Ichigo's POV

"I got something to do, so I'll meet you guys at home," I said when we were about to leave the graveyard.

"Is a secret rendezvous more important than your family?" Dad howled and attacked me. I dodged it and threw a fist at him in return.

"It's NOT a secret rendezvous!" I howled back. Before me and dad could begin to fight for real, Yuzu stepped in.

"Please, stop it! There's no way Ichi-nii would do that, since Rukia isn't here! ... Right?"

"Wait, hold on, there's nothing…" I protested, but then Karin stepped in.

"Let Ichi-nii do what he wants." She said and began dragging Dad and Yuzu with her, "Let's go home."

"But Karin-chan!" Yuzu whined, "What if Ichi-nii DOES have a secret rendezvous?"

"Yeah! Daddy can't let his son do something as shameful as that!" Dad whined as well.

"Just SHUT IT!" Karin shot back, "He can decide what to do HIMSELF! Geez, what am I supposed to do with you two?!" I gave a grateful smile to Karin's back. I turned to walk up the stairs, when Toshiro suddenly was in front of me.

"Hey Toshiro!" I greeted.

"It's Hitsugaya-taichou." he said absentmindedly, "Did you want to talk to me?" I nodded.

"Why are you here?" I asked him. He raised an eyebrow and asked a second later:

"Here at your mother's grave?"

"Yeah," I answered. He just looked at me for a moment, then sighed and said:

"I'm here, because Karin asked me to."

"KARIN did?!" I asked incredulously.

"Yeah," Toshiro simply said.

"Why?!"

"Because she, like you already know, was going to sing and wanted me to be there to support her."

"Eh?"

"Well, she didn't ask me directly for support, but she DID ask me to be here." I just stared at him.

"What?" Toshiro asked after a while.

"Karin asked you to be here? KARIN?" I asked, still not believing it.

"For the third time, yes, she invited me!" he answered irritated.

"HOW THE HELL DID YOU GET HER TO DO THAT?!"

"I didn't MAKE her do it. She came to me." I thought for a bit, then asked:

"What do you know about Karin?" he raised one of his eyebrows. After a little while, he asked:

"What?"

"What do you know about Karin?" I repeated. He blinked a few times.

"Well, she's stubborn," he said, "And very protective, especially towards her family and friends. She plays tough, but is actually a very caring person. She's hardworking and a good listener. She's like a female and smarter version of you, although she is surprisingly feminine at times. She smiles a lot too." he threw a glance at me. "What?" he snapped. I blinked. I hadn't realized I was staring at him.

"How long have you known her?" I asked. He raised an eyebrow and answered:

"A few years, although I haven't visited her that often."

"Another thing. She SMILES a lot?!" I said disbelieving.

"All the time, " he answered, "Why do you ask?"

"Karin doesn't smile that often."

"She doesn't?" I shook my head.

"Well, I believe you, since I KNOW you wouldn't lie, but still. Like you said, she's tough, so she doesn't open up to a lot of people."

"Didn't realize I was special." I chuckled a bit.

"I was honestly pretty surprised that she knew you. Both because you are really grumpy ("HEY!") and because she doesn't like ghosts." Toshiro raised an eyebrow again.

"It's true that she find common ghosts a bit irritating, but she cares a lot for those in danger of becoming hollows."

"HOW DO YOU… Forget it. Would you believe me, if I told you she didn't believe in ghosts a few years back?" I was beginning to think that eyebrow got a permanent place higher up than the other eyebrow.

"She must have been able to see them with her level of reiatsu!"

"She could see them, but as she would say, it doesn't matter if you see them or not, if you don't believe in them, it's like they aren't there."

"She must REALLY have disliked ghosts." I nodded.

"True." I turned to leave and said over my shoulder: "Take care of her, okay?" he nodded seriously.

"I will." I smiled and turned my head back. I knew he would take care of Karin, but it was still really irritating that he knew almost as much about Karin after a few years, as I did after knowing her for her whole life.

A/N Something I often miss in hitsukarin stories is how they act differently towards each other than towards other people. Both Toshiro and Karin hide a lot behind a façade, but (in my head at least) they let the façade down when they are with each other. Which is why I made this chapter. The next one will be a lot like this one, just with Matsumoto's point of view.

Thank you to Elaine-san for favoriting!

forever122: Yeah, I wonder too ;-) And there's NO WAY she wouldn't knock the captains away XD

Ourfavoritefangirl: THANK YOU SO MUCH! I hope I can live up to your expectations!

Black Dragon Valkyrie: That was my favorite part in that chapter :-D