Author Note: Hello, everyone! This is CrazyAce'n'PokerFace, and we are SO happy to see you all again! Welcome to the fourth installment of Where Angels Fear to Tread. We hope you enjoy it!

Normal = prose, italics = thoughts or inner conversations.

Warning: Though the main pairing is HitsuKarin, there will be mentions of IchiHime, RenRuki, JintaYuzu, and a whole bunch of other couples. In addition, there will be violence and death and lots and lots of blood. If you don't like, don't read. Thank you.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. They belong solely to Tite Kubo. However, if there was an alternate universe where I do own Bleach, I will promptly give my left arm to switch with my other self. :)

Chapter Four: Edge of the Abyss

+++ Karin +++

To be perfectly honest, sneaking out of the castle at three in the morning probably wasn't the smartest idea I'd ever had. Of course, looking at the way my father and the rest of his council had lost their Goddess-blessed minds, I felt I could be forgiven for a little indiscretion.

If I stayed a second longer in my room, staring at the wedding dress in the corner and counting down the days (3 days, 4 hours, 31 minutes, and 5 seconds…4 seconds…3 seconds…) until I left, I'd go mad.

Being reckless and stupid instead was a vastly preferable option. Besides, a random rogue vampire, commonly known as a Hollow, might come along and I'd have something to kill.

With that cheerful thought, I quietly climbed out of my window, landed in the garden below, snuck past the guards, scaled the castle walls, and dropped down the other side to freedom. From there, it was easy to melt into the shadows and make my way out of Karasu, heading west as fast as I could run, away from the city, away from my problems, and away from the prince who slept just outside the eastern walls of my home.

As I left the outskirts of the city and entered the countryside, I slowed down. There wasn't anyone here to see me and drag me back home. I'd enjoy my solitude, stretch my legs, have some time to think, and then sneak back into my room before anyone noticed I'd even left. As I hadn't run off like this in years (not since before the war, not since before my first battle, not since before I'd killed someone with my bare hands—"You're a warrior now, Karin"), I was certain I wouldn't be missed, and if Nel or Ulquiorra did notice I was gone, they'd probably assume that I went for a stroll in the castle gardens. It was common knowledge that I went pacing whenever I was angry or frustrated or just needed to think, and usually the gardens were perfect for that—outdoors, secluded, and quiet.

But not tonight. Tonight, I had no wish to wander in the gardens my mother had tended, knowing I might never be able to see them again in just a few days' time. I had no desire to walk the paths where, just today, representatives from Seireitei had tread, expressing quiet admiration of my mother's roses, Orihime's orchids, Yuzu's magnolia trees (but not a word said about my stubborn, weed-like daisies—in fact, the only acknowledgement my flower of choice received was a skeptically raised brow from one representative).

I thought of them now as I paced in the moonlight, the representatives who would soon be representing me.

I'd watched them from my window, suppressing the urge to slaughter them where they stood. My thoughts seethed—How dare they look at my gardens, how dare they walk in my castle, how dare they take my freedom!—but I did nothing as they left. Well, nothing much. I did play a harmless prank, but they brought that on themselves when they tried to probe my castle's defenses.

(The prince was not with them. It was apparently one of their customs that the bride and groom not see each other for a full week before the wedding. I wanted to ask if it was also the custom that they never even meet before the engagement, but I stayed silent and nodded instead.)

They returned to their camp, set up this morning as soon as they'd arrived. They had guards on the perimeter twenty-four/seven, and we had archers on the eastern wall at all hours. No fighting had erupted yet, and the scouts who'd spied on them as they journeyed here reported that they were polite and disciplined, so I guess my impending wedding was serving its purpose of keeping the peace. Yuzu and Orihime found the representatives pleasant; one of them, a Lady Rukia Hiruzen, had apparently planned several events for her brother-in-law and would be helping with the wedding. Yuzu mentioned how pretty she was: dark-haired, petite, and violet-eyed. Orihime spoke of how kind, thoughtful, and well-spoken she seemed.

Ichigo sparred with her, and declared her a decent fighter—that told me all I needed to know. She was dangerous and someone to watch. Maybe I would spar with her, and we would be allies; maybe I would talk with her, and we would be enemies.

This would be my life now—always watching the people around me, keeping my back to the wall, not knowing who to trust, not having anyone to laugh with. Seireitei's politics were nothing like Karakura's, with the Central Forty-Six cold and rigid in comparison to the relaxed councils that convened in my father's throne room.

Their formal, strict balls would be nothing like the rowdy, entertaining festivals that the Vaizards held, or the loud, drunken revels of the werewolves, or the warm, intimate gatherings of the witches, or the familiar, fun-filled parties that Yuzu and Orihime threw. Their soldiers wouldn't be gruff and overly protective, wouldn't have known me since I was a baby, or witnessed my first steps, or helped me up whenever I fell. Their villages wouldn't be welcoming and kind and always ready to share everything they had, even when I insisted they didn't.

They wouldn't know how to tell dirty jokes like Kon, or flirt with the maids like Ryohei, or roll their eyes like Kazuya, or knit like Pinta, or fish like Donny, or spar like Jinta, or tell stories like Ururu, or bake like Chad, or yell like Hiyori, or grin like Shinji, or dodge like Keigo, or crack codes like Mizuiro, or pull pranks like Uncle Kisuke, or play chess like Uncle Ryuuken, or laugh like Yuzu, or smile like Orihime, or scowl like Ichigo, or hug me 'til my ribs cracked like my father…

Oh, Goddess, I didn't want to do this. I didn't want to leave home.

I stood stock-still for a moment, tilting my head back and staring hopelessly up at the moon as my eyes burned. Great, just great. Instead of cheering me up, this walk only made me even more fervently depressed than before. I lowered my gaze and looked off into the distance. If I just kept on going, I could reach the coast in two days…

And go nowhere. I sighed and shook my head. What the hell was I thinking? I couldn't run away—for one thing, there was nowhere to run to (Hueco Mundo was out of the question, and, for obvious reasons, so was Seireitei—and it's not like the werewolf clans could hide me forever…), and for another, I wouldn't abandon my country or my duty. Ever.

So that meant I'd have to head on home and face the music.

Again: great. Just great.

Taking a deep breath, I turned back east, noting how the sky was beginning to lighten—dawn was approaching. Hmm. I'd have to run fast if I wanted to make it home before anyone noticed I was gone.

I'd barely taken five steps when the Hollows attacked.

There were a lot of them.

I grinned.

Maybe this little trip hadn't been such a waste after all.

+++Toushirou+++

Leaving the camp and wandering around the countryside of a nation we'd uneasily held truce with for centuries and only recently cemented as allies was probably not the wisest thing I'd done lately. However, considering the stress I'd gone through the last two weeks after wisely agreeing to marry a complete stranger, I felt that I was more than entitled to a little unwise behavior.

Besides, if I'd spent one more minute staring at the black and red wedding robes sitting in the corner of my tent, I was going to go stark, raving mad—and having an insane groom show up to the ceremony in three days was bound to make a horrible impression upon my new in-laws, who also happened to be the royal family of the nation we'd so recently and tenuously allied ourselves with.

Not so tenuously anymore, my mind reminded me. Now the treaty is bound with blood—your blood, and the blood of the heirs your wife will give you.

Heirs. I shuddered. Was it truly less than a month ago when siring heirs had been the furthest thing from my mind, too immersed in battle strategy and field reports to bother thinking about finding a wife? Now I had one waiting for me less than a few miles away, just past the imposing walls of Karasu, sleeping soundly in her bed as courtiers and servants scurried about and prepared our wedding, which drew nearer and nearer with every second that passed…

Two weeks ago I was on a battlefield, prepared to give my life in service to my country. In three days, I would be in a temple, preparing to do the same in a move that would likely ensure Seireitei's victory over Aizen.

I ought to have been rejoicing.

Why, then, did spending my life with a woman I had never even seen seem as great a sacrifice as dying in the war?

I sighed, glancing over the expanse of countryside before me. I'd headed far to the west, away from my camp and away from the city—I didn't want my guards hovering over me, and I certainly didn't want a Quincy's arrow sticking out of me, either. Mostly, I just wanted some peace and quiet—alone, so I could think and remind myself of the logic of my decision.

Karakura was no doubt a powerful nation and a necessary ally; it was also a beautiful country, despite the damage the war had inflicted. While traveling through it this past week, members of my entourage had gotten a sense of its resources: though towns and villages had been burned down, the majority of them remained intact, and the countryside, though smaller than Seireitei's, was vast enough to keep its many citizens—and soldiers—well-fed. They had roads, canals, aqueducts, and bridges to rival our own, and fortresses and strongholds enviable in their strength. And this was just the outer reaches—we had not even glimpsed the heartlands, were the Vaizards, werewolves, and witches were said to reside.

Of equal, if not greater, interest to me were Karakura's citizens—if there was one thing war had taught me, it was know thine enemy. For this reason, I'd agreed with my father's suggestions to travel here via caravan—he felt it would be a good opportunity to show them we meant no harm and for both sides to get to know each other before the wedding. After all, soldiers from either side would now have to work together. Father pointed out that my original plan of flying to Karasu on Hyourinmaru, my dragon, would probably be regarded with panic at best and violent hostility at worst, since dragons had not been seen in Karakura since the Great Schism. So I agreed to the week-long trek, partly because of that, and partly because I wanted to assess Karakura's strength and what threat they'd pose if negotiations fell through.

My people expected Karakurans to be a hostile people somewhat lacking in refinement and order. Early impressions only reinforced this—people in villages were hardly welcoming and treated us with unease, wariness, and distrust. As this was the first meeting between our peoples in centuries, it was only to be expected. However, Lady Rukia Hiruzen, a scion of the House of Kuchiki and a trusted colleague (I would say we were close enough to be called distant friends) and my familiar, Rangiku Matsumoto, were soon mingling with the locals and implementing my father's part of the plan—as well as gleaning information for me.

Once the initial barriers of their distrust were breached, the Karakurans were a remarkably open and friendly group. From my scouts' reports I learned that they were a resilient, no-nonsense people who were somewhat more gregarious and free with their opinions than the humans back home. Karakurans also lacked a sense of the rigid hierarchy present in Seireitei, and while they were loyal and fiercely devoted to their royal house, they also seemed to regard their rulers as…family, almost. They talked fondly and even familiarly of each of the members, breathing life to what had once been dry facts to those of us from Seireitei. From their stories, I began to form a clearer picture of my future allies, at least seen through the eyes of their people.

Before, I thought of King Isshin as a stern and unyielding ruler, gifted with near unmatched political astuteness and cunning; after all, had he not managed to secure the border between Karakura and Seireitei by marrying the heiress of West Rukongai? But I now knew Isshin Kurosaki was regarded as a humorous, boisterous man well-loved by his people, referred to affectionately as King Goat-chin, and that his marriage to Queen Masaki had apparently been the truest and happiest of love matches.

Before, all I knew of Crown Prince Ichigo was that he was a force to be feared on the battlefield, and assumed that his marriage was also politically driven, an arrangement that would serve to tie the royal family closer to the ruling members of their spiritual class. However, in his people's eyes, his bravery was matched only by his kindness, his strength only by his devotion to those he protected—which included his closest friends, a diverse group of powerful vampires and humans of every stripe.

The person for whom he fought the hardest, however, was the Crown Princess Orihime, described by practically everyone we met as the wisest, gentlest, and most beautiful woman in all of Enalma. Apparently, their marriage was also the culmination of a great love story, one where the prince had fallen in love with his future wife at first sight, mistaking her for a simple gardener in the Goddess's Great Temple, not realizing that in fact she was to be the next High Priestess. Their wedding, taking place five or so years previously, was emphatically described as the event of the century. Nearly every town we visited had some memento of the day, eagerly brought out and showcased.

They talked, too, of Lady Yuzu, the baby of the family, and how she did her part in the war by running the food and supply lines, working in tandem with Princess Orihime's healing brigades. The two were in charge of the entire relief and aid operation, planning any necessary evacuations, reinforcing fortresses, and offering comfort and support to refugees, widows and their children, orphans, the injured, and the dying. Lady Yuzu was especially known for sewing clothes and making toys for the children herself and regarded by most everyone as the very picture of her dead mother, just as sweet and just as strong. And like her father and brother before her, she, too, had seemingly found happiness in love, bonding with a childhood friend, a Lord Jinta of Urahara House.

Matsumoto was extremely enamored by these love stories and enjoyed reciting them to me whenever she had the opportunity, taking them at face value and scoffing at my skepticism. Even Lady Rukia was not immune, and I saw her paying avid attention to the nightly tales.

Apparently, the only member of the royal family who had not found her soul mate was the infamous Lady Karin. First Mage and Second Heir of Karakura, she was said to be nearly equal in strength to her brother, a fierce warrior and powerful mage, and beautiful enough to have any man she wanted. That last bit was often accompanied by a glare in the direction of my tent, or so Matsumoto informed me. The people were ridiculously protective of her, suspicious of me, and divided over whether or not they ought to be bringing out the wine in celebration of the upcoming nuptials ("Our Lady Karin is going to be an empress! An empress, can you believe it? 'Course, I feel sorry for those poor buggers in Seireitei—I bet they won't know what to make of her at all, nope, not our Lady Karin. She'll have them falling at her feet in months.") or sharpening their scythes in protest ("Who does that fancy, arrogant princeling think he is, marrying our Lady Karin and taking her off to some Goddess-forsaken country?! Why, I hear they don't even have music or dancing or alcohol at parties over there! No alcohol! Can you imagine that? The werewolves would throw a fit if we tried that here—which is probably why they left the friggin' country in the first place. No, we can't let him marry her like this—she'll be miserable!").

Of course, any negative comments made by my guards in regards to the marriage ended in brawls. In one of the later towns, the conversation went something like so:

"What did you say?! Did you just say that it's a pity your prince is being forced to marry some backwater girl? Did you just say that? How dare you! Why the friggin' hell wouldn't he want to marry our Lady Karin!?"

"Because he deserves an elegant, beautiful lady—not some ugly warrior Amazon!"

"Elegant lady—why, you! Lady Karin has more elegance in her little toe than all the ladies at your trumped-up court combined! And how dare you call Lady Karin ugly! I'm gonna to kill you, you stupid pig! Our Lady Karin's too good to marry a midget prince anyway!"

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU CALLING A SUPER-MIDGET PRINCE?"

Lady Rukia and Matsumoto were very annoyed at having to restore order and restrain the Seireiteian participants…which unfortunately included me (in my defense, it had been a particularly unpleasant day of traveling that included roads blocked by sheep and a violent case of food poisoning). However, they were quite willing to forgive my loss of control after the members of the town abruptly changed their opinion of me and began loudly proclaiming their approval. The three places between that town and Karasu were far more welcoming, and mentioned how they had heard that the Crown Prince of Seireitei was "a damn good fighter—could probably hold his own with a werewolf! A werewolf, I tell you! He's not just a pretty face, he's got a strong arm, too! Lady Karin'll have so much fun sparring with him! He'll definitely make her happy!"

How lovely. In order to obtain the blessing of my future bride's people, all I had to do was break a couple of noses and dislocate a few arms. Perfectly civilized, was it not?

That night, I wondered what it would take to win the regard of Kurosaki House…and the regard of one member in particular.

The citizens of Karasu were made of sterner stuff, and though my reputation had almost certainly preceded us, our welcome was as frigidly polite as one might expect. We were allowed to set up camp, placed under watchful surveillance by the Quincy archers ("That bastard Ryuuken's a twitchy one, ain't he?" I'd overheard Madarame say to Ayesegawa), and permitted to assist in planning the wedding. Lady Rukia and Matsumoto handled the preparations smoothly and effectively, and their brief forays into the palace yielded no hostilities, save for an unplanned sparring match between Lady Rukia and Prince Ichigo himself, as well as a few members of his Guard against the members of my personal battalion.

"The prince is one to watch," Lady Rukia had quietly declared at dinner. Only I and a few of the most trusted members of my entourage were present: Lady Rukia, Matsumoto, Madarame, Ayesegawa, and Hisagi.

Rukia ran a finger over the bandage on her arm. It was a shallow cut, nothing serious—except for the fact that she'd been cut at all. Lady Rukia was one of the best swordsmen in our entire country, personally trained by both her brother-in-law, Lord Byakuya Kuchiki, and my own father, Lord Jyuushirou Ukitake. If her defense had been breached, it meant her opponent was of the highest caliber.

"Oh, so he's the one who marked you?" Matsumoto inquired. She herself hadn't been present at the match, and instead had been taken on a tour of the castle by Princess Orihime and Lady Yuzu. The gardens were apparently quite lovely, though Matsumoto expressed surprise at seeing daisies growing there, raising a pointed brow in my direction. I'd scowled; it was no secret that my mother had preferred daisies over any other flower.

"No," Rukia replied. "The prince is a good fighter, but as the match was non-magical, he was not at full strength, and his pure swordsmanship is inferior to mine."

"Really?" Matsumoto raised a brow in Rukia's direction now. "Then who cut you?"

"And why is the prince the one to watch, if he couldn't match you?" I added.

"The human-turned-vampire cut 'er." Madarame spoke around a mouthful of chicken, which he quickly downed with blood from his goblet. He stabbed a knife in my direction to emphasize his words. "That bastard redhead's a fast one, an' prob'ly the best sword they've got. Captain would love to challenge him." He was referring, of course, to Kenpachi Zaraki, one of our most effective and blood-thirstiest generals.

As Madarame went back to his food, his familiar and best friend, Ayesegawa, contributed his observations. "But for all his speed and skill, it is obvious that the former human only moves at the behest of his master."

Hisagi nodded. "The message was clear. The human-turned-vampire—this Abarai—will cut where Prince Ichigo cannot."

"They're sending Abarai as a member of Lady Karin's entourage," Rukia said. "It's a clever move—obviously, he'll be there to protect her in case of attack from either our end or Aizen's. Possibly he can even act as an assassin, close enough to threaten you or the other members of the imperial family."

Madarame snorted. "Ha! Good luck with that! Nobody's getting past us or the rest of the First Battalion. Mr. Redhead can keep his fancy moves to hisself."

Matsumoto fiddled with her wine glass. "Perhaps it isn't so bad as that. Maybe he really will be there just as a bodyguard. If I were the Karakurans, I'd be worried about sending Lady Karin away to a strange land, too. The princesses were so kind today, and obviously concerned about their sister's welfare—Lady Yuzu even asked for a picture of you to give to your bride."

I blinked in surprise. "Did you give her one?"

"No, unfortunately I didn't have one with me."

"Too bad," Ayesegawa murmured. "I'm sure Lady Karin would be comforted by the fact that her husband-to-be isn't ugly. She might even become a little infatuated once she sees you; what woman in her right mind can resist that face?" He gestured towards me. "You look like one of the Night's Chosen, like a young godling, even."

I grimaced. "Thank you." Would my wife be so shallow, swayed into caring for me solely by my face? I hoped not—then again, it wasn't necessary for her to care about me at all, though I certainly hoped we could at least share friendship.

"I'm more interested in the princess herself," Rukia stated. "She didn't leave her rooms at all while we were at the palace, so we still have no first-hand knowledge of her abilities, or even what she looks like."

Hisagi shrugged. "She's powerful, at the very least. She's First Mage, isn't she?"

"Yes, but did she gain that title because of skill, or because of her royal blood?" Rukia asked.

"Skill." Matsumoto spoke firmly, her voice leaving no room for argument. "In the gardens, I sensed someone watching from the direction of her rooms, so I tried to probe the source and gauge its magical strength. The signal bounced back and forth throughout the castle before disappearing abruptly. Until it reappeared right behind me, that is. Princess Orihime apologized profusely—on behalf of Lady Karin. She said she usually didn't play such childish pranks. The head of the Palace Guard, Lady Tatsuki Arisawa, mentioned that she must've meant no harm, otherwise Ayesegawa and I would've been screaming our heads off in agony."

"So the girl's good enough to play games with an imperial familiar, and it apparently would've taken little effort to do more damage." Madarame wolf-whistled. "Caught yourself a strong one, haven't you, Your Highness? Hopefully, the rumors were right about her looks, too. You got any recon on that end, Matsumoto?"

She shook her head. "No, nothing more than the usual. She's described as tall, slim, exceedingly lovely, and as raven-haired as her sister is golden, as pale as her brother is tanned, and possessing her mother's grace and her father's eyes."

"Black, then," Lady Rukia murmured. "The king's eyes are as black as a moonless night."

"The two of you will make a striking picture." Ayesegawa's gaze lingered on my snow-white hair, on my sky-and-sea eyes. "May your union be blessed with good faith and good fortune." He raised his glass, as did the others at the table.

"May your union be blessed with good faith and good fortune, and may the Goddess smile down on your marriage always," they intoned, repeating the traditional marriage blessing amongst those of Seireitei.

"I wish for nothing else," was my traditional, scripted reply. From the carefully neutral faces of my companions, I knew they could tell it was a lie.

Staring out into the distance, I went over the facts.

The alliance with Karakura would bring us more soldiers, more supplies, more resources. It would bring us warriors like the Quincy they sent to negotiate the treaty, like Abarai—soldiers like the Vaizards, the witches, and the werewolves, a diversity in strength that we were lacking. It would bring us King Isshin's empathy instead of his enmity; the inventions of Lord Kisuke and the tactics and machinations of his wife, Lady Yoruichi; the cooperation of Exiles such as Lady Neliel and Lord Ulquiorra. It would bring us Prince Ichigo's sword, Princess Orihime's shields, and Lady Yuzu's skills.

The list of advantages went on and on. And what would it cost us? A marriage. Even then we were getting the better end of the deal—we'd gain a strong warrior to secure the imperial bloodline, a First Mage to reinforce the spells of our armies, and a powerful princess to serve as our future Empress.

And I would gain a beautiful wife, a partner I could respect.

I would gain Lady Karin Kurosaki, First Mage of the Night, Second Heir to the Throne, and Princess of Karakura, to have and to hold, until death did us part.

My thoughts quieted, the struggle in my brain ceasing as I reached the logical conclusion and accepted my fate. Only my heart still raged in protest, but I knew that it, too, would stop its complaints once Aizen was dead at my feet.

If I married Lady Karin, I would be one step closer to killing my mother's murderer. In the end, that was the fact that decided me.

I would go through with the marriage.

Sighing, I turned around and began running back towards my camp—the others would soon notice my disappearance, and I doubted they would be forgiving of my actions. I could hear Matsumoto now, scolding me for traveling alone, without a guard, out in the open where a horde of Hollows might attack at any—

Shrieks rent the silence of the night.

I smiled grimly to myself. I should have known better than to tempt the Goddess. Oh, well. At least now I had something to distract me.

I drew my sword.

Endnote: And next chapter, they'll actually meet. :)

To all of you who have forlornly given up on the hope of us ever updating, we are extremely sorry and extremely grateful if you're reading this anyway. Real life kinda…took over. Good stuff happened, bad stuff happened, but we finally made it back to the world of fanfic authorhood. Don't know how long we'll be staying, but we're grateful anyway to all of you, especially those who who've been here from the beginning. Thank you also to those of you who wandered over while we were absent, and those who are just discovering us now. We're glad you've read our work and we hope you have enjoyed/are enjoying/will enjoy it. :)

Thank you to everyone who's reviewed/alerted/favorited this story and/or us. :D

Special thanks goes to the following people for reviewing the last chapter: Shizuku700, Furionknight, self-is-illusion, byinj, Hakkuchi, MisplacedWit, moon shining wolf, & HitsuKarin Lurver. You guys make our day! :D (If we have forgotten you or spelled your name wrong, please tell us and we will correct the error immediately.)

Thank you so much, and please tell us what you think!