The next morning at breakfast, Hitsugaya made an announcement.
"I have to go away for a few days," he told Karin over his miso. "To deliver those swords we made yesterday."
"Oh," Karin replied noncommittally. She tried to keep her face impassive but for some reason, she found herself slightly disappointed by his statement. "How long will you be gone?"
"Three days," he answered. They ate in silence for a minute or so while Hitsugaya mustered up the courage to ask her his next question.
"Um, do you, ah…want to come with me?" he asked hopefully. "I thought, you know, it's a long trip. It'll give us a chance to talk." Karin considered this.
"Alright then," she replied and Hitsugaya visibly relaxed. Normally he preferred to make these journeys alone, being antisocial by nature, but he actually liked spending time with Karin, and he was grateful for this golden opportunity to be alone with her and get to know her better.
After breakfast, they packed up the swords and supplies for their trip, saddled two horses, and headed out.
"So where're we going?" Karin asked curiously as they followed a path leading away from Karakura. She felt light and carefree. She had never had the opportunity to travel much with her family, so she was excited by the prospect of going somewhere different and seeing a bit more of the kingdom.
"A place called Seireitei," Hitsugaya replied. "It's a fairly wealthy town, but it's relatively small so most people haven't heard of it. I do a lot of business out there."
"Oh, I've heard of that place!" Karin exclaimed. "My sister-in-law's family has a summer house there. Ichi-nii says it's filled with people with way too much time and money on their hands so all they do all day is practice swordsmanship." Hitsugaya smirked.
"Yeah, that's Seireitei," he agreed. "But I like it because it gives me lots of clients." Karin nodded her understanding and paused the conversation to admire the scenery. They had left Karakura behind at this point and the air was free of the noise of the crowds, the smell of old fruit and animal dung, and the dust from countless carts rushing back and forth. She could see fields in the distance growing corn and rice, and tiny farmers dotting the landscape, providing a sharp contrast to the greenery. The sky was a brilliant cyan and seemed to stretch on for miles. She breathed deeply, allowing the pure air to fill her lungs.
"Are you enjoying yourself?" Hitsugaya asked amused, noting the serene look on her face.
"You're so lucky that you get to travel," she told him. "It's such a nice break from the norm." Hitsugaya shrugged.
"It kind of feels like the norm to me," he replied nonchalantly. "I go on delivery trips at least once a month. I've been traveling for ages."
"I'm jealous," Karin replied, watching a field mouse dart across the road in front of them.
"You're welcome to join me whenever you want," Hitsugaya said, a slight flush rising in his cheeks.
"Really?!" Karin exclaimed, laughing at his embarrassment. "That sounds like fun! Thanks." They continued chatting as the farms gave way to orchards, where Karin marveled at the variety of fruit available, and then to broad prairies, where sheep and goats grazed on grass as tall as her knees. They stopped for lunch in a quaint tea shop where a kindly old woman served them the worst curry Karin had ever eaten. But she didn't care. Today was too special for her to be bothered by something trivial like that.
As night began to fall, Hitsugaya suggested that they find a place to stay.
"I don't like traveling in the dark," he explained. "It spooks the horses. There's a tavern up ahead where I usually stop when I go to Seireitei. There really aren't a lot of inns around here and it's convenient. The innkeeper's a little insane, but the place is pretty clean. At least, as far as taverns go. I'd avoid his daughter though. She's grown up in a bar, and it shows. She's crazy."
They stopped at a redbrick building with a thatched roof and lots of windows. A dilapidated sign labeled "Tavern 11" creaked above the door. Even at this early hour, they could hear the telltale sounds of drunkards in the downstairs bar.
"It's not the lap of luxury," Hitsugaya preempted, embarrassed that he was taking Karin to such an uncouth place. Karin laughed.
"I really don't care," she assured him. "This place looks like a lot more fun than some stuffy bed and breakfast. I'll take care of the horses shall I?" And before he could respond, Karin had grabbed both reigns and began leading the horses to the adjacent stable.
Hitsugaya entered the bar, and the barman looked up from the drink he was mixing.
"Well if it isn't chibi-Hitsugaya," he said in a gruff voice. "Nice shiner," he noted indicating the bruise on Hitsugaya's cheek. "You get that in a fight?"
"Shut up Zaraki," Hitsugaya scowled. Zaraki smirked.
"Well I hope you beat the crap outta the kid that gave it to you. So, you headed to Seireitei again?"
"Yeah," Hitsugaya replied, very thankful that he didn't have to explain where he actually got the mark. "Can I get two rooms for the night?" Zaraki raised an eyebrow.
"Two?" he asked inquisitively. "You brought someone along?"
"Yes," Hitsugaya said simply. He was not in the mood to tell Zaraki that he had gotten married. It would only lead to awkward questions, particularly since he and his wife weren't sharing a room.
"That's unusual," Zaraki pried. "You've never done that before. I thought you liked traveling alone?" Hitsugaya shrugged.
"Well, things change. So, two rooms?"
"Whatever you say," he shrugged, handing him the keys. "Your business is your business." The door to the tavern opened and Karin walked in.
"I gave them food and water," she told Hitsugaya, coming up to him. Zaraki eyed her quizzically.
"This is your traveling companion?" he asked confused. "That's interesting. You didn't say she was a girl." Karin checked at his term. Traveling companion? That's all she was? For some reason, that statement hurt. A lot.
"Is that a problem?" Hitsugaya replied coolly. Zaraki smirked.
"Not as long as she can handle herself. You know how rough my crowd gets. I don't take responsibility for anything that happens."
"She'll be fine. Let's go." He motioned to Karin to follow him, but before they could leave, he was attacked by something small and pink.
"Snowy-chan's back!" the thing squealed, glomming on to Hitsugaya's head.
"Hi Yachiru," he said grudgingly, reaching up and patting her as he would a cat. Yachiru beamed at him, then turned her attention to Karin.
"Oh someone new!" she cried gleefully. "You need a name too! How about…"
"Oi, Yachiru!" a man with blue hair called from the other end of the bar. "Leave the poor girl alone and come eat peanuts."
"Yay!" Yachiru sang, leaping from Hitsugaya's head and dashing over to the man.
"I see what you mean about her," Karin whispered to Hitsugaya. He scowled.
"Whatever. Come on." He led Karin out of the bar and up the stairs to the rooms, and Karin decided to confront him.
"The barman called me your 'traveling companion'," she said icily.
"Well, you are, aren't you?" Hitsugaya replied, noting her tone. Hadn't she been in a good mood before? Did he say something wrong?
"Yeah, but…did you tell him I was your wife?" Karin didn't know why this was bugging her so much. It shouldn't really. But it was. She was insulted.
"Well, I thought that would sound weird," he defended. "You know, since we're staying in separate rooms."
"We are?" Karin asked, then wondered why she was surprised by that. If he had suggested they stay in the same room, she probably would have slapped him. But they had had such a good day together and the fact that he was so casual about sleeping apart; that bothered her too. Hitsugaya checked.
"Well, yeah. I mean, we don't share a room at home, so why would we here?"
"Oh I don't know," Karin said sarcastically, finally raising her voice. "I mean, you bring your wife to a seedy tavern in the middle of nowhere that's crawling with hormonal drunkards. Anyone would think you'd want to keep an eye on her for her protection." Protection?! Who was she kidding? She didn't need protection? Where was this coming from? Hitsugaya didn't seem to understand either.
"I just thought…" he began, but Karin wasn't finished.
"Even the barman was shocked that you brought me here," she shot at him. "He said he wasn't responsible for anything that happened to me, which means there's a good possibility that something will! But maybe that's all right with you! I'm just a traveling companion, nothing special. God, I feel like a cheap whore."
"You are not a cheap whore!" Hitsugaya screamed, becoming angry himself.
"Well I certainly look like one!" she retorted. "You got woman a room to herself in a place like this? What kind of girls do you think do that? I bet the barman's taking orders for me right now!"
"What is wrong with you!?" Hitsugaya snapped. His patience was gone. "You told me you didn't mind places like this. Honestly, if it bothers you that much, come stay in my room." Karin laughed derisively.
"Like I'd want to stay with you," she seethed.
"Then what the hell are you complaining about?" Hitsugaya snarled.
"Just the fact that you didn't think twice about leaving me alone!" she barked. "Really, I bet you wouldn't even try to stop me if I wanted to flirt with some loser in the bar." Hitsugaya was struck profoundly by those words, but he had no idea how to properly respond to them. Did she really want to go flirt with someone else? The thought made his heart hurt.
"I have no control over who you talk to," he scoffed. "Do as you like!"
"Fine. I will!" she stated soundly, then turned on her heel and headed down to the bar.
Hitsugaya entered his room and slammed the door shut with so much force that the vase on the table beside it toppled over and cracked. He didn't even bother to pick up the pieces, choosing instead to pace the room furiously.
"What the heck happened to her?" he wondered irritably. "First she wants to stay in my room, than she doesn't, and now she's down in the bar falling all over some random guy just to piss me off! What does she want from me?" He kicked the wall in frustration, sending a sharp shooting pain up his foot, but he didn't care. And he had been attracted to her! Well there was nothing attractive about this!
"I wish I hadn't brought her," he grumbled, falling back on his bed. He wasn't remotely tired though. It took a while for his rage to subside, and as it did, he felt a new emotion course through him that was entirely unexpected; jealousy. Karin was his wife and for some reason he couldn't explain, he liked her. And he wasn't willing to give her up to some stranger so easily. He couldn't force her to come back, he knew that well enough, but that didn't mean he was willing to sit silently in his room while she did who knows what down in the bar. Decision made, Hitsugaya left his room and headed downstairs.
Here you go Chance O'Neal, your conflict. I don't think I'm capable of writing a story without it, and things just can't go too smoothly for them, it'd just be too easy and they like to fight too much. But this fight is a little different than their usual ones and it's mostly because Karin has no idea what she wants. I hope it was realistic enough, I have my doubts, but I'm really excited about the next chapter!
