AN: Took a little time off of writing to just live my life. :) I'm actually doing my review for the nursing board exam so time wasn't exactly in my favor anyway. But, it doesn't mean I've stopped or anything like that. Just expect fewer updates because while I have a good amount of things planned, there's not enough time in the day for me to concentrate on this story.
Also, I just wanna say thank you to everyone for their reviews. Most of you were surprised about Karin's zanpakuto and I'm glad. I have many, many more suprises coming your way (some good, some bad) so be prepared! While I'm sorry I can't answer all of your questions because I might give something away, I will say this: I'm so far from the end of this story.
It's not really helpful, but just know that I enjoy an even pace and revealing things slowly. I prefer it actually, especially with a story as detailed as this one.
kdskd: Thank you! I'm always trying to outdo myself. =D
Apricot: Thanks! I do my best to add as many twists and turns as possible. I actually tend to write a more in Karin's POV but she acts more like Kazuto when I write. I'm hoping to highlight her more later. ^^
Shiro00Kuro: I've always tried to change my writing to fit the story so I'm really happy you said that. It's hard to get the feel of a story if I can't describe it well and yet still keep you all engaged. As for Kikōō, he just came to mind when I ended up rewatching the anime a few months ago. My mind works in mysterious ways. LOL Thank you for reviewing!
TOURIN freaks: So many questions! Haha. Those answers are farther down the line. I do my best not to leave things open-ended in stories like this, but Kazuto isn't going anywhere anytime soon so the reveal isn't for a while. Thank you for your review. I hope you like this chapter too. :)
Anyway, please enjoy the next chapter!
Spoiler: GOOD THINGS HAPPEN! =DDDD
Chapter Six: Recruited
When they arrived at the First, Karin knew all of the Taichou were already assembled, could feel their combined reiatsu even from a distance. So when she crossed the threshold into the room and Ukitake took his spot off to the side, she knew she shouldn't have been so amazed, though someone should've told the bounding of her heart the same. It seemed that she would always be reactive to inhumanely powerful people.
"Please come closer, Kurosaki Kazuto," the soutaichou invited, taking one hand off his cane and gesturing her forward. Nodding, she walked between the two rows of captains, her eyes falling to the youngest without reason, his glance straight ahead and without the barest notice of her presence. She'd berate herself for the slip in conduct later, as she stood before Yamamoto Genryuusai and drank in the sight of the strongest man in Soul Society.
"It seems that you've acquired your zanpakuto." The observation was accompanied by the shifting of his eyes to her hip, the red scabbard contrasting with the blue of her uniform.
"I have, though it wasn't all my doing. Kikōō called out to me," she replied, stony features revealing just the slightest bit of haughtiness. There was a silent dare in her throat, as if he was threatening to take her new friend away, lock him up to never see the outside world just as before. As she gripped the hilt protectively, she knew she wouldn't allow them to do it without a fight.
"He must have, or else I doubt he would've been able to break the barriers holding him in," the old man nodded, sagely and confident. Briefly she wondered what he and her brother saw in each other that brought them so close, a sort of father-son affection that she was sure he showed very few people. Because, standing before him as she was now, Karin felt nothing but a prickling sense of attentiveness from the soutaichou that was putting her on edge.
"What are you going to do with us now?" She knew it was impudent to ask a question when she wasn't given the authorization to speak. Karin could feel Byakuya's eyes boring into her back for her impulsiveness, something he'd been trying to beat out of her since day one. But when backed into a corner, a tiger would fight and that was what she was feeling right then, the need to get away from here and to safety.
"I'm not sure how you mean." He raised a brow for good measure.
"Kikōō is much too powerful for me to fully handle, even I'm perfectly aware of that," she began, looking him in the eye while petting the hilt, soothing the rumble from the beast in question. "However, he has no other master, will not obey anyone else's command, and I cannot obtain a new zanpakuto because our contract has long been made. What I want to know is what you plan on doing now."
Stilling for a second, Genryuusai began to glower down at the disguised girl, as if measuring her worth by her words and stance alone. And so it was silent for a while, as he contemplated the Kurosaki heir in full, mulling over the royal with interested care. Somehow it felt like the longest period of Karin's rather extensive life, making the elders' eyes seem tender and loving in comparison to his icy once-over.
"You'll be trained, of course," he said with some finality, as if it was a given. But the idea of someone teaching her to manage her zanpakuto seemed a little farfetched, considering her rather one-of-a-kind entity. But then he continued, and her old worries were replaced with new ones. "You will be trained by one of our taichou, as someone of your caliber needs. From what I've heard previously, you were bound to graduate as soon as you manifested your zanpakuto anyway. Now that it's here, someone of rank must be the one to teach you, or else it could spell disaster for all of us if you don't learn to control Kikōō properly."
It was fair, she surmised, nodding at him in understanding. A captain's duty was to handle things of grave circumstance, and hers was nothing if not that. After all, the idea that she might destroy all of Seireitei because she couldn't handle her own weapon seemed like a task that benefitted all. Besides, she needed to get out of Shino Academy. They were doing nothing for her overall development, and while she had learned a number of new skills and refined a few old ones, she had been far too advanced for her teachers' comfort. They knew they wouldn't be able to teach her much else but they couldn't rightfully graduate her either without her sword in hand. It seemed all of their problems would be solved, but she had a sinking feeling that she was only going to gain a number of new ones.
"Kuchiki-taichou," Yamamoto wheezed, his breath airy in spite of the booming of his voice. "You have overseen the young Kurosaki's training up until now. Would you consider continuing it for the sake of helping him master Kikōō?"
"With all due respect, Soutaichou, I must decline," he replied, eyes closed as if in deep thought. Biting back a gasp, she turned to him, not sure what was going through that head of his. To put her in someone else's hands, someone who could find out her furtive past was like putting her on the chopping block. But he continued, as he met his leader's eyes with easy aplomb. "My zanpakuto, Senbonzakura, has none of the qualities that Kurosaki's has. While I'm well acquainted with him and his abilities, I feel that I have done all that I can for him as a teacher and I do not want to stunt his growth merely because he and I have a closer relation than the other captains."
"You point is a valid one." Nodding, he turned to the others, watching with expectation. "Would anyone else be willing to train this young man? As such, he will be under the care of your division and directly under your authority until his powers have fully come under control. After that, Kurosaki may enter the division of his choice, granted that the division in question accepts him as well."
A wide grin spread across Zaraki's face. "I'll train him."
Oh hell no, was the only thing that crossed Karin's mind, as she held back the utter dismay from her visage. Luckily, Byakuya seemed to pick up on her unrest and butted in where she could not. It was probably a little of that overprotective instinct that he had so much of being transferred onto her, as reluctant as she was to accept his help sometimes.
"Kurosaki has a zanpakuto and a powerful one at that. You, however, Zaraki-taichou, have no knowledge on the ability to manifest such a thing, nor how to use one. In your hands, he'd become a brute force fighter, not the shinigami I've trained him to be." An undercurrent of challenge coursed between them, as a scowl darkened one face and impassiveness remained on the other.
Byakuya's cold indifference was an aspect of his that always lied there beneath the surface of his facade, though Karin hadn't been privy to the Kuchiki's work life to know before now. While his relations seemed fine with the other captains, she knew that he was the type to keep most at arms' length, much like she herself. But while hers were for her and her family's safety, Byakuya's was deeply personal, most likely an after effect of losing his wife Hisana early in their marriage. With some warmth in her eyes, she felt immensely loyal to him in this moment, knowing that he knew her better than most people would ever get to because he guarded her and jer secrets better than she did herself sometimes.
"I agree with Kuchiki-taichou," Unohana spoke in that airy tone of hers, turning to the head captain with wisdom that nearly matched his. "Many of us are not well-versed in elemental type zanpakuto for they have become increasingly rare in this day and age. You yourself, Soutaichou, have the strongest fire elemental spirit and everyone knows of your initial struggles to tame him. Likewise, someone who has handled those treacherous pitfalls should be her teacher."
Humming in quite agreement, everyone's eyes fell to the youngest captain, who had been standing and listening in silence the entire time. Karin's eyes went to him slower than the rest, not sure if she was comfortable with the idea of having him as her instructor. His legend had preceded him, though she was quite unaware of it as a child and even now she wasn't certain of all the details. But it was certainly no mystery that Hitsugaya Toushirou was a force of nature, a boy who was pulled from his life in the First District because he had so much reiatsu that he was literally killing his own adoptive grandmother.
Coupled with the fact that he was a prodigy and had even battled over the right to keep Hyourinmaru, Karin was well aware of the fact that he was likely in a class all his own and would likely remain unmatched in that area. And now he stood amongst the most elite shinigami, a man who was predicted to one day take over as Soutaichou in the next millennium. And while she felt that she should've held some trepidation at the idea of being under this man's control, Karin could only feel excitement, a sensation that she hadn't felt in a long while, and that in itself was enough to have her listen to his all-important reply.
He didn't hesitate to answer. "I'll do it."
"Then I entrust Kurosaki Kazuto to you, Hitsugaya-taichou." The Soutaichou knocked his cane against the floor with a boom, signaling the end of their emergency meeting. As the captains shuffled out, Karin bowed to him respectfully, not entirely understanding what just occurred, other than the fact that her entire life had changed in the blink of an eye.
"Kurosaki, a word," a familiar voice called out to her, as Karin's eyes went straight to Byakuya. Feeling strangely unsure of herself, she treaded over to him, noticing that while the others had left Hitsugaya was off to the side to provide them a bit of privacy. The bit of thoughtfulness was slightly odd but comforting.
"What is it, Byakuya-nii-san?" She didn't miss the slight glower to his features at being addressed with that ridiculous title, especially when he had been called captain only a moment ago.
"I don't have to tell you to watch yourself more closely, do I?" He raised an aristocratic brow, the kind that would make anyone else feel incredibly small compared to him. When she tilted her head to meet his hard glare, she didn't flinch like another would have and instead smiled serenely, as if he was inquiring about her health and not her future welfare.
"And yet you just did," she spoke with a wave of her hand, brushing away all the troubles he oftentimes tried to carry for her. But Byakuya was just being himself, metaphorically holding out his hand to save them both the trouble of giving or asking for help. And while she did her best to rely on him as little as she could, she knew she definitely couldn't take it this time. Rejecting the proffered aid with the gentlest of smiles, Karin pushed past him, silently telling him not to worry and that she'd be fine. She only hoped he believed her.
"It's nice to meet you, Kurosaki," Toushirou greeted, nodding distantly but welcoming in his own way. Karin didn't reply outwardly, just met his eyes in a coolly assessing way that she was sure he didn't approve of. But then Matsumoto's words strummed through her head as she remembered her debt to the lieutenant, so she put on a blank face for the moment, one that was both attentive and universally respectful.
But the Tenth's captain was a bright one because he didn't trust that change in the slightest. "If you're going to be cocky one second and then pleasant the next, do me a favor and choose one. I've had enough experiences with two-faced people to last me an eternity." That final sentence echoed trauma Karin was sure she couldn't touch, as her eyes widened slightly, taken aback by his forwardness. But this guy had balls and a spine the strength of diamonds, and somehow she was even more intrigued by the snow-haired taichou.
"Is that so?" She cocked her head to the side in open puzzlement. "Wanna talk about it?"
"No," he spoke, turning away with a look akin to melancholy overtaking his features. A flash of Ichigo rushing into the moon's shadows crossed his mind for an instant before he shook it away and motioned her to follow him, choosing not to elaborate further. He wasn't sure if it was to protect the younger man or himself from remembering, but he decided that it wasn't important enough to dwell on.
She moved after him, a frown flitting across her pretty face for an instant. But she didn't pursue the topic, as she registered the pensive light in his gaze as an eerily familiar one. It reminded her of the look her mother adopted when she'd step into their old, unused dojo, fingering the floorboards that once housed her father and brother's many practices as she bit back sobs of grief and regret. Even Masaki couldn't stop seeing the betrayal that trailed after the Kurosaki heirs, who walked along with tragedy in their wake, biting at the ankles while waiting for them to slip. Out of respect for his mood, she changed the subject to another.
"If I may speak freely… what do you think of my zanpakuto, Hitsugaya-taichou?" She was curious, probably more than she should've been, but it was understandable considering Kikōō's rather unorthodox entrance. There was also some conceit, knowing her spirit's power was infinitely greater and thus more terrifying than any other, perhaps with the exception of Ryuujin Jakka. However, if she expected the youngest captain in history to waiver or be cowed by her inquiry, she was sorely disappointed.
"Your Kikōō is stronger than my Hyourinmaru," he began, his pace exact as she kept up behind him, his tone matching that speed. From the light of the late afternoon sun, his sword rested against his back, shining at her as if in silent defiance. He stopped for a second then and glanced over his shoulder, a calculated look in his eye that spoke of wisdom far beyond his years.
"But you are still weaker than me, and therein lies both your greatest challenge and weakness."
Her professors had said that a guardian was only as strong as its wielder because where one was needed the other would carry that burden, lighten it so they could go the distance together. But that gap was only closed by people like Toushirou, shinigami who knew themselves and their partners so well that they were no longer two separate beings but an integrated whole. He knew better than anyone else that Kazuto was far from understanding, let alone mastering, the untamed monster known as Kikōō.
As she sped up to follow after him, so lost in thought that she forgot to keep up with his strides, Karin could feel the barest of grins coming onto her face, anticipation growing with each step as a new goal was set within her sights. She wanted to equal and surpass Hitsugaya Toushirou, for he was the first man outside of her family that she could acknowledge as someone even stronger than herself.
She was moved out of her dorm room quickly and the timing couldn't have been better. As soon as she arrived back on campus, the rumors were swirling into a tornado that was trying to demolish the old institution. Behind held up hands and turned backs, Karin's guaranteed advancement and her special treatment were already so widespread she wouldn't be surprised if it reached the elders back at the Kurosaki mansion by now. And while most were said with awe and even some relief at her leaving, the jealous remarks and sarcastic stabs at her heritage didn't escape her. With a resigned sigh, she understood why Byakuya hated dealing with others who were tactless, or at the very least inept at subtle exchanges. It all seemed so very ugly and petty, neither of which he'd lower himself or his pride for.
With what little she did have packed into a knapsack, a shinigami met her at the entrance to escort her to the Tenth's barracks. She'd been situated in a tiny back room at the insistence of the Kuchiki successor, intent on giving her a place that would be all her own. It made her sound very high maintenance and she hated the idea that she could be, but there was no way around it. She wouldn't be able to breathe easily if she shared with other people, especially not a bunch of guys she hadn't even met yet. While she'd come across a number of dense males in her life, she didn't have to share communal rooms with those ones, which was rather helpful for her entire ruse to continue. She couldn't take chances so played her role as she always did.
The room they situated her in was a small, almost closet-like area. She'd be allowed to bathe when she saw fit but that would probably be the dead of night when everyone was asleep and the water was freezing cold. But that was fine. Sacrifices were her dearest friends, after all. She'd suffer through a million hardships before she went down, and even that wouldn't be without a fight. As she settled into the lone futon, her things sitting in the backpack in the corner, Karin fell into a restless slumber.
This guy's gonna be tougher to crack that Byakuya-nii-san, Karin thought drowsily, still not fully awake because of the early hour. She'd been roused by a Hell Butterfly before dawn, and expected to be fully dressed and ready to train within the next half hour. And while she admired the man's obvious enthusiasm, Karin thought waiting until the moon was fully set was an inspired, almost genius idea.
Or she was just that tired.
"You'll meet me here every morning at this time, five days a week from now until eight in the morning," Hitsugaya explained, watching the half-asleep boy with narrowed eyes. While the face was still the same emotionless one he usually wore, this Kurosaki Kazuto wasn't the man that stood before Yamamoto-soutaichou only fifteen hours ago, wearing an expression of crowned confidence that Toushirou thought only Byakuya had been able to fully master. Instead, Kazuto looked like a guy who wanted to pass out on the nearest rock and stay there forever.
Kazuto opened his mouth to speak, eyes finally fully open but reluctantly so. "May I ask as to why we're training at five until eight? I don't really understand the need to deprive us both of sleep."
"My hours as taichou are long and my other duties cannot suffer merely because I have taken you on as my charge." The explanation said a lot about the young soul, not even one-hundred years and yet he took himself and his work so seriously. Respect began to fill her chest, as she saw him turn away from her and take a seat. With a move of his hand, she followed after him, more awake than she had been only a moment before, as she slid fully back into character. While Karin slept, Kazuto would work as he always did and hopefully that would be enough to get her through these five hellish days of the week.
"Tell me, what do you know about your zanpakuto?" he asked, sitting cross legged on the large stone in the forest-filled area. Opting for a nearby stump, Kazuto eyed him warily, his face unsure about whether he could discuss something as personal as that. Toushirou understood that feeling well, but it was a necessary evil. An outsider can't tell another how to handle his zanpakuto and his relationship with it, but that person could help guide that process. He'd had his ups and downs with Hyourinmaru enough to know that a little extra direction can make a difference if one shinigami seeks the advice of another.
"We haven't talked too much," he spoke after thinking on it, trying to relive that short conversation and find a little more meaning in it. "But Kikōō is… He knows me well, all of me really. It's weird because when I talked to him, I got the feeling that he'd always been close and I just never knew it." Frowning, Kazuto wasn't sure if he explained it correctly, if he could properly give details regarding the sensation that came from the pleased but humbled expression in Kikōō's dark blue eyes. It was as if he'd waited much longer than Karin, but with endless faith that transcended centuries.
"Your zanpakuto is loyal, which is good. Some shinigami fight relentlessly with their partners, which can strain the building of a trusting relationship, especially if there's no affection between them." Remembering his first experiences, Hitsugaya recalled the first time Hyourinmaru had found him in the dead of night, calling out to him with a voice that he hadn't been able to ignore but one he hadn't known how to respond to. Perhaps it was similar for Kazuto, who peered down at his sword with soft admiration.
"Do you know how to achieve shikai, your first release?" he inquired easily, trying to ease them slowly into their training and build rapport. While he could command respect from many powerful people, Toushirou knew that the one before him would be a little different. Kazuto was someone who was used to important men listening and having others follow orders without delay or question, but he had no idea if the younger man would be able to do those things himself.
For their first session, it was mostly talking, sensing the other's objectives and trying to break that communication barrier that came with two introverts trying to get to know one another. Remembering Matsumoto's words, she bit back any impulses that she would've usually let loose, and it confused her as to why she couldn't behave appropriately around this man like she could around so many others. It was difficult to tell herself that she wasn't supposed to act this way, not around her captain and especially not a man who would be able to sniff her out so easily.
But it was something about the strictly conventional air around him, the one she admittedly admired when she first met him, that made her want to ruffle his feathers so badly. He was like a younger, more reactive Byakuya, a stuffed-up shirt that needed a little less reverence thrown his way and much more fun and laughter (preferably at his expense). However, Karin knew it wasn't her that should decide what this man needed and what he didn't, so she put the strange thought away and stored it for some rumination later. Any loss of control needed to be snuffed out and taken care of before it got out of hand. She didn't have the leeway with him as she did others because Hitsugaya was going to get to know her well and intimately to train her, something only Byakuya had been able to do before and with good reason. There was no room for weakness if she had to let her guard down to him.
During those three hours, Hitsugaya-taichou also ran down his expectations for her, the conduct she was supposed to abide by and a number of other regulations that were standard for a newly accepted squad member. It was strange thinking that she had only been a student a day ago and now she was an unofficial shinigami, at least until her full powers came in. A part of her wondered just how long it would take before she reached the next step known as bankai, which would catapult her to captaincy soon after. She tried not to get ahead of herself, but there was no helping it. There was a lot at stake and her plate was already full, just waiting for something to topple it over.
Her schedule during the day was integrated with the other members of the Tenth, who ran practice drills often from morning until dusk or organized missions to the Living World. Although not allowed to participate in the latter, she took her training very seriously alongside the amiable members who offered to show her the ropes. Many of her new comrades were mellower than her former classmates, less intimidated by her position and just generally more interested in her (or Kazuto, at least). And despite the fact that she did her best to keep that frigid wall up and their friendly attention at bay, she found it increasingly difficult to not make conversation or joke with these easygoing fighters. They were kind, the kindest people she'd ever met, and she was deceiving them on a daily basis, hiding behind a regal mask and stoic air.
A secret to all, Karin wasn't a lone wolf by nature but by choice, one that she made long ago when building bridges was for political and monetary gain, not closeness. Getting to know people in her own home was hard, as she'd been told that the enemy came in many different forms, the words coming from the elders, her mother and even the Kuchiki head. So she took compliments with a grain of salt, praise with suspicion and affability with doubt. It had become a habit, to second-guess sweet words or a noble gesture as a means of earning her favor and, by default, her inborn authority to govern. There were adversaries living in her own home, and so the paranoia had carried its way into her outside life.
However, slowly but surely, Karin was finding that she didn't really want to hide from their warmth at all, not when it was the first time people had shown interest in the person she was and not the heir she had been born. On the other hand, she also knew that Kazuto couldn't trust them, had been long trained to never give herself willingly to others without struggle. So, she tucked her true feelings away and offered what little that she could give in exchange for their care.
But the warring in her heart wouldn't ever truly die, not as long as she was filling this role. On nights when such thoughts occurred, it was Kikōō's opinion she sought, the only other soul who could fully understand her suffering. If only she knew that she'd find herself opening her steel-shut heart to someone else, an unwilling but strong power that would have her baring her soul to a person completely unfit for her to trust so easily. Because he was too smart, too capable of seeing through her if given enough time and information, but there was some part of her didn't care if he did. Someday she'd learn that the most treacherous battles weren't fought in heaven or hell with an enemy whose strength and numbers outclassed one's own. In reality, those treacherous fights most often took place in one's heart and against oneself.
AN: I'M SO HAPPY THAT I COULD FINALLY MAKE TOUSHIROU A MAIN CHARACTER! I've been waiting for this moment for a month. LOL Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Not much to say so I hope everyone takes care until the next update. =D
EDIT: oyane asked me a good question (because I've gotten tired of describing people LOL) so I wanted to answer this here. Toushirou is about 177 cm (approximated 5'9"), and Karin is about 51 years old buy looks around 15. Sorry for the confusion! :)
Next chapter: Problems with shikai?
