Toshiro sat on the porch at granny's house with Momo. She looked much younger than he remembered. She smiled at him and talked away while his thoughts took him elsewhere.
I can't believe she's leaving in a few days...I'm going to miss her so much.
He knew, however, that he would never tell her that directly. Instead, his usual pride would get in the way and he'd tell her to get lost as fast as possible and that he'd be happier without her. In truth, she was like a sister to him. And now she was leaving the home they shared together to go to the Shino Academy.
He looked at her babbling, smiling face and he let himself grin just ever so slightly.
"Shiro? SHIRO?"
"Huh?" he came to. Momo was trying to get his attention as he had let his mind wander.
"What is that on your mouth?" Momo asked.
"What?" was his automatic reply. His hand immediately found its way towards his face to feel what Momo could be talking about. But there was nothing there. A strange feeling then overtook him and he started to emerge from his dream.
The next thing he knew, the room was dark and something…or someone…was on top of him.
"You're awake," said Karin who was sitting up, but still straddled her boyfriend around his hips.
"Karin?" Toshiro muttered still just barely awake.
Karin leaned over again and brushed his lips against hers seductively. She paused ever so slightly before going in again, this time deeper and longer, for a more passionate kiss.
Instinctively, Toshiro went along with Karin. After all, what guy hasn't dreamt of waking up to find a beautiful woman kissing him?
Toshiro ended up wrapping his arms around Karin, pulling her down until she was flush on his body. The physiological response was nearly automatic. Karin could feel Toshiro's hardness growing against her.
Their tongues circled one another, each taking turns exploring the other person's mouth. Karin could feel him pulling her more tightly against him, a sign that he was open to continuing and that he was becoming more excited as the seconds ticked away.
Karin's thoughts were almost entirely about one thing only. This feels great. I hope he is enjoying it as much as I am. I think I can actually go through with this.
Toshiro, who had just been woken up, had similar thoughts at first…but then his true mind kicked in. She is so gorgeous. Could this be the night? I wonder why she came to me tonight. After all, she wanted to spend the evening with Yuzu. If she wanted this tonight, why did she leave me to begin with? Wait, what is that I taste? Is this wrong?
All of a sudden, Toshiro broke the kiss and sat up. Karin naturally fell back from him as a result of the slight push. The intimacy and mood were now essentially broken.
"Toshiro, what's wrong?" Karin questioned.
"What exactly is going on" he asked.
"What do you mean? Isn't it kind of obvious?" she retorted.
"Yes…I mean, no. Karin, why are you here all of a sudden. Weren't you with Yuzu tonight?"
"I was. But now I'm with you," she answered.
"Karin, you can't just come in here like this and attack me and expect that I'm just going to…," Toshiro started.
"What? I thought that's what you wanted," said Karin, getting a little upset.
"I do want it, but it's just the way that this is happening. Something doesn't seem right. Were you drinking tonight?" Toshiro asked.
"So what if I was," she answered.
"Karin….you don't drink. Well, unless it is a habit you picked up in your first trimester at college," said Toshiro.
Toshiro paused and Karin didn't say anything for a few seconds.
"Karin, you've been acting strangely since I arrived earlier today," said Toshiro. "I understand you haven't seen Yuzu in a few months either, but at least you could talk to her on the phone or via e-mail or whatever. I haven't talked to you at all. I was just surprised that you left me earlier with hardly any warning. Then the next thing I know you are in my dark room on top of me tasting of alcohol."
Karin looked into Toshiro's eyes.
"I-I'm sorry," she finally said dropping her head. Toshiro could see a few tears starting to form. His comments had come out very sternly. "I wanted to surprise you tonight. But I'm so scared, Toshiro. I thought that by drinking a little that it would make it easier for me. Yuzu always drank with her friends, even in high school. She told me that by drinking, most of my cares and inhibitions would go away."
Toshiro leaned in and kissed Karin. "Thank you. I can see now why you did what you did. The truth of the matter is, Karin, that I do want you…but not like this. I don't ever want you to do something you aren't ready for….and if you can't go through with it without getting tipsy, then that speaks for itself. I don't want you to be someone you are not. Remember back when you were dressing up all the time because you wanted to impress me? Well, I love Karin just the way she is. I don't want you to be drunk. Besides, I want you to remember the time you spend with me. And if we do have sex, I want you to remember it. I want both of us to remember what we were feeling as we joined for the first time….I want to remember everything."
"I-I understand," said Karin. A few tears had fallen down her face. She was still a little out of it, but this little discussion with Toshiro had sobered her up quite a bit. She was sorry that she ever thought of this plan. Karin never meant to disappoint him and she felt that she had.
"C'mere," he said as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her down next to him. He held her closely, kissing her forehead as they both lay there in each other's arms. Not another word was said. They simply drifted to sleep.
OlOlOlOlOlOlO
Toshiro woke up alone in bed. For a split second, he wondered where Karin might have gone, but then he figured that she probably didn't want to raise any suspicions by being found in his room in the morning.
...
Karin woke up in Toshiro's bed at the crack of dawn with a splitting headache. She trudged up to her own room and crawled onto her bed where she fell asleep again. The next thing she knew, she heard a rustling coming from the other side of the room.
Karin groaned.
Yuzu, who was rummaging through her drawers trying to find a specific top to wear, turned and saw that her sister was now awake.
"Good morning," she greeted Karin with a smile.
"How can you be so cheery?" asked Karin. She found her pillow and buried her head in it to block out as much light as possible.
"Aren't you feeling well?" asked Yuzu. "Ohhh, I must not have told you. You need to drink a lot of water when you drink alcohol. It's helps with the hangover."
"Thanks, Yuzu. Seriously, I mean it," replied Karin sarcastically.
"Sorry, sis. I usually don't hang out with people aren't well-versed in the art of drinking alcohol. Well, now you know. Drink lots of water. Oh, and I'll go get you two pain pills as well. That'll help," said Yuzu.
"Thanks," replied Karin.
OlOlOlOlOlO
Karin emerged from her room and went downstairs late in the morning.
"It's about time," said Ichigo.
Karin merely closed her eyes and put up her hand as a signal not to be so loud.
"And what's wrong with you?" Ichigo asked. Toshiro already had a pretty good idea, but didn't want there to be any thought of how he would know about her condition already.
"Leave her alone, Ichigo," said Yuzu. "She's not feeling well."
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you have a hangover!" said Ichigo playfully.
"Please….," started Karin.
"How is my family on this beautiful, sunny day!" said Isshin loudly as he bounced into the room, lab coat on and all.
Karin moaned.
"What?" said Isshin.
"Karin's not feeling well," said Yuzu.
"My daughter is sick? Let me take your temperature!" Isshin was now concerned.
"No Dad, she just indulged a little too much last night," said Ichigo.
"Indulged?" repeated Isshin. "Ah, you went drinking?" He sounded like he might have been a tad bit upset.
"Aw, Dad, don't get too mad. I know she's not 20 yet, but we all…," started Ichigo.
"Upset? Hell, she's finally growing up!" said Isshin. "Doing stuff like this is just part of a normal teenager's life!"
Isshin grabbed a juice from the refrigerator and headed back to the clinic.
"Hey, I gotta get going, too," said Ichigo. "See you guys later." With that he was out the door.
Toshiro turned on the TV. Yuzu sat down in one of the chairs and Karin lay down with her head on Toshiro's lap. Some stupid show was on, but Karin was just concentrating on the pain in her head and how it seemed to throb in a certain pattern.
Toshiro felt bad to see her in such a state and he began to rub Karin's temples and neck while she lay there. When the program they were watching finished, Karin sat up. She looked around as if surprised.
"Better?" Toshiro asked.
"Much," she replied. "I don't know if it was the medicine or the massage, but the pain is almost gone."
"Glad to hear it," said Toshiro. "So what are our plans for today?"
"How about we go out for lunch? I also have to stop by Urahara's shop to get more repellent and charms," said Karin.
"Oh, are you almost out?" Toshiro asked.
"I've got some left, but like you said before, never wait until it's too late and the hollows start coming around, right?" Karin answered.
"Right," said Toshiro, agreeing with her. "I need a new pair of jeans, so can we stop by that store you like while we're out?"
"Sure," answered Karin. "I need to go get my wallet, I'll be right back."
Karin ran upstairs and found Yuzu on her cell phone with one of her friends.
"Yuzu, Toshiro and I will be out this afternoon. Tell Dad and Ichigo we'll be back at dinnertime."
Yuzu nodded that she had heard her sister and Karin left the room.
OlOlOlOlOlOlO
The pair decided to head to a family restaurant that they had dined in before. It was the furthest destination for them that day, so they would start with lunch and then hit on each of their other stops on the way back home.
It took a good 20 minutes to get to the restaurant. The most direct route was to take the path near the river.
"Karin, isn't that Ichigo?" asked Toshiro as they neared two figures standing near the water.
"Where? Oh...hmmm, I think so. There are very few people with his hair color here so it's probably him," she replied. "But who is that with him?"
"I can't tell," said Toshiro at first, but as they neared, he revised his opinion. "Actually, I think that's Rukia."
"Rukia Kuchiki? I didn't even know she was in town," said Karin. "I wonder what she's doing here."
"I don't know. I'm not on a mission so I haven't been told of any official visits here by Shinigami," said Toshiro.
The pair kept getting closer to Ichigo and Rukia. As they were just about to pass their location, they saw Ichigo grab one of Rukia's hands and start walking in the opposite direction hand-in-hand. Ichigo and Rukia didn't greet them and Toshiro just figured they didn't see them.
"Did you see that?" Karin asked after they were past the couple.
"Hm, what?" answered Toshiro.
"They were holding hands," said Karin.
Good job, Kuchiki, thought Toshiro. "Anything wrong with that?" he asked.
"Uh...no, I guess not. I didn't think Ichi-nii and Rukia were a couple though," said Karin.
"She's does like him though," said Toshiro.
"How do you know?" asked Karin.
"She's asked me for advice on making Shinigami-human relationships work before," revealed Toshiro.
"Seriously?" said Karin, looking up at Toshiro.
He just looked back at her and smiled. She knew it was true.
I thought it might happen...
After lunch and buying a new pair of jeans for Toshiro's gigai, Toshiro and Karin headed over to Kisuke's shop to get Karin more repellent and charms for keeping spirits and hollows away.
"Mr. Urahara?" Karin shouted as soon as she slid open his front door.
"Hi Karin," said Rukia, standing in the middle of one of the aisles.
"Rukia, I didn't know you were in the world of the living," noted Karin, not exposing the fact that she had already seen her a few hours ago near the river.
"There was a strange new hollow that squad 12 wanted some data on," she replied. "I was assigned to get the data, kill the hollow and I'll be headed back tonight. Ichigo came to find out what was going on and er...we're going to dinner tonight."
"Karin, it's been a while," said Kisuke when he entered the room disrupting Rukia's explanation.
"It sure has," said Karin.
"How is university?" Kisuke asked.
"It's going well," she replied. "But a trimester away can sure deplete the hollow repellent."
Kisuke knew exactly what she had come for. "I have a new longer-lasting charm I want to show you. I haven't finished test it yet, so it is back in my office. Care to see it?" he asked.
"Sure," she replied, following him out of the room with the candy.
"Where's Ichigo?" Toshiro asked after Karin had left.
"He went into the basement for a few minutes," said Rukia. "He told me he left something there the last time he was here training."
Toshiro concluded that he then had time to talk with Rukia without being interrupted by the subject of his discussion.
"I'm assuming you had your talk with Ichigo?" asked Toshiro.
"Yes," said Rukia meekly. "It has worked out for the best and now we are officially dating."
"Good for you guys. We did pass you two earlier near the river. We were on the high path and you two were down near the water. Karin saw you two holding hands and was wondering what was going on," said Toshiro. "I had to tell her about me giving you advice earlier."
"I wouldn't have expected you'd keep that a secret from your girlfriend," said Rukia, understanding that couples usually shared most everything between them. "Thank you for that advice by the way. It turned out we were both feeling the same insecurities. We cleared the air between us and decided to give it a try."
"I'm glad to hear it," answered Toshiro. "It won't be easy, but I predict you will both be happier. At least if you two are anything like Karin and I."