A whining sound in the distance caught the young teenagers attention as she headed home from soccer practice. Intrigued, the black haired girl stopped walking and strained her ears as she tried to gauge the direction it was coming from. The crying grew louder and more pitiful with each passing second. It sounded as if a small child in the park was either lost or hurt, so 13 year old Karin Kurosaki decided to investigate.
"What's wrong, kid?" Karin asked in her gruff manner, as she spotted the culprit hunched over in a ball inside a plastic tube with her back turned to her.
"Mommy. I can't find my mommy." The young girl cried as she turned to face Karin, revealing the chain protruding from her chest. Oh great another spirit Karin thought. This must be the girl who was on the news last night; the one who got hit by a car while crossing the street with her mom. Karin sighed, she wasn't sure how she could explain this one. While her mom was in critical condition, she was still alive. The only way they could be re-united, as far as Karin was concerned, was for her mother to pass as well.
"How about you come out and I'll help you look for her." Karin offered as she stretched out her hand towards the sobbing dead girl. The young girl, who looked to be about six years old, shook her head sending her brown twin-tails swaying across her back.
"There's too many people out there." the girl whimpered.
"What people?" Karin asked, since the park was deserted except for the two of them.
"All the people behind you." The girl said quietly with an ominous feel. Karin slowly turned her head and fell over in shock. Behind her stood about a dozen or so spirits, each having a Chain of Fate protruding from their chests.
"Help us." They moaned in unison as they slowly began surrounding Karin, slowly causing her to back into the plastic tube with the girl. "Help us, we're lost." they continued.
"And so very hungry." A low growl behind Karin said sending shivers up her back as she turned to see the young girl with the pig tails standing with what looked to be some sort of lure sticking out of her head. The red plastic tube that they had been hiding inside was gone as Karin sat on the ground trembling in fear. Directly behind the girl was a large pair of glowing red eyes inside a white skull covered face. A face no matter how many times she tried, Karen could not forget. The Grand Fisher.
Karin let out a scream right before she felt a pair of hands shaking her awake.
"Karin. Karin, wake up. You're having another nightmare." Yuzu said in concern as she shook her fraternal twin sister awake. Karin jumped too a sitting position as she gasped for air. A dream she told herself as she tried to get her bearings together. It was only a dream. Karin wiped the sweat off her forehead with her pajama sleeve. She was covered in sweat from the top of her head, down her face and chest. Also the legs of her pajama bottoms which stuck to her legs from the moisture.
"I'm okay, Yuzu." she finally answered as her brown haired twin searched her face worriedly.
"Scoot over." Yuzu said as she slid her way into Karin's bed. "I'll stay with you the rest of the night."
"Yuzu, that's really not necessary." Karin tried to say, but was immediately shot down by her sister who flashed her a look as if to say "this isn't open for discussion." Yuzu lifted the covers and slid under them as Karin rolled her eyes, but begrudgingly scooted over as to make room.
"Karin." Yuzu said after a second. "Did you wet the bed?"
"No, I did not wet the bed! " she nearly shouted as her cheeks grew red at the mere thought.
"Are you sure? Because your sheets are really, umm, wet." Yuzu said as she pulled the blankets back, revealing the large wet patch under the two girls in the glow of their night light.
"That's, that's not possible." Karin said staring dumbfounded at the crotch of her obviously soaked pajama pants.
"Oh, Karin, it's okay." Yuzu said as she wrapped her arms around her sister who still showed no more emotion than a look of utter confusion and disbelief. "Why don't you take a quick shower and I'll take care of your bedding?"
"Uh, sure." Karin quickly stood up and pulled off her wet clothes before wrapping a towel around herself and headed for the bathroom as she fought against the tears starting to form in her eyes. I will not cry, I will not cry she kept chanting to herself over and over. I must not show any weakness.
While Karin showered, Yuzu collected the wet pajamas, sheets, and blankets and headed for the laundry room. Her thoughts full of worry for her twin sister. This was so unlike her, it was usually she that was prone to accidents not the other way around. Yuzu couldn't remember a single time after the age of 5 that Karin had ever wet the bed. She on the other hand, she didn't even want to recall all the accidents she's had over the years.
"I wonder what's been bothering her lately." she said to herself as she thought of how jumpy she's been lately. This was not normally like her usual cool and composed sister. "This is the third time this month I've had to wake her from a nightmare as well." she thought as she turned on the washing machine.
"AHH!" She heard her sister yell from their shared bathroom. Oops, oh yeah, she's taking a shower and I started the washing machine. Dummy, she thought to herself as she bumped her head with her fist. I'm sure I'll get an earful once Karin comes back.
"Geez, Yuzu, what's the big idea." Karin said as her skin shown bright red from the scalding hot water as she slowly attempted to put new pajamas on.
"Sorry, Karin." Yuzu said apologetically, but also glad it seemed to have snapped her sister from her depressing silence. "Your bedding won't be done until tomorrow, so looks like we'll be sleeping in my bed the rest of the night." Karin nodded while stiffing a yawn as she climbed in after her sister, too tired to put up much of a fight.
"Thanks, Yuzu." Karin said after a few minutes of silence.
"You can tell me what's bothering you." Yuzu said, hoping her sister would open up to her. "You've been acting really strange lately; I'm worried about you."
"It's nothing." Karin finally answered after a minute of silence. Both girls knew that was a big, fat lie, but Karen didn't want to burden her family with it. The truth was, ever sense their big brother Ichigo lost his soul reaper powers, the number of spirits that sought out Karin had skyrocketed over the last year and a half. It was too over whelming for the 13 year old to take.
Karin couldn't imagine not being able to see them, as she had for as long as she could remember, but never this many. And it wasn't just the sheer volume alone that drove Karin up the wall, before she could ignore them just fine, but now it seemed she could feel what they felt. Their fear, and their sorrow weighed heavily on the young girls shoulders. She didn't know what to make of these new complicated emotions that mixed with her own pubescent worries. She wished she could talk to Ichigo, but she didn't want trouble him with her problems. He's been so moody and depressed ever since. Karin figured if he could handle on his own back then; so could she! Maybe she'd pay a visit to Urahara's shop after school and tell him his "ghost repellant" wasn't working.
Karin was doing poorly in school due to lack of sleep from all the late night interruptions from them, and Jinta was hounding her on her lack of effort on the soccer field. If this kept up, she'd loose her position as captain and MVP on her soccer team and there was no way she would ever give Jinta that satisfaction of taking it way from her.
"If you ever want to talk, I'm here." Yuzu whispered as she stroked Karin's head as she watched her sister fall into another restless sleep.
