Chapter 10 is here. Way to go me! Please enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach


Toushiro's POV

After I gave Karin her birthday present we stayed at the roof for some time to look at the stars. Karin managed to fall asleep during that time. I noticed it only when she almost fell from the roof.

"You need to choose your sleeping places better. It's not safe to sleep on a roof", I said to her moving her to sit on my lap, head leaning on my chest. She didn't answer, just breathed silently. I sighed and smiled moving the black strands away from her face.

"Sleep well, beautiful", I whispered and kissed her forehead. Her lips tugged upwards a bit. She was still holding the ribbons in her hand.

"It's getting a bit chilly. Maybe we'd better move inside", I said and lifted her to my arms. I quietly jumped down from the roof and climbed in from the window of her room.

I gently laid her on her bed and sat down on the bed next to her head. I took a strand of her black hair to between my fingers and played with it. She moved her hand and grabbed my haori lightly.

"I think I'll go to sleep to", I said and kissed the strand in my hand starting to move away. Her grip on my haori tightened and for a second I thought she had woken up. I turned to look at her and realized she was still asleep.

I thought for a moment, before I slide the haori of my shoulders and put it over her. She cuddled it and relaxed even more. I just had to smile.

As I was climbing to the closet to sleep, the door was slightly opened and Rukia peeked inside. She spotted me wearing only my pants (A.N. I don't remember what that part of the Shinigami uniform is called) and Karin lying on her bed with my haori as a blanket. She glanced between us few times before she smiled and closed the door silently, not to wake Karin up.

It doesn't seem like she'll say anything to Ichigo. Why is that? She is his girlfriend. Yes, but women seem to enjoy watching me and Karin together, plus she knows Ichigo would go crazy.

"Good night Karin", I said glancing back at her sleeping on the bed before closing the closet door.

Ichigo's room

"Where could she be? I haven't seen her since morning!" Ichigo said walking around his room and every few seconds glancing out of the window. Renji and Kon sat on his bed, just staring at him stress.

"Ichigo, don't you think you're overdoing it a bit? I mean she's a smart girl and already 16. She can take care of herself", Renji said, knowing perfectly well that she was with Toushiro. Matsumoto had informed him and Rukia the second their relationship was certain, in order to keep Ichigo away and to be watching Karin and Toushiro.

"A Hollow could have attacked! Or she could have attacked a Hollow!" he said putting his head out from the window the check if Karin was walking on the street.

"Then we would have felt her reiatsu. Or at least Rukia would have. She probably is just playing soccer with her friends", he said pulling Ichigo back from the window when he leaned so far he almost fell.

"Man, you're stressing way too much!" he said getting almost angry with his friend. Then again, he was just worried about his sister, so he just couldn't get mad about that.

Ichigo turned to look at Renji and opened his mouth to say something, but continued his spin as he heard the door open. Rukia opened the door and stared at Ichigo (mouth still open, ready to say something his brain already forgot) and Renji who was staring at her questioning.

"You can relax; you've just missed her when she came home. She's already sleeping", she said walking to sit next to Renji on the bed. Kon tried to climb to her lap but she 'gently moved' him away. Meaning threw him at Ichigo's face.

"She is? That's good. She should have said 'hi' to me when she came back, I wouldn't have stressed so much", Ichigo said throwing Kon back to Rukia and sat down on his chair.

Rukia pulled her phone out of her pocket and started to write a message to Matsumoto.

They've come back already went to sleep. Captain Hitsugaya has turned out to be a really nice to Karin, he had covered her with his haori and she was cuddling it when she was sleeping. Tomorrow it will be your turn to watch them.

She closed her phone and smirked at Renji. Why am I part of the Hitsugaya and Karin watch again? he wondered.

Next morning, Karin's POV

I slowly woke up next morning inhaling the oddly familiar scent. Odd, because it wasn't something I usually smelled the first thing at morning and familiar because it was Toushiro. I opened my eyes and realized I was cuddling his haori.

I blinked a few times, but the haori didn't disappear. Why do I have his haori? I wondered and started to recall the events of the previous day, a smile slowly forming on my face.

I sat up and hugged his haori tightly. I realized I was holding something else in my hand. The ribbons! I hope they aren't crumbled! I thought and opened my fist. The two ribbons were still perfectly smooth.

I got up from the bed realizing I was still wearing the same clothes as I had the previous day. Hey, wait a sec? When did I get to my bed? I only remember sitting on the roof with Toushiro and then… waking up. I must've fallen asleep on the roof!

I opened my closet to see Toushiro still sleeping. His expression was calm, not a single wrinkle on his forehead. His mouth was slightly open as he breathed silently.

I smiled and closet the door quietly. I opened the other closet door, revealing my clothes. As I often did, I just pulled out few articles of clothing I thought would look good enough on my standards and be comfy. I ended up taking black shorts and a white t-shirt with the text "Drink Coffee! Do Stupid Things Faster With More Energy" on it. Yuzu had given it to me last Christmas.

I looked at the ribbons in my hands. I usually only use one, but I think I want to put both of these today, I decided and split my hair into two equally big sections on either side of my head. Then I just tied the ribbons to my hair and checked the result from the mirror.

(A.N. I really don't know how to explain what the hairstyle looks like, kinda like two low pigtails so that the ribbons are tied so that they're lower than her face. Hey, I think I just managed to explain it understandably!)

I decided I looked a bit more mature than I usually did.

With a quick glance on the clock (it was 10.32) I decided it was time for Toushiro to wake up. I opened the closet and almost made *aww* sound as I watched him sleep. Key word being 'almost'.

I stroked his cheek gently and moved my face closer to his. He stirred a bit, but didn't wake up. I breathed on his neck and he stirred again.

"Toushiro, it's time to wake up", I said and poked his nose. He blinked a few times drowsily before focusing his gaze on my eyes. He yawned a bit and smiled.

"Morning Karin. Did you sleep well?" he asked and sat up. I lifted my head from the mattress to look him in the eyes.

"I did, I had a really good dream, thanks for asking", I answered and leaned on the closet as Toushiro swung his legs out of the closet and stretched his arms above his head. My eyes travelled across his body, from his abs to the well toned chest and from there to his face. I blushed as I realized he had been watching me and was smirking a little raising his eyebrow.

"Like what you see?" he asked and grabbed my wrist causing me to collide with his chest. He had my other hand still on his grip holding it next to us. My other hand I had instinctively thrown in front of me and it was leaning against his chest. I concentrated on making my heart slow down.

"Yes, I in fact do like it", I said grinning back to him. He stood up; still holding me close to him, making our few centimeter height difference clearer than it usually was, and leaned to whisper to my ear.

"That's good, 'cause I do too", he said and kissed my cheek before letting go of me. I smiled at him and also chuckled at his appearance. I had never seen him this messy. His hair was sticking into every possible direction (even more than usually), his eyes were still sleepy and he was overall confused, searching for his kimono's upper part. (A.N. I still don't remember the names of the parts of the shihakushou)

"Karin, have you seen my-?" "On the chair", I answered before he was able to finish his question. He turned around and his face brightened as he noticed the black cloth on the chair. He picked it up and put his arms trough the sleeves, leaving the front open.

"How did you know what I was going to ask?" he asked and sat on the bed, covering his yawn with his hand. I raised my eyebrow smiling a little.

"You have a slowly waking brain", I chuckled and he grinned sheepishly. "It was quite obvious. Usually the first thing to do in the morning is to dress and you still had only the pants. Plus you were looking around", I explained smirking.

"And you still need this", I said and handed his haori back to him. This time it was he who smirked.

"Yeah, you were a little reluctant to let it go while sleeping, so I figured I'd let you have it as something to cuddle. I hope you haven't gotten drool all over it", he said chuckling.

"Hey, that's mean!" I said and slapped his arm. He just started laughing.

"The ribbons really do go well with your hair. I'm glad", he said taking a strand of my hair in his hand. I smiled.

"Yeah, thanks again. I really like them", I said and kissed his cheek. There was a knock on my door and I quickly pulled Toushiro from the bed and pushed him into my closet.

"Come in", I yelled and closed the closet door. Yuzu opened the door and peeked inside.

"You're already home? I thought you'd stay at Midori's longer", I said surprised. She smiled.

"Her family went to visit their grandma, so I came home. Dad said you haven't eaten breakfast yet, so I came to check if you're awake. I brought you breakfast, a sandwich and strawberry juice", she told handing me the plate and glass.

"Oh, okay. Did you two have fun?" I asked and Yuzu started to explain excitedly how they had gone shopping, watched horror movies and stayed up almost the whole night.

"Then today we picked up Grimmjow!" she exclaimed and I almost choked on air. Wasn't Grimmjow an Espada Ichigo defeated?! Wh-why-what? I was totally confused. I heard how Toushiro moved in the closet; probably he heard the name too.

"Who? How do you know him?" I asked carefully. She can't mean the same Grimmjow I'm thinking about. But how many Grimmjows there are? Yuzu smiled and picked a small basket from the hallway. She had most likely put it down when she knocked on the door.

"This is Grimmjow! Isn't he cute? And I know the name is odd, but somehow that name came to my mind when I saw him", she said excitedly and lifted a small kitten from the basket. He was almost completely white, except he had longer blue fur in the back of his neck and in the tips of his ears. He had amazing blue eyes, under which was also a bit of blue fur.

"Wow, he's… different", I said examining the little kitten. He looked exactly like Ichigo had described Grimmjow to be, except he was a little kitten. He mewled a bit and Yuzu cradled him in her arms. She started to stroke his fur and he purred a little.

"I guess he's cute. I just expected you to pick a little more usual colored kitten", I said sweatdropping a bit. Yuzu looked at him and he looked like he was smiling at her. His tail was swaying from side to side.

"C'mon, hold Grimmy a bit!" she said handing him to me. I put the sandwich on my table on took him into my arms. He mewled in discomfort and I moved him into a better position and stroked him a bit. He started to purr again. I guess he's okay. If he's the same Grimmjow, he doesn't seem to be dangerous. He's quite cute and adorable.

"What did you do while I was gone? I hope you didn't sit alone at home", she asked me and I smirked.

"Do I ever sit alone at home? No, I was out walking in the park", I answered and she smirked. She knows how to smirk?!

"With who? Let me guess, you were with Toushiro!" she said raising an eyebrow still smirking widely. My eyes widened. How does she know? She couldn't have seen us, or if she saw us, she saw just me. Toushiro was in his Shinigami form the whole day.

"I knew it! You were smiling so happily it couldn't have been anyone else!" she exclaimed seeing my expression. I was completely amazed by her skills of reading me.

"You're right, I was with him. You must be a psychic", I said shaking my head taking a sip of the juice.

"Not at all, you're just easy to read. Karin, I know you love him", she said kindly and I choked on the juice. Grimmjow mewled annoyed as he got some juice on his fur and started to lick the spot. That's scary, seems like she knew that before me. But Toushiro is still in my closet!

"Yu-Yuzu", I tried to say something trough my coughing, but my brain wasn't able to form a coherent sentence. Yuzu giggled.

"Are those ribbons from him? They look good on you", she said nodding towards my pigtails. I lifted my hand to touch one of the white ribbons.

"Yup, how did you guess?" I asked. It might have been obvious to some people, like my twin, but I didn't understand how she was always able to know everything about me.

"It's pretty easy to know. First off, I've never seen those ribbons before, so you most probably got them yesterday. Secondly, you never wear your hair on pigtails, so the one who gave them to you had to be special. And third, I've seen the way he looks at you. You should treasure those, I'm sure he must have thought a lot about your present, and when someone does so it comes from the heart", she smiled.

I stared at my twin. She always said I was the brighter one of us, but I knew she was bright too, in a different way. She had always been able to read people, and tell just the words they needed to hear, or explain how someone felt about something.

"They're one of the best presents I've ever got", I smiled. Yuzu nodded happily.

"That's good. Now eat your breakfast and go to see him!" she commanded and left the room whistling cheerfully. "And look after Grimmjow; I'm going to the shop!"

"I will, but the order I'll do those things will be the opposite", I whispered after her and opened the closet door revealing Toushiro, who was looking at me with a happy smile.

"Your sister is quite sharp. I know I'd be so dead if your brother was the same kind", he chuckled swinging his legs out of the closet. I leaned on the closed door next to him.

"She knows how people feel by just glancing at them. Hey, she knew how I felt before I did!" I exclaimed and took a bite of my sandwich. Toushiro glanced at me from the corner of his eyes.

"So I'm not just some high school crush to you?" he asked and I turned my whole torso towards him.

"No! You're much more. You're the closest friend I've ever had and you hold a place in my heart. I think she's right when she says I love you", I exclaimed staring at him wide eyed. He smiled and pulled my face closer.

"I think I love you too", he said and rubbed our noses together. Then he quickly kissed me. Then he looked at the kitten in my arms.

"That kitten your sister got… He looks really much like Grimmjow. I mean the Espada one", he said looking at the white kitten like it was about to grow huge fangs.

"But Ichi-nii beat him! So maybe he died and was reborn as a kitty! Don't tease the kitty", I said defending the poor, defenseless creature in my arms. If he had been a terrifying Espada in his previous life (if I was correct, that is) he was now a kitten. Toushiro looked thoughtful.

"You know what Karin? I think that is possible. If he died and was reborn, he shouldn't have any memories of trying to kill Ichigo and everyone else, so he should be harmless. If that is the same Grimmjow. It's scary she named him by the same name", he said shaking his head.

"But Grimmy can't be dangerous like this! He's a kitten for God's sake!" I laughed and lifted Grimmjow in front of Toushiro's face. He started to poke Toushiro's locks which were hanging in front of his face. Toushiro started at the kitten and I was able to see the 'you got to be kidding me' expression cross his face.

I stared laugh even more. Grimmjow turned to look at me and mewled. I brought him close to my face and cuddled him. He purred loudly.

"Now, stretch your legs a bit", I said to the kitten and put it down on the floor. He started to wander around my room. I turned to Toushiro.

"What should we do now?" I asked-

"Now you listen to your sister's advice and eat your breakfast! Then we go to Orihime's to pick my gigai so that we can go play soccer", he said and kissed his nose.

"Of course, and the soccer sounds like a perfect idea. It had been so long since we played last time", I said and took another bite of the sandwich still I had picked from my table as I put Grimmjow on the floor.

"We played last time on Wednesday. It was four days ago, it's not that that long", he said and I thought for a second before agreeing with him in my mind.

"It is a long time to not play soccer! At least to me, I don't know about you. I have heard that when you're older, time goes faster. Oh, I just realized my boyfriend is decades older than me. It would be really creepy if you weren't a Shinigami", I said chuckling. He rolled his eyes.

"Not to mention if I wasn't a Shinigami, I'd be just a soul. But remember your brother and Rukia. She's almost ten times older than he is, and they're still really happy", he said nodding his head towards the wall between my room and Ichigo's.

"Great, I'm dating a dead guy", I rolled my eyes, smirking. "And I've noticed that, I just meant that you're older and I don't mind", I continued my smirk turning into a smile.

"That's good to hear", he smiled and jumped out of the closet. "You've eaten? Good, let's go."

I was waiting for him to lift me to his arms again, but he shook his head and opened my door for me.

"It's better if you use your door sometimes, not always the window. Plus, you have to do something to Grimmjow, Yuzu told you to look after him", he said and I realized he was right. It might seem odd to my family if I always just vanished from my room, and also appeared without them seeing me use the front door. And Yuzu would be angry if I left Grimmjow by himself after she told me to look after him.

"I'll pick you up outside", he said jumping out off the window. I sighed and walked to the hallway. And once again bumped into Renji.

"Oh, hi Karin. And happy birthday, though I'm a day late. For once we bump into each other while both of us are wearing clothes", he said grinning madly. I couldn't help but laugh.

"You're right. I didn't know you were still here, I thought you were able to go back to Orihime's yesterday", I said glancing at him. He shrugged.

"I know, but I was too tired. I'm going back there today, the Strawberry wants to have his alone time with Rukia", Renji said glancing at me meaningfully. I shuddered blushing a bit, and glared at him.

"Didn't I tell you, I don't want to think about it", I said trying my hardest to make the image of my brother making out with Rukia on his bed.

"No, don't think you did", Renji said looking thoughtful.

"Well, at least I thought of that", I shrugged and Renji laughed.

"Oh, why do you have a kitten in your arms? He looks oddly familiar", Renji said kneeling down to the kitten. He mewled and tapped the cloth on his forehead with his paws.

"He's Yuzu's new kitten. And I'm going to ask Ichi-nii to watch him. When I introduce him to Ichi-nii, make sure he won't attack", I said to Renji. He started at me confused.

"Just follow me", I sighed and lead him into Ichigo's room. I opened the door without knocking. Ichigo and Rukia were sitting on the floor, examining the map of Karakura town.

"Hi, Ichi-nii. I need to ask a favor. Would you please look after Grimmjow while I go to play soccer?" I asked. Ichigo jumped to his feet looking like he was ready to fight. Behind me I heard Renji gasp. I sighed.

"Grimmjow?! I thought he was dead! Where is he!? And why the hell should I look after- what is this?" Ichigo asked stopping his ranting as I put Grimmjow in front of his face. He stared at the kitten who stared back with at least the same intense.

"This is Grimmjow. He's Yuzu's kitten. And yes, he looks like the Grimmjow you beat, but he's A KITTEN! He's not the same Grimmjow. And if he is, he's a freaking kitten! He can't kill anyone (except if they're mice) and he's just a sweet little kitten, so don't try to fight him", I told Ichigo who continued to stare at the kitten. I sighed.

"Don't you dare to hurt an innocent animal, or you will be answering to me", I threatened. I put Grimmjow down in front of Ichigo, who still hadn't stopped glaring at the kitten. He however had lost his interest in Ichigo and was now moving towards Rukia. She picked him to her arms and started to scratch him behind his ears. He purred loudly.

"Aww, aren't you a cute one", she cooed and started to stroke him. He purred and curled up in her lap. She looked at me.

"Don't worry Karin, Grimmjow will be perfectly fine", she said smiling. I nodded as a thank and turned to leave. Renji was staring at the kitten, mouth hanging open.

"Oh, come on! He's a kitten who looks like an Espada. Get over it", I sighed annoyed as I left the room. Toushiro was waiting for me outside.

"Had any problems with Grimmjow and Ichigo?" he asked as I wrapped my arms behind he's neck and he lifted my legs of the ground.

"Nope, he probably went into some kind of shock. Rukia will take care of Grimmy", I said smiling and Toushiro chuckled. Then he bolted towards Orihime's place.

"Captain, you're back!" was the greeting from Matsumoto we heard as we entered the apartment. She hurried from the living room to greet us and as she saw me she started smirking widely.

"Karin, you're here too! That's so nice. How are you?" she asked and I felt like she was asking something else, but didn't know what.

"Excellent", I said smiling, making Matsumoto smirk even wider. Her eyes glanced at Toushiro before returning to me.

"That's so good! You look good too. But they do say that a girl is at her best when she's in love", she said brightly and a sudden realization hit me. She knows! Toushiro voiced my realization.

"How do you know that?" he said, obviously not meaning what she said but what she meant. Matsumoto smiled and took a step closer, pulling us both into a hug.

"Oh kids, you're so obvious! I've been waiting for this for a long time", she laughed and both of us made choking sounds.

"Sorry, I always forget that!" she said letting us go, and noticing a great tick mark on Toushiro's forehead.

"Matsumoto", he growled. "I am NOT a KID!"

Matsumoto took a step back, trying to keep a smile on her face, though she seemed to be panicking.

"Oh, Captain Hitsugaya, it's just a figure of speech", she said laughing a bit strangled. Toushiro glared at her and I grabbed his hand. He looked at me and sighed.

"Okay, okay, just don't call me a kid again", he said somewhat calmed, though his voice sounded still annoyed. He turned to look at me again.

"I'll go to grab my gigai, then we go", he said and exited to his room.

"Thanks Karin, you saved my ass", Matsumoto chuckled and I smiled.

"No problem, I've noticed Toushiro likes to listen to me", I answered. Matsumoto smiled before looking at me for some time.

"Karin, you wouldn't happen to have those photos of you and Toushiro you took in the photo booth with you?" she asked and my eyes went wide as I realized she knew about it.

"How do you know about it? I mean, I didn't tell even Yuzu", I said shocked. Matsumoto grinned guiltily.

"I was kinda following you, and it was me who shoved the photo booth. But do you have the photos", she asked. I thought for a moment I should be angry at her for following us, but then realized I should be thankful to her for making us kiss.

"I have them. You better not tell Toushiro you know about that, nor that you've seen the pictures", I said a handed the photos from my wallet to her.

She looked at the photos making *aww* noises and smiling adoringly. Toushiro said he sometimes feels like she is his mother. I guess the feeling might be mutual.

"You look cute together", she said handing the photos back. I blushed a little while putting them back to my wallet. We heard the door open behind us and I turned to look at Toushiro, who was walking closer in his gigai. He was wearing a white short sleeved hoodie with a zipper in front and a pair of loose dark blue jeans.

"Ready to go?" he asked, and I smiled nodding in agreement.

Toushiro's POV, the concert day

The weeks after Karin's birthday were even better than the ones before it. We hung out with Karin even more, since I sometimes slept over in her house, and we also had the bank practice. The band had been practicing almost the whole spring, though Karin had skipped most of the practices for her soccer practice.

They had accepted that because she was a naturally talented guitarist. Now that the concert was getting closer she practiced with the band because (according to her word) she wanted to play well together with the band, not just alone.

Yuzu had told me that she also went there because I was there.

At the first practice I had met the rest of the band. They were all pretty relaxed about the concert, having played a few in earlier festivals.

Before the first practice I only knew that I would be singing (well duh) and that Karin was the lead guitarist. At the practice I found out that the rest of the band consisted of people I also knew better than most of my class mates.

An old friend of Karin and Yuzu, Midori, was playing the keyboard. She had been quite quiet while the band was introduced to me, only nodding face red when Karin told what instrument she played.

Heita, the big eyebrowed soccer friend, was the second guitarist and Ryohei, the blond and back haired kid, was on the bass. They were mostly joking together in our practice and Karin had to always yell them to concentrate.

The biggest surprise to me was that Yuzu was playing the drums. Somehow playing the possibly loudest instrument in the band didn't fit her quiet personality.

But man she was good.

She played unbelievably fast beats without even looking at the drums. She rather looked up or had her eyes closed, and a big smile on her face.

After learning the lyrics of the songs with Karin, I soon started to get the idea how to sing with the band. At our last practice before the concert, no one of us missed a beat or played out of sync with the others (that had been our biggest problem.)

We were being careful about our relationship, though I had to tell Karin that Rukia probably knew about it, because of she had seen her sleeping with my haori. She just shrugged and said that it was on expectable.

At school we acted like we were still just friends when other people were around (it was my idea, which she had happily agreed, since I didn't want the girls in our class to start being mean to Karin) but Karin had told me that she had to tell Yuzu about our relationship, so with her we were able to be 'us'.

I had totally agreed when Karin first said Yuzu had to know about our relationship, though I had to remind her to tell her not to reveal Ichigo anything.

That cursed Strawberry.

He still had no idea I spent about half of the nights in her sisters closet, nor that we even met anywhere else than school and band practice, but he always was glaring at me suspiciously when we met. I guess he thought I was dangerous to Karin.

Yup, he's a total idiot.

Though he also had someone else to glare suspiciously at. Yuzu was getting worried about the safety of Grimmjow, since Ichigo always glared at him when they were in the same room. Renji and Rukia were both already totally comfortable about him and I have to admit, I like that little white furball. What, he's soft!

One day Ichigo experienced a change of heart. Not about me.

He had been sitting on the floor in his room with me, Matsumoto, Renji, Rukia and Karin (who had told him she wanted to know about Hollows stuff) discussing about patrol areas when something unexpectable happened. Ichigo was resting his head on the edge of his bed when Grimmjow, who had been first chasing Kon around the room and had lost him when Kon hid under the bed and he was on it, decided to abandon teasing the stuffed animal and wanted some attention.

He padded next to Ichigo's head nudging his cheek with his nose and when Ichigo turned he's head, he licked the boys nose. Everyone in the room fell silent as Ichigo stared at the white furball who still continued to lick his nose. He sighed and lifted the kitten to his lap starting to stroke him absentmindedly.

Everyone stared at him for a moment, before returning to the conversation.

The weeks seemed to have gone by faster than usual, and now our band was getting ready for the days show. Everyone seemed to be nervous.

The backstage was full of people. Since the concert was the only thing our class did for the festival, the ones who didn't play in the band took care of everything else. The boys of the class were putting the light and speakers up while girls were finishing our clothes.

Midori had already finished dressing up and was now getting her hair and make-up done. She was wearing a light blue mini-skirt, dark blue boots which reached her knees and a loose white t-shirt with a white top under it. The t-shirt had the text: 'Who has to know?' on it in blue writing. Her hair was going to be put in a high ponytail with some bangs hanging loose from it. Her make-up followed the blue theme she was wearing.

Yuzu was already completely ready, tapping the table with her drum sticks. She had a black pleated skirt and white ballerinas (no high heels since she needed to be able to play the bass drum) though no one would be able to see them since she would be sitting. Her shirt was sleeveless on one side and had a short loose sleeve on other. It was light green, as was her eye make-up. Her hair was in two high pigtails on either side of her head.

Heita and Ryohei were almost ready; they were putting their shirts on. Heita had black jeans with both knees stylishly ripped, and an open black short sleeved dress shirt and a red top under it. Ryohei had dark blue tight jeans with a couple of chains hanging from them and a white hoodie with a blue t-shirt under it.

The girls had already spent an eternity (or so I thought) on picking a perfect dress for me. I had already tried on about seven combinations. Now the girls were looking happy about the eight. I had tight white jeans and a simple black sleeveless shirt with a white dragon on it. I also had a white wrist band.

The girls agreed that I looked good and one of the put some gel into my hair, making it stick into every possible direction in a slightly different way.

Yeah, it was a brilliant idea.

I hadn't seen Karin at all after we had started to prepare for the show. Now that the girls were ready with me I started to search for her.

"Do you know where Karin is?" I asked from Yuzu. She turned to look at me and shook her head. I sighed a bit and continued searching.

"Toushiro, what are you looking for?" I heard a familiar voice from behind me. I turned around with a big smile on my lips. Wow, was the first though I had when I saw here. Couldn't agree with you more.

Karin had a denim mini-skirt with a chain hanging from it, white high heel boots which reached almost her knee and a tight blue shirt with the text 'You wanna get in my world, get lost in it' on the front. Her hair was in two low pigtails with some bangs loose in front of her face, and she was wearing the ribbons I had given her.

She had blue eye make-up that brought her eyes' blueness out even more and mascara which made her naturally long eyelashes even longer, making her gaze seem deeper. She had a little lip-gloss, not too much to look cheap but also not too little that it was hard to notice.

She had few bracelets with blue and white stones on her right wrist and a black wrist band on her right. Around her neck was a silver chain with a blue flower hanging from it. She was blushing a bit (or had blusher or both).

"You look amazing", I said and she smiled pushing the hair away from her face. She sighed a bit.

"I think I look ridiculous. They just didn't want to give me any jeans and normal shoes, so I'll have to wear these", she said pointing at her feet. I chuckled.

"What's wrong with high heels?" I asked jokingly. Karin took a few steps closer. She looked at me for a while before she smiled widely.

"Nothing now. I'm taller than you!" she exclaimed happily and I realized she was right. Darn high heels. They do make her legs look goo though. You are obsessing over your height a little too much. But you're right about her legs. You're a dragon. How can you like how a human looks? I'm a part of you, idiot, Hyorinmaru chuckled.

"Thankfully you don't usually wear high heels", I said and it was her turn to chuckle.

"Getting nervous about the show?" she asked straightening her skirt. I shrugged.

"Not particularly. I'm a bit annoyed though, Matsumoto told me that she would definitely be taping the show", I told with an annoyed sigh.

"It can be a good thing. Then we can laugh at how we looked later. Though in my opinion you look currently very hot", she said and leaned to peck my lips. When she pulled back I smiled and tugged her back closer to me with her pigtails and kissed her again.

"Karin, Toushiro, the show is about to began, come on here", Yuzu said peeking around the corner. We pulled apart and followed her to stage. The curtain was still down as we took our places.

"And now the class 1-E's band will play for you. Please enjoy the show", Miss Ochi yelled to her microphone and we heard cheering from the other side of the curtains. Sounds like there are a lot of people. Nervous? Not really. Excited? You could say so.

The curtain moved out of the way and for a few seconds it was completely dark and silent before the spotlights lit up and Karin started to play her guitar.

After only few seconds the rest of the band started to play with her. I drew a deep breath and closed my eyes before I started to sing:

"Brown eyes and lungs are filled up with smoke
Fast lives are stuck in the undertow
But you know the places I wanna go
Cause oh, oh, oh
I've got a sickness, you've got the cure
You've got the spark I've been lookin' for
And I've got a plan, we walk out the door"

From the corner of my eyes I glanced at Karin. Her fingers were moving quickly as she played her guitar with a talent I hadn't seen her use before and she was almost dancing with the music. She glanced at me and smirked.

"You know you wanna
Just let go
It's time to roll down the windows
Sing it oh, oh
Yeah all we need so here we go"

Yuzu threw her head back and started to quicken the pace she was drumming. I reached the chorus and put even more emotion into my words.

"Turn it up
It's five minutes to midnight
You're coming home with me tonight
I can't get enough
Shakin' me up
Turn it up
Alright, at five minutes to midnight
You see our name in city lights
We'll make the clock stop
Make your heart drop and come alive"

The whole band seemed to just be having fun. I was smiling when I sang, Yuzu laughed from the drums and Karin moved her mouth in synch with the words like she was singing too, with a huge smile on her lips.

"We could
Pack up and leave all our things behind
No fact or fiction or storyline
Cause I need you more than just for tonight
You're oh, oh, all I care
I can't stop my breathing in
I'm weak and you were my medicine
I won't stop till I am under your skin"

The crowd was starting to dance and cheer and I just closed my eyes before I opened them staring at the crowd and sang:

"You know you wanna
Just let go
It's time to roll down the windows
Sing it oh oh
Yeah all we need so here we go

Turn it up
It's five minutes to midnight
You're coming home with me tonight
I can't get enough
Shakin' me up
Turn it up
Alright, at five minutes to midnight
You see our name in city lights
We'll make the clock stop
Make your heart drop and come alive"

I didn't even notice I had started to move in synch with the music and just sang with all I had. The pace of the music quickened again and I looked straight at Karin and while singing:

"And when the clock strikes twelve
Will you find another boy to go and kiss and tell?
Cause you know I never will
I think we should strike a match
We'll hold it to the wind to and see how long it lasts
We can make the time stand still"

She looked at me and repeated the words 'we can make the time stand still'. I smiled and turned back to the audience and sang the chorus two more times before we moved on to the next song.

The rest of the show went so fast. I didn't even notice when song turned into next, I just enjoyed singing. Karin had little by little danced closer to me while playing her guitar and was now almost next to me. Her forehead was covered in sweat and she the bangs were flat against it, but still she was smiling and playing.

Finally the pace of the songs slowed down, quickened again, until we reached the final song. The whole band was silent at the beginning before I started to sing at the same time Midori started to play her keyboard.

"The best thing about tonight's that we're not fighting
Could it be that we have been this way before
I know you don't think that I am trying
I know you're wearing thin down to the core

But hold your breathe
Because tonight will be the night
That I will fall for you
Over again
Don't make me change my mind
Or I won't live to see another day
I swear it's true
Because a girl like you is impossible to find
You're impossible to find",

I sang, eyes closed. I opened them as the rest of the band started playing too, though more silently and calmly than before.

"This is not what I intended
I always swore to you I'd never fall apart
You always thought that I was stronger
I may have failed but I have loved you from the start

Oh, But hold your breathe"

The band started to play a bit faster again and I sang straight out of my heart.

"Because tonight will be the night
That I will fall for you
Over again
Don't make me change my mind
Or I won't live to see another day
I swear it's true
Because a girl like you is impossible to find
It's impossible"

I turned to look at Karin. She was swaying with the music, looking straight into my eyes. My gaze softened as I sang on.

"So breathe in so deep
Breathe me in
I'm yours to keep
And hold on to your words
Cause talk is cheap
And remember me tonight
When you're asleep"

I meant the words I sang to Karin, and she seemed to realize this because her expression was sad and happy together, like thanking me for the words. Remember me tonight, she whispered as everyone else in the band except for Midori stopped playing for a moment. I still stared at Karin.

"Because tonight will be the night
That I will fall for you
Over again
Don't make me change my mind
Or I won't live to see another day
I swear it's true
Because a girl like you is impossible to find"

The band joined in again, and I moved my eyes across the audience where several boys were swaying around with a girl in their arms. At that moment I wished we could have just been listening so that I could have been able to dance with Karin.

"Tonight will be the night
That I will fall for you
Over again
Don't make me change my mind
Or I won't live to see another day
I swear it's true
Because a girl like you is impossible to find
You're impossible to find"

I whispered the last lines almost under my breath looking at Karin, who repeated the last line together with me after the music had stopped. The audience started to applause and we formed a line and bowed to them before leaving the stage.

"Karin, you know what. I don't actually mind that almost all of the songs were love songs", I said to her as we walked away from the back stage (we didn't need to change clothes since they were ours or in Karin's case Yuzu's).

"I didn't mind it either. I think I like the last song", she said smiling as we left the school grounds (our performance was the last and everyone was allowed to go home. Yuzu had already said by to us seeming to think we needed time together. She's a smart girl.)

"I liked it too, though I would have wanted to dance with you", I admitted and Karin smiled entwining her fingers with mine.

"We can dance here", she whispered. I hadn't even noticed that we had reached the park. The sun was setting behind us.

"Yes, we can", I agreed and moved my hand to my waist and she lifted her hand to my shoulder. We spun around a couple of times to music only we heard. I moved my both hands to her waist pulling her closer and she wrapped her hands around my neck.

"Tonight was fun", she said quietly smiling.

"Yes it was. I never thought singing could be so fun", I said spinning her around a few times. After a while we were just standing there swaying from side to side, not really dancing anymore, only enjoying the closeness. She was bare footed since she had taken the boots of the first moment she was allowed. The sun disappeared into horizon and I let go of her.

"We should go home. I can stay over tonight, if you want", I suggested. Her face brightened.

"That's could be fun! And now that summer vacation has begun, we don't have to worry about anything", she exclaimed happily. I raised my eyebrows still smiling.

"Except about Ichi-nii, but we are good at hiding from him", she chuckled and I shook my head sighing a bit.

"Do you think we can ever tell him without it ending up as him killing me?" I asked jokingly. Karin thought for a moment.

"Maybe when I'm 18… I honestly doubt it though. It's good thing you're a Shinigami captain, that means you're fast runner", she chuckled.

I sighed and we kept on joking about Ichigo until we reached the Kurosaki clinic.

"Hey, you're in your gigai. That could be a problem in getting in. And Yuzu could see you", she said and I just shook my head popping a soul candy to my mouth.

"Go to Orihime's place", I ordered and the gigai turned around running away.

"Problem solved", I chuckled and Karin stuck her tongue at me.

I feel so light, This is all I want to feel tonight, I feel so light, Tonight and the rest of my life

There. Finally done. Sorry that this took a couple of days, I've been lazy.

You can still send me more songs; I think I'll write more chapters with at least parts of songs. I like them too much.

Hope you like the Grimmjow kitty, I like Grimmjow too much to leave him completely out of this story, though he won't have a big role.

And just random information; I'm really excited. Today I bought Bleach Art Book and Bleach Official Character Book Souls books from a shop in Helsinki (capital of Finland). I think it's the shop in Finland that sells them, so I was really happy when my friend asked me to go to Helsinki with her. I had finally the chance to buy the books. And they only cost 35€! I feared they might be over 50€ together.

Happy me ^.^

Please review! Makes me happier :D

Songs used:

Five Minutes To Midnight by Boys Like Girls

Fall For You by Secondhand Serenade

Single lines from: Promiscuous Girl by Nelly Furtado, Dirty Little Secrest by All-American Reject and Tonight and The Rest of My Life by Nina Gordon