I am sorry, ther again comes a rather sad chapter (not as bad as the last one, though). There will be fluff in the next chapter, I promise.

Warning: MENTIONED CHARA DEATH

The hadn't talked to each other for a long time now. Far too long, maybe. Ever since this certain day in the middle of the winter war. They should have, as they shared the same sadness... But they hadn't. It made everything harder.

Hitsugaya was reminded by the face, the voice... just all those similarities they shared, just because they were twins.

Yuzu couldn't afford to see his haori, covering a black shinigami suit. There was no problem about ordinary shinigami, but all those from the 12th, and also all captains, just made her remember. She didn't want to.

Not that they hadn't met. They had, an a regular basis, every year in late spring. Every annyversary of Karins death they had met at the family grave of the Kurosaki clan... Yuzu came here more often than that, though. Five times a year. She had decided to "bury" Rin here, too, as there was no place where the shinigami buried theirlikes, and she never had managed to go to Soul Society easily. And because she didn't want to go there.

But now there it was.

Toshirou had adressed her, looking at her with disapproval.

She gave him a long, sad look, then shook her head. "Why not?"

"It seems as if you had forgotten about him! As if..."

Pressing the baby closer to her chest, she shook her head. "No, it's not about that... It's rather the fact, that he would have wanted me to do so."

"How could he?" He couldn't get it. Those two had seemed so close, so loving... He wasn't able to understand how Yuzu could have another mans baby and yet tell him, that it would have been her deceased lovers will?

"Rin was a very reasonable, understanding and kind person. He wouldn't have wanted me to be sad all my live... and he knew that I always wanted to have children far too well."

"You had -" Hitsugaya bite his lip. That would have been something he shouldn't have said.

"Yes, I had." She bend her head forward, the hair covering her face, as how to look at the boychild in her arms. But it wasn't that, he was sure. It was about the sixth grave, the only one that wasn't here... That was nowhere. Not in this world. Not in the Soul Society. And, most likely, it wasn't there in Hueco Mundo either, not anymore. Nameless child...

"Sorry."

"It's ok." She flustered, kissing her child on the forhead, then raising her eyes to the sky above them. "I can get along with it now... It took me a long time, but now it is ok..."

He followed her, turning his eyes to the clouds drifting above them. How could she? She had lost so much more than him... Not only her lover, also all of her family. Every single human (and shinigami) who had been close to her had died during the winter war. At least Matsumoto was still alive... Maybe humans had to be faster at overcoming their sadness than shinigami, because their live was so much shorter.

"But how about you?"

He blinked. "Me?"

"Don't you think, you should try to come out of your shell? Just for Karin-chan?"

"For her?" This confused him. He should forget Karin, for Karins sake?

"Yes. She wouldn't have wanted you to be alone all your life, you know? She would have wanted you to be lucky..."

He wanted to growl, then smacked himself mentally. Maybe...

"Are you sure?"

"Yes." Yuzu laughed, quietly, sadly. "She definitely would. Do you think it is easy to keep going for me? Actually it isn't... But I have to. Rin-kun would have wanted me to."

They fell silent. But they didn't go, either. They just stood there in the falling twilight, looking over the rooftops of Karakura Town, watching the sun go down in the far west. And when it was, they parted.

But they knew, thy woul meet again, eventually.

Next year, same place, same time.