Chain of Fate
It was still a bit of a novelty to see Hitsugaya around his shop so often. Urahara emerged from the trapdoor in the wooden floor to find the young captain seated at a small table across from Tessai. Neither were talking and the shopkeeper had to chuckle at the palpable awkwardness in the air. He closed the door and took his fan from his kimono, fanning himself brightly.
"What brings you here again, Hitsugaya-kun?"
He raised an eyebrow in annoyance, "Hitsugaya-tai-"
"Taicho." Urahara spoke over him, "I know, I know~"
"You wanted me to keep you updated, so here I am." Hitsuagay explained.
Urahara pouted, plopping down at one of the empty sides of the table. "Why so dour?"
"I'm very busy,"
"Well, you needn't worry about Karin-chan, if that's part of your busyness." Urahara noted, "She's downstairs right now, under Yoruichi-san's capable supervision." He spoke of his odd underground training facility as if it were a common garage.
"I told you, you need to back off. Things are progressing just like-"
He folded his fan, placing it down on the table. "Oh, Hitsugaya-taicho! I promise I know what I'm doing." His singsong tone lowered, "Besides, she's just meditating now. That's all we've been allowing her to do lately." He smiled a bit, "She's getting very frustrated with me~"
"As if that's my fault." His voice picked up an irritated bite, "Can I just let you know what's going on now?"
Tessai spoke up, "We're waiting for one more guest."
"That's right! He's actually running late." Urahara interjected.
"Who could possibly-"
Hitsugaya was interrupted by the careless racket of a door being slid open too quickly. Isshin Kurosaki stepped in, still in his gigai, his doctor's coat slung over his arm. It was the first time in a long time Hitsugaya had seen him in a suit instead of his shinigami shihakusho. Even just the other night at dinner, he hadn't been in his suit. He cleaned up pretty well, the captain had to admit to himself.
"Sorry I'm late!" He announced, "My last appointment ran long. The patient bled all over my office." He pouted. He spoke so casually, it was slightly off-putting.
"Bled?" Hitsugaya asked in spite of himself, "Are they all right?"
"Of course!" He concluded, sitting between Hitsugaya and Tessai. "They're under my care. Why wouldn't they be?"
Rather than answer, Hitsugaya frowned and turned his gaze to Urahara. "May I proceed now?"
"Yes, yes!"
He cleared his throat, "I was able to take a sample of some residual energy I found at the school. I've sent it back for analysis, but the results haven't come in yet. It looks like Karin-chan and her sister were lured out and attacked on purpose." He explained in a very matter of fact tone before cutting a sharp glance at Urahara, "I don't believe now is a good time to train her."
"Oh, to the contrary." Urahara retorted, "It couldn't be a better time."
"And why is that?" He asked.
"We all knew this was inevitable~" He paused, tilting his hat back so he could make eye contact with the captain, "She has a reason to fight. She's been trying for years to be okay with being virtually powerless, but with the way things're going, if I don't keep helping her she'll find someone else to. Someone who may be even more dangerous than me."
"I doubt such a person exists." Hitsugaya mumbled under his breath.
"I heard that." Isshin placed a hand on Hitsugaya's shoulder, grinning down at him, "You worry too much. She's a Kurosaki! We don't break easily. Besides, I wouldn't do anything to put her in too much danger."
Hitsugaya was about to ask what constituted "too much" to the man, but he was interrupted by a slamming sound. Yoruichi emerged from the floor just as Urahara had earlier, a small grin on her lips. "Hey boys," She shut the trap door and folded her arms across her chest, "Kurosaki-san, you may want to leave. Karin-san is going to come up soon."
The man sighed, "I just got here, too." He nodded to Yoruichi, "Thanks for the warning. I'll take the hint." He stood and, after giving a brief nod to the others in the room, made his exit.
After he was well out of the shop, Urahara turned back to Hitsugaya. "It's best that you don't mention anything to Karin-chan about her father."
Hitsugaya trained his teal eyes on the shopkeeper, narrowing them in suspicion.
Urahara didn't like that look. "She's under enough pressure already without the knowledge of her lineage. It's best she stay under the impression that she and her brother are isolated incidents." He paused, "For now."
He thought the excuse was flimsy, but didn't question further.
"Anywho...there's some inventory I must tend to! Tessai-san, Yoruichi-san, care to join me?" Urahara stood, a grin on his face. The two nodded, following his lead, "Oh, and Hitsugaya-kun, you can wait here for Karin-chan if you wish to see her~"
"It's Hitsugaya-tai-"
But they were already gone.
He huffed in irritation, crossing his arms over his chest. These people just never learned. Though a part of him suspected that Urahara remembered full well what he liked to be called, and just opted not to for his own amusement. He shook his head to himself, standing and glancing again toward the wooden door in the floor. If she didn't come up soon, he wouldn't stay and wait. He had other things to do…
A strange energy gave him pause. He furrowed his eyebrows, feeling the reiatsu pulsate from below and pool at his feet. He was still adjusting to the recent changes, but he could recognize it as Karin's nonetheless. He looked to where Urahara and company had retreated, waiting for someone to respond.
No one.
He sighed, approaching the doorway. The energy was a tad too strong for his liking. He flipped open the door and lowered himself into the cavernous tunnel, his fingers gripping the ladder tightly. The spiritual energy increased in density as he descended.
Finally, as his feet touched down upon the packed earth, he called out, "Karin-chan?"
No reply.
He easily followed the energy around to a small patch of dirt behind a group of large rocks. Karin sat cross-legged, her eyes closed. She was still meditating…but something was happening this time. It was unusual to see outward manifestations of energy like that while a shinigami meditated, much less a human. He didn't like it. He approached her cautiously, thinking it best to interrupt whatever was happening as the energy levels spiked around her. Her lips were turned down into a small pout, her eyebrows at a slight angle that suggested stress of some sort.
"Karin-chan," He ventured, coming closer. "Hey!" He laid a hand on her shoulder, shaking gently.
Her eyes snapped open immediately, as if an electrical current was running between them. "Ah!"
He knelt by her side, "Are you okay?"
She blinked at him for a moment, gathering her bearings. "I…I don't know. I just saw…never mind." She looked away from him, shaking her head, "It's probably nothing."
He narrowed his eyes, his tone a warning. "Karin-chan…"
She sighed, rolling her eyes. "It's not a big deal!"
"What's going on?"
"Is it…normal to have visions while meditating? Or to hear voices?" She asked, her voice a clear expression of hesitance.
His eyes widened a bit and he had to think before answering her, "Not for humans."
She nodded gravely. "Oh."
"What did you see?"
"I'm not sure yet…" She drew her knees to her chest and hugged them. "It's probably nothing."
She was lying. She hoped beyond hope that he wouldn't catch it.
Of course, people didn't call him a genius for nothing. "It can't be nothing."
She shrugged it off, "Eh, it's not important. None of it makes sense anyways."
He crossed his arms, "You should take this more seriously. You never know what fate could result from-"
"I do take it seriously!" She defended, "I just think there's no use getting all worked up about something I don't understand!"
He cut her a look that was a mixture of irritation and confusion.
She sighed, "The way I see it, one person could have multiple fates. I think it's like a chain. A chain of fate. Each event or person in your life is like a link in that chain. Each progressing link leading toward a certain outcome. But if one link is broken or lost, you go in a new direction. The chain grows back, but without that last link, it leads toward a new destiny. You can't be irreparably broken; you can only move forward in a new direction." She glanced at him as if to make sure he was following her, "So no matter what I do, I shouldn't worry."
He didn't quite know how to respond. The explanation was much more thoughtful than he had expected. She reminded him every day just how much she'd grown in his absence. He unfolded his arms and rested his hands on his knees. "Just don't do anything stupid, okay? Fate chain or not."
"It's 'chain of fate' not 'fate chain.'" She corrected, deadpan.
"Whatever,"
"Oh!" She sprang to her feet without warning. "I'm going to be late to soccer practice! I've had to have been meditation for a while!"
He followed her lead, standing by her side. He realized now that she hadn't been the only one growing; he'd grown taller too. He was still taller than her, but short enough to fail to silence the jokes. It was comforting in a way to see that some things hadn't changed. "Want me to walk you to practice?"
Her features were colored with surprise, "Sure, if you want." She replied, slightly more indifferent than he would've liked. "I'll just go grab my bag."
The two began walking to the ladder to re-enter the shop above. She reached it first, pausing before setting a foot on the lowest wrung. "You go first." She stepped back.
"Why?"
A small hint of pink teased the apples of her cheeks. Was she blushing? "Because…I don't want you to be able to look up my skirt." She mumbled.
"Wh-what? Why would I do that!" He snapped.
She huffed in reply, "I didn't say you would! I said that you could!"
"Baka," He looked away from her, features set in a scowl.
"Just go first, all right?" She snapped.
Nonetheless, he did as she requested.
It was sort of nice to take a break from his work. Hitsugaya reclined against the metal of the bleachers, watching the members of the Karakura High Girl's Soccer League scurry around the field. Karin was acting as team captain for the day because the regular girl was out. He watched her as she led her teammates, surprised to find a small smile creeping across his lips. She was a good leader. A bit headstrong, like her brother, but she had heart.
He'd met some of her teammates earlier and one of them, whom he now knew was named Momoka, pointedly remarked that as soon as Karin became an upperclassman she was a shoe-in for the position of captain. Watching now, he had to admit Momoka may have been right. Then again, the same girl had accused him of being Karin's boyfriend…
The memory of her mischievous snicker made his face grow hot. His smile melted into a scowl and his posture stiffened in his seat. "We can never go anywhere together without people talking…" He muttered to himself.
And why would people keep assuming that anyways? Sure, they'd both grown a bit so they continued to appear the same age. But the similarities ended there. Right? Humans could be so irritating. It wasn't as if they really acted like a couple. Sometimes she was more trouble than she was worth.
He glanced back down to where Karin was, watching as she helped a teammate up from the ground. He'd missed whatever fumble had caused them to fall, but he'd tuned in just in time to see her face illuminate with a smile. Her lips parted in laughter that he couldn't hear from that distance, black-lashed lids obscuring her grey eyes as she shut them. Her teammate was laughing too, and he couldn't help but feel curious as to what was so funny.
Okay, so maybe she was worth the trouble…
But his train of thought was interrupted by a sharp jingling sound. He froze, his fingers delving into his pants pocket. He dug out his soul pager, flipping it open. "The test results are in?" He questioned. The narrow screen immediately opened the message he'd received, a series of numbers and data scrolling across the screen. He tensed, his grip becoming white knuckle on the device. "It can't be…"
He narrowed his eyes, wishing it had been any other result. He glanced from the news to Karin as Momoka kicked the ball toward her aggressively. Karin sprang forward, barely catching it in time to prevent the other side from gaining possession. The practice exercises didn't feel so amusing anymore.
The residual energy he'd found at the school belonged to one of them.
AN: Sorry for the update delay! My computer crashed. ;A;
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed it! Please leave me a review! It only takes 30 seconds, and it makes my day! A little constructive criticism is always welcome as well!
