GOMENISAI! I TOOK SO LONG X( I just wanna say that I'm not all too proud of the writing that I've done so far; but I'll try and fix that with this chapter! Plus the other chapters have been pretty short so… Let's get back to Toshiro! I admit I hated having him get there too late but hey, what can you do?

-The Bleached Inu

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach (I have the video game though)


Chapter 4: Guard Dog


She ran up the steep hill as fast as she could, and when she finally reached the top she was out of breath. She looked over her shoulder at the small village, her home that lay at the foot of the grassy slope.

Smiling to herself, she took off running again into the thick woods. After about a minute or so she saw a figure in the distance; she immediately knew who it was. Her smile grew wider as she picked up the pace; her bow and arrow's hitting her back slightly as she ran, her long, white, loose sleeve hid the dagger strapped to her forearm. She did not plan on using either of them anytime soon.

As the figure came into better view, she called out his name:

"…!"

Hearing this, he slowly turned to look over his shoulder -


Karin's eyes snapped open only to quickly shut them again trying to block out the bright light. The hell…? Karin sat up from where she lay and immediately regretted it. She winced, her hand instinctively flying to her chest. As she looked down, she saw that the whole top half of her body was wrapped in bandages. Her arms where covered by a thin jacket that hung loosely over her shoulders; that and her jeans where the only thing she wore.

She slowly and painfully sat up again on the futon she was laid clutching her chest. "W-what happened?" She muttered to herself pulling the jacket closer to her. And what was with that dream?

"You shouldn't sit up just yet, your wound might reopen."

Karin looked up to see Toshiro in his spirit form sitting on the far side of the room leaning against the wall; his sword beside him. She glanced around the small, plain room then back at him thoroughly confused.

"Toshiro, what's going on? What happened?"

He raised an eyebrow slightly, "Don't you remember?

Karin thought for a moment, her eyes widened, "T-there was - that guy was…I-I was stabbed… and I was trying t-Raion! Where is he? Is he okay?"

"He's fine." Toshiro replied in a rather bored tone, it ticked Karin off a little.

The girl let out a small, exasperated sigh, "How long was I out?"

"About a week or so…"

Karin's eyes widened, "WHAT! A WEEK? WHAT ABOUT-"

"If anyone asks, you've been sick with a bad fever." The shinigami captain cut her off explaining how Urahara had contacted her school, and Yuzu knew (or thought) that she was there because she didn't want anyone else to get sick. Karin sighed wincing again as her wound began to throb.

"Well…where am I?"

"You're at Urahara's Shop." Karin waited, gesturing for him to go on. He sighed, "Well, when I found you-"


Nine days before…

Damn it! How could I fall for something like that so easily!

Toshiro silently cursed himself for Nusumu's last stunt. The oldest trick in the book and he fell for it! He was a captain for Pete's sake! He should have noticed the change in Nusumu's reiatsu immediately! Quieting his mind, he began to trace Karin's spiritual pressure to find that he didn't need to. It spiked shooting out in all directions no doubly attracting more Hollow's than needed. Then, it faded what felt like completely before he could recover; as well as the Arrancar's. He tensed, but was slightly relieved when he felt it again. It was small, like a dying flame, but it was still there.

He quickened his speed and soon found himself just blocks away from Urahara's Shop. There he found an unconscious Karin and a thoroughly confused and obviously terrified Kyōryoku.

That's when he saw the blood.

Toshiro quickly shunpoed in front of Kyōryoku placing two fingers to his forehead. Toshiro muttered a few words and watched the boy fall to the ground unconscious. Sorry…He quickly scooped the dark haired girl in his arms and dashed to Urahara's. He glanced down at her, it was a stab wound to the heart; blood stained the whole front of her shirt and wasn't stopping. It was a miracle that she was alive! Perhaps the blade was off. Still, the wound was too close to its target for comfort. She needed to be treated, and fast!

Ichigo is going to kill me…


"It's a serious wound, aimed at an internal organ." Tessai said later that day, "The blade barely missed the heart and was bleeding profoundly, but with the help from Inoue-san she should be just fine. She just needs a little rest." Tessai gave a small nod of thanks to the light haired girl seated beside him.

She smiled, "Oh, it was no trouble at all! Karin-chan is like a little sister to me! I would have helped her anyway! So there's no need to thank me, really!"

Orihime said while waving her hands frantically and speaking at a rather quick pace. They had called her as soon as Toshiro arrived with a very wounded Karin; worried sick Orihime got there as quickly as she could and worked on her immediately. She didn't remember having to work that hard in healing someone, then again none of them have been this bad. Yet that is…

"And the boy…?" Urahara questioned from behind his fan,

"No harm came to him; Captain Hitsugaya brought him back to the park. He will wake soon, he won't remember a thing."

"Good, good!" Urahara exclaimed, his voice casting off its usual perkiness.

As if on cue, Toshiro slid open the shoji doors and walked into the room.

"Ah! Hitsugaya Taicho! Good to see you back!"

He gave a small 'hmph' and sat down in front of Urahara, "How's she doing?"

"She's doing just fine; just fine! She'll be out for about a week or so, the wound is fatal but somehow her Kurosaki blood kicked in just in time! Of course I was there to help…"

"Thank you Inoue-san." Toshiro nodded both cutting off completely ignoring Urahara. She smiled, "Yup!" Urahara sweat-dropped…"Aww…Hitsugaya-kun…" he drawled.

"Well, I wouldn't celebrate much yet…" Tessai interrupted before anyone can say anything else, "We still have Ichigo to worry about."

That's right! Toshiro remembered, she's Ichigo' s sister!

You seem to always forget that…Hyorinmaru commented.

Let's just say that she's a lot more level headed than her brother…

"What do you mean? Is he okay?" Orihime asked now worried. Urahara brought down his fan ever so slightly so that you could see his lips curve up in a rather untrusting way,

"Well, Ichigo won't be too happy about his little sister being chased and stabbed by an Arrancar; I think it would be best if we keep this from him. For now. He just might put the blame on you, Captain Hitsugaya, saying that you were there, right! Hitsugaya-kun?"

If Ichigo finds out, you are in soooo much trouble!Hyorinmaru snickered. Toshiro couldn't help but wonder what had happened to the "icy" personality the old dragon had.

I'm a part of you. Hyorinmaru said dropping his teasing tone, I am what you are. At least that's what I remember.

What does that mean?

He didn't answer.

"Hitsugaya-kun? Yoo-hoo! Hitsugaya-kun!

What do you think that Ginger's going to do to you exactly? That is if he ever finds out…

I don't think he really counts as a Ginger

Really? Then what exactly is-

"HEY, HITSUGAYA!" Toshiro snapped out of his short lived conversation with his Zanpakuto by a fan whappin' him in the face,

"Oi!"

A vain appeared on his forehead as Hitsugaya socked the old man in the face. Hard. Urahara fell to the floor both hands clutching his nose his fan still in hand. Tessai sighed pinching the bridge of his nose while Orihime wondered (out loud) what she should buy for dinner that night completely ignoring the man withering in pain.

"Oww…was that really necessary?" He asked,

"Was you whacking me in the face really necessary?" Hitsugaya shot back angrily.

"Well, you where spacing out all of a sudden and I thought you were just ignoring me for no reason! (that hurt…)" Urahara wined blood dripping from his fingers.

You were a little rough there

That's your fault!

Toshiro sighed in exasperation at both his Zanpakuto and the mad man in front of him as well as this whole damn situation.

"Do you have any idea why they wanted Kurosaki?" He asked massaging his temples.

Urahara (who had stuffed some tissues up his nostrils) regained his poster his fan remaining at his side showing his face more than it already was;

"Well, I'm not sure if you've noticed, but Miss Kurosaki's spiritual pressure is practically nonexistent. She is in good shape and is in no danger of dying any time soon, yet you can barely feel it. It's almost as if it was…stolen."

Everyone's eyes widened. As they paid closer attention, Karin's spiritual pressure was indeed almost undetectable.

"W-what do you mean by stolen?" Orihime asked just as confused as everyone else; however, Toshiro's gears kicked into action.

"Nusumu." He murmured, his head snapped up to look at Urahara, "Is it even possible?"

"What is?" Orihime looked back and forth between the two. "The Arrancar that Hitsugaya and Karin faced was no ordinary Arrancar. Of course you would have noticed yourself, Captain…?" Urahara said.

Toshiro nodded slowly, "Yes, this so called Arrancar, he had a reiatsu, but it wasn't just his…it was almost like his soul…was made up of the souls of others."

Orihime frowned, "Is that even possible?"

"The only possible way to take someone's soul is if they are already dead and are physically souls. When souls are devoured by something other than a being such as a Hollow, the two souls merge physically extending the devourers life and strength."

Everyone quieted as Urahara began explaining. Seeing that he had everyone's attention, his smirk faded as he continued,

"However, no ordinary human can do such a thing of course; this deed is a crime to nature, and an insult to both Heaven and Hell. The only creatures capable of committing such a crime are the lowest of the low; so dirty and sinful that even Hell's Gatekeeper's will not let them pass. These creatures include Hollow's,Shinidamachu, and possibly…."

He sat silently thinking.

"And possibly…what?" Toshiro asked getting slightly anxious.

"It's iffy…but there is a chance…that Aizen could have created an Arrancar- or possibly an Espada…using a Shinidamachu. He could have done it with more than one…" He murmured,

"But…Shinidamachu… their so rare!" Tessai exclaimed. "How is it possible for Aizen to get his hands on one?"

"I'll say it again: it's iffy; I'm not totally sure. But it is a possibility. And it is also possible for Aizen to have found one in Hueco Mundo. After all, it is where all of the Hollow's evolve; it's only natural for the Shinidamachu to be there."

"Um-excuse me, but what exactly are Shinidamachu?" Orihime asked even more confused now than before.

Urahara smiled and turned to her, "Well, that's a good question! Shinidamachu or more specifically: 'Dead Soul Insects', are very old and very rare creatures; similar to a cross between an insect and a snake, that where most often seen back in Feudal Era Japan. They take the souls of others and feed off of them or bring them to demons. They are also known and 'Soul Stealers'."

"Is it possible for Yami to be one of these Shinidamachu?" Toshiro asked.

Urahara thought for a moment, "It is possible…But then again, all Hollows, Arrancar's, and Espada all take souls. But Yami does seem to be based mainly off of souls that he can easily devour. "

The same as the Mock Arrancar…Toshiro thought grimly.

"But why would Aizen be interested in Karin?" Toshiro asked.

"That's what is bugging me; it can't be for any power she possesses-or any other reason for that matter…so why?"

Everyone was silent, why indeed…

To tell you the truth, I'm not all that surprisedHyourinmaru murmured.

What do you mean? Toshiro frowned.

Her spiritual pressure is surprisingly strong, but that doesn't surprise anyone; seeing her brother that is. But there is something else…something about it that seems, in a way, ancient…powerful, strong…but I sense purity at well. I have been able to sense this since the first time we came across her…but only when she was close enough. But it seems that neither you nor the others can sense this, am I correct, Master?

Toshiro's frown furrowed at this new found information, no, he in fact had not sensed this before. He would question others if they had told him this, but with Hyourinmaru…he didn't doubt him for a second. And if this was true…what would Karin be doing with this sort of…'purity'?

Besides her name…he mused.

But…why would Aizen, of all people, be interested as something such as this? It doesn't make any sense…

"Well, we can worry about all of this another day!" Urahara smiled cheerfully. "For now we'll just worry about Miss Karin; who knows they may come back. I suggest that we keep a close eye on her for the time being…And Captain Hitsugaya? I think that it would be best to keep this a secret from Ichigo as well as the Soul Society; we will inform them when we fully understand the situation, yes?"

Toshiro nodded, "Yes, it seems the better way to go."

"Excellent! I'll contact the middle school she goes to…with Orihime's help of course…"

Orihime beamed and nodded, "Sure!"

(A/N: MUST READ! IMPROTANCE!)

"Wait, middle school?" Toshiro frowned.

Orihime nodded again, "Yea! They skipped a grade in the middle of the year! Yuzu-chan was having a little trouble so I helped her! And then she helped Karin-chan and-yea…" She trailed off looking slightly embarrassed.

Everyone was silent for a moment, Toshiro blinked, "From…you?"

Orihime blushed, "Well, yea! I'm not as dumb as I look you know!" She murmured looking away.

(A/N: yea so, I hate it when people make Karin older…don't get me wrong I like some of them! But I just wanted to be clear that Karin isn't any older than she was in ep. 316 (looked like 12) got it?)

Toshiro just shook his head and stood walking out the door. "KEEP A CLOSE EYE ON HER FOR US HITSUGAYA-KUN!" Urahara shouted after him. The captain sighed; somehow he knew this wasn't going to end pleasantly.


Karin blinked at the end of the story. She hated being babied and watched over, but as Toshiro pointed out earlier, there wasn't really much of a choice.

"So…you'll be watched and guarded 24/7?" She asked with attetude she was known for.

"Yes, pretty much…" Toshiro replied tossing her shirt to her.

She shrugged off the jacket and pulled her T-shirt over her head and was silent for a moment more.

"So, you'll be like my guard dog." She smirked. It wasn't a question.

The captain scowled at her choice of words but went on ahead and answered anyway: "Yes, I'll be like your guard dog."


The end! Finally! Life and all of this is tiring! R&R everyone! Luv you all! :)