Pairing: Karin/Hitsugaya

Genre: Romance/Humor

A/N: From Bleach 132. Pfft, like you didn't see this coming.

-

He's taller than she remembers.

It's six years since she first met him on the side of a heavily transited street when he picked up a wayward football for her. The once random stranger had been kind enough to help her and her friends win the field from bullies, but there is hardly any danger of losing face or valuable training time at the moment.

In the telltale shinigami robes, Hitsugaya is far too easy to spot in the unforgiving summer heat.

Football practice over for the day, Karin mops the sweat from her face before it has a chance to sting her eyes. The jersey clings uncomfortably on her skin and she takes a moment to wring out the excess perspiration. The drenched fabric hikes up to her ribs, exposing a slender waist in the late afternoon sun. Bright teal eyes pretend not to notice from the vigilant spot on the roof.

He makes his way to the edge of the roof once she is out of sight.

-

Three days pass until she spots him again, jumping across rooftops like something out of an action flick she watched the night before.

A sick feeling of dread comes over her when she senses evil and like a magnet attracted to danger, he arrives on cue. A familiar dance of swordplay is performed before her—cut, thrust, block, charge, defend.

The air is suddenly much cooler, noticeably slowing the trail of sweat running down her skin until it leaves a frosty layer.

Bright auras and burning sparks flash before her dark eyes as she watches the silver blur of his movements. In the few instances that it slows down enough for her to see the action properly, he is graceful, strong and clearly has the upper hand.

He doesn't disappoint, zanpakto slicing smoothly through the target. It's over almost as soon as it begins.

And while she wasn't worried (she never worries about him, not once, nuh uh), she's relieved when it's over.

After sheathing his zanpakto, he turns around to face a very grown up Karin. She's not the same little tomboy he lay eyes on by the side of the road. Instead, this one is all legs and curves and longer hair and he's suddenly at a loss of what to say. She saves him the trouble by beating him to the punch.

"I always knew you cared," she deadpans after he's in his gigai. She tries the threatening stance Yuzu tends to use—hands behind her back and leaning slightly forward.

"Tch, whatever," he retorts. "Just doing my job."

Her eyes narrow slightly. Clearly, he's been taking tough guy lessons on nonchalance from Ichigo. She punches him lightly on the arm. Not that he can feel it or anything, but she figures it's worth a try.

"Is that what you crazy kids are calling it these days?" she jokes.

A corner of her mouth turns up.

"I told you before, I am not a kid," he seethes and she can almost feel his blood pressure rising from the way his reiatsu flares.

Her hand came down to her bent knee, laughter sputtering out at his indignation. Before he has a chance to stalk angrily away from her, she reaches for his arm, dragging him in step beside her.

"Walk me home," she half requests, half demands.

He obliges her with little grace.

She doesn't let go of his arm and he doesn't brush her off.

Karin waits at least half a block before speaking again.

"How have you been?" she asks, genuinely curious.

Vaguely recalling conversations with her brother, she'd heard Hitsugaya had been reassigned to another town. The Seireitei's reasoning was based on the vagaries of older shinigami and old souls' whims as far as she could tell.

He responds with a shrug of his shoulders. Clearly, he didn't think very much about following orders, deferring to them almost automatically.

"It's kept me busy," he drawls out.

She rolls her eyes.

"You look ready to collapse of boredom," she says. "Was it that bad?"

She imagines him in the middle of the country, someplace quiet and still except for the occasional hollow ripping through space and appearing out of thin air from who-knows-where. The occasional cow grazing on grass livens up the desolate picture her imagination conjures up.

It seems he might have spent most of his time in a gigai rather than running around in shinigami form. It explains the difference in height, although she doesn't bring it up, knowing it's a touchy subject for him.

He is a highly irritable creature in her imagination, although the version beside her isn't so bad.

They pause at an intersection and a warm summer breeze ruffles their hair in the stillness.

"Not as active as here," he finally responds. "Especially in the trouble you always seem to get into."

They pause at a busy intersection, heeding the stop sign for pedestrians. She isn't insulted by his brand of meanness and smirks when he gives her a sidelong glance.

"I win," she blurts.

He frowns at the way she beams.

"I told you so," she clarifies, poking his arm sharply with one finger. "You do care."

He remains silent, feet moving when the light changes, allowing them to go forward. She is a good three inches shorter than him, she estimates as she walks along him, bumping his shoulder every so often.

"I'll take that as a yes," she says aloud.

His attention is taken up by a distant tree at the end of a street they pass. Had it not been for the sun shining too strongly in the direction she wants to look, she might have caught the pink color on his face. She bites back a smile instead.

For handling monsters from another dimension, he is capable and focused. It's when it comes to girls (or just one in particular), that he's unsure of what to do.

"Are all mortal girls this obnoxious or do you take special lessons?" he remarks without any real malice.

"It's a gift," she says, pointing to the cheeky grin on her face. "All part of the charm."

She pulls on the sleeve of his shirt and he collides against her side. He says nothing about the brief contact and doesn't bother scolding her.

"But please, don't talk so much, it gets annoying," she waves her hand playfully, although she's dying of curiosity.

"You should know you're going the wrong way."

Karin shakes her head.

"A bit of a detour," she explains and yanks him to the right. "You're not in any rush, I hope."

Hitsugaya shrugs. She takes it as his version of saying he'll go along. He trusts her enough not to involve him in anything strange or potentially dangerous.

"So tell me, what brings you back to our humble town?"

"Orders," he replies.

Slightly alarmed by the cryptic response, she frowns.

"Are we in danger?" she presses for an answer. "Is something going to happen?"

Despite her lighthearted attitude and gentle teasing, she's quite serious as he notices the frown of concern between her brows.

"Not that I'm aware of," he answers. "Basic patrolling so far. Karakura's been attracting strong hollows for some reason."

She stops in front of a row of vending machines and pulls out a change purse from her book bag. A few coins slide into the slot and before she even bothers to ask, makes an educated guess when she hits a second button towards the top. The aluminum cans are cold in her hands as she offers him one.

It's lightly sweetened green tea.

He accepts, unsure of how she knows his preferences. But then, she was always more alert than most from what he remembers. She caught on about her brother's extracurricular duties before most people, being sensitive to reiatsu and the spiritual world.

"You're welcome," she pipes up unexpectedly and begins walking again.

She takes a four step lead before he easily catches up.

"Thanks," he says and takes a sip.

She likes sour drinks, he notes discreetly upon catching the label of pineapple juice from the corner of his eye.

She continues to chatter about her day, giving him a play by play of the last match her team had, complete with sound effects and wide arm gestures. Apparently, the current team is fearless compared to the elementary school team she played in. They are feared by other schools, more so than the boys team, she informs him.

"It might be because girls are more ruthless when it comes to competition," he commented blandly.

While he seemed bored throughout the exchange as they neared her house, she realizes he's been paying attention all along. She disguises a silly grin behind the can of juice.

It is the start of a routine of sorts between the two.