Do you people not like this story? I'm kind of getting that impression. I'm sorry, I know it started out a bit slow, but it's going to be really long, so don't despair!

"Sorry," Hitsugaya said gloomily as he approached Karin.

"Whatever," she scoffed. He could tell that she was angry, but more at the situation than at him. They watched Hiroshi's team celebrate for a bit. Then he sauntered over to them.

"Hey losers, pay up!" Hiroshi demanded, holding out his hand.

"What, like we've got it on us now?" Karin said annoyed. "That wasn't part of the deal!" Hiroshi stiffened.

"You'd better get us our winnings, or else…"

"Or else what, Hiroshi?" Karin threatened. Hiroshi's face turned red.

"Don't worry," Karin continued grudgingly. "You'll get your winnings. A bet's a bet and you know I'm true to my word. But you might just have to wait until my knee gets better. And don't complain!" she preempted as Hiroshi opened his mouth to retort. "It's your fault my knee's like this. Come on guys, let's leave this dump." Hitsugaya and Sentaro each wrapped an arm around Karin's shoulders and supported her away from the field.

"Sorry," Hitsugaya said again. Karin glared at him.

"Oh, don't take all the credit," she chided. "It's thanks to you we got to play at all. Besides, I'm the one who got injured."

"Yeah, but that was Hiroshi's fault," Kiyone pointed out. Karin scoffed.

"It doesn't matter whose fault it was, we lost and we have to pay the price."

"But where are we going to get a week's worth of food?" Sentaro groaned. "We can barely scrounge enough to stay alive, even with Hitsugaya's help."

"Food!" Hitsugaya thought. "That was what the prize was?" As Sentaro said, Hitsugaya had been bringing anything he could get his hands on to help his friends. He always had a big appetite anyway, so his Baachan didn't really think much of it when he took more food than usual. Luckily, she didn't seem to realize that Hinamori was really gone, so she had been preparing for an extra person, but he still wished he could do more to help. But there was no way he could come up with a week's worth of food for them. Not on his Baachan's salary.

"I'm sorry guys," he apologized, "but there's nothing I can…"

"Oh yes there is!" Karin exclaimed, her face lighting up with sudden inspiration.

"Look, I know I have more money than you do, but there is no way I can afford all that!" Hitsugaya yelled. Karin grinned evilly.

"But didn't I tell you I would hold you responsible if we lost?" She started laughing at the look on his face.

"Just kidding! No, but seriously, you can help us. You didn't really think we were planning on buying the food did you?" Hitsugaya raised an eyebrow.

"What's on your mind Karin?" Sentaro asked curiously.

"Well," she mused. "Toush, you said your Baachan worked for the Kuchiki's right?"

"Yeah," Hitsugaya agreed, wondering where on earth she was going with this.

"And nobles always have plenty of extra food lying around right?" she continued.

"I get it!" Kiyone said, understanding dawning on her face. "Karin you're a genius!"

"I was just going to tell her that!" Sentaro snapped at her. Karin ignored their bickering and looked at Hitsugaya who was still confused.

"With your help," she explained, "we're going to break into the Kuchiki manor and steal their food. It shouldn't be too hard, we've nicked tons of food before, and with four of us helping and you…"

"No," Hitsugaya stated soundly. "No way am I helping with this. It's too dangerous." Karin put on a large, exaggerated frown.

"Aw, is the spoiled rich kid afraid of getting into trouble?" she mocked. "Does it go against your morals to…"

"Stealing is just wrong!" Hitsugaya interrupted. Karin sighed.

"Look Toush, I understand that where you come from, you can pay for every meal but you've got to remember where you are now. Look around you! Everyone here has to steal. It's the only way to stay alive. We're going to go through with this whether you join us or not. But first, we have to wait for my knee to heal. That'll give us some time to plan, and I'm not breaking in anywhere until I can run properly." They walked the rest of the way in silence, trying in vain to drown out Kiyone and Sentaro's argument, each lost in their own thoughts. Karin was developing the outline of a plan while Hitsugaya was wondering vaguely how he ended up in this situation.

"There's no way I'm going to do it!" he assured himself. But he looked back at his three new friends, particularly the girl he was supporting, and knew that he really had no choice. If he didn't help them, he knew Karin would never speak to him again, and he wasn't willing to just throw her out of his life so easily. He sighed.

"What have I gotten myself into?" he asked himself.

ooooooooooooooooooo

It took Karin's knee a whole six months to heal to the point where she felt it was safe to attempt a raid on the Kuchiki manor. That, or risk having it reinjured by an irritated Hiroshi who was getting impatient waiting for his food, despite Karin's reminders that he caused the stupid injury in the first place.

"It was an accident," was all he could say as Karin shouted at him. "Just pay up or pay the price. You can walk."

Hitsugaya meanwhile continued to hang out with his new friends almost every day. He really had nothing better to do and besides, soccer was kind of fun, even if Karin couldn't play very well, owing to her injury. But today, he had stayed home. Hinamori was visiting from the Shinigami Academy and, even though he would never admit it out loud, he wanted to see her.

They sat on the porch, devouring an enormous pile of watermelons that their Baachan had provided for the occasion. Hitsugaya pretended not to listen as Hinamori babbled about her life at school.

"Gosh, are you listening, Shiro-chan?" Hinamori whined.

"I told you to quit calling me Shiro-chan!" he insisted through a mouth full of watermelon. He spit his seeds at her, smiling inside at her shriek.

"And why do you come back every time you get a day off?" he asked. "Is there that little to do at shinigami school?"

"Hey, I come here to hang out with you," she moaned.

"No one asked you too," he replied offhandedly. They chatted for a little while longer, Hitsugaya pausing every once in a while to spit out seeds.

"Hey Bed-Wetter Momo," he said, pointing at a clump of bushes. "I bet I can spit a seed all the way over there!" Hinamori pouted.

"You're so vulgar Shiro-chan," she chided, but Hitsugaya ignored her. Taking aim, he shot a string of seeds all the way over to the bush.

"Ewww!" cried the bush. Hinamori screamed but Hitsugaya just slapped his forehead.

"You blew our cover you stupid girl!" the bush cried.

"Who's stupid!" the bush yelled back at itself. "You'd think it was gross too if you got hit full in the face with a bunch of watermelon seeds."

"Oi, Kiyone, Sentaro, I can hear you you know," Hitsugaya called, and three people emerged from the bush, two looking sheepish, and one looking pissed.

"I knew I shouldn't have brought these idiots along," Karin said, glaring at her friends, who at least had the decently to look ashamed.

"How did you find me?" Hitsugaya asked, although he was more amused than anything. He had always visited them, but they had never once left 77th district to come and see him. "And what are you doing here?" Karin grinned.

"With reiatsu like that, it'd be harder not to find you Toush," she teased, coming over to him and ruffling his hair. "You're a right little shinigami when it comes to that." Hitsugaya scowled and pushed her hand away.

"I am not a shinigami!" he stated angrily.

"And to answer your second question," Karin continued, ignoring his comment, "we're here because it's time. Hiroshi won't wait any longer." She didn't elaborate on what it was time for, presumably because of the presence of Hinamori, but Hitsugaya knew exactly what she was talking about.

"It's got to be today?" he moaned. Why today, of all days? This was only Hinamori's third visit home, and she had been gone for almost a year.

"Yeah," Karin replied. "Or Hiroshi's gonna break my other knee. You coming?" Hitsugaya looked over at his rather confused sister.

"Something came up," he answered, thinking about what Hinamori would say if she knew where he was going. "Sorry I can't help out." Karin glared at him.

"And what exactly is so important that you're ditching us…"

"Watermelon!" cried Kiyone, cutting Karin off in the middle of her tirade. Kiyone bounded over to the towering stack of pink fruit, staring at it like she had just found the fountain of youth.

"Help yourself!" Hinamori said happily.

"Thanks!" Kiyone beamed before digging in.

"Don't hog it!" Sentaro reprimanded before grabbing a slice himself. Karin seemed torn between finishing shouting at Hitsugaya and taking a piece herself.

"Eat," Hitsugaya advised. "Then we'll talk." Karin debated for a minute, but hunger won out and she grabbed a piece and tore away at it greedily. Hinamori laughed.

"Who are your new friends Shiro-chan?" she asked. "They have hearty little appetites." Karin snorted into her watermelon.

"Shiro-chan," she murmured and Hitsugaya turned as pink as the fruit.

"If you even start…" he threatened, but Karin brushed it off.

"Naw, you'll always be spoiled rich kid to me!" she said triumphantly. Hitsugaya scowled.

"This is Karin, Kiyone, and Sentaro," Hitsugaya introduced his friends. He decided to leave out the fact that they were from district 77, as that would require explaining how he met them, which would mean admitting to Hinamori that he spent every day in that war zone.

"Nice to meet you!" Hinamori said politely.

"Same here!" Sentaro said, juice pouring out of the corners of his mouth which was practically overflowing with watermelon. Kiyone could only nod in response, since her mouth was too full to even make a sound. Karin rolled her eyes.

"Slobs, the both of you. Anyway, I'm Karin. You're friend here has a mean little kick," she said, indicating Hitsugaya. Hinamori looked shocked.

"Shiro-chan!" she gasped. "You've been fighting?!"

"Soccer kick, Bed-Wetter," he corrected. "It's a game. And quit calling me Shiro-chan!"

"You play games now!?" Hinamori said, even more stunned than before. "Karin-chan, what have you done to this boy?" Hitsugaya glared daggers at her and Karin burst into laughter.

"Oh, look at the time!" Hinamori exclaimed suddenly, looking up to see the sunset. "I didn't realize how late it was! I have to be back before dark. By Shiro-chan! By Shiro-chan's friends!" She waved goodbye and dashed off, leaving the four friends to finish the watermelon, which took surprisingly little time.

"Now that we're all full," Karin announced, "it's time to do what we came here to do. Shiro-chan, you're coming with us! You've got no excuse anymore."

"I do if you call me Shiro-chan!" he retorted. Karin chuckled.

"Ok, spoiled rich kid. Is that better?" Hitsugaya scowled, but grudgingly followed them towards the Kuchiki manor.

The next chapter will be MEGA important, so look forward to it :)