Author's Note: I ended up delaying this for over a week lol But what matters is that it's here! Im also correcting a few typos on previous chapters that carried on from the original post of the chapter in my old account, but only realized it now. So there might be some update alerts going off without any REAL update lol. (Sep.5.22)
Thank you so much to Shel21 for your reviews 3 I really appreciate your support and I'm so happy you are enjoying this story!
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Chapter VIII
Fireworks
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The next few days passed like a strong gust on a field, overwhelmingly shaking Karin's notions of how the world worked. The Shiba clan's quirkiness was ironically the most familiar thing the young Kurosaki could hold herself to.
Karin was beginning to feel acquainted with the household, it was a lot larger than she originally thought, and although many rooms seemed empty it was exciting to explore the manor when she had time to spare. That being said it wasn't honestly a lot. Her father showed up every 2 days to train Karin personally. Karin never expected to see that side of her father, he told her he had trained Ichigo when the situation with Aizen became dire, but they could take their time now as there was no impending doom on Soul Society.
Training with him was quite straining, but Karin had the same fiery disposition as her father and older brother. The training sessions were quite physical. It was clear Isshin was aiming to build up her strength. Isshin would often be caught smiling with pride whenever Karin stood up after he would knock her down.
"You need to remember you are still a human. Your soul strength is still bound to your body." Isshin spoke in a tone that could be easily mistaken for scolding.
"Yes, I know old man! You said it plenty of times already!"
Karin argued back in annoyance. Kuukaku was a constant spectator of these sessions as she enjoyed watching Isshin's daughter snap back at him without any restraint.
"You are your brother's sister!" She laughed whenever Karin complained.
"This is silly I already know how to handle a sword!" Karin protested again.
Isshin shook his head while carrying a stern expression.
"Urahara told me you fainted after your first time using Shikai."
Karin frowned and looked down. She couldn't say anything to counter that.
"That is because your body is not used to handling that much spirit pressure. It's a good sign though. Means your zanpakuto is not to be taken lightly. But it will only harm you and others around you if you don't catch up with it."
"It's kinda hard to catch up with a crazy fire sword you know."
Hearing his daughter's words, he unsheathed his sword and with a single swing, he created a fire slash. The heat was enough to startle Karin and make her take two steps back.
"You are my daughter. A crazy fire sword is part of the package." He grinned. "This is Engetsu. What you need to understand about fire zanpakuto is that they are the most destructive."
Karin kept her eyes on Engetsu's blade.
"That commander guy mentioned they don't come out often and that the previous commander also had one."
Isshin nodded.
"Yes, that is true. Old man Yamamoto was my master, and his zanpakuto Ryujin Jakka was of immense destructive power. We have to be able to endure this raw energy with our bodies. Yamamoto was so strong that his spiritual pressure could make a normal shinigami stop breathing." He chuckled. "I'm not saying you should go around and make people choke mind you!"
"Don't give me any ideas old man," Karin smirked playfully in return.
"Hmm, perhaps that's not a bad idea at all. We can practice expanding your reiatsu, until you can make me lose my breath. How about that?"
"Are you going to stop bossing me around if I do?"
Isshin laughed.
"Deal. But you still have a long way to go." He said before suddenly lunging towards her, barely in time for Karin to unsheathe her sword and block the incoming blow.
Ganju who was carrying some boxes between rooms heard the rumbling of their training and shuddered.
"That family is crazier than mine."
When another day of training was over Karin would drag herself upstairs after bidding goodbye to her father. He was as pathetically loving as usual once the sessions were over, and he still needed to go back for Yuzu.
Karin was being beaten to a pulp, she never expected training with her father would have been worse than training with Yoruichi. Ganju, despite always complaining, was surprisingly considerate of Karin. As she was sitting down, sweaty and tired, he approached with a towel and some water.
"Here." He said tossing it over to his cousin. Karin caught the cloth, rather surprised.
"Thanks."
"Oooh look at you Ganju, being all nice to the girl."
Ganju's face turned red at Kuukaku's comment coming from behind them.
"S-SHUT UP! I'm just being a good host!"
Kuukaku's grin widened and her eye twitched.
"Who are you telling to shut up?!"
Ganju immediately became nervous at his sister's threat.
"Ah whatever, get out of here before I kick you out." Kuukaku shooed him and he bolted out of there as fast as he could.
"I guess tough loving is kinda the norm here." Karin chuckled watching the two.
"It sure is. You and your brother aren't that much different are ya?" Kuukaku approached and sat down next to Karin.
"I let most of his stupidity pass if I'm honest." Karin said playfully and Kuukaku laughed loudly.
"HAHAHA! You are the sharper one! Got it from my side of the family for sure!"
Karin chuckled at Kuukaku's high spirits, but her comment made the girl think.
"I never thought I had this whole side of a family in another world…and I sure as hell didn't expect the old man to come out with all that nobility talk…" She scratched the back of her head. "By the way…do you mind if I ask you…"
Kuukaku tilted her head as Karin hesitated. "Sure kid, go ahead and ask. What do you want to know?"
"I was told that noble families of Soul Society live inside Seireitei…but…if the Shiba clan is a noble house too like dad said, why are you guys living here?"
Kuukaku lit up her pipe, took a long drag, and blew the smoke slowly.
"That's a long story kid…a very long story."
"We have time." Karin insisted and Kuukaku sighed in defeat.
"It's true that we are a noble house. Or at least, we were."
"What does that mean? To be a noble house? Why aren't you anymore?"
Kuukaku rubbed her temples. "One question at a time kid. Let me just explain to you everything. You know there is the human world and soul society, right?"
Karin nodded. "Yeah but what about it?"
"Shut up, I will get there. Anyways, besides that there is also Hueco Mundo, where hollows dwell; and Hell. And before that, everything was one single world. The five noble houses are revered because our ancestors were responsible for organizing the world as it is now. Those were the Kuchiki clan, the Shihouin clan, the Shiba clan, the Tsunayashiro clan…and the forgotten clan. "
"Forgotten clan?" Karin lifted an eyebrow.
"Yes, oddly enough, there is no registry of this house, except for its actions during the ancestor days, after they disappeared, and there were only 4 houses left."
"Okay, that doesn't sound too bad. Why is the Shiba clan different in status from the other houses then?"
"Ever since our ancestor went against the four houses to seal the Soul King, our clan had been constantly looked down upon by the other families, they preferred to be treated as special, but the Shiba clan chose to remain by the side of the people. That's why our headquarters is in Rukongai and not Seireitei. But our status as noble house plummeted after Kaien died, the former lieutenant of the 13th Division, the one who was supposed to be head of the clan."
"Wait for a second…Soul King? You have a king?"
At Karin's question, Kuukaku's expression grew grave and dark.
"We do. We used to. The Soul King. A being so powerful he held together the flux of all souls between those different realms. Our clan had always believed in the flow of life and death. Without motion the world dies, and everything must be always moving, no matter how scary it is, change means life. Even Hollows are part of this, they are not just monsters…"
"They were once humans too…" Karin muttered lowering her eyes, she recalled the ghost boy at grandma Haru's house, who turned into one of these monsters.
"Yes..and they deserve to be purified and to rest. So their souls can come to Soul Society. That's the job of all Shinigami."
"But…what happened to the Soul King?"
"The five noble houses betrayed him. Although the Shiba ancestor was against it as I said before, the Soul King was mutilated and sealed. The other clans fearful of change and the Soul King's power wanted to set the world in a stagnated state. And they did. Our ancestor tried to convince the other houses not to seal the Soul King and even offered his own body to be mutilated in place of the Soul King, but it was useless…"
Karin could feel the weight of Kuukaku's story, the air around them seemed heavier, her chest felt tight, and her heart pounded. Why was she so affected by this? Is it because it was her family after all?
"Is the Soul King still sealed? Or did he die?"
Kuukaku shook her head.
"That's even more complicated now. The Soul King was sealed in the Soul Palace, where squad 0 protected him. That squad is responsible for basically everything that goes on in soul society. Even the forging of the Asauchi." Kuukaku nudged her head towards Karin's sword.
"But a couple of years ago, not long after your brother lost his shinigami powers… remember?"
Karin averted her eyes.
"Yeah…I remember…"
"Yeah well..after he got them back, Soul Society was attacked by an army of Quincies called Wandenreich. Their king was the son of the soul king…and he killed the soul king. Many sacrifices were made that day…it was the end of the Thousand-year blood war. "
Karin flinched at the ominous name.
"I honestly thought Ichigo would end up taking the Soul King's place because, without him, the world began to crumble."
"Ichi-nii?! He would become the soul king?!"
Kuukaku nodded.
"I thought he would. You see...you guys, are part Quincy and part shinigami. Therefore the Quincy king had a special interest in your brother, you share the same blood as him, and he could force his will on his descendants, he used Ichigo to destroy the Soul King and wanted to collapse the world of the living with all other realms. Ichigo was the only candidate to counter his ambition. His spiritual pressure would not stop growing, and I even feared he would not be able to return to the world of the living."
Karin's eyes were wide in terror in front of the possibility. "Ichi-nii would not even come back?"
"His spiritual power was too much for the living world…do you understand now, why Commander insisted that you stayed in Soul Society? We don't know how much your power can grow, if it can grow as much as Ichigo's…or more."
Karin's hands began to shake, she grabbed onto her fingers trying to control herself. "That's stupid. I could never be as strong as Ichi-nii…but…what about the Quincy King?"
"Yhwach. In the end, he absorbed the Soul King, and was sealed again."
"So…the one that caused a blood war that lasted for millennia…is still alive? And we are all depending on him?" Karin frowned this conclusion sounded absurd.
"Yes."
Karin snorted. "That's stupid! Don't they see this whole sealing thing doesn't work?! What if someone or something goes around and releases that psycho from this sealed state?! Or is Soul Society just expecting Ichi-nii to fight all their battles alone?!" She closed her fist and hammered it on the mat.
"Calm down kid."
Karin bit her lip and looked away. Frustrated. She knew how much Ichigo suffered carrying the weight to protect their family, but this was too much. Now he had to carry the weight of the whole flux of existence?! And where was she? When he needed help, she wasn't there, she was too weak to even be aware of what he was facing.
"I'm so stupid. Whenever I think I'm catching up…I get reminded that Ichi-nii is in a whole other world. What could I ever do to help him…"
She lowered her head before Kuukaku continued.
"I had hoped your brother would change things. That he would not allow this system to continue as it was. As Soul King he could have changed it all…but in the end, that story ended very differently. "
Both Kuukaku and Karin became silent for a moment. Karin was struggling to accept Ichigo's role in this whole situation.
"I won't let Ichi-nii fight this alone again. If the day ever comes someone tries to make him this living battery called Soul King…"
"What if there is no other way?"
"I will find a new way then!" Karin looked up determined.
Kuukaku smiled and placed a hand on Karin's head.
"You are a good kid."
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Toshiro was restless. Unwilling to admit Matsumoto's suggestion was the sensible thing to do, he spent most of his time insisting on connecting to Hyorinmaru. But it was to no avail. The ice dragon refused to commune with his wielder if not for vague sentences that urged him to seek Karin, and knowing Toshiro as any part of one's soul would, eventually Toshiro gave in.
"This is ridiculous. I can't keep going like this! If Hyorinmaru will not talk then I will treat Kurosaki myself." He said fed up standing up from his seat at last.
"She is staying at Rukongai…shouldn't be too hard to find the Shiba household." He nodded and walked out of his office, he hoped to sneak out undetected. He could already imagine how annoying Matsumoto would be if she found out he gave in to her counsel.
"Capppptaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaain! Where are you going?"
Speaking of the devil.
"That's none of your business. Don't you have work to do?"
"Hmm you sure seem to be in a bad mood today huh~OH!OH! Could it be you are finally going to see Karin-chan? Ah, it's about time! I honestly could not stand you moping around all day captain, it was sucking out all the joy of my work!"
Toshiro rolled his eyes.
"What work? You never work Matsumoto."
"Yes, and that's precisely the joy in it." She winked playfully. "Alright alright! I will let you go before you change your mind. Okay, don't forget to be nice and polite. Karin-chan is still a lady and your former captain's daughter. So don't try anything nasty." She said while fixing Toshiro's haori like a mother sending her son on his first date. "And try not to look too desperate, girls don't really like that."
Toshiro's right eye began to twitch.
"SHUT UP!" He swatted her hand away and stomped out immediately before his lieutenant sputtered out more nonsense. Sometimes it was almost like he had to get away from her or else he would actually go along with Matsumoto's craziness. He walked by a window that reflected his figure and fixed his Haori…ah…perhaps it was too late to avoid letting Matsumoto get in his head.
He shook his head abruptly when he realized what he was doing. "This is ridiculous! I just need to focus, this time I won't get distracted again by senseless things!"
The grumpy stomps slowed down to soft steps as Toshiro made his way through Rukongai. The streets were rather busy, people seemed to be preparing for some kind of festival. The captain honestly could not remember if there was an occasion to celebrate that day or in the following days. He furrowed his eyebrows trying to recall something, but nothing came to mind.
The nostalgia of Rukongai soon faded when he spotted the most hideous building he had ever seen. Who in their right mind would think arm-shaped pillars were a good design choice?
The sign, however, made it clear this was his destination. Narrowing his eyes, a focused Toshiro approached the Shiba clan household. As per usual he was greeted by the two guards of the household: Koganehiko and Shiroganehiko.
"A SUSPICIOUS CHARACTEERRR?" Shiroganehiko shouted.
"VERY SUSPICIOUS!" And Koganehiko added.
This was already making a vein pop on Toshiro's forehead. If he wanted to deal with nonsensical people, he would have stayed around Matsumoto.
"I'm Toshiro Hitsugaya, captain of the 10th division. I'm here to see Karin Kurosaki." He said trying to control his annoyance (and failing quite miserably).
"Oooooh! Came to see the little miss?!" The twin guards looked back and forth at each other and at the captain before both leaned with squinted eyes to 'inspect' Toshiro.
"JUST TELL HER I'M HERE ALREADY!" The white-haired captain really had no patience today.
"Huff huff very well. But we are watching you, suspicious captain."
"Yesss we are watching!"
Toshiro rolled his eyes.
"Whatever." As long as they did as he asked nothing mattered. He just needed to finish his conversation with Karin.
The boisterous guards went inside the building, Kuukaku and Karin had just finished their conversation and everything was being set for dinner time.
"Master! A suspicious character wants to talk to the little miss!" They communicated in unison.
Kuukaku lifted an eyebrow curiously. "Eeh? Karin? Who is it? Better not be some stuck-up shinigami wanting to piss us off!"
"It is a shinigami, it's the captain of the 10th division."
Karin who was reentering the room as they spoke while tying up her hair in a fluffy ponytail, interrupted.
"Oh, that's Toshiro. Wow, I didn't expect him to come all the way here."
Kuukaku tilted her head back.
"So you know him? I can kick him out if you want."
Karin chuckled.
"Nah that's alright. We're friends." She said with a big smile.
Kuukaku seemed a little amused. Karin, much like Kaien, seemed quick to give their friendship to others. The head of the Shiba clan snorted and shook her head while wearing a soft smirk.
"Then go to your friend. I'm hungry so don't expect me to wait for your chitter-chatter to have dinner."
"No worries! You guys go ahead." Karin waved her hand before going outside.
She quickly spotted the spiky white hair close by. Toshiro waited for her with arms crossed and a stern scowl.
"Oi! Toshiro!"
"Kurosaki. For a moment I thought those guards wouldn't let me speak to you."
"Ah, you get used to them after some time. What's up?" Karin placed her hands on her hips and shifted her weight into one leg.
Toshiro observed her, her spirit pressure was surely changing. It didn't feel as chaotic as it did back then. His eyes went up and down to analyze Karin. She sported the usual shinigami robes, but she had taken liberties in making it more suitable to her own tastes. Karin did not wear tabi socks nor the straw sandals of shinigami, but instead her own sneakers. The hakama was there, although it was secured with a belt from the human world instead of the usual sash. Her midriff was exposed by a white cropped top, and her core looked stronger now, not as thin as it was before, but rather muscular, and over her shoulder, Karin wore a short black haori.
"I can see you have been training."
Karin didn't look too amused by his comment, or perhaps she didn't appreciate his critical gaze.
"Yeah, well…wasn't this the whole reason why I'm stuck here."
Toshiro frowned slightly.
"Yes. I came here to ask you some questions about your zanpakuto."
"Did you come here or were you sent here?" She replied suspiciously.
"I came here for myself. I need answers and Hyorinmaru refuses to commune with me. I figured you …or your zanpakuto might be aware of what's going on."
Karin rolled her eyes. "How could I be aware of what is going on inside your own head?"
Toshiro's eye twitched in annoyance. He took a deep breath, patient. If he got ahead of himself Karin would never tell him anything.
"Have you communicated with your Zanpakuto?" He asked her objectively.
Karin merely shook her head.
"No. I mean…a little I guess? Sometimes I see it in my dreams. But it doesn't speak much. It stands there staring at me, as if it's waiting for something, but I figured it's just because I just started learning about it..."
Toshiro placed his thumb under his chin. "Perhaps. But I can't help but think of our sparring session back in the human world. Hyorinmaru seemed to know your zanpakuto from before."
"But how could that be? Isn't the zanpakuto spirit part of your soul? How can they know something that was not there? Well..I suppose it was there all along but…it was hidden? You know! How can they know each other if we are two separate people!" Karin seemed confused, and despite Toshiro's serious expression, he wasn't doing much better either.
"I don't know. I never heard of something like this before. Their names are also similar right?"
"Ah yeah…Hyorinmaru…Nichirinmaru…That's weird too cause when I was talking to my dad, he was spoke about his own Zanpakuto, Engetsu. And Ichi-nii's is called Zangetsu…The old man said I inherited the fire type zanpakuto..but I don't know if it means anything to not have a moon named zanpakuto like them."
Toshiro nodded.
"Instead of moon, it's named after the sun…I'm not sure how this inheritance of swords works if I must be frank."
"Hmm..oh! I have an idea why don't we try jinzen at the same time?"
"Huh? You want to try meditating?"
"Yeah! Maybe they can sense each other? Or maybe seeing we are trying to talk about it, they will actually answer us?"
Toshiro tilted his head.
"That's not a bad idea. Contact between us has been strange lately, perhaps it really is the zanpakuto trying to tell us something." That made him a little less anxious. If the strange things he was feeling whenever he touched Karin were simply Hyorinmaru's doing, he wouldn't need to overthink it.
Karin nodded, a little excited the overly critical captain had accepted her suggestion. Toshiro looked around.
"We should find a quiet spot to try that."
Karin looked back to see the two huge guards of the Shiba clan sneaking and peeking from behind a rock. "Ah..that might be a little difficult. Do you know a place nearby?"
Toshiro nodded.
"I lived in Rukongai. I know quiet places." He huffed arrogantly, and Karin pursed her lips unamused. She was a newbie in Soul Society geography but he shouldn't brag.
"Then let's go already we are losing daylight. The soon we get this over with, the better." She turned up her nose and crossed her arms. As competitive as she was, Karin reacted to Toshiro's own arrogance by starting to walk towards the town. She only paused to look back at Toshiro.
"Are you coming or what?"
Toshiro closed his eyes and took a deep breath. She was quite sassy today, he thought, as if he wasn't his own share of annoyance.
"Yes."
He spoke dryly as he walked over to her and then past her.
"I have a spot in the first district that should be private enough for us to commune with the zanpakuto without any interruptions."
Karin tilted her head curiously. She quickened her step to catch up with him.
"How would you know that?"
"Because I grew up there."
"Ah…right…you mentioned something about that before. So is this place your old home?"
Toshiro shrugged lightly. "Of sorts. Is best we keep away from places that are too crowded for now."
Karin nodded in agreement. Considering the mess they made when they first fought in Urahara's basement, the last thing she needed was to cause a commotion in the middle of a crowd and make everyone's suspicions that she was not capable of controlling her skills, come true.
"Speaking of crowd…" She spoke up while her eyes glanced at the busy streets. "Things seem pretty lively around here…"
Toshiro nodded. "Must be a festival."
Karin snorted trying to control her laughter.
"Must be? You don't know?"
Toshiro groaned. "I don't pay attention to that sort of thing. I have work to do."
"Oh riiiiight right. Pfft. I'm starting to think that the only time you did something for fun was when you played soccer back then." Karin seemed amused by the thought, but Toshiro didn't say anything. If he did they would be dragged back into talking about their relationship and he had promised himself to stay focus and get his answers. This was far more relevant than his friendship status with a Kurosaki.
On their way there, Karin had become increasingly quiet. She observed the streets, and the people, and despite the commotion for the unknown festival, she could not help but notice the striking difference in wealth and conditions between Seireitei and Rukongai. Now she was beginning to understand why the Shiba clan was seen as inferior when they chose to be seated here, and why Toshiro seemed so touchy about privileges.
Toshiro brought her to the woods, past the 1st district residential areas. The greenery was thick but had a few openings and clearings that were surrounded by large trees.
"We're here."
Karin looked up and was pleasantly surprised.
"This is nice. A lot different from the streets for sure. Alright!" She clapped her hands and stretched her arms. "Let's get to work."
Toshiro twisted his lips a little. "You sure look excited."
"Of course. Why shouldn't I be? If anything this is part of my training, everything that brings me closer to Nichirinmaru makes me excited. Weren't you ever excited about learning something new?"
Toshiro's eyes narrowed as he looked down.
"I've always been called a prodigy, and skill development for me more often than not meant danger for those around me. And yet…" He closed his fist.
His frustration became obvious. But Karin was unaware of how deep his resentment reached. The simple fact he could not reach the full power of his bankai in his current stage, even if he had grown a little, he still needed to make himself older, and stronger. After everything, he still felt he was somehow below Hyorinmaru.
"Even now I have no idea what is going on with Hyorinmaru."
Karin may not have been fully aware of everything that was going on in his head, but she knew the face of something that felt weak when she saw it. She knew it first hand.
"Maybe it's time for you to stop thinking about being a prodigy and just be yourself." She offered him an empathetic smile, Toshiro looked up a bit surprised by her attempt to comfort him. "Whenever things get harder, we go back to the basics. That's how I always did with soccer, and I don't think it should be any different with anything else."
Toshiro didn't say anything but he pondered on her words. Perhaps she wasn't all that mistaken after all.
"C'mon let's do this." Karin said unsheathing her sword and sticking the blade into the earth before sitting down. Toshiro stared at her and let out a soft chuckle.
"Hm? What's funny?" She asked him
"Nothing…it's just that I never expected you to perform Jinzen in the same position as me."
Karin blushed embarrassed.
"I..I didn't think about it, I just er..I…it just felt right, I didn't mean to copy you or anything." She looked away rubbing the back of her neck.
Toshiro was smiling now. Felt oddly comforted.
"Don't worry, I didn't think you were copying me. Perhaps it's just as good that we perform jinzen in the same position." He said as he stuck his sword down in front of Karin and sat down. "Let's begin."
Karin nodded and settled herself.
Eyes closed each of them went into their own inner worlds.
At first Toshiro slips into the familiar dark plain where the ice dragon awaits it's master.
"I have come to her, isn't that what you wanted? Will you tell me now what's going on Hyorinmaru?"
The dragon, however, stares down at Toshiro for quite some time in silence.
You have. However, this is not something that can be simply told. Know now, my master, there are chains that bind this world and souls in it. And the chain that binds me to the other is of older days.
"How can two spirits know each other from before? Hyorinmaru I don't understand!"
Hyorinmaru did not reply, instead the dark surroundings were cut through by a growing light.
"What is that?" Toshiro asked as the thin ray seemed to go from a vertical slit to horizontal, as if it was coming down towards him. The light subsided to reveal a glowing chain, it seemed to disappear at their feet and they could not see how far it went.
"Our bonds. See where it leads, and you will begin to understand."
Toshiro leaned down to touch it, but it was burning hot and he quickly retreated his hand.
"It reminds me of a hollow's chain…but how will I know where it leads? If I follow it, what will I find?"
"I do not think you will be able to follow it through, master. The way is there, but it is too old to trudge without reopening it."
Toshiro looked down at the chain again, and with slow steps, he walked along the burning chain. The way seemed endless, but eventually, he came to the edge of it. And there was nothing.
"There is nothing here Hyorinmaru."
"Can you see what's underneath the waves without plunging? Reach out, master. Reopen the path."
Toshiro sighed and faithlessly he stood out his hand, reaching into the nothingness. It was then when the storms of his younger days when he had yet to learn Hyorinmaru's name, began to blow fiercely. But Toshiro, despite being confused about why his inner world was reacting that way, didn't falter. Instead, the possibility of change made him more confident and he reached further.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
In Karin's own inner world, the beach of red sand, the black night sky, and a golden moon shining brightly. Nichirinmaru's imposing figure stood there as it had before.
"You have improved much, child."
"But there is still much to do isnt it?"
"Yes. And yet you hesitate."
Karin nodded.
"How can I not? I feel like everyone knows something, and I'm the one clueless. I want to be stronger but I dont want to be used. Not like Ichi-nii was used."
"Your brother made his own choices, child. Do not underestimate them. And do not underestimate your own choices."
"I want to understand what's going on. I want to understand you."
"You will. Soon enough. There are many more layers in this world than you can tell right now. Deep waters. Deeper places. That's where you will find your strength, child. Do you feel the sand under your feet, the waves coming and going? What lies underneath it all."
The feline beast stepped closer to Karin, she could feel the heat of its mane, she felt the urge to touch it but feared it was too hot and that it would burn her. Still, Nichirinmaru spoke softly, its voice was warm and gentle.
The tide began to grow more agitated, the waves reaching further, Karin's bare feet felt the water reaching. When it receded there was a silver chain lying on the sand.
"What's this?"
"Understanding. We are all connected, child. But we must choose to acknowledge these bonds, or they will rust in oblivion and forgetfulness, and it will be as if they never were."
"I won't forget. Show me where it leads."
"Come." The tiger said as it stepped towards the red ocean, it walked over the waves as it's tail swayed. Karin followed it towards the horizon. The waters were hot, like termal springs, and the chain rose up as if it could float now. When the water became too deep Karin had to swim, and that was when she touched the chain, holding it to stop herself from sinking or losing track of it. Her hand jerked back abruptly.
"Wow It's freezing cold! It's like its not affected by the water temperature at all!"
Once she touched it the chain began to sink.
"It's sinking! Wait!"
She grabbed the chain but it was too heavy and it began to drag her down, Karin tried to fight it, she wanted to swim back up and bring the chain back, she could see Nichirinmaru's form above the surface, the spirit didn't move a muscle as she sank further and further. Was she going to drown? It felt real, she ran out of breath and gasped. Thinking she was done for, she would swallow water…except…she didn't.
She realized she wasnt drowning, much like in a dream, she could breathe under this red ocean. The silver chain glistened, going deeper and deeper. Now, Karin followed it without hesitation.
The spirit looked down at her.
"We are connected, Karin. All of us. Remember."
In front of her the chain led to a pitch black spot. She dove into that darkness, and she thought she saw something.
She began to reach out, trying to catch whatever that was. Her fingers brushed against something soft.
Deep blue orbs met teal ones.
Karin and Toshiro were in the same space, or what it felt like a space between worlds. She thought she had been reaching down, but Toshiro was coming from above.
When they opened their eyes, they were still sitting down in front of each other.
His hand already in hers and their fingers entwined.
Both were speechless, they stared at each other for a couple of seconds without moving as they tried to make sense of what had happened.
Karin was the first to break the contact and pulled her hand back.
"W-what was that?!"
"I…I don't know…" Toshiro answered confused. "Hyorinmaru told me to follow a ch-"
"Chain!" Karin finished his sentence, excitement and anxiety seemed mixed up in her tone.
"How..did you see that as well?"
Karin nodded. "It showed up in my inner world. Nichirinmaru said that we were all connected. Honestly I thought it was a little cheesy but…" She looked at her own hand.
"Hyorinmaru said something similar. It said that there are bonds that come from older days."
"Do you think that's how they know each other? The spirits are connected even before we existed?"
"I'm not sure...Hyorinmaru told me the path must be reopened."
"Path to what?"
Toshiro shrugged. "I'm not sure."
Karin thought for a moment before she stood out her hands.
"Let's try this together! I know I saw you there. If there is a space where we can both be at the same time, maybe the zanpakuto spirits can also be there!"
Toshiro looked down at her hands and nodded, placing his on top. Karin clasped his hand and they closed their eyes, entering Jinzen once again.
The feeling was different this time, instead of them going to their respective inner worlds, they were plunged into that blank space, there was nothing around them, they floated in front of each other while they held onto each other's hands.
"I can't see them.."
Karin looked around, no sight of Hyorinmaru nor Nichirinmaru.
"But we are here. I did not think this was possible, a shared space between inner worlds."
However, this peaceful contemplation would not last long, a low rumbling began to sound from under them, and a whirlpool formed above them. Karin held onto Toshiro's hand tightly as the air between them became more violent and pushed them apart.
"If we break contact we will lose the connection! Hold on!" Toshiro called out to Karin and tightened his grip.
"It's pulling too hard! I cant hold it!"
Karin began to feel the strain in her body, still far behind in training compared to the experienced captain, she was not able to withstand the pressure and was pulled away from Toshiro, the connection was lost as he had anticipated, but it was a more violent process than either of them had thought. Karin was pushed back, while Toshiro managed to remain seated. Behind him the grass seemed to be covered in frost, and behind Karin it had been scorched.
He rushed to her side and helped her sit up.
"Are you alright?"
"Ah..I…just hit my head, but I'm fine." She groaned painfully and rubbed the back of her head.
"We leaked too much reiatsu." Toshiro said as he noticed the frost and the scorch.
"But…wouldn't that mean, we caused the whirlpool?"
"I suppose so…Hyorinmaru did say the path must be reopened, maybe that's how. We need to withstand the clashing of our inner worlds to reopen the path."
Karin nodded.
"That makes sense. Let's try again."
Toshiro shook his head.
"You used too much energy. We can do this another time. Besides Hyorinmaru seems responsive now, we did what they wanted us to do. We have some answers for now, there is no need to be get too ahead of ourselves."
Karin sighed in frustration.
"Fine."
She knew the connection was broken because she was the weak link, and it was infuriating.
"Can you stand?"
Karin looked up to Toshiro and nodded. They both stood up, but he helped her by taking her hand anyway. She looked down at their hands again. The texture of his own skin was now easily recognizable to her, she stepped away from him feeling a little uncomfortable by the prolonged contact.
Toshiro narrowed his eyes, thinking she had become fearful of him, like many others did when he was figuring out his skills.
"Let's get you home." He said rather coldly, taking his sword from the ground and sheathing it back.
"Ah okay."
Karin was clueless about the offense she had committed. However, the way back was even quieter than before. That is until they reached the edge of the woods. The streets of the first district had transformed into a full-blown summer festival.
The twilight sky was contrasting with the soft light of lanterns being lit up and the food and games stalls were already working.
"Oh! The festival has already begun! Wow did we really stay that long in jinzen?" Karin said excitedly as she looked around. "C'mon Toshiro! We can't miss that opportunity!"
She grabbed his wrist and pulled him into the crowd.
"What the- I don't think we should! You've been far from home long enough!" He protested and Karin snorted in reply.
"Pfft! It's a day, don't be such a stick in the mud! I think I've trained hard enough today to deserve a little break!" She grinned back at him and Toshiro sighed in defeat.
"Fine, but it's one stall and that's it. I'm taking you back." He acted as if he was responsible for her, but Karin didn't care, she never once thought of anyone responsible for her but herself as that and she wouldn't start it now.
The streets were buzzing with excitement as it began to fill up. Made sense that the first distric was this busy, as it was one of the most peaceful districts of all Rukongai, holding festivities here usually went by smoothly.
Karin was quickly synched with the rest of the crowd, it felt as if she was back home or just in her summer vacation instead of actually vanishing from the world of the living for good. But she didn't waste her time thinking of that for now. This was her time to have some fun! Even if she was hanging out with the grumpoiest captain there was.
Toshiro was a little annoyed, he disliked crowds and saw no point in participating in this revelry, but he followed Karin, as the girl practically skipped over to a food stall!
"Are you done?" He asked when he saw her coming back from the stall. She had a little wrap cupped up in her hand that she brought over to him very carefully.
"What's that?" Toshiro frowned and stretched his lips into a thin line to avoid looking too curious.
"I got your favorite! Candied beans!" Karin plopped the sweets in his hand. Toshiro looked surprised at the food and then back at her.
"That really wasn't necessary."
"Pftt don't be such a grouch. It's a festival! Try to have SOME fun too!"
He looked back at his hand and plopped one of the candied beans into his mouth. Ah, perfectly sweet.
They walked together, and Karin would often reach into the package to eat some of the beans as well. Toshiro squinted every time.
"It's so lively! I didn't think you guys would celebrate similar festivals here as in the human world!"
Toshiro nodded at Karin's statement.
"There are a few. I think it's all built from what people can remember from their past lives, and what noble houses hold as tradition."
"I see. It's nice to know the people have good lives here…despite not being super wealthy. Oh oh! Look! A Yoyo tsuri stall!"
"What's that?" He asked trying to catch a better view of the place she was pointing to.
"it's like a bunch of small balloons and rubber string at the end. The balloon also has a bit of water inside. When you start the game you are given a string made of paper with a hook attached to its end. You have to try to use the hook to catch the balloon strong. It might sound easy but if the paper breaks off the hook it's game over. So you have to be quick and try not to wet the string too much! You never played it before?"
She was a bit confused. Didn't he say he grew up here?
"I wasn't exactly the sociable type. People were afraid of me." He said simply but he could not hide the bitterness of the memory.
Karin paused, she didn't expect people to fear him, specially as a child. The more she spent time in Soul Society, the more she realized Toshiro was a very lonesome person. She wasn't able to see him in his division, but she doubted he was much more open than the usual there.
She huffed and grabbed his wrist.
"Then we are doing it! You've been watching people long enough, is time to actually take part! Cmon! If you beat me I will buy you all the candied beans you can eat!"
Toshiro snorted but allowed himself to be pulled along.
"And what if you win?"
Karin looked back at him and grinned.
"If I win, you will have to enjoy the whole festival! That means playing all the games and eating all the food! Is a just punishment for a stick in the mud!"
Toshiro rolled his eyes.
"Fine."
"You better prepare yourself for partying all week, Toshiro. I am unbeatable as yoyo tsuri!" Karin rolled up the sleeves of her haori once they approached the stall.
The game began and, true to her word, Karin fished many balloons from the water! Toshiro on the other hand kept ripping the paper hook.
"This is impossible!"
Karin laughed at his protests. "You just need to get the hang of it! Look, you gotta be quick but you can't move too abruptly!" She leaned closer to him and held his wrist, guiding his hand along the water surface and hooking one of the balloons successfully.
"HAH! See! What did I tell you! Even YOU can play this game!"
Toshiro lifted the colorful balloon and bounced it up and down a couple of times.
"Seems like you won this silly bet."
"Yes! Party time! Now you are bound by honor to have a good time!" She said playfully.
"And I thought you were tired from training. Tch."
As promised Karin dragged Toshiro from stall to stall, and the competitive captain soon enough became enthralled by the challenges of each game. Ring Tossing was easy and when they ran out of candied beans, Karin insisted that Toshiro participated on a watermelon splitting contest. He didn't refuse, since he really liked watermelons. They continued to eat and play games, both were winning all sorts of trinkets as prizes, from small paper goldfish lanterns to higo mari balls thread with colorful yarn.
"I don't know where I'm going to keep all these stuff." Toshiro complained as their loot was starting to pile up.
"You can always give to your friends back at Gotei 13. Like your lieutenant, she seemed nice."
"She will probably throw a tantrum when she finds out I went to a festival without her." Karin chuckled at that.
"I'm sure she won't mind if you had fun."
Toshiro looked back at Karin. Yeah…he was having fun, wasn't he? At least the evening air was a little cool and made the summer temperature more bearable, and the games weren't bad either..the food was good…
Toshiro smiled. Glad he had accepted the bet.
"Ah here is what you should get her then!" Karin rushed to a mask stall and picked up a traditional kitsune mask.
Toshiro's good mood crashed down when he saw the mask. Those fox eyes, that twisted smile, he couldn't help but be reminded of Gin Ichimaru. And all the harm he had done to Momo and Matsumoto. His face immediately turned sour.
"Eh? What's wrong?"
"Nothing. I am done. I will go back now."
The sudden mood shift surely caught Karin off guard.
"Toshiro? What the hell…why did you get so mad all of a sudden?" She looked down at the mask confused. "Cmon don't be like that. We havent even watched the fireworks yet."
"You can do whatever you like, I'm going back."
He was reverting back to his grumpy self. Karin pouted, she wasn't going to let her night end because he had mood swings.
"Fine! You do what you want. I'm not going to stop having fun because you got all twitchy all of a sudden!"
She huffed and reached to return the mask and grabbed a different one, a tengu mask. She stuck her tongue out before holding it in front of her face.
"For the friend that breaks promises, your yoyo balloon is now cursed and it will pop on the way back and you will look like a fool who pissed his pants." She said wiggling her fingers.
"Shut up! Don't just say curses like that!"
Karin giggled maliciously.
"Oh? So you are scared of that? Huhuhu I have more curses where that came from! You little brat!"
"I'm not the brat! You are!"
"Sorry cant~hear you~" She turned around but she could barely see anything with that silly mask on. She bumped into someone as the crowd was walking past them and was pushed forward, mask falling and her body tripping.
"Ow!"
Toshiro, caught her just in time before she reached the floor.
He held her by the arms, and she was leaning against his chest.
Looking up Karin realized too late how close their faces were. She was surprised by the bump, sure, but something kept her in place as she looked again into those teal eyes. Maybe it was the connecting through Jinzen that pulled Karin into his sharp gaze like this. She couldn't tell. But she felt frozen in place, unable to move away from him.
But Toshiro wasn't in a better position. He held her still, feeling the warmth from her body against his, which was as foreign as touching the burning chain in his meditation, but uncomfortably pleasant in surprising softness. Her widened eyes were of a bright and deep blue hue and her black hair was messy and falling graciously over her face. His hand twitched as he reached to pull some strands behind her ear.
Karin held her breath and she felt her heart beating rapidly against her ribcage.
The heavy silence between them was only broken by the loud explosion of fireworks in the sky.
Karin turned her head abruptly but Toshiro kept his eyes fixed on her.
"Are you alright?"
"A-ah yeah! I'm fine, it was just a bump." She blushed and began to pull away. Toshiro flinched for a split second holding her tightly, and immediately releasing her, unconsciously not wanting to part from the warmth.
"Sorry about the…curse thing. I was just joking." Karin's cheeks were burning up, but she was thankful the lantern illumination would not make it too obvious.
"Yes…I know." Toshiro replied. "And I'm sorry for being so rude just now. It wasn't your fault." Karin didn't expect an apology and looked back at Toshiro.
The pyrotechnic display was lighting up the sky, but the duo could not look at it at all. They stared at each other, as the fireworks illuminated their figures in a wide array for colors. She couldn't hold his gaze much more now, she felt awkwardly sheepish, as if he saw something he shouldnt have.
She never felt that bashful when he stared at her, perhaps because she never expected anything from it, but now so much had changed. Karin didn't know how long she would stay in Soul Society, or how much more of these moments she would be able to have. Would everything go back to normal? Would he fade to become just a memory again?
Toshiro could sense her uneasiness, be it due to their recent connection, he could almost feel it himself. But he figured she was just homesick.
"Don't worry, you will be back home soon. There you will be able to go to all the festivals as you always did."
Karin looked back at him.
"Do you want me to go home?"
Toshiro hesitated. That was a tricky question if he ever heard one.
No.
"Yes. It is where you belong. You didn't want to come here in first place anyways." He convinced himself to be rational.
"Oh. y-yeah of course. That's my home." Karin nodded, that was all true, but why did she feel frustrated?
Once the display was over, Toshiro walked her back to the Shiba manor. They walked side by side in painful silence. They stopped far enough not to bring out the twin guards.
"I'm gonna go in now."
Karin gestured, she looked aloof and rather low energy compared to how lively she had been before.
"Ah wait!"
Toshiro called as she turned her back.
"Hm?"
"I just…wanted to thank you." He nodded. "For helping me with Hyorinmaru and…for the festival. I had fun."
That made Karin smile softly. She nodded her head once. "I had fun too. Goodnight Toshiro."
"Good night.."
She walked away from him.
"...Karin…"
The way back to his division was even worse. The day had been absolutely turbulent, and although he managed to get some answers from Hyorinmaru, he had inadvertently begun to brew different types of questions in his heart. Sleep did not come easily to him that night. And his body felt annoyingly cold.
The path was opening again, and neither of them knew what lay on the other side.
A/N: I hope you enjoyed it! Don't forget to leave a review3