Epilogue-
Last Time on Found You-
*"Mugetsu." he called out, the black flames that were surrounding him soon turned into a black flamed sword. This will end everything, he thought, sprinting towards his enemy with rage and determination planted in his eyes.
The Demon King could only laugh as he clutched his most precious weapon in his hand. "Defense." he whispered, placing the small delicate flute against his lips. And once he blew into it, a soft luring melody intruded the skies. This will control him, and end everything, thought the Demon King, closing his eyes.
A loud explosion was heard and Byakuya, Renji, Rangiku, Izaru, and Rukia could only wait as the smoke that filled up the battle slowly disappeared.
*"Karin, damn it, get away from there!" Toshiro shouted- his whole body in full pain as he ran at full speed towards the incoming attack. I'm going to protect my family. I have to protect them!
*Again, darkness engulfed Yuki's mind and a small sob escaped his lip as well as a single word.
"Dad..."
"Hey mom, have you seen Dad?"
Looking up from the dishes, Karin looked up to meet a young and very handsome 16 year-old boy. White (almost gray) hair along with black streaks that defined gravity met her gaze. Though he had her gray eyes, he had his fathers tanned skin.
"No Raidon, why do you ask?" she asked.
Said boy frowned, looking much like his father. "I wanted to ask him if we were still going hollow hunting tomorrow with Uncle Ichigo and Kyo." he answered.
Karin grinned and nudged her son's rib. "But don't you have girls to attend to?" she asked, wiggling her eyebrow.
Baffled and blushing, Raidon took two steps back. "What?! Who told you that lie? You know that I don't date any of those-"
"Fan-girls?" she finished, in which Raidon trembled. Images of their bodies pressing up against his brought up an unwelcome feeling.
"Exactly, those! Yeah I talk to them, but-"
"Puh-lease, Raidon. We all know you don't just talk to them. You're known as the biggest flirt in our school and it's your fault that you keep leading them on." came in a sarcastic voice.
Looking behind him, Raidon made out the figure of his sister- who in return, had a raised brow as if she were daring him into arguing with her reason. Amaya stood at the bottom of the staircase, her long yet loose black dress reached a little above her knee which was swaying slightly along with her black boots. Like Karin, Amaya had grown to have nice, pale skin, midnight hair, and what may have been brighter eyes than her father.
"She's right." Karin said, drying her hands on a rag as she leaned on the counter, eying both of them. "It's really troublesome when the mother of those girls' call me. They keep nagging about this and that. You should feel pity for me. I'm getting so old you know."
Amaya and Raidon just stared at her.
"Mom, you look like you're 26 years old!" Raidon stated. "You should look like a regular 33-year-old woman should. Do you know how weird it is when they confuse you as my older sister?" Raidon continued. "It's-"
"Okay, Okay! I get it. You want me all old and wrinkly!" Karin said, sighing as she dramatically lifted her arms in the air. It wasn't her fault that she had died at a young age. She tried convincing Urahara to make a gigai that aged like her fathers but noo, he just had to refuse.
"Who wants you old and wrinkly?" came in a smooth, deep voice.
Looking at the Kitchens entry, Karin couldn't help but grin when they landed on Toshiro.
'Karin sat on the Fourth Divisions' hospital bed as she eyed the man in front of her. It had been over a week since the incident and Toshiro still hadn't woken up.
"He might never wake up from his coma, you know." Ichigo said as he entered the room. "He was badly injured when we got there and you were lucky enough to have survived."
Ignoring her brothers presence as he sat next to her, Karin could only think of the many possibilities that could have happened. If Ichigo and his whole six-man group weren't there to beat up Satoshi- both of them, including the kids, would have been gone.
"Sorry for putting you through hell." Karin apologized, averting his gaze.
Ichigo only chuckled as he lifted up the cane he was holding. "There was no way to prevent this from happening."
Karin softly joined in as she jabbed him in the arm. Sometimes when she was alone with her thoughts, she would think about the moments when everything was normal. When her mother was still alive, when her dad would act silly just for the sake of her happiness, when she and Yuzu would play around with each other- and times like these, where Ichigo and her would just talk. But talk about anything. Like why the sky was blue, how were animals created, did Santa really exist?- anything.
"He will wake up though." Karin said, dismissing her previous thoughts as she looked at Toshiro's monitor. "I'm sure of it. He doesn't give up that easily you know."
Ichigo only nodded. Looking at his still bandaged up sister, Ichigo knew that even though Karin didn't want to admit it, he knew that she really, really loved Toshiro. If the way she stayed at his room every second didn't show it, then probably the fact that when she had woken up two days ago, her immediate question was for that of Toshiro.
"Yeah, midget's are usually stubborn." he joked getting up from his seat as he walked toward the exit. "Just remember, Karin," he said, his hand resting on the doorknob. "that when you talk to him, every decision you make will stay permanent. There will be no going back, so think about what you're going to say to him when he wakes up."
Pointing at Raidon, Karin replied, "He did."
Bewildered, Raidon could only stare at his mother. "No! That's a lie!" He then looked at his father. "That's a lie." he said again.
"No, no." Karin butted in, sitting on a stool as she eyed both the men. "He said that I embarrass him because people confuse me as his older sister."
Toshiro raised a brow and Raidon just smacked his forehead.
"No, I said it was weird!" he defended. Then he looked over at Amaya who was leaning on a wall and watching the scenario with amusement. "Could you at least help me, Amaya?" he asked.
Stifling a laugh, Amaya walked over to her mother and put an arm around her shoulder, eying her father all the while. "I agree with Raidon 100%. It's not only weird, but it's also awkward when we have parent teachers conference and my male teachers are ogling all over her."
Karin froze solid under her daughters arm. Taking a risk and glancing at Toshiro, she was mildly surprised that he wasn't raging with jealousy. She almost drew out a relaxed breath when Raidon decided to join the conversation
"Speaking of which, that's today you know. And it's moms' turn to go this time." he said.
And just like that, like Karin had expected, the entire kitchen had burst into ice.
'Turquoise eyes dully opened. Looking at the white room and the white furniture, Toshiro guessed that he was in the hospital. It only took a second later to remember what had happened and when he did, he frantically looked from side to side to seek any sign of Karin. Surely it wasn't just a dream, was it? Maybe all the excessive training wore his mind out into thinking he had kids... with Karin, and that they were in danger of an evil mad man because of their zanpakuto's. No, it couldn't have been a dream. All the details were in his head.
A shift of movement in the side of his eyes caught his attention. Looking at the source, his eyes soon melted into a bright baby blue color. There, resting her head on the side of his bed and holding his hand, was no other than Kurosaki Karin. Her long black bangs fell over on the white sheets and her gray eyes were closed- indicating she was fast asleep. She looks so peaceful, he thought, taking in her milky skin and silently counting the many breaths she took.
No later did the door to his room opened to show a subordinate from the fourth division step inside with the medicine Toshiro needed.
"Oh, you're awake Captain Hitsugaya!" he saluted, frantically resting the equipment on a small desk. "I'll immediately give word that you have woken up! But please, in the mean time, rest! Your injuries were brutal and you still need recover."
"Don't tell anyone I have woken up just yet." Toshiro said, ice-cold eyes boring into the mans purple ones.
Said man stared at Toshiro with confusion. Surely his patient didn't have a head injury, did he? If he didn't tell Unohana he was awake, then his wounds will never be able to heal in a quick pace. The young man stopped his thoughts from running when he noticed another person in the room. Looking at the white-haired mans left arm, he spotted a young woman and almost- as if hypnotized- reached out to touch her long black hair. She looked so beautiful. How had he not seen her before? Everything about her contrasted the color of the room and made everything seem so... lively.
"Please, don't touch what's mine." Toshiro said, eyes closed and brows scrunched up as if he were in pain.
It only took a second to comprehend the powerful captain before him was restraining himself from hurting him. The frozen water used for taking the pills told him everything.
"Uh- yes Sir!" he stuttered, cheeks flushed at both being caught and hearing the Captain of the 10th Division speak to him as if he were a child stealing a valuable item- which probably was, in their case. Bowing down and muttering another round of apology, the brown-haired subordinate soon scurried off towards the exit as he tried to completely get rid of the event that had just happened. Maybe he could bypass this incident by attending to the prodigy's order on not telling anyone he had awoken.
Every person in the building stopped what they were doing when their eyes settled on a family that looked beyond perfect. Whispers could be heard and gazes could be felt.
Karin restrained her eye from twitching as she looked ahead and followed the three teenagers in front of her. Unlike the dark-haired women, Toshiro stood very close to Karin and glared at every man who dare take a second glance at her. He only let a smirk play on his lips when the other men quickly averted his gaze and fidgeted even more. Who wouldn't? His turquoise eyes stood out a lot because of his thick dark eyelashes, making them even more intimidating.
"Yuki is in a different home room than us." Raidon informed, stopping at an intersection. "If we separate, it'll be quicker to get out of here and away from these... gazes." he finished, staring at both his parents.
Toshiro nodded. "I'll go with Raidon and Amaya." he said.
"Why do you get to go with them?" Karin asked, raising a brow.
"It's because he knows that Yuki will watch over you." Amaya said, smiling at the decision.
Karin raised a brow and looked over at her silent son who only nodded. "You're still thinking about what Amaya and Raidon had said earlier?!" she asked, baffled that Toshiro would still cling to such words.
Toshiro said nothing as he looked away.
"It's better this way." Yuki butted in, two unmatched eyes gazing at Karin. Since the incident years ago, Yumichika had enough with Yuki's hairstyle and decided to give the boy a hair cut. At first, Yuki had plain out refused, claiming there was no way in hell he'd let him touch his hair. He only agreed minutes later when Ikkaku had threatened him into agreeing. So when Yumichika started to happily cut his white hair, Yuki had almost burst out the room when his barber found out about his different colored eyes. "They're so beautiful and unique!" he had said, eyes wide as he stared at Yuki's eyes, uncaring at the fact that said boy was struggling in his seat where his body was tied down. "Don't move! I know just what to do!" he had said, smile wide and shining. Usually that was a bad sign and Yuki had to reward himself with such thoughts when he waited for hours for the man to finish.
Now, instead of most of his hair covering his turquoise eye, two bangs framed his face and the rest of his hair was lightly gelled back.
Yuki then gazed at Amaya. "Since Amaya is overprotective of father, she won't let any women snatch him away from your grasp, mom." he said, looking at Karin. Karin only scowled as a blush formed her cheeks. "As for Amaya, Raidon will look out for her." he said, gazing at his brother. Both boys communicated with their eyes, and at the end they both nodded with a silent understanding.
With surprise and admiration, the other three stared at the boys with amazement. When it came to Amaya, they had such a tight bond.
"Alright, let's go." Yuki said, already giving out orders.
"Ah, Kurosaki Yuki. I see you came."
Yuki only nodded as he entered one of his classrooms, Karin behind him as she gazed around the room. Like every class she had entered, paper work the students did and if not that, then posters and rules the school declared was mandatory, filled every wall.
The man who had greeted them sat behind a large wooden desk, his square glasses framing his brown eyes. His jaw line set out perfectly along with his smooth pale skin and shoulder length red hair.
"Please, sit." he said, motioning the pair towards the two chairs before him.
As said, both Kurosaki's sat down and patiently waited as the teacher looked through some files. Picking some papers out here and there, the man finally finished and looked up, smiling when they landed on Karin.
"Hello, my name is Mr. Saizo, Yuki's Math teacher." he said, extending out a hand.
Karin nodded and shook his hand. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Saizo. I'm Karin."
Yuki could only clench his fist and grit his teeth when he saw a small fire light in his teachers eyes.
"Karin... hmm. What a lovely name." he said, never letting go of her hand as he caressed it with his thumb.
"Yeah..." Karin said, a forced smile on her lips as she stared daggers at the man. Thinking she was getting his hint, Saizo winked.
A light cough was heard and both adults looked at Yuki. "My grades, Mr. Saizo." Yuki said, dully eying the teacher who looked at him with calmness, a tight pressed smile forced on his face.
"Ah, yes..." Saizo said, finally letting go of Karin's hand as he took the papers and showed it to Karin- hovering over her so he'd be able to show her the young boys marks. "For the first semester, as you can see... Yuki's been doing-"
"Yeah, look, I'll show you!" Yuki said, getting up as he purposely shoved his teacher away from Karin. No way in hell he'd just sit and watch as the man tried to woo his mother.
"I did exceptionally well. The zero marks riught there mean I don't have any missing assignments and the dash right there means I passed all my exams." Yuki quickly said, finally sitting on his chair and eyeing his now irritated teacher.
"Any questions?" he asked, gritting his teeth as he raised a brow and capturing Karin's gaze.
Karin shook her head, ready to leave at any given chance.
"Are you sure?" he persisted.
"No, I'm good. Yuki always did good in school so I trust him. Hell, he did better than I did when I was in high school." she admitted, smirking as she eyed her slightly blushing son.
Saizo could only chuckle. "I doubt that. It would be hard to imagine the sister of Yuki being any less." he said, half lidded eyes gazing at Karin.
Yuki only smirked at the events that were about to unfold. Karin stood still, trying with all her might to stifle her laughter and stop the specks of tears from falling from her eyes. No later did she scrape her chair away from Saizo and started to burst into laughter. One hand clutched her stomach while the other cupped her eyes, wiping away the tears.
"Is there something wrong, Karin? Did I say something?" Saizo asked, quizzically looking at the beauty before him.
"N-no! Nothing at all, it's just-" Karin couldn't finish her sentence because Yuki had decided to get up and take her hand, leading her towards the exit.
"Bye Mr. Saizo." Yuki suddenly said, waving his hand midair, not once looking at the confused man.
"Bye.." he said, not missing the slight pause Yuki took. Saizo shivered when a turquoise eye looked at him from the corner of his eye, a small victorious smirk spreading on his lips.
"Let's meet father at the center point, mom."
Saizo could only gape at the empty spot where the two humans were, dumbfounded and humiliated that he had hit on one of his top students mother. "I didn't even see a ring!" he cried, dropping his head on the desk as he waited for the next parents to arrive.
'"I here by commence the meeting to begin!" Head Captain Yamamoto declared, his wooden cane stomping on the floor and erupting everything into silence. All 13 Captains- including lieutenants- stood in their perspective areas, chins raised high and haori fluttering about. "Before we initiate further into the events that had occurred two weeks ago, I call forth the Captain of the 2nd Division and the Captain of the 5th Division, as well as his lieutenant."
Without any hesitation or pause, three soul reapers appeared before the Head Captain, lightly bowing at him before facing all the other remaining high ranks.
"I present you," Yamamoto pointed towards Ichigo and Rukia. "The Captain and Lieutenant of the 5th Division, Ichigo and Rukia Kurosaki."
Silent gasps ran throughout the room and a few murmurs could be heard.
"Captain and Lieutenant? But weren't they in the world of the living?"
"How long has this been going on?"
"Why weren't we informed of this?!"
"I demand silence!" roared Yamamoto. Once everyone froze and remained silent, he then lifted a hand and pointed towards Karin. "I present to you, the Captain of the 2nd Division, Kurosaki Karin."
At this, instead of silent mumbles, the room erupted into chaos.
"My, my, my. If it isn't the famous Karin we've heard so about much. No one ever bothered to tell me how lovely she looked." said Shinsue, his lazy brown eyes gazing at her.
"Don't forget, she has kids to attend to." Joshiro said, giving his best friend a disapproving look.
"Ah, yes! The kids! I must ask for her approval to learn more about them. Do some lab test, maybe?" Kurosatchi asked, envisioning the scenarios all in his head.
"I doubt Captain Hitsugaya will approve it." Unahona butted in, smiling at the mad man. "Don't forget that he's the father of the three children as well."
Kurotsachi just glared at the medical pro, sneering at her and then looking away, chin raised high and arms crossed.
"Tsk, like that's going to stop me from testing their limits! If shorty gets in the way, then the better chance of having to fight him!" Kenpachi said, chuckling all the while as his grin spread even wider, eyes showing his blood lust.
"What a nuisance," Byakuya silently said, his voice stopping the rest of the talking around him. "In any case, Head Captain Yamamoto, why did you refer Kurosaki's sister as a Kurosaki? Is she not a Hitsugaya now?" he asked, raising a thin brow.
Before Yamamoto could answer, two immediate responses were heard.
"We're not married." Toshiro and Karin said, eyes and face expressionless as they gazed at all the Captains- tempting them to say something. Fortunately, none of them did.
Amaya's eye twitched as she restrained herself from putting a paper bag over her father's head. There was just no stopping the many stares her dad gained! Clenching her small hands into a ball, she bit her bottom lip and shut her eyes, ready to explode at any given moment.
Toshiro, oblivious to all the things happening around him, kept walking forward- Amaya on his right and Raidon on his left. "Where did you say your class was again?" he asked, gazing inside each room.
"We passed it." Raidon said nonchalantly, his head resting on his hands.
"What?!" cried Toshiro, looking at his mini look-alike with disbelief. "And you didn't bother telling me?" he scowled.
"I thought Amaya was going to tell you," he said, his gray eyes gazing pass Toshiro's shoulders and on Amaya who eyed each woman with a glare. Seriously, she looked like a monkey doing that. "But it seems she got distracted by something else." he mumbled, turning away from his father and making it his job to lead the way.
No less than three seconds later did Raidon smirk when he heard an aggravated sigh coming out of Amaya's mouth.
"Stop staring!" she practically yelled, her hands clutching her hair. She then pointed at a woman with a red dress and deep scarlet lipstick. Her eyes were brown and like her dress, she had red hair. "You! Stop staring at my dad! He's taken!" she said. The woman only scowled and rolled her eyes as she looked away from them. As Amaya was about to pick on every woman who came close to her line of vision, Raidon stepped in, his boyish and sheepish smile planted on his face as he mumble apologies about his dysfunctional sister.
"Come on dad, let's go!" he hissed, dragging a still shouting Amaya who declared stuff such as 'I scorn you, scurvy companion!' He had only shook his head, never getting the point of why Toshiro had given her countless Shakespeare books.
"Out of my sight! thou dost infect mine eyes!" Amaya yelled, fist raised midair.
"Now, without further interruption, I call attention for the Captains and lieutenants who were in the recent incident." the bald man said, both hands resting on his cane.
As said, Captains Izaru, Abarai, Kuchiki, Kurosaki (Both Ichigo and Karin), Hitsugaya and lieutenants Matsumoto and Kurosaki (Rukia) emerged from their line, waiting for their leader to declare their purpose.
"Please give us an oral report on what happened." he said.
As the minutes passed, the group explained what had happened. First, from the evidence when the kids were kidnapped, leading to finding them, excluding the part about Urahara helping them out and finally, Ichigo's group who were dealing with the Demon King and Toshiro's group (which only consisted of Karin) who were saving the kids.
"We didn't kill him though," Ichigo said, his own black cane supporting his weight. "After I used my Final Getsuga, Byakuya, Kira, and Rukia made a powerful binding Kido while Renji and Rangiku wore him out. We just locked him up back to the place where he was first cursed at." he explained, rubbing his neck. "After that, we went out and looked for Karin and Toshiro. We rescued them and the kids... and here we are, I guess."
Silence engulfed the room as Yamamoto weighed down some options. "Alright then, I will believe the story you had reported. I see no reason for you to lie. Now that the matter is dealt with, lets discuss the punishment for Captains Hitsugaya, Kurosaki... both of them and lieutenants Matsumoto and Kurosaki." he said.
"What?! You can't do that!" came in a boyish voice.
The entrance of the room burst open and all Captains turned their heads to the source, which of course had to be Raidon struggling against the guards along with his other siblings.
Karin only sighed as Toshiro face palmed, feeling a dejavu arise.
"Yes! We're finally leaving!" shouted Raidon the second his eyes spotted Karin and Yuki. Hearing this, Amaya gleamed with happiness. She couldn't wait to get out of here!
"What took you so long?" Toshiro asked, his eyes drifting towards Karin. In response, she sheepishly smiled.
"Kind of got lost..." she mumbled, taking his hand and dragging the family to the exit... wherever it was.
"Oh gosh! I'm never depending on you when it comes to directions!" Toshiro groaned, finally getting into the car. For half an hour, they were stuck in the enormous school! Why hadn't they just put the kids in Karakura High? It would have been much easier since Karin knew the place!
As if reading the white-haired mans mind, Karin shook her head. "They would've notice that I didn't age after 15 years." she said, putting her safety belt on.
In the backseat, Raidon had his headphone on as he looked out the window, Amaya was in the middle, dozing off here and there, and Yuki read a book, ignoring his surroundings.
Finally starting the car, Toshiro rode off to their designated area.
As the car swayed here and there, Karin couldn't help but stare at Toshiro, a small smile playing on her lips.
It had only been five years and she couldn't be any happier with him than she already was. After Raidon had burst into the meeting room, the three children had taken it into their hands (Mostly Raidon and Amaya) to demand that the Head Captain make Toshiro live together with them as his punishment. Of course, when they had declared this, the old-man had just chuckled- agreeing even though everybody knew that it was just a side punishment.
What surprised the other Captains though, was that neither Karin nor Toshiro had objected to the idea. They at least expected a flustered reaction or an all out objection, but they were proven wrong.
What they didn't know though was that when Karin had woken up from Toshiro's side- and he was awake- they had agreed to patch things up and give each other a second chance. Though they didn't admit their true feelings outwardly, they knew it was there and that it was enough to revive everything. So when Raidon had declared Toshiro to live with them- what better way was there than to do just that?
"Like what you see?" Toshiro whispered, smirking all the while and never letting his eyes falter from the road. Karin noticed that while in the world of the living, he had picked up a light cocky attitude.
"Don't kid yourself, Tosh." she said, rolling her gray eyes and gazing back at the road. "I was just remembering stuff." she mumbled.
Toshiro only nodded, knowing to not ask any further. When they had agreed to fix everything up- he couldn't be more relieved. He wanted to make everything better with her and the kids. It had surprised him when they declared his 'punishment' and it surprised him even more when he saw Yuki nod his head a few times.
And as they came near their destination, he was wondering if it was the right time to give her the small jewelry box that was tucked under a pair of clothes in his drawers.
"We're here, Karin. Wake up the kids." Toshiro said, parking the car and glances at the backseat where the three children stood sound asleep. Radion's face was literally smearing all over the side window, Amaya's head hung forward, and Yuki's head was thrown back, the book he was reading lay on the floor.
"Hmm? Yeah, sure." she said, stretching towards the back seat and shaking Raidon lightly. When he didn't respond, she sighed and moved on to Yuki who immediately woke up at the first touch.
"We're here. Wake up your sister while I try waking up Raidon." she said.
Yuki nodded and started to lazily shake Amaya.
"Wha- Huh? Stop! One more hour..." she mumbled, shoving Yuki's face away.
Scowling, Yuki shook her again. "Wake up! We're at Uncle Ichigo's already." Once those words left his lips, Amaya woke up immediately, her forehead banging against Yuki's.
"Ow!" Yuki mumbled, cupping his head. "Why does that always happen when it involves you.."
Amaya only shrugged, rubbing her forehead as she followed Yuki out the car.
"Whoa! We're here already?" Raidon asked, finally awake as he stepped foot out the car.
As the four approached Toshiro who was already in the front step, the door opened to show a 12-year-old boy with black spiky hair and golden like eyes.
"Uncle Toshiro! Aunt Karin!" he cheered, slamming the door wide open. "Mom, Dad! They're here!" he called out. "Come on in! Ryuu, Sora, and Athena are playing with Masaki in the living room." Kyo said, urging them in.
Karin grinned when she heard the three names.
'Karin and Toshiro waited for Unahona to finish the examination. They were both nervous, she was nervous!
When Unahona finished the paperwork and made calculations, she looked up and a light smile met her lips. "Congratulations. You're going to have two girls and a boy."
Karin stared at the female doctor and cocked her head to the side. "Huh?"
"Your going to have triplets." she clarified.
With amusement, said doctor watched both her patients who had blank faces. And within a blink of an eye, Karin immediately jabbed Toshiro on the arm.
"Why don't you ever impregnate me with a single digit child!"
Stepping inside the living room, Toshiro saw Ryuu first. Like his mother, he had jet black hair and bright gray eyes. The only difference was that his hair style was that of when Toshiro was younger. He acted like him too. Always quiet and observant, a small scowl on his lips as he eyed the devil of his sisters.
Before him stood his two sisters. Athena was the most devious of them. Her short-cropped white hair and her mixture of turquoise and gray eyes made her look innocent. A thin long bang fell on the left side of her face, marveling the heart shape she had obtained from her mother. She could fool any adult and prank them with a horrible joke. When Toshiro had noticed this, he had blamed Karin for their daughters action. The young child had a soccer blanket wrapped around her small frame, seeming to go asleep.
Beside Athena, was Sora. Together both, they created chaos. Unlike her sister, Sora had longer zebra-like hair and instead on the left side, she had a bang on her right side. She had Toshiro's eyes and was currently hugging Kon to death.
Even though they had been born 1 year ago, they already looked around the age of two- maybe three-year olds. When they had asked Unohana about the sudden change, the woman had just chuckled, claiming that the reason for this is because they were 100% souls.
"When a soul is born, they age quickly and stop at a certain age. When at that age, they process more slowly." she explained, eying the three children who almost looked 1 years old, despite the fact that they were born less than 5 months ago.
Finally sensing that someone was watching them, Ryuu looked up from his gaze and eyed his mom. His expression, much like Toshiro's, softened. "Mummy!" he shouted, lifting himself from the floor and bouncing towards Karin. Like Yuki, he was also a mamas boy.
"Di' Ryuu say-" Athena started.
"-mum's he'r?" Sora finished.
They liked doing that too. Completing each-others sentences.
"Come on, let's go home." Toshiro said, crouching down and staring at both the girls. He felt bad that they were put into gigai's. They were just kids after all.
Athena grinned. "Daddy's he'r too! Which means-
"si'ter Ama and broder Yu and-"
"-Rai's he'r!" Athena said, dumping her blanket to the side and skirting off towards her big brothers. Sora left her sister as she toddled towards her father. Even though she really wanted to see Yuki and Amaya, she wanted to see her daddy first.
"I wanna-"
"-go home!" Athena finished from a far distance.
Toshiro chuckled as he picked Sora up, brushing her black and white bang away from her face. "Let's just say bye to Uncle Ichigo and Aunt Rukia, Kay?" he asked, in which Sora nodded, chubby cheeks splitting into a grin.
Holding the young child's hand, they went towards the kitchen and there, he could already hear Karin's voice. Entering the room, he spotted Ichigo who was holding a small child in his arms, bright orange hair standing out with violet eyes.
"Again, thank you so much for watching over them!" Karin said, clutching her son in her hands.
Ichigo rolled his eyes, handing his daughter to Rukia. "Like I said, it's alright! You need all the help you can get! I'm only surprised that you hadn't grown any gray hair yet. Six kids are just too much if you ask me."
Karin only chuckled. "Blame Toshiro for that." she mumbled, never noticing the presence behind her.
"Partially your fault too." Toshiro said.
Jumping, Karin twirled around to be met with turquoise eyes. "Nuh- Uh!" she said, Ryuu clutched in her arms like a doll.
"Uh-huh!" he replied, Sora somehow finding her way on Toshiro's shoulder. She stuck out her tongue when Ryuu glared at her.
Laughs could be heard as Ichigo and Rukia shoved them towards the exit. "Go on, get out!"
Karin only shook her head, smiling as she grabbed Toshiro's hand and proceeded towards the exit. "Come on!" she yelled out, tilting her head back to face the living room where her other kids were at. "Lets' go!"
Finally hearing the scatters of footsteps approaching them, both Karin and Toshiro, along with Ryuu and Sora stepped out the door, their other four kids right behind their tail.
Karin shut the door from the young triplets bedroom and proceeded down the staircase towards the kitchen. It had been a long day and to say that she wasn't tired would be an understatement of the year! She was exhausted! Finally settling into the kitchen, she was mildly surprised to see Toshiro siting on a chair, a troubled look drawn on his face as he looked at his fiddling fingers.
"You okay, Tosh?" she asked, passing by him and proceeding towards the sink where all the dirty dishes were. Hey, if nobody wanted to clean them, then who would? Grabbing a sponge and turning on the faucet, the black-haired beauty proceeded to scrub and wash the dishes.
After a few silent minutes, Karin heard the scraping of a chair against the floor, indicating that Toshiro had gotten up. A light chill went up her spine as two muscular but lean arms sneaked their way around her waist. She slightly reddened when he felt his lips connect on the crook of her neck, his head leaning against her shoulder.
Stopping what she was doing, Karin sneaked a side glance at Toshiro to see him staring at her. "What is it?" she whispered, unmoving, too scared to mess up their current position. He only ignored her as he started to kiss up his way to her jaw line, stopping in the corner of his lips.
"What do you say?" he whispered, gazing into Karin's eyes. He only nudged his head forward when Karin raised a brow, confused by his words.
Following his lead, Karin looked before her and gasped. "Holy crap!" she yelped, in which Toshiro chuckled, releasing his arms around her and letting her get a better view of the ring he had presented her with. Of course that would be the first reaction she'd give.
Karin followed the ring wide-eyed, too amazed by its beauty to see Toshiro fidget around.
"You do know that I love you Karin, right?" he asked, gazing at the still astounded women. "You gave me everything. Your love, a second chance, your will to keep our relationship in motion ... and six children." he said, slightly chuckling at the last part. "I want you with me forever, and the kids. I don't ever want to leave your side, so I'm asking for this one opportunity to seal us together." Looking into her eyes, despite the fact that she wasn't looking at him and still gazing at the ring, he asked, "Kurosaki Karin, will you marry-"
Before he could finish his sentence though, he was suddenly engulfed into a huge bear hug, the only thing in sight was Karin's black hair. "Of course.." he heard her faintly say. "Of course, of course, of course one million times..." she added, nuzzling her head deeper into his neck, smelling his frosty, cold, minted scent.
Toshiro sighed with relief, letting go of the hug as he faced her and took her hand. Placing the ring through her ring finger, Toshiro said- almost in light whisper, "To the future Karin Hitsugaya."
Hearing the name, heat found its way to Karin's cheeks. Sure, she tried out the name a few times, said it to herself here and there, but actually hearing Toshiro say the words made small butterflies in the pit of her stomach. Leaning forward, Karin captured his lips on hers and wrapped her arm around his neck. "I'm glad." she mumbled through the kiss, pulling him deeper into a more passionate one.
"Hmm? For what?" Toshiro struggled to asked, too engrossed in her actions to push her away- something he'll never do. She was just pure bliss, his other half, his drug, his friend, his lover... his soon-to-be wife. He wanted her.. he needed her in his life.
"That- that the kids..." Karin gave up talking, too hypnotized by the way his tongue just begged for entry. When she allowed access, she couldn't help but laugh when she heard him softly moan.
"No funny." he lightly growled, his lips moving on her neck. Karin immediately stopped laughing as she felt his tongue trace the sensitive skin on her neck. A light purr escaped her lips as she enjoyed the moment. Toshiro may have needed her, but Karin craved for him. She loved him with her dying soul and when he had proposed to her, she felt as if she was melting. Like she was floating in air or something. Call her crazy- but she knew what she felt, and she knew he was the one and only person behind the reason.
And as her fiancé gazed at her lovingly, only one thought crossed her head.
I'm so glad, Hitsugaya Toshiro, that the kids- that our kids Found You...
~Fin
That, my friend, was the ending... Anyways, I hope you all (Tried to) enjoyed the ending! Sorry if it didn't come to your expectations T.T...
~This is FrostyNight98 saying Good-Bye and Good-Day to you :) Review! :)
