Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. That privilege belongs to Tite Kubo. This is purely entertainment!
A/N: This is my Christmas gift to all my readers! I hope you enjoy it!. Everyone have a very safe and Merry Christmas!
Toushirou Hitsugaya was stumped. It would be the first Christmas he would spend with someone he cared about that wasn't Momo Hinamori or Rangiku Matsumoto. Momo was easy to buy for. Her gift was a simple yet intriguing photo frame with a picture of their Granny and them as children. He had discovered the picture whilst cleaning out his desk and knew Momo would love it. The photo frame had caught her attention some months ago and she had been mooning over it ever since. He did feel slightly guilty when she went back to buy it only to see it was gone, but he defended himself by thinking she would appreciate it more. Rangiku was slightly harder to buy for, knowing that just buying her sake wasn't right. Everyone else would probably get it for her, he reasoned. In the end, he ended up buying her a chain to replace the one she lost in Hueco Mundo. The chain had been a gift from the now deceased Gin Ichimaru and she had been devastated to lose it. She had moped for weeks, feeling as if she had lost all connection to Gin. Toushirou hoped he wasn't stepping over the line with his present.
But no, the one he was completely and utterly stumped over was a gift for his girlfriend, Karin Kurosaki. Her birthday had been hard enough. Now that Christmas was here, he had to go through it all again. He had gone to several people for advice and had been disgusted with most of the suggestions. Ikkaku, Shuuhei and Renji had suggested body chocolate and sexy lingerie, which earned them a piercing glare and bruises. Jyuushirou had suggested candy, which sent his eyes rolling and set Kiyone and Sentarou off into an argument. Shunsui had suggested a 'romantic night on the beach with aphrodisiacs' and was immediately assaulted by Nanao, who suggested buying her a new soccer ball. This would have been a good idea… if Karin didn't already have six. Byakuya had merely raised his eyebrows and told him that it was his girlfriend and that he should figure it out on his own. Soi Fon had merely snapped at him for disrupting her during her ritual and had sent Toushirou flying out her building. It was Retsu Unohana that had the most feasible idea, which was to simply ask her what she wanted. The thought had not even occurred to him, which caused him to head slap himself. So on his next trip to visit Karin, he asked her what she wanted. Her reply had been as informative as a goldfish, which wasn't very informative at all!
He decided to try a new tactic and immediately went to Yuzu. Yuzu was full of good ideas, but he was dubious if they would be right. Yuzu decided to show him and dragged both Karin and Toushirou out to the stores, where Toushirou watched Karin like a hawk to gauge her reaction. After almost three hours, he had learnt nothing. He was getting desperate when they passed a jewellery store and Karin stopped them, gazing at the display in awe. This gave Toushirou the initial idea, and subtly quizzed Karin on what she was looking at. He stepped up behind her and placed his head on her shoulder.
"That necklace there, see? The white gold one with the blue stone. See it? Isn't it stunning?" Karin pointed out, poking Toushirou in the side.
Toushirou grunted, grabbing her hands gently, wrapping his arms around her to hold her hands still. Yuzu grinned at the display and moved away from them and into the store. Karin kept her gaze glued on the necklace, melting back against Toushirou. He smirked and hugged her tightly for a second before letting her go and following Yuzu into the store.
Once Karin and Yuzu were home, he left them and went back to the store where the necklace had been. He had an idea as to what to do for her present. He purchased the chain and hightailed it back to Soul Society. He had a lot to work out before Christmas Day.
The next few weeks saw Toushirou holed up in his private quarters. No one had seen him and the rumours were flying about as to what he was doing. Even his fukutaichou had no idea as to what he was getting up to. Every now and then people thought they could feel Hyourinmaru's spiritual pressure, but it was far too fleeting and very far between to cause them any concern. Toushirou had told Yamamoto what he was doing and to not worry if he felt Hyourinmaru at any time before Christmas.
With mere hours before he departed for the Living World, he emerged from his quarters with a triumphant look on his face. He practically flew to his office and spent mere minutes there before coming out, gifts loaded up in his arms. He made his way over to Momo first, dropping her gift off at the deserted office before setting out to search for Rangiku. He found her in her quarters, passed out on the bed. He merely shook his head in amusement as he left her gift and card on her bedside table. He made his rounds, handing out his gifts to his close friends before departing through the Gate.
He was soon greeted by a scowling Ichigo, a smirking Rukia and Karin. When he hugged Karin, Ichigo's scowl deepened. Rukia glanced up, saw the look, and stomped on his toes. Yelling in shock, they began to have a shouted argument. Karin and Toushirou took this as a distraction and slippped away before they could follow. They ended up at the hill where Karin bullied him into playing soccer with her seven years ago. It had taken a long time for them to get together simply because they were both stubborn about admitting their feelings to themselves, then to others and finally each other. Rangiku had teased him about the fact on numerous occasions and compared his stubbornness to Ichigo's concerning Rukia.
They sat on the railing together, Karin pulled tightly to Toushirou's side, talking about what they were going to do during the day. During a lull in the conversation, Toushirou felt the need to give her the present he got for her. Pulling away slightly, he reached into his pocket and withdrew the box. Karin, not really paying attention, turned around and saw Toushirou holding a box.
"What's that, Toshi?" she asked, intrigued.
He handed her the box with a quick kiss. "Merry Christmas, Karin."
Blushing slightly, she took the outstretched box in her own hands, slowly unwrapping the wrapping. Scrunching it up and placing it in her coat pocket, she opened the box curiously. When she saw what was inside, she gasped in delight. She untangled the chain from its bindings and held it up with her fingers, watching it reflect the sun.
"Toushirou… this is beautiful," she whispered, glancing up at him.
Toushirou smiled slightly, taking the necklace from her fingers and motioned for her to turn around. She did so, holding up her hair as he gently clasped the necklace around her neck. She turned back to him, looking down at the stone.
"This isn't the one we saw in the store, is it," she stated.
Toushirou chuckled, not surprised at all. "The chain is, yes, but the stone is one of a kind."
Confused, she looked up at him, still fingering the blue stone. Pulling her back to his side, he explained.
"When I saw how much you liked the necklace the other week, I knew what to get you. So when I left that day I went back and bought the chain. I figured I could do better than that fake and meaningless stone and improvised," he admitted, nuzzling her hair gently.
Karin smiled, relishing this rare act of public affection. "So what is the stone then?"
"That, my love, is a crystallized ice scale from Hyourinmaru," Toushirou admitted, blushing ever so slightly.
Karin pulled back and stared at him in shock, clutching the scale tightly. She looked back down at the scale and then back to his face quite a few times before she could form words. Toushirou was highly amused at her reaction, but at the same time, desperate to know what she thought.
"Toshi… wow. I never would have thought… was he all right with this? I mean, wow. Can you tell him thank you for me? This is so… wow," Karin said, still shocked.
"He was fine with the idea, Karin. Don't worry. He says that it was no problem and that we will always be with you when we aren't here," Toushirou said.
Karin looked back up at him with a strange expression on her face. He suddenly found himself in the sweetest kiss they had ever shared. Drawing back slightly, he looked at her inquisitively. She smiled shyly at him and stood up, grabbing his hand.
"This is the best Christmas present anyone has ever gotten me, Toshi. Thank you so much," she said honestly, pulling him up.
Toushirou smiled and pulled her into another kiss, this one more passionate and lasting a lot longer. When they finally parted, Toushirou placed his forehead on her own and brushed his nose against hers.
"You are very much welcome, Karin. Merry Christmas… I love you."
"Merry Christmas to you too, Toushirou. I love you too."