Karin was in her tiny one-bedroom student apartment when her phone began to buzz. One hour. All she asked was that humanity leave her alone for ONE HOUR. She had a mid-term tomorrow for goodness sake! Kurosaki Karin was a full-time student in her first semester at Tokyo University where she majored in Biology and was a rookie center forward on the women's soccer team. Although Karin remained at the top of her class while playing for her high school team, transitioning into university life academically and athletically was proving to be more than challenging.

Twelve hours to test time and Karin was solely focused on her studies. She had been living, eating and breathing Biology 1301 for the last 36 hours and nothing was going to stop her from acing this test. She even considered skipping her evening practice, but decided the exercise would make her more alert while giving her brain some time to cool off. She valued, if not gushed over, the opportunity to have a spot on the Todai women's soccer team, but school was what she needed to focus on. Coming in from a small town like Karakura, everyone expected her to crash and burn at Tokyo's most prestigious university. She was going to prove them wrong by achieving a respectable GPA and a starting position on the soccer team.

Karin knew that her goals were sky high, but she also knew they were possible. She knew it wasn't an easy feat, and she wasn't expecting anything to be handed out to her. That was the thing about Karin, she knew she had to put in work to get what she wanted, she was raised on it. Her thoughts then traveled to her father, Kurosaki Isshin, he was born and raised in a small village somewhere in East Asia, but found a way to backpack to Karakura where he started his new life as a broke college kid trying to get a full-ride to medical school. He worked hard and was able to obtain his doctorate. Then, after a long shift as a first year intern, he decided to walk to a nearby food stand and was run off the sidewalk by a drunk bicyclist. He woke up in the hospital with a head injury that was being tended to by a volunteer nurse two years his junior named Ayatori Masaki. They were married two months later, but didn't begin their family till after Isshin was halfway into his first year of residency over at Karakura general. After the birth of Karin's big brother Ichigo, Masaki decided to remain at home while Isshin focused on his career as a new surgeon. Isshin wanted to have his own practice one day, but upon the arrival of his twin girls, the dream was pushed into the back of his mind and he took a job as the chief of surgery at a small hospital in Karakura.

Karin was older than her sister Yuzu by just two minutes, but to all the Kurosaki's, Yuzu would forever be the baby. She was very much the polar opposite of Karin. Yuzu was very soft-hearted and enjoyed spending her days in the kitchen or locked in her room with a romance manga. Karin on the other hand enjoyed being out on the soccer field, rough housing, or in a library studying for her next exam. All thoughts of her family were then interrupted by a second buzz from her cell phone. 'Damn, who could it be? Oh, Yuzu? She's usually at work right about now.' She quickly unlocked her phone and scrolled to the text from her sister. '''Oh, Karin, you'll never guess who just walked into the cafe! It's your favorite soccer player, Abarai Renji! You have to get here, now!''' Karin's heart stopped. 'The Abarai Renji? At Yuzu's part-time apprenticeship?!' She slowed her breathing and began collecting her thoughts. 'Okay, Karin, if you leave now you'll be there before he gets his food. You can get a quick autograph, snap a quick photo, and come right back home!' With a quick "Hn" of acknowledgement she grabbed her keys and bolted to the stairs of her building.

Upon reaching her car, Karin took a deep breath and put her key into the ignition. "C'mon baby, I know it's cold outside, but we've got somewhere to be!" she cooed as her '06 Wrangler hummed. Karin then put her in drive and made her way to the busiest cafe in town. The traffic was light and sooner than Karin thought possible, she found herself parked in front of 'Splendid Delights' where Yuzu was working under a prestigious baker/chef extraordinaire by the name of Ukitake Jushiro. Collecting herself mentally and emotionally Karin began to look herself over. She was wearing a large 'Todai Soccer' hoodie, black leggings, and her Nike free runs. Her long black hair was pulled up and styled after her biggest role model, Shihoin Yoruichi. After applying a touch of concealer under her eyes and giving herself a quick pinch to the cheeks she gave herself a nod of approval and entered the cafe.

Accompanying the tinkling of a bell, Karin heard: "Konnichiwa, welcome to Splend—oh, Karin-chan, you're here!" along with soft music and then her twins footsteps. "Yo, Yuzu" Karin replied as she began scanning all the tables for that mess of red hair she'd only seen up close on instant replay. Karin let out a soft sigh and turned to her twin with a questioning frown. Yuzu gave her a small smile along with a "Gomen, Karin-chan, but Abarai-San took a phone call outside and I lost track of him." Karin sighed and walked over to her usual booth in the back of the restaurant. Shortly after, Yuzu arrived with a small hot chocolate and a fresh brownie topped with mint chocolate-chip ice cream. Karin began to eat her pity brownie with one hand and regardlessly dig though her bag with the other. She finally made contact with her phone and tried to pull it out. This of course resulted in her bag falling over and spilling half of its contents onto the floor. Karin grunted in annoyance before dipping under the table and gathering her belongings. After popping back up with an armful of stuff, she began packing it all back in. She then lifted the last item collected from the floor and stared at in confusion. A wallet. A man's wallet. She began to open the wallet when she heard a disturbance towards the front of the cafe.

The double doors of the cafe burst open and there he was. Abarai Renji, the captain of Japan's national soccer team. Karin was in the middle of getting the guts to approach him for an autograph when they locked eyes and he began walking towards her. Said guts immediately vanished as she sunk into her chair and stared into his crazy eyes in disbelief. 'Oh my Kami, why is Abarai Renji coming over here? Is he actually coming towards me? Am I dreaming?' Karin thought as he came to a stop in front of her. His intense stare quickly faded into relief, hesitance and a nervous blush as he pointed to her hands and said "Eto, excuse me, miss, but I believe that's my wallet you've got clutched in your hands." Karin's breath hitched as she too looked to her hands and noticed they were indeed clutching his wallet. Karin then got to her feet and shouted "Oh my Kami, its you! A-Abarai Renji! Wow, I'm you're biggest fan, can I please have your autograph?!" A glint of surprise crossed his face before he smiled and said "How about I make you a deal? An autograph for a wallet?" Karin gasped when she realized she still had his wallet clutched tightly in her hands. She freaked and thrust her hands out accidentally hitting Renji in the face.

"Ano, have I mentioned how sorry I am?" Karin said as she pressed the pack of ice onto Renji's slightly pink jaw. The two were in the back kitchen area of the cafe after being cleared by Yuzu and Ukitake-San. "Eto, only about a hundred times" chuckled Renji from his place on the counter. Karin blushed, stepping away, and then stammered out "Gomen, Abarai-San, but I was just so excited to see you and-and.." she trailed. Renji smiled as he slid off the counter and said "It was an honest mistake—ano?" "Karin. Kurosaki Karin. It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Abarai-San" she replied going into a slight bow. Renji smiled before shifting into an awkward bow himself saying "Please, Renji is fine, Kurosaki-San." Karin was sure she was red as a tomato, but that didn't stop her from choking out "only if you call me Karin, Abarai-San." He smiled. After shifting back into a somewhat relaxed stance, the two stared at each other intently. The silence was killing her, but then he spoke. "Eto, Karin-Chan, I know we're strangers, but-are you hungry?" Karin froze. "EH?!" Renji's face showed the signs of a slight blush. "I mean, I'm hungry, and we're in a restaurant—I just figured that if you're hungry too, maybe we could eat together." Karin's mind shut down. She could not believe Abarai Renji was asking her to eat with him. Her answer was cut off by the incessant beeping of her phone.

"Damn" muttered Karin as she switched off the alarm meant to tell her to high-tail it home and hit the books. She looked up to see Renji's hopeful face, and sighed. "Gomen, Aba-ano, Renji. I have a huge mid-term tomorrow and I've already used up more time than I had for studying." Renji's smile shifted to a frown, but Karin quickly bowed and turned to leave with a weight settling in her. Almost to the door, she was stopped by a shy voice. "Karin-Chan, sorry, but I can't let you leave without your autograph. We had a deal." She turned around with stars in her eyes, because she completely forgot what she came for! She began fumbling in her bag for a piece of paper when he took hold of her hand. After scribbling on her palm he ruffled her hair and walked out with a smile. When she could no longer hear him chuckling she turned her palm over. Signed in sharpie on Kurosaki Karin's left palm was Abarai Renji's name, along with a 10-digit phone number.

A/N:

This is my first time writing for anyone but myself...but I love constructive criticism! Also, I need some help! I meant for this to be a Hitsukarin fic, but Renji like popped into my head and now he's part of the story. I haven't decided if he'll stay in Karin's life or not. She's definitely going to meet Hitsugaya soon and there will be a major connection between the two, but idk if they'll be paired yet. Also, in regards to other characters...idk if i should have a slight IchRuki or IchiHime, help me out! I used to be straight IchiHime, but there are just too many good hitsukarin's out there with awesome IchiRuki, lmk what y'all would prefer. ALSO, should Hitsugaya be a professor, a student, or just someone that has nothing to do with Karin's school? feedback is appreciated, can't wait to see if people like this or not!