From now on, I shall try to update every week, regularly. I'm sorry this is taking so long but, lately, the creative juices have flowing TOO quickly. I'm getting more and more ideas for different fanfics (and most of them are HitsuKarin) and I have the sudden urge to write those instead of continuing with the ones that I'm already working on. At the moment, I have ideas for about four Hitsukarin stories (excluding Shinderrera and Beloved) and about four other HitsugayaOC ones. Damn...I almost feel sorry for myself. I wish I had, like, ten brains and fifty pairs of hands and a hundred laptops but that ain't gonna happen :( Oh well, I hope you like this update!
The nation was awash with news from the frontline every day. Everybody was happy. Karin couldn't stand it. How could they be happy? Their soldiers were out there, killing and being killed. Did these people not have hearts? Their King was amid it all.
They felt pride at that. It bothered Karin to no end. When someone asked her cheerily what she thought on the whole war thing, she had to put all her effort into not killing that person with her bare hands. She hated this. She couldn't stand it. She wanted Hitsugaya home, beside her, telling her the unwanted titbits of information that came with ruling a country. It was driving her insane. And she had to wait quite a while before she heard from him again.
A few months passed by before she got her first letter from the King. Orihime was tending to her at breakfast and Karin had, like every single day as of the last three months, been staring unseeingly into her bowl as she ate.
"Ano, Karin-san," Orihime began cheerily, "there's been a lot of mail from the frontline today. Apparently, it's been very quiet in some parts recently. Uryu-kun wrote to me yesterday." She smiled widely.
Karin frowned up at the maid. "Uryu? I didn't know he was in the military. I thought he was a doctor like Ichi-Nii?" Uryu Ishida was Orihime's husband of two and a half years. He was the son of Ryuken Ishida, who had been Karin's father's rival. Ryuken was getting old so he'd relinquished the ownership of his hospital to his son while Ichigo had taken over his father's Clinic. The two sons, though always competitive in nature and sworn rivals like their fathers, did manage to get along well if the occasion called for it.
Orihime smiled a little sadly. "Apparently, before Otou-sama," she said, referring to her father-in-law, "opened the hospital, he used to be in the military. He was a soldier but also a medic and then he gave up on the army and started his own business. As your father had Kurosaki-san train in combat from a young age, Uryu-san's father had him train like a soldier too so he volunteered." The smile slipped off and, for just a second, she lost her composure and her features screwed up in an expression of sorrow. But then she pulled herself together again and smiled shakily. "Apparently, some mail has come for you."
"Mail?" Karin started slowly, not wanting to jump to conclusions. "From whom?"
"Hitsugaya-sama..." Orihime had scarcely finished speaking before Karin bolted from the room. The maid sighed wearily.
Karin was so worried about the king. Of course, she had every reason to be but all she did was sit in the drawing room and stare out of the window each day. If it was raining, she went outside and took a walk in the gardens. The dim, overcast days really matched her mood.
When she'd managed to get a hold of her letter, Karin opened it with shaky fingers. She gave herself a paper cut in her haste but she didn't care.
My dearest Queen,
I suppose I should say something about the state of things but I know how it bores you so I shan't mention it.
She smiled at that. She didn't particularly enjoy it when he went off into lectures about how the state was doing.
What can I say? I know it's been a while but war does not allow one to sit around idle. We've been very busy so I had little time to myself but I never stop thinking of you.
The food here is terrible, the living conditions are despicable, and the entertainment is atrocious. By entertainment, I mean lifting up a gun and shooting across no-man's-land to the bobbing heads that we can see through the wire fences. Oops, I mentioned the state of the war. I sincerely apologise.
I hope you are in the best of health and you are looking after Okaa-sama. I miss you terribly. It is torture without you by my side. Every morning, I reach my arms out to pull you against me but my hands merely pass through empty space. You do not know how heartbreaking that is for me. If I
could somehow utilise all my desperation and loneliness without you, I am fairly sure I could win the war in ten seconds flat and without a glitch.
She laughed aloud at that, but it was such a desolate sound that she stopped immediately. It wasn't even funny.
By the way, did anything become of our "night of producing an heir"? Well, you know, things might not turn out the way we want them to so we have to be prepared.
You don't have to reply. I am not entirely sure when we shall all be free next. We advance on through the trenches. I've chosen to move things along a little.
You know I said the entertainment is atrocious? Urahara's annoying as always and I wish ever so much to rip his guts out and feed them to the Arrancar but he's our best strategist. But it doesn't stop him being the pinnacle of all things horrendous and irksome, though. I wish I could kill him. His sense of humour is worse than mine. His idea of a joke is to cut up a rat into tiny little pieces and stick it in my boots.
That reminds me, have you ever tasted rat? We were getting rather low on meat and there are plenty of those vermin running around in the dugouts so we skinned one and put it to roast. It wasn't too bad, in actuality; tastes rather like chicken.
Karin's lip curled back in disgust. Eating rat?! She thought, disgruntled. See if I ever kiss that bugger again.
And now, my sweet, I shall have to say goodbye for some time. Please do not be too upset on my account. We're akin to family here and, truth be told, I do not mind it all that much. The company of the guys makes it a little more bearable. Please do not worry about me. I'm a big boy, you know, some even call me the ruler of a nation. Isn't that just amazing?
Yours for all eternity,
Toushirou Hitsugaya
PS I love you. And please don't do anything rash while I'm not there. I'll find out, you know. Being a king really has its advantages.
She reread it many times. His attitude on paper was far different that when someone met him face-to-face. It was one of the many things about him that Karin couldn't help marvelling at. In nature, he was reclusive but his written word revealed a far more...subtle side. This side wasn't often exhibited, though. If he tried, he could be poetic, he could be romantic. But that just came out when he revealed that far too elegant script of his. In comparison to his neat handwriting, Karin's writing was far too horrible and scruffy.
She looked over the letter again and paused to frown at the last line. What did he mean, "don't do anything rash"? She wasn't a child! Did he mean to imply that she couldn't look after herself? Asshole, she thought sourly. But her scowl softened when she reread the letter again and remembered just how long it'd been since she last saw him.
I love you too, Shirou-kun, she thought sadly. Please survive and come back to me.
She longed so much to hear his voice, to feel his arms about her, his hand in hers, the feel of his lips, hear him muttering something ludicrous as he dreamt, to see the peaceful expression on his face as he slept, his chest gently rising and falling. She missed the way he made her feel; like she really was a queen. Well, she was a queen but he made it seem so much more than just a title. She was his queen. If she ever asked him to bow down to her (in all seriousness), then he would do it without question. If she wanted something...anything...he'd go and get it for her and he'd do it with his own hands instead of having a servant fetch it. He was the only person who made her feel special in such a way. He was special. He was hers. He was her everything.
I miss you so much.
She went up to her room and got out some paper and ink and began to write a reply, using the address that he'd wrote at the bottom of his message.
Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!
"Cover! COVER! TAKE COVER!"
The shouts for the men to take cover were drowned out by the stuttering of the machine guns.
Chaos reigned. Men were running about the trenches, shouting orders to lesser officers at the top of their lungs. Some got shot and screeched in pain before falling back to the floor of the trench, where they writhed and clutched at their cheeks, eyes, ears, noses...And then they screamed out again as terrified soldiers ran over them, their boots thudding down unseeingly on the fallen officers. It was absolute anarchy.
And then a bomb sailed down.
BOOM!
The officers ducked out of the way but not all of them made it. The screams that arose after that were not only coming from those severely hurt but also those who got trapped beneath comrades whose bodies were half blown off and blood was gushing out of them. One man was having violent spasms as he tried to remove his friend's disembodied eyeball from where it had landed on his neck.
Men saw lifelong friends get torn to bits and their blood mixed in with the mud of the trench floor, turning it an odd earthy-red. Some men were vomiting violently, sounding as if they were trying up cough up their very guts.
Everywhere, there was not a speck of order at all.
And then there was silence. Presumably, the orders from the other side to launch attacks had ceased.
The soldiers all held their breath, afraid that the pause was deliberate and set to fool them. They waited perhaps ten minutes before they lowered their guns. The luckier officers crept out from behind upturned mounds of dirt from the trench floor and stared solemnly at the mess. Some were trembling while others, trying to be professional and organised, started to clear up the mess. But nobody was fooled. They were all scared stiff. This was war.
"Ah, Hitsugaya-sama!" Urahara said jovially.
Hitsugaya turned to stare at the man as he bounced happily down the stairs and into the dugout. He looked suspiciously happy. "What is it?" Hitsugaya grunted.
"The majors have invited you down to HQ for dinner tonight!" Urahara beamed.
Hitsugaya snorted. "I'd rather die before I socialise with those fatties."
"You know, all the soldiers hate the majors but you're the King so do try to look like you're interested." The blond man sighed deeply.
"And for what? So that they can convince me to stay well away from the frontline too, like them, and stuff my face full of chicken and...and other fatty foods while there're soldiers dying out in the battlefields?!" The king spat. The majors all disgusted him. How could they call themselves soldiers when all they did was complain about how their cosy hot chocolates had flies in them when young men from their country were out there getting their own blood spilt for the sake of peace? It infuriated him to no end. That was why he tried to go down to HQ as seldom as possible. He hated it there. The last time he'd gone, the major and his second-in-command had actually been discussing a local magazine that they had subscribed to.
"Ok, I guess I'll be going in your stead once more?" Urahara sighed again.
"Do whatever the hell you want." Hitsugaya replied blankly.
"You know, I swear your liking for me has really gone down ever since the war started." The older of the two mused. He chuckled as he stepped quickly to the right, avoiding a small dagger that planted itself into the wooden frame of the dugout. "Temper, temper, your Highness," he tutted.
"Shut up." Hitsugaya growled.
"You know, the men are still talkin about how admirable you are for fighting among the common soldiers."
Hitsugaya scoffed. "Where else am I supposed to fight, among the majors of this battalion?" He snorted with a mirthless laugh.
"Psychotic..." Urahara muttered as he climbed back up the stairs.
"WHAT WAS THAT?!" Hitsugaya snapped.
He didn't get a response. He sighed and went back to looking over the map on the table before him and tried to figure out more strategies. It would have helped if Urahara had stayed down here too but the man was so infuriating. He didn't take the war seriously at all. It was bothersome.
"Damn it..." He muttered as he sat back and ran a hand through his white hair. He wished he could see Karin again. She'd probably know what to do to cheer him up a little. He didn't smile often in the presence of others but the happiness just came to the fore of its own accord when he was with his wife. At least when Karin was around, he could spare a smile every now and then but he'd not smiled once since he'd set off from home to join this war.
"Are we all set?" Hitsugaya asked as he paced about his dugout, before his officers.
"Hai, Hitsugaya-sama!" The men chorused. Urahara was unusually silent and sombre. He usually was when there was an important mission to carry out.
"Good." The King stopped pacing and stood before the men with his legs spread wide apart and his hands folded behind his back. He scrutinised the stoic faces of the young men. The majority of them couldn't really be any older than he was. One looked to be just eighteen and another was probably in his thirties. He felt a twinge. They put the blank expressions on because they didn't want their king to see how scared they really were but he could practically feel it. They would attempt something very dangerous tonight.
From their platoon, one or two squads would create a diversion (using the machine guns and other necessities to get the attention of the enemy) while a few select men would sneak through the wire fences and try to take a captive from the Arrancar. Even one would be enough. Nothing was happening at the moment so the orders (which were not actually all from the King) were to try to get some answers from the enemy. It was all they could do at the moment. It would be extremely dangerous.
Hitsugaya had wanted to be the one to go but Urahara had stopped him, reasoning that the men needed their king alive and well and they couldn't afford to lose him at this point. Hitsugaya had been fairly adamant about going but Urahara was very persistent. In the end, the King had settled for instigating the diversion.
"You all know what to do?" He asked.
"Hai!"
"2200 hours." He reminded. He checked his watch. "That gives us fifteen minutes. Assume positions!"
"Hai!" There was the sound of stomping as all the men gathered in the small, connected dugouts began to get themselves ready, fixing their breeches if they needed fixing, securing their boots, straightening up their tunics and readying their rifles and bombs and whatnot. The wire fences were secured in some places and loosened in others.
Fifteen minutes later, gunfire sounded from Hitsugaya's side of the trenches, shooting across no-man's-land. Instantly, the Arrancar were on alert. They began to shoot back almost immediately. From then on, it was all chaos. Smoke bombs were shot to obscure the enemy's view and the barrage of gunfire continued. Amid it all, five men climbed beneath the wire and crawled across the not-too-far distance to the enemy's trench.
On the other side, in the Arrancar trench, Captain Ulqiourra Schiffer narrowed his eyes as the smoke bombs went off. He had a very quick mind.
"It's a diversion." He said. His voice wasn't loud but it carried across to the men, who immediately stopped shooting and turned to look at him. Ulqiourra wasn't the type who fought unnecessarily but that didn't mean he didn't fight at all. He liked to apply his intellect in all situations rather than use his strength, though he had plenty of it. He wasn't burly but he was strong. The men feared and revered him. He was one of Aizen's right-hand men. "Fall back. Cover the defences."
"Hai!" All his officers said in unison as they lowered their rifles and fanned out to watch over the mouth of the trench, ducking down to avoid the enemy fire.
Back at Hitsugaya's side, Urahara was also planning. He noted that the gunfire from the other side had ceased. That could only mean one thing; they were waiting to ambush the soldiers who had gone over. "Shit..." He turned around and walked through the mass of gathered soldiers and went to seek out the King. "Hitsugaya-sama." He said as soon as he appeared behind the younger man.
Hitsugaya had also stopped shooting, having come to the same conclusion as his strategist. "What is it?" He asked as he turned to face the blond man.
"Ambush." Urahara said grimly. Hitsugaya nodded in agreement and then grit his teeth and raised his rifle again and began shooting. What could he do now? His men would probably be more than halfway across no-man's-land by now. There was nothing he could do. He couldn't call them back. He'd just sent five men to their deaths and he didn't feel particularly good about it.
But this was war. People died who didn't deserve to die and diabolical monsters hid among men, grinning as they took more lives. There was no glory in war, contrary to the popular belief. There was no valour. It was just mass murder.
Oh well, they'd be sure to lessen the enemy's number by a few, at the least. But the Arrancar were supposed to be hardy; they weren't invincible but whereas a human took only one bullet to the vital organs to die, it took at least five in the same area for an Arrancar to get killed. That was something they'd all learnt from the last hostage they'd taken.
"Is he alright?" The sergeant asked quietly.
"He'll be fine." Urahara mumbled back. "Last night's escapade really got him down."
The sergeant's eyes, for all of two seconds, became clouded with misery as he shared his king's pain. He'd personally known two of the lads who had been killed last night. They both became soldiers the same time that he did. But the misery instantly cleared when he reminded himself that he didn't have the time or the patience to mourn. People died in war. It was a fact; those who got killed should be held in reverence, even if they were your old friends. "Hai." The sergeant bowed and turned around and started up the stairs of the dugout, leaving the King with his old teacher.
"Milord," the blond man said as he approached Hitsugaya, "there's something here for you."
Hitsugaya took his head out of his hands and looked up at the man pokerfaced. "What is it?" He asked blankly.
Urahara smiled and held out a letter with an airmail envelope. Hitsugaya frowned and took it and tore it open. He seemed to freeze for a while. Urahara watched with interest as the stoic expression on the white-haired man's face melted into a tiny smile. He turned around after a mere second and left the dugout, leaving the King to read in private.
Hitsugaya barely noticed. He was engrossed in what the letter said.
To my dear husband and King.
If that rat thing was a joke, then your sense of humour is worse than I thought. Please tell me it's not true. I can feel bile rising in my throat at the idea. It's sick.
Anyway, do tell Urahara to shut the hell up otherwise he'll have to deal with me. I can't even imagine what it must be like to have that idiot there all the time. Just give him a good solid punch and he should shut up. Well, you know how it is; old, faulty goods just need one good thump to get running straight again. And as for him being the best strategist, well, I think that's just bull cuz you're the
smartest person that I have ever met. You could outwit anybody. I'd bet Urahara's a dimwit compared to you.
There's so much I want to say! I don't know where to begin! I guess I should start with how are you? What's it really like over there? How's the war going? Can I please come down there? It's been so long. I miss you so much. Okaa-sama's fine and so is everyone else...aside from me. I don't like it here when you're away. Everything seems dull and boring and it seems like it is forever rainy here now. Please come back soon. I know the people here may be happy that they have such a courageous king but I'd rather you were a coward so you wouldn't ever leave me. The palace seems so small without your presence. You don't understand just how much you brighten up my world. Everything's bleak and colourless without you here. Come back to me soon. We still don't have an heir. Who's going to succeed you if something happens? Make sure you stay alive, okay? For my sake. I can't even begin to stress how much I need you here.
Please write soon. Even hearing one word from you brightens up my day considerably. The news from the frontline by others is biased. I can't know for sure if you're doing okay. I need reassurances, my King, and I don't have nearly enough of them. I have terrible dreams that I can't bear thinking about when I'm awake but the suspicion is always there that something might happen to you and I won't hear about it. Please don't ever leave me behind. I couldn't stand it.
Infinitely yours,
Karin Hitsugaya
He read it over and over again. This was unlike Karin; she wasn't the type to reveal her inner feelings and thoughts so easily but he supposed she was like him in that sense. He could convey on paper quite easily what he could not by word of mouth. Writing was easier than speaking when it came to thoughts and ideas and emotions. Paper was more ideal. But he never had problems talking to Karin about how he felt and if something was bothering Karin, then he could effortlessly make her talk to him where no one else could. It was one of the many things that made their relationship so special and it was one of the things that he humbly thanked the lord for in being married to her and no one else. They had a unique bond and no one else could understand them.
But what was this? She was having bad dreams? That bothered him extremely. She wasn't usually the type that had nightmares; she was such a strong force of nature that nightmares probably ran away from her. She was unshakable so that must mean that the whole war was getting to her more than he'd thought. He couldn't stand the thought of her being in any kind of pain but what could he do? He wanted nothing more to go home and take her into his arms but he was a king; he had a duty to fulfil. He had a war to win.
He could only hope that her strong resolution and her faith in him didn't waver. He needed her trust in him. It didn't matter if she was miles and miles and miles away. He had to be able to tell that she was still rooting for him. She had to be; otherwise he probably wouldn't have the endurance to sit in a dugout, day in day out, drawing up strategies and moving his soldiers like the chess pieces across the board that was war. Ironically enough, Karin was probably, in mentality, stronger than any of the soldiers who were currently on the battlefield, just like her chess-piece-likeness was the most powerful in the game.
He sighed wearily and folded the letter and put it away. He'd write a reply later, after he'd done some more strategic planning for his troops.
Oh yeah, Tomoyo-chan, sorry about all the "my King" and "my queen" thingy. I just thought it'd show their affections a little bit more. I couldn't resist a spot of romanticising :) cuz as opposed to being the king and queen of a nation, they actually let the other rule over them, if ya get ma meaning but I'll try an lessen it down. Anyway, I dare say there won't really be any space for such terms of address in the coming chapters...hmmm...Addressing all peoples: if ya don't like graphic gory scenes, I suggest you stop reading :p you should know by now that I've a slightly morbid sense of humour -evil grin-
And Yonne1104, I have no inetention of making her evil! :O -shocked that someone would even consider such a thing-