Chapter Ten: Bittersweet

Should Karin had a laser vision, their poor television had already burst into pieces. She'd been glaring at it for good of one hour.

"Mou, Karin-chan, stop scowling at the television, will you?" Yuzu, who had been observing her, couldn't already stand seeing Karin's expression. Thus, she decided to voice it out. "Is there something you do not like on the TV show, or what?"

Karin huffed. "I am not scowling."

"What do you call that then? You appear like you're ready to slay an elephant any time."

"Not elephant!" Karin exclaimed, to her sister's surprise. "I am planning to kill a conceited, egoistic, vainglorious bastard who thinks he is too bad-ass, and can get anything he likes!"

After recovering from initial surprise, the other twin giggled. "Conceited, egoistic and vainglorious. Aren't those words synonymous, Karin-chan?"

"One word is not enough to describe his arrogance," Karin explained, scowling still.

"Oh yeah? And who is this 'he'? Hitsugaya-senpai, maybe?"

The dark-haired twin didn't reply. However, her silence was already a clear affirmative answer.

Yuzu smiled. "Why do you believe he's arrogant?"

"Because he is," Karin muttered.

"That doesn't really explain it, Karin-chan." Yuzu shook her head. "Or maybe you just get it twisted. I mean, he is confident sure, and he has all the rights to be. No one can argue with that."

Karin just didn't want to speak more to Yuzu. Not specially, if the subject was that conceited bastard.

"If you mean he is excessively confident, so yeah. Perhaps, you're right, Yuz." She could only hope that Yuzu would not already say anything.

It appeared luck was on Karin's side this time, as her phone vibrated from the coffee table just as Yuzu was about to speak again.

Whoever the caller was, Karin was very grateful to them. She would kiss the person for giving her a good excuse to get out of this conversation with her twin. Grinning, Karin picked her phone.

But her luck was short-lived, and her pleased smile instantly vanished upon reading the caller ID.

Overconfident Bastard Toushirou; on her phone's screen, the words flashed mockingly. The devil really knew if someone was speaking of him.

Never mind of what she'd thought earlier. There was no way that she was going to kiss him.

Instead of accepting the call, Karin shoved her phone into her top pajama's pocket, and waited for the vibration to stop. It did, and Karin smirked. Maybe, Toushirou had already taken the hint that she didn't want to talk to him. Good for him, and good for her.

Then again, that was only an immediate assumption. Her phone vibrated once more.

"Aren't you going to answer that?" Yuzu said as she sent a puzzled look at her twin.

Karin grumbled something about a bastard and arrogance before she took her phone out of her pocket. In a brusque manner, she pressed the answer button.

"What do you want?!" she shouted without giving a decent greeting.

A sigh from the other line.

"...'doing?" In contrast with Karin's, Toushirou's voice was calm as usual. Just hearing it over the phone, the prickling sensation flooded on Karin's whole body again. The memory of the earlier incident came back.

I am serious about you.

I like you.

But Karin chose to ignore the feeling. She had to deal with him right now. "I am perfecting a scheme to kill a certain, conceited bastard," she hissed. "And I asked you first, didn't I?"

"Ah, that's sweet of you to think of me." Expect Hitsugaya Toushirou to intentionally misinterpret Karin's words. "And what was the question again?" A smirk was on his tone. He was seriously trying to push her to the edge.

Karin couldn't understand why she was still talking to him. She could have already ended the call but she didn't. "What do you want?" she repeated her first question in a calmer approach.

"I just want to hear your voice," Toushirou answered without missing a beat.

Karin groaned. "Look, you jackass–"

"You just love to call me names, don't you?"

Karin parted her phone away from her ear to briefly glare at the thing. Too bad, that deadly look couldn't pass through the screen and couldn't reach Toushirou.

Pressing it to her ear again, Karin shouted, "Don't interrupt when I am talking!"

"I see you're still in a bad mood. I'll just see you tomorrow then, Miss Hard-to-Get. Bye."

"Don't even dare to—"

A beeping sound.

"—hang up on me!" Karin was already talking to a dead air.

She frowned while she stared at her phone. Defeated, she put her phone back on her pajama's pocket. She leaned on her seat further, unaware of the pair of sparkling brown eyes casted at her.

Suddenly, something dawned upon her. She blinked. "Wait. He didn't say..." Her eyes widened. "That bastard! Did he just call me hard-to-get again?!"

Her twin sister forgotten, Karin peevishly marched up to her room but not before she cried, "You're just the most annoying person I've ever known, Hitsugaya Toushirou!"

After she left, Yuzu giggled. She didn't know what the entire conversation was about. Though, it looked like the Karakura High's prince was already trying to woo his princess and Karin just had to play the perfect hard-to-get lady role.

"I wonder until when you're going to resist, Karin-chan." She smiled despite herself.

нιтѕυкαяιи • мαкε ιт εvεи • нιтѕυкαяιи

Toushirou walked to the school cafeteria and searched for a certain dark-haired woman. On one of the tables behind a plant decoration, he found one of the Kurosaki twins but it was the other he was looking for.

Nevertheless, he still decided to approach the lightbrown-haired twin. Maybe, he could just ask her.

Yuzu was talking to Kazumi and Naomi, Karin's classmates, when she sensed someone walk close to their table. Her face immediately lit up on seeing the person.

"Hello Hitsugaya-senpai!" she beamed. With the mention of his name, the other females quickly turned their heads to him.

Many times, Toushirou had seen Karin with Yuzu, and the Kurosaki twins never really failed to amaze him. They hardly resembled each other—appearance, interests, behavior—yet, more often than not, they were in sync. That said, Toushirou would not be surprised if Yuzu was updated about what was currently happening between him and Karin even if the latter had not mentioned a thing about it.

Toushirou primly nodded as a response to Yuzu's greeting. "I'm sorry for bothering you, Kurosaki-san. I am just wondering if you know where she is."

Yuzu smiled widely. Their senpai didn't already need to mention the name. After all, Yuzu was aware that there was only one 'she' in the Karakura High whom he would always want to see.

"She would often stay at the back of school during these times if she isn't here in canteen. Do you know the big plum blossom tree there is, Hitsugaya-senpai? You can check her on that place," Yuzu answered.

Toushirou's expression softened as he said his thanks.

"Don't mention it, Hitsugaya-senpai. Although, I am warning you. She's determined to kill you in a most painful possible way!" Yuzu laughed.

A chuckle also threatened to escape from him, but he managed to reduce it into a comely smile. "Figured. And thanks again," he said before he gave a parting nod and he left.

"Oh my god," Yuzu heard one of her companions whisper, "What is so special about you. I mean you, the Kurosaki twins. Why will Hitsugaya-senpai talk to either of you easily like... like... Oh, my god."

Naomi looked at Kazumi. A surprised expression was on her face. "You mean, Hitsugaya-senpai also talks to Karin-san?"

Yuzu shook her head and smiled knowingly. The Karakura High Prince's admirers would just certainly make a big deal out of small things such as said prince talking to a girl.

"I was with Karin-san in the library one time when Hitsugaya-senpai walked near and talked to her. It was brief, but. But Hitsugaya-senpai casually talking to her still says something," Kazumi said.

Naomi hummed thoughtfully. "Come to think of it, few members of different clubs also said that they saw Hitsugaya-senpai once,—ah no, make that twice—carrying Karin-san."

"I wonder what's going on."

The two females simultaneously turned to the Kurosaki twin in front of them. Yuzu smiled and innocently asked, "What?"

Naomi extended both hands across their table. She reached for either of Yuzu's cheeks and pinched them. "Now, don't give us that smile, Yuzu-san."

"Ow, ow, ow," the Kurosaki twin cried, "It hurts, Naomi-chan!"

Naomi let go of Yuzu's face. Pouting, the Kurosaki woman rubbed both of her cheeks.

"Now, c'mon Yuzu-san," Kazumi whispered. "Just among us. What do you know exactly?"

Yuzu sighed. It was really inevitable. She knew she had to break the news to them, sooner or later.

"Hitsugaya-senpai is into my twin. He likes her." It was also no use beating around the bush.

Kazumi and Naomi both fell into silence. Yuzu was expecting any violent reaction from them. Possibly, a denial to what they'd just heard. She was expecting them to claim that no one could have the right to their Hitsugaya-senpai's affection but themselves.

However, the Kurosaki woman blinked when, after a while, Kazumi's feature broke into a grin and Naomi squealed, "Sweet!"

In befuddlement, Yuzu said, "That's it? I just told you Hitsugaya-senpai likes a girl. My sister, to be specific. And you reacted like... everything's fine to you?"

"Well yeah, what's the problem with that?" Kazumi asked.

"Uhm... I'm just confused. I mean, I thought you're also members of Hitsugaya-senpai's groupies. Aren't you suppose to—"

"Ah, we get it, Yuzu-san, we get it," Kazumi cut in, "Sure, sure. We're also Hitsugaya-senpai's fan girls. But we're nowhere near from what you're thinking, Yuzu-san. We're not the possessive and selfish followers. As a matter of fact, we can be the most supportive fans you could ever meet." She winked.

Nodding in agreement, Naomi added, "And given it's Karin-san, the more reason we will give our support. I mean, we admire her as much as we do to Hitsugaya-senpai. And there's this fact that he's good-looking and amazing, and so is she. They're perfect match!"

"Wow, really?" Yuzu was still having a hard time believing everything they'd claimed.

"Hell yeah! But tell you what, if the girl happens to be our bitchy SC Vice President, maybe that's the time we'll disapprove."

"Eh? Sano Misty-senpai, you mean? Why is that so?"

"Because she's a bitch," Kazumi and Naomi answered at the same time. They looked at each other, and giggled.

A smile slowly formed on Yuzu's lips. "That's good then," she said. "Should, by any chance, you get into Hitsugaya-senpai and Karin-chan's way to being together, rest assured that I will become your number one adversary."

Gone was the sweet-and-innocent-little-Yuzu, and smiling to them was no one but the sly-and-manipulative-lady-Yuzu. Kazumi and Naomi gulped. Kurosaki Yuzu was definitely scary sometimes.

"B-by the way, what's their current status?" Kazumi asked nervously.

Yuzu giggled. "The typical hard-to-get game."

xx

She loved this place. Silent. Filled with fresh air.

Karin's eyes were closed. On the big trunk of the plum blossom tree, her back and her head were resting.

She felt a small movement beside her but she didn't pay attention to it. At the moment, she only cared for the sounds of the birds and the warm wind wafting on her face. It was really perfect.

"Are you trying to hide from me again?"

But not anymore.

She snapped her eyes open and looked to her side, only to be met by those sea-green eyes.

She wondered how he had found her. If she didn't know any better, she would think that he had put a tracking device on her.

Karin wanted to tell him that, but her resolve had been made. No matter what, she was not going to talk to him. She would totally ignore him until he finally gave up. So wordlessly, she looked away from him.

"Ah, so not only you're hiding from me, you're also going to treat me like I'm invisible. Aren't you just one stubborn, hard-to-get woman, Karin?"

Karin frowned but didn't say anything. She knew it was Toushirou's way of making her talk, and she had no plan of giving him the satisfaction of it.

To kill the time, Karin pulled her bag which was laid on the grass beside her, and opened it. She took out of her lecture note, a pen and a small bar of plastic-wrapped chocolate. She unwrapped half of the chocolate bar and put it on her mouth, a large portion of it sticking out. Then with her lecture note and her pen, she pretended to scribble something.

Pleased, Toushirou watched Karin and smiled playfully. How cute Karin was to think that she could really ignore his presence.

Karin was still busy writing something when she suddenly felt the whole chocolate bar leave her mouth. She blinked and stopped writing. With a scowl on her face, she looked to her side.

Lo and behold, her chocolate was almost totally gone to Toushirou's mouth!

Toushirou was looking anywhere but her. When he sensed Karin's stare on him, he turned his head to her. He smirked at her surprised expression. "Oh, don't mind me, Karin. Just continue with with what you are doing," he said, eyes filled with mirth.

Karin's eyes widened and her mouth hung open as Toushirou swallowed the last piece of her sweet.

"Toushirou..." And there, she finally spoke. At the same time, the air around her had become sinister.

Toushirou knew it. Karin was already about to explode.

In three.

"You..."

Two.

"You..."

"Yeah? What about me, Karin?"

One.

"You fucking ate my chocolate, Hitsugaya Toushirou, you asshole! Return it back to me or I am going to kill you!" Karin charged and tackled Toushirou to the ground. She grabbed his collar and glared down at him.

At her outburst, Toushirou only laughed. He was already lying on the green grass with Karin straddling him. The young woman had just given the reaction he had expected.

"Oh no! Don't freaking laugh at me, Toushirou! Give it back!"

"Hn. You can have it again," Toushirou said as his eyes gleamed with mischievousness. "At least, you still can taste it directly from my mouth."

"W-w-what?!" A blush madly ate her face. "Pervert!"

Had Karin called him that few days ago, he would surely feel embarrassed and uncomfortable. But it seemed like he was already used to it. Not to mention, he was certainly a different person when it came to this woman.

"Uh-huh." Toushirou slyly smiled, "Give me a break. An attractive woman is just currently sitting astride of me while I'm lying here. So how are you expecting me to act?"

Karin's annoyed expression suddenly changed into confusion. She stared down at Toushirou, and it was only then did she realize their position. This time, not only her face but her whole body heated up.

She scrambled off of him and quickly reached for her bag. She picked her note and pen which she had thrown to the ground when she charged at Toushirou.

Just as she was about to stand and run away, her phone vibrated from her uniform's pocket, and it made her halt.

She took her phone out. Unknown caller; the words registered on the screen.

Karin frowned. Now who was it this time? She had a bad feeling on this one.

She tapped the dial key and tentatively brought the phone near her ear.

"Hello, Karin-neechan~" A very cheerful greeting over the phone.

Karin instantly recognized the voice. "Aimi?"

"Hai, hai, Karin-neechan," the kid confirmed. "How are you?"

Karin grinned. How she missed this cute little kid. "I'm good. I can say you are, too. By the way, how did you get my number?"

"I get it from someone you know, Karin-neechan."

"Huh?" Karin didn't have any idea who the person Aimi was talking. And then, she remembered someone.

She turned to her back and saw Toushirou who had already sat up and was watching her knowingly.

"Did you give Aimi my number?" she asked Toushirou while Aimi was still on the other end.

Toushirou shrugged. "She wouldn't stop bugging me until I gave it to her."

Suddenly, Karin heard Aimi exclaim, "Karin-neechan! You're with Shiro-niichan right now? Are you having a date?"

"Of course not! We're at school right now!"

"You study together?"

"Uh, no. It's breaktime."

"You eat together?"

Karin sighed. "No. No, Aimi. We're at the back of school. Under a tree." As soon as she let out of that answer, she immediately felt like taking it back. What could be the possible implication of telling it to a kid like Aimi?

There was no immediate response from the kid, and it made Karin more certain that Aimi was thinking something. Something that Karin didn't like.

"Hey, are you still there, Aimi?"

Finally, she heard the kid giggle.

"Ah, Shiro-niichan and Karin-neechan sitting on a tree~ K-I-S-S-I-N-G~" Aimi suddenly sang.

"H-hey, we're not doing anything! And I am going to repeat it again, Aimi, I don't like your Shiro-nii!" Karin turned to glare at Toushirou who just smiled at her. He appeared like he was entertained.

"Ehh... You know what, Karin-neechan? There's a name for that."

"Huh?"

Aimi giggled. "Hard to get."

Ah, how could Karin forget that Aimi was actually an adult trapped in a five-year-old's body?

"I-I am not!" Karin could just imagine Aimi rolling on her bed or a couch right now. After a while, she heard a faint voice of a woman calling Aimi's name.

"Neh, Karin-neechan, Kaa-chan is already calling me. I'll just talk to you later." Before Karin could answer, the kid quickly added, "Kiss Shiro-niichan for me! Chuu~"

And she hung up.

"That kid," Karin muttered before she put her phone back on her pocket.

She sighed and gathered her things. She turned around just to be reminded that Toushirou was still watching her in amusement. Her eyes narrowed at him. "I should really blame you for this. You're really aggravating! I hate you!"

"I'm sure," Toushirou teased. "You know what, Karin? I wonder how long this chase will last. But one thing is sure... If and when that time comes, it only means either of the two—I've given up or you've given in. And certainly,—" Overconfident didn't even begin to describe his smirk, "—it's the latter."

"You're conceited!" Karin cried one more time before she walked away, seething and Toushirou's laugh following her.

xx

Karin walked to her locker, somewhat weary. It had been a long day for her. Their team captain had given them a very tight practice this day. Karin wondered what had been eating him.

Karin opened her locker. She'd get some of her books first before going home.

She was already expecting to see the inside of her locker crammed with different stuffs and craps, but a beautifully decorated box on top of her books wasn't among them. She didn't even remember owning such thing.

Curious, she took it out from her locker. She noticed that a small note was attached to it.

Sorry for eating your precious chocolate. I hope these will make up for you, Miss Hard-to-Get. — HT

Karin scowled. What was Toushirou's gimmick now?

Cautiously, as if a bomb might just explode out of it, she took off of the box's lid. Upon seeing its content, her eyes widened in astonishment. Together with the multi-colored shredded papers were none other than her favorite sweet confections of various shapes and sizes.

On impulse, Karin gulped. Sometimes, she was really forgetting that Hitsugaya Toushirou was a man capable of doing things easily.

She stared at those sweets for quite a minute until a grin slowly formed on her feature. She just couldn't help but be delighted.

She was utterly annoyed at Toushirou alright, and that wasn't going to change anytime soon. But talk about free chocolates? Oh well, that was another story.

нιтѕυкαяιи • мαкε ιт εvεи • нιтѕυкαяιи

She wasn't jealous. She didn't have the sudden urge to tramp to the scene and shout at the two persons not too far away from her. She didn't feel like she badly wanted to punch the girl and wipe that overly sweet smile off of her face. She didn't have the strong desire to whack the guy's head and remind him about what he'd told her not long ago.

No, she didn't feel any of those.

So what if Toushirou was currently talking to that bitch, Sano, and said bitch was currently giggling?

She still wasn't jealous. Because, honestly, why would she be?

"Jealous?"

Karin automatically glared at the person who'd spoken, only to meet her sister's teasing smile.

"Of what?" Karin asked, annoyed.

Yuzu shrugged. "You tell me, Karin-chan. You look like... I don't know, you just look so jealous."

"I am not jealous," Karin answered emphatically, "It's just that... he told me that he likes me, and then, the next thing I know he's already flirting with someone else. I mean... who does that?"

Yuzu giggled. "Oh, Karin-chan, you're so adorable when you're being clueless," she cooed "And jealous. Hitsugaya-senpai is only talking to Sano-senpai because they have to plan about the new project of the Student Council. You do not need to look murderous. When you and Hitsugaya-senpai are already together, you also already need to always keep your jealousy in check because you can't just glare at every girl who will talk to him."

"Who said that we're going to be together?! And I am not jealous! Because, I swear, I don't like him! Even if something bad happened to me right now!" she shouted for the whole school to hear.

And even when a baseball hit the side of her head, she still remained resolute to her claim.

She didn't like him. And she wasn't jealous.

But who was she fooling?