Ship warning: Hitsugaya and karin
A/N: My first (and probably last) attempt at angst
Playing loosely with canon, semi-AU
At 11, Kurosaki Karin was bursting with energy, a football always found between her feet. The game brought endless joy to her and her friends. Yet, one day when they had arrived at their usual spot for their game, they found that the field was occupied by a group of middle-schoolers that refused to leave even though they were intruding. The insult stinging her pride, she issued the ultimatum, play in a match to decided who should use the field. They agreed that next Saturday will be the match date. Their opponents were confident beating a bunch of elementary schoolers. Karin's gang wasn't so sure about kicking some senior ass. She assured them that they'd find someone to help them, perhaps her elder brother could lend some much needed power...
On her way home, a careless kick sent Karin's ball flying down the hill and into the path of a certain Hitsugaya Toushiro. He was on his phone as usual, typing a report. He picked up the ball and kicked it back, disappearing soon after. Karin thought little of the incident, other than that boy's pale complexion and sliver hair.
The next day on the same route back home with her friends, she saw the boy who helped her retrieve the ball and ran up to him to thank him. She then extended an invitation for him to join them in a game of soccer. He scoffed at the idea. He wasn't there to play games, there were powerful Hollows on the loose! But he didn't need to answer, it seems, for the raven haired girl's friends pulled her back, saying that he must be a gangster, or at least up to no good with his bleached hair and turquoise eyes.
His snorted and walked off. So much for wanting him to play with them.
However, Karin was not to be deterred. Determined to prove his usefulness to them, she aimed a powerful kick at his retreating figure.
It was almost second nature for him the kick the ball back with a stunning flip and superior strength. Her friends stared at him in shock and awe, snapping out of their revive to clamour about him and squeal about his coolness. Smugly, Karin again asked if he could play with them. Just once, she pleaded. Before he could form an answer, his Soul Pager beeped, drawing his attention away. With an indifferent 'we'll see,' he ran off to where the Hollows were.
When the day for the match rolled around, Hitsugaya nearly wanted to join, but a rock hard sense of duty prevented him. After patrolling around for most of the morning, he was quite ready for Matsumoto to take over his job and he could get something to eat. However, instead of going to his temporary residence, his feet brought him to the field where Karin and friends were playing.
Honestly, Karin was worried. Her team was in every way inferior to their competitors. No help that the referee was biased to the opposing team. A shove by those cheating bastards had caused her to fall, her skin tearing. Pin pricks of blood were forming on the surface and it shone an angry red, slowing her down considerably. She had lost all hope when her sharp eyes cast upon the tiny figure of Hitsugaya approaching.
Half time was called and Hitsugaya, seeing the state Karin was in, swapped in to play. The tide turned and soon enough, the elementary schoolers had trumped over the bullies.
Lady luck was not smiling on them that day, as a particularly large Hollow appeared, attracted by two delicious souls. The reiatsu of the Hollow knocked everyone out, except for Hitsugaya and Karin, who were each figuring out the best way to escape with no casualties.
She sprung into action first, fueling her ball with reiatsu for her signature attack. This time her opponent was large enough for the attack to just glance off. The Hollow raised its fist and crushed it down with fatal strength to where the two were standing. Hitsugaya wasted no time, turning into soul form and purifying the Hollow with a quick slash of his Zanpakuto.
To Karin's eyes, the black Shihakusho of Hitsugaya's was identical to that of her brother's, especially when he left for his long 'training camps'. She asked him where her brother went, and he said he was training to become stronger, so he could protect everyone. Her face fell. It meant that he was putting himself in danger again.
Karin was a girl of many skins, she could pull expressions with frightening realism. She shrugged, pretending that it was no big deal. With a word of thanks, she bade Hitsugaya farewell, telling him that he could play with her if he ever felt like it. He snorted with all his Captainess, telling her he was busy.
At age 17, Karin was living the high life. Her last year at college before deciding which University to go to, she's the envy of many of the girls, and a fair number of the guys. Head of the school's football team and well respected(or was it feared?) by all, it wasn't hard to see why people would be jealous enough to want to see her fail.
It started off innocently enough, with Karin being invited to one of the more popular girl's pool parties. She had declined, saying that she was needed at the clinic. Her father had other ideas. He told her to go to the party; teenagers her age partied long and hard into the night. Even Yuzu felt that Karin needed to relax, and the party would be perfect for her.
The real reason why she didn't want to go, was that Hitsugaya was once again stationed at Karakura town for a period of time. Friday nights were usually when the met up by the soccer field to catch up and just kill Hollows together. Her family standing united behind a single cause was a force to be reckoned with and as a one woman army, she was swept away with the enthusiasm.
And so, that was how she turned up at that girl's front door clad in a pretty bikini (thanks to Yuzu) and shorts. It was far too revealing for her tastes, but what could she do? Her eccentric father threatened to kick her out of the house should she come back before midnight. He might actually be serious this time, she reflected.
The party was in full swing when Karin arrived. People were dancing to the beat of a new pop song, while others were lounging around the pool, drinks flowing freely.
Inwardly she groaned. Her classmates were already stupid when sober, don't even think about their behavior when drunk. She slunk off silently to the kitchens, where she assumed that there would be no one. It was much quieter than the rest of the house for sure, but there were still a fair amount of people inside talking and drinking.
Picking a nice deserted corner, Karin made plans to be antisocial and leave exactly at 12. She wasn't happy at all.
A drunken level mate bumped into her. All the rage and tension she was bottling up was unleashed and she yelled at him with the full backing of her years as the football team's fearsome commander. Instead of running away scared, he just waved it off, telling her to take a break. He dragged her by her waist to where the hostess and her friends were gathered. Joy, she muttered. She was in less of a mood to provoke a fight with a drunkard.
"Oh my, Karin! You actually came!" The girl hiccuped, walking over to Karin with a strange concoction in her hand, a deck of cards in another. "Play poker with us Karin!" She asked, sending her large puppy eyes. Personally, she looked like a drowned rat. Since playing poker would be better than standing alone, might as well join, she reasoned, what harm could a drunk girl do anyway? The girl smiled, and a game was formed.
The first round saw one of the guys loosing, and with a whoop, his shirt promptly disappeared. Uh oh, Karin did not like where this was going.
"We're playing strip poker?" She asked.
"There's no other kind of poker we play! Duh!" The girl replied, downing her drink as she began the next round.
"I think I'll skip this," Karin muttered as she got out of her chair. She was promptly pulled back by the people seated next to her.
"No one leaves till I say so." The girl said smugly. Her trap had been set and the victim just walked in.
With a sigh, Karin plonked back down and prayed to all the gods for a good game (even the death gods that she disliked for stealing her brother.) With luck, she'd have a good game and not loose any part of her already skimpy attire.
On the other side of Karakura town, Hitsugaya was waiting impatiently for the girl to show up. It has already been an hour or so and he was starting to worry. She wasn't at home, that was for sure, or he would have felt her reiatsu. Neither was she in trouble or he would have felt her reiatsu flare. She had simply disappeared off the grid and he was uneasy about it. When he strained his sensing abilities, he could feel the slightest touch of her reiatsu in one of the houses at the opposite edge of town, surrounded by others.
He shook his head. So she had ditched him for a gathering of sorts, most likely a party. Somewhere in his mind, the childish and immature part, wanted to storm into the party and then drag Karin out so they could hang out. The logical side of his brain stomped the idea out. Karin was already 17, she could take care of herself.
The Captain chided himself, and turned to leave, when at the edge of his senses, he felt her reiatsu pulse with great intensity. His attention arrested, he stretched his senses further and felt a fain unease settle about Karin's signature. He also noted that the people in her vicinity had a drunken pulse to their reiatsus.
Without missing a beat, he slipped into shunpo, covering the 15km or so quickly.
Many rounds of poker later, Karin had lost her shorts and shoes. According to that girl, next to be gone is her top. In comparison to the others, she was doing much better. One guy and two girls had been ousted since they had nothing left to remove when they lost. It was a scaring experience for Karin when pants started flying. But she couldn't get out. Every time she made a move to run, someone would grab her and shove her back. After trying many times, she just gave up.
At the end of the round, Karin had tasted the bitter medicine of defeat. She couldn't believe it. All around her, many school mates had gathered to watch the game go by.
"Take it off! Take it off!" They chanted, closing in on her. When she made no move to do so, some of the crowd started taking matters into their own hands, pulling at the strings of her top. Instinctively, her reiatsu flared, hoping someone would sense it and think that she needed help. Anyone really. She kicked and struggled, but 3 large men were more than her match. Kicking and swearing, she was carried on top a makeshift table/stage.
All eyes were on her, and that vile girl grinned maliciously as she made a pass at Karin's top. "Don't worry, no one would take interest in a flat-chested girl," she muttered as she started undoing the feeble strings. "This is payback, Kurosaki Karin." She sneered, her work done. Her fingers were pinched where the strings connected, the only force keeping the top in place.
Below the 'stage', people were whipping their phones out. Some things are too good to be missed they thought.
Wriggling in horror, Karin prayed and hoped someone, anyone, would distract that bitch from her.
With a sickly sweet smile that was not at all drunken, she let go of her hand.
Karin shut her eyes tight, hoping it was some drunken hallucination of her own. In slow motion, she could hear the cheers of the crowd getting louder and louder, she could see the flashing of cameras behind her closed eyelids. It was most unbearable.
Hitsugaya wasn't a captain for nothing. He had expertly landed on the roof of the building where Karin's reiatsu was and focused his attention on locating Karin. It wasn't hard, for she was being paraded like a piece of meat on a table. 3 men were holding her and girl with dyed hair was advancing on Karin, blocking her from his view. He scooted around the roof, careful not to fall off. When he had clear view of the situation, he felt her reiatsu rise to a level that equalled to her brother's. His senses were clogged with her fear.
His eyes narrowed as he readied to shunpo in. As that girl released her hand that was holding the shreds of Karin's decency together, Hitsugaya's eyes widened as the scene began to unfold. He knew what was going to happen. Not wasting time, he ran like never before, hoping he could reach her.
He was just a split second too late to prevent the cloth from falling. But, he was fast enough to grab her off the table and shunpo a good distance away before any of her classmates could even comprehend how a top could be lying on the table and no owner seen.
Hitsugaya put her down on one of the roofs of a short block of flats when he was sure they were a good distance away. Nobody would likely see her there.
Tears were pricking the edge of her vision. Her prayers had been answered. He suddenly turned away from her so that she had a pleasant view of the 'ten' that adorned his Haori. She blushed hard, crossing her hands over her now bare chest as she turned her back to his.
"Toushiro..." She warbled. "I..."
"It's Hitsugaya-taicho." He snapped instinctively. Karin recoiled slightly, as if having being whacked on the wrist.
"Kurosaki Karin, you are the biggest idiot I have ever had the misfortune to meet," Hitsugaya began, slipping into the special voice reserved for telling off his ill-behaved subordinates."What in the name of Yamamoto-soutaicho were you doing up there? It isn't a strip show if you weren't informed! And you know, drunk idiots are the worst idiots. But even Matusmoto doesn't get up to this when she..."
"I got it," she said snapped, hugging herself tighter as a cold breeze brushed past her.
He felt a pang of remorse lecturing her when she's in such a bad state, but she caused him worry and he wanted to get some of it out of his system. Instead of continuing his lecture as planned, he shocked both of them by sliding off his Haori and tossing it to her, muttering about girls and decency.
Hitsugaya grew a cm or 2 in the few years that passed, but the Haori was still comically short on Karin's lanky frame. She pulled it on anyway.
"Ne, Toushiro," she said after a long awkward silence, "thanks for...saving me I guess..." she smiled in spite of her situation.
"Just don't do such idiotic things in the future alright?"
"Yeah yeah..." She smiled ever so slightly into the night sky.
At 19, Karin was ready to see the world. Doors upon doors opened up for her, but she never really cared for them. She was to fly to England to study medicine at a renowned university. It was great, but not really what she had hoped to achieve.
Ever since that unfortunate incident 2 years ago about her top, there had been a wall between her and Hitsugaya. Conversations were awkward during the few times they exchanged words. There were a few occasions where he dropped in to settle some business and Karin had been none the wiser. When she found out, she was raving mad and wanted a go at him, but he was long gone. She fumed for a good long time before someone commented about her unusual behaviour which caused her to reflect. What sparked that off?
Dropping subtle questions around Yuzu to ask of her opinion, she drew the conclusion that she may have at some point like the tiny captain. Why she could not say, but one (un)helpful magazine suggested that it was a sort of hero-complex. Hitsugaya had saved her from all sorts of situations before and he was generally a nice guy, albeit lacking in the height department, she mused.
She didn't really get a chance to think about her feelings for anything ever since her idiot of a brother got himself killed. His death brought a grimace to her face every time she thought of it. It wasn't even vaguely heroic. In all his university student glory, he fell asleep in his car with the exhaust on. He didn't even realize he had died until someone called the police and the nearest Shinigami on patrol wanted to give him a Konso.
He was now up in Soul Society, setting up for a new life there. Between helping with minor Hollow extermination and her studies, Karin became an unofficial nurse at the clinic, dealing mostly with Hollow wounds and infections that were passed off as bad bruises or burns. Since Ichigo died the Hollows were becoming a bigger problem. With no dependable Shinigami dealing with it, Karin took it upon herself to help dispatch any Hollows she happened to chance upon.
When a messenger barged into the Captain's meeting one afternoon carrying the message that the Substitute Shinigami Kurosaki Ichigo had died, all present were dumbfounded. "How?" was the main question on everyone's tongue. When the conditions of his death were revealed, they had snorted with derision. Trust him to die like that. Hitsugaya's train of thought, however, was drifting towards how the Kurosakis were dealing, especially a certain raven haired girl that had snagged his attentions.
Yamamoto, being the wisest, had foreseen some of the problems that would have arisen due to the loss of a competent Shinigami. Hitsugaya and Matusmoto were shortly dispatched to help with any problems that would surface.
Winter came early for Karin as she picked up the distinctively ice-cold reiatsu of Hitsugaya, and a female's whom she assumed to be Matsumoto. She had been packing for her trip to England, while the rest of the family were pretending to be extremely sad about the loss of Ichigo.
An hour later, Hitsugaya and Matusmoto clad in their gigais dropped in to "visit". Ichigo's soul had already been sent to Seireitei via a specially modified Senkaimon. While Matusmoto and the other Kurosakis were discussing about other matters, Hitsugaya gave them the slip and went to the roof. He had been the most worried about her as she loved her brother dearly and wanted the best for him, but was still distrustful of Soul Society as a whole.
"Kurosaki," he acknowledged, sitting next to her as they baked under the afternoon sun.
"Ne, Toushiro, why're you here?" She mumbled listlessly.
"Since your idiot brother got himself killed, Matusmoto and I have been sent to ensure Karakura doesn't get run over by Hollows. We need to find someone decent who can help with Hollow dispatchment." He said, wiping the beads of sweat dripping down his forehead.
"We're seriously considering training you so you can help with the problem in the long run." Karin immediately turned to face him. A childish delight flashed across her features, making the corners of her mouth turn up in euphoria. It had been a long stand-off between her and Soul Society. She had always wanted to learn the arts that make a Shinigami, but they always refused to allow her to be trained. Living beings shouldn't be involved in Soul Society matters they had always said.
But her happiness soon disappeared, replaced by a look of sadness and confusion.
"Toushiro, can I ask you something?" She said, standing up and pacing up and down the roof.
"Yeah?"
"Have you ever been forced to do something you don't really want to, but you should do it because it's the best for everyone's interest?"
Hitsugaya opened his mouth to answer no, but he remembered the conditions that led to his admittance into the Academy as a young boy. He remembered the forlorn face of his grandmother as she sent him on his way, at her insistence no less.
"Yes." He said, not giving voice to what was on his mind.
"What did you do?"
"I did what I should," he carefully worded, "if not I would have caused some irreversible damage."
"Toushiro, I've been offered to go to England to study medicine," She started, her voice betraying no emotion. "But I want to stay here and help Otosan and Yuzu with the clinic, and help kill Hollows." She continued, turning to face the main road that gave a good view of Karakura Town. "I don't know what to do," she said softly.
"Somehow, either way you won't be truly content." Hitsugaya said, ignoring the sudden churn of emotions at the thought of Karin leaving.
She let out a cold laugh, which made Hitsugaya uneasy; how could someone bursting with life sound so dead?
"You're right Toushiro, I don't want to go to England, but I know I won't be happy just staying and helping with the clinic. But studying to be a doctor is well respected, and the pay is good...I can help Outosan, since he's the only fully trained doctor and we've been getting more patients then ever. Yuzu's already training to be a nurse, she's interning at the local hospital you know."
"But," he prompted.
"But I don't know what to do. I want to go see the world and explore it, but I don't want to be a doctor. Otosan and Yuzu were really happy when they found out I could go to England... they'd be crushed if I was to blow it away for, what? An unstable career as a football player?" She almost yelled, her voice cracking towards the end. "I don't know Toushiro, this is so frustrating!" She kicked the air forcefully.
"Life's short, Kurosaki. Do what you want to, you've got time if you want to study." Hitsugaya began, "I don't think anyone would mind if you want to forsake that scholarship for whatever else you may want to do."
Karin nodded and slipped down to sit next to Hitsugaya.
"And if Hollows are a reason as to why you don't want to go, I assure you that worse comes to worse, I'll stake out here to take them as they come. They're not supposed to be the worries of living humans in the first place."
"So you're saying that I should do what I want to do?" Karin asked again.
"I'm saying do what your heart feels right." He said with conviction. "If your heart is decided, even if someone points a sword at you, you'd still go down that path. If you pick a path that leaves no regrets, maybe it's the wrong path because there is always two sides to a coin." He mused, more to himself than anything.
"But no matter what path you'd choose, you've got my support," he muttered quietly enough for her to think she heard him, but softly enough for him to deny saying it.
They lapsed into a comfortable silence, watching the people and the town carried on with it's existence, until...
"Taicho! Don't do things with Karin-chan where everyone can see!" Matsumoto's voice floated up to them from the driveway of the house.
He almost fell off the roof in shock. Karin burst out in embarrassed laughter, denying it fervently.
"MATSUMOTO!" He yelled turning a bright shade of red.
A week later, Karin had made up her mind. She would go to England to study medicine, but join the UN as humanitarian aid and travel the world. Hopefully, in a few years, she would come back to Karakura and join her father and Yuzu at the clinic.
Just a day before she was due to fly off, she informed him of her decision, oblivious to the turmoil in his heart. It felt like some pushed a dagger into his stomach and took their own sweet time removing it. But outwardly, he congratulated her on making a firm choice, promising to try to keep in touch with her.
For some people, 27 is an awfully young age to die. For Karin, it wasn't a problem, coming to terms with her death. She admittedly realized that if she truly wanted to prolong her life, she could have avoided doing to that war torn county as part of the humanitarian aid group. No one could have foreseen that a stray bomb would fall close to the hospital they were practising at. Death was unavoidable.
To the Shinigami on duty at that area, it was a trouble more than anything. Rookies like him were tossed into these kind of situations to gain experience quickly. And so, without caring who Karin really was, he sent her to Soul Society without a second glance.
Hitsugaya was debriefing his officers when a cold chill suddenly gripped him, causing him to stop in his tracks. At that split second, he racked his brains wondering what could have cause his body to react in such a way. He could not come up with a possible scenario that did not involve Karin... No, she's fine, she's not dead. He reassured himself, continuing on as if nothing happened to him.
In the privacy of his office, with nothing but piles of reports to distract him, his thoughts wandered to the well-being of Karin. "Where is she?" He mumbled under his breath, sifting through the papers dotting his work space. Finding the haphazardly written piece of scrap paper in Karin's doctor scrawl, he scanned it, his eyes resting on the date. She should be in the Middle East, if she followed the timetable. Her tour would end and she would be back safely in Karakura, treating patients along side her family. He could pull an excuse to visit them then.
Folding up the paper and carefully placing it between the budget reports and damage reports, he made a mental note to retrieve it. That was when he felt it, the soft pulse of Karin's reiatsu. He shook his head. It was gone. It had been a long day and now he was imagining Karin's presence. If he told anyone about it, especially Matusmoto, it would have sounded like a love-sick school boy, which by all accounts he was that feeling aside, he picked up his writing brush, and continued to tackle the mountain of work stacked in front of him.
With luck characteristic to the Kurosakis, she had landed in East Rukongai, first district. The surroundings were so different it hurt. The world was going out of focus. Stop it Karin, you're going into shock. The events of her death had not fully sunk in, and she remembered each horrifying detail with full clarity.
When souls go to Rukongai, they lose their memories bit by bit. It varies from soul to soul, but it takes on average 3 months for their memories to become hazy. In 4 months, they don't remember anything but their names, she recalled Hitsugaya telling her once. The fact was like a punch to the stomach. She had about 3 months to contact someone, anyone, before she became a shell.
Find Hitsugaya, or find Ichigo. That was her sole purpose. Dusting herself off, there was only one place to go. Seireitei.
She wandered along the dirt road nearest to her, hoping she could find someone to put her on the right path. Although the first district is geographically closest to Seireitei, tens of kilometres separated the two lands. The path she had chosen led through the markets of a particular district. She approached the nearest stall holder to ask for directions. He grunted a reply, pointing her to a shady looking path. "Are you sure?" She asked, but the man had insisted that it was the right way to go if she wanted to reach within the next few days. Bidding her thanks and farewell to the store holder, she set herself down the walkway.
Hours slowly flew by as Karin navigated the forest that the path led through. Streams flowed freely and there were edible-looking berries, allowing the girl to satisfy her hunger for a short while. When night was about to fall, she could see the tips of some buildings beyond the forage of leaves, renewing her with hope and energy. A tall sturdy tree became her bed for the night as she found two intersecting branches to sleep on. Closing her eyes, her sleep was filled with meaningless dreams.
A sudden, putrid stench filled the air around her as she was jolted out of her sleep sometime in the early morning. She narrowed her eyes as she fought the urge to curl up and sleep some more. Through out her trek the previous day, she had found that the reiatsu signatures of the various scenery mingled freely with her usual five senses; it was almost as if she had gained a new sixth sense. The putrid smell was distinctive to Hollows, but the smell that was assaulting her nose was clearly not of that nature. Focusing her eyesight in the still dark morning, she made out the figures of two men who smelt like they had never bathed since the beginning of time, steadily approaching her.
Her fight or flight instincts kicked in. The most sensible thing was to wait it out in the tree, hoping the men do not notice her and she could be on her merry way. Some thing in her told her it was not the case, as the men approached the tree she was resting in. She pretended to still be fast asleep as one of the men began climbing the tree. Her nose wrinkled in disgust as the man crept closer and closer. She fought the urge to beat the man senseless, but bidded her time. When he was in a precarious position where one swift kick could send him tumbling, she did as such. The man flew down the tree and landed on his arm awkwardly. His companion looked up warily.
Great, now she was stuck on a tree, cornered. She cursed her stupidity. She should have had first planned an escape route before trying to harm anyone. Thinking quickly, she saw three options before her. The first was to jump off the tree and try to out run the other guy and hoped the man with the broken arm could not join the chase. The second was to jump to the next tree which was about a few meters away, and the last was to wait it out until the men grow tired of chasing her and leave.
Fate had a strange way of working as help arrived in a very interesting form. Another wave of horrible smells engulfed her senses, and it was no doubt the tell tale sign of an approaching Hollow. Hollows were physically huge and even at her vantage point, she saw no good advantage. Joy, she muttered. Two enemies to take care of. At the rate she was going she wouldn't reach Seireitei within the next few years. The sun was finally starting to rise, and in the distance, she could hear and see the Hollow approaching from 200 meters away, but it was moving fast.
She glanced down at the men below her who were oblivious to the latest threat; they were at the base of the tree discussing how to reach Karin. When she glanced back up, the Hollow had moved closer, and it was charging ahead like a bull, trees that were obstructing its path falling down. She estimated about half a minute before the ravaging beast would arrive. Next tree or the men below? 20 seconds now and she had no answer. 10 seconds to go, and she wondered if that was how she would die a second time. 5 seconds. I'll take my chances with the men, she reasoned and slid down the tree as quickly as she could and ran as far as she could get. Just in the nick of time as well as the Hollow completely destroyed the tree that she had occupied for the night.
The Hollow stopped and let out a roar, turning its attention to Karin, now that the two men she had earlier feared were gone. Freezing up in shock, she had completely forgotten the first principle about Hollows- their attention was always on the closest person with the most reiatsu. As it honed in for the kill, she grabbed the nearest object, which in this case was a rock. A familiar sensation coursed through her powerful right leg as she packed as much power as she could muster into the rock. With a loud yell, the rock was sent flying. The aim was off, but it managed to land a crack on its mask. It roared again, enraged as it bore down on her. Rolling out of the way, she swore like a seasoned pirate. The attacker's claws were lodged firmly in the dirt. Hitching up the skirts of her Yukata, she ran.
Ever so often, she would turn back and witness with great weariness that the Hollow had managed to pry his claw out from the dirt. It was wandering around aimlessly, no doubt looking for her. She picked up her pace as the landscape blurred out of view, the buzzing sensation around her right leg growing stronger. Stopping for a while to catch her breath, she could no longer sense the Hollow's putrid reiatsu and breathed a sigh of relief, carrying on forward at a normal pace.
That was until she walked head first into a Shinigami. With a groan of pain from both parties, they fell comically onto the forest floor, the bald Shinigami's companion bursting into peels of laughter.
"What the..." The Shinigami muttered, rubbing his head in annoyance as he stood back up.
"Yes mister I-know-where-the-Hollows-are Ikkaku?" Yumichika spluttered between mouthfuls of air.
"Watch where you're going next time you little... Ichigo?" The confused third seat asked taking in the female in front of him.
"Ichigo's my brother," Karin supplied, as Yumichika looked on with a weird expression. "Do you know where I can find him?"
"Ichigo's sister eh? No wonder you have similar reiatsu signatures," Ikkaku said, twirling his sword around. "Heard he went to Hueco Mundo for some top secret mission, he's not going to be around for a while kiddo." Karin's face fell.
"Then, what about Toushi-... I mean Hitsugaya-taicho? Do you know where he is?" She asked again.
"Ah that short one ," he snorted, "he's probably in Seireitei. Later when we're done, we can take you to him. Wonder if we can get Ichigo to fight us or something since we helped his kid sister." He added in an undertone to Yumichika, which Karin caught. She landed a swift kick to both his ankles then acted as if nothing had happened. Yumichika broke into a huge grin.
"Right the little brat you are," He snarled, using his the sheath of his sword to whack Karin from the sides. She hissed in pain, retaliating with a kick of her own that was deflected easily. Ikkaku wore a grin that could match Kenpachi's as he made to attack. With a mighty sigh, Yumichika stepped in the middle of their scuffle, separating the two.
"Ikkaku, that was not beautiful at all, attacking a defenceless girl like that! Besides, you don't want Hitsugaya-taicho to turn you into an ice statue. Although you won't be ugly per se, it is not beautiful to have you melt all over the division." He gave him a reproachful look. "And you, Kurosaki, not looking where you're walking is not beautiful either," this time giving Karin the look. "Or do you want to be sent to your boyfriend in a box?"
"WE'RE NOT DATING FOR GODS SAKE!" Karin yelled, blushing bright red at the comment.
"Well that's not what Matsumoto-fukutaicho says anyway." He muttered, turning around and gesturing for both of them to follow him.
It was evening time when Hitsugaya felt her reiatsu again, this time closer to him than before. It was no mistaking it this time, he could sense it clearly and strongly. Worn out and tired, but still her's. Focusing on it more, he sensed two other reiatsus with her, the third and fifth seats of the Eleventh Division if he was not wrong. Alarmed, he flew out of his office in a flurry, only pausing to yell instructions to one of his division members to inform Matsumoto to take over the command.
In a flash, he shunpoed right to the edge of the East Gate. He arrived just a bit behind the odd trio, where Ikkaku and Karin were bickering about something, and Yumichika was patting his hair absent-mindedly. His gaze flickered to Karin, giving her a once over as she spun around, recognizing his reiatsu. With a yelp, she ran up to him and crushed him in hug which he returned stiffly, her travel companions hiding laughter behind their sleeves.
"I died." Karin said bluntly. Hitsugaya nodded, mainly from shock that Karin of all people he would see appear in Soul Society. "Follow me back to the Division," he muttered, prying himself from her embrace. Nodding once to Ikkaku and Yumichika, he added, "Thank you for escorting Karin to Seireitei. I will put in a word of commendation with Zaraki-taicho. You may return to your duties." They both snorted. "Join the Eleventh when it's your turn eh, Karin-chan?" Yumichika smiled as they bowed to the Captain and walked off.
In his surprisingly warm office, Hitsugaya wordlessly ushered her into the small side bathroom. He passed her one of Matsumoto's spare Shihakushos to change into as he muttered something about tea. When she stepped out again, cleaner and fresher, he was looking out the window behind his desk. She noted that the panes were starting to freeze over. Karin shivered as the temperature noticeably dropped, pulling the loose fabric tighter. After a long silence, Hitsugaya spoke first, asking her to take a seat on the other side of his table, stacks of work separating them. He sighed, pushing the steaming cup of tea towards her as he made an effort to reign in his feelings. When was the last time he had lost control to such a degree?
"Tell me," he began, "how did it happen? You were supposed to be safe!" He grabbed a brush and a form, filling it up mechanically as he refused to look at her.
"It's not my fault!" Karin said defensively, taking a sip of the tea.
He snapped, literally. The brush broke with a loud cracking sound, splattering ink all over the form he was filling. Looking straight up at her with a glare Byakuya would be proud of, he intoned again, "What the hell happened Kurosaki?"
She stiffened in her seat, her mind selectively bringing her through the worst moments and feelings of the last 3 days. The shock and trauma of it all catching up to her, tears started streaming down her face as she vigorously beat herself up for crying. But she couldn't stop. Hitsugaya dropped the glare almost immediately, a look of panic flashing across his face. Karin, the strongest and brashest person he had ever had the luck to meet was sitting right in front of him, having a mental break down.
He stood up alarmed, crossing the space between them in a few huge strides as he stood awkwardly to her side as she furiously mopped up her tears with the back of her hand. He reached out a tentative hand to touch her shoulder, the girl jerking up her head in surprise. "I'm fine." She sniffed tiredly. The snark and bite she was famous for had disappeared.
"Karin, we'll talk about this later. Right now you'll need to rest." He grabbed her gently by the arm, leading her out of the office. Before her could take a few steps, she wrenched her arm out of his grip.
"Ichi-nii, I need to tell Ichi-nii." She murmured to herself, swaying slightly on her feet. "And I can walk by myself."
"You can tell him later." Hitsugaya said, steadying the raven haired girl as she almost fell asleep on her feet. With another tired scowl, she pushed his assistance away, walking towards the door. A man at the end of his patience, the young Captain muttered an apology as he cast a weak spell to knock her out. With a shaky sigh, he carried her to the sofa, tossing a blanket over her fragile frame as he sat back down at his desk, keeping one eye on the unconscious Karin, the other focused on the reports he had to go through.
6 months after her death, and she had enough wits about her to admit her to the Shino Academy. Her entrance exam had been a bit of a mess, blowing up the testing room when she was asked to show them her reiatsu control abilities. Despite that, she had managed to snag a place in the second class.
Earlier in the morning, the rest of the cohort had been formally inducted into the school, their lessons starting the next day. This was the reason why instead of tackling some very thick and very important forms, he was helping to bring boxes of belongings to the Academy dorms. It was a strange sight, a short captain carrying boxes as large as he was and a black haired girl holding a few bags shunpoing around (he regretted teaching her that skill on hindsight). Never had anyone seen one of the most respected Shinigami of his time being used as moving service, Hitsugaya thought wryly as he trotted along the street. Karin had insisted that he shouldn't shunpo to the dorms as the sudden movements might cause her things to break. Hitsugaya thought it was because she was a slave driver. Slaver driver she might be, he admitted; he was going to miss her.
When Karin's letter of admittance had been delivered to his office, he was both happy and sad. In the few months she was with him, she had proven much more useful than his skivvying Lieutenant. She ingrained herself pretty quickly into the tightly woven fabric of the 10th, yelling and screaming her way through. She was brash, rude and driving rings around his seated Officers who had no idea what to do with her. She took to Zanjutsu like a fish to water, soundly beating up all the unseated soldiers. In the rare moments where the captain had deigned to take a break, his attention would wander to the training field, watching Karin carefully with a critical eye.
As a captain, he saw the many mistakes she had made, but what plagued his thoughts most often was how Karin moved, the delicate steps that she took to evade a blow. The way her ponytail would whip about her face as she pivoted to strike at her opponent, the glisten of sweat that coated her skin, making her glow with a goddess-like beauty... And that was usually when he would catch himself and sternly force those sinful thoughts aside and get back to work.
The last of the boxes had been successfully delivered and unpacked in the small dorm room that Karin would occupy. He bade her goodnight and shunpoed back to his division, already missing her boisterous presence as he forced himself to prepare for another all-nighter.
2 years had quickly flown by, Karin now preparing to enter the third year of her schooling. She had thrown herself into her studies, her reputation as the Ichigo's sister and Hitsugaya's girlfriend preceding her (although she had tried to deny that they were dating, no one listened to her). Since she was so well connected, there were more than a good number of boys and girls that wanted to get close to her. Despite it, the one boy she developed a liking for never offered anything more than friendship to her. He was in her class, ranked just a few points ahead of her. They were rivals in studies, but outside of academics, they were fast friends who shared a passion for athletics.
In-spite of his busy life as a captain, Hitsugaya religiously made time every few weeks to ask Karin out for lunch so they could catch up. He missed the days when they were close friends. It made him a little sad to think she had forgotten about their friendship every time his invitations were kindly rejected with a hastily scribbled note that she had some major exam or class to prepare for. It made him almost jealous of her classmates. When they finally had a chance to eat together, Hitsugaya had to do a double take as the girl that was standing in front of him was certainly not the Karin he sent off to school.
This girl, no, this ghost, of Karin was looking thinner than she should be. When it came to ordering, she refused to eat more than one tiny portion of the food even though it was her favourite dish at her favourite restaurant.
"Karin," he asked, "what's the problem?"
"Oh? Nothing really... it's just that I heard he likes really thin girls, and if I eat less, I can be thin too." She murmured, pushing the fried pieces of meat around her plate.
After some prodding, the white haired boy managed to glean that his friend had cast her affections on her classmate. When he asked why on earth she would do something like that for him, her reply made his frozen heart crack into shards. "It's because when you like someone, you'd try your hardest for them."
After that luncheon, both of them carried on with their respective lives. Hitsugaya never felt quite the same after her confession. Even Matsumoto noticed the change in his demure, describing him as "a sad, heartbroken boy who has felt the pain of his first heartbreak". That caused him to snap back into his former self, scolding her roundly for ever suggesting such a thing. Matusmoto didn't whine and plead for him to give her a break, but instead patted him lightly on the head and told him to look for her if things got too rough. He scoffed and buried himself in his never ending work, but his heart and attention was never there.
Several long days later, he was leading the division's seated officers through a round of sparring, he himself taking on 2 or 3 of them at a time. On normal days, it would be a mild challenge for him to over power them, but during that session, he wasn't his normal self. A blow that he should have easily deflected tore the skin off his hand, a trickle of blood resulting from the wound. His mind instantly cleared, the throbbing pain of his injury over powering all his other thoughts. It had been years since he shed blood during a fight. It was enough for him in that short span of time to win his match, fighting much more decisively than he had before.
Post fight, he examined the wound in the privacy of his office. It had already crusted over and was healing slowly on its own. As he wondered how on earth he could have sustained damage during such an exercise, a part of his mind realized that his thoughts were not with Karin at all. In fact, when he was injured, he only remembered two things from it. The first was the shock from the unexpected hit, and the second, a most primitive instinct to destroy whoever did that to him. And it shamed him that he wanted to feel that again, that wild show of emotion that could drown out every and anything else. And so he picked up a new, dangerous fighting style.
When he wasn't at his table sorting out his papers, he was at the training field, hacking and slashing up everyone who wanted a go at him. The pattern was the same all the time. He would play with his opponent for a while, tempting him with sides left wide open. When his luck ran out and he was injured, he would pounce back with vigor, slashing his sword like a mad man with no plan. But due to his overwhelming strength, he always managed to win his spars.
Day in day out, he sustained more injuries than was healthy for him. Despite his Lieutenant's countless attempts to make him go to the Fourth for medical treatment, he just brushed her aside and paid no attention to his wounds. They healed naturally on their own, sometimes leaving pale reminders to a certain heartbroken boy.
3 years on, and nothing had changed. The two were playing an intricate game, straddling between over-politeness and a cold indifference. Karin thought that she had done something to incur his wrath, but no matter how much she pestered him, he kept his mouth shut. More often than not, dismissing her with an attitude she did not warrant at all.
When her own heart was broken, she so wanted to run to Toshiro and have a good rant with him, just like the old times. The guy she liked, the guy whom she gave up eating and her vicious snark for, had chosen a girl who was not her. Feeling cheated and betrayed, she wanted nothing for the dull ache in her chest to go away. She had given the new couple her blessings, then ran off to outer Seireitei in the dead of the night, sake on her mind.
Matsumoto once told her that she believed that drink could drown all her pains and worries. It wasn't a lie, Karin bitterly reflected.
She barged into a bar-shack that was kind to the pockets of the unranked Shinigami. There they could buy comfort and sometimes happiness with their coin. Karin leaned over the counter, telling the bartender to give her their strongest sake they had in the house. The old man didn't even bat an eyelash as the skin and bones girl uncorked the bottle and guzzled the whole thing down. It burned a fiery path down her throat and for a few seconds afterwards, she was in a high; nothing mattered anymore. That guy could drown in his own blood and she would throw a party, she thought as another and another bottle of disappeared down her throat.
Had Karin chosen a better place to drink, she wouldn't have been caught in a drunken brawl. It began when Karin was about as drunk as it could get. Some of the rank-and-file officers had a bit too much to drink and mistook her for one of the bar ladies plying their wares. Karin's already short temper amplified by the sake, she had attacked out of anger. Just before swords were drawn, the Shinigami on patrol arrived to break up the fight and sent the respective parties out of the bar with a stern warning.
Staggering back to her dorm room, it was a small miracle that not a single teacher caught her. She collapsed on her bed, a dully throbbing headache keeping her from fully falling asleep.
Hitsugaya was walking about the division offices where he overheard his subordinates chatting. "Yeah last night was miserable alright. Had to break up enough bar fights that I don't want to go drinking anymore." One of the members of a patrol squad complain to his comrades. They nodded in agreement.
"Neh you had it good. At least Kurosaki doesn't drink in your area." Another one piped.
"Kurosaki?" Hitsugaya's ears pricked up at the mention of the familiar name, but he continued on his way.
"Apparently his sister had taken to drinking. The one Matsumoto-fukutaicho said was dating Taicho, something like that. But even when she looks like the living dead-" "Well, we technically are the living dead," someone injected and they shared a laugh. "Well she looked like those skeletons from the world of the living, but that girl can hold her alcohol really well! She was picking fights with those punks from the 11th some more..."
The sound of their chatter grew faint as he turned a corner, but he had the strange urge to go give her a good scolding for being stupid, then hug her and ask her what the hell was going on. But instead, he sternly reminded himself, Karin was the very reason why he couldn't function like a normal person. He would never forgive her for worming her way into his heart and then painfully destroying it from the inside out. The scars on his hand and his heart would never fade.
A winter had passed since. Over the year, Karin had learnt how to smile when she didn't want to, how to blend concealers perfectly to hide the trophies that marked her skin every time she won a bar brawl. But above all, her time was devoted to passing her final exams. As expected, she had done well enough, faring poorly at Kido and History of Soul Society. It was a given since she disliked sitting down daily to train her reiatsu control well enough to fire complex spells. As for history, she couldn't be bothered to write anything more than, "Ichi-nii beats everyone up and unlocks a new level of power and then continues beating everyone up." Especially when then the subject of the Winter War was tested.
As she pulled on the Shihakusho that officially marked her as a Shinigami, she paused to think in a rare moment of reflection. It marked the start and end of a period of her life, some good, mostly bad. The two men that she placed all her feelings in had taken it in their various ways and played with it, and tossed it back like a broken toy when they were done with their games. Her newly manifested Zanpakuto was strapped tightly at her side, the pale yellow wrapping peeking out. As she tossed the last few of her belongings into a moving box, she grabbed a hair tie and put her ink black hair up in its signature ponytail. She would graduate in a few short hours and hopefully, a squad would want her, or she would be at the mercies of the Computers that would assign her a place randomly.
As Histsugaya pulled on his signature white Haori, he glanced at his reflection in the window pane. He had grown only a little in a few years, but his appearance hag changed drastically. His spiky hair no longer used up bottles of gel daily, and he had added a mint green scarf to his attire in a bid to divert one's attention from his scarred hands. As he tidied up the papers on his desk, his Lieutenant poked her head around the door, reminding him that they had to leave for the graduation ceremony soon. He nodded in acknowledgement, grabbing the sheaf of paper where he had written down his choice of recruits. He hoped that they would all accept, or he would be at the mercies of the computers at the 12th division that would assign him rookies.
The formal ceremony had finally ended, and perhaps the most important part of the whole charade would begin soon. One of the teachers stood up and read out the top scorers for the examinations followed by the squads that would be interested in them. As per tradition, the ones who have been made multiple offers would be given until the end of the post-graduation party to make their choice. They had to write their names down on the little token they were given and then pass it to the lieutenants. When it reached Karin's turn, it was no surprise that nearly everyone wanted her on their team save for the 1st, 2nd and 4th divisions.
Karin walked slowly up the stage, accepting the tokens from the respective captains and shaking their hands. When she reached Hitsugaya and shook his hand, she noticed that his snow white skin was peppered with countless scars and half-healing cuts. For that split second, she raised her eyebrows in question, but he gave nothing away on his stone cold features. His reiatsu however, told a different story. In that short time, she managed to catch a wave of sadness and melancholy that was tinged with bitter regret.
On the other hand, Hitsugaya surveyed her with a critical eye. Her skin was a pasty shade, and there were bags under her eyes. She had put on some weight, which was good, but her breath was tinged with the unmistakable smell of stale alcohol. When he grasped her hand in a firm handshake, he felt like he could break her bones should he grab too hard.
In an instant, the moment was over and Karin nodded once at him, before moving on to the next captain.
A month had passed since she accepted a place at the 11th. Currently joint 20th seat with about 30 other people, she was working hard to advance. Yumichika and Ikkaku were pleased to see her in their squad and immediately took her under their wing, the three of them famous for their sheer power. For once, Karin was satisfied. Over that short 4 weeks, she had eaten more than the last year combined and life was slowly flooding back to her. She didn't indulge in drink anymore, and had long forgotten the guy that turned her into a zombie. It was satisfying to know that she could beat him up anytime with both hands tied up.
At the far end of the division compound, where an ill-kept garden lined the walls dividing the 10th and the 11th division, Karin could hear him training his division. If she climbed one of the trees, she could even see the back of the administrative offices.
To her, he looked like a bird with its wings clipped. She noticed, sadly, that he still carried that sad aura around him; it even affected his fighting skills. The way he attacked his opponent was all wrong, it was the exact opposite of how he had fought. He had told her that he had only one rule when it came to fights- know what you are fighting for. Years ago, when she had learnt about his part in the Winter War, his historic fight with the Espada and Aizen, she could see clearly in her mind's eye what his reasons for raising his sword for. She didn't need to even see the fight. She knew from the pages of text on her books that he had one goal, to protect Soul Society and to avenge his fallen friends.
When she saw him fighting with his soldiers, the signals that she got were mumbled and confused. He had no real purpose; not even the will to train his Shinigami. And it shook her to her core. When had he became like that? Determined to put an end to their strange feud as well as to shake some sense into Histugaya, she jumped over the wall and into the 10th's compound.
Running quickly to where Hitsugaya was instructing the newest additions to the squad, she hung back behind a wall and watched as he dismissed them. He walked in the direction of his office, sheathing his sword. Seeing her chance, she shunpoed right behind him and with a great tug, dragged him away.
It was about a second before Hitsugaya reacted with a muttered Kido to his abductor's gut, stopping her short in her tracks. The pair tumbled into the forest divide of the two divisions. His sword slid out of it's sheath with a hiss, and he placed it a hair's breadth away from her throat. It took a few seconds for him to realise who his kidnapper was. Then without a word, the sword returned to its sheath and he turned to shunpo away.
"Hold it right there Toushiro!" Karin yelled as she yanked his hand.
"It's Hitsugaya-taicho, 20th seat Kurosaki." He replied coolly, as though she was just another Shinigami. And it made her hopping mad.
"No, it is not. Not for me anyway. Fuck, I've called you Toushiro for god knows how many years! What the heck is your problem?" she demanded, giving him a little shake.
"I have no problem that you speak of, Kurosaki."
"Then why the hell are you acting like someone died?!"
The captain was silenced for a minute. How should he answer when the question was painfully obvious? It would force him to open a place inside his heart that he didn't want to go, and would never share with anyone, least of all Karin. He considered for a moment, to tell her what she really meant to him, to hug her and kiss her and tell her she's the best thing that had ever happened to him in all his 200 years of afterlife. But he couldn't. No matter how much he felt for her, he could never see himself doing anything like that; that which she deserved. She should be with someone that was as lively as her, who would tell her that she's his world and more. But for this captain, he deemed himself too cold and withdrawn to ever be able to provide her with even a fraction of what she ought to have. His only option, he decided, would be to watch her from the backseat and ensure her life is safe and happy. And ultimately, give her away to another man should she be happy with him, even if it meant throwing all his happiness out of the window. With his resolve found again, he began to speak.
"Well, firstly, no one has passed away. Secondly Kurosaki, I would appreciate it stay that way, especially with the division you hang out with." He said, fixing a cold gaze on her.
"That's not your problem, you know, which division I joined. Don't change the subject. What. Is. Your. Bloody. Problem?" She snapped back.
"My problem is you, Kurosaki."
"Karin. My name is Karin." She said venomously.
Ignoring her, he continued, pacing about. "After graduating you run off joining the 11th division. Do you have a death wish? They're usually the first division out in the field when there's a problem. How many missions can you do before your luck runs out and you die?"
"Luck? I don't run on luck, Toushiro. I train every single waking minute and that's why I'm the 20th seat. Ahead of about 500 others who have been here longer than I have been alive and dead!" She snarled, a hand flying to her sword. "I swear, you're as bad as Ichi-nii! I don't need another brother thank you very much."
"Don't you realise it?! The 11th has the highest death rate among all the 13 sqauds. Even the 12th has fewer dead members than the 11th for all the experimenting the do on their own members! You could have gone to any division and you could be safe! I offered you a place in my division, if being 20th seat is that important to you I would have given it to you!" He yelled back.
"Safe? So you care about my safety eh, Toushiro? Therefore you want me to transfer to the 10th?" Hitsugaya nodded slowly.
"Well you can fuck off! Don't tell me the 10th's way better than where I am now. Look at yourself. You think I never noticed all those scar wounds on your hands? How do you explain that? If even Hitsugaya-taicho, the child prodigy who has the strongest ice-type sword ever, gets such serious wounds when he's not even deployed, what about the rest of them... I hope I won't end up as Hollow food!" She snarled viciously, subconsciously taking steps towards him.
"As you so eloquently put it, what happens to me is none of your business." He said calmly.
"Gods, Toushiro, won't you just tell me what I did that got you in such a pissy mood for the last 4 years?" Karin closed the gap between them and glared down at him.
"It's none of your concern, Kurosa-"
"IT'S KARIN NOT KUROSAKI YOU SON OF A BITCH. Even if you won't tell me your problems, at least get my name correct. Kurosaki is my brother. I am Karin. Get that in that thick skull of yours." The silent hiss of a sword being drawn melted into the surroundings as a blade found its way to his throat. Hitsugaya suppressed a wry smile. Yes, this was the violent girl he loved and her time with the 11th did nothing for it.
"If you insist, Karin. And there's nothing wrong with me; I have a division to run and you have duties to attend to, I won't be wasting more time here." And he shunpoed away leaving a suspicious Karin in his wake to see herself back into her division.
Even though their meeting was strange and awkward, it seemed to have patched their relationship up in an unspoken agreement.
For the next three years, all was well. Hitsugaya ran his division like a well oiled machine, Matsumoto drank herself into a drunken stupor every other day and Ichigo was rumored to become a Captain... the usual things were happening. Karin herself had risen through the ranks, currently being the youngest person to hold the 9th seat in the division. There was even talk saying that she would be promoted yet again, after her next mission. Although the girl in question brushed these allegations aside, she secretly looked forward to her next assignment so she could yet again be promoted. But assignments were rare for those 10th seat and above. For them to be deployed, there must have been a Hollow of sizeable difficulty to be taken care of.
She was at her desk doing paperwork when a Hell Butterfly flew in, asking the 11th to send backup for the 9th Division. They were experiencing difficulties defeating a rouge Hollow. Before any other ranking officers could demand the task be given to them, Karin grabbed her Zanpakuto and shunpoed off towards the location given in the message.
When she reached, a good look around her told her she had left the Districts and strayed into the land beyond. Sending out her senses, she felt nothing, not a single shred of reiatsu from the 9th, or even the stench of the Hollow. As she muttered a curse about false alarms and turned to go back, she felt the swoosh of air at the nape of her neck which was too close for comfort. She shunpoed away instinctively.
Now fully alert, she drew out her Zanpakuto, scanning her surroundings carefully. There was nothing but empty land all around her, and the air was still. What on earth was that? Still holding onto her sword warily, she sent her senses out again. There was nothing- wait. She could feel it, just a tiny bit that should she be in Seireitei, she might have mistaken it for parts of architecture. But on the barren land, it was clear to her that what she had sensed was definitely not part of the walls.
Shunpoing to where she felt the reiatsu emit, she didn't see anything again. She almost stomped her foot in frustration. If this was a test from the top brass, she would be ready to pick a fight. Grumbling, she walked around the region, trying to pick up that faint pulse of reiatsu again. That was when she tripped over something and went stumbling down a gentle slope. Looking back at what she tripped on, she was pretty sure it wasn't thin air that caused her to fall, but there was nothing.
With caution, she walked back up, looking very carefully at the ground. She inspected the site where she tripped and on closer look, realised something was amiss. There were residual traces of reishi, not reiatsu. Reishi was what made up Shinigami's bodies as well as almost anything up in Soul Society. It would be strange to find it here of all places...
She crouched down to have a closer look at the reishi, fingers brushing the pale blue flakes that were slowly disintegrating into the air, and almost got cut into half.
Flipping out of the way just in time, she had a good glance at her attacker. Bingo, a huge crab like Hollow had materialized form thin air, waving its razor sharp claws around. This time, she didn't even need to use her sensing abilities; the reiatsu was so strong she felt the air thicken. With a crazed laugh, she unsheathed her sword and began to engage the Hollow in a fight.
Right from the start, she knew it was no ordinary Hollow. It's movements seemed to be intelligent, as if it were trying to seek out her weaknesses and attack her there. She only managed to block barely as it struck its pincers mercilessly against the flat of her sword. Deciding that enough was enough, she released her Zanpakuto with a flourish, the steel blade turning into a huge scythe which she swung mercilessly at the offending creature.
The pair fought, neither gaining the upper hand. Judging from her opponent's attacking speeds, it was tiring itself out. With adrenaline from the sheer excitement of a fight pumping through her veins, she swung a her blade down in a sweeping motion, straight at the mask. At the very last moment, a pincer appeared ensnaring the handle of the scythe in a death grip. The other claw shot straight at her and she managed to doge the attack. Despite her best efforts, a long and deep gash appeared along her arm, but it was no time to tend to injuries as the Hollow raised its pincers in preparation of yet another attack.
Man, was Karin livid as hell. With a final push and yell, the tip of her blade cracked the mask cleanly in half, the Hollow dissipating.
With a curse, she bandaged her arm with a scrap of cloth torn and shunpoed back to Seireitei, knowing the lecture Toshiro would give her if she was caught in this bloodied state.
The next few days passed without much to do, but Karin felt strangely tired, as if the energy in her was leaking out. A week after that mission, she could hardly stay awake for a few minutes at a time. Her wound was also healing ridiculously slowly and she was pretty fed up with everything. That afternoon, during one of the sword drills with the unseated members, she collapsed.
She was quickly brought to the Fourth, the healers trying to use their diagnostic Kido on her with no success. It reflected nothing serious enough to warrant her collapse. Several healers of respectable rank were called forth to keep her alive while they tried to call Unohanna-taicho to her. Hours later, Karin still hasn't stirred, and Unohanna herself had undertaken the task of treating her.
Ichigo and Hitsugaya had both been summoned quickly. The news wasn't good at all. Apparently, the wound Karin received would not close when the healers tried to use the usual procedures. To make matters worse, the wound was leaking truckloads of reiatsu. No matter how much the healers tried to top it up with their own, no one short of a captain-class Shinigami could pour enough reiatsu into her at any one time for her wound to close up. The fact was that she was leaking like a sieve and nothing could be done for her. However, both men immediately volunteered to do it. Unohana warned that to sacrifice a Captain would be a grave decision that had to be discussed with the head captain, and the final result would be unlikely. The captains are too important for the stability of Seireitei, she had also warned.
"Then what about if two of us do this reiatsu thing?" Ichigo demanded.
"That would be even worse, Kurosaki-san. Although neither would die, but both would most likely loose all sense of spiritual awareness, making both of nothing better than the souls in Rukongai." Unohanna replied. "However, if there are more captains who are willing, the chances of all of you surviving with your powers attached are of course higher. But I believe that it would be best to inform Yamamoto-soutaicho before we even start anything. Incapacitating a large number of captains at one time for one girl is not something we can do just like that."
Ichigo could only stare at her in distress, running any possible methods to treat Karin by Unohanna, each possible solution shot down for various reasons.
For Hitsugaya, his mind was made up.
In the dead of the night, he snuck into her room. As he cast his gaze upon her, she looked like death. Her face was pale and bones were poking her skin at unnatural places. All the weight that she had gained in the last few years had gone. Her eyes were closed, and if not for the slight rising and falling of her chest, he would have thought her dead. He closed his eyes, trying to sense for even the tinniest trace of her reiatsu. Even as he was standing next to her and had used his ability to the best he could, there was barely anything that was tainted with her signature. So it was true, he thought to himself as he drew a shaky breath. Then he will do it. For a minute, the faces of the people he had met and times he spent in Soul Society flashed through his mind like a movie. A pang of sadness hit him as he thought about those who would cry for him, especially Matsumoto and Hinamori, who were like his sisters. But he sworn to put her above anyone, and so he will honor this promise for her. He muttered an apology to everyone, hoping that in their sleep they may hear it, as unlikely as it would be.
Placing his hands on her forehead, he closed his eyes and shoved every single ounce of his reiatsu straight into her soul. He felt his Zanpakuto roar in distress, but continued anyway. Even if he had never done something like that before, could feel his reiatsu trickling back into the environment. She was like a sieve, nothing stayed in her.
Letting out an anguished cry he forced more reiatsu into her. For gods sake all which water comes into contact with is under his command, he command everything, so why can't he save the girl he loved? He dug deep into his reiatsu reserves, every drop of it he poured it into her. Unknown to him, he was absorbing pure reishi into his body and converting it into reiatsu, something no one has done and lived to tell the tale. Hours flew by as Hitsugaya continued.
Day break. The sun was beginning to rise, and he could feel the her wound closing, the reiatsu beginning staying within her. He found it hard to breathe, his lungs were slowly breaking down from over use. He was fading, he could feel it. But he did not panic or flail about. He simply opened his eyes one last time, drinking in the sight of his precious Karin. With weakened hands, he removed his Haori, draping it over her shivering form, cold from his reiatsu. That was the last thing he ever did as he felt the life leave his body.
In the late morning, Unohanna was making her rounds when she stepped into Karin's room. The furniture was all but gone, a white captain's Haori draped carefully on her patient. Fearing the worst, she hurriedly ran a check on Karin. Her wound was barely noticeable, and her reiatsu was slowly but surely rebuilding itself. She paused in shock, just for a second, to take in what had happened. The next second, she had shunpoed away, formulating a report to the Head Captain for they had to arrange for the funeral of the 10th Squad's captain.
A/N: Gwaaah this was much longer than I realized and I'm sorry it was late. FFnet wasn't being very nice to me (cough upload errors cough). There'll be another one-shot thingy on Saturday/Sunday as promised! Please leave a comment if you want!