Hello!! Thanks so much everybody for your reviews!! I'm sorry in advance if this chapter comes out late because I will be in Sydney this weekend at SMASH! anime convention!! So, here's chapter 10! I hope you enjoy when it finally gets to you!! Read and review!! emichii!
"My
name's Grimmjow Jeagerjaques. Nice to meet you, kid."
Chapter 10: The First Encounter
Karin's eyes wavered slightly on Grimmjow's smirking face. She gritted her teeth and clenched her hands into tightened fists. She struggled to fix her dark eyes on him and find some courage, some strength from within, but somehow… this great fear began creeping into her.
She knew… that she had always had some kind of fear, some kind of reaction to all Hollows, and things with a different spiritual pressure from hers. There was that parakeet with a soul trapped inside it, it was then she first began to feel her powers grow beyond her control. Gradually, she saw Hollows more and more everyday, and finally ended up running from them every single time she was outside.
Still, no matter how many Hollows she met, she felt or she saw, it was always the same. Every time this… shrinking feeling inside her ached. Every time this great fear seemed to grow in her, it made her shiver and lose her breath.
And now… this was no different. The same… pitiful scared feeling rushed throughout her. Her whole body was frozen; Grimmjow's mocking eyes and the curved smile on his face took away her ability to move. She could barely speak.
Grimmjow looked down at Karin and frowned slightly. "What's wrong with you?? Can't you even move under my spiritual pressure??" His smile deepened as he leaned his head down and closer to Karin's face. "It's not even at my strongest right now. Or haven't you ever seen an Espada before?"
Espada. The word rang through Karin's mind, triggering off warning bells and memories of the times this word had been mentioned. Espada… were the strongest Hollows they were right now in Hueco Mundo. They were the strongest arrancar and Karin's face paled.
"…It's rude not to reply when someone's just introduced themselves." Grimmjow straightened up and shoved his hands into his pockets. Not that he wasn't rude himself.
Karin fought for composure and courage. She struggled to find the strength to stand up to the overwhelming pressure and fear. She looked for Hoshi Matsuri in her thoughts, and relief flooded through her as she felt her zanpakuto's presence. She bit her lip as she sighed lightly. Finally, her eyes darkened on Grimmjow's and she said, "Karin Kurosaki. That's my name."
Grimmjow was amused by Karin and the way she had froze and then found her boldness again. He chuckled to himself as he leant down towards her again. "Ichigo's… little sister, huh?"
Karin's eyes widened as she stared at him. She still couldn't get used to how she didn't know her Ichi-nii like she thought she did. He was always away, and she was only beginning to put together pieces. He had met so many people… Ichigo was…
Unsure what to think of her brother, Karin replied, "What of it?"
Grimmjow grinned. "I came all this way to meet you, Karin. I'm so excited for this fight I've been wanting to have with you!!"
Instantly, he raised a hand and red light gathered at the tips of his fingers. Karin's eyes grew wide. She only had time to watch in horror as Grimmjow flung his arm towards her and sent the cero blast straight at her.
--
Ichigo suddenly froze. He could still feel Karin and Hitsugaya's spiritual pressure alive and well, but there was a growing distance between the two. He narrowed his eyes as he noticed the way Karin's hakudo was trembling.
What the...? He was confused and then his confusion went away and was replaced with anger and frustration towards Hitsugaya. That bastard!! Damn him!! I told him to look after Karin!! How dare he??
He scowled angrily as he recalled what Hitsugaya had told him once before.
"Kurosaki. Remember that time you said that if I let anything happen to your sister, you would kill me? …well, think about this. Karin is the girl I love… Kurosaki, if you ever hurt her like that again, then I'll take the responsibility to kill you myself."
Dammit. He didn't understand. Ichigo knew how strongly Hitsugaya felt about Karin. He had had no doubt that Hitsugaya would protect Karin with his life, but why… why was Karin's hakudo so unsteady and why was Hitsugaya's presence nowhere near hers?
He swore under his breath. Hitsugaya, I trusted you!!
Why…? Why would he abandon Karin so carelessly? It was so unlike him!! Unless… Ichigo's brown eyes grew big at the realization and then darkened with intensity. No… but it could be…
He understood now!! Of course!! Hitsugaya, if he loved Karin so much, there would be no way he'd leave her unless… the one person he hated more than he loved Karin was there. Aizen…
Aizen!! Ichigo hated him just as much as Hitsugaya did! But he didn't have the kind of background history with him as the tenth captain had. He couldn't understand the torturous pain Hitsugaya carried from Aizen. But he did know… Aizen was the guy that could make Hitsugaya lose his self-control.
Ichigo was furious. He felt Karin's pressure rise and fall nervously. He suspected Karin had just met someone. Someone… strong like… Ichigo lost his breath. Grimmjow!! Karin was faltering, her spirit weak and nervous. Ichigo knew that Karin had some kind of phobia against all Hollows, something that made her freeze up inside and this fear rise up inside her. But if this was Grimmjow then it was obvious to see why Karin was in so much trouble.
Ichigo turned to head immediately for Karin and Grimmjow. A huge string of expletives ran through his head, mostly aimed for Hitsugaya and Grimmjow. Dammit!! How the hell was he meant to get to where Karin was in time??
Suddenly, a huge flood of spiritual pressure exploded around him and he almost missed his footing. This pressure… his body and his soul was so in tune to it! It was so easy to recognize yet also so different!! It was crazy, but he knew it at once!! It easily drowned out Karin and Grimmjow's pressure and the thoughts of rescuing his sister. There was no way he was wrong. He knew this presence too well. But…
For some reason he wavered at it. It was her!! He knew it! Rukia!! A pained expression flashed over his face. But... it had changed.
A huge flood, a huge ocean of Rukia's spiritual pressure… it was so concentrated, so full of strength and rough energy, it was so intense it would've made him fall over if it wasn't for the distance between them.
He wondered if Karin or Hitsugaya had felt it. Somehow he doubted it because he was the only one who could feel her pressure this strongly and this well, no matter how far they were apart. His body, his soul was remarkably in tune to this well-known pressure… because it belonged to the girl he loved.
Somewhere in the back of his cluttered mind there was the thought of Karin and how he had to help her. But then… this crazily strong pressure belonging to Rukia drowned it out. All he could think of was her, and how pissed off he was at whatever Aizen had done to her to make her energy so… intense! He scowled at the thought of Aizen! He wanted to kill him for even touching Rukia, for taking her here in the first place!! Rukia…
He hadn't felt her pressure in so long, and then suddenly, here it was! This complete flood!! Karin vanished from his mind as he ran forward once again. Rukia… was close… she was definitely here! And Ichigo was gonna find her!!
--
She felt the heat coming, closer and closer; all her eyes could see was red, red, red. It burned her sight, it made her freeze and unable to think of anything but the state of her body after it had hit her.
Karin had no time!! There was no way she could jump away or dodge. Her brain snapped back into action. Block it. It commanded her. Deflect.
Deflect it!! Karin felt so panicked and desperate as she pleaded for her zanpakuto. "HOSHI MATSURI!!" She cried out for it.
Grimmjow's cero blast died down, as the red stream seemed to bounce back into the air and vanish. He frowned at Karin and he blinked in surprise at what he saw.
Karin stood in front of him, breathing hard, slight burns and injuries littering across her forehead and arms. But she stood there, panting, defiant; wielding a huge sword in front of her.
Grimmjow's surprise died down as his smirk grew wider again. "That your zanpakuto, eh? Interesting way of calling it."
Karin muttered a sound in reply.
"Good. Now at least you can fight me properly!!" He declared and ran towards Karin.
--
Hitsugaya suddenly froze. His cold blue-green eyes widened and his face grew pale. Crap!! Dammit!! He felt pressure and emotion explode inside him as he was torn apart, two pressures on either side of him now, Aizen and Karin's. Aizen's was taunting him and drawing him closer, yet Karin's was screamingly painful.
He hated himself at that moment, for having so cruelly abandoned Karin and left her behind. Biting his lip to stop himself from cursing out loud, Hitsugaya ran towards the direction of Karin's exploding fearful spiritual pressure, fearing that he wouldn't get there in time.
There was the sudden blast of spiritual energy from Grimmjow's next cero blast, and all Hitsugaya could do was run and cry out anguish, "KARIN!!"
To be continued!! Sorry for the long wait!!