Porcelain Heart
As a child, Karin had never liked dolls. Yuzu adored them, sewing soft pink dresses for them and brushing their synthetic hair to a fine sheen. The ritual of it struck Karin as silly. But the thing she hated most of all was the fact that so many of them were made of porcelain. When she questioned her twin about it, she was told the porcelain was beautiful to look at. Sure, it was smooth to the touch and a pleasant peachy-pale color, but did that really equate to superiority?
Not in Karin's eyes.
Porcelain was a material of inherent fragility. What was the point of owning a toy if you were only destined to store it on a shelf? It was the antithesis of everything she held dear as a child. The fact that these dolls were her first exposure to the idea of femininity would have lasting repercussions. Porcelain was breakable; people automatically handled it with care. She didn't want to be doted on. She wanted to be seen as equal.
She did not want to be like those stupid dolls.
But years and years later, those playthings flitted into her mind once more. She suddenly understood how it felt to be breakable. But not on the outside, mind you. She'd grown a thick skin of steel to protect something she'd been hiding for a long time.
A porcelain heart.
And now she found herself looking into the callous eyes of a man who smiled at her as if she were a kitten, struggling as he caught her by the scruff. "You must be little Karin."
"Let go of me, you shit." She spat.
To her shock, he did so, setting her gently on the ground but placing one hand next to her shoulder on the wall. He leaned in as if he were about to divulge a vital secret, his handsome face still gnarled by a scar. "Come now, you'll hurt my feelings. You should call me Osamu-san. I don't believe my name is shit."
Her ring sparked again, energy building up around her as her anger swelled in her chest. Just who was this pretentious bastard? He smirked at her, reaching out to cup her chin in his hand. She smacked it away without a moment of hesitation. His amusement only seemed to grow.
Hitsugaya's blade clashed against his assailant's, pushing him away with one final blow. A wave of energy captured his attention and he spun on his feet to face it. It was strong, pulsing and vital like rushing blood. And it was Karin's. His eyes narrowed at the sight of the full grown man who had her cornered like prey. One fist was clutched tight around a machete –the same one he'd used to almost kill her three years previously.
The temperature in the air around Hitsugaya dipped.
"Urahara!" He snapped.
Despite the fact that he was fighting off two men at once, the shopkeeper's tone was lazy as ever. "Yes, Hitsugaya-taicho?"
"Now would be a good time to employ that failsafe of yours."
It was all he had to say before he was rushing forward to intervene. This man was pushing Karin, and he knew that. He wasn't certain how far she would go before she snapped and unwittingly gave him just what he wanted from her. They'd tried to protect her by keeping her in the dark about everything, but with the way things were unfolding he was realizing that ignorance was not bliss.
Urahara pushed back his opponents, gaining himself just enough time to rummage into his jacket pocket and pull out a small black box. At first glance, it could've been mistaken for a ring box. But when he flipped it open, it only contained a small button. He pressed it urgently, regaining his grip on his sword quickly enough to fend off another attack.
A scathing reply was ready to leave Karin's lips when her lungs stopped working. The world faded out for a moment, her grey eyes widening to a childish size. Her expression grew blank and her knees buckled. Osamu took a step back, displeasure flickering across his features. She laid still, the flow of reiatsu cut off completely. According to Momoka's reports, her power had been tied up in that ring of hers. But nothing had been said about any other tricks they had up their sleeves. Just what had they done to her to switch her off and turn her into a rag doll like that?
That was a disturbing ability even for a quiet madman like Urahara.
She couldn't move. Even breathing felt like a feat of miraculous strength. Her whole body felt blank, like white noise or the grey snow that danced across a broken television screen. It was the only way to describe it. Black splotches overwhelmed her vision and the world grew quiet, the shouts of conflict stifled by some unseen force that blocked out her ears. She could feel her energy drain away, as if being contained inside the very ring that was supposed to amplify it. Urahara must have rigged the stupid thing. She'd been tricked.
But why?
Karin suddenly looked so small. It reminded Hitsugaya of just how preciously human she was. She laid across the ground, her eyes wide but somehow unseeing. She was a china doll left to be shattered against the bitter earth by uncaring boot soles. She'd been transformed into a pawn and she didn't even know it. Something inside of him hated seeing her like that. His teal eyes narrowed dangerously as he approached the man, sword drawn.
Osamu blocked his blow without so much as turning around. Hitsugaya's eyes widened. This was surprising, but not the end of the world. He'd faced much stronger opponents than this man.
But had he really?
After all, this was the man who had driven Kurosaki Ichigo of all people to ruin.
"Why am I not surprised at you, Hitsugaya-taicho?" There was a smirk in his voice that set Hitsugaya on edge.
Some yards way, Momoka stirred. The clashing of swords brought her back to the surface, despite her pounding head. The fact that she'd been taken down so easily was shameful, to say the least. She climbed to her feet, pulling her cloak tighter. Her recovery didn't go unnoticed. Osamu's machete skidded across the ground and came to rest at her feet. She picked it up, a frown growing across her lips. Plans had changed after all.
To her, this meant one thing.
What kind of insane person threw away their weapon during a fight? Hitsugaya supposed he could ask himself what kind of person brought a machete up against a captain class zanpakuto in the first place. He didn't let it distract him, instead adding the odd move to the stew of things he was analyzing at that moment. He calculated his next move, delivering it with exacting precision. The shock finally hit him when the man grabbed his blade with his bare hand, effectively stopping it.
That shouldn't have been possible.
He grinned at the shock on the captain's face.
Just what was going on here? At first Yuzu had been amused. Sure it was odd to wake up and find herself in this abandoned building, but watching Urahara and his lady friend dance around like that was pretty funny. Not to mention Orihime and Uryu were there! How long had it been since she'd spoken with them? Maybe she'd invite them home for tea? Well, of course she'd wait until after they were all finished practicing whatever it was they were doing. It was all pretty funny.
Until she saw her sister.
"Karin-chan?" She whimpered, rushing to her side. Her nursing experience kicked in, fingers moving adeptly to check for a pulse in multiple places. She looked to see if she was breathing, asleep, anything. Too-warm tears pooled at the corners of her eyes. "No, Karin-chan. Please." Her broken voice was quiet, a soft plea. She positioned herself just right to begin emergency resuscitation. She wasn't going to let this happen. All they had left anymore was each other.
Karin resurfaced to shrieking. She coughed, the air feeling thick in her lungs. Since when had it become so hard to move? She sat up slowly, blinking in the filtered daylight that suddenly seemed too harsh. She'd never had a hangover, but she imagined this was what it was like. But at least she could move and see again. That was a step in the correct direction. The fighting was still going on, but she could take a moment to re-orient herself since no one was attacking her directly.
"Karin-chan!"
The shriek was the loudest yet, the words finally gaining meaning in her ears. "Yuzu-chan?" She called, "Yuzu-chan I'm right over—" Her words fell short, "There?"
How could she be in two places at once?
It was then that she realized a chain had blossomed from her heart, jangling emptily with every movement.
Her fingers laced tightly around it, "What…?"
"Karin-chan, don't leave me!" Yuzu's sob snapped her back into reality.
She stumbled to her sister's side, confused to see that the chain led back to her body. It was anchored to her body's chest as well, a strange link between them. Was she in some sort of limbo? She'd never known spirits to be attached to their bodies before.
But that meant she wasn't dead, right?
Her body certainly didn't look completely dead, but it didn't look good either. Her skin was a bluish pale color, the usual pleasant pink of her lips pallid. This wasn't the first time she'd watched herself from the outside, but that didn't make it any less unpleasant. The whole thing was surreal, making her wonder if she was just going to wake up again. This wasn't a dream within a dream: It was a nightmare. Yuzu's shoulders shook and she buried her face in Karin's body's chest. She hugged her body close, tears spilling over her cheeks and running down her neck. She hadn't cried that intensely in a while. And there Karin sat, useless. Her sister couldn't even see her.
"Yuzu-chan…" She mumbled impotently, pinching the inside of her cheek between her teeth. The physical pain helped her to mask her emotions. She needed to be able to think clearly. How could she get back into her body? "I won't leave you," She promised aloud, though her twin was deaf to her words. She stood, resolve clear in her eyes. She would figure this out.
Whatever all this shit was that was happening to her, it was affecting her entire family. It had been for years. She wouldn't take any more of this. Her reiatsu returned to her, pooling around her feet and emitting a blue-grey glow. With each of her sister's sobs, her anger grew. If she was in some sort of spirit form, that meant her ring was gone. It was only bonded to her physical body. Whatever limitations that had been put on her body didn't apply to her soul. Her energy felt like it flowed freer this way, like the ring was obsolete. She turned around to face the fray, leaving her sister behind her.
"Don't get any ideas," The smug voice came from Karin's right, and she glanced over to see Momoka.
She gestured to the chain that hung from her chest. "You did this to me?"
She nodded, holding up the machete and sneering in a way that was reminiscent of a cornered coyote. The top of the knife's handle had a small carving in it, and Karin recognized it as the same kind of marking that could be found on the bottom of Urahara's cane. She knew that must have meant something to someone, but it meant nothing to her. She had zero patience for Momoka, holding out her hands and performing a quick kido spell. It left her feeling a little weak, something in her chest tightening as the chain rattled. It was worth it to see the satisfying sight of the girl being blown back against the concrete wall. The machete slipped from her fingertips and landed against the pavement with a clatter.
"Karin-chan!" Orihime shouted above the din, echoing her cry from earlier. The blast of kido was enough to grab her attention. She thought Hitsugaya had been taking care of her. She watched in horror as the chain in Karin's chest creaked dangerously. The reiatsu in the area was too much. It was growing brittle.
The scream caught Hitsugaya's attention as he struggled against Osamu. Even without his primary weapon, he was impossibly skilled. The two had been standing at a slight distance, surveying each other and preparing for their next clash. His teal gaze whipped away from his opponent for a mere moment, widening at the sight of Karin, then narrowing dangerously. A visible cloud of energy swathed her, flickering and swirling like an odd combo of flame and smoke. She was growing unstable.
But then he noticed the chain.
Everything collapsed into one bleak singularity. His heart turned to stone, sinking heavily in his chest. The chain led to her body, which lay in the arms of her sobbing twin. This was unacceptable. It was his assignment to protect her, and he was failing at even that. His grip tightened on Hyorinmaru, knuckles going white. They'd found a way around Urahara's failsafe, but that meant ejecting Karin's soul from her body.
But that single moment he had taken to process what was going on with Karin had been more than enough to get him killed. Osamu slunk up behind him, a small dagger in his hand. Unbeknownst to the taicho, the weapon had been concealed on his person. In the split second it would take Hitsugaya to catch on, it would be over. What a shame.
But Karin saw it coming. Her whole world was focused on one thing: The man who had destroyed her family.
What happened next, Hitsugaya could only process in fragments. Shards of information came to him, but not the whole picture. There was a blue light accompanied by a girl's scream. The flash of a small blade as it flew just over his shoulder, the edge clipping his flesh and leaving a small trail of blood. There was an eerie frozen quality to the air and the unmistakable snap of metal. Three small drops of blood splattered across the ground, vibrant against the dull grey concrete. Everything had gone quiet.
Osamu looked to Karin with a bemused expression. The girl had used her momentary surge of energy to intervene on the taicho's behalf. How sweet. He'd had to change his maneuver half way through to dodge her attack. Not bad, considering her training was so minimal. She panted, something akin to disgust burning in her eyes. Her reiatsu immediately began to diminish once more. The spike in energy from emotional strife was short-lived. She couldn't control it, so she wasn't ready for what he had in store.
It was obvious to him then that she needed more time.
He snapped his fingers and pulled up the hood on his cloak, those he'd brought with him doing the same. And in a flash, they were gone. How could they all be masters of shunpo? None of it made sense to Karin. Only shinigami could do that, right? But as she came back to earth, she realized there were more important things to focus on. She met Hitsugaya's gaze, surprised to see his eyes so hard and concerned. Only then did she realize what she was holding in her hands. Somehow she had managed to make that blue blade manifest again. It was the same one she'd used to rescue her sister when—
Her sister!
The energy blade dissolved in her hands and she turned toward Yuzu where she sat silenced. She felt everyone's eyes on her. Only Yoruichi had pursued their attackers when they made their escape, which told Karin they were going to finish this fight another day. But why then was everybody so focused on her? She glanced over toward the rest of the group, locking eyes with Orihime and giving a tired tilt of her head.
"Hey…what's everybody staring-" The unfinished question was punctuated by a sharp intake of breath. Her fingertips moved instinctively to her chest. Her porcelain heart was cracking. A stabbing sensation spread through her limbs, unfurling from her torso. She found only six links of the chain dangling from her chest. The rest lay severed across the concrete.
The world turned sideways as she collapsed to the ground, pain overwhelming her senses. Every nerve ending in her small body burst raw and excruciating as her eyes closed. It was as if someone had hollowed her out and then filled her up again with fire. She didn't want to feel anything anymore.
"Karin-chan!" Hitsugaya's exclamation was the last thing she heard before she lost herself.
Kurosaki Karin was dead.
AN: I hope you liked it! Please drop me a review so I know how I'm doing~ It would mean the world to me because I put so much effort into this story. I'm sorry it jumped around so much this chapter, but I just had to explain what was going on with the different characters in order for it all to come together.
I know there are a lot of loose ends, especially concerning this new antagonist. I promise they will be tied in due time. Just be patient. Also, I hate making OCs (such as Momoka and Osamu) but I promise I did this for a reason.
I want you, the reader, to have as much knowledge of the situation as Karin. Which is very little. lol. I'm doing this on purpose, but things will be explained soon enough. Just sit tight.
Thanks!
