Hey everybody! Thanks for reviewing and thank yoou for settin me straight about the jargon of this site (AUAlternate Universe, got it!) So on with the story.
Disclaimer: I don own Bleach (still broke as fuck :(
The two got strange looks from everyone as they walked into town. Most of the odd looks were directed at Karin, due to her "decent" clothes (though not too decent; she didn't get any new clothes, she just got the ones that Yuzu didn't want anymore). They wondered what a well-dressed young lady was doing with a scamp. Hitsugaya thought it was quite ironic because whoever he chose to hang out with was usually frowned up by the court. Idiots, always taking everything at face value. He thought. Even the peasants, who often came into town to purchase items that they needed or sell some of their own merchandise, frowned too; what was one of their kind doing with someone like that? Just how far have they been convinced that peasants shouldn't be seen with "respectable" people? He scoffed to himself. A whole lot of unity was going to be called into action after he ascended the throne. How could his father's country call itself a nation if it was split right down the middle? The lower classes did the work for the upper classes and the upper classes repaid them with meagre wages and dirty looks. This society wouldn't even be a quarter of what it was had there not been any lower classes. His people sometimes disgusted him. His lip was actually curled in revulsion. Just how can people be so selfish? Even his own parents; they'd invited females of the upper classes to the ball, workers weren't allowed. Hitsugaya would gladly marry a commoner if it destroyed all the ideas that these people had about "respectability". He was beginning to hate that word. Respectability. He wanted to do something, right here, right now, to show these people just how meaningless their "respectability" was to some.
"Hey, you OK?" Karin asked, gazing at him out of the corner of her eye. She didn't get time to react as Hitsugaya grasped her arm and pulled her towards him and pressed his lips against hers. Her eyes widened, as did those of everybody within sight. A scamp kissing a girl from a middle class family, why that was just out of order!
"Who is that girl?"
"Does her family have any idea what she'd doing?"
"Ah, tis absolutely horrific!"
"That peasant! The girl's family will not be pleased to hear about this!"
"Truly upsetting!"
"Isn't that Karin Kurosaki? Daughter of the late Isshin Kurosaki?"
"In that case, her family shall be informed of this development!"
Had they known that "the scamp" was actually the Prince, they would have reacted very differently. Hitsugaya pulled away from Karin and, taking her hand, began to run back the way they'd come. The shoppers all shifted out of the way as if the two young ones were a malignant disease. Karin was slightly dazed but she was angry too. She ripped her hand out of Hitsugaya's grasp when they were running down an empty cobbled street.
"What the hell was that?" She asked crossly.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to upset you, I just..." Hitsugaya began.
"Save it! What the fuck did you think you were doing!?" She yelled. "You can't just go around and kiss random people!"
"You're not random!" He said. "Look, it's just...those people...making judgements about us just walking together...it was quite annoying..." He trailed off.
Karin's gazed softened. Momentarily. "So? You just thought you'd aggravate them a little more by kissing me?" She asked, incredulous.
"Try to understand my position here..." He said, "Or are you one of them too, the snotty types that think commoners should bow before them? I had thought you were different; please correct me if I'm wrong." He set his teeth hard and his lips formed a straight line.
Her gaze softened again and this time it stayed that way. "I get where you're coming from...But you're hardly a commoner, are you? Why are you so bothered?" She looked meaningfully at him as she spoke the last.
His head whipped up at that and had his eyes been uncovered, he'd have gazed at her in surprise. "W-What do you mean?"
"Oh come on! You're trying to pass yourself off as a peasant but you're not doing a very thorough job of it. Your speech is too proper, you're too graceful, and you seem too surprised by the mundane things in life, and, by the way, you feet – yes, your feet," She flushed a little; she had been that thoroughly in her examination of him, "look too...I dunno...smooth to be those of someone who tends the fields all day. Who are you?" She asked the last softly.
Hitsugaya was taken aback. She was more observant than he'd given her credit for. He cursed his luck. Of all the people he could have bumped into, it was this underprivileged middle-class girl with a jaded view on life and who was more vigilant than he was. Great, he thought, what do I say now? He didn't reply for a time, just continued thinking.
Karin thought he wasn't going to say anything. She sighed deeply and made to walk away but he spoke up, sounding indecisive, "If it really matters, only if it really matters though, meet me in the field in two days, after lunch and I'll tell you." He turned around abruptly and ran. He had figured that if this girl was really as unconcerned with the young Prince's status, then he'd try and trust her with his secret, but he'd ask her some questions too; this girl was intriguing, after all.
Karin thought about calling after him but decided against it. She watched him go with a heavy heart; her first friend in months and she'd already lost him. Come to think of it, why did it bother her so? She'd only seen him twice now but she felt as if she'd known him for ages (even though she didn't know what half of his face looked like). She felt as if she could open up to him, but she wouldn't. She didn't open up to anyone, not anymore.
She hung about in town for a while (receiving glares from odd people) and then headed back home.
"You fuckin little bitch!"
Karin shrank back, up against the wall as her brother towered over her. Her face was carefully blank, upon remembrance of her earlier plan on using "the calm approach". She'd just gotten in through the doorway three seconds ago and her brother had thundered out of one of the rooms and towards her, yelling all the while.
"What the fuck's this I hear about you kissing some dirty little rat?!" Ichigo continued. His face was twisted in fury. This was truly something that made his blood boil. "Do you not care for the honour of this family? Do you really hate us all that much that you'd kiss a...a peasant in public, in front of so many people!?"
"Does it really matter that much who I interact with?" She shot back, having failed at keeping her cool. "Does it?! What do you care about me anyway? Oh wait, you don't! You only care for the stupid honour of the stupid family and your stupid fuckin bitch of a wi...!"
Slap!
Karin was cut off as Ichigo's hand connected with her cheek for the second time that day.
"Shut up and get the fuck out." Ichigo's head was bowed and he was shaking with anger. "GET THE FUCK OUT!" He shouted.
"FINE!" She replied, the tears streaming freely down her cheeks. "FINE! I'M Go...I'm going..." Her voice cracked at the last and a sob broke out past her tightly pressed lips. She pushed past her brother, who was still seething, and exited the manor. Servants who were milling about ran past her and stared as she walked past, tears streaming down her cheeks (one of which was exceptionally red). Wracking sobs shook her frame but no one came to comfort her. She trudged down the path, feeling more lonely than she'd ever felt.
From the window, Ichigo looked on. The anger was still there, but he wasn't absolutely seething now. It had lessened to a mere scowl. He felt he had been too harsh. It was just a kiss, after all. Rukia was the one who had told him to sort his sister out and, on her command, he'd let his anger get the better of him. Baka, Ichigo, he scolded. But he didn't go after his sister.
"Ne, Ichi-nii, let's go faster!" Karin cried happily.
"You got it, kid!" Ichigo grinned goofily up at his younger sister and ran faster while Karin laughed joyously.
"Onii-chan! I want a turn!" Yuzu cried sadly
"Don't worry, Yuzu-chan, daddy will give you a better ride!" Isshin Kurosaki said as he lifted his light-haired daughter onto his shoulder and began running, making various noises as he went. Yuzu laughed delightfully.
"We're way better!" Karin cried as she stuck her tongue out. Ichigo grinned widely and further increased his pace. Karin laughed again
Damn it, this hurts, Ichigo thought, thinking back to that time. He'd been ten years old then and all he'd wanted was to help his family as much as he could and he'd done that by being the ideal older brother. He'd listened to every trouble that his sisters had had and he'd tried to help them and it had warmed him immensely to hear them laugh. Slowly, slowly, the hole in his heart that had been caused by his mother's death was healing, with their happiness. Yuzu and Karin. The two people who should mean the world to him but didn't. What's happening to me? He wondered. He'd never hit Yuzu once but, when they were younger, shortly after Masaki's, his mother's death, he'd hit Karin and he'd been indescribably sorry for it. She'd just been a little girl with no knowledge of how deep his wounds had been. She'd been pestering him to stop sitting by the river all the time, to "come home, please, please, please, please come home, Ichi-nii, please" and, out of annoyance, he'd smacked her on the head. She'd run off home, trying to be brave and hold the tears in but they'd come gushing out anyway. He'd called after her to say that he was sorry, but she'd gone off without him.
And now? He tried to keep his hands locked by his side every time she made her little smart-ass rebukes, but sometimes, he just got so mad. Rukia said it was the only way to teach the girl her place, and he listened to her. He'd slapped his sister twice today, that was a record and he felt ashamed of himself. He'd hit a little, sixteen-year-old girl who had nothing going for her except this new guy that she'd kissed and he'd yelled at her for it. The old Ichigo wouldn't have cared that she'd been kissing a peasant; the old Ichigo would only have been concerned about whether this guy was making his sister happy or not.
"I'm sorry, Ichigo, but that really is the only way she'll learn."
Ichigo turned around at the sound of his wife's voice and smiled grimly. "I know."
Rukia wrapped her arms about his shoulders and, standing on tiptoes, she reached up and kissed his on the lips. Ichigo wound his arms about her waist and held her tight. Unbeknownst to the orange haired man, a little burst of electricity suddenly flared about them. Rukia smirked.
"She'll be fine." She said in a voice that carried persuasion. "It's for her own good."
Ichigo nodded. "For her own good." He repeated blankly.
Had Karin been listening, she would have said that Rukia's innocent tone was completely fake.
Hitsugaya walked back to the palace thoroughly ashamed of himself. He went to his storeroom and got changed and then made his way to his bedroom.
What he'd done today had been foolish and it was liable to get Kurosaki into trouble. He could get away scot-free because the "scamp" wasn't real, but what if he caused grief for Kurosaki? From what he'd gathered, she already had family problems. Had he added to those problems? What was she doing now? He hoped she was OK. If only he'd kept his thoughts to himself. But the need to break away from people's (or more specifically, the higher class's) expectations had been too strong. He'd felt like he'd do anything, anything, to get some reactions out of those people.
And Kurosaki was right; why was he bothered? He wasn't a commoner. That's simple, he said, looking up at his bedroom ceiling, to break out of the norm. But for which side? His "scamp" side or his "royal" side? Had he really wanted to prove to those people that commoners are people too, or prove to himself that he, a Prince with a seemingly "non-real" life, could actually have real experiences?
He grabbed a pillow from under his head and pulled it onto his face and yelled into it, "FUCK!" as loudly as he could. Apparently, expletives weren't to be used by someone of his status so he had to be careful to not let his mother or any of the staff of this place hear him using such language. It wasn't proper.
"Forget this, I'm off out." He said to himself. He got off his bed and exited. Outside, in the hallway, he saw his mother coming towards him. "Okaa-sama." He bowed as she approached.
"Toushirou, where were you?" She asked worriedly, "I haven't seen you since breakfast."
"I wasn't out that long, Okaa-sama." He said blankly.
She grew stern suddenly, "You went off on your own without telling anyone; that worries me Toushirou. The ball is in three days, do you not realise that? We have to get everything ready and your outfit has to be made."
"Please, can't I just wear something that I already have? It's not like I've worn every single outfit that I own." He argued wearily.
"Toushirou, you will not argue with your mother." His mother said sharply. "We're going to get you a new outfit for the ball and that is final. Now, go to your father's room. He wished to see you." She began to push him along.
"Why?" Hitsugaya asked.
"He's your father; he doesn't need a reason to want to speak to you." She replied irritably.
Hitsugaya sighed. So much for going out, he thought.
Karin walked through the streets, keeping to the shadows. She didn't want to be seen by anybody, mostly because she was supposed to be hardy and there were enormous tears running down her cheeks. And one cheek was smarting like hell. That was the second time today and on the same place too. Asshole, Ichigo, she thought angrily. Well, it looked like she wasn't going to be going back home, not that she'd call it home. It was just "the place where I live at". All traces of it being her home had disappeared when Rukia's cousin had moved into her room and she'd been kicked out.
Stupid fuckin Hinamori and stupid fuckin Rukia, taking over our lives and taking Ichi-nii from us. She thought angrily. She had no doubt that her being kicked out of the house had something to do with Rukia; almost everything had somehow cancelled her out somehow always involved Rukia. She knew Rukia didn't like her, had never liked her. Karin almost didn't blame her; if she were somebody else, she'd hate herself too. Karin Kurosaki.
Just what have I got in my life that's worth living for right now? She thought. I'm an emotional bomb, just waiting for the right moment to blow up, my brother isn't even his own person, my sister-in-law is an evil witch/bitch, her cousin basically can't stand that I have anything that indicates that I have a personal life at all, my father's dead, my twin sister is being corrupted by the evil sister-in-law, I have no friends whatsoever and my first kiss was stolen by a boy who covers half his face and who wanted to make a point that peasants are people too. It's all good; I'm just up there in cloud nine, ain't I? She thought dryly. Hey, God, how about sending a little shower down here, I mean, it's not like the storm's shredded my world apart enough. No, I think I have the most stubborn will to hang on so why don't ya send some lightning down here or something? Maybe I'll get hit and die. Wouldn't that be just great?
She thought back to Shirou. For him to willingly do something like that was pretty gutsy. If he'd been someone else, she wouldn't have thought twice before she broke his teeth. But this guy was...mysterious. He was an enigma.
He stole my first kiss, there's nothing mysterious about that, she thought bitterly. Not that she was overly bothered. First kisses meant little to Karin, but it was a little regrettable. It wasn't like any guy would kiss her anyway; she'd make sure of that. But why had he chosen to kiss her, of all people? He should have just snagged a random girl off the streets, that would have been much more effective. But then again, maybe it was her because everybody thought they were an item or something back there. An item? She thought incredulously, she would never be "an item".
But, some idiotic part of her was quietly pining for the feel of the boy's lips again.
She shook her head to clear the thought before it could manifest into something more. She didn't want a relationship with anybody anyway, all that that would bring would be pain and more emotional agony and she was already unstable.
Tick tock tick tock...It was like the whirring of the gears that made up the emotional bomb that she was were already ticking away, counting down until the last stroke, until the last revelation that would complete annihilate her.
Tick tock tick tock...What was time anyway? Some said that it was a healer but Karin didn't think so. Time was just a ticking mechanism that ceaselessly beat away at the continuity of a time or place or person. Time was an annihilator. Time was a destroyer. Time gave people what they wanted for a short period and then cruelly snatched it away from them.
Oh, wait, that was fate.
Fate gave people what they wanted for a short period of time and then cruelly snatched it away from them. Time and fate. Neither of which were on her side, but then again, hardly anything was on her side nowadays. It was her against the world. She smirked at the idea. It's me against the world.
Oh but how...nice it would be to have someone on her side for a change, to have someone backing her up.
Not going to happen, she sighed. She was approaching the field now. She sighed again and hurried her pace. She was going to be sleeping in among the trees today. She'd always wondered what that would be like. Well, I guess it's time to find out. She thought.
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