Wow, thank you so much everyone who reviewed! I feel so loved, I can't believe this fic has so many reviews already. I really really appreciate it guys! Thanks a ton.
Hitsugaya's patience was wearing thin before they even reached their room in 10th squad. Karin had taken it upon herself to criticize everything and everyone they passed. He was going to have quite a job explaining Karin's situation to a rather stunned, and hurt, Ukitake, and that she really didn't mean it when she called him a "dirty old man who was going to infect everyone around him if he didn't stop coughing," but what was even more exhausting was convincing Zaraki that, despite Karin's challenge, she was actually in no condition to fight.
"You have no right to keep me from fighting, who do you think you are?" Karin yelled, still furious that Hitsugaya had dragged her away from her imminent battle with Zaraki.
"I don't want you killed by that blood thirsty manic," he said coolly, very thankful that his shunpo was better than Zaraki's sense of direction. Karin snorted.
"I could have taken him down easy! And why do you care?" Hitsugaya sighed but chose not to respond. He slid open the door to their room.
"We're home," he announced, slipping off his sandals and stepping inside. Karin followed him in, still grumbling. Hitsugaya pulled out tea cups and plates.
"Here," he said, placing two plates of food on the table. "Eat something, I'm sure you're hungry." Karin eyed the food suspiciously, then plopped herself down and began tearing through her dinner. Hitsugaya couldn't help but grin. For everything that had changed, her appetite sure hadn't. She still ate like she had never seen food before. Karin noticed that he was looking at her.
"What are you staring at!?" she scowled angrily, throwing a chopstick at him. "Honestly, what's wrong with you?" Hitsugaya stared at his untouched food. He had just lost any hope of an appetite. He had no idea how he was supposed to help Karin regain her memories, especially if she acted like this. He had no clue as to how to break into her subconscious. And seeing her act like this was causing him a lot of pain. He got up and cleared away his uneaten food.
"I'm tired," he said. "I'm going to bed." Without thinking, he went to the corner and began to lay out his futon when Karin's second chopstick hit him on the back of the head. He turned.
"And just what do you think you're going to do with that?" she insisted sarcastically, taking a sip of tea. Hitsugaya was starting to get annoyed.
"What does it look like I'm doing with it? I'm going to sleep in it." Hitsugaya had to jump out of the way as a cup of steaming tea flew past him and shattered against the wall exactly where his head had been a few seconds earlier, sending shards of clay and boiling water splattering in every direction. Karin was livid.
"You PERVERT!" she screamed violently, and her eyes flashed in rage. "This is MY house!" Hitsugaya kept his cool.
"This is my house too," he explained as calmly as he could. Karin scrunched up her face in disgust.
"Ew, gross! There is absolutely no way I would live with a pathetic runt like you! Now get out of my house!" Hitsugaya tried to protest, but before he could he found himself standing on the wrong side of the door with it slammed shut in his face.
Hitsugaya considered ripping the door down, but he didn't have the heart at the moment. With a sigh, he walked away. He would need to devise a better plan for forcing Karin's memories to return. And the sooner the better.
A door opened behind him and he whipped around, hoping against hope that Karin had remembered something and changed her mind. But his excitement fell immediately. One of the unfortunate circumstances of being a taicho is that the fukutaicho's apartment is right next door. Matsumoto sauntered out of her room.
"Lover's spat? You sleeping in the office tonight?" she chided.
"Shut up Matsumoto, I'm not in the mood," Hitsugaya said in a tired voice. Matsumoto's face softened.
"Unohana taicho told me about Karin's condition. What are you going to do about it?" Hitsugaya sighed deeply and shook his head.
"I have no idea. How am I supposed to help her when she's acting like this?" Hitsugaya felt his eyes start to burn and shut them tight against the tears that were threatening to leak out. Matsumoto looked at him with pity for a moment, then reached forward and embraced him. But it wasn't her usual, bone crushing, cleavage suffocating hug. It was full of compassion and understanding.
"I'll do anything I can to help taicho," she whispered. "Just let me know." Hitsugaya nodded, too afraid that if he opened his mouth he would start sobbing.
"Arigato, Matsumoto," he said seriously when she released him. Then he took her advice and went to pass out on the couch in his office.
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Karin was sound asleep, her light breathing filling the room. Her zanpakto lay on the floor beside her. She didn't notice it begin to rattle. She didn't notice the blue glow that emanated from it. She didn't notice the powerful phoenix composed of shimmering, kido laden water emerge from the blade and circle around her head several times before settling down on the floor beside her.
Mizufenikkusu gazed at Karin with pity.
"What have you done to yourself?" she asked in frustration. "You've injured your mind so badly, I can only do so much to heal it on my own. I'm going to need help to get you back to normal." And with that, she left the room, gliding soundlessly through the streets of a sleeping Seireitei, all the way to the 10th squad office.
Hitsugaya was sleeping on the couch. He was uncomfortable and miserable, but he was so emotionally drained that he had managed fall into a deep sleep with remarkable ease. Mizufenikkusu entered the room silently and nuzzled the sword that lay at Hitsugaya's side. It shook and glowed briefly, just as Karin's zanpakto had, and a long ice dragon sailed out of the blade. He curled his tail protectively around Hitsugaya's sleeping form, but brought his head up so that he was eye level with the phoenix. Red eyes met white ones and the two zanpaktos held each other's gaze, fighting a silent battle of wits.
"What brings you here, Mizufenikkusu?" Hyourinmaru asked in a deep voice. Mizufenikkusu glared at him, almost amused.
"I assumed you would know, Hyourinmaru. You always seem to be so in tuned to Karin's needs." Hyourinmaru grunted.
"You're her zanpakto. If she has problems with her mind, it is your responsibility to fix them."
"I'm not the only one having problems right now," Mizufenikkusu said knowingly. "You're in pain too." Hyourinmaru didn't respond. He didn't need to. She was right and she knew it.
"I need your help," she continued. "Or, more specifically, I need Toushiro's help. Karin's mind is damaged so badly, I can only do so much for her. And this kind of healing isn't easy. I can try to readjust her personality, but I'm afraid I only have so much control over what happens. But what I really need your help with is her memories. She's locked them away and I can't reach them."
"And how am I supposed to help with that?" Hyourinmaru asked incredulously. But Mizufenikkusu was not intimidated by him despite his icy gaze.
"Karin needs to remember something. And not just anything. Something powerful. That will trigger everything else. And the most powerful memory she has is her love for Toushiro. She needs to remember that. She needs to fall in love with him again." Both zanpaktos looked at the sleeping figure on the couch and sighed.
"I honestly don't know if Toushiro is up to that," Hyourinmaru admitted. "Romance has never exactly been his strength. And with the way Karin is now, he's going to have a hard time with it. But," he asserted, "Toushiro loves Karin more than anything in the world. If this is the only way to help her, he will do it. But please, do something about her personality. For all our sakes."
"I'll do my best. No promises though, there is only so much I can do. At least, I'll try to make her more friendly and personable." Hyourinmaru nodded. The dragon and the phoenix looked at each other, then they embraced, as only a dragon and a phoenix can. Just like their wielders, Hyourinmaru and Mizufenikkusu loved each other deeply. They always worked better when they were around each other. And right now, they were both in pain, and they needed each other's strength.
They bid each other farewell, and Hyourinmaru nudged Hitsugaya. Reluctantly, he opened his eyes.
"I'm not so sure Karin's good for my sanity," Hitsugaya commented, looking up into the dragon's eyes. "You've come out more times for her than in my entire life combined."
"Mizufenikkusu asked me to come out," he explained. "Although I won't deny that you could use the help." Hitsugaya ignored this.
"What did she want?" he asked curiously, finally sitting up. "She's never asked for our help before has she?"
"No. It is a rare circumstance when a shinigami's mind is so injured, their zanpakto requires assistance in healing it."
"So what do we need to do?" Hitsugaya asked. His resolve was firm. No matter what it took, he was going to help Karin regain her memories. He wanted his wife back. Hyourinmaru stared at him briefly before replying.
"You need to make her fall in love with you," he stated. Hitsugaya's jaw fell open in shock.
"I have to WHAT?! Why?" Hyourinmaru explained what Mizufenikkusu had said. Hitsugaya sighed.
"I understand. If that's the only thing that will help, then I'll do it. I'll tame the shrew." But he sounded a lot more confident than he felt. His desire was strong, but he wasn't sure he had the knowledge or the skill to make this new devil-like Karin fall in love with him. He wasn't particularly good at picking up girls. He had never even tried. And Karin the way she was now would be a tough nut to crack. He wasn't even sure where to begin. But Hyourinmaru knew.
"Matsumoto." Hitsugaya glared at him, not entirely sure he had heard correctly.
"Matsumoto? How will she help?" Hyourinmaru didn't hide his annoyance.
"You really are clueless about women. It's a wonder you managed to marry one at all."
"I have you to thank for that," Hitsugaya reminded him sulkily.
"Do you regret it?" Hyourinmaru asked sarcastically.
"No," Hitsugaya stated soundly. "But what does this have to do with Matsumoto?" Hyourinmaru sighed impatiently.
"She knows more about relationships that anyone we know. She can also read people extremely well. Ask her advice about how to woo someone like the new Karin. I'm sure she can help you." Hitsugaya considered this. It actually sounded like very logical advice.
"Alright, I'll ask her tomorrow." Hyourinmaru nodded, then glided back into the sword, allowing an exhausted Hitsugaya to get back to sleep. The last thought he had before falling unconscious was,
"I hope Mizufenikkusu does a number on her alternate personality before tomorrow."
If I would have known that I was writing a sequel, I would never have given Karin's zanpakto such a long, confusing, and difficult to type name. Sigh.