Edited 05/10/2012

The Calm Before The Storm

The game was tied two to two with only minutes before the referee blew his whistle. The star shooter was in position, waiting for her boyfriend to pass her the ball. He faked right, then left, waiting for the right opportunity to charge right through their defences.

It felt like hours before he finally found a way around his blocker and ran passed him as though his life depended on it. Once the raven-haired girl was in sight, he kicked the ball into the air and sent it flying towards her. The girl waited for its approach and jumped into the air seconds before it came her way.

The goalie observed where the ball was heading and jumped with his hands in the air. Unfortunately it wasn't enough and the ball grazed his fingers before making its way into the net. The whistle was blown and the game was finally over. Karakura High had won their third consecutive game.

"Nice one, Kurosaki!" said a teammate.

"Yeah, nice shot!" said another.

"You really showed 'em!" cheered someone else.

"Thanks guys!" she thanked, but then suddenly turned her attention elsewhere as she sensed an unwelcomed reiatsu in the area.

"You okay, Karin?" Ren asked. "Did they appear?"

The girl in question turned to face her boyfriend and nodded. "Sorry Ren… You know I have to…"

"Go? Hey, don't worry about it," he replied with a smile. "Just don't get hurt with whatever you do, 'kay?"

Karin smiled back. "Thanks."

With her duffle bag slung around her right shoulder, Karin took off in the direction of the reiatsu.

As she arrived at her destination, the huge hollow was already mutilating one of the wandering souls.

"Damn it!" she cursed and mentally cringed as she watched the way it devoured it. "I didn't make it in time…"

No, she couldn't wallow in regret, not when she could use this opportunity to attack while its back was still facing her.

"You're dead!"

Without further hesitation, she removed her bokken (wooden sword) from her duffle bag and charged the monster head on. Moments before her sword made contact, however, the monster evaded the attack. She tried to attack again and again, but the huge hollow was just too quick for her.

Karin grumbled. If sneak attacks weren't going to work then she'd try the direct approach.

Waiting for its attack, the girl closed her eyes and concentrated on where it would strike next. The moment she felt it close enough, she jumped away and countered with an upward slice. The monster evaded her attacks once again, but this time followed up with the swipe of its claw. Karin blocked the blow as quickly as she could but failed to notice its tail following suite. Her wooden sword flew out of her hands and the beast wrapped its tail around her waist. She tried to struggle free but instead provoked it to tighten its grip.

'Is this the end?' she wondered as she struggled to breathe.

No, she couldn't let that happen. Hell would have to freeze over first.

Gaining new determination, Karin unleashed her reiatsu and, for a second, took the thing by surprise. The huge hollow momentarily loosened its grip and she wriggled free, running straight for her weapon the moment she landed on the ground.

The monster roared. There was no way it was going to die by the hands of this pesky human. So as she ran, the hideous beast lunged.

The teen could tell that the monster was after her, and as it lunged she slid onto the ground, allowing the huge hollow to jump over her. Once she reached her weapon, she quickly jabbed it into its abdomen and watched it split in half from the neck down. The monster roughly landed on its side but minutes later began to piece itself together.

Karin knew she had to hurry. Even if she caused major damage to the hollow, she missed its mask which meant it had yet to be killed. She got up from her spot and reinforced the wooden weapon with her reiatsu. Tightening her grip around the bokken, she ran towards its body, ready to strike. But before she could even deal the final blow, a stream of ice covered the beast entirely, causing her to jump back.

Karin knew who was responsible for this but prayed she was wrong. The last thing she needed was to see that bastard again.

"Are you crazy?!" he yelled. "You could have gotten yourself killed!"

It was unusual seeing this white-haired shinigami so intact with his emotions, but she kept her cool.

"I'm sorry, do I know you?" she asked coldly. "You look like someone I know and sound a little like him, but I must be mistaken since the boy I'm referring to died seven years ago." She could tell by the look in his eyes that he was hurting inside. But it didn't mean that she had to stop. She had to make him suffer the same way he had made her.

Tōshirō was slightly taken aback by her sudden change in attitude. He knew he had hurt her all those years ago, but he figured she would have forgiven him by now. "I'm sorry, Karin. I was an idiot for doing that to you. Can you ever forgive me?"

"Forgive you? Do you honestly expect me to forgive you just like that? To let it slide despite being hurt for all those years? Get real, Hitsugaya! This is the real world not some fantasy."

"Hold on—"

"No, I already did the waiting and I'm sick of it. So why don't you do us both the favour and go run your precious division."

And with that, Karin left before she broke down in tears.

Ω

The next day right after another soccer game, the star shooter went straight home, hoping that she wouldn't bump into him. Unfortunately, he was there but this time in his gigai wearing casual slacks and a black shirt.

"Karin, please," he begged, not caring if he sounded desperate, "just let me explain."

Deciding against her better judgement, she sighed heavily and replied, "You got five minutes."

"I know that I don't deserve you, but ever since I left I couldn't stop thinking about you. You're all I see, all I breathe. It's like I've only been living half alive."

"And your point is?" she questioned, unaffected by his words.

"My point?" he repeated, completely shocked by the outcome of her answer. Couldn't she see how hard it was for him to say that he loved her? That he had gone out of his way just so he could tell her? Why was she being so difficult? "Karin, don't you get it? I… I love you."

"You love me?" she repeated cruelly. "You love me? This has got to be some kind of a sick joke! You leave me for seven years without even saying so much as a goodbye and expect me to come back to you just because of those three words?" She couldn't take his lies any longer! She knew how much he and his childhood friend had gotten closer over the last of couple of years because of what Rukia had said. There was no way he loved her! "Ha! Keep dreaming, Hitsugaya!" she yelled and walked away.

But before she could leave, Tōshirō grabbed her arm.

"Let go…" she ordered.

"No."

"Let go…" she repeated, this time making her voice sound even nastier.

"No! I refuse to let go."

Knowing that the captain was stubborn, Karin decided to play the guilt card in spite of knowing how much it'd hurt her.

"It hurt when you left, you know. It hurt so much that I was falling apart." As the pain of him leaving her resurfaced, Karin couldn't help but silently cry. "I don't want to go through that again. I don't want to keep hoping that everything'll be alright. I just… I just want to be left alone…"

Tōshirō could hear the pain in her voice and could no longer restrain himself. "I'm sorry," he whispered and pulled her in a sweet embrace. "I'm so sorry…"

Lightly pulling her away, he lifted her chin and wiped away her tears. "I know you don't deserve this, least of all me. But… Forgive me," he pleaded and gently placed his lips over hers.

'Forgive me?'

It took all but one second to finally realize how wrong this was. Karin had a boyfriend, damn it! She couldn't kiss another guy no matter how badly she wanted it. She couldn't betray Ren's love, least of all for someone like Hitsugaya.

"What do you think you're doing?!" she yelled and pushed him away. "Did you seriously expect me to welcome you back into my life just because you kissed me? Because you love me? I have a boyfriend, Hitsugaya. Someone who actually loves me and will never betray me. You have Hinamori, don't you? Then you don't need me!"

"Hinamori? This has nothing to do with he—"

But she didn't want to hear it. Karin knew that if she did, she might break her resolve.

Honestly, she really didn't need this drama in her life, not when everything was going great.