A/N: Yo. Sorry if some of the character are a bit OOC, but I'm trying my hardest over here, don't judge! Gosh! Just kidding. I don't own Bleach. That's not a joke.
R&R please! Your opinions mean the world to me!
"My name is Karin Kurosaki."
This took the boy completely by surprise.
"WHAT?!"
"You heard me. My name is-"
"Yeah, I got that much. So you're Ichigo's sister?" This struck a nerve with the girl. Her tough facade shattered in an instant, and uncharacteristic tears welled in her eyes. She grabbed him by the shoulders. All the pain she had shoved to the back of her mind surfaced.
"You know him? Do you know where he is? Damn it, answer me! Where is my brother?!" Karin started to glow with a red light, and the chain linked to her chest began to tremble, threatening to open up.
"Karin. Calm down. Ichigo is one of my comrades. He disappeared some time ago, and he hasn't shown since, but I know he is safe. I can sense just a flicker of his spiritual pressure, meaning he is alive. I think he is training somewhere so as not to hurt anyone in the process," the boy said, grasping her hands on his shoulders, and gently lowering them back to her sides.
Karin's face twisted with confusion and anger. "Why did he leave me?"
He noticed that she said 'me' not 'us.' That must mean she felt like it was targeted at her, not just at her family, but specifically her. She must be very attached to her brother.
"Karin. Your brother will come back to you, I know it. He is currently training to become stronger so he can protect you and the rest of your family. Please calm down." As soon as he said it, the red light faded, and once more the chain was stable in her chest.
"I don't want to be dead." The boy looked at her sympathetically. "I don't want your pity either. Just... don't send me on yet. Please. Once I settle some things, I promise I'll go on my own." Karin wiped away the unshed tears from her eyes.
He stepped back into his gigai, his face hardened again, and he nodded. "I suppose you know about Soul Reapers from your brother, correct?" Karin nodded. "So tell me, Karin. The real you is hiding behind a mask while you act tough. Why?"
"Are you suggesting I'm a coward?" she said darkly.
"Not at all. I am just wondering." he led them through alleyways toward the clinic where she lived.
Karin thought for a moment, considering lying. This guy seemed to know what he was talking about though. "If you act tough, people usually leave you alone and don't ask questions. If you're weak and you show it, then people tend to pick you out and put you down like a dog."
"How philosophical."
"Shut it, Captain Sarcasm."
"That just makes you my lieutenant."
"So we're comrades now?"
"I didn't know you could use that big of a word." Karin punched him hard in the face, surprising both of them. "Oi! What the hell was that for?!"
"For pissing me off," she said bluntly. "You never said what your name was, Captain Bleachy-Short-Sarcasm." The boy's face contorted with anger.
"Hitsugaya-"
"That's a weird name."
"I wasn't finished yet."
"Oh."
"My name is Toshiro Hitsugaya, Captain of squad ten of the court guard squads in the Soul Society."
"So you really are a captain then."
"You guessed right."
"You admitted it."
"Shut up."
"Make me."
"I said shut up!" Karin stayed silent for about five seconds before making another comment.
"So how do you get your hair that color?"
"So how did you manage to get this annoying?"
"OH MY GAWD YOU TWO ARE SO CUTE!" Rangiku's screech could be heard over the noise of the city. She hopped down from the canopy of a shop they were walking by, and grinned at the two shorter people.
The first thing Karin noticed about the woman was her boobs practically jumping out of her tight kimono. Karin mentally gagged, then looked towards Toshiro for an answer, her face questioning. "Who the hell is she?" she asked, speaking her mind.
"My lieutenant."
"'Shiro who is this girl?" Rangiku asked.
"Don't call me 'Shiro," he said through gritted teeth. Karin rolled her eyes.
"My name is Karin Kurosaki. And yes, I'm Ichigo's younger sister," she said, silencing Rangiku's imminent question. It was satisfying to Karin to see the older woman's jaw slack.
"Nice to meet you, I am Lieutenant Rangiku Matsumoto!" Rangiku said, recovering. She held out her hand, and Karin shook it with a firm grip. "So, you're Ichigo's kid sister, huh?"
Toshiro stifled a laugh at the expression on Karin's face. She looked like she would deck his lieutenant right then and there, but she managed to say through gritted teeth, "Yes." Rangiku laughed.
"Well, one thing that's for sure, you certainly have your brother's temper!" Karin pursed her lips, and Toshiro noticed how she closed off her doors when people started talking animatedly about Ichigo. To help her out, he changed the subject.
"Rangiku, what are you doing here?"
"Well, that's quite a story-"
"Then tell it."
"Temper, temper! I was going to. Well, I was out on patrol when I felt this strange spiritual pressure, then BOOM! It was gone again. Then, I felt it spike again, and my pager detected a hollow! So, I got out of my gigai to come assist you, but it disappeared! I've been looking for you ever since to see what happened. So, why are you hanging out with Ichigo's sister? Aw, don't tell me you have a crush!" Both Toshiro and Karin blushed beat red.
"It's nothing of the sort, Rangiku. Karin... had an accident earlier today."
"Like... in her pants?" Karin facepalmed.
"No, you ditz! I'm dead!" she held up her broken soul chain for emphasis. Rangiku stared at her, stunned. How could she have not noticed the chain?
"I knew that!" she said, trying to cover. "Captain, may I speak to you for a moment?" Karin rolled her eyes towards the sky, and huffed. Toshiro nodded and stepped a few paces away from Karin.
"She's dead!"
"Yes, I understand that," the captain said calmly.
"She's dead!"
"Are you having a hard time grasping this?"
"Toshiro! This isn't funny! What the hell are we going to tell her family?!"
"You two are the worst whisperers I have ever met!" Karin said behind them. They both stared at her like deer caught in headlights. "You could just let me handle it. I mean, my dad and both my siblings can see ghosts, even if they act like they can't."
"What do you think, Captain?"
"It might be good for her to sort things out herself. It'll teach her to handle her problems on her own. She'll be doing plenty of it in the Soul Society, so she better get used to it."
"How philosophical," Karin said, using his own words against him. He glared at her with those intense blue-green eyes, and she grinned instead of flinching. Rangiku watched this exchange with wide eyes. Nobody talks to the Captain like that, not even me, she thought. He wouldn't let anyone in the Soul Society talk to him like he just a little kid. I wonder...
"Lieutenant! Please pay attention!"
"Yes, Captain," she said rather meekly.
"Karin, are you sure about this?" he asked the girl. He thought he saw just a flash of doubt (or was it sadness?), cross her face. It was replaced quickly by one of confidence.
"Yes," she said. It had an air of finality about it, and that closed the conversation.
I need reviews. Tell me if you want any other pairings. I refuse to write Orihime/Ichigo though, so nobody say anything.
R&R&R&R&R&R&R&R&R&R&R&R!... please.