IT'S CHAPTER 14 OF I'm a Soul Reaper, but I Love You
HURRRAAAAYY!!! Well, this fic now has more than 200 reviews!! WOW!! I'm so happy and thankful to all of you!! Thankies so very much!!
I have now carefully figured and planned the rest of this fic out, and it seems that this fanfiction will end at chapter 18. Hmm…
As for those of you that reviewed telling me that you also hated HitsuHina… GOOD ON YOU!! HitsuKarin is the best!! So everyone start writing more HitsuKarin fanfictions, okay???
Here's chapter 14!! Read and review!!
Chapter 14: Hitsugaya and his well-disguised Jealousy
Hitsugaya grumbled as he rested his head on a stack of paperwork wearily.
He frowned as he thought. It had been almost a week since Karin came and now that Renji, Kenpachi and the others knew about her being a human, things had certainly changed.
In fact, he no longer needed to have Karin beside him at all times because Renji had decided to train her and because Ikkaku, Yumichika and Yachiru got Karin to visit Eleventh Company all the time so that they could laugh at her stories about Ichigo being stupid.
He was scowling furiously as he slowly reared himself up to attack the paperwork.
Dammit, now Karin really had a life here in Soul Society, with so many friends! Hitsugaya was almost jealous when he thought of how she had come to Soul Society, probably to spend time with Hitsugaya, and now they hardly ever got a moment together!!
Hitsugaya threw down his brush in annoyance, not caring if the ink got all over his paperwork.
ARGH!! He was going insane here. What the heck am I feeling??
Karin getting along so well with everyone else… and now he was stuck in here doing paperwork… without her nearby…
Hitsugaya let out a four-letter expletive as he realized.
Bloody hell!! He was jealous!!
Karin was breathing hard as she advanced towards Renji with her zanpakuto gripped in her hands.
Renji was really fast. Karin had hardly been able to nick him at all. According to Renji, he had been training really hard so that the next time he fought Ichigo, he would be able to beat him up and have Ichigo on his knees begging for mercy.
"MWAHAHAHAHA!!" Renji laughed crazily as he pictured the scene in his mind.
Karin just frowned.
Even though Renji was a little strange, he was funny, and Karin knew she had to get a lot better at using her zanpakuto. That was the reason Hoshi Matsuri had appeared in the first place. Because she was sick and tired of having to be protected by someone else and she wanted to fight for herself.
That was why she really had to train hard.
Karin went at Renji again, baring her sword and coming down towards him. Renji hadn't even released Zabimaru into its shikai form, he was just using it in its simple sword form and parrying and blocking without any effort.
Karin's sword came down towards Renji and he held up his sword to deflect it. At that very instance, Karin whipped her sword off into a different direction and got him in the side.
Renji blinked. Then he smiled. "Wow. You actually got me."
Karin wiped away sweat from her forehead with her arm. She couldn't help grinning even though she was absolutely wiped out with exhaustion, bruises and cuts all over her.
Renji sighed a little as he placed his sword back into its sheath. "I guess that's enough for today. I've gotta get you back to Tenth Company before Hitsugaya chucks a spaz."
Karin followed Renji as they left the training area that Urahara and Yoruichi had created. They were heading back towards the Tenth Company building when Karin stopped.
Renji frowned. "What's up?"
Karin was staring at the gate of the Seireitei. She tried to remember what she had seen outside of that gate. It had been a decrepit looking village full of souls.
"…Renji, can you go on ahead? I'll get back later." she asked, not taking her eyes off the gate.
Renji looked confused but he was lenient. He put a hand on Karin's head and said, "Whatever. Don't do anything reckless."
Karin stuck out her tongue in annoyance as Renji left. What was with these overprotective older brother figures anyway?
When Renji was gone, Karin quickly looked around her to make sure no-one was looking. For some reason she really wanted to get out of the Seireitei and have a break from the soul reaper life she had gotten.
Soul reapers generally didn't leave the Seireitei, but since they were soul reapers, they could easily move around Soul Society. That was how Karin, in her borrowed shihakusho, managed to get out of the Seireitei.
What she saw outside was a district of West Rukongai. Karin also noticed a bunch of kids a little younger than her playing outside a sad-looking house. Then she saw what made her feel a little excited.
A SOCCER BALL!!
Man, when was the last time she had seen one of those?!? She could not stop staring at it! She wanted so much to rush up to it and boot it away to another galaxy and then chase after it and boot it away again!!
She stared at the soccer ball. That black and white ball was calling her!!
Karin… Hoshi Matsuri muttered feebly with a sweatdrop on her face.
Karin hurried over to the soccer-playing people. They looked at her, puzzled. It wasn't everyday you saw a soul reaper who was staring at a soccer ball with that much ferocity.
"C-can I play?" Karin asked breathlessly.
Matsumoto was sitting on the porch of Tenth Company, leaning back and enjoying the sunshine when she saw Renji walking past.
"Oi!! Renji!" she called out.
The Sixth Company Assistant Captain looked up. "Hey." he replied.
"How's Karin-chan going?" Matsumoto asked.
"She's good." Renji answered. "Training with her really fires me up and makes me want to fight Ichigo though."
Matsumoto laughed. "Karin-chan's a good kid."
Renji couldn't help a goofy looking grin. "She's like the little sister I always wanted!!" he cried.
Just then, the tenth company building door slid open and the Tenth Division Captain poked his snow-coloured-haired head outside.
Narrowing his eyes at Renji, he asked, "Where's Karin?"
Renji started looking a bit shifty. "Well…"
Hitsugaya bounded outside onto the porch with a thud. "Where is she??" he asked impatiently.
"Uhh… she said she'd come back later…" Renji said.
Hitsugaya was furious as he stormed off, sending Renji a death glare. For goodness' sake, Renji should've known better than to just let Karin wander off by herself!!
Hitsugaya was also feeling very embarassed as he was looking for Karin. What if she had gone to visit Eleventh Company again? He would just have been stressing for nothing!! And why did this have to stress him?? He wasn't jealous!! Of course not!!
Hitsugaya was busy denying all of these facts that were pouring into his head.
So he wasn't jealous! He was fine with sharing Karin with the other shinigami!!
Hitsugaya paused in his thoughts. Sharing Karin?? Since when…?? His entire face turned bright red. Karin most certainly didn't belong to him!! So why the heck was he thinking about this??
Obviously then, it would have to be because he was worried about her. Hitsugaya didn't want anyone else to know about her being human or hurt her. He most certainly didn't want her getting herself into some kind of trouble, and through experience he knew that she was still leaking spiritual energy all over the place.
But Hitsugaya couldn't fight the fact that he had been worrying about her non-stop. And he had definitely been jealous when she started spending time somewhere other than with him.
Hitsugaya let out a painful sigh. And he knew… that when he was thinking the way he always did… when he would have normally been thinking about her he was now thinking about Karin.
It was weird. And it annoyed him. Why was it that she was forever on his mind?
"One day, I'll make you smile like this, okay, Toushirou??"
The scene of Karin smiling brightly at him flashed through his mind. Hitsugaya was speechless. His eyes were widened and he slowly felt himself lose grip as his face turned even redder.
AAARRGHHHH!!! Hitsugaya screamed out in his mind. Shaking his head furiously, he tried to get rid of these alarming feelings and emotions. The captain rushed ahead and almost crashed into Ukitake.
Ukitake looked very surprised. He wasn't even usually outside the Thirteenth Company building but since Captain Unohana had told him vitamin D and fresh air was very good for his health, he had decided to go for a walk.
Fancy crashing into young Hitsugaya like this!!
"Have you seen Karin??" Hitsugaya asked urgently.
"Yeah…" Ukitake murmured. He pointed towards the gate. "I think she left the Seireitei."
Hitsugaya's face stretched so that it rivalled The Scream. It was a sight to behold.
"WWWHHHHAAAAAAAATT???"
Without letting Ukitake get the chance to question his frustration and his strange red face, Hitsugaya pushed past him and ran out to West Rukongai.
Karin took a couple of steps back, preparing for a huge kick. She focused hard on the black and white ball and narrowed her eyes. She went towards the ball, with her foot speeding towards it, and any second now the ball and her foot would connect and send the ball flying away to another universe…
And she…
"KARIN!!!"
She fell over.
The other people who Karin had been playing soccer with were startled. They all turned their heads towards the Seireitei, where a snowy-haired shinigami captain was yelling at Karin at the top of his lungs.
Karin groaned as she picked herself up from the ground.
"Oww…" she muttered, rubbing her head. She looked at Hitsugaya, who had quickly run down towards her.
"What the heck were you thinking??" Hitsugaya just about yelled at her. He looked absolutely furious. "Why would you leave the Seireitei? And you didn't tell anyone and you went by yourself??"
Karin opened her mouth to say something but said nothing. She just stared at the ground.
Hitsugaya's shoulders were heaving up and down with the effort. He glanced over at the soccer ball lying forlornly on the ground. Slowly, his gaze softened.
"You…" Hitsugaya started, but then was suddenly aware of the goggle-eyed kids standing around them.
"WOW!! It's a Soul Reaper Captain!!" One of the girls squealed.
"Yeah!! It's so rare to see Soul Reapers!!" Another child agreed whole-heartedly.
Hitsugaya sighed heavily. Ignoring the children's chatter, he grabbed Karin's arm and started to pull her away.
"I thought I told you not to run off by yourself," he said, annoyance in his voice.
They walked towards the Tenth Company headquarters. Karin hadn't said a word or even looked at him since in Rukongai.
Hitsugaya frowned at her but she didn't see, because she wouldn't look at him.
Finally, she spoke. "I'm sorry, Toushirou."
Hitsugaya was actually still very pissed and he didn't want to forgive her that easily, but hearing her quiet voice he quickly gave up.
"I suppose you haven't played soccer for a long time." he stated.
Karin nodded.
His gaze was serious as he continued. "Karin… Do you miss being home?"
Karin was surprised to hear him talk about her home back in the Living World. "…yeah." she replied.
Hitsugaya considered her answer. "But… do you like it here in Soul Society?"
Karin looked up and stared at him firmly. "Yeah."
Hitsugaya's eyes grew a little wider. "Why's that?"
Karin gave him a big grin. "Because you're here, Toushirou!!"
Hitsugaya almost choked. His face started heating up again. "No, seriously," he managed to say.
"Seriously!" she replied enthusiastically, amused to see Hitsugaya in panic. "But…" her eyes drifted off into the distance and her voice grew a little more thoughtful. "I think… I've made some friends here at Soul Society too… and I have a lot of fun with them. Like Matsumoto-san and Ikkaku and Yumichika. And Renji is really funny!" Karin said.
Hitsugaya had regained his self-control, and he looked at Karin with his normal serious gaze. "Yeah?"
Karin simply smiled. They neared the Tenth Division building and paused outside the door.
Karin looked out at the sky in the distance and said, "So even when it's time to go home, I'll really treasure these times at Soul Society…"
Hitsugaya felt the weird feeling build up in his chest again. It was still weird but no longer unfamiliar. It had been happening for a while now. When he looked at her and when he thought of her… just like the other day when he had seen her crying, it was the strongest that time. He had literally had his heart beating out of his chest. And now once again, the feeling was really strong…
Hitsugaya was so troubled. How was he meant to handle all this??
Karin had stopped feeling guilty and miserable about running off by herself again. She was back to being cheerful when she slid open the door.
"ICCHY'S SIS!!!"
A sandaled foot came crashing down onto her face. Karin went crashing down onto the porch.
Hitsugaya stared in horror and irritation. Yachiru was dancing around on top of Karin's head as poor Karin lay collapsed on the floor.
Hitsugaya peered into the building and started feeling that old annoying feeling again…
"Karin-chaaan!!" Matsumoto cried in her sing-song voice. "You're back!!" She noticed Hitsugaya standing behind Karin with an expression that could kill. "Oh, you too, Captain!"
"Yachiru!! I'm going to fight her, remember?? Don't jump her before I get the chance!!!" Kenpachi's deep growling voice was heard from deep inside the building.
"Oh Karin!!" Ikkaku was sounding very enthusiastic. "You're back! You didn't finish the story from last time!! What happened to Ichigo after he got beaten to a pulp by that Tatsuki girl??"
Hitsugaya felt like ripping his hair out in his aggravation.
WHY AM I SO JEALOUS???
Chapter 14 completed!! WOOHOO!! And guess what? Only 4 more chapters and this fic is over!! Whoa… well, I wanna say first of all, the last 4 chapters will be a lot more serious. And it will be the last mini-arc kinda thing in this story. Oh, and guess what?? Everyone look forward to chapter 16, 'cause Kenpachi's long-awaited battle with Karin will finally be here!!
Anyway, read and review!!