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Chapter III
Manifestation
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Down in the basement, Karin sat down, took a deep breath, and entered the sword meditation state like Urahara and Yoruichi had taught her last night.
Frustration, Shinigamis, Blind Dates, the day was horrible. She still couldn't prove to others that she didn't need anybody else to take care of her.
"I'm still just a defenseless little girl in their eyes…if only I could prove them wrong…"
Tudum
Tudum
Karin…
Tudum
Tudum
That same voice once again called her, as faint as the other time, like a whisper, but steady as her heartbeat.
"Where are you?"
Tudum
Tudum
Hear me Karin
"Can't find you…"
I'm always with you…
Tudum tudum tudum tudum
Those red eyes came again, staring at her without blinking
Don' keep anything
Throw it all away
"It's too hot!"
The glare was pure heat, increasing by the second, Karin winced.
Listen to me
She started to feel the fire in her skin, the pain was acute
"IT BURNS! I CAN'T DO IT!"
If you don't take it all out it will consume you
"It hurts!"
KARIN!
Throw it all away!
The flames came with voices, from everyone, they judged her, compared her, measured her. It felt like drawing in a boiling sea, the waves trashing her around, constricting her, and burning her.
"MAKE IT STOP!"
SAY MY NAME!
KARIN!
"AAAAARGHHHHHH!" Karin shouted, her red reiatsu burst out in an explosion, clearing out the dark space in her mind. The next thing Karin saw were starry black skies, and a deep red ocean, calmly beating against golden sand, and a bright golden moon above her. Her inner world. In front of her seemed like a large bonfire burned, so hot it was hard to look at it for long. Still, she tried to discern the shape inside the flames, it was a feline creature, something akin to a huge tiger, with black markings and cloud-like flames on its shoulders and hind paws. Its fur flickered with flames.
Karin…
This time the voice was gentler. Warm and low. The heat that was once searing, was now soothing and comforting.
You found me at last
"Who are you?"
You know my name, it was written in your heart the day you were born.
She looked into those fiery red eyes. She knew him so well, he had always been with her. Her lips moved to say something.
The beast smiled.
My power is yours, I'll be your strength, and your fire will never extinguish
Karin felt dizzy and blacked out.
"Moshi moshiiiiiiiiiiiii Kurosaki-chaaann?" Karin slowly opened her eyes and saw Urahara, Jinta, and Ururu staring at her.
"Oown my head…what happened…?" The girl groaned as she tried to get up.
"Jinta-kun went down to the basement and saw you lying unconscious on the ground, he brought you up here…"
"Yeah Karin! What happened down there? everything was on fire!" Jinta said with a confused look.
"Nothing I was just training and something hit my head…" She said looking away.
"Well, Jinta-kun Ururu-chan, why don't you go home already, I want to talk with Kurosaki-chan a little."
"Well…if you say so old man. Take care Karin." Jinta said as the duo left the store.
Once Urahara and Karin were alone, he turned to her with a grave look in his shadowy eyes.
"Tch…You Kurosakis always manage to destroy my house. Now Kurosaki-chan, tell me what REALLY happened there?"
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Shuhei and Toshiro reported back to Commander Kyoraku using the communication room.
"We talked to Kisuke Urahara and he said he was taking care of her training so that her reiatsu wouldn't become destructive. We also discovered Kurosaki Karin knows flash step, but we don't know what others techniques she might have learned. Until now she hadn't shown any signs of having a zanpakuto manifesting sir." Hitsugaya said matter of factually.
"I see…for now just keep an eye on her and on Urahara, he might be up to something, and don't forget to have a little fun while you're there too, if what you said is accurate then we should have no reason to worry much". Kyoraku said.
"Yes, sir!" They both said in unison.
At that moment the white-haired shingami felt something, the same feeling from the night before he got this mission. But it was slightly different.
It was faster than I thought…He heard Hyorinmaru saying.
"What do you mean?"
The dragon didn't answer.
A couple of days passed, and Toshiro could not figure out his next steps. Hyorinmaru became silent since last time. The sun was setting and Toshiro was feeling rather confused, what were those subtle feelings that Hyorinmaru seemed to understand, but still refused to talk about it. He went out for a walk…maybe it would do him some good. He walked randomly through the streets until he found himself in a familiar place. He was on a hill, near the road; he could see the whole city down at his feet.
"I remember this place…wasn't it here that I met that girl?" He smiled at the memory, he enjoyed those days, playing like a normal kid. He heard something, better yet someone, grunting.
"Argh not you!" Karin Kurosaki was standing there glaring at him. She wore a similar outfit from their first meeting at the zoo: A black halter top, a pair of dark blue jeans, only that this time it was a bit torn, and now the temperature was dropping she also sported a blue and white bomber jacket.
"You are not stalking me are you?" She asked with a suspicious look.
Toshiro frowned.
"Of course not. I was here first so the stalking one would be you!"
"WHAT? THIS is MY way home! And Why on earth would I stalk some midget!" She called sticking her tongue out. Hitsugaya boiled in anger as a vein popped out of his forehead. He stomped over to stand directly in front of her, he stood about two inches taller than her.
" As you can see Kurosaki, I am not the midget this time." He bent down face to face with her.
Karin spaced out for a while at his proximity. She could have sworn he was tiny back then, but now he looked grown-up…she stared at him for a moment, he still had a boyish charm to a more mature face… "Wait…did I just think he has CHARM?" Karin shook her head to snap out of her thoughts, blushing a bit and looking away.
"Yeah… I can see that… instead, you just have old man hair!" His eyes twitched. He noticed something and lowered his eyes.
"Hey your necklace, it's glowing…"
"What?" She said looking down. He backed away and the glow subsided.
"It stopped…strange." She said. Suspecting something Toshiro took one step forward. The stone began to glow once again, and the closer he got the stronger it would glow and if he looked too long at it he would get a feeling similar to that he had previously.
"That's weird…" He said as they both realized that.
"You think?" Karin responded sarcastically.
"Maybe it can detect shinigami…?" He guessed.
"I don't think so…Urahara-san gave me this saying it would help in my training…"
"Hmm…" "Hyorinmaru…does she have something to do with those weird sensations I've been having?"
Maybe you should go ask Urahara yourself, and watch one of those training sessions of her to understand what's happening, after all you were ordered to keep an eye on her…
"Perhaps you're right…"
"Well, besides this being VEEEEEERRRYYY interesting…I gotta go, Yuzu is waiting for me at home…" She said walking away.
"Wait!" He said grabbing her wrist, the moment their skins touched both felt an electric spark run through them, he let her go right away, quite literally…shocked. Besides this being awfully reminiscent of their meetings years ago, he felt something different now, was it her spiritual pressure?
"Wh-what?" She said retreating her hand next to her body.
"Forget it…" He said going back to his 'cool' pose, hands in pockets. "Just go home now…little girls like you should be sleeping by now…" He said walking away.
She glared again and stuck out her tongue before walking in the opposite direction, rubbing her wrist.
"What the hell was that?"
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
The next morning she woke up early, excited about training.
"Morning Yuzu!" She said smiling going down the stairs and stopping by the kitchen.
"Good morning Karin-chan!" She greeted her sister kindly. "Here I made pancakes!"
"Hmmm they smell so good!" She stood next to her sister in front of the oven. Yuzu put some on a plate and slides it over the counter towards her twin sister.
"Here you go, there is juice in the fridge."
"Okay!" She said grabbing a cup. They both sat down at the table and started to eat.
After a few minutes of silence and Yuzu finally spoke up.
"Are you okay Karin? I mean, do you feel better after all that happened?"
"Don't worry Yuzu, I was exercising a little, always helps to clear my head, everything is fine now!" She said reassuring her sister with a cheerful grin.
"I'm glad." Yuzu said smiling back.
"Well, I gotta go now! See ya later then!"
"Okay, have fun Karin!"
Karin went straightly to Urahara's shop. Ururu was out today, leaving only Jinta to clean the entrance.
"Oi Jinta!" She said greeting the redhead.
"Hey Karin, feeling better?"
"Of course!"
"Good 'cause I can't take more cleaning work here!" She grinned knowing exactly what her fiery friend meant.
"Then let's go downstairs so I can show you who is the real karakura red!" She offered with a cocky tilt of her head.
"HA! You can try Fake Red!" They rush to the basement as if they were kids again and found Urahara there talking to someone.
His eyes were teal and his hair was white.
"Oh no…not him again…." Karin groaned. Her day barely started and was already taking a turn for the worse..
"What is captain Hitsugaya doing down here?" Jinta asked.
"I don't even wanna know." She muttered under her breath. Soon enough Urahara spotted them.
"Kurosaki-chan! We were waiting for you!"
They walked up to the men duo.
"What is HE doing here?" She said frowning.
"Captain Hitsugaya came to inquire about your necklace Kurosaki-chan. So now that you are here, I intended to make a live demonstration. Is that okay?"
"I don't know…We only just started with the whole imprinting process, and is it really okay to do it in front of HIM?" She glared, and he frowned.
"Don't worry Kurosaki-chan, I was ready for his visit so I made another necklace, similar to yours, so captain Hitsugaya himself will test it with you."
"I will?" He asked raising an eyebrow.
"Yes, you will, captain". Urahara said standing out his hand that hold a silver chain with a blue stone pendant. "Unless you would back away from this lady's challenge," Karin smirked. He was teasing the teal-eyed shinigami. And it worked.
"Fine." He said grabbing the necklace and putting it around his neck. "How do I test this thing?"
"Just release your shinkai. And Kurosaki-chan... remember to wait."
"Hai!"
Karin and Hitsugaya stood facing each other.
"We better back off Jinta-kun this will be a hot battle," Urahara said taking some distance.
Karin unsheathed her sword and whispered.
"Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Inferno and pandemonium, the sea barrier surges, march on to the south!"
Hitsugaya's eyes widened. "Damn she knows kido!"
"Hadō # ō!" Karin shouted as a huge burst of red energy emerged from the tip of her fingers and fired at him. The hit seemed to have missed but Karin had actually used the shot as a distraction, as she came slashing through the flames of her kido.
Toshiro did not want to use his sword at all, instead, he jumped out of the way, a small tear on the tip of his Haori made his eyes widen. She was fast.
Karin moved again, advancing with great speed and attempting to land several slashes, but Toshiro dodged them all. He tried to fight her without using his shinkai, he would mostly avoid her attacks by blocking or evading her. She mixed her attacks with the flammable Hado, cornering him as much as she could.
"DAMN YOU, MIDGET! FIGHT!" She yelled frustrated, pushing him harder until, with a powerful slash striking down over his head, she managed to cut his left cheek.
He didn't know if he was pissed because of the cut or because of she called him midget again.
"You want me to fight! So be it! I'll end this now!" He said landing on the ground.
"Sit upon frozen heavens! Hyorinmaru!" However something different happened, the blue stone glowed stronger and his sword took it's released form but from the sword, the ice dragon itself emerged roaring, not like his shikai that formed an ice blast resembling the dragon, this was the real thing, just as he appeared in Toshiro's inner world. He stared at the dragon spirit above him "How can it be?"
Karin was stunned as well. The sight of Hyorinmaru was truly breathtaking. Her hands trembled and the grip on her sword tightened. She could feel the familiar warmth spread through from her chest, increasingly hot.
"Ignite the blistering earth! Nichirinmaru!" She called upon the spirit within, causing an explosive burst of light.
Toshiro stared in disbelief, was she releasing shikai?!
His eyes widened. Her stone glowed just like his and from her sword emerged a fiery tiger. Urahara smirked under his hat, it was a glorious display of spiritual power in front of him from both sides.
Hyorinmaru swirls above. His tail whipped constantly with the motion of the heavens. The dragon opens his mouth to roar, as frozen icicles fly in all directions like hail.
The tiger crouches low to the rocky ground. Steady and strong in the wind raises the dust, she silently eyes the dragon in the heavens. Not even her whiskers twitch.
Karin held her released zanpakuto in her hand. It was a broad sword, shorter and wider than a Katana, with a knife-like appearance of a Dao, if not remarkably similar to Ichigo's Zangetsu. A tiger's mouth served as a guard and a long chain hung from the hilt, holding a smaller blade on the other end. The blade was engraved with a glowing red cross that went from hilt to edge, with a circle around the cross's center, the engraving seemed to pump with something liquid inside.
We finally meet again…old friend. They heard Hyorinmaru's voice echoing.
"Friend? What the hell does he mean by that?" She asked confused. "Nichirinmaru…" The tiger did not reply.
However, Karin was suddenly taken by terrible pain. Her body shook, not being able to withstand the pressure of her manifested zanpakuto. It was far too much and far too soon. She felt her insides burning, and she collapsed.
The sword went back into its sealed state, the necklace stopped glowing and Nichirinmaru vanished without saying a word. Toshiro was taken aback by Karin's sudden collapse.
"Karin!" Jinta yelled worried. He ran up to her, as Toshiro also approached. " Are you okay?" Urahara never moved from his spot.
"That is enough for the day. Perhaps I was a little too greedy this time." He said smirking. Toshiro frowned.
Jinta called Tessai to help Karin up.
"Is she going to be okay?" Toshiro asked carefully.
"You ask as if you don't know the rest of her family." Urahara smiled back at the young captain.
Thank you for reading!