Hey guys ^^ To be honest, there isn't much I can say here without giving huge amounts of the plot away. Although I will say I'm sorry for the fairly quick pace in this chapter, but if it went slower it would be boring. I hope I struck the balance between the two. Thanks for all of the alerta, favourites and reviews, I really do appreciate every last one. I hope you enjoy this chapter ^^
Review replies:
Bara-san: Love that description of Aizen XD Oh noes, I hope your mind is ok now! X3 I'm glad you liked the scene, it took me ages to write because I wanted it to be great XD Hope you enjoy this chapter! ^^
Every shadow has its twin: I'm glad you think so! ^^ I hope you like this chapter too ^^
windkikyo: *smiles* I shall try! I hope you like this chapter ^^
Bleached-Whale: It may be due to the fact that I'm ill, but I actually teared up a bit when I read your review ='D To be honest that was the main reaosn I started writing. I had read tons of HitsuKarin fics and I was starting to get bored because they were starting to get repetitive so I was like 'fuck this imma write my own!' XD So I'm amazingly glad you feel that way XD Yeah, I thought it was more appropriate to make Tōshirō the more confident one. To me it makes more sense. I swear, my impression of Soul Society is you get bored, you either spar, train, drink, join a club or have sex. XD Being in that sort of environment means that he's gotta be used to it, or at least more used to such issued than Karin. I know she's the feisty one, and she usually has more confidence, but I think this is one area where she would be lacking, while Tōshirō has had years to think about things like that, so is less likely to be embarrassed. That's what I think anyway XD Thank you! XD That's one of the things I worry about when I write this fic XD But they would not be them if they just started to make out or something. XD Oh yes Aizen's a bitch. XD I know, I don't get it. If there's someone immortal on the tv I'm just sat there wondering why they don't just bury the character or something, and I've thought like that for years, which is where his punishment originates from XD People seem so afraid of anyone who's immortal, but all you have to do is use your brains. XD Oh gosh, it was the last part that had my tearing up. That actually means a lot to me, especially as I have a small interest in writing for a living when I get older (which is growing all the time). So thank you, a lot. You have no idea how happy your review made me.
Cittyno2: It appears that way doesn't it...I'm glad you liked the chapter! And yes, Rukia's very clever, and sneaky. Can't forget the sneaky. You know she's a ninja matchmaker XD I agree, Aizen is getting on my nerves. XD
Waxfox: I'm glad you're enjoying the story! I hope you like this chaper too ^^
Fallen-Yuki: I'm glad you liked Matsumoto! ^^ There's more of her in this chapter, so I hope I wrote her well. ^^ Aizen is one hell of a sneaky man, it's incredibly annoying. He's definitely up to something...
1BleachFan: Don't worry about it! Enjoying my story is what counts =P I love how nobody is pleased with the lack of Aizen's body pieces XD I like the way you think! XD I would be hugely embarrassed as well XD I'm glad you like it! You seem to know the way I think too well...I had started to add a twist even before you reviewed! I hope you like this chapter.
P.S - I've changed the summary and the genre. They didn't seem appropriate any more. This story has changed a lot from the original plan XD
P.P.S - After watching the music video for Super Junior's new single (Mr Simple) I've come up with a new HitsuKarin plot bunny, so look forward to that! =D I don't know if I'll write it after I finish this or not, and I imagine it'll only be a one-shot but I hope you'll like it when I get round to writing it! ^^
Chapter 9: Forgotten
Tōshirō sighed as he put his phone back on the base. He had tried to call Karin but apparently their outing had tired her out a lot. She wasn't answering her phone, so Tōshirō assumed she was asleep. To be honest, he was exhausted as well. It was only half nine and he wanted nothing more than to go to bed, but of course, he still had to finish a pile of paperwork after his ever hard-working vice captain had decided to neglect. While he was signing the last couple of sheets he started to wonder where Rangiku was. He hadn't seen her all day. Usually it wouldn't bother him, but he knew Rangiku well and it surprised him that she hadn't come round to tease him and whatnot after he visited Karin. He vaguely tidied the office and was about to leave the room when he heard a certain voice. "Captain! Are you back yet?" Tōshirō mentally groaned. 'Oh god, speak of the devil.' He heard Rangiku come into the office before he saw her. "Ooh Captain, you are here! How was visiting Karin?" She winked instantly after she asked the question.
"Fine." Rangiku whined slightly.
"Awww Captain, I need more details than that! What happened?" Tōshirō sighed heavily.
"It's none of your business Matsumoto."
"Well did anything interesting happen?"
"Does that hold any importance to you?" Rangiku grinned widely.
"So something did happen!" Tōshirō raised his eyebrow.
"What are you talking about Matsumoto? I didn't answer yes or no."
"Ah, but Captain I know you well! If it was a no you would say no straight away! But instead you avoided the question, meaning you didn't deny it, meaning it's a yes!" Tōshirō knew she was right, but he refused to admit it.
"That's seems like a long-shot, don't you think Matsumoto?" Rangiku grinned wider.
"Nope! Like I said Captain, I know you well! It's been years afterall!" Tōshirō sighed.
"If you say so Matsumoto, anyway if you'll excuse me, I should be going home. Goodnight."
"Awww Captain, you're tired? What did you two end up doing, hmm?" After she saw the look Tōshirō gave her she spoke quickly. "I guess it doesn't matter! Goodnight!" Tōshirō gave her a quick wave and left the office. Rangiku sighed happily. "Ah, my little Captain is growing up!"
XxXxXxXxXxX
Karin woke up the next morning at around 8, by her phone ringing. "Ugh...hello?"
"Karin-chan! Good morning!" Karin sat up, trying to figure out the voice.
"Huh? Wait, Rangiku?"
"Yep!"
"Why are you calling me?"
"Were you expecting someone else to call you?" Karin could feel the suggestiveness in Rangiku's voice.
"Does that hold any importance to you?" Rangiku had to stop herself from laughing, she took several deep breaths before being able to speak without breaking in giggles. She loved the fact that they had used the same answer.
"I was just wondering how your date with Tōshirō went!" Karin almost answered straight away until she realised that Rangiku had used the word date.
"We didn't go on a date." Rangiku spoke in a sarcastic tone.
"Suuure you didn't. So, what happened?"
"Can't you just ask Tōshirō instead of phoning me?"
"Oh Karin-chan, you know him as well as I do! He won't answer my questions!"
"So what makes you think I will?"
"Please Karin-chan! Just give me a quick overview of what happened!" Karin sighed, and answered, just wanting to go back to sleep, knowing she wouldn't hang up the phone until Karin gave her some sort of answer.
"We just went out for a couple of hours. Went to an arcade and watched a movie. That is it." Karin had to hold the phone away from her ear when Rangiku squealed.
"Rangiku. RANGIKU. Why are you squealing?"
"Oh...no reason!" And then Rangiku hung up the phone, causing Karin to groan.
"I feel like I just made a huge mistake..."
XxXxXxXxXxX
Karin felt incredibly bored, there was nothing to do. She didn't have training today, there was no longer any point in her studying her subjects, there was nothing on tv, she didn't feel like playing video games, there was literally nothing she wanted to do. She sighed as she got up from lying down the sofa and was about to walk out the front door until Ichigo stopped her. "Where do you think you're going?"
"Ichi-nii relax. I just wanna go for a walk. I did that before we went to Soul Society and I can do it after." Ichigo thought for a moment, knowing that if he didn't let her she'd just sneak out instead.
"Ok, just stay near." Karin nodded and walked out of the apartment, closing the door behind her. Karin walked over to the staircase, she was about to start walking downstairs when she heard a dull thud upstairs. Being bored, she decided to walk up the stairs, wondering what the cause of the thud was. The higher she got, the louder the repetitive thud got. She discovered that it wasn't a dull thud as she had first thought, it was incredibly loud, the sound had just been muffled by several building storeys. 'What on earth makes a noise like that?' When she was two floors down from the roof she noticed that the sound was coming from the roof itself. She walked up cautiously, and slowly opened the door.
Karin's eyes widened in shock. She had just opened the door to two hollows, fighting. After a sharp intake of breath which Karin couldn't control the hollow who appeared to be winning turned suddenly to face the source of the sound. The larger, more victorious of the hollows dropped the weaker one and instantly started to move towards Karin. She screamed out of shock and started to run as fast as she could but before she could get back to the door the weaker hollow extended a vine-like arm, wrapping it round her leg and dragging her back to the scene. The hollow spoke, sending a shiver down Karin's spine. "You really think I'm going to let something as tasty as you get away?" The stronger hollow slammed into the weaker one, causing it to withdraw it's arm, letting go of Karin. The stronger one grabbed her quickly, making her scream again.
"She's mine." Karin couldn't believe it. She was being fought over by two hollows like she was a piece of meat. Then again, she supposed she was a piece of meat to them. Where the hell was her brother and Rukia! Karin was starting to lose hope. She had heard Rukia complain about the unreliable hollow alerts before...maybe it was one of those times? The two hollows continued to fight over her, causing Karin pain every time the one of them grabbed her from the other one. The larger hollow was clearly used to winning and was getting very impatient; it charged into the smaller one's midsection making it drop Karin onto the floor, causing her to scream in pain, she could feel her left arm and leg break. The larger one picked Karin up by her broken leg, making her scream again, the pain she felt was horrific. The smaller hollow charged into the larger one just like the larger one had just done. The weaker one had hit it with all it's force, causing both the hollow and Karin fly up into the air.
Rukia looked up from her book as if she was trying to hear something. "Ichigo."
"What?"
"Something's wrong." Ichigo's eyes narrowed, he was scowling with worry.
"What is?"
"I'm not sure. But something doesn't feel right." She dug her phone out of her pocket, to check the surroundings. "It's not picking up anything."
"So not hollows then?"
"No, I mean it's not picking up ANYTHING. Not even us!" Ichigo ran over to Rukia and looked at her phone.
"What the hell?" Rukia shrugged.
"Something must be interfering with it."
"Where's Karin?" Rukia paused for a moment to figure out where her reiatsu was.
"She's on the roof." Ichigo wrenched the front door open and ran towards the staircase, Rukia following him. "Ichigo why are we running?"
"Karin does what she says she does. She said she was going for a walk, and she ends up on the roof? Something must've made her change her mind, and suddenly your phone isn't working?"
"That could be pure coincidence!"
"I'd rather check." The two continued to run towards the roof, as quickly as they could. When they had no more than 3 levels of the building to go up Rukia gasped. "What! What happened!"
"Her reiatsu just spiked, and I mean spiked!"
Rukia and Ichigo burst onto the roof just in time to see the larger hollow and Karin get flung off the building. Ichigo swore loudly and used his shinigami substitute badge to change into a shinigami and tried to follow Karin, but the second hollow got in his way. He quickly sliced through the hollow's head, running on pure adrenaline and fear for Karin. But of course, all of that had taken time. By the time he had reached the edge of the building it was too late. He knew it was. Ichigo's body shook as he heard Karin impact with the ground and Rukia winced at the sudden lack of Karin's reiatsu. Ichigo jumped over the edge of the building, using his reiatsu to cushion the fall. When Ichigo landed on the ground softly his body started to shake again, caused by his silent tears. The image of Karin's broken body would never, ever leave him.
Ichigo turned round when he heard a loud scream from a woman behind him. Citizens from the town had started to notice Karin's body. In fact, it was incredibly hard not to notice. Ichigo moved away from the spot, still silently crying, not being able to take the image of Karin's dead body any more. Rukia had caught up with him and dragged him further away, holding onto his arm in an attempt to comfort him. "Rukia...I can't believe it...I didn't want her to die like that...SHE didn't want to die like that...did you...did you see her?" Rukia nodded grimly.
"...Yeah."
XxXxXxXxXxX
Karin woke up, groaning loudly and she sat up. Her head and chest were throbbing like mad. She rubbed her eyes and allowed them to focus; the first thing she saw was a huge group of people crowding over something. She tried to get closer, but there were too many people blocking her way. She attempted to elbow her way through until she saw that her elbow went straight through people. 'What the?' She looked down at herself seeing a huge, but short-lengthed chain in the middle of her chest. 'HOLY CRAP.' She quickly ran through the crowd, hating the feeling of going through people until she got to the middle. She resisted the urge to throw up. What she saw was her own body, smashed and broken on the pavement, blood splattered everywhere. After spending about two seconds looking at her own body she ran back through the crowd, taking deep breaths. She wasn't supposed to die now! Not like that! Karin tried to fight back her tears. She held her hands tightly against her wet eyes, willing herself not to cry. When her eyes felt drier she opened them and looked around. She heard Rukia's voice shouting her name from behind her.
Karin turned round to see Rukia and Ichigo, looking sad yet relieved. Both of them were happy that they had found her so quickly. They two of them ran quickly towards her, Ichigo tightly hugging her the second he got near her. "Ichi-nii...you knew I'd come back..."
"I know...but the shock of it...I thought I lost you." Karin hugged him tightly back, the siblings just staying still embracing each other for a while. Karin was the one who broke the silence.
"So...what are we supposed to do now?"
"What do you mean?" Rukia answered Ichigo's question.
"Well, she's pretty screwed now."
"Huh? Why! What's wrong!"
"Ichi-nii, think about it. If I go to Soul Society Aizen is much more likely to get to me, but if I stay here my chain's gonna erode. And it's pretty short already."
"Oh fuck. What are we supposed to do!" He turned to Rukia and the last sentence.
"Don't look at me! It's not my decision. It's yours Karin." Karin stared at her in a mix of worry and confusion.
"What?"
"You either have to risk being in Soul Society again, or you risk becoming a hollow." Karin looked down at the chain attached to her chest.
"How long do you reckon I have?" Rukia studied the length of the chain.
"I'm no expert, but I think you'll be completely safe for a month. After that I don't know. You could last 6 months, you could last 6 days. It entirely depends on how fast your chain erodes. It's different for every person. To be honest, I don't think it's a bad idea to contact Soul Society first. They probably have a better idea than I do." Karin nodded. Ichigo shook his head and butted into their conversation.
"Wait wait wait. If she has a completely safe month, she can think about it right? Take a couple days before she even has to think about it? She just freaking died, is it good to put pressure on her?" Rukia sighed sadly before speaking.
"Normally I'd agree with you, but this is your sister we're talking about it. She's got huge reiatsu, and now that she doesn't have a human body, it's going to be easier for hollows to find her."
"For fuck's sake. Going by that logic then she should go to Soul Society." Karin nodded.
"To be honest, I am kinda leaning towards Soul Society right now." Rukia nodded.
"Well I reckon this should all wait for a little while. The authorities have just shown up." Rukia pointed towards the crowd surrounding Karin's body, which was now being joined by police and ambulance vehicles. "We're going to need a story, and to be there at the apartment when they show up." Karin and Ichigo agreed, and they quickly made their way to the building.
XxXxXxXxXxX
It had been 7 hours since Karin's death, and the police had finally made an appearance and told Ichigo that an investigation was taking place. Ichigo and Rukia had acted well, including phoning the police every half an hour saying that she was 'missing'. Karin was lying in her room. In the end nothing had really changed for Karin. She was surprised at how little things had changed. When she got back to the apartment and calmed down a bit, she realised that she got just as bored even after death. The difference was this time round she kept trying to keep herself busy, almost afraid of thinking about the huge decision that was now hanging over her head. Karin practically had a heart attack when she heard her mobile ring. Judging by the time of day, it was Tōshirō who was phoning her. When she answered her phone she found out that her guess was right. But something wasn't right. Tōshirō's voice sounded different, heavier somehow. He hadn't said hello either, he only said her name, her full name. "Tōsh?"
"Why didn't you call me earlier?"
"What?"
"Why didn't you call me earlier! The way I found out about your death was by the fucking 12th division!" Karin felt nervous.
"Sorry. Tōsh, really I'm sorry. It's just everything has been hectic, there's police everywhere and..."
"And?"
"...Tōsh, I'm scared. I mean really scared. What the hell am I supposed to do? I thought it would be easy. I'd just wait here for you guys to sort out Aizen, I'd come back except you know dead, but like peacefully or something I'd become a shinigami, and everything would be fine. But now I can only stay here for a month at the most, assuming hollows don't kill me first, but Aizen's is still gonna be there and he's gonna be after me and I...I just..I just...don't know what to do any more..." Karin tried to fight back her tears for the second time that day, but the pure frustration and helplessness of the situation meant that her tears managed to escape. Tōshirō forgot all his anger when he heard the despair in her voice, and by the time she had started crying all he wanted was to be with her.
"Rin..."
"What would you do?"
"If I was in your position?" Karin sniffed slightly before answering.
"Uh-huh." Tōshirō sighed heavily.
"It's your decision Karin, but if it were me, I'd go to Soul Society. In the end, hollows are rare, and there are shinigami everywhere. I know there's Aizen, but the defences are getting better and better. I know there's still that risk of Aizen, but we know what's going on now. We can keep an eye on you."
"That seems like a lot of work."
"I don't care Rin. I'm going to make sure you're safe, whichever one you pick for now." Karin took a few moments to dry her eyes before speaking.
"Tōsh?"
"Yeah?"
"Would you visit me if I went to Soul Society?" Tōshirō sighed again.
"That's a stupid question. Of course I would. However, the point is your safety."
"I know, I know. I was leaning towards Soul Society anyway, but that helped push me towards it."
"...As long as it wasn't the sole reason." Karin smiled for the first time in hours.
"Don't worry, it wasn't." The couple then continued to have an hour long conversation, only stopping because Karin's phone battery was dying. Karin went to sleep feeling a lot lighter than she did earlier in the day.
XxXxXxXxXxX
When Karin woke up the following morning she had to look down at herself to confirm that the previous events didn't just take place in her head. She sighed heavily and sat up, not particularly happy. Oh sure, she had pretty much made up her mind and Tōshirō was planning to make it easier for her, but that didn't fix everything. To be honest, Karin was sick of being messed around for so long. She had to move to Soul Society for her safety, then back to the Living World for her safety and now back again to Soul Society because it seemed to be the lesser of the two evils. She was still afraid of Aizen, and that wasn't going to change just because they had improved the defences around him. She was starting to think that ever since her mother died her life had never been stable, and never will be. No matter how strong and how old Karin got, there were always the odd moment or two where she really missed her mother, this being one of those times.
By the time Karin had gotten herself out of bed it had gone past 10 o'clock meaning that Rukia had already left to go training, leaving Ichigo and Karin alone. Ichigo smiled somewhat reassuringly when he saw Karin. "Hey." Karin nodded as a sign of recognition. "What's up Karin? Besides the obvious..." Karin stayed silent for a couple seconds before answering.
"Can we visit mum's grave?"
"You wanna visit mum?" Karin nodded before walking into the kitchen to grab something to eat. Ichigo raised his voice so she could hear his reply.
"We can go later, after lunch ok?"
"Yep." Her short replies worried him slightly, but he dropped it, reasoning that she had JUST died the day before.
XxXxXxXxXxX
When Ichigo and Karin arrived at the graveyard they pair of them just stood in front of their mother's grave not saying a word to each other. Neither of them had visited her for ages due to the recent chaos. After a couple of minutes Ichigo excused himself, allowing Karin to be alone at their mother's grave for a short while. She took a deep breath and kneeled down at the front of her mother's gave before starting to pray. 'Hey mum...long time no see huh? A lot of stuff has happened since the last time I was here...I mean I think Ichigo has started to actually grow up, and you know when that happens the apocalypse is nigh. Yuzu and dad are doing great, like they always do. Ichigo's...well Ichigo. He's making progress. But mum, for me everything is all over the place. I know it's not like I'm special or anything. It's not like I got chosen or anything, I just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Actually, I'm starting to think that I'm always at the wrong place at the wrong time. But really, why is it me? Why couldn't life be easier? Everything is so complicated. I gotta leave, again. I feel like everything would be easier if you were here. You were so good at solving problems. Although, a certain man seems to be pretty good at solving problems too...I wish you could meet Tōshirō. I bet you'd like him, even Ichigo seems to have made him peace with him, and Ichigo's awful when it comes to things like that.' Karin paused momentarily to stare up at the sky noticed a few drops here and there were falling. It was starting rain. 'Mum, what would you be doing if you were here now? I keep wondering. I miss you. Even if it wouldn't be easier, I feel like it would be if you were here. Every kid needs there mum from time to time right? Everything's so daunting. Is life always this scary when you grow up? Everyone has their own obstacles. Mine feel hu-' Karin was interrupted by an unknown shinigami.
"Oi girl. Come over here, you need a soul burial." Karin rolled her eyes and glared at the newly arrived shinigami. She simply was not in the mood for this.
"I have a fucking name."
"I don't really care, I just have a job to do, so get over here already." Karin stood up and stared the shinigami down, genuinely intimidating him slightly.
"Do I look like I give a fuck about your job? What are you gonna do?" Karin seriously pissed him off. She was honestly surprised at herself, the frustration from the past 24 hours was coming out now, which was probably the wrong time, but she didn't care.
"You insolent little bitch." The shinigami made a move to Karin, who merely smirked. To someone who had been training with Yoruichi Shihōin, this guy was outstandingly slow. She easily dodged and watched as the shinigami fell to the ground. The shinigami swept his body across the ground while getting up, surprising Karin and causing her to fall. "Jeez what IS it with souls these days? I swear all of the ones I find in this damned town think they can tell me what to do." Karin rose from the ground and punched the man in the face.
"Funny. I was about to say the exact same thing about shinigami. You really think you can order me around?"
"Bitch, it's my job."
"Wrong. The first priority of your damned job is to exterminate hollows. The second is to perform soul burials without using force or being a total asshole about it. Stop thinking you're high and mighty just because you have 'powers'."
"Excuse me? Who are you to lecture me on the priorities of my job!" Karin shrugged and continued to glare at the shinigami. The fact that she wasn't giving up unnerved the man slightly. "Whatever. You're getting a soul burial."
"No I'm not. I have my own plans."
"Like hell." The shinigami made a move to grab Karin's wrist which again she easily dodged. The shinigami narrowed his eyes after his attack failed. He lunged for her again.
Ichigo looked at his watch, noticing that he had left Karin alone for a good 15 minutes now. He made his way back to the main graveyard. When he started to walk on the path he came across the sight of a shinigami fighting with something. Ichigo squinted, trying to see who the two people were. They were all the way across the graveyard, and the graveyard was huge. He started to walk closer until he realised that a shinigami was fighting with his little sister for god knows what reason. He started to run quickly towards them, shouting at the shinigami. "What the fuck are you playing at!" Karin looked towards the source of the voice and the shinigami used Ichigo's distraction as an opportunity. He twisted both of Karin's arms so they were behind her and swept her legs from underneath her causing her to kneel. She looked up at the still unknown shinigami. If looks could kill the shinigami would've died a thousand times by now. The shinigami spoke with a sense of pride.
"Oh you're that substitute Kurosaki shinigami right? You don't need to worry, this soul was being troublesome, but I've got her now." Ichigo glared at the man just as badly as Karin did. (Clearly, it ran in the family.) Ichigo wanted to tear the man limb from limb. He was holding Karin as if she was some sort of criminal and was proud of it? As it that wasn't bad enough he was trying to kiss up to Ichigo because of the power and the 'connections' he 'must have' because he was on speaking terms with captains and vice-captains? Which of course was backfiring horrendously. "I swear, if you don't let her go in the next two seconds you're going to find yourself without arms." The shinigami chuckled darkly.
"Oh I see. You're one of those types. You like to have ALL the glory. Kill all the hollows you can, send as many souls as you can."
"What! No! You happen to be restraining my little sister, so like I said, let go of her before I start decapitating limbs." The shinigami rolled his eyes.
"Yeah right. From what I heard one of your little sisters is girly and weak and the other one got herself in trouble with Aizen like a stupid little..." The shinigami decided to stop talking, apparently he had finally realised who he was talking to. Karin growled while Ichigo threatened the shinigami.
"Finish that sentence. I dare you." The shinigami glared at Ichigo for a moment before losing his nerve.
"Fuck this. I don't need to put up with this." He unsheathed his Zanpaktō and Ichigo instantly reached for his shinigami badge. Unfortunately the unknown shinigami had his Zanpaktō fully unsheathed and ready to use by the time Ichigo had separated from his body. The shinigami quickly turned his Zanpaktō around and hit Karin's forehead with the hilt rather roughly. Ichigo's eyes widened as he saw a blue light encircle Karin. Karin looked around and realised what was happening. She turned her head to face the shinigami. "Oh fuck you...Bye Ichi-nii..." Ichigo watched wordlessly as Karin sunk into the ground. Ichigo let out a frustrated scream and charged at the shinigami. "Why can't anyone leave her alone! Why do people insist on fucking with her life!" He punctuated every word with a kick or punch, intent on causing the man pain.
XxXxXxXxXxX
After several conversations with Soul Society Rukia collapsed onto the sofa. "So?" Rukia sighed heavily before replying to Ichigo.
"Soul Society agreed that we need to find her quick, but there are 80 huge districts. We could be searching for years and never find her. There's also a chance she forgot her memories, which would make it harder. Aizen could find her and make her cause havoc without us even knowing." Ichigo ran his hands through his head.
"So what are we supposed to do!"
"Well I don't see any point in being here any more. I say we start looking for her."
"Except that the police are still investigating Karin's death and asked us to stick around."
"Oh damn. I had forgotten about that."
"If we just disappear they'll probably assume someone was trying to murder the whole family. So in other words, we just have to sit here and do fuck all." Rukia sighed and nodded, she knew Ichigo was trying to stop himself from panicking or taking his anger out on her. After the past couple days Ichigo was so close to breaking.
"At least there'll still be people looking for her, even if it isn't us." Ichigo sighed.
"I suppose. To be honest, I think she can look after herself, I'm more worried about her memories."
"You're not worried about her well-being? You do realise that Captain Zaraki came from the 80th district? There are more people like him there."
"Of course I'm worried you idiot. I'm aware about the people you can find there. But I really have to stay optimistic, you know, before I start killing people." Rukia nodded.
XxXxXxXxXxX
Rangiku came rushing into Tōshirō's office in the tenth squad, he looked up surprised. "I don't think I have ever seen you enter my office quite so enthusiastically Matsumoto." Rangiku was out of breath, it appeared that she had actually ran all the way to the office.
"Captain. There's a problem." Tōshirō raised his eyebrow.
"It's Karin." Tōshirō's eyes narrowed in concern and worry, urging Rangiku to go on. "Apparently some stupid shinigami forced her to have a soul burial. Nobody knows where she is."
"What!" Tōshirō got up from his desk, and walked over to the door.
"Captain? Where are you going?"
"Where do you think? I'm looking for her. Contact me if anything goes wrong here." Rangiku shook her head.
"No way Captain. I'm supposed to have your back. I'm coming with you."
"Matsumo-"
"Oh come on Captain! Our squad is one of the most organised squads, it can last without us for a couple days!" Tōshirō thought for a moment.
"...Ugh...fine. But if the squad falls into complete disorder I'm blaming you." Rangiku grinned briefly and the two set off towards Rukongai.
Tōshirō and Rangiku decided it would be better to start looking from the 80th district up. She was more likely to survive and be fine in the 1st than the 80th, even if they were hoping for her to be in one of the nicer districts it was better to search the more dangerous ones first. By the time they had searched the majority of the 80th district it had gone well past midnight, meaning most people had found cover of some sort. Rangiku and Tōshirō decided to find cover as well, there was no point in searching for a person if all of the people were asleep or in hiding. And besides, there were a lot more men than there were women in the last district, due to the likelihood of being raped, mugged or messed with in some way or another. The chances of such a thing happen were pretty damn high for females. People in this district couldn't care less about who their victim was. The weaker the better; they were more likely to succeed. Due to that most women here were either hardened criminals or children who hadn't given up yet. Tōshirō knew Karin wasn't stupid. She would've figured out that this is not a good place to be in.
XxXxXxXxXxX
Two weeks had passed and Tōshirō and Rangiku had only managed to go through 5 districts. True, the two hadn't spent the entire fortnight searching, as they had to return 3 times to make sure the squad was still standing. The Captain Commander had also sent for Tōshirō at one point for a meeting. It had scared Tōshirō at first, but it only was a simple warning. Yamamoto didn't like the fact that Tōshirō had gone off and taken upon himself to look for Karin, but he admitted that he was going to send him anyway, believing him to be the most appropriate for the task. Out of any shinigami he could've sent, Tōshirō would be the best at finding her, except for maybe her family who had other commitments at the moment.
Honestly, Tōshirō was already losing hope. Obviously she was bount to be somewhere, and there was no way in hell that he was going to give up, but he desperately wanted to find her soon. Anything could be happening to her and he wouldn't know. He was now walking through the 74th district, not having any luck. Now that Rangiku and Tōshirō had been moving out of the severely dangerous districts they decided to split up, so they were more likely to find her sooner rather than later. So here he was in the 74th district while Rangiku was in the 73rd both searching diligently for Karin, using both their eyes and their senses.
The sun was starting to set, and the majority of the children had now gone inside, in both districts. Tōshirō wasn't having any luck, and he was fairly sure he had looked everywhere. He should've been able to sense her too, so he shunpoed to the next district with the aim of finding Rangiku. After a good 40 to 50 minutes he finally found her. "Matsumoto. How is it going?" Rangiku turned round to face Tōshirō who was out of breath, having only just arrived. She looked unbelievably happy.
"Captain I think we're getting close! I could've sworn I felt her earlier! It was kinda distant, but it was definitely her reiatsu!"
"Are you serious!" Rangiku nodded while grinning.
"Uh-huh! She's gotta be near! I'm guessing she's in the next district!" Tōshirō nodded slowly.
"So Matsumoto...What are we doing standing around here for?" Rangiku grinned wider and shunpoed off to the next district. Tōshirō smiled slightly, happy that he could be seeing Karin again the next day. He took a deep breath and shunpoed to the next district, easily catching up with Rangiku.
When they had finally reached the 72nd district it had been dark for some time, meaning that most of the inhabitants were asleep. Tōshirō could sense Karin, he knew she was in this district, and he could tell what general area she was in, but he couldn't pinpoint it. There was something slightly different to her reiatsu. Tōshirō supposed it was because he had never felt her reiatsu when she wasn't in her human body. Knowing where she was and knowing she was safe put Tōshirō's mind at ease. However, due to the late hour and how exhausted both he and Rangiku was they decided to find cover for the night. Chances were she wasn't going to go any where, and if she was they could pick up on it immediately. Tōshirō took a deep breath and tried to relax. He had no idea why he was so nervous about seeing her again tomorrow, but something was making him feel edgy.
While Tōshirō was drifting off to sleep his phone rung, sounding very loud in the silent surroundings. He answered it groggily. "Captain Hitsugaya. It's Captain Suì-Fēng."
"Captain Suì-Fēng? What's the matter?"
"I just wanted to alert you. The defences around Aizen have started to crack. We can reinforce them again but I do not know how effective that will be. Do you know if you're anywhere near Karin Kurosaki yet?"
"Thank you for informing me. Yes, I do believe we're close. We hope to find her tomorrow."
"Excellent. I would like to request for you to bring her to the 4th squad when you do find her. It'll be easier to figure things out from there."
"Understood."
"Good luck tomorrow Captain."
"Thank you. Good luck with the defences." After Tōshirō said this Suì-Fēng had hung up the phone, not one for talking huge amounts, and having a task to complete. Tōshirō sighed heavily, relieved that he was so close to her. Aizen was breaking through again, and Tōshirō knew he try and get to Karin again.
XxXxXxXxXxX
Tōshirō never really managed to sleep properly that night, he kept dozing off and waking up half an hour later. When it had started to get light he gave up even trying. After a while Tōshirō came out of their cover and walked towards a clearing in the district. He assumed the children in the area used it as some sort of park. He leant against a tree, silently keeping track of Karin's reiatsu. Judging by the stability of it, she was still asleep. He didnt't want to wake her up, startling her would be the best start. Slowly more and more people started walking around the area, a small group of young children were playing around not too far from Tōshirō. It reminded him of Yoona, which made him start to wonder where she could be. He was lost in his thoughts and almost missed Karin's reiatsu changing. She was up and moving, Tōshirō just had to find exactly where she was. He started to walk across the clearing and through a couple of streets, getting closer and closer to her.
It was roughly 20 minutes before Tōshirō finally saw her. She was a good distance away from him, but he knew it was her. Her hair had been left untied and she was wearing a simple midnight blue kimono. Tōshirō couldn't help but grin when he saw her. He started to run towards her. "Rin!" Karin turned round to face Tōshirō, after studying him for a moment she glared at him. "What's wrong?" Karin's eyes narrowed and took a step back from Tōshirō.
"Who the hell gave YOU permission to call me Rin!"
"Huh?"
"You heard me shinigami." Tōshirō's eyes widened. He couldn't believe it. He felt like he had been winded. Tōshirō had been too busy focusing on finding Karin and making sure that she was safe to even think about her memories. The memories she clearly didn't have. Tōshirō honestly felt like crying.
"You don't remember me?" Karin shrugged.
"Should I?" Tōshirō could feel his eyes getting wet, but he refused to cry
"You promised me you would never forget." Karin raised an eyebrow, it was clear that this guy was getting upset over this and she knew that she had shown up not too long ago. But how on earth could this guy be connected to her previous life if he was a shinigami? A captain, no less. He obviously died years before she had, so how could he have possibly known her? It didn't make sense, but apparently he did know her.
"I'm sorry I guess..." Tōshirō pinched the bridge of his nose hard, trying to force himself to control his emotions better for Karin's sake.
"Regardless of whether you remember me or not, you're still in danger." Karin replied in a couldn't-care-less tone, all of the sympathy she felt for him disappeared.
"Oh, am I now?"
"You don't even remember that? I need to keep you safe." Karin rolled her eyes.
"What on earth is gonna pose a threat to me?"
"Aizen!"
"Who?" Tōshirō sighed in frustration.
"You know what, it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter if you don't know who Aizen is, it...it doesn't matter if you don't know who I am, as long as you're safe. You have to come with me." Those words had really hurt to say, but it was the truth. He cared too much about Karin to let her get in danger just because he wanted her to remember him.
"Yeah...that's not gonna happen."
"What?"
"Don't what me! You suddenly pop up telling me how you know me despite the fact that I've never seen you in my life telling me you must take me to 'safety' from a dangerous guy I've never even heard of. How dodgy does that sound to you? I'm not fucking dense. Do me a favour and stay away from me." Karin started to walk away when Tōshirō grabbed her wrist.
"Karin, please. I'm not doing this for me!" Karin gave him a dirty look and ripped her wrist out of his grip.
"I thought I told you to stay away from me." She glared at Tōshirō a final time and walked away from him. Tōshirō's eyes burned. He willed himself not to cry, took a deep breath and ran after her, the whole time thinking 'She's going to hate me...She's going to hate me...'.
*Calmly waits for the mass of readers who are now probably out for my blood to show up at my house* Seriously, just when you think I couldn't get bitchier, BAM! I write this chapter. Again, I'd like to apologize for the fast pace of this chapter, but I don't think I could really write it slower, because the chapter would have gotten boring. I think I need to practice writing with some of the characters too. Ichigo was way too calm, but I had no idea how I should write him differently. (Did that even make sense? ^^;) Not to mention that Yamamoto is WAY too reasonable in my fics. What do you guys think? Please don't kill me XD I can tell you that things will start to look up eventually. I have actually managed to depress myself while writing this. That's a first. Although the last couple times I wrote HitsuKarin was 3 years ago and they WERE all fluff. (I still can't believe I wrote those when I was 12 XD) I didn't want to write an all fluff story this time round, I wanted to try something a little more serious and now it's gotten kinda serious. I hope you liked it. Review? ^^
