Disclaimer: Is my name Tite Kubo? No? Then no, I don't own Bleach(:

Summary:

One can't die twice right? But in the world of the Shinigami, Toshiro witnessed her death twice. The first time, he was determined to not fail her in death; but was keeping his distance really the right thing to do? Because the next thing he knew, she was dead. Again. Or was she? Then why was this person appearing in front of him, only with a different name?

First Chapter: Once Upon A Time

One was colder than ice.

One was burning like fire.

But why was it that it seemed that they complete each other like no one else could.

Would the fates ever let them be?

Or were they even fated to be?

"Psst...Kurosaki" He knocked on the window softly in order to try rouse the sleeping black-haired Kurosaki.

"Mhmm... Mhmm…GAHHHH Toshiro!" Karin jerked up with a shock, "Are you trying to scare me to death?"

The white haired shinigami only acknowledged her words with an elegant raise of his eyebrow. Seeing his lack of response, she added in wryly, "Because it is really working, you know? With that mop of white hair of yours."

He rolled his eyes. "Just let me in" Karin scowled; it was just so damn unfair! Everything he did was elegant, even right down to waggling his toes (not that he ever did that).And she….She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts.

Stepping down to the cold floor, she reached out to pull her window up, and went back to sitting cross-legged on her bed. "So what brings you here this time?"

His turquoise eyes shifted from her silhouette to the sky. "We are about to face a great war against Aizen, something that I may not even survive, so…."

He let his words hang in the air. Both of them understood clearly what he was saying. He was here to make an early farewell in the worst case.

Karin remembered Aizen. This was the name that she had always heard when she was eavesdropping on Ichigo's many hushed conversations. From the little she could hear, she knew he was dangerous.

She chewed nervously on her fingernails, before whacking him on his head. "Baka! What are you saying?" her eyes sparkling with what one could call fire, "Do you have so little confidence in yourself?" Any lesser person could have backed down from the intensity of her glare, but Toshiro was not such.

"Ouch!" He exclaimed, "Can you stop being so violent?"

Even though Toshiro did not show it, he was slightly comforted by her words. There was just one more person he could come back to after the war.

It made him feel stronger, even if it was only by a teeny bit.

Karin rolled her eyes, and then she lowered her head. Mumble mumble "Just make sure you come back in one piece okay?" she started to ramble on aimlessly in a language that only she, herself could understand.

"Kurosaki..Kurosaki…Karin!" Toshiro tried to pull her out of her ramblings.

She glanced up sheepishly, and then scowled. "How many times have I told you to call me Karin, not Kurosaki!"

She narrowed her eyes, "How am I going to differentiate between me, yuzu and ichi-nii?" "Simple, I can just differentiate you all by your hair colors.", he smirked, "How about black haired Kurosaki?"

Beams of moonlight shone in, illuminating the otherwise dark room. Karin blinked a few times, unaccustomed to the sudden brightness.

"You grew your hair out," he stated. "No, I didn't." She sighed, heavily layered with sarcasm, "I got hair extensions" He quirked an eyebrow, but otherwise made no attempt to reply.

"Fine," she heaved, when she sensed that she was not going to get a response from him, "Yuzu was insisting that I should try leaving it long, but I was going to cut it soon anyways. It's getting really troublesome."

She eyed herself in her mirror. Her previously tomboyish short hair was now spilling over her shoulders. She sighed inwardly; she really had to get it cut soon.

But the most important thing was getting past her twin first, if not she would be facing a hell of a berating.

Her thoughts were interrupted with a silent no. Her head snapped up, wondering if she was imagining it. "No," Toshiro repeated again, this time louder.

She stared at him confusedly. What was he saying?

He sighed, and suddenly in a flash he disappeared. Karin looked around haphazardly, where the hell was he?

Damn that shunpo of his. "Toshiro?" she mumbled irritatedly, "you know I hate…" when she suddenly felt a weight settle behind her on the bed, strong firm fingers combing through her hair gently.

She gasped, "Wh...what are you doing, Toshiro?" She didn't even dare to turn back, worried that her now blush adorned cheeks would betray her emotions.

He didn't reply, only continuing to comb through her hair steadily.

After what seemed like centuries, he finally spoke, not before raising her hair up in a ponytail. "Look in the mirror;" he replied nonchalantly, "It suits you better."

Without skipping a beat, he let go of her hair, and settled back at down the window sill; his face wiped off emotion, as if he hadn't just made her heart flutter.

He then smirked, "take the blank expression of your face." "Go to sleep" was his last words, before he leaped out of the window, his white captain haori flapping haphazardly in the wind.

Eyes flashed open.

It wasn't real, it was only a past flickering memory that she had buried deep in the recesses of her mind.

Why it had suddenly surfaced after so long was a mystery to her.

She thought that she had given up seeing him again. It turned out that she was wrong.

The number ten on his captain haori flapping in the night sky was her last memory of him since 1 year ago.

Ever since he saved her from the hollow, he had been visiting her when he was in the area; not that she minded.

She sighed, and muffled her face into the pillow and tried to go back to sleep.

Great, now because of a certain spiky haired captain, she couldn't go back to sleep.

Screw this shit.

There. My first chappie is up!(: like finally. Hope you all enjoy it! Review please, with a cherry on top? (; They keep me going!