Time passes as we freeze

Summary - Nel was five when Toushiro Hitsugaya and Karin Kurosaki saved her from a burning truck. They were sixteen.

Pairings-Implied HitsuKarin,IchiRuki,and GrimmNel

Music-Monster by Paramore

a/n-Yay for cheesy names.


Nel was five when Toushiro Hitsugaya and Karin Kurosaki found her. She remembered being jolted awake in a burning truck,the driver gone,and Toushiro's reptile eyes coolly staring down at her. He was dressed in a hoodie and jeans with his hair in the usual disarray which she would grow accustomed to,down to the stubborn strands that almost hid one eye from view. Without waiting for her to even whimper,he scooped her up in his arms and carried her from the flames where Karin was waiting. She was dressed similarly,her hair yanked up in a ponytail, but she had a smile on her face as she checked over Nel with care she had never seen. They were sixteen.

Nel was eight when she noticed how cold Toushiro was around anyone outside of their little impromptu family and even then,he only relaxed when only Karin was alone with him. After questioning her 'mother',she offered a few sentences of wisdom. "Toushiro has been hurt,Nel-chan. He's been stabbed,kicked,beaten,and brought to the point where he wants to die to get away from the pain. His wounds are healing but if they ever do truly heal,the scars and memories of all that pain will haunt him for the rest of his life." They were nineteen.

Nel was eleven when she first realized that her family wasn't like others(Where's your family,huh,Nel? Or are those delinquents that pick you up your parents?). She came to their small,dingy apartment in tears and Karin took her in her arms and sat down with her,Toushiro leaning against the wall and watching with guarded eyes. "Why? Why did my parents leave me? Did they hate me? Does everyone hate me?" Nel saw pain of an unhealed wound flash through Karin's eyes and abruptly Toushiro left the room. They were twenty-two.

Nel was fifteen when she realized Toushiro and Karin loved each other more then she would ever know. Karin always tried to keep a smile on her face but Nel could see the longing in her eyes as she stared out a window,up at the sky. All it would take was Toushiro moving to stand next to her and her smile was enough to light up the dark room. Toushiro was harder to read but Nel could see the slight smile he had when Karin laughed and the small touches he gave her on the elbow as if to make sure she was still there. She could only hope she would meet someone who treated her the way they do. They were twenty-six.

Nel was twenty when she fell in love with a blue-haired,wild-eyed man. They had met at a coffee shop("See,our story is so sweet!" "Sweet? Don't you mean cliché?")and six months after reading,they prepared to elope. But,she would never forget the hurt and pain that just radiated from Karin's onyx eyes and the cold glare Toushiro sent her that screamed 'Is this how you repay us?'. On her wedding night,when her newly-wed husband was fast asleep next to her,she stared out the window and cried. They were thirty-one.

Nel was twenty-three when she had her first baby. Everything was blurred and next to her,she made a blue blob that was Grimmjow close to panicking as he ever got. Standing over her,wiping Nel's sweaty forehead,was a silent nurse. The nurse turned to leave but just as she got to the door,she turned around and smiled at Nel,her onyx eyes twinkling with mirth and joy. Only later,as she was cradling her new son,would she realize the nurse looked remarkably like Karin. They were thirty-four.

Nel was forty-eight when she,Grimmjow,and their three children moved to Karakura Town,a bustling city. Ahead of her,her husband was yelling as her two daughter fought over who's brush was who's and her only son leaned on his suitcase,staring emotionless. Smiling,she turned around and leaned into the window to pay the taxi driver. She was met with reptile eyes and white hair shoved under a hat. They were fifty-nine.

Nel was ninety-nine as she laid in a hospital bed with her children and grand-children. During her last minutes,the door swung open and Toushiro and Karin stepped in,faces downcast and their stances stiff and tensed.

"Mom...Dad..."Nel managed to croak out,ignoring her children's incredulous looks. Toushiro smiled sadly.

"Yo."They walked silently towards her bed,never once making a noise as their shoes glided along the tile flooring. Her family parted like the Red Sea and Moses and in seconds,Nel was staring up at the faces of the ones who saved her life ninety-four years ago. Toushiro took her hand and gave it a light squeeze before dropping it,his eyes sorrowful. Karin leaned over and kissed Nel's forehead,lingering a second to whisper,

"Tell us how the afterlife is."

They were one-hundred and ten.

They looked like they were sixteen.


a/n-The ending is up to your interpretation(Are they shinigami or werewolves(Twilight has forever ruined Vampires's badassery),that is the question.) ^_^. But gotta say,I'm kinda of proud of this one! Wrote in forty minutes on my iPod and then wrote it only here to doll it up. So...THIS IS MY GREATED ACCOMPLISHMENT! I'm forever alone if this is...-EpicChocolate