I don't own Bleach.
A little bit longer this time. Whoo.
"welcome home, karin. did you have a nice day?"
Karin finds him at her spot.
It's an old highway that barely anybody uses.
But Karin knows that it has the best view in the city.
He's sitting on one of the railing posts, one leg dangling above the endless space below.
This is the first time she sees him.
She notices his oddly colored hair.
She deduces his icy demeanor.
She looks into his calculating eyes that hold sights he never wanted to see.
"Hey. You thinking about jumping?" He glares at her remark. "I've never seen you around," Karin starts.
"I just moved," he answers distantly.
She takes his reply as an invitation to move closer.
Karin rests on the next column and hazardously curls both her legs close to her chest.
"Hey, isn't that-" the boy begins to warn.
"I want to die," she says easily.
The weather's nice.
The sun is hot.
I want to die.
Turquoise orbs widen, but before he can even react further, a laugh is heard.
"Don't worry; I won't jump. It seems like I don't have enough confidence to do that," Karin smirks to his face.
"It doesn't take confidence. That's the coward's way out," he bites back bitterly.
"You think so?" He doesn't respond, and he doesn't ask her about anything either. Her issues are her issues, he believes, and he himself has enough on his plate.
Karin turns her attention to the sunset. Shades of red, orange, purple faze the sky. She considers sunsets her safety net; she watches them everyday to see the little beauty in this world.
It's a cold, cold place here, but sunsets seem to warm it up just a bit.
Once the show is over (because everything ends), Karin introduces herself while the artificial illumination turn on.
"I'm Karin. And you?"
"Toshiro."
"Liking the city so far, 'Shiro?" His eyebrows furrow at the sound of the nickname, but he doesn't correct her.
"It's fine." His voice is gruff and curt.
"Where did you move from?"
"Somewhere far away."
"Oh. Why did you move here?"
"I'm in between stuff."
"Do you have anybody here?"
There's a short pause. "Yes."
"That's good," Karin approves. "The lights look nice, don't they? Too bad you can't see the stars. Too much pollution." She smiles wistfully.
"You come here often?" He raises a perfect eyebrow.
"Everyday for three years. This was my spot."
"Was?"
"It's ours now. I can share. Well, I'm gonna get home. Don't stay out too long. It gets cold, but I guess you're a big kid now," Karin grins.
"I'm nineteen," Toshiro grumbles.
"Out of high school? Well, I'll be out in a year myself. See you tomorrow, yeah?"
She walks away without hearing a return. She doesn't expect one, and she thinks she doesn't quite have enough patience needed to wait.
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Listen Close
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This time, Karin is first.
Toshiro doesn't know what makes him come back the next day.
"You came," she smiles at him. A sad, little smile.
It's sad because she knows he's just like her.
And being like her isn't a good way to be.
Truth is, he thought about skipping out, maybe finding another spot to think, just to spite the strange girl, but something stopped him.
"You didn't think I would?" Toshiro inquires.
"I didn't know what to expect."
"Doesn't anybody worry about you, out here all alone?"
"No," Karin looks off to the great scene in front of them, and a piercing wind blows through, but she doesn't flinch at all. She seems to contemplate his question once more before reiterating, "No, not really."
He doesn't probe. Whatever she wants to say, she can say it, but Toshiro doesn't want to pry.
Everybody has their load they have to carry.
The rest of the afternoon carries on into the night with heavy sighs and wishful thinking.
They part without much to say.
It's starting out slow, but stay with me for awhile. And something about these two makes me want to write in present-tense.