Chapter 14

oooOOOooo

The night continued to shine its mystic illumination as Toshiro arrived to his destination. There waiting for him was but himself in the water with his sharp eyes on the prime. Unlike his stoic counterpart that dwelt in the water, he could hardly contain himself. The rush sensation continued to swell even after a few hours had passed. In other words, Yuzu's warmth somehow persisted to exist despite her not being present.

Aside from what he continued to feel, he looked at his counterpart to examine something that he desired to know. The water reflected what was present but also what was not. His markers were present only to the counterpart as they were concealed on the original. Before he looked, he could tell something was amiss. He drew much strength upon casting that kido from before but for some reason, he was not as exhausted as he should be. Quite the contrary, he was filled with more energy than he began. He felt like he could do anything while soaring through the sky. Still, despite what he felt inside, the water proved to be otherwise.

As he believed to be the case, he depleted half of his strength. So why was he not exhausted? Was it because of the kiss? The thought occurred to him as he stared down at himself. Even with that, he had something more crucial to inquiry. He hoped to see Yuzu the next day so they could talk about what was bubbling in his mind as sleep was impossible for him.

Funny thing was, he wasn't the only one thinking along those lines. There walked someone else who arrived to the lake. Did the lake hold some power that lured people who had troubled minds? Toshiro must have been distracted to the point where he failed to noticed a lone girl walking nearby to the same lake until she stepped on a twig. The sound of the piece of branch snapping was loud as the moment arrived when the forest became still. He turned, and it was then that the girl took notice of Toshiro. She was wearing nothing but her pajamas and light sweater. She even came bare-footed despite the sharp pointy things that may lurk within the forest.

"Toshiro? What are you doing here so late?" She eyed him, slightly surprised. She walked towards him as he distanced himself from the lake.

"I could ask you the same thing. Why are you out so late?" His back was on the lake when he spoke. Karin looked down at her feet, unable to give an answer. Would it be weird to hear that she couldn't fall asleep so she decided that a walk through the forest might clear out some thoughts?

"I couldn't sleep…so here I am. What about you?" She asked, turning the attention to Toshiro. Toshiro took a moment to look at her features. Her eyes were slightly irritated as the white hue around her pupils were slightly irritated. She looked tired but for some reason, she couldn't sleep, thought Toshiro.

"The same. I guess we both have the same idea." He stated. He felt like more was in order but how should he begin?

"Is there something bothering you?" Karin began. She noticed her sudden inquiry startled Toshiro and knew he had some stuff he needed to get out. Perhaps then she would get to know more of him while at the same time, helping him in any way with what was troubling him.

Toshiro stared and said nothing at first. Perhaps talking to someone would provide him some insights before seeing Yuzu again. It could get some stuff straightened out though it may even bring more questions than answers but at this point, Toshiro saw no reason to withhold sharing his thoughts.

oooOOOooo

So Toshiro began his tale which by far, was not a short story. Of course he made some changes and censored some pieces before bestowing them to the girl. From what she gathered, Toshiro made a new friend who apparently was at the same time, someone whom he was engaged to. Karin wanted to break out upon learning of his engagement but held it in as she steadily listened to her friend's problem. Despite knowing very little and only seeing him at night a few times already, she considered him a dear friend. Tonight may prove just how much of a dear friend he was and perhaps also vice-versa.

"It sounds to me you like this girl. So what's the problem? It kinda works out for you, right?" Karin commented which Toshiro nodded in agreement but continued with his tale.

He mentioned to Karin that their relationship was peculiar as originally, they made use of the arrangement so they could be friends. It was a simple agreement that they both honored but after tonight, he knew something had changed. He changed or rather something within him changed and now he was curious on his fiancée's thoughts on the kiss. Then again, he was concerned as well.

"So…that kiss, how did it feel? For you, I mean…" Karin asked, her face was surprising tinted pink when she spoke. Toshiro unknowingly touched his lips and felt her presence still there. Karin made note of the gesture.

"It was surprisingly warm…" He started as he began to remember the event that took place a few hours ago. Her story, his story, their kiss, were played in his head. "We kissed twice…" He added as the scene continued to play out. When they departed from one another, their hand reluctantly disconnected as promises were made to see the other the next day. Nothing was said about the kiss they shared, twice, but he could tell she was just as anguish as he was. With nothing said, nothing was set. It was no wonder their minds were wandering to such an extent. Uncertainty, despite the vast possibility had it burdens. Nothing was set, so where did that leave them? The day to come would be the most memorable for Toshiro as he spoke the last thing he could say about that kiss. "Complete."

"Complete?" She asked, making sure she heard right. Toshiro nodded as he smiled. The tingles made no indication of leaving and he was most grateful for that.

"Yeah…complete."

Karin stared at Toshiro as she processed the information. If she could describe what Toshiro was feeling, she would use but one word. LOVE. She heard someone describing their kiss as 'complete' before hearing it from Toshiro's mouth. Did everyone who kissed felt the same? What it different for each one of them? Still, his response reminded her of her older brother, Ichigo, and his response. It was the last conversation she had with her brother before he left. Karin asked him why he bothered to deal with the hassle when pursuing Rukia. Her brother, at first, was not keen to leave Rukia with someone like Ichigo. Even so, that did not stop Ichigo and there were a few close calls but it somehow worked out. Was it worth it? She asked and he simply said 'yeah'. She took his word for it. He messed up her hair before he left, with the former bothering her the most as she saw him departing. With a promise to return after everything was set and done with Rukia's family, he disappeared from her sights. He should be home soon but they had yet to receive a letter from him.

"So you like her then…" She stated as she rested her arms behind her head.

"I guess I do…though you make it sound so simple." Again, he displayed a smile though somewhat cheeky. Perhaps Karin was rubbing off on him too much but she soon smiled with him. She removed her arms from behind her head and pushed Toshiro back a bit.

"Are you some kind of idiot? You making it sound like you're just realizing it now."

oooOOOooo

Karin finally arrived to her bed just before the sun could fully escape the earth. Fortunately for her, no one noticed her leaving so late in the night. Now lying down on her mattress, she recounted what happened after that serious talk. After they laughed and grinned, Karin challenged him to another competition. With the lake as the field, Karin challenged him in a rock skipping competition. The one who skipped their rocks the most would win. Karin started with her rock skipping three times before sinking in the water. Toshiro could only muster only two but they did this several times until they both agreed that the one who got their rock to leap 5 times first would win. This went on for close to two hours as they nearly exhausted all the small pebbles around them. Eventually, Toshiro managed to perform the condition first just as she did a moment later. Slightly frustrated, Karin still congratulated Toshiro.

It was funny when she did it because she nearly tripped from reaching her hand out. Exhaustion began to spread to her body as she tried to steady herself with Toshiro's help. He then insisted, despite Karin's initial response, to walk her home. They walked and before they realized it, they arrived at Karin's house.

After they said their farewell and he arrived in the forest again, he realized that they spent most of the time focusing on his problem. They never once talked about hers, which Toshiro noted. Next time, I'll be there to listen to your problem…Karin.

oooOOOooo

Yuzu woke up in the morning, as usual, to start the day with making breakfast. After she finished, she called Karin and her father but only her father came down the stairs. After shouting out once more and giving her sister a few minutes, she decided to check on her. Knocking on the door, she only heard some groans, most likely from her sister, before opening the door.

Her sister was sleeping as she normally would, but today, she was especially tired. Yuzu figured Karin simply stayed up late and now too tired to wake up. She returned to the kitchen to packed Karin's breakfast and told their father that she was leaving soon and to give Karin her meal when she got up.

After preparing herself and arriving at the door to leave, a knock surprised her as she opened the door.

What stood before her made her leaped. She exclaimed the name of the person standing by the doorway which caught her father's attention. The guy smiled at them both as he stepped to the side so that someone else could enter the house. Contrary with the guy, she was rather small with raven colored hair that did not reach past her shoulders. She wore a simple one piece dress while wearing a bright yellow hat. Her amethyst for eyes shined the room as she greeted them with her angelic tone.

"We're back! Sorry for taking so long."

"Ichi-nii and Rukia-neechan!"

In Karin's room, Karin made some incomprehensible sounds but what could easily be understood was her smile when she spoke the name that occupied her mind.

"Toshiro…"

-End of Chapter 14

To be continued…

I hope you enjoy this chapter, I have more coming quite soon. Please leave some feedback. They help in giving me motivation and insights when writing. Thank you. -sorrowXdarkness