Chapter 25: Valentine's Day

-week before the fated day-

It was late in the night and Karin was still up in the kitchen doing a chemistry experiment. No, she wasn't but to Yuzu and Ichigo who watched her, it seemed very like that. The only thing that was missing from her was a white lab coat and goggles.

"Karin, what are you doing?" Yuzu asked with a small smile on her face. Oh, she knew what Karin was doing, but she still had the urge to tease her twin sister. She felt it was necessary for revenge.

There was a saying for everyone in the circle or family, friends, acquaintances, rivals and enemies and it was to be never broken. That saying was: Never mess with a Kurosaki. (notice the emphasis on the 'a') It was widely known, no it was known by all who knew and feared them. Besides Karin had made it very difficult for Hana to come near her since she loved to make fun of them when they were together, so this was only a natural effect. Still, she wanted to hear it from her own sister.

Not only that it was interesting to find her sister working so hard on chocolates for valentine's day. Karin was and is a tomboy. And that says something…Karin Kurosaki doing something to get ready for Valentine's had never seen her sister like this, even when she had her first crush on her art teacher she had never acted like this. She seemed soft…gentle. And Yuzu hadn't seen her like this since they had died.

Yuzu shook the past away and concentrated on her twin sister. She was her opposite yet, Karin was making chocolate. For whom ,could it be him?

She sighed and walked toward her sister, who was determined to make the chocolate a success. Karin had even prepared a box, wrapping and all the necessity for the coming day. There were several. More than she would actually give out, if she took out her family and Byakuya Kuchiki. There were extras, she had an idea but she tried not to over-think. "Karin, do you want help?"

"No." she looked up to faintly smile at her sister. "I want to do it myself. I think it would mean more if I hand make it."

"Will you be giving one to Yoruichi and Urahara?"

"Yep!", Yuzu yawned. She tried to muffle it to be considerate to her sister. Karin only smile and urged her to go to sleep."Yuzu, go sleep, I will be done in twenty minutes, if not there is tomorrow."

Yuzu gave Karin a small hug and walked into her room saying a little prayer for Karin's success.

-Valentine's Day-

Toshiro Hitsugaya looked out. It was early in the morning. It was Valentine's Day. More than that, he had a 'play date' with Karin and his son. Sometimes he wondered if his son was a better bachelor than him and he was only nine. He smiled.

Then as his thoughts lingered at his son, he remembered the brown eyed woman. He knew her so well, she knew him well but not only that she was back. She wanted things to go back where it was…but how? If she had been one year, just one year, earlier he had chosen to return everything to normal but it was different now, the torment was gone and it was now controlled by something else, something more. She didn't control his life anymore. He was free of that but now there was a different problem, a bigger problem more than his secret life.

-several months ago-

His eyes widened in surprise but then it was replaced by anger and disappointment. His voice was low and dangerous. "Why are you here?" he grabbed her arm and dragged her away from the crowd into the cover of the trees. "Momo, answer me, what are you doing here?"

"Toshiro…why are you asking me that? You are hurting me?" her voice was sweet. It was just as he remembered it but now he could sense the fakeness.

"I don't want to hear you talk nonsense! Just answer my question?" he spat out the words in anger.

"Toshiro…" her hand reached for his cheek. He flinched away but she ignored it and kept for his cheek until her fingers lightly caressed his cheeks.

He grabbed her arms away so that she couldn't touch him. "Don't touch me!" when he saw her expression, his stomach arched with sympathy. She seemed in pain. He let go and turned away from as he took a step back.

Momo let a sigh escape and spoke in a calm voice. "Toshiro. I'm back and youcan't do anything about it. I want to be in his life. You and I, together, we need to be in his life together. He deserves better than not having his mother besides him."

"…"

"Toshiro..." Her hand reached for his face. He flinched.

"Leave." With that he left, walking away from her. Never in his life he thought that he would show his back to that woman but he did. at this moment he was filled with so much resent and disgust. his heart wasn't aching just annoyed but he couldn't ignore the emptiness that that woman had dug in his heart. Despite his efforts to hide it, the woman had carved so much memories and pain. And it all started from the accident.

Karin stared at her laptop.

Mike stared at her.

She was acting weird. she wasn't taking any notes or even paying attention to the class. She was acting as if she was sleeping with her eyes open. Hopefully she wasn't but that's what it looked like. He cocked his head to the side as he carefully watched the professor lecturing the test. He didn't want to get in trouble with him so he was being sneaky. He leaned toward her. In a low whisper he called for her. "Karin, what are you thinking about?"

"huh?" Karin's thoughts were broken. She shook her head clean of thoughts and turned toward Mike. She too noticed the professors movements and actions so that she wouldn't get in trouble. "What?" She had only heard her name.

"What's wrong?" he questioned her seriously in a heavy and worried tone. "Is that incident still bothering you?"He had found about her past. Not all of it but some. He had researched and found out some truth to her life but also she herself had told him. She had told him of the pain and darkness surrounding her.

"No..." she turned to face the professor who was still talking about the purpose of windows.

Mike adjusted away from her but he doubted that it wasn't about the accident with the motorcycle.

-A few weeks after the incident-

He grabbed at her hand before she could run away. She was quick but so was he. Then he thought about it she was too quick for a student that was trained in all kinds of martial arts.

Karin turned around to face him. His grip on her wrist was strong and she knew it wasn't going to get any weaker. She looked into his deep brown, green eyes. she took a step forward until they were close enough. Close enough so that he would be able to hear her whisper.

The park was abandoned plus it was midnight. The moon was full and the trees gave shade even in the dim light of the moon. He looked up at her face never leaving his gaze from her face. Her face was full of pain and sorrow. Mike could tell that what ever it was, it was eating her alive, slowly and steadily. And worse of all, it was self inflicted.

"It was raining. It was dark, I was young like when I was..it was nine years ago. There was blood. They died because of me. There was a motorcyle." Karin's head was down and her body went limp as she slid down to the grassy ground. Mike only listened to Karin silently as he watche her tears falll off her pale face. She was trembling. And her voice hoarse from talking while crying. "They died. Mike, they died because of me..."

He hid his face behind his intertwined hand and rested his eyes on the professor. His thoughts weren't on the teacher though. It was worried about something else. He was thinking about something else.

He took care of the man on the motorcycle a day after the incident but it wasn't that. Aizen still had not explained the reason to why he had to observe Karin. Though he should not have, he had told Aizen half-assed truth. He wasn't planning to spill everything yet. He had gotten involved, too much. Well it was too late to go back.

Momo was understandable. She was a bitch. An annoying one at that too...

She had arrived late January. The airport system had alerted him of her arrival as soon as she had boarded the plane. She had arrived smiling while he had to work once again because of her. Aizen had finally told him of what he wanted from him. It was annoying but he had to do it, it was his last job with Aizen. All he had to do was bring her back to him. Though he said it wasn't time for that to happen. Honestly all Mike wanted to do was to get away from the annoying girl and the manipulative bastard.

No, Aizen wanted him to watch her for now. He wanted to know what she would do.

Now the second thing that was bothering him was the man who was with Momo. He had snow white hair and if he remembered correctly he had seen him with Karin. This man smelled like trouble and Mike lived and breathed trouble. His eyes were also cold as if he was from a place far away from this place. This place where the 'normal' people lived. He was something else, something more than anyone could with this white haired man was mysterious and threatening. He was cold. He was something much more.

He tried to ignore what he was thinking about. It wasn't like him to get worked up by a mid-thirty years old man. He wasn't the type to be threatened by some businessman. He had gone through too much shit to be bothered by the useless man.

As the class was dismissed and he heard Karin shuffle her stuff into her bag and stop to look back at him. He heard her speak in her normal haughty voice. "Hey, aren't you going to go?"

"huh?"

Now it was Mike who was acting peculiar. How ironic? The world is very crude and crooked.

Karin sighed then tossed something toward Mike. It landed in front of him on top of the table. He stared at it. He looked up at Karin. He was definitely confused.

She rolled her eyes. "Happy Valentine's Day. From a friend, I know I'm so nice! Praise me!"

"No." he gave her a crooked smile. "You probably poisoned it or it tastes so bad that it could kill me."

She slapped him in the head. "No! My brother even had some! And it's not poisoned!" She crossed her arms across her chest. "And here I thought you would appreciate my hard work." She was not angry but a little disapointed.

He laughed and opened the package happily. It was chocolate. Taking one he plopped it into his mouth and began to taste it. It wa sweet but had a tint of bitterness in it.

Karin was nervous. She looked at him with earnest eyes. "How is it?" Then he started making chocking noises. "Hey, Mike, be serious!"Karin waited until his laughter died out. "Well?"

"It's suprisingly good, not burnt but sweet. Is still tastes like chocolate..." Karin glared at him causing Mike to burst out in a haughty laugh as he got out of his seat. Walking around the table he got to Karin. "Thanks karin, if it wasn't for me, you wouldn't have anyone to give it to, huh?"

"Hey!" Mike ran away from Karin, who was right behind him, chasing him.

Mike laughed his worries and thoughts away. He felt right with Karin and it was really comfortable for him to be 'normal'. Besides, to boot, he got chocolate from Karin on Valentine's Day. That must mean something.

Right?

Himori Hitsugaya paced around the living room, waiting for his father to get down. He was taking a long time and this nine year old boy was in a hurry. "DAD! Hurry up!" he pouted his lips together for a few seconds. When he didn't hear his father's reply he opened his mouth to shout once more. "We are going to be late!"

Upstairs, Toshiro Hitsugaya took the brown leather jacket of the hanger and threw it across to the chair next to where his wallet and keys were located at. Looking at the mirror one last time he check his hair and his overall appearance. Taking his cologne he sprayed it once then headed toward the stairs after grabbing all the things he needed for today's date.

It was important. Pretty much the day itself was important but adding an actual date, even if it is with a nine year old third wheel, it still was a date. he hadn't seen her in around a week. Both she and he had been busy with work or school. Thinking about it he didn't have much time at all since the day when he makes his debut once more to the Association was coming closer as well. It would be in March, the first Saturday. He sighed but his face brightened when he saw his son gleaming with pride and joy.

"Himori let's go." Taking Himori's small hand he walked out the door.

Karin took a deep breath before she could open the door to meet the two white haired people waiting for her outside the restaurant. she was nervous, more so than the first time she had a date with them.

What is wrong with me? I am the freaking BBF in an association where you deal with assassins and such...argh. Calm down.

She imagined herself being in a garden with her favorite flower, the Rose of Sharon. Forcing herself, she stepped out of the car to greet Himori and his...father.

His damn father, who in fact had to be so dead-grorgeous with his white hair and mesmerizing turquoise eyes. It was sometimes annoying.

I mean seriously did he really have to be that hot?

She was walking toward them. His heart sped faster as the distance between them lessened.

Damn she was beautiful. He couldn't keep eyes off her. The way she walked was as if she was calling him, beckoning him to come closer to her. She was telling her to touch her, to feel her beneath his skin. He held his breath in. Despite being it cliche, he had to admit she was breath taking.

Toshiro Hitsugaya only gaped at her throughout dinner. Though responding and laughing along with his son and Karin, he wasn't quite with them. He was too in thought about Karin but there were other matters. Even in the midst of all his worries that were piling up he was still mostly concerned about Karin.

He realized that he had considerably missed her. He did not realize his reaching his hand and the yearning beneath his skin, itching for the chance to devour her again. As his cool skin touched her slightly warm palm, karin looked up in surprise. Toshiro broke out of his 'trance' and tried to give some excuse. "I-I thought I was dreaming for a second..." he sighed, "That must sound like a pity excuse to you."

"No...my sister does that sometimes, so it isn't that bad of an excuse. Sometimes I loose my thoughts and I don't know why I was there...!" She was laughing. His embarassment was gone as soon as her laughter filled his ears. It was sweet and heart-warming. he felt as if he could fly.

There were butterflies in his stomach. Even as the dinner ended and he had the butterflies bothering him. They had parted ways with a kiss, it was not to deep but not a short dab. It had a lingering moment, though it was brief, it was there. As he drove to his house he checked the time it was 9 pm, the time had passed much faster than he had expected. Toshiro quickly looked back to check on Himori, he was asleep.

Then his eyes had seen a glimpse of a silver box. Focusing on the box without being taking his eyes off the empty streets, he remembered what the box contained. It was something that he had bought for Karin because of Valentine's Day and he had forgot it in the car.

"Damn..." Toshiro muttered it very softly so that Himori wouldn't hear it. "Are you stupid? How could you forget?"

He needed to think of something quick or the whole point of this special day was for naught.

Karin was in her room digging through her bag. Her hand slipped pass by something pointy and smooth. Digging the object of her bag, she looked at it for a minute debating what was in the box. Her head went from side to side guessing and eliminating wrong and right answers until she realized that it was the box of chocolate that she made to give Toshiro Hitsugaya.

Damn...

Grabbing a sweater and sweats she ran out. As she came close to a magnificent tree she slowed down into a jog then into a complete stop next to a muss of white hair. Toshiro Hitsugaya turned around to face Karin with a small smile. He looked relaxed, as if he was waiting and he knew. Karin raised her hand to Toshiro's face, in her hand was a small, neatly wrapped box. He took it silently and held it in one of his hand. Toshiro raised his hand to motion her closer and waited for Karin to slowly walk toward him. After placing the box into his pockets, he pulled her toward him.

Karin felt a slight weight on her neck, looking down she saw a beautiful necklace with a dragon on it. It was blue and and had crimson eyes. The dragon was small, it looked like a normal necklace but it wasn't. Karin raised her head to meet Toshiro's teal eyes. He had a sad but hopeful smile.

Shit...

A flash of pain hit Mike's heart as he stared at Karin. She was with him. This wasn't good. No it was going to be one hell of a roller coaster. He turned around and walked away from the two. He was trouble but it wasn't only the white haired man but also him. His existence was trouble for Karin.

Toshiro Hitsugaya, the only son of the deceased captain of 10th group and the CEO of Hyourinmaru Designs Co., the man who stands in everyone's way and also the reason of Momo's return.

You are trouble for all of us, Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya. Cheh, he got something from Karin too.

So this was Valentine's Day...THIS was one of the chapters that are worse than fillers...
i really hated this chapter except for the fact that we know a little more about Karin's painful past, hopefully it wasn't too bad for the readers. NEXT chapter though is different, the AAM part 1 (it is divided into 3 parts or more, hopefully just three), since I have finished writing it, it should b posted soon after proofreading it. If this is not posted by this friday or saturday, it is because I have posted A SPY'S LOVE AFFAIR, which is the M HITSUKARIN. Please read that one too!

Below is the two preview first will be the AAM Part 1

Annual Association Meeting Part 1 preview

He gripped the gun next to him as he looked at the clothes that laid before him. that didn't matter at this moment though. Something else was on his mind. Something more than the AAM or the Association...

He turned around and gaped at the scene.

The door opened slowly and they heard the clattering stop and all eyes turned toward them. One girl hid behind another girl and peered from her shoulder looking at the crowd while holding unto a weak-looking man's hand. Another had a scowl but was soon replaced by a loving smile at the petite girl next to him. Then from the behind a stoic man with a…no, everything about him was noble but the couple at the very front was worse, they were sparkling, sparkling! Who sparkles?

It was going to be a long night.

A Spy's Love Affair: this is a one shot but I love the idea of a spy story!, it is M and HITSUKARIN!

"Why did I choose this job?" he groaned. "Oh, that's right. It chose me…" after a few seconds of analyzing his situation, he looked up waiting for the opponent's next move. The bullets were dying out, getting less frequent. He shook his white hair lightly with his hands and then wiped the moisture on his face. He stood up from his crouched position and pressed once more to call his partner.

"No…"

"Toshiro."

"No"

"But"

"I said NO!" he growled. Picking her up, he briskly dropped her on the bed and trapped her with his body. He held her hands over her head as they had a stare off. "Karin"

I hope to see you soon!