WARNING: explicit administration of drugs without the user's knowledge or consent. Story summary will be updated to reflect these warnings.

The watch was attractive in its simplicity, stainless steel inladen with silver and quartz. Thin roman numerals decorated its face instead of numbers, the tan leather band still smelling freshly cured. Yuzu watched its sleek black hands counting the seconds quietly; if it was making any noise, it was drowned out by the rattling of the train car rocking on the tracks.

"It's pretty," Yuzu said, closing the box and carefully slipping it back into its crushed velvet bag. "He'll like this. The other ones we looked at had too much going on, I think."

"That's good," Karin said. She sat with both her arms and legs crossed, a large pair of sunglasses perched on her nose. She hadn't looked away from the windows once since they'd gotten on the train. She'd been off since this morning. Yuzu had noticed immediately, when they'd both been roused by their alarm clock and Yuzu had sleepily looked across the room to check that her sister was awake. One glance at the shadow of Karin's shoulders was all it had taken.

Yuzu had said nothing then. She could have asked what was wrong, but now was not the time. It took her sister a long time to articulate herself when she was worried or distressed, and there was nothing to be done about getting information out of her before then. And Yuzu had had a suspicious feeling, one that had seeded itself when she realized that Hitsugaya was nowhere to be found inside the house earlier this morning.

Carefully, so as to give her sister plenty of warning about what she was about to do, Yuzu reached over and gently pushed the sunglasses away down Karin's nose. Karin's eyes were swollen, the lids rimmed red.

"Oh, Karin," Yuzu said, stomach dropping.

"It's fine," Karin said, in her normal voice, readjusting the glasses back into place. "Don't worry."

Yuzu sighed. They were empty words, obviously, but Yuzu was patient. She leaned over and rested her head on Karin's shoulder, a physical reminder that she was there for her when Karin needed it. This, at least, she could do for the time being.

Karin took a slow, deep breath. Her phone vibrated in her back pocket, and at first she considered letting it go to voicemail. A small part of her was terrified of who it might be, but common sense reminded her that Hitsugaya was barely capable of operating a smartphone. Besides, she couldn't imagine what he possibly had to say to her now. She eventually dug into her pocket, figuring it was Ichigo asking for their ETA.

It wasn't. For a second Karin didn't know who it was, because she hadn't actually saved the number as a contact on her phone, and so there was a brief delay before she recognized it. Stunned, Karin opened up her messaging app, and a familiar text thread greeted her.

Hey Haruki! This is Karin, from 1-B. I forgot to ask you for your number before the break, so I got Heita to give it to me. I hope that's alright. I was just wondering if we could hang out sometime? Let me know what your schedule is like!

Hey Haruki, is everything okay? Heita said he hasn't been able to reach you at all. I was hoping to talk to you in person about something, so if you can please get back to me.

Haruki, I really need to talk to you about the note you gave me. Please, this is important.

Hey Karin, this is Haruki. I'm sorry I haven't been able to respond to you. Things got a little hectic at home since the break started, and I've been caught up in some stuff. By chance, I heard from Heita that you'll be in Tokyo for a few days. I know this is short notice, but can you meet me tonight? My brother owns a bar in the Ebisu ward. I can forward the address.

Another beep.

I think I can answer any questions you might have.

Karin stared at her phone for a long time. Yuzu's head was still on her shoulder, and judging from the way her body was swaying with the train car she was well on her way to falling asleep. Karin was alone with her thoughts, and a small, hidden part of her unexpectedly took delight in Haruki's attention, in the way that only the sting of rejection could make her feel. It nauseated her.

She freed her left hand from under Yuzu's hip and started typing back.

Just tell me where I need to be.

-.-.-.-

Hitsugaya carefully leaned his head back, letting it rest briefly against the chain link fence. He'd positioned himself snugly into the corner of the school rooftop, enabling him to rest in a moderately leisurely position while he surveyed the Garganta in the sky, its black chasm nearly blending in with the night sky. Now that he was here, the nightwatch was threadbare; only two of Sui-Feng's men were left. The moon, half-hidden behind the flow of clouds moving eastwards, was waning.

He almost sensed Matsumoto coming right before she appeared, some ten feet away from him. They've known each other long enough that he supposed it might have passed for normal, although that was definitely a hard pill to swallow. He didn't look over.

"Captain," Matsumoto greeted formally. Hitsugaya could already hear the exasperation seeping into her voice.

"Matsumoto."

"This very unusual of you," Matsumoto said, as if she didn't know that already. "I thought we agreed I was on night duty, no? I figured you'd be relaxing at home, eating ice cream and falling asleep in front of the TV."

"It's not my home," Hitsugaya said irritably.

"Well, that's certainly a surprise. You seemed to be comfortable."

"Matsumoto, not now. I mean it."

Matsumoto paused. "Begging your pardon, Captain. You look like shit."

Hitsugaya was startled. That was the first time Matsumoto had ever said anything like that to him before. He focused on keeping his expression as neutral as possible. "Don't you have something else to be doing?"

"Well, now that you've stolen my job I don't." Matsumoto moved closer to the fence, letting her fingers curl loosely over the chainlink. "Captain, this may come as a surprise to you, but I'm here to help you."

"I already knew that, but I'm not sure what it is you want me to do with that information."

"I want you to talk to me," Matsumoto said, levelling him with a reproachful glare. "You always bottle things up. And then you get yourself into all kinds of messes without telling anybody, and we have to chase after you and practically beg for you to tell us what's wrong. Isn't it exhausting? Aren't you tired of trying to do everything by yourself?"

"I've already gotten myself in a mess," Hitsugaya said coldly. "And it's not something I can just ask for help with. I'd just be hurting her more if I didn't work this out myself."

"Are you talking about Karin?" Matsumoto asked immediately.

"Seven hells."

"What happened?"

Hitsugaya threw his head back against the fence with a little more force than was necessary. "She told me she loved me."

"And?"

"What do you mean, and? I told her I couldn't return her feelings."

Matsumoto went silent for a while. Her expression was a teetering balance between surprise and pity, both things that Hitsugaya didn't really enjoy having directed at him. After a few moments she carefully knelt down in front of him.

"I know I'm not one to talk," Matsumoto said. "But are you sure that you've thought this through?"

Hitsugaya closed his eyes. He could feel his composure crumbling, giving away to red and ugly emotions that he didn't really want to address. "Don't. I don't want to have this conversation."

"Why? Because you don't want to admit that you care about her?"

"Because it wouldn't be fair," Hitsugaya snapped. "She's a human, and I'm not. She has her whole life ahead of her. She has an opportunity to go to university, to start a career, to make friends and fall in love and start a family. She has the chance to do something meaningful. How could I possibly ruin that for her? How could I ask her to love someone who will still look like a boy when she's fifty, sixty years old? Someone who will live for hundreds of years after she dies?"

"Captain—"

"She's been asking me about my job. About Soul Society. She's starting to get this idea that she can give it all up, like it wouldn't matter if she left her world and—" An unexpected surge of emotion plugged up Hitsugaya's throat. It took him several moments to find his voice again. "I don't want that. I don't want her to do what her father did. Not for this. Not for me."

"Did you tell her any of this? Does she know?"

"Of course I haven't. I wouldn't even know where to begin."

"Then that's your problem, isn't it?" Matsumoto said, getting angry herself. "Do you really think you're doing the right thing? That you have the right to be making that decision for her?"

"Are you telling me that I should just let her throw her whole life away before it's even started?"

"I'm telling you that you should be honest with her. You're miserable," Matsumoto said, with such sincerity that Hitsugaya couldn't find it in himself to argue, "and you're hurting the both of you more by doing this. You don't even know for certain that she'll leave Karakura Town like you say she will. After all the time you've spent with her, do you really think she's that kind of person?"

"I can't risk that chance," Hitsugaya said grimly. "And I…" He turned his head away. "She's not like other people. She draws in everyone she meets. She changes things. I can't...I can't just…"

Matsumoto sighed. "You can't seriously think you're being selfish for caring about her. Take my word on this. You're being selfish now."

"You don't—" Hitsugaya began, and then quickly stopped. You don't understand. Except Matsumoto did understand. She understood better than anyone what it was like for someone she loved to decide everything for the both of them. He felt ashamed.

Hitsugaya's phone began to ring, and he inwardly breathed a sigh of relief, grateful for an out from the conversation. He pulled it out of his pocket, then frowned. He didn't recognize the number.

He picked up. "Hello?"

"Hitsugaya."

Hitsugaya sat up at once. "Uehara?"

"Is Karin with you?" Kei demanded. He sounded urgent, almost on the verge of panic. Hitsugaya had never heard him sound so unsettled.

"No, she went to Tokyo with her sister to visit her brother. They went to celebrate his birthday."

"That can't be it." It was said aloud entirely to himself; Hitsugaya wasn't sure if Kei realized he was still on the line. "Be honest with me. You know something's going on with her, don't you?"

Hitsugaya stiffened. That accusation could have meant any number of things. "Uehara, what is this about?"

"She—she's gone. Don't ask me what that means or how I know that, because I don't know. But it's like...like she's not here. I don't mean like she's not in Karakura Town. I mean she isn't anywhere. Not in Tokyo. Not in any place someone can find her."

Hitsugaya looked up at Matsumoto, who was listening with increasing alarm. "Tell me where you are."

-.-.-.-

Karin looked across the street, at the thin red neon sign blinking dimly between the Victorian-style street lamps. Bar Figaro, it read, in slanted English script. The bar itself was situated on the second floor of the building, above a boutique dress shop. There was a bouncer standing at the foot of the stairs, hands folded in front of him.

"Fucking hell," Karin muttered under her breath. She double-checked for incoming cars before darting across the street, hitching the shoulder bag she'd stolen from Yuzu further up her arm. She was careful to keep her chin up as she approached, making eye contact with the bouncer first. It was eight o'clock, so the sun was still hanging a few inches above the horizon, but that was no guarantee that he hadn't started carding people already.

"Good evening," the bouncer said amicably.

"Hello," Karin said, fingers curling into her sweaty palms. "I was told to tell you that Haruki invited me. My name's Karin."

"Ah, yes, he did mention you were coming," the bouncer said, stepping aside easily. "Just head straight up these stairs. You should be able to find him or his brother behind the bar."

"Thanks," Karin said, and cut into a brisk jog up the stairs.

The bar was luxurious, decorated in a Parisienne style and oozing with old Hollywood glamour. The walls and ceilings were carved from dark oak fixtures, the tables surrounded by sumptuous leather armchairs and vintage mica lamp shades. To one side of the bar was a small stage, where a man in a tuxedo was softly playing old jazz tunes on a grand piano. To the back was the bar itself, a wide dark grey marble counter edged with pink copper and brass.

Karin spotted Haruki there, drying wine glasses behind the counter. He was dressed to match the elegant air of the place, wearing a bowtie and black suspenders over a crisp dress shirt. Karin didn't realize she'd just been staring at him in disbelief until Haruki caught sight of her and waved, a bright smile breaking out over his face.

Karin slowly approached the bar, taking a seat in one of the swivelling stools. "Hey," she said. "You look...nice."

"So do you," Haruki said pleasantly. "You look very mature in that jacket. It suits you."

"Yeah, well, you said to dress to look older." Karin hadn't really known what that meant, so she'd brought her expensive leather jacket with her and put on the only pair of heeled boots that she owned. "Are you allowed to be working in a bar like this?"

"Oh, I don't serve alcohol or anything like that. At least not if my brother's around," Haruki said, fluttering his eyelashes at her. "I just help with sweeping and cleaning and that sort of thing. But let me get you a drink, on the house. Interested in a nice, cool bellini? Peaches are in season now. Best time to have it."

"How about a nice, cool coke," Karin deadpanned.

"Of course." Haruki retrieved a glass from behind him, and carefully began to fill it with ice cubes. "Thank you for agreeing to meet me here, by the way. I understand it must have been...confusing, to hear from me after all this time."

Karin hesitated, watching as Haruki snapped open a fresh can of cola and poured it over the ice. "We didn't realize you were in Tokyo," she said carefully.

"No, I made no mention of it before I left. It was very last minute on my account. My brother asked me to come around and give him a hand while I had the time off. I had no reason to refuse him."

"You could have texted Heita back."

"Yes, I could have." Haruki slid the glass across the bar to her, then offered her a straw on a dinner napkin. "But I think you have other questions that you would rather ask me."

Karin took a perfunctory sip and wrapped her hands around the glass. Perspiration was already beginning to form on the outside, and it dampened the inside of her palms.

"The note you gave me," Karin said. "How did you know?"

Haruki smiled. "How did I know what?"

"That I was looking for him. Not even that guy, specifically. I mean you knew that I was looking for people who…" Karin paused again, uncertain as to how much she could safely divulge. "Who worked for that publishing company."

"Well, that wasn't particularly difficult to deduce," Haruki said. "I ran into the two of you staring at the abandoned factory building early last month. Remember? You and Hitsugaya-kun, that is."

"I don't remember ever saying anything about needing to speak to their employees, though."

"You didn't. Call it intuition. And it seems like the information I gave you ended up being very important. Or else you wouldn't have come to ask me about it."

Karin stared at him for a while. "Tōshirō told me more than once that you know more than you let on," she said. "I'm starting to get the impression that he was right."

Haruki smiled again. "And you trust him, do you?" He picked up a nearby glass of water that had a few lime wedges sitting at the bottom and took a sip from it. It reminded Karin of her own glass, and she took the opportunity to drink her coke as well. "Hitsugaya-kun is a little funny. He doesn't seem to like me very much, despite my best attempts to understand him better. He's very bright, and I admire that."

Karin felt an uncomfortable sensation in the base of her spine, like an itch or a prick. She wasn't sure if it was the way Haruki spoke about Hitsugaya or the mention of Hitsugaya altogether, but it sat unnervingly with her.

"The day that you got hurt," she said. "During the earthquake at school. Do you remember what happened?"

"Yes," Haruki said, much to Karin's surprise. "I remember everything. But I'm not so sure that that's a conversation we should be having here."

Karin tensed up. "Then why did you ask that we meet here?" she said, in a low voice.

"Why, so I could introduce you to my brother, of course," Haruki said. "I've told him all about you, you see. You were one of the first real friends I made in Karakura Town. I owe a lot to you, and my brother was interested in meeting you. I imagine he'll try to thank you for looking out for me."

Karin glanced at the clock on her phone. It had only been thirty minutes since she'd arrived, but for some reason it felt later than that. She was beginning to feel tired. "I don't understand."

"We don't have any parents, you see," Haruki said. His voice sounded far away, like he wasn't standing on the other side of the counter. "My brother is the only family I've ever had. I've relied on him all my life, and he looks out for me. He was relieved to hear that I was making friends and fitting in to my new school. So I told him I'd give you guys the opportunity to say hello."

Something was wrong. All of the muscles in Karin's body felt loose, and she was beginning to feel light-headed, like she'd been soaking in the bath for too long. There was something else, too, an unfamiliar and stifling heaviness that she felt spiritually, rather than physically. She tried to look at her phone again, but her hand slipped, and she nearly knocked over her drink. Haruki reached out and caught it in time before it tipped, then covered her hand with his. His fingers were trembling.

"Haruki," Karin said, horrified. "What the hell have you done?"

"Look." Haruki looked over, at the side door leading to the storage room behind the bar. "He's back."

Karin looked over, and saw the outline of a man in the dim of the bar before everything went black.

Author's Note

THERE WILL BE ABSOLUTELY ZERO SEXUAL ASSAULT IN THE FOLLOWING CHAPTERS SO DON'T FREAK OUT IM NOT A MONSTER

I'm sorry this is so short! I really wanted to try and update this what with being back in school and whatnot so I tried to put a little something together to hold you guys over until the term ends. I promise I'll be back soon!