamphlet with an irritated sigh.
"Do you have a pen?"
"Yea, give me a sec." Karin quickly rummaged through her duffel bag for one and quickly found one.
Passing the pen with a curious look, she watched the boy wordlessly click on the pen and write something down on the pamphlet. Not thinking too much about it, Karin patiently waited for him finish whatever he was writing.
Karin looked around idly and stifled a yawn. A hot bath and a good sleep would be nice...
A couple of seconds passed before she heard a 'click' from the pen again. The sound made her look up and her eyes instantly fell onto the pamphlet and her pen that were extended out to her.
"Read it again," said the boy.
Huh?
Taking the pamphlet and pen with a dumbfounded look, Karin watched him turn his back and re-entered the house without another word.
And the door closed.
Giving the door he disappeared through a strange look, Karin looked down at the pamphlet. What did he just-
Her eyes widened as her gaze fell onto a certain line in the advertisement. Stunned.
Printed boldly on the paper, the 'All are welcome!' line was now cancelled with two dark, neat lines. And written right above in a slightly cursive handwriting, were two words that made Karin's eyebrows shoot up in surprise.
'Males Only.'
….
A/N: And so this is the first chapter! I'm really nervous about this…Were the characters OOC? I hope not. Please review and let me know what you think! Reviews would be a great way to tell me what you think about this and they will be greatly appreciated!
