Ch2: "Fishbone"
Time skip: 17 months later
It was a quiet morning in Karakura Town, the sun was shining and birds were chirping. In the Kuchuki households things were normal as can be with one exception as Karin Kuchiki lay lazily in her bed snoring loudly she had since knocked her alarm clock off the nightstand in an effort to shut it up. She then felt something poking her.
She batted it away with her foot, then she felt something grabbing her foot and dragging her out of bed. She cried in protest and opened one eye and found her adoptive father holding her upside down with Rukia standing beside him. "You can drop her now." She said as she placed her hands on her hips.
Ichigo did so and then left the two alone as Yuzu watched from the doorway. Karin got up and dusted herself off and glared at Rukia. Rukia sighed and pulled out a piece of paper and held it towards Karin. "I received this from your school…" Rukia began as Karin scoffed and went about getting ready for school.
"Don't ignore me young lady!" Rukia raised her voice slightly. Karin stopped and snatched the paper from her hand. "You're not my birth mother….so quit acting like it." She then stormed out the room leaving Rukia alone with her thoughts.
Rukia looked at a picture on the nightstand and picked it up. She looked at it longingly and sighed wondering where she went wrong. The picture in question was of a younger Karin and Yuzu and Rukia at the beach all smiling. Rukia sighed inwardly {"I wish they taught parenting classes at the Shin'ō Academy"} She chuckled at the image of that occurring when she heard someone fall behind her.
Rukia turned and found Yuzu on her but rubbing it. "Ow…ow…ow" Yuzu looked up and became fearful. Her fears melted when Rukia smiled reassuringly at her and helped her adoptive daughter up. "I..I heard" Yuzu began as she held the frills of her dress tightly. Rukia placed her hands on Yuzu's shoulder "I know I'm not your birth mother but I love you just the same." Yuzu smiled and hugged Rukia and Rukia just patted her head and kissed the top of her forehead.
"Now hurry along it's time for school." Rukia said as Yuzu hopped up "Oh yea today is Poetry day I'm gonna ask my teacher if I can bring the book home!" The 13 year old girl cheered and Rukia smiled and rubbed her head affectionately. "That would be nice." Rukia replied as she looked up at the ceiling. {"Nii-Sama would be shocked who would know here I'm with two adoptive daughters and a Vasto Lordes for a husband."}
Rukia blushed and shook her head rapidly as she made her way downstairs. Ichigo handed the girls their school bags. Yuzu and Karin left, Yuzu waved while Karin walked ahead. Yuzu then paused in her stride and came back and hugged Rukia tightly and then hugged Ichigo then left. Rukia leaned into Ichigo as he rested his head on top of her head and pureed.
After 30 minutes Rukia glanced at the clock and jumped. "Am gonna be late!" She rushed upstairs so fast Ichigo was left stunned and confused. She then came back down, fumbling through her purse with her shoes in hand. She paused to give Ichigo a kiss on his cheek as he opened a Garganta to Rukia's workplace, a local sales office tied to the Nissan motor corporation.
"I will be back by 7:30….I already made leftovers…and remember no Cero uses the damn microwave!" Rukia called as she vanished through the black featureless void. Ichigo nodded his head as it closed and he was left all alone. He sighed and looked around and sighed again he decided to travel to Hueco Mundo to get stronger.
He then opened another garganta and entered and left the small three bedroom house alone and empty. In the corner of the living room sat a small shrine decorated in the traditional fashion and with three pictures aligned from left to right. Two candles stood light on either side and a small breeze from somewhere blew the candles out.
Downtown Karakura Town: Sametime frame
Rukia rushed and ran as fast as she could after exiting the train. She made her way through the crowded streets and managed to barely hail a taxi cab. Rukia settled in after telling him where to go. She looked out the window as she pulled out her cellphone finding a text from her manager she groaned and apologized for being late. She then found a text from a distant aunt of Yuzu and Karin asking how everything was.
Rukia scowled; she swore this aunt was just trying to find a reason to take them away from her and Ichigo. She inwardly calmed down and was about to reply when she felt something her eyes widened {"A hollow?" And is that….hopefully he doesn't find us."}
Rukia gritted her teeth praying that Urahara doesn't tell Tōshirō the truth. She swore that Kiskue probably already figured it out and was just waiting for her to reveal it so he can boast he already knew. She recalled how he reacted when she asked for a "Human-Shell Gigai".
Before she had a chance to reflect, the driver told her that he had arrived 20 mins ago. Rukia blushed and apologized to the driver and paid him extra. She walked inside her building and took an elevator to the floor she worked on. She prayed that her manager doesn't pull her into his office.
She got off the elevator and walked into the room with rows upon rows of cubicles with people either working or walking. She breathed a sigh of relief which was then cut off by "Kuchiki!" She paused in her tracks and felt her mood go down hill.
"Yes Satō-buchou" she turned around and tried to be as polite as she could. Satō looked even more angerier which was ironic as he was shorter than her and his hair looked like devil horns. "My office Now!" He shouted at the petite Shinigami and stomped back into his office only to have trouble opening the door. Rukia sighed and opened the door only to have her manager brush past her rudely and she followed suit.
At Karakura S. Primary School
Karin sat at her desk looking out the window just reflecting on life in general. She often wondered about her birth parents and her mysterious older brother. She knew her parents died during the anniversary of her older brother's death. She gritted her teeth as Rukia told them they were murdered. Her thoughts then drifted to Rukia and El Diablo.
Rukia Kuchiki was her and Yuzu's adoptive mother and had raised them since she found them after her parents were murdered. Apparently according to Rukia Karen's father Isshin was a family friend and asked the Kuchiki family to care for her and Yuzu. From what Karen gathered, Rukia was the last living member of the Kuchiki family. Her thoughts were interrupted by her teacher slamming her hand on her desk jolting the raven haired tomboy to attention.
"Yes Takahashi-Sensei?" Karin asked while yawning, causing her teacher's eyes to twitch but she straightened her glasses and continued on. "Since you're an adoptive member of the Kuchiki clan, why don't you tell us about Byakuya Kuchiki?" Karin blinked as she recalled the name from visiting the Kuchiki graveyard with Rukia.
"Byakuya Kuchiki was a samurai lord during the Sengoku period, he fought and died during the Mongolian invasion of Japan." Karin said as the teacher's jaw dropped and her fellow students stared at the girl in shock. "V..v…very good Miss Kuchiki…..now uhhh Daiki".
Karin tuned the rest out as she focused her thoughts again on the Vasto Lordes that always accompanied Rukia. {"What is he? K….Rukia said he was hollow but not like the other ones."} she shuddered at her adoptive mother's horrible drawings and how she reacted when she said so. Karin knew she could see ghosts the same as Yuzu but never thought of it. Though Rukia had warned her and her sister to stay away from Hollows and Shinigami and particularly anybody else who can see ghosts or spirits. That raises suspicion in Karin's mind {"What is she hiding…..her and her stupid crappy drawings"}
across town
Rukia during a meeting started sneezing not once but twice. Her coworker replied "Are you alright Kuchiki-San?" Rukia blinked after tending to her noise and blushed lightly as she quickly replied "Yea…yea….I errrr have an allergy to perfume" she prided herself as she thought of a logical excuse {"Somebody insulted my chappy drawings"} she growled inwardly.
Her other coworker sighed in defeat "Aw man I wish you would have told me…." Rukia suddenly felt bad and awkward "no..no… Akio-San you're fine, it's a certain perfume…." As she raised her hands quickly in an effort to defuse the situation.
Back with Karin and Yuzu
Karin got a shudder that she instantly felt doom. "You okay sis?" Yuzu asked with concern. "Yea I'm fine, let's hurry home." Yuzu agreed and then realized something. "Oh that's right Kaa-San is gonna be at work until 7:30." Karin cheered inwardly but didn't show it. The two stopped by an ice cream parlor and headed home, as night slowly crept over the town.
Karin opened the door first and saw that it was empty. Yuzu chimes in sadly "Awee I guess El Diablo-San went hunting again." As she took off her shoes Karin looked at her sister and wondered where he went hunting as she recalled through Rukia's drawings Hollows consumed souls preferably human though El Diablo consumed other Hollows rather than human souls.
Her inner monologue was cut off by her sister rushing back with a plate. "Yay! Kaa-San made Tempura!" Karin sweat dropped and blinked in confusion "uh….cool" was her response. The two ate as night crept up and a shadow made its way through the rooftops.
The two then settled in to do their homework. Yuzu was distracted by an odd butterfly whose body was completely black, while the wings were purple with a black outline. "Whoa….sis check this out!" "What…." Karin groaned as she turned away from her history homework to see the butterfly. "Eh?" She tilted her head as Yuzu held it. {"Isn't that a Jigokuchō? Rukia-San told us about them…they are usually with a Shinigami…so that means ..."}.
Right as Karin's trail of thought ended somebody landed into the room causing both twins to stare in shock and confusion. The person was a male who was short, with turquoise eyes and short, spiked, white hair. He wore sleeveless haori with a green sash around his shoulders, held together by a round, star-like clip. Karin stared at the person with a light blush on her face.
Yuzu blinked "uh…excuse me sir?" She asked in a hushed voice. The person ignored her and beeping was heard causing both twins to look at each other then at the same time flipped out their respective cell phones. The person flipped out his cellphone and the twins blinked "No way…." Karin began "That's a new model!" Yuzu picked up where her sister left off with star struck eyes.
The person continued to ignore them, Karin grew more and more annoyed now. "It's close…it should be around here…." The person sounded annoyed as he tapped his cellular device in frustration. As soon as his back was turned to them Karin had enough and she kicked him in his backside and sent him flying into Yuzu's stuffed Chappy the Rabbit that was human sized. "Chappy!" Yuzu cried out in alarm, but Karin ignored her sister "Who the hell do you think you are?!" She shouted as the person blinked as a thought entered his mind. {"A human….girl…kicked me…oh man Rangiku won't leave me alone if this gets out…"}.
He then got up, dusted his back and turned around only to be punched in his face by one Karin Kuchiki. "KAIRN!" Yuzu scolded as she whacked her twin sister across the back of her head. Karin recovered and shook her sister off and picked the still partially consciousness person and shook him. "What are you doing here….Shinigami?!" she growled and hoped El Diablo came home soon. The shinigami in question widened his eyes at that but then a loud roar shook the house. All three looked around in shock and confusion, "Is that…" Yuzu began as she started trembling.
"A hollow…" Karin and the shinigami looked at each other at the same time and both looked at each other. Karin rushed downstairs after a few minutes "Hey…wait!" The shinigami shouted as he stumbled forward only to be caught by Yuzu."H..heyy take it easy…" She said as she sat him down on her bed. She checked him over and sighed in embarrassment as Karin left his face bruised badly. "Sorry about my sister…she gets pretty angry…very easily." She apologized as she bowed her head low.
The Shinigami sighed and waved his hand in a carefree manner. "It's fine…I was rude for entering the way I did." Inside his head a thought entered {"How do these two know what a Hollow…or what a Shinigami is for that matter?"} He was going to ask when a loud crash echoed throughout the house. "Karin!" Yuzu shouted in worry, as she turned towards the door and was about to run. The shinigami held her back and shook its head. "No it's too dangerous…stay here I will investigate." "But…." Yuzu protested but was silenced by the Shinigami forcing her to sit down and running out the door and his eyes widened as he reached the bottom of the stairs.
Across town at the same time
Rukia sighed and yawned as she entered the elevator to go home. She had a bad feeling when she called home and nobody answered. {"That is weird…Yuzu usually answers when I call home."} She didn't like this at all and decided to head home as soon as possible. However that plan was derailed by a coworker asking her out to drink. Rukia relented as drinks sounded nice to soothe the stress away and maybe drown out that bad feeling she had.
She looked up at the sky as she followed her coworkers to the nearby bar. {"I hope Ichigo gets home…and make sure the twins are safe."}. She entered the bar as the bad feeling came on stronger and stronger and she prayed for her girls to be safe.
Kuchiki Household
Tōshirō Hitsugaya has seen a lot of things during his time as Captain of the Gotei-13. But he has never seen a human pretreen kicking him in his back and then sucker punching him without fear. He had a lot of questions but now he had to perform his duty as a shinigami and protect the people of this town. He rushed forward and pushed a heavily injured Karin out the way as the hollow got ready to strike. Using his body as a shield he took the brunt of the injury. He coughed up blood as Karin slowly started waking up "Wha….oh my god!" She shouted as she realized what was happening.
Tōshirō coughed up more blood and looked back at Karin as another scream cut them off. Everyone including the Hollow turned to see Yuzu standing at the bottom of the stairs. Hitsugaya gritted his teeth as he was unable to save her in time, he had to do something even if it was illegal. {"It's only temporarily…I should only be reprimanded."} He nodded with that line of thinking. He turned to the girl and while coughing he managed to find his voice. "Heyy…if you want to save your sister. You will need to take my sword and ram it into yourself."
Karin looked confused "Huh…" she started only to be cut off by the short captain. "It will turn you into a shinigami temporarily only enough to defeat the hollow." Karin looked at her sister who was stricken by terror and fear. She found her resolve and stood up and looked at the Shinigami. "Heyy..shinigami…give me that sword." Tōshirō chuckled and using his sword as a crutch he approached Karin. "What's your name?" He then asked "Karin…Karin Kuchiki and what's yours Shinigami?". Tōshirō was shaken out of his stupor {"She said Kuchiki…hmmm I will get answers later."}. "Captain Tōshirō Hitsugaya of the tenth division of the Gotei-13." He replied as he slowly embedded his sword into Karin's stomach.
A bright light engulfed the whole room and shot up into the night sky. Ichigo had to cover his eyes as he stood on top of a skyscraper. "What the hell was that!" Shouted the Hollow in confusion. "Yo…ugly." Shouted Karin as the hollow blinked and readjusted his vision to see Karin wearing the standard shinigami uniform and dual tantō connected together by a chain at the end of the hilt. Karin pointed one of the tantō at the Hollow "You fucked up by coming here!" She said, as Tōshirō looked on in confusion as he was now on the ground wearing a white shihakushō.
{"I only meant to give her half my power…just who is she…"} something caught his eyes and he found himself eying a small shrine in the corner of the now destroyed living room. He narrowed his eye on the first picture and found the man in it looked extremely familiar though he couldn't put his finger on it. A loud crash interrupted his thoughts and his eyes popped out of his skull. Karin had driven the Hollow back and threw him outside with relative ease. "No No No No this can't be!" The hollow shouted in pain as Karin appeared above him with both swords raised and launched a dual strike to his mask destroying the hollow with ease.