Title: Guilty Nightmares, Devoting Kicks
Summary: Kurosaki Karin takes after her brother; short tempered, powerful, understanding, rude, yet determined. She's determined to become what her brother became by going to the shinigami academy in Seireitei, and then become a powerful shinigami, exactly like her brother. While she becomes prey at the academy with Kuchiki Rukia, her relief at the end of the day is with her friends. One of them, specifically, makes her happy; brilliant soccer player, Hitsugaya Toshiro. Hitsugaya's mind wanders from Karin to Hinamori, wondering what they've created in his life. Rukia's unfazed charisma is suddenly cracked open with the sudden announcement of Ichigo and Inoue's 'relationship.'
Pairings: Karin/Hitsugaya Hinamori/Hitsugaya Rukia/Ichigo Inoue/Ichigo
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach…Sadly…
Chapter Three: (Karin's POV) You like her…
"Ichi-Nii!" I realize as I rushed towards Ichi-Nii that I'd dropped Toshiro on the ground. Toshiro started spitting blood as I looked from Ichi-Nii to him, and back. Rukia had immediately bent down beside the kid and started feeding him some crank pills. Obligated, sadly, I bent down and lent a hand towards the white-haired child. After a few moments, I realized he'd been glaring at me, blood wiped across his cheek. Groaning, I articulated carefully, "He's my brother! And Toshiro, you realize that your body's covered in muscle, right? Wait a sec. I'll pick you up." The metal ball had been annoying me as I was walking. It kept banging against my knee, distracting and cracking every time it hit the bone. I pulled it out and set it on the ground, attempting to force it smaller.
It wasn't working. Toshiro noticed that after a few seconds.
"Pull your reiatsu back into your body and force it smaller at the same time."
"Huh?" I glanced up. Toshiro's eyes evaded mine, most likely because he was still pissed. Ignoring the rude gesture, I took his advice. It took too much energy to consume reiatsu. Shrugging carelessly, I threw Toshiro my baseball-sized, ashy-raven hued ball. Catching it in his right arm, he seemed unable to comprehend what I was telling him to do when I bent over with my back towards him.
"Get on." I managed to mumbled, feeling extremely ashamed. I was 13 and giving piggyback rides.
Toshiro seemed to be unable to understand, so I heaved him up onto my back, the effort almost breaking my ribs. "You need to stop working out." I gasped. Toshiro smirked and sighed heavily behind me. I had the sudden thought of dropping him again, before I realized everyone was crowded around Ichi-Nii. I painted/jogged towards the crowd, with Toshiro mumbling about 'decent piggybacks,' while breathing ice on the skin behind my back.
Rukia-san, Renji-kun, and a blond-haired man were all crowded around Ichi-Nii, I noticed. I twisted my head a few inches, so that I could see a few strands of white hair. "Hey, Toshiro, am I supposed to wait for Rukia-san and Renji-kun, or what?" My eyes were twitching instinctively as those barely perceptible locks of white hair started moving across my nose. Toshiro seemed to consider this for a few moments, as my knees started shaking under his weight. God, you're heavy! Make a decision! "Toshiro! Hurry up!" Toshiro seemed to be taking a damn long time, and with a happy smile flitting across his smug face.
"Karin, you address me as Captain Hitsugaya. I'm a shinigami Captain, as you've probably noticed. Second, Abarai didn't come here to greet me; he came to make sure Rukia-san was safe, as I'm sure you just heard. Anyhow, Abarai and Kira will escort your brother and Rukia-san back to Division Ten's living quarters, where they, unfortunately, live. You are going to take me to the living quarters right now, unless you want blood in your hair." Toshiro seemed to be very arrogant about the last bit. He was correct though; I didn't want to have his blood and guts all over my hair. It would smell like a load of crap for the next few months, I suspected.
Nonetheless, I wasn't about to refer to a kid as 'Captain Hitsugaya' no matter what he'd done to achieve it. "Toshiro, I'll make you a deal. We'll have a soccer game; one-one-one; maybe Renji-kun, Kira-kun, Ichi-Nii, or Rukia-san can make three-on-three, but if your team wins, then I suppose you've earned the right to be called Captain Hitsugaya… If I win, you can call me Kurosaki-Senpai, alright?" I turned my head back around, so that the white hair wasn't getting in my eyes. "I'll admit that I hate being called by my last name, since typically, people want to be called by their first name, but since you're so headstrong about being called 'Captain,' then I'm going to be headstrong about being called, 'Senpai.' If it's a tie, then I can keep calling you Toshiro, and you can keep calling me… whatever."
I paused and thought it over a bit. It didn't seem fair for him to just call me Karin, since Toshiro seemed to annoy him. "You can make up a name, if you like. Would you like to play that soccer game? I'm not going to call you Captain Hitsugaya if you don't." I set him down, my arms felt like weights attached to my body. I was incredibly desperate to play a soccer game against him; to see how I'd improved over the years.
Toshiro's face was unreadable for a few seconds. Narrowing his eyes out of suspicious, he nodded very slowly. My smile was huge, and bowed. "Thanks, Toshiro!" I bent down again and gave him a signal to get on my back again. "Rukia-san! Toshiro says that Renji-kun and Kira-kun will take you and Ichi-Nii to where they live! Toshiro wants to get back there before he vomits on my head, so I'll get going!" I waved and nearly dropped Toshiro, who barked insults into my ear. "Bye!" I shouted at the four standing in a circle and started running cross the courtyard, following Toshiro's instructions to get to his living quarters.
I noticed Rukia-san turn around and give me a curious look. Renji-kun cracked a smile the same time that curious look was sent towards me. I looked up at Toshiro, who had decided that as a passenger on my back, he'd have special privileges; he'd started flicking my hair around as I was running, and whatever lock of hair he'd touched would freeze. My hairs' ends were already half frozen as I dropped his legs a couple of inches, shaking him out of his odd trance. His special privileges would come to an end.
"Hey! Who said you could freeze my hair? It's going to change color!" I stumbled in my rage and fell over, Toshiro's muscle-clad body making my fall much, much worse. My body slammed into the dirty pavement, practically knocking my jaw out of place. Toshiro climbed off my back and vomited a few feet away from my left leg. A guard emerged from a street, about six meters away.
The man was wearing the shinigami uniform and had a chubby face. He hobbled over my fallen body and bowed, "Captain Hitsugaya, what has happened?" The white-haired bastard climbed up, out of his begging position, and pointed to me. I moved my jaw back and forth, left-to-right. It cracked, and yet, I felt no pain. It kept cracking as the two talked in the background, discussing the 'vermin' lying down on the ground. I tried to control my anger, honestly I did. I blame my metal ball. Seriously. It just popped out of Toshiro's jacket's pocket and started swerving around the fat man.
Actually, the reiatsu started pulsing harder, faster, as my anger started rearing up. The metal ball started growing and radiating a silvery mist. It burned a hole through Toshiro's pocket, and then attacked the fat man. The ball of concentrated energy became a silvery mist as I glared, seethed actually, about that fat man. That man could just stand there talking shit about me, while my jaw is cracking? The man was actually chuckling. I vaguely perceived a few sentences, 'A piece of illegal shit again… Captain Kuchiki actually talked to these things?! Must've been because she's got something to do with Captain Kuchiki's own sister and that idiot hothead, her brother. That piece of shit wouldn't stand a chance without those rebellious shits…'
It shot in loops around the man; around his head and working its way down to his ugly, fat feet. It started climbing again, now with more speed as Toshiro tried to stop it with his stupid goddamned freezing power. My anger built even more. Now Toshiro was helping the fat man?!After he'd insulted Ichi-Nii, Rukia-san, and me?! Captain Kuchiki was a load of shit, acting like he had the authority to OWN me. That effing bastard. You don't insult me like that! Go to HELL!
The ball stopped abruptly in front of Toshiro's face; in front of Toshiro's tilted nose. In front of the fat man's chest. It detonated with a sudden screech; the screech of a racecar braking to swerve. The grey mist left the ashy sphere in an instant; the instant it exploded towards the fat man's torso. What it hit wasn't heated flesh.
Toshiro's freezing, rapid hand blocked it. The mist curled around his melting palm, then evaporated.
I gasped. My eyes wouldn't blink. My heart wouldn't beat. One beat here. One beat six seconds later. I couldn't breathe. My hand clutched my throat. My nerves weren't responding. Why was everything cold and hazy? I tried choking, moving, but all I could do was grasp for something in front of me. All the objects were appearing hazier, with only a few hazy outlines… A few minutes passed. Toshiro's hand was melting and deformed. His face was distressed. He was turning towards me. Even the faint outlines were fading now. Everything was cold. So cold my insides were beginning to burn… Was this dying? I feel so cold. I can't move. I can't breathe. I can't see. Where's my reiatsu? I feel like I'm dissolving… What's going to happen?
I closed my eyes. That was it. I just closed my eyes, and let myself bleed from the inside. I didn't feel any pain. I felt broken and shattered and I couldn't summon the energy to care. I hurdled into death's open, greeting, arms with Toshiro's freezing breath beating down my neck.
oOo
It felt like a slap in the face when I awoke. I choked on my own spit, and started coughing the second I sat up. Something wasn't right, I noticed. I was lying on a bed in a large, fully furnished room. I piled up the evidence in my head quickly. Either I died, and now I'm back in the real world, or Toshiro paralyzed me, and now I'm being kept in this world. That's great. It means I'll probably be able to stay a bit longer, if I was paralyzed. If I died… I grunted and tried to flip my body out of the bed. Surprisingly, I experienced no pain. I slipped out of the room and wandered around. Outside was a spacious hallway, with three rooms on each side. I walked to the end of the hallway, where a light bulb was clearly shining through the cracks under the door. I shoved it open quickly and distinguished a hunched shape on top of a large desk.
"Toshiro!" I recognized the white hair on the kid captain. He jumped up at the sound of his name, and sat back down at the sight of me. He looked a bit relieved. "So, Toshiro, what exactly happened…? You froze my ball and then I sort of…." I shrugged, and glanced questionably at him. His right hand was clutching a fountain pen, and he started talking and filling out forms after a few paces around the room.
A quick glance up at me, and then a few signatures and checks on the papers he was working on, and he started talking quietly. "It's been four days since that incident. I completely obliterated that metal plaything that Urahara-san gave you. Yes, I know." He glared sharply as I questioned his intelligence. "That ball was an incompetent toy he used to test you… It wasn't supposed to be used as a killing weapon. You let that ball swallow too much of your reiatsu, and a section of your soul. I froze and demolished your soul when I froze and demolished that ball. Don't! Just listen! Sit down." I had jumped up at the phrase, 'froze and demolished your soul.' Breathing deeply, I sat back down and shoved at the fear that had just momentarily engulfed me.
Toshiro continued on, briefly pausing to flip in his pile of paperwork. "The guard was carrying a hell's butterfly, and I contacted Division Four. You remember Captain Unohana, correct? She worked through the remnants of your soul; the soul in the sphere. Some of it survived, but most of it was frozen and wasted. Captain Unohana decided to take you back to your gigai in Kurakara, hoping that your gigai would be able to take away the damage done to your soul. You were awakened once your soul was connected to your gigai, but you probably don't remember. Captain Unohana said that once you awoke, your body instantly started bleeding, and your skin turned blue because of your frozen soul. You died after a few hours of intense pain and restoration. Your gigai had to be burned. Captain Unohana performed the soul burial, and sent you back here. You won't remember any of this, since she swiped your memory of the last few hours of your life." I stared at him. There was an awkward pause.
I smiled, almost too confused to feel stupid. "Well… that's great. Now I can stay here and become a shinigami, just like I said I wanted, right? Ichi-Nii will probably get mad at me now…" I sighed and swallowed hard. "Ichi-Nii, Yuzu, Daddy…They're not mad, right? They'd be disappointed that I tried to injure someone… Toshiro; your hand's OK, right?"
Toshiro raised his left hand and unwrapped the bandages around his palm. "Burnt, but it's alright." He'd stopped writing to nod at me. "It's good that you're thinking about becoming a shinigami, even after you… your gigai died. Captain Kuchiki's requesting a meeting after you wake up. I'll set it up tomorrow morning. Tomorrow's Rukia's birthday, which means Ichigo's going back to Kurakara. As for your living condition, you and Rukia-san will be staying with me. Rukia-san will be going to the academy as well, and I take full responsibility of you, seeing as I… caused the incident." He coughed and I laughed, probably because I hadn't fully absorbed the fact that I was dead.
Yuzu, Daddy, I hope you're not sad… Ichi-Nii will tell you what's happening to me. I know you guys will be happy for me. Now I can protect you! I lifted myself out of the chair and grinned easily, freeing myself of the sadness. There wasn't any need to go thinking about death and the past too much, or I'd be utterly depressed. "Seeing as you killed me? No worries Toshiro; you did me a big favor. Now I can go to the shinigami academy without making excuses… So, Toshiro, can you make this all up to me? Tomorrow, I want to play a soccer game three on three, with Renji-kun, Kira-kun, Rukia-san, and Ichi-Nii. I might not be able to play soccer again for a few years, so… Not to mention I have to get active again and start training! My whole death is waiting for me!" I smiled and chuckled at the thought.
Pulling my chair up to his desk, I glanced at the paperwork he was filling out. He seemed to be lost in thought, but groaned as I grabbed the sheet in front of him, and started reading it aloud. "Captain Hitsugaya and Lieutenant Matsumoto will take full responsibility in the protection, provisions, and all other minor details…. Yada, yada, yada… of Kurosaki Karin? The training and education will be…. Yada, yada, yada….. Authorization of the usage of weapon will be given on the following date… Weapon of choice will be given on the date the… yada, yada, yada. Authorization signature, printed name, stamp, and fingerprints of both Lieutenant Matsumoto and Captain Hitsugaya and required… yada, yada, yada…. Kurosaki Karin is required to sign as soon as… yeah, whatever." I sighed and placed the sheet of paper back in front of the kid.
I noticed a basket filled with balls of gold foil beside Toshiro's left foot, and raced for it. Unfortunately, I was too slow. Toshiro had lifted his foot and carried the basket along with it. Reaching up quickly, I managed to grab two foil-covered balls of bonbons. Unwrapping it carelessly, I pocketed the wrappers and popped one of them in my mouth.
Toshiro had rolled his eyes and returned to reading through the contract after I'd snatched the two bonbons. On the other hand, I was gazing at my chocolate covered fingertips and absentmindedly licked them. My eyes lingered on a few pictures taped on the wall. One had all the lieutenants and captains of the Gotei 13. I managed to find Toshiro, standing with a lady with huge busts. I guessed that she was Lieutenant Matsumoto.
The picture next to it was a photo of Toshiro, Lieutenant Matsumoto, and a petite young girl; her coffee-colored hair in a small bun, as the picture showed her sideways. There was a label underneath the picture. I strained, and managed to read the scrawled handwriting. 'Matsumoto and Hinamori.' Lieutenant Matsumoto seemed intent on posing like a model, while the pretty Hinamori was giving bunny-ears to an impatient Toshiro. There were four more pictures on the wall, other than those two; I'd counted. There was Renji-kun, Kira-kun, Hinamori, Matsumoto, and Toshiro posing in another; Rukia, Renji, Matsumoto, and Ichi-Nii all in front of the Kurakara park. There was a picture with a man I didn't know. His wavy brown hair was the same color as Hinamori's. His eyes were covered by reflecting glasses, and he was standing beside Hinamori; Toshiro was seated beside the two with the same bored look he'd had in the past pictures. In the label underneath the photo, Toshiro had written, 'Hinamori and Captain Aizen.'
The last picture was actually a postcard. There was a picture taped onto the postcard. The background seemed to be of the Tokyo tower at night, with lights illuminating the structure. Hinamori's petite form was seen, her smile graceful and feminine; something I'd never attempted. Renji-kun and Kira-kun were to her left, both wearing goofy smiles and looking drunk. To Hinamori's right was Captain Aizen. Hinamori was obviously looking at the captain with some sort of odd admiration and something I couldn't put my finger on.
It looked too creepy.
Ichi-Nii had told me that some guy named Aizen had been leader of the Arrancar, and yet, here was a guy named Aizen with Toshiro's friend. It was twisted.
I interrupted the silence with a blunt question. "Hinamori's your friend, right?"
Toshiro stopped writing for a second. Then, he continued with a grunt.
"Aizen was the guy who betrayed Soul Society. Why's he with Hinamori? Did Hinamori betray Soul Society with him?" I was too lost in thought that I didn't notice Toshiro's clenched fist, his knuckles growing white. I walked up to the postcard and read the neat handwriting aloud. "Tokyo's filled with Hollows, and we're so busy! Kira-kun, Renji-kun, and I have daily patrols, while Captain Aizen's uncovering the reason behind all these attacks. We visited the Tokyo Tower today and bought the postcard, as well as taking this picture… Well, we'll see you and Rangiku-san when we come back. Until then, Shirou-chan!"
My amusement lasted for a few moments. The room had dropped several degrees. I continued to talk, keeping my voice low. "Hinamori's your friend... She calls you Shirou-chan, so you guys must've been really tight. You want to know what I think? If I were a guy, I'd definitely go for her. She's sweet and pretty. Not to mention she seems to make friends easily. She's pretty special to you, isn't she?" I smiled again. "Well, I thought you were a lonely cold kid, but thankfully you still have a good friend." I walked back to the desk and watched his face lighten up, fists uncurl, and the temperature rise a bit.
"Where's Hinamori anyway? She didn't seriously betray Soul Society with Aizen, right? I've gotta meet your girlfriend." I put special emphasis on 'girlfriend' and sniggered quietly, under my breath. "By the way, shouldn't Lieutenant Matsumoto be working through the paperwork? You're supposed to be all stressed, right?"
"She's locked up." He muttered extremely softly. I choked after realizing what he had said.
Wait; was he saying Lieutenant Matsumoto was locked up? Or was he saying that Hinamori was?
Toshiro looked up, annoyed about the interruption. "Hinamori was deemed an unnecessary weight for the Gotei 13. She was a painful representation of the Arrancar battle. It was voted that she would be restrained in a concealed location in Soul Society. Only a few members of Division Four know of her location, so they can take care of her. She's just going to stay confined until…" He sighed and went back to signing forms. An air of regret and helplessness fell over the office.
I bit my lip. I had figured it out, apparently. "Why don't you rescue her?" It was a direct question I probably hadn't thought out very carefully. "Ichi-Nii had gone after Rukia-san. Rukia-san was sentenced to death then." I lifted my eyes to the ceiling, proud of Ichi-Nii. Hinamori was… She was definitely a person worth saving, if Toshiro was acting like this for her. "If Hinamori's important to you, then you should go after her. Rukia was important to Ichi-Nii, so he achieved bankai for her. Why don't you just try to get her out of her confinement?" The solution was so simple. I was wondering why the hell he was so stupid not to try it.
Toshiro had raised his eyes to the ceiling, and was leaning his chin on his palm. He seemed to think I had found something on the ceiling worth staring at. In a cold voice, he uttered, "I'm a captain in the Gotei 13. I would be sentenced to death if I rebelled and went looking for a friend; a friend who's labeled as an insane sociopath. It's all lies to cover up the fact that she was infatuated with her captain, Aizen. It's a blemish that Soul Society wants to cover up, and in the future, completely erase. It's honor that the Gotei 13 was worried about when they made the decision to confine Hinamori. I have no say in what happens now. If she dies, then she'll be free. If not, then she may have some hope of coming back…"
I stared.
He was trying to cover up his emotions now, wasn't he?
An uneasy silence enveloped the office as I pushed myself back into the chair, still staring anxiously at the ceiling. Toshiro's vast signature's strokes were the only sound in the room for quite a few minutes.
"And I've been released from the bed for two days now. Matsumoto was deprived of sleep and sake for so long that she was starting to become dull. Not to mention she hadn't bathed or eaten a proper meal ever since I'd been limited to walking around my room. But I heard an awful lot noise from your room. I expect you were experiencing lots of pain from all the noise you were making. Rehabilitation from death was probably painful for you."
I stood up to leave, and then hesitated. I glanced around at the child captain, still signing and going through forms. I voiced quite clearly, "You like her. You like Hinamori; I'm sure. Don't be stupid enough to give her up if you like Hinamori this much. Ichi-Nii-"
Toshiro slammed his hand on his desk and stood up, glaring. "Don't compare me to your rebellious brother!" He controlled his voice, but I couldn't shrug off the resentment hidden in the phrase.
"At least my brother didn't give up on his friend. Hinamori was special enough to be able to call you Shirou-chan, and you give up on her, even when you know she's not an 'insane sociopath.'" I snorted and pushed open the door. Again, I hesitated. I couldn't leave him hating me because I'd insulted him. "But, you know what? It's your life."
Toshiro's silence encouraged me. I turned around, beaming genuinely. "Hinamori's your girlfriend! It's your decision, and it's got nothing to do with me! Remember, tomorrow you're going to face off against me in a soccer game! OK?" I waved and trotted off towards me room. His last expression wasn't of anger. It was almost close to being… amused. Slipping into bed, I nodded off, smiling. It was good that Toshiro was in love.
There was a bittersweet feeling too.
Hinamori and Toshiro… Were they a couple? What were they when paired together, really?
oOo
Author's Note: I'm so sorry about the late update, but my computer was taken away, I had less time, etc. I'm adding Hinamori into Karin's mind, and the soccer game and Ichigo's leaving is going to be in the next chapter. I swear, there'll be much more drama and (some) romance in the following chapter. Please review! It might not be incredibly long, but it'll be about the same size. Again, please review! I really like 'em!