"A day to look forward to"

By:

Chapter 2

That night…

"So, ichigo's foreign friend already arrived?"

Toshiro could hear someone talking downstairs. He remembered that their father is living with them, so that could be him.

Toshiro stayed locked up in ichigo's room the entire day since he was too embarrassed to come down and chat with Yuzu because Karin is always with her. He can't even look at Karin right now, so he was trying to keep his distance. When Yuzu came up to ask if he's feeling well, he said he was just probably tired because of his travels. Of course, he just made it up. It's not like the captain of 10th squad would grow tired just for walking a few blocks.

"Yeah. He's here alright. He's in Ichi-nii's room. He's been there all day and he never once left right after we ate lunch."

This time, he heard Karin's voice. Karin. When was it that he saw her before? Ah, yes. It was in the roadside near the high school. Karin was playing soccer and the ball accidentally rolled near the roadside so he picked it up for her.

"From the way you speak looks like he's one serious kid."

Serious kid? That's exactly what he wants people to think of him. After all, since he's the youngest amongst the captains, most shinigamis might not take his orders seriously if he is to act his age. He has to act tough all the time. And besides, he is over a hundred years old.

"Yeah. So you better not try the same stuff you try at Ichigo if you don't wanna die."

He sighed. Maybe Renji was right. This house is a real riot. Renji managed to slip a warning to him just before he left, saying that the kurosaki family is one crazy group. He's starting to think that perhaps Renji was right after all.

Then there was a knock at the door. He tried to ignore it. Maybe Yuzu just wants to call him for dinner. Not that he wanted to avoid her cooking, but, he just isn't hungry. Secretly he really loves her cooking. Then there was another knock. Yuzu sure has a lot of determination. Ignoring her would be so rude.

"Oi…"

"Hey, can I come in?"

Hey! That wasn't Yuzu's voice! It was Karin's! What is it that she could possibly want with him? Then it hit him. This is ichigo's room, right? Then perhaps there was just some stuff she would like to get.

"Sure."

The door opened silently and, as expected, Karin came in. she closed the door behind her as soon as she entered. She walked a few steps towards the window where he was sitting.

"Toshiro, I need to talk to you about something."

Surprised, he turned his eyes from the window to look at her. She looks serious. What is it that she could possibly want to talk about?

"What is it?"

She stepped a little closer to him. As she did so, she also looked straight at him. He gazed back. Her eyes seemed so sad and confused, not the same expression he saw in her face earlier.

"I… I know now… I remember now… I remember everything… where I met you before, where I've seen you before… I've been thinking about it since you arrived, and I realized, I'm sure it was you. I've seen you a few months ago… in the park… I remember you pick my ball for me when it rolled near the roadside… then I invited you to play soccer with us… and after that, there was a monster… and you… you transformed... at first, the memory was blurry, like it was nothing more than a dream that I began to doubt whether it really happened or not… and then you arrive. The more I look at you, the faster everything goes back. It was you, wasn't it? You are that shinigami, aren't you?"