Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I still don't own Bleach.
Once again and as usual, sorry for the long wait. OTL I've been finishing my first year of uni and writing my nano, but since I'm done with all that, I hope to write a lot more in the next few months during my break. (Hahaha, don't hold me to it.) Thinking ahead about this fic, I'm updating and moving the timeline along at such an incredibly slow pace, it looks like it will go on for a long, long time to come. Thanks for putting up with me! I'll try to do my best! Enjoy chapter 12!
Chapter 12- According to Cupid
The skies were clear and the weather was warm across Kyoto that day. It was a welcome relief for Yuzu who could happily leave the umbrella in the hotel room after yesterday's showers, and Karin who quite enjoyed the slight smell of rain left in the morning air.
The concrete steps up to the temple were damp under her feet as Karin trudged up them, lagging a little behind the noisy group of students ahead of her. They'd already gone up the long sloped walk past the shops lining the street, full of delicacies and souvenirs, umbrellas with sword handles, fans with tie-dyed fabrics and plenty of sweet samples that the shop attendants were happy to hand out. You could see students from other schools, huddling around in their groups, distinguishable by their school uniforms.
The Karakura first-years had been granted free reign to wander around Kiyomizu-dera and its shrines and surrounding area for the morning. The girls and guys had automatically divided into segregated groups, although there was a great amount of gossiping and glancing between each group.
Karin found herself in a group with Yuzu and Midoriko. Jinta was nearby, chattering needlessly loudly with his mates, but he continued eyeing Yuzu's group. It was obvious he wanted to spend the morning with them. Maybe she should invite him over, Karin considered. Then on second thoughts, naaahh. She kinda enjoyed seeing Jinta suffer.
Along the sloped street from before was a store completely dedicated to posters, key chains and various goods from Japanese and Korean idols and singers. Yuzu and Midoriko were busily trying to arrange the next few hours in order to have enough time to shop there while not having to carry around their merchandise all morning. Karin sighed and tried to wait patiently, but Yuzu had looped her arm through Karin's and kept digging her elbow into Karin's side.
"Oh, oh, oh, and the Jishu shrine, of course!" Yuzu said excitedly. "We can get charms for luck throughout the year!"
"Mmm, and love charms," Midoriko sighed to herself, obviously thinking of the mysterious Asano-san she'd once run into. Karin shook her head and inwardly questioned her friend's taste in men.
"And most importantly, the love stones!" Both Yuzu and Midoriko burst out at once and Karin shuddered from their high-pitched voices so early in the morning.
"Ne, ne, Karin-chan?" Yuzu was saying, pulling at Karin's arm. "You've heard of them, haven't you? It's just so romantic; I wish I could try it-"
Well, at least the weather was nice today, Karin thought, not really paying attention to Yuzu's backing vocals. Kyoto was a nice place, after all, but perhaps it would've been nicer to come while the trees and leaves were the classic Autumn red, instead of this green.
"-so there's these two stones, right, and they're set like ten metres apart, yeah? And-"
Not that there was anything wrong with the green leaves, they were so fresh and bright and made her feel quite energetic for such an early morning.
"-and you're supposed to start at one end, and walk across to the stone on the other side with your eyes closed, right and-"
Come to think of it, Karin looked around her. She hadn't seen Hitsugaya this morning yet. He went through a bit of crap yesterday after they arrived at the hotel and everyone was telling him he should go to bed early and not eat too much dinner because he had such a weak stomach and a frail constitution. Everyone was supposed to stay up late and play midnight games of cards and table tennis, but they had banished Hitsugaya to his room alone for an early night of rest.
For someone so athletically capable, she'd never have thought he was so weak and prone to motion sickness.
"-so if you make it all the way across from one stone to the other with your eyes closed, then the god of love will smile upon you!"
"Uwaah, it's so romantic!"
"Yeah, and you and your loved one will be fated to be together!" Yuzu pretty much squealed. "And your true love will be successful!"
Yuzu and Midoriko squealed together and jumped excitedly. "Should we do that last then? Should we save it for right before we leave? Aahh, but I'm so excited already!"
Maybe she felt a bit bad for him; after all she'd been ignoring him since Valentine's Day, and only really started talking to him again yesterday. He's gotta be feeing pretty bad, she should really make an effort to be nicer.
"Karin-chan! What are you thinking about?"
She was suddenly shocked by Yuzu pulling her back into the conversation and blinked rapidly, trying to work out what they were talking about.
"Karin's been so lost in thought, you must've been thinking about someone," Midoriko narrowed her eyes at Karin with a sly smile.
"Eh, what?" She asked, confused. "Just, Toushirou has been-"
Midoriko and Yuzu were suddenly uncharacteristically silent, staring at her with wide eyes, hands held up to their faces in delight.
Karin scowled. "What?"
"It's Hitsugaya-kun, isn't it?" Yuzu cried, "I knew it, I knew it, I knew it!"
"Huh?" Karin stared with disdain at her twin sister.
"Hahaha!" Yuzu burst into smug laughter and drew herself up to her full height. "I knew you liked him! It was definitely a Honmei chocolate you gave him, you can't lie to your twin sister!"
"Eh? Karin-chan gave Honmei chocolate to someone?" Midoriko gasped.
"What, no-" Karin started in protest.
"Aww, it's okay, Karin-chaaann," Yuzu said sweetly, throwing her arms around her sister, "We'll help you out! We'll make sure the god of love smiles on you and Hitsugaya-kun today!"
"Waahh, Karin-chan's blushing!"
"I-I-I'm not!" Karin burst out, her face red and livid. "It's not like that! I don't- I DON'T EVEN LIKE TOUSHIROU!"
Some birds flew out of the tree above him, as if scared off by a loud noise.
Hitsugaya was startled, as if someone somewhere had just yelled out something mean about him. He sighed dejectedly and trudged onwards towards the large wooden veranda overlooking the hillside. To be brutally honest, he hadn't been having the best time on the school trip at all.
Ever since they got back to the hotel yesterday, he'd been treated like an invalid who needed countless bathroom breaks, an early night's sleep and was unable to eat neither rich food nor food in large amounts. To make matters worse, Tomo had now permanently adopted him as his best friend, saying that he needed a best mate to look after his poor health and how he so admired that Hitsugaya was still determined and hardworking in all aspects of schooling and sport despite his frail disposition.
I knew I shouldn't have come on this trip. Hitsugaya scowled and let his feet stomp harder on the veranda, causing other visitors to look disapprovingly at him. He glanced behind him at the steps and the scenery down below, at all the smaller figures of students and visitors. He slowed down, scanned them as if searching for someone in particular.
"Hitsugaya! Why are you walking so slow?" Tomo shouted at him from the other end of the veranda. "Are you not feeling well?"
"I'm feeling fine!" He snapped and ran to catch up.
Jinta loitered behind his group as they climbed the asphalt-covered slope to the next shrine.
Huhh. I wonder where Kurosaki and her group are going first. He paused where he was standing, and looked out down below him. Karin, Yuzu and Midoriko were heading in the opposite direction down towards the street of shops. Jinta sighed and ran a hand through the back of his hair. Darn. It was already the second day of their trip, and he had hardly been able to talk to Kurosaki at all. He'd been hoping that during this trip, they might've been able to get closer, since that was what school trips were for, right-
"Eh? Hanakari? Why are you all by yourself?"
Jinta looked behind him to find that the rest of his group was gone and Tomo and Hitsugaya standing there instead.
"Huh? Where'd they go?" Jinta panicked.
Tomo let out a loud laugh and slapped Jinta in the back heartily. "Too busy daydreaming, eh, Hanakari? No worries, you can join me and Hitsugaya's group! Aren't you lucky we happened to be passing by?"
Jinta scowled at Tomo. He was such an insufferable idiot. "Why would I need to join you guys?" He declared, "I have my own group and they're probably just waiting for me up ahead!"
Tomo looked at him, then shrugged. "Well, suit yourself. We were just about to go down to the shops down there. We'll catch you later," He started to walk past, pulling a less-than-eager Hitsugaya with him.
"Wait!" Jinta suddenly called out.
Tomo and Hitsugaya stopped and looked back at him.
"Don't misunderstand," Jinta said coolly as he walked pompously ahead of them. "I was planning to go down that way anyway. You should've told me earlier."
"Ahahaha! Of course, of course!" Tomo swung an arm around Jinta's shoulder and ran forward, dragging Hitsugaya along by the arm.
"Eh, Hanakari-kun?" Yuzu's eyes were wide, "I didn't know you were friends with Tomo-kun and Hitsugaya-kun."
"Ah, ah, don't put in a group with those two, I'm not." Jinta shook his head with a somewhat irritated smile on his face. After all, he'd hate to be associated with that idiot Tomo and his never-ending chatter. And Hitsugaya, well- there was something incredibly suspicious about that fellow and besides, Jinta hadn't quite forgiven him for beating him in that cross-country run way back.
"Oh." Yuzu looked disappointed. "…then why are you guys together?"
"Oh, um…" Jinta tried desperately to think of an excuse that would sound cool. "You see, they just needed some strong guy to help them carry their shopping and since I'm such a nice guy I offered to help-"
"Pfft." Karin snicked.
Jinta immediately turned his attention to Karin. "And what are you laughing at, huh, Karin? I should just-"
"Hahaha, calm down, Hanakari!" Tomo piped in. "You sure get worked up easily, don't you?"
"You!" Jinta turned to Tomo heatedly. "Nobody asked you! And I know you're hiding a laugh under that seemingly bank look, Hitsugaya!"
"Then you're busy, Hanakari-kun," Yuzu spoke up, her face fell a little. "I was hoping you could help me and Midoriko-chan out as well…"
"What, what? I can do it! I'll help!" Jinta burst out.
Yuzu's smile seemed as if it had never left her face. "Oh, that's a relief."
I can't tell if Yuzu is just really naïve or really manipulative… Karin thought drily.
"Anyway, I was thinking of getting this poster and this wall scroll over here…" Yuzu went on, her voice fading as she followed Midoriko into the store, Jinta close behind and Tomo tagging along with a stupid grin on his face.
Karin realised that she and Hitsugaya were the only ones still standing outside. She half considered following the others inside but was put off by the giggling and squealing of idol fangirls over the merchandise.
Ugh. Karin tried not to look over at her silent companion, a few steps away with his arms crossed and leaning against a wooden post in front of the shop. Sure, she'd started talking to him again yesterday, but that didn't mean she didn't still feel strangely uncomfortable around him and that the odd prickly sensation in her chest had dissappeared because it hadn't and besides, yesterday he had actually fallen on top of her and his face had been barely centimeters away from hers and crap-
Karin's face flushed bright red.
"Karin?"
She flinched in shock when she heard his voice. He was looking over at her with a slightly concerned expression on his face.
"Are you all right?" Hitsugaya asked bluntly. "Your face is really red."
"I- I'm- I-It's not!" Karin flushed.
Hitsugaya frowned. "Are you sure?" He took the few steps across the distance between them and bent his head down slightly to examine her face. Karin immediately tensed and turned redder. "You're not sick, are you?" He lifted a hand towards her as if to check the temperature of her forehead.
Karin's heart almost stopped and desperately, she ducked her head away from Hitsugaya's hand, her face flaming and heart racing. Quickly retreating a few steps until she was a safe distance away, she retorted, "I-I'm not sick! I'm absolutely fine!"
Offended, Hitsugaya put his hands in his pockets. "What's your problem? I was just concerned about you."
"I can take care of myself." Karin said indignantly. Her face was still red, and it was a struggle for her to regain control of the conversation. "B-besides, I should be the one concerned about you. You're the one who's so sickly they had to send you to bed early."
It was a bit of a low blow, but Karin was relieved, feeling her confidence return.
"I am not sickly," Hitsugaya snapped. "That was a misunderstanding!"
Karin smirked, "Sure, sure. Who's the one who had to throw up ten minutes into the bus ride?"
"It was twenty minutes! And I didn't actually have to throw up, there was just this-"
There was just this Hollow outside that I had to deal with because I'm a shinigami but obviously I can't tell you that because you haven't got a bloody clue!
"-never mind!" He snapped. "I'm sorry I ever bothered to worry about you!"
"Because I' m perfectly capable of worrying about myself!" Karin's face was starting to redden again. "And I'm completely healthy, unlike you!"
"I'm completely healthy too! I don't need you and the others treating me like some invalid!"
"Then don't treat me like one either!"
"I didn't!" Hitsugaya exclaimed, "You're the one who overreacted."
Karin's face flushed bright red. "Th-that's because-"
You were too close! And I didn't want you to touch me because I think I might stop breathing and die or something just because everybody has the wrong idea about us after Valentine's Day and for the record, that chocolate was in no way Honmei because I don't even like you!
"-I don't want to be touched by a guy I don't even like!"
Hitsugaya glared at her, then breathed out angrily. "You're impossible." With that, he crossed his arms again and pointedly looked in the other direction.
What the hell is her problem? Hitsugaya fumed silently. First she ignores me for a good week or so and then she's all happy and friendly and the next she's trying to humiliate me and then she ducks away from me like she can't stand me!
Karin and Hitsugaya stood silently outside the store, ignoring each other. Each looked pointedly in the other direction with their arms crossed angrily and thinking murderous thoughts.
The silence was suddenly broken by a strange grumbling sound.
Neither said a word.
Despite herself, Karin couldn't help sneaking a glance over at Hitsugaya beside her. He was still glaring in the other direction, but a slightly embarrassed pink blush had appeared on his face.
"…you haven't had enough to eat, have you?" Karin said reluctantly.
"…no." He admitted.
When he finally relented and turned wearily to look at her, she started. But all of her previous frustration and anger was gone and she was smiling again, in that slightly mischievous way of hers.
Hitsugaya stared. …she's fickle like a child.
"They mainly just have snack and dessert shops around here," she said simply. She straightened up and turned to head down the street, pausing for Hitsugaya to catch up. "But it's better than nothing, right?"
As Karin and Hitsugaya walked away down the street together, Yuzu and Midoriko stuck their heads out of the shop doorway and giggled as they watched.
They found the widest variety of treats and desserts in the shops of the Matsubara-dori street. For Hitsugaya who had been restricted to not eating his full share during dinner last night, it was very hard to keep from altogether inhaling all the food in one go.
Every second store they went past offered yatsuhashi for them to try, in all flavours from mango to pear, and Karin mentioned that if they had collected one from each store it would be the same as buying a boxful. To Hitsugaya's slight disappointment, none of the stores had watermelon-flavoured yatsuhashi, perhaps it didn't exist. Not that he would ever mention such a thing to Karin; she would probably find it funny he had such an affinity for the fruit.
Full almost to bursting, and having forgotten any of the previous discomfort in their relationship since Valentine's Day, it was a cheerful Karin and a content Hitsugaya that walked back up the street together.
"Where do you think they went?" Karin checked the store from before but Yuzu and the others were no longer in there.
"Did they mention where they were planning to go after shopping?"
"Ah, they probably went back up the hill to the shrines and the temple," Karin realized. But why didn't they wait for us?
"We'll help you out! We'll make sure the god of love smiles on you and Hitsugaya-kun today!"
EHH? Karin remembered what Yuzu had said in the morning. They wouldn't dare! You mean all that stuff at the store and just coincidentally leaving her and Hitsugaya alone outside was planned?
"Karin?"
Her face was suddenly red again, and her expression was some mixture between anger and embarrassment. Oh, she was going to kill Yuzu and Midoriko…
"Where are you going?" He frowned as she started running up the sloped hill towards Kiyomizu Temple.
"Jishu Shrine!" She barely managed to reply, before she grabbed Hitsugaya's hand and pulled him along with her.
And he couldn't do anything but stare at the way her black hair flew behind her in the air as she ran.
This girl… Hitsugaya scowled. He didn't understand her at all. She was immature and fickle. She kept him guessing, he didn't know when she'd smile and laugh or when she'd blush with embarrassment or when she'd scowl or when she'd argue and get mad or when she'd grin that wicked grin of hers.
But Karin, in all her various states, she still…
Hitsugaya looked down at their hands joined together and felt some kind of heat rush to his face. And what was wrong with him anyway? She'd declared so many times that she didn't like him, she'd stated it so bluntly in that chocolate of hers! Besides, the Hitsugaya she liked was the him from four years ago, and not the liar whose hand she was holding right now. Still… he let out a frustrated sigh.
Why did it matter so much to him that she viewed him favorably? Why was he so upset that she thought of him as a wimp who got carsick easily? And hell, why had he been so disappointed that the Valentine's chocolate wasn't Honmei?
They were running up the cement steps now, and she hadn't let go.
"Karin-" He started, but she wasn't listening.
When he glanced over at her, he found that her short skirt swayed upwards as she ran up the steps.
…he wished she wasn't wearing bike shorts under her skirt.
Wait, what? He shouldn't have been looking there in the first place, but immediately his whole face heated up. What am I thinking? He was absolutely mortified; he could feel the heat spreading all the way down his arms and to his hands.
Karin noticed and turned to look at him, "Toushirou, your hand-"
He was deliberately avoiding her gaze and staring off into the other direction, his other hand in front of his face to hide his red face.
"Eh," She slowed down a little. "Are you feeling sick, Toushirou?"
"N-no!" He exclaimed, still not looking at her. "Let's just… go, okay?"
She pulled him closer and stared. He glanced at her and looked away again. She scowled and huffed. "Fine then. Suit yourself!"
Ah, crap. He coughed and tried to calm himself down, return to his normal blood pressure. Ah, but that sudden jump in how fast his heart was beating must've been because they were running, of course.
Karin's concerned face was…
Hitsugaya felt like his face was so hot he could cook on it.
…cute.
"Karin-chan! You're here!" Yuzu shouted out in delight from where she was standing beside one of the Love Stones outside the shrine. Her eyes suddenly widened when she realized it wasn't just Karin who had come running up the steps.
"Ehhhh, they're already holding hands!" Midoriko shrieked.
Karin's face heated up as she quickly let go of Hitsugaya's hand. "It's not like that!"
"Well, that was rather rude," Hitsugaya said flatly, trying to sound normal.
"You're not helping!" Karin was desperate.
While in her confusion and frustration, she suddenly felt someone's hands clamp over her eyes. "Yuzu, what are you doing?"
"Looking out for your future happiness, Karin-chan," she replied sweetly and before Karin could react, Yuzu had pushed her forward.
She couldn't see anything and barely had time to open her eyes and work out where she was as she stumbled and fell forward a few steps, only managing to stop herself by grabbing onto a rocky surface to her right.
That's when she heard the applause and the cheers of an audience. Blinking in confusion as she stood up and looked around her, she realized she'd been pushed forward and had run blindly across the distance separating two stones and that the rocky surface she'd stopped her momentum with was the very Love Stone said to grant true love.
"What…" Her face flamed redder and hotter than ever before, "Yuzu, what did you just-"
But there was no answer as the devious twin had already run off, and only the disappearing back of Jinta Hanakari could be seen chasing after her, carrying bags of shopping and souvenirs and calling out, "Wait for me, Kurosaki-saaaaaaannn!"
"Yuzu!" Karin looked around her desperately.
"It's too late, she's already gone," Hitsugaya said matter-of-factly. He'd stepped up to stand beside her, nonchalant expression on his face as usual.
"Ah, so it's you two, is it?" An old lady dressed in full traditional Japanese robes shuffled towards them from where she had been watching behind her charm-selling stand.
Her fine white hair had been pulled behind her head into a neat bun adorned with an elaborate hair ornament, while her eyes seemed so small they almost vanished into horizontal slits in her face. "Hmm," she murmured as she inspected Karin through her tiny eyes. "I give you two months."
"Huh?" Karin was completely lost.
"Two months." The woman repeated ominously.
"Until what?"
"Until you two get together." She said without batting an eyelash.
Karin's horrified cry could be heard echoing throughout the whole of Kiyomizu temple and the surrounding mountainside.
"By the way, I'm also offering love charms from 800 yen and up. The best one is 2400 yen of course; it even comes with a complimentary instruction manual."
That day, Karin realized that her twin sister Yuzu, despite the sweet smile and seemingly innocent demeanor, was actually the devil in disguise; while Hitsugaya realized that the immature Karin, whether smiling or teasing or angry was actually… kind of cute.
Yeah, they've ended up in Kyoto, because I can. Kiyomizu-dera is a really beautiful spot, by the way. I went last year and it's lovely. Of course, I'm forever alone so I wouldn't even think about trying the Love Stone, haha.
On the hitsukarin in this chapter: I feel that there are many facets and dimensions to the interactions between Karin and Hitsugaya. While they can both appear cool and hard to reach from each other, such as Karin with her smug and teasing tendencies and Hitsugaya with his aloof and blank expressions; they also have this capacity to argue and bicker with each other over silly things, mainly in an effort to maintain the upper hand in the relationship. It's their clumsy way of hiding the weakness they feel in their affection for each other, and I really enjoyed writing this element of their relationship in this chapter.
Anyway, that's it for now! Please review! Thank you so much for all the favourites, watches and reviews, guys. And seriously, I get notifications when people follow this story, and I know you're there- please leave me a review, I can't improve or tell what I did well in if you don't tell me! And of course, I love hearing from you guys, on fanfiction/deviantART/tumblr, wherever suits you! I'm interested in getting to know you all. ^_^ Let's talk! (It will probably guilt trip me into writing faster, haha.)
Until next chapter, thank you for reading and take care of yourselves! emichii.