WOOT! An update! And it's pretty long, coming from me! We're on a roll! ^_^ Don't expect this to become habitual, though. My finals are coming up soon.
Anyway, thank you all so much for all of the reviews! I'm glad that you're all enjoying reading this fic as much as I am enjoying writing it. Not much else to say, so let's get on to dinner.
I don't own Bleach. If I did, it would, according to the way this fic is going, be an animated soap opera.
They were a pretty big dinner party. The table, long and rectangular, made it easy enough to see everyone. Karin sat in between Rukia and Yuzu, but, sadly, across from Hitsugaya and Hinamori, a front row seat to whatever territorial bullshit Hinamori decided to subject her to. She sighed, picking at the meat on her plate.
"Kariiiiin-chaaaan," Matsumoto sang, "have some sake."
Yes. An excuse to not look at the couple in front of her. Of course, Matsumoto sat in between her father, who was at the head of the table, and the white-haired cause of her misery, but Karin desperately needed a distraction, stuck in an extremely uncomfortable situation in extremely uncomfortable clothes.
"That's okay, Rangiku-san," she replied. "I don't drink. Besides, I'm underage-I think."
"Nonsense!" Isshin crowed, happily taking the bottle from Matsumoto and pouring more into his cup. "Have some, Karin-chan! Have a little drinkey with daddy!"
Karin felt her eye begin to twitch, but she continued eating, restraining herself from jumping across the table and socking him. "You're my father. Aren't you supposed to prevent me from drinking this stuff?"
Isshin pouted. "You're no fun."
"I know, right?" Matsumoto whispered to him loudly, clearly drunk already. "I think she's been hanging around my stuck-up taicho too much. They need to learn how to live a little!"
Hitsugaya gave no inkling that he had heard his bubbly lieutenant, continuing to chat pleasantly with Hinamori, but Karin noticed a large vein popping out of his forehead.
"So," Ichigo started, taking a sip of his drink. He was unusually peppy, not even yelling about Isshin being a perverted old man, and Rukia seemed equally carefree. Gross. "The new semester of the academy starts in a little under two weeks. You guys will move into the dorms, but until then, you need somewhere to stay."
Rukia, seated beside him, piped up. "Well, I would give you guys my lieutenant's quarters, but I already promised them to Kiyone and Sentaro. However, you are more than welcome to stay in the Kuchiki Manor, if you would like."
Ichigo's eyes went wide, and he mouthed "No" to the twins over Rukia's head. Rukia, who apparently had excellent peripheral vision, smacked Ichigo beside his head and continued talking as if nothing had happened. "We also have an extra room if you want it."
Karin immediately ruled that one out. She had spent a good portion of her life sleeping in a room next to the two horny teenagers; she really did not want to repeat this now that they were no longer teenagers, but still clearly horny.
"You can even stay with daddy!" Isshin bellowed, little stars appearing in his eyes.
Karin cringed. It wasn't that she didn't love her family. It was just...
Sighing, she looked down at the food on her plate.
"They could stay with me."
Karin's breath caught in her throat. Slowly, her eyes traveled up and met his. "What?" she asked, sure that she had heard incorrectly.
He shifted uncomfortably, his gaze still locked on hers, as Hinamori visibly tensed beside him and Matsumoto suddenly became very interested in the conversation. "You could stay with me."
Karin didn't say anything, and that seemed to throw Hitsugaya off. "You don't have to," he said quickly, "I just figured, your stuff is already there, so—"
"I'd love to," Karin blurted. She felt multiple pairs of eyes on her, and felt her cheeks burn in response. "I mean, I'd like that."
Karin grinned at him, and a corner of his mouth quirked up slightly, what Karin liked to call his "bullshit smile."
The table was completely silent, but neither Karin nor Hitsugaya noticed. Ichigo fidgeted, clearly wanting to say something but restraining himself, and Rukia patted his knee soothingly. Yuzu swallowed her squeal of glee, and Matsumoto, clearly entranced, openly stared, her chopsticks halted on their path to her mouth. Even Isshin watched as if it were all a fantastic television show.
Suddenly, a giggle erupted from Hinamori. The spectators turned their gaze to her. "That's wonderful," she said, smiling, "My Shiro-chan is always so thoughtful." And then, turning Hitsugaya's face toward hers, she pressed her lips against his.
Karin suddenly saw in slow motion. She saw Matsumoto's jaw drop, openly gaping. She saw Yuzu's pretty features form a confused expression, her hand slowly closing around one of Karin's own. She noticed her brother's expression unhurriedly go from slightly annoyed to furious, and Rukia gradually turn to look at her, pity in her eyes. Her father looked at her as well, a stoic, unreadable expression on his face.
Most of all, however, Karin noticed Hitsugaya's eyes slowly widen with surprise. And she noticed when Hinamori gradually pulled back, her eyes immediately locking with Karin's. The message was clear. Mine.
Karin noticed all of these things. What she didn't notice, however, was when exactly Hinamori's napkin burst into flame.
Momo shrieked, and time regained its proper place. Karin blinked slowly as the table suddenly came to life. Hitsugaya jumped, in shock of the sudden flames, and Ichigo instantly was on his feet, tossing his water on the napkin.
Everyone stared at the charred remains of the napkin that spontaneously caught flame. "...What just happened?" Hinamori asked.
"I don't know exactly," Rukia answered. "One minute is was fine, and the next...it wasn't."
Hitsugaya stared at Karin, a calculating look on his face, and in that moment, she realized.
"Oh my god, I am so sorry!" she exclaimed. "I didn't mean to—"
"Wait—you did it, Karin-chan?" Yuzu asked softly.
"No, I mean yes, I mean—I can't control it," Karin answered meekly.
"Let me get this straight." Ichigo eyed her like he had never seen her before. "You set that on fire. With your mind."
"I guess," Karin replied, uncomfortable with all of the attention she was suddenly getting. "I don't know, it just...happens."
"Oh, don't feel bad, Karin-chan," Matsumoto piped up. "It happens sometimes with element-based zanpakuto. Taicho had the same problem."
"You just need to learn how to control it," Hitsugaya interrupted cooly, dissuading Matsumoto from saying anything else, "get in touch with your zanpakuto. I'll teach you how tomorrow."
Karin nodded mutely, wanting to thank him, but the words escaping her.
Hinamori just smiled prettily, intertwining her fingers with Hitsugaya's.
Karin lowered her gaze to her barely-touched plate. She sure as fuck wasn't hungry now.
From her peripherals, Karin saw Rukia's sympathetic gaze. And she noticed, even though she was adamantly counting her rice, when Rukia nudged her sake cup over a couple of inches in Karin's direction.
Without looking up, Karin's fingers slowly closed around it.
"You, you know what?" Karin slurred, her arms draped loosely over his neck. She giggled. Then, as if what she had to say was a huge secret and someone was listening in the bushes, she whispered loudly in his ear, "You're pretty."
Hitsugaya sighed. Why was it that every time she was out of her frame of mind he was suddenly pretty?
Karin started to slide a little, and he repositioned his grip, making sure there was no possible way for her to fall off of his back.
How she had ended up this drunk was beyond him, especially since she was surrounded by her family. No one thought to cut her off? he thought incredulously. It was as if they all looked the other way as Matsumoto poured her cup after cup of sake, and Karin downed them all. In the end, it had been him who intercepted the cup from Matsumoto.
"You're drunk," he told her blatantly. "You've had enough."
It seemed to take her a few seconds to process what was happening, but when she did, her face set into classic Kurosaki defiance. Her mouth scowled, her eyes flashed daggers, a clear challenge in them, and when she spoke, it was if she was completely sober.
"You don't own me."
For some reason, Hyourinmaru hissed at that, but Hitsugaya tried his best to ignore him. He had been ignoring him a lot lately.
For the second time that night, the table was completely silent, watching them. He didn't know how to answer to that, how to respond to her sudden hostility towards him.
"Can do what I want," she grumbled, seemingly more to herself than anyone else, and then, to his horror, she suddenly looked like she was going to cry.
"You sure can, Karin," Rukia said hurriedly. "But you know what? I'm getting kind of tired, and I want to go home. How about you come with me?"
"NO," Karin said loudly, angry once again. She said more, but the only thing discernible was something about "goddamn horny strawberries."
Ichigo blushed slightly, and Matsumoto snorted.
"Come with me, then, Karin-chan," Yuzu told her sister comfortingly. "I have to take care of daddy." Isshin, indeed, was passed out on the table, snoring loudly.
"Can take care of myself," Karin mumbled, standing up, but swaying.
"Karin, stop being so difficult," Ichigo said, standing up as well and clearly about to use force.
"And you stop being so, so, so orange," Karin spluttered back.
By this time, Hitsugaya had stood up as well, and had made his way to her side of the table. "Come on," he said, reaching his hand out, but she stumbled away from it, causing Rukia to have to right her.
"Don't you fucking touch me, asshole," Karin threatened softly.
Kami, what did he do? He wasn't used to the hate she seemed to be aiming at him, to the distrust, and it unnerved him. Although he was hurt, the icy taicho hid behind his stoic facade, as he was used to doing. He stepped toward her again.
"You can call me whatever you want," he said just as softly, looking her dead in the eye, "but you're coming with me. Now we can do this the easy way or the hard way. Take your pick."
For a moment, she glared at him, but his gaze didn't waver, and seeing that he would not back down, she huffed and tried to stalk past him. Instead, she almost fell on her face.
He grabbed her elbow just in time, sighing. He made his way in front of her, crouching down slightly for the second time that day. "Get on," he said, and before she could protest, he said it again, with more conviction. "Get on."
Karin mumbled incoherently again, draping her arms loosely over his shoulders and allowing herself to be picked up. "Bastard."
"I know," he sighed. He turned to her family. "I'll make sure that she gets home safely, and tomorrow I'll help her try to control her reiatsu."
"Piece of shit," Karin grumbled.
"Uh huh," he answered.
Ichigo started to say something, but Rukia cut him off. "Thank you, Hitsugaya-taicho."
Hitsugaya nodded slightly, and started walking towards the door.
"Shiro-chan," he heard Hinamori call. He flinched slightly. He hated that name.
"I'll see you tomorrow, Hinamori," he said without looking behind him.
Karin mumbled again softly, and it sounded an awful lot like "bitch."
Now, afraid she would lose her dinner all over him, he trudged slowly back to the Tenth Division barracks.
"Hey!" she yelled, still in his ear. He flinched slightly. "Did you...did you hear me Toshiro?"
"I'm pretty," he repeated, stone-faced.
"Yeah," she responded. He felt her hair tickle his neck, and he realized she was resting her head in the crook of it. He blushed slightly.
He wasn't sure why he was getting so worked up; she was practically drooling on him, and he's had to carry a passed out Matsumoto home multiple times. But for some reason, it was different with Karin. She was shorter, and her breasts weren't nearly as large, so it made the trip more comfortable than with Matsumoto.
That wasn't what Hitsugaya noticed, however. He noticed the smell of her hair. It smelled like his shampoo, as she had been using it all this time, but as the fragrance reached his nose, he realized that it smelled much better on her.
He noticed her breath on his neck.
He noticed that at some point during her drunken escapade, she had gotten a run in her tights.
He noticed her breath on his neck.
He noticed the looks that the rare passers-by gave him when they thought he wasn't looking.
Goddamn it, why was he noticing her breath so much? She was just breathing. No big deal, nothing special. But every now and then, her breath would sway his hair ever so slightly, and a shiver would ripple down his spine. Him, the Ice King, getting chilled.
Something wasn't just wrong with Hyourinmaru. Something was wrong with him, too.
"Toshiro," Karin breathed softly in his ear. The shiver returned, but he ignored it, inclining his head slightly to show that he was listening. "I'm sorry."
Her utterance was clear, and once again he could have mistaken her for sober. He slowed his pace slightly. "Don't worry about it," he answered sincerely. "Just get some rest. We'll talk about it in the morning."
"Thank you," she whispered again. Her breath seemed to get closer until Hitsugaya felt soft pressure on his ear. He stopped walking.
Everything seemed to freeze. He didn't breathe, didn't think. And then, all at once, everything caught up to him.
Did she just kiss me?
His heart sped up, and he felt the blood rush to his face. What did this mean?
They had been friends for a long time in human years, but "friends" was a loose term; what they had was hard to define. There was a fine line between best friends and something more, and they had spent most of their relationship on it, seemingly testing the waters of both sides, but refusing to be designated as either. Touches could have been platonic or not; teasing could have been platonic or not.
But it seemed as if Karin had crossed the line—by how much, he wasn't sure. Kissing was platonic or not, depending on where it was one kissed. Hell, Matsumoto kissed him on the forehead sometimes, when she was in a particularly joyous mood.
But Matsumoto was just his airhead lieutenant. Karin was—
He stood there for a good minute, thinking in circles. When he finally trusted himself to speak, Hitsugaya cautiously said one word.
"Karin."
Silence. Then, a snore so monstrous that he felt the vibrations in his back.
Of course she's asleep, he thought, strangely irritated. Why wouldn't she be? She's drunk. He sighed. She probably won't even remember.
But Hitsugaya wasn't sure that he could forget.
A/N: YES! Some action, finally. And poor Hitsu is starting to question his feelings.
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