Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters.
Even when she reaches sixteen years of age, she still visits his lake everyday.
Her habits do not change. She still practices harshly with her soccer ball, never giving herself a deserved break. She still attends her classes, despite her disgust, because her father desires to mould her into her domestic sister. Both of her family members, along with her elder brother and mother, he has only glimpsed through a photograph she brings with her from time to time; he finds this endearing.
He himself keeps a magically waterproofed picture of his dear grandmother and sister with him.
He continues to hide his presence from her at all times. Perhaps it is foolish of him to be so infatuated with a human, but he feels she is different. And so far, he is content with only watching her from afar.
This changes when, one day, she brings a man. Grimm. Or so she calls him. Her companion's blue hair and blue eyes are the same color as his waters, and he finds himself fearing that perhaps that is the reason why she has loved his lake so dearly all these years.
Because anyone can see that she desires this man. She is too tough to admit her desires outright, but when her companion looks away, her eyes display tenderness and longing.
She begins bringing him everyday. The two sit by the river's edge and joke with one another, or he practices her soccer with her. The two seem close.
He is surprised by the hostility he suddenly feels towards this man. Certainly he is a brash human, with the tendency to pretend he is tough, but he has never done anything to offend the spirit, nor has he ever shown any bad intentions towards the raven haired female seated beside him. Yet the dragon feels an ache when he witnesses them laughing together, or resting in each other's arm as they enjoy the cool breezes.
The true heart break comes many months later. He knows something is different when she arrives positively glowing. The man beside her seems rather pleased with himself also. His curiosity is piqued, and his spirit is crushed when he overhears the conversation.
She excitedly chatters about their new engagement. Apparently, both their fathers, having been very close for many years, decided to one day wed their children. The blue haired punk is much older, but both parties are willing, and so the agreement is set.
They are to be married in fall. She jokes that her father has finally done something right in his life, and he grins.
The water spirit urges himself to retreat farther into his lake – anything to end having to listen to the torturous conversation – but finds himself unable to turn away. He hardly gets to see her besides the small amount of time she spends in his clearing, and he will take this opportunity to get his fill of her today, despite the eyesore seated beside her.
However, moments later, he finds himself wishing he had listened.
Her fiancé suddenly grabs her head and crushes her lips to his own. She jumps from the surprise, but soon gives into the temptation she has been holding in since the beginning of her crush.
This is his first time experiencing this inner turmoil. He forces himself to look away, but he is too late.
The couple both scramble away from the lake's edge as the water begins to splash violently in their direction; his unconstrained emotions cause his environment to react furiously.
She does not return the next day. He blames himself.
Don't hate me for making this chapter so short! I needed this chapter to help me transition to the next chapter, which I promise will be longer.
Not to mention, the next chapter will be called Meeting. I'm sure we all know what that means!
I know this chapter was not very HitsuKarin-ish, but her relationship with Grimmjow is crucial to Karin meeting Toushiro.
Besides, I've always been very interested in a Grimmjow x Karin relationship; the idea of the two of them as a couple seems very unique...and I have a love for crack pairings. I think there are only two GrimmKarin fanfics on Fanfiction (there used to be more, but they got deleted). If any of you are interested in the pairing, I suggest The Courtship of Kurosaki Karin, Espada Style by Bjorn; its the story that got me interested in this pairing in the first place, and its very cute.
