I've been meaning to post the rewrite of this story up for a long time but writer's block and that thing called life kept on barging in on my plans. I deeply appreciate all those who have read and liked the previous version of my story; I've kept all the comments safely in my laptop, email draft and pen-drive! Yeshhh, cautious and a good reason to be: my computer crashed so many times, losing all computer data and fan-fiction I've written (trust me when I say I feel absolute devastated when I had to do the reformatting function. The horror~) Anyway, without further ado (because I could go on till it will eventually become longer than this chapter and that is a no-no), here's my prologue of my first original story. hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it ;D
disclaimer: Tite Kubo is god.
p/s this is a hitsukarin and ichiruki endorsed fix. you've been warned.
p/s/s this chapter is set up just after espada no.6 Grimmjaw and his cronies decided to make a brief rebellion at Karakura Town while ignoring the scene where Kuchiki Byakuya and Zaraki Kenpachi came to Karakura for the withdrawal of Hitsugaya's team. (chapter- woopsie, can't remember/episode 117-128)
Prologue.
It was unmistakable. As Kurosaki Karin sat in the chilly drizzle, a battle was taking place halfway across town. The strength of both the reiatsu was penetrating despite the distance causing the raised bumps on Karin's skin. One of the reiatsu was familiar to her. Her head remained hidden under a black hoodie with her eyes trained on the two flashes of light which have been flying here and there for the past hour, colliding with each other every few seconds. Amazingly, as far as what Karin could see, there were no sign of damage on the buildings surrounding their battlefield, the sound of swords clashing echoed no more than just a bare whisper.
However, she could feel that both the opponents were starting to feel weary, the strength of their reiatsu diminishing little by little but her confidence was nevertheless assured. There was no question about who will win.
'Ichi-nii would and always does.'
But Karin couldn't help but recollect how aloof her brother always acted, running off with Rukia-chan without a plausible explanation and when he thought no one was looking, the worried look in his eyes. She shaked her head and laughed to herself. 'Stupid Ichi-nii. With his hunched shoulders and out of loop attitude these days, who wouldn't? I just wish he would share his burden with me. That I could tell him that he is not alone in this.'
With another sigh, her mind began to unconsciously wonder about the mysterious, white hair elementary-school boy she met a couple of weeks before. She had pestered him to join her team for a soccer match with a group of stuck-up unruly teenagers and he had not only joined the team, but helped them score all those winning points. To her astonishment, he turned out to be a shinigami.
A very cute shinigami.
Karin felt her face flushing over this assessment. Boys her age are either immature, hate girls or just plain stupid. Most of the time, it's all three but he was different. He had that self-assurance, determination and that otherworldly air about him that intrigues her. What really struck her about him the most was that he can make the difference, that he has the ability and power to stand by her brother at the frontline fighting the horrible monsters called hollows. The only thing she could do is sit there, incapable of doing anything but aim and kick a soccer ball while praying that it will give the hollows substantial damage, if at all.
It does not help that Karin could feel that each hollow was more powerful than the last and she feared that it would reach to the point where even her brother won't be enough.
'I want to be a shinigami.'
Her eyes opened wide with this realization but she couldn't contemplate her newfound desire any further because a split second later, the flashes of light had a head-on collision that resulted with an explosion. The wind blew outwards causing the windows to rattle noisily, the trees flapping their branches in helplessness and somewhere in the near distance, a billboard hitting the ground with a loud thud. Murmurings of car alarms were heard from a now awaken neighborhood that was the epicenter of the explosion. She started to shiver slightly as the drizzle seemed to get heavier; the tiny yet sharp rain stung her skin. Another second later, the downpour seemed to resumed to its former gentle sprinkle. There was only silence and the distinctive smell of death.
Karin searched the landscape; desperate to know what was outcome of the battle, anxious to know that her brother was all right. But she couldn't see or feel anything, due to the fact that there was no moon in the starless sky and now there were no bright bursts of lights to help guide the way. The only thing she could see are the faint city lights. In desperateness, Karin closed her eyes but there were barely any perceptible traces of reiatsu lingering in the air. They were just too far away.
'I could try the ribbons! They usually work.'
She was positioning her hands to push herself up when she was jolted by a sudden sound from behind her. Startled and legs numb from the coldness, she lost her balance and slipped onto the wet ceramic tiles that clanked under the sudden shift of gravity of her weight. Next thing Karin knew, a rather small yet masculine hand with surprising strength grabbed hold of her and her breathe escaped her as she came eye to eye into the most stunning set of aquamarine eyes she has ever seen.
'Those eyes.'
Karin could feel his breath down her chin till her neck as well as the warmth from his body and was unable to break contact with those dazzling eyes. She had no idea how long she stood there, stunned into inaction. The sound of the roof tile breaking at the pavement below jolted her senses back into reality. She slapped his hand off and asked, her tone a little sharper than she intended. "What are you doing here?"
An eyebrow raised and arms folded, Hitsugaya Toshiro's tone was monotonous. "Luckily it is only me and not some arrancar or worse, an espada. Why are you still awake at 5 o'clock in the morning anyway?"
"I couldn't sleep while knowing that my brother is risking his life fighting that hollow. This one felt more powerful than usual. What did you called it? An arrancar? Espada?"
Hitsugaya nodded his head in answer without any explanation. Karin felt a little annoyed; should she press for more information? Judging from what little she knows of his character, 'He doesn't look like he would just give it to me if I ask. Maybe he is not supposed to. Not to a mere human, anyway.'
She sighed. 'This is frustrating.'
Then remembering about her brother, Karin asked softly, "How is he?"
Hitsugaya's eyes automatically flickered to the scene of the battle. He appeared to be choosing his words carefully and it agitated her. Her fingers began to play with her hoodie's zip nervously.
"Kurosaki… he...sustained some substantial injuries but nothing Inoue Orihime can't heal."
Inside, Karin's mind made the connection. She had noticed that Orihime's reiatsu seemed stronger but she never did think to put two on two together. 'She's in this shinigami business? That means Sado is involved too.'
The zip was left unattended now and Hitsugaya's apologetic smile calmed Karin's nerves considerably. "Thank god, then."
She chuckled and smile back then proceeded to take a seat on the ceramic roof again. Hitsugaya raised his eyebrow at this action. "Aren't you supposed to be going off to sleep now?"
"What am I? Three?" Karin shook her head with a chuckle. "Sit with me, Toshiro."
Despite his displeasure, Hitsugaya do as he was told and sat down beside her, which prompted Karin to pat his head and cooed, "Now who's a good boy."
Hitsugaya immediately stood up, "I am not a boy! Nor am I…"
"…an elementary student." Karin finished his sentence. "Yeah, I heard you the first time, shouting so loud till my ears felt like it was about to burst. I really thought it did."
She laughed and peered up at Hitsugaya and saw that annoyance written all over his face. Immediately, she felt guilty but she couldn't stop the giggling. "Look, I'm sorry Toshiro but the chance was just too good to pass. I won't do it again. Promise."
This visibly cooled Hitsugaya down and he immediately resumed to sitting down again.
It was nice. The way the cooling morning dew and fresh air felt on her skin and how peaceful the normally bustling Karakura Town was; it was as if the battle hadn't taken place at all. A slow glowing pink light had began to creep across the deep purple sky and by the looks of the morning, it looked to be a promising day. Karin felt a rare sense of tranquility and appreciation towards Orihime and Sado for fighting side by side next to her brother.
'Ichi-nii probably would be a no-show once again but at least I know that he's somewhere safe now.'
Then Karin turned to face Hitsugaya, mouth ready for conversation when her thoughts abruptly came to a standstill. She has only known the shinigami for a short period of time but she had a feeling that Hitsugaya smiling was a rare sight to be seen. He was gazing at the now bright orange, pink and purple sky thoughtfully without the usual frown plastered on his face and without a care in the world. He looked like an ordinary kid. For the first time, she could see that he was a boy hiding under a tough exterior to masked his insecurity over problems too big to be burdened on his youthful shoulders.
"Beautiful, isn't it?"
In a daze, Hitsugaya turned to look at her and blinked in reply. Karin can't help but smile. "The sky, I mean."
"Oh." Clearing his throat, he pronounced a clear "Yes."
"I remembered what you said the other time by the railing." A look of sadness swept upon the boy's face but Karin was determined to make him smile. Clearing her throat in her best low, husky tone, "It brings back memories."
Hitsugaya looked appalled, "Is that supposed to be me?"
But Karin ignored him and continued, "I don't know what dusk reminds you off but I've always prefer dawn. As in dawn of a new day, a new start at life with promises of possibilities. Dusk is more of an ending. Hmm…No, there's a better word for it."
She mulled over it for about a minute then a grin lighted up her face, "That's it. I've got the perfect word."
Karin looked over to Hitsugaya, annoyed that he didn't seem to share her enthusiasm or bother to participate in the conversation. "Don't you want to know what my perfect word for dusk is?"
"I've got the feeling it wouldn't matter anyway."
"Closure." Karin pronounced the word as dramatically as she could. "What do you think?"
Hitsugaya said nothing. Even though his eyes were trained towards the sky, Karin caught a rather sad contemplative look in them. 'Shit, did I touch a raw nerve?'
It was an awkward long minute.
'Maybe I should leave him alone.'
"It's getting late," Karin pushed herself up and Hitsugaya broke away from the view and gaze up at her. Her mind raced for an explanation. "I think I should get back inside before anyone sees me."
She walked to the corner of the roof and was positioning herself to climb back down to her room's window when Hitsugaya stopped her with a "Hey."
Karin paused and looked at him expectantly. He studied her with a mixture of curiosity and puzzlement, causing her to feel self conscious. "Yeah?"
"Your word fits it perfectly," Hitsugaya smirked.
"I know," Karin beamed. Hitsugaya watched her climbed down towards the window sill and opened the window as silently as she could. With a wink and a wave, she softly called, "Goodnight Toshiro."
"Goodnight…" Hitsugaya hesitated but Karin was already out of sight. Hitsugaya shunpoed without another thought.
.
.
What I didn't realize at the time that I would only see her six years later, under completely different circumstances. I didn't even know her name.
ps Chapter one coming out in 7 days aka Tuesday, 26 July 2011.
