DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Bleach.

Toushiro didn't expect them to understand. After all, Hinamori was just another Shinigami to them. A valiant warrior, yes, a loyal and capable vice-captain, yes, but it all ends there. Nothing too hard for them to replace, like all Shinigami, she was expendable. He knew that.

So, he had tried to keep his grieving short, return to his duties as captain, and try to act like nothing happened. Like the girl he loved wasn't just taken away from him. Like the one person he would gladly give his life for, hasn't just died. Like even if she did, it was no big deal to him. She died, and he lived, and he should move on.

He had done his best not to let his mourning affect his performance of his obligations. He went through the same monotonous routine he went through when she was living, when she was hospitalized, and when she died. He did everything perfectly. So why does Soul Society insist on making him take a forced vacation? And why does it have to be on the real world? What is he supposed to do once he's there? All those free time would just make him fall into depression more, with no work to serve as his distraction.

"Matsumoto!" He called his apricot-colored lieutenant. He would leave the entire squad to her care so he needed to make sure that she would perform his duties completely. Her buxom vice-captain tends to neglect her paperwork. Matsumoto appeared behind her captain.

"Yes Captain," she said, kneeling on one knee, and slightly bowing down. Over the years, Captain Hitsugaya has grown both in height and potential. He's now one of the most esteemed Captains in the 13th Protection Squad. She can't treat him as a child anymore, although she is still a bit taller than him.

"I leave the Squad to your care," he said, rearranging some last-minute documents in his desk. Matsumoto only nodded. God knows her Captain had gone through more sorrow than any other Shinigami in Soul Society at the loss of Hinamori. No one deserves this break more than him. Even so, her Captain was still thinking about them, "Don't hesitate to contact me if you're having a hard time."

"Yes Captain," she said. As much as she might want to, she knew that she would never take up that offer. Her Captain needed time to heal, away from Soul Society, from the memories of Hinamori.

Hitsugaya only nodded, and then motioned to her that she was dismissed. He disappeared shortly, before reappearing in front of the Senkai Gate. As he was entering the gate, he was thinking, Here goes nothing…

"So like I was saying, Captain Hitsugaya is very delicate right now," Renji told them for what must've been the umpteenth time already. They were waiting for his arrival since they prepared a welcome party for him. It would be held in Urahara's crammy little shop, but hey, who's complaining?

"Alright already Renji," Ishida said, crossing his arms before him. "You wouldn't see or hear us speak of this fallen comrade of yours…geez, we wouldn't even think about her." Renji grinned gratefully at him, obviously missing the sarcasm.

"By the way Renji, aren't you supposed to be in mourning also?" Ichigo asked tactlessly. Renji's smile fell a little before Rukia pushed his head down.

"You know Renji, he easily gets over this kind of things," she said, silently vowing to herself that she just might kill Ichigo for this someday. He should know better than to mention those words to Renji. After all, Hinamori was also a dear friend of his. She's been his classmate in the academy, the three of them, Hinamori, Kira and Renji made it to vice-captains together. She was about the lecture him more when Urahara motioned for them to be quiet.

The chiming of bells announced their guest's arrival.

Toushiro was surprised to find so many people welcoming him. Of course he knew that Rukia, Renji and Urahara would be here, but he didn't expect the substitute Shinigami and his friends to be here too…even the Quincy came.

They threw him a party, but the atmosphere was somewhat wrong. Despite the genuine merry-making of Ichigo and his friends, he noticed that Renji and Rukia kept watching him, gauging his reactions. He also noticed that no one in the group asked why he was sent to the real world. They must've known already. It irritated him a little that they were talking about him behind his back.

He acted normally, showing them his usual stoic demeanor. He corrected Ichigo when he calls him Toushiro, refused any kind of food offered by Inoue, sat quietly back with Chad and carry on intellectual conversations with the Quincy. Urahara came and went bringing more food and drinks every time he came back. Eventually, the tension loosened up and even Renji and Rukia were able to enjoy themselves in the party. All was going well and Toushiro was just congratulating himself for a job well done when someone unexpected burst in through the door.

"Ichi-nii, is it true that Toushiro's…coming?" Karin stopped just in time to catch herself from falling. Jinta, who was courting Yuzu, has accidentally let it slip earlier when he was walking them home. She had rushed to Urahara Shop, leaving the two alone after promising a slow and painful death to Jinta if he ever took advantage of her sister while she's gone.

She looked up, and saw Toushiro near the back of the room. He was grown, and he's changed in a lot more ways, but she would recognize that silvery white hair and cool green eyes anywhere. "Hey, long time no se—" Her words were cut off, and she held on the frame of the door for support as Toushiro's reiatsu shook the whole house.

He was caught unprepared. When Karin entered the house, he recognized her immediately as Ichigo's sister though her hair was longer, but when she looked up. For a second there, he thought he saw Hinamori. Maybe it was because of her hair color, or the expression in her face, but in that moment, it was Hinamori standing there, smiling at him. It was totally unexpected that if he hadn't regained control, he might've just broken down and tore the whole place down. Thankfully, it only resulted in a slight wavering of his reiatsu.

When the house rested still, Karin let go of the door frame and unsteadily walked over to him. "Didn't know you were that glad to see me," she said, teasingly. Despite the smile, her forehead was furrowed with worry. He gave her a weak smile. By this time, the atmosphere had gone back to the tense environment before. Even Ichigo and the others grew quiet. Well, it couldn't be help since he just went and ruined it. The least he could do was leave to give them a chance to talk about him more.

"I'm going to go get some air," he said, standing up, and heading for the door. Karin followed suit and he didn't stop her. As they close the door behind them, he heard someone mention his name.

Outside, it was already dusk. He and Karin stood in front of the shop. He decided to make the first move. "Sorry about earlier, you just caught me by surprise," he explained truthfully.

Karin only smiled at him and shook her head. "What brings you here?" she asked.

He felt surprisingly relieved for that. So they hadn't told her about it…yet. For a moment, he considered lying to her, and telling her that he was on a reconnaissance mission or something. But what was the use? She would learn the truth anyway, if not from him, then from the others. "I'm on vacation," was all he said.

Karin's eyebrow rise at that statement, but she didn't ask anymore. Somehow, he felt glad for that.

He came the next day. It was hard not to notice him, with his silver hair (which everyone thought was bleached) and the fact that he was standing oh so coolly, obviously waiting for someone at the school gate. She had rushed to the nearest window upon hearing that a handsome silver haired boy with an icy glare was standing alone at the entrance, looking for someone or something. A fight perhaps, or his girlfriend. Both prospects excited the students, and so they had patiently waited on what will happen next.

Karin considered exiting through the back gate since meeting with Toushiro in front of the entire student body would surely do some damage to her image. In highschool, she had been given a reputation as a man-hater, not so much as she doesn't want to befriend them, but just that she wasn't into having relationships. But, she argued back to herself, this could be a once in a lifetime chance since she doesn't know for how long the Captain was going to stay in their world. Heck, he might even be saying goodbye now. So after much pushing, and shoving through the crowd of girls that had gathered in the corridors, she had finally managed to safely exit the school in one piece.

"Toushiro!" she called him, and all eyes, not only his, turned to her. Sure enough, a wave of murmur erupted from the spectators, but she doesn't care anymore.

To hell with her reputation.

They walked together in companionable silence. Somehow they both knew where they were going, at the top of the hill, where she first talked to Toushiro, the place where you can see the whole town. Toushiro stopped and turned into the sunset. Karin did the same, but she looked into Toushiro's face instead. What does he see so much in the sunset?

For Karin, sunsets are sad. She doesn't know why but it just gives her that kind of feeling. She suspects that it could be because Ichi-nii has always had that expression when looking at sunsets. Maybe that rubbed off on her.

"What?" Toushiro asked him, snapping her out of her reverie. She had been staring at his face for too long. She was about to smile and tell him nothing, but she remembered that she did want to ask him something.

"Why were you sent to vacation?" she asked. It was like she was picking up on where they left off last evening. She felt Toushiro stiffen beside her.

"You asked your brother?" he asked, a little too harshly perhaps. Karin flinched at the accusation on his voice, but she tried to keep her smile intact.

"No, it's just that you didn't seem to be the type that takes vacations," she laughed a bit, to lighten the mood, but it was obvious that it was forced. Toushiro scolded himself internally for that, Karin just asked him out of concern, and here he was making her look like the guilty party. He decided to come clean with her.

"A childhood friend of mine died," he said. Karin waited for him to continue. "She was very…important to me. I waited and waited for her to wake up, but…she never did," he remembered the nights he had spent with her, holding her hand, whispering encouraging words. He never gave up waiting for her, but she did. Captain Unohana might not say it but he knew that he was partly responsible for that. After having doubted and betrayed him, Hinamori didn't want to live on anymore. She didn't want to wake up. She didn't want to face him, and knowing that makes him feel worse.

"Was she the one you saw in me yesterday?" Karin asked. Toushiro nodded, so she knew. Karin was so perceptive unlike her brother "Do you miss her?" she asked.

"Yeah," he answered. He waited for more questions but Karin didn't asked any more. She had turned her face to the sunset.

Sunsets were truly sad.

He came everyday after that. At first there were a lot of awkward questions to answer from her classmates and even some teachers. They initially thought that Toushiro was a gang member, but after much reassurance that "no, he isn't anyone suspicious" and that "he's my brother's friend" (her brother has a surprisingly good reputation) the rumors died down, and Toushiro was able to come to the school without being stared at. She also amended some of the gossip that began to circulate about them in school. True, she had made it clear with her actions that she liked him, but Toushiro had not responded to her in any way. So any rumor-mongers that come her way, only get one answer: "no, he's not my boyfriend."

Sad, but true.

Their talks had become a sort of routine. They would begin their conversation innocently enough, but they'll always end up with talking about Toushiro's important friend. Little by little, Karin knew about her. She also learned about Toushiro's childhood memories and experiences. He was slowly opening up himself to her, but somehow, that hurt her even more.

One evening, she finally had the courage to ask: "Do I remind you of her?"

He smiled sadly at that and answered. "A lot."

Today, their conversation took a turn to Hinamori's appearance. Toushiro told her that Hinamori's hair color was almost similar to her, except maybe a lighter shade. And that her eyes were big and chocolate brown. Unable to picture her, Toushiro told Karin that she looked a lot like Hinamori when she's sleeping.

Karin had pretended to be scandalized and called him a pervert. Then she kiddingly told him. "You know, I could always pretend to sleep and then you can talked to her all you want,"

He grinned at her playfully, and asked, "What's the use?"

But that night, he came. He knew it was stupid and absurd, and that it was going to take a whole lot of explaining if ever Ichigo (or Urahara) found him out. He was even half-wishing that the substitute Shinigami would sense him and confront him before he reaches Karin's room. But he had slipped into places much more heavily guarded than this, and he entered the Kurosaki household undetected.

He opened the window to what he knew was Karin's room. He entered and landed inside without a sound. If ever Karin wake up and found him here then she would really think of him as a pervert. He wondered what he was going to say, "Hey, I dropped in for a midnight chat?" or "I decided to take you up to your offer?" Oh yeah, here's a good one. "Can you please lie down again so I could talk to Hinamori?"

He almost laughed aloud at the last one. Honestly, what was he thinking? Sneaking into a human girl's room, and she was even Ichigo's sister. He knew that it would make a juicy conversation if ever that news reached Soul Society. He turned to leave, still chuckling at his own stupidity. But before he could do that, he caught sight of Karin's sleeping figure.

She was still in her sleep. He could see that she doesn't toss around much because most of the blanket was still in place and no pillow had fallen out of the bed. He was carefully observing her when the clouds parted and the moonlight penetrated the room, revealing Karin's face.

By God, she was beautiful. Her long dark hair cascaded to her back. It was mussed because of sleeping, so much unlike her usually straight hair…and he could see the resemblance. And the words as if they had a life of their own, poured right out from his mouth.

"Wake up…Hinamori," If he could, he would've hugged her right then and there, but he settled for just entangling his fingers to her hair and resting his face close to hers. "Please come back to me… I forgive you, for all you've done… I love you, so please come back…Momo."

His voice broke at the last sentence, and he realized that he had been longing to say those words to her. Even in her sleep, he didn't dare confess his feelings to her, reserving them for when she wakes up, which never happened, and had caused him to feel so much regret because he hadn't told her sooner. But now, finally, he was able to tell her. And he felt his heart lighten for the first time since he came to the real world. He had held on for so long, but now he was willing to let her go. All thanks to this girl who had made him feel love again after so much time.

This girl who had taken the time to open up his heart, and heal it piece by piece even if it meant cutting herself, every time he told her about how she reminded him of Hinamori, or when he shared childhood memories of them together. It must've hurt her a lot. How insensitive of him. He had so much to tell her and to thank her for.

He looked up at Karin's face, intending to give her a kiss on the forehead. But Karin turned her back, facing away him. So he stood up and went to the window to leave. He would just have to thank her tomorrow…and more.

Karin turned her face away from Toushiro. She couldn't help it. She just couldn't take it anymore. As she heard the window being closed, a single tear ran down her cheek.

Karin sensed Toushiro right away when he entered the yard. Ichi-nii may suck at sensing reiatsu, but that seems to be her specialty. She could sense a Hollow a mile away. So she knew when he snuck inside her room, and her heart pounded like crazy, both in fear and anticipation.

"Wake up," he said, his voice rasping, and she would have happily (while pretending to be both surprised and irritated) opened her eyes for him, if not for his next words. "Hinamori…"

Ouch! It was like a knife to her heart. So he came, taking her up to her offer, after all.

"Please come back to me…" he said, each word a stab to her heart.

"I forgive you, for all you've done…" he was such a forgiving man…

"…I love you," how she wished he was saying those words to her instead.

"…so please come back…Momo." The last word he said so dearly, that she knew that she had lost. Toushiro had loved this girl so much, that no one can possibly replace her. Not even her. All this time, it was Hinamori that Toushiro saw when he was looking at her. It was Hinamori that he was smiling to. It was Hinamori that he was laughing with. Not her. She realized that now.

Karin grabbed the nearest pillow and hugged it close to her chest. Then finally, she allowed herself to indulge in tears.

They met the next day, Toushiro seemed happier somehow. His eyes seemed to have lost some of its coldness and he was easy to smile. Karin, however had grown quiet. Sure, she still laughed and smiled and bantered with him, but something was off.

Toushiro brought them to the place overlooking the town again. It was their favorite place now.

"Karin, I—"

"Toushiro, I—"

They both laughed, and he was glad that Karin seemed to have regained her former self. "Go ahead," he said. What he had to say could wait.

Karin took a deep breath, before facing him. "I was awake last night," she said. "Sorry…" and how sorry she was, she wished she had never heard him last night. But putting her feelings aside, it seemed wrong to her that she had listened in on Toushiro's confessions. It was…intruding.

"It's okay," he said, smiling to himself. So she was awake last night. He was glad then that he hadn't told her this last night. "I just want to thank you…for everything." He looked at the sunset first before turning to face her. "…and to tell you goodbye."

"Wha—?" her words were cut off as Toushiro sealed her lips with his. It was a long and passionate kiss. And Toushiro broke off only when they were both out of breath. "Live on," he whispered to her before he claimed her lips once more.

"I'll be waiting…in Soul Society,"

"Karin! Where are you going?" Yuzu called out to her as she passed her by on her bicycle. It was a week after Toushiro left, and everything was back to normal. Karin only waved to her sister, made a threatening fist to Jinta, before rushing off. He better take her straight home, or else…

"Captain, where are you going?" Matsumoto asked him, as he stood up to leave his office. They were in the middle of their paperwork. As expected, Matsumoto neglected it all while he was gone. But since she did well in managing the squad on her own, he let it slipped this time.

Karin stood in the place where she could see the whole Karakura Town. She had grown into loving this place, it was full of bittersweet memories: This is the place where she had both met and said goodbye to, with her first love; the place where you can view the world turn slowly to dusk, as the night falls. For her, sunsets were no longer sad. It was like a countdown, bringing her closer every time to the day when she'll finally be able to be together with him. She would live on as he said. Life was good, but it was even better when she knows that he's waiting for her on the other side.

She smiled as she answered Yuzu's question…

Toushiro stood at the roof of the tower overlooking the Soul Society. Someday, he was sure, she would come to him. And until that day, like he promised, he'll be waiting.

Matsumoto had followed him, still waiting for his response…

"I'm going to watch the sunset…"

Okkaay... so I have a thing for sunsets... what can I do? Reviews are much appreciated.