SailorStar9: My own take-on following my review to becomeafan's 'I Can't Make You Love Me' fic, because, IMHO, Karin should've spared herself further heartache and divorced him the moment she realizes Hitsugaya will never love her the way she wants him to.
General Summary: The aftermath of becomeafan's 'I Can't Make You Love Me' fic: what if at the end of the fic, Karin finally ups and leaves the farce of a marriage? The letter she leaves Hitsugaya finally has him realizing the reason why Hyourinmaru insists that he lets go of Hinamori.
Disclaimers: I do not own Bleach.
Karin bites the inner of her cheek as she hears the door slid shut as her husband leaves to visit Hinamori's grave once again.
She stills herself not to move for a couple more minutes and slips off the quilt after she perceives Toushiro was far enough. She goes on her daily routine before she packs her bags and removes all of her items from her soon-to-be-former home.
With a quivering hand, she sits down on the dining table and pens down her letter, her tears smudging some of the words.
Nearly an hour later, she ends the letter and exits the house for the last time.
"All done?" Captain Sui-feng looks at her downtrodden junior and newly-stated Lieutenant, Karin herself having been trained by Yoruichi while she was still living.
"Yes," Karin nodded. "Captain Sui-feng. I shouldn't have let this dragged on for so long."
"Does he... know?" Sui-feng asked.
"Would it have mattered?" Karin lets out a sad smile.
"I'll see you in six months then, Lieutenant Shiba." Sui-feng remarked.
"Until then, Captain." Karin returns a nod and the Kido Corps open a Senkaimon to the World of the Living.
Late that night, Toushiro returns home to an empty house when he see his wife's side of the bed was unoccupied. Mild panic washes over him and he scurries through the rooms, only to find the entire house devoid of his wife.
It was then he spots the letter on the dining table, along with Karin's wedding ring and a half of a smooth, glowing opal.
He sets the half opal aside and scans the letter: Toushiro, by the time you read this, I'll already be in the World of the Living. I've already applied for six months leave and Soutaicho has consented, that's why you have no need to find me.
What were we anyways back then? Were we even lovers at all? Did you even loved me at least once like I loved you? Home. A tear smudge. Was I even home to you? Someone you happily returned to, accepting their warm embrace around your body, to bring you as much comfort as they can. Was I even on your mind when you mourned her? More than once, I wonder to myself... how our life would have been if you actually tried loving me even just a little. Were we...did we ever had a relationship in the first place? Another tear stain. We never were anything, were we?
Remember I once asked you if you believed in soulmates? Well, the moment my Zanpakutō awoke, the moment my Soul-Bound Stone fell in my hands, I knew you were on the other side of the Red String of Destiny, the one who holds the other half of the Stone. That's why I didn't want you see or know how much I hurt when you continue returning back to her.
Kagerō wants me to keep hanging on, assures me that one day you'll let her go. But, I can't do this anymore; I can no longer be the shadow of a ghost, her ghost. Tear drop number three. That's why I'm freeing you, freeing us of this farce of a marriage, this... burden, even if it tears my soul to do so.
Your ex-wife,
Shiba Karin
"Her Soul-Bound Stone..." Toushiro's eyes widen slightly as he closes his fist over the opaque gem. Reaching into his Shihakushō, he pulls out the other half of the similar opal and clicks it together with Karin's half. He gasps when he sees it's a perfect fit. "Hyourinmaru, you knew, didn't you?" he asked his Zanpakutō spirit when he is pulled into his Inner World.
"Of course, I knew." the ancient ice dragon answered. "Why do you think I kept pulling you away from Tobiume's mistress? Master," he lowered himself. "First loves are hard to forget, I'll give you that. But do not let that taint the highest level of Soul Binds. Let her go and return to the one you're destined to be with. Otherwise..."
"Otherwise?" Toushiro frowned.
"Kagerō's mistress' will fade and dissolve into reishi, never to be reincarnated." Hyourinmaru replied.
"Karin..." Toushiro muttered, hands clamping the letter after Hyourinmaru butted him out of his Inner World. "I never knew... how much I hurt you. After Hinamori, I was afraid to open my heart again. But you, like the spitfire that you are, managed to do what even Hinamori could not: you melted the icy walls I erected and loved me despite my broken state. You understood me more than Hinamori; more than I ever did. Can you ever... find it in your heart to forgive me?"
Six months later...
It isn't Sui-feng who greets her when she exits the Senkaimon, but Toushiro who had taken the day off to wait for her return.
"Karin..." the 10th Division Captain mutters when the light dies down.
Karin was about to shunpo off, but Toushiro was faster as he presses a hand against the back of her head, pressing her against his shoulder, while the other is wrapped tightly around her waist. "I miss you so much." he mutters, pulling her away he held tightly into her head. Leaning in, he presses his forehead against his wife's, his cool breath touching her lips, "I'm so sorry I caused you such great pain. You must really hate me right now."
Karin sighs, closing her eyes, "I can't trust you anymore, Hitsugaya-taicho. You say you love me, but I know you just want a replacement for her ghost. And what will happen once I enter into your life for good? You will go back to her, again."
"Karin, that night, after reading your letter, I swore the only day I'll visit Hinamori's grave would be her death anniversary." Toushiro assured. "And so far, I've kept that oath for the last six months. Karin, let me love you, but this time let me do it the correct way. Please, just give me one more chance..."
SailorStar9: Well, I'll let you guys take a vote whether Karin takes him back or not.