Chapter Eight
"Well, I won't keep you two on your date. Just don't try anything weird with her, Toshiro…"
"It's Captain Hitsugaya, and why would I!? Toshiro asked irritably, walking off with Karin, who waved goodbye to Ichigo, and turned after hesitating a moment.
The next few hours for Karin passed pretty quickly. They went out to lunch at a café that had cheap coffee and even cheaper noodles. They didn't have movies in Soul Society, but they did have theaters, and Shinigami who were good at acting acted in the plays, and they went to such a play.
It was a play that detailed how the former Commander General defeated the Vasto Lorde Menos, Samhain*, for whom the Celtic holiday was named.
The story went that in the Human world, a Vasto Lorde appeared to the Humans as a god, and demanded sacrifices once a year on what would later come to be known as Samhain.
Genryusai, disturbed by this Hollow's unusual behavior of using Human religious customs against them, sought to destroy Samhain, and was seen by the cultists of Samhain, who were all spiritually aware, and thus, were able to see him. The cultists, who were all in awe and terrified by Samhain, were truly awed by the battle that went on.
In the end of his first battle with Samhain, Genryusai was badly injured and dying. But he was brought back to health by Wiccan priestesses, who were capable of healing spiritual bodies by using their own spirit energy. It was during Genryusai's coma that he discovered his Bankai, and after, he went back and challenged Samhain once again and destroyed the wicked Hollow, saving the Celts from his depravity.
Karin was impressed by the Shinigami's acting ability, and their voices, which seemed to resound through the entire theater. The entire play was done in Gaelic, and thus, it was hard for Karin to follow most of it. As the two walked out, Karin stretched and yawned. She was tired, and when she checked her watch, she noticed that it was broken.
"There's no point checking your watch, Kurosaki. Human watches don't work in Soul Society. It's about 1800h, though. We should be getting you back to your dorm room soon. Let's get going, Kurosa…"
"I've told you at least five times, call me Karin!" Karin said, chopping Toshiro on the head. He had to admit that she was stronger than she looked.
As they walked back, they ran into Momo, who smiled and walked over to Toshiro.
"Shiro-chan! It's been a while… Oh my God! You have a girlfriend? She's so beautiful!" Momo gasped. For a moment, Karin was struck speechless. She was amazed that Toshiro was friends with a person like Momo. Their personalities were polar opposites.
"I've told you to call me Captain Hitsugaya. And she's not my girlfriend. This is Captain Kurosaki's younger sister. She's decided to join the Shin'o Academy." Toshiro said in a rather flat voice.
"Oh, no need to deny it! So… You're the girl Shiro-chan helped out in her soccer match?"
"Yeah. That's me." Karin said unenthusiastically, her expression remaining a blunt gaze. "And I most certainly am not Hitsugaya's girlfriend. I only just got here from the Human World, and so, Hitsugaya is just showing me around. He took me to see…" Suddenly, Toshiro slapped his hand over Karin's mouth, and grinned apologetically, excusing the two of them.
"I apologize, Kuro… Rather, Karin-san. Hinamori was very attached to Aizen before he betrayed Soul Society, and I don't think she ever got over his rather brutal betrayal of not only Soul Society, but also her personally."
"Really?" Karin asked. "What happened?"
"Well… It's a long story… Actually, everything that involves Aizen is a long story. But if you don't mind long stories, I don't mind telling you."
"I don't mind. I've probably heard longer stories than that. Humans are notorious for talking too much."
"Right. Well, in the month leading up to his defection from Soul Society, your brother and his friends invaded to Soul Society to save Rukia, who had been sentenced to death for illegal transference of her powers to a Human, and an overstay of time in the Human World.
"All the Shinigami believed that the Council of Forty-Six sentenced her. But in fact, Aizen had murdered the entire Council, and took their place. He sentenced her to death via the Sokyoku, which is usually only used on Captain level Shinigami or other extraordinarily powerful prisoners. The Sokyoku has the power of one million Zanpakuto, and as such, it completely vaporizes the body. This was all part of his plan…"
"Is all this necessary? Just get to the point…" Karin said impatiently, not seeing the point of this meandering story.
"It all is necessary, Karin. Anyway, he needed to vaporize her body so that the item that he actually wanted would fall from her body, and he could collect it.
"The Hogyoku, or Breakdown Sphere, is an item that breaks down the barrier between Shinigami and Hollow, and thus, allows a Shinigami to gain Hollow powers. This was vital for him. But anyway, I am actually getting off point. He continued to move up the date of the execution to keep your brother from saving her in time.
"In addition, he left a letter for Hinamori that said that I was a traitor, and planned to commit terrible crimes. The next day, she found him apparently dead, and pinned to a tower with his own sword, a true insult to a man's honor.
"She went mad with grief, and tried to kill me. Eventually, she went to the Central 46, and found that Aizen was very much alive. He revealed his plan, and revealed that he had only ever been using her because she admired him so much. Then he proceeded to try to kill her."
"He failed, and her emotional wounds were much more severe than her physical ones. As you can see, she recovered physically, but nobody mentions Aizen around her anymore. Aizen's answer to her telling him that she had admired him was 'Admiration is the furthest emotion from Understanding.'"
"Wow…" Karin muttered, stunned into silence. She had seen Aizen as sort of a flop before, albeit a powerful flop. But now, she understood just how manipulative and intelligent he was, and how masterful his betrayal had been.
"Yes… Karin-san… He truly was a monster of the worst kind. He…"
"Come on, Hitsugaya… Lighten up… Just call me Karin. We're on a date. Even if we aren't an item, it's still a social outing…"
"What are you talking about? What is an 'item'? And I was just planning to show you around Seireitei…" Toshiro said irritably, though he was blushing slightly.
"You know? An item?" Karin asked, holding up her pinky and thumb. Seeing this, Toshiro turned bright red.
"N-no! We aren't an item!" He sputtered.
"Oh, don't get so worked up over it. I told your girlfriend that I wasn't your girlfriend. I have no interest in getting you in trouble."
"Hinamori is not my girlfriend!" Toshiro shouted furiously as the two walked into the dorm building, drawing the attention of every student in the room. This was the girl's dorm, so the girls started giggling furiously. Toshiro blushed, and seemed to be trying to appear smaller.
It wasn't working. It was at this point that Karin's roommate approached them, and smiled.
"Hello, Captain Hitsugaya. Hey, Karin-chan… How did your date with the captain go? Did he treat you right? He didn't try anything funny with you, did he?" She asked, laughing at this last suggestion.
"No. He was very proper." Karin said with a polite smile. "And it wasn't really a date. Anyway, see ya'… Hitsugaya, you don't have to walk me up to my room…" Karin said.
Toshiro blushed, and muttered something before bowing politely and leaving. The other girls in the lobby stared for a moment, then went back to whatever they were doing.
"That was weird. It almost seemed like he likes you or something, Karin-chan…" Arisa said with a grin.
"Don't be ridiculous. Hitsugaya couldn't possibly like me."
"Why not? Yer cute… I think even I might be falling for you a bit. Y'all've got a spicy personality, good fashion sense, yer athletic, smart…"
"Yeah, yeah… I get it. I feel beautiful, already. But he's a captain already, and the youngest captain in Soul Society. Besides… Ichi-nii is the only man for me." Karin said, blushing lightly as she walked into the dorm room with Arisa.
"So?"
"What do you mean?" Karin asked, confused by Arisa's rather blunt and vague question.
"Well… In my experience, when ya' wanna to get a man, ya gotta make him think that ya' could get a different one wit' no problem. Go on a few dates with Captain Hitsugaya, make this Ichini jealous and then you'll…" Arisa began, mistaking Ichigo's name for being Ichinii.
"That's completely immoral!" Karin protested. Karin knew that she would do a lot of things to get Ichigo's love. But making him jealous by using another boy was not one of them. "Besides… My brother isn't that shallow, and he would be furious with me if he found out that I did something so shallow." Karin said.
"Ohhhh! Ya' meant Nii, like Nii-san… I didn' realize ya' were on such casual terms with your brother… Ya must already be pretty close…"
"Yeah… We're pretty close. Our whole family was pretty close in the Human World. It's kind of a long story, but I don't mind if you want to hear it."
"Sure. Why not? I ain't got nothin' better t'do. I spent th' day on my homework. So I've got th' evenin' free." She said in her Osakan dialect that she was apparently known for in the Academy. She was a brilliant student.
She had been there two years, and she already knew more than most of the fourth year students. Karin was determined to be as good as her roommate. Arisa Kinoshita was already far ahead, and was only likely to get further ahead, as she had a jumpstart on Karin.
"Well… This is only the story that I got. My old man, Isshin Shiba was in the Human World on a mission to destroy a Hollow that had killed a number of his comrades. That was when he found that the Hollow was like none he had ever fought before.
"Apparently, that was also when Aizen displayed his true colors, to Dad, anyway, and he cut him from behind. Isshin continued to fight, but fell. That was when Mom came in and began fighting…"
"Your mom was also a Shinigami? How wer' ya'…?"
"Shut up and listen." Karin said bluntly. "Mom wasn't a Shinigami. She never was, and never would be. She was a pureblooded Quincy. She defeated the Hollow, but was injured. Isshin couldn't stay in the Human World, though, and returned to Seireitei to report to the Commander-General.
"After a while, he went back to the Human World and found that Masaki's injury had left lingering damage. The Hollow had Hollowfied Masaki. The problem with Hollowfying a Quincy is that Hollow powers are like acid to a Quincy's soul.
"They are dangerous, and thus, she was going to die if nothing was done, and the Quincies didn't know what to do. So then Urahara offered a solution. It would require Dad to sacrifice his Shinigami powers, though.
"He loved Masaki, though, so he agreed, and she was saved, and they got married and had children and so on and so forth. So Ichi-nii has a lot of races inside him. He's apparently something called a Visored, which is a Shinigami infused with Hollow powers.
"He's a Shinigami, and he's a Quincy. I don't completely get it. He explained his Zanpakuto to me, and how they tie into his powers. But they make little sense to me." Karin said. Arisa laughed, and shook her head.
"Well… Captain Kurosaki is special, if nothin' else. So, have ya told 'im yer feelings for him? I know he's your brother, but surely if you told him how ya felt, he'd…"
"I've told him. He's completely in love with Rukia, though… They've really got something special together. I have no right to interfere…"
"Wait… Ya mean Lieutenant Kuchiki? He's datin' Lieutenant Kuchiki? No shit?"
"Well… Ichi-nii knew Rukia before she became a lieutenant. He met her… Was it three years ago? No. Two. Two years ago, when a Hollow attacked our house. She transferred her Shinigami powers to him, and thus, he became a Shinigami, himself, and began protecting Mankind from Hollows. Their bond grew over the years, and turned into romance."
"I see… Ya seem to be stuck on somethin' wit' yer homework. What is it?"
"No. I'm just distracted. I really do need to get back to working." Karin said, turning around at her desk, and writing quickly. She knew all the answers, which was good, because they would be on the test.
Already her teachers were saying that she was vastly exceeding their expectations of her. None of them thought she would have such facility with not only hand-to-hand, which Ichigo had taught her over the years, but also Hoho, Zanjutsu, and Kido.
In the three weeks that she had been in the Academy, she had surpassed all the other students. She was happy with that. It meant that she was getting closer to Ichigo in terms of talent. Her eventual goal was to become a captain like Ichigo was.
She had always admired Ichigo for putting his life at risk to protect others. She hadn't practiced Kido that day, either, so she needed to go down to the training grounds, and practice all her skills. It was Sunday, and getting late, but she couldn't afford to miss even a day of practice.
"I have to get down to the training grounds. I forgot to go earlier."
"What? It's Sunday, Karin-chan! Besides… It's 2000h! It ain't no kinda time to be trainin'!" Arisa said ardently. Even she hadn't practiced that day. She never practiced on Sunday. Her entire class saw her as a prodigy, anyway, and she had skipped two years to join the fourth years. Thus, it wasn't such a big deal if she took one day a week off. Besides, she used Sunday to work on other things.
She played piano and violin on Sundays in a small café in Seireitei, where she was something of a local celebrity. She didn't remember anything about her Human life. But she had a feeling that she must have been talented in music, as she was extremely gifted once she got to Soul Society. So much so that she entertained the masses when she was still just a soul in Rukongai.
"Well… Unlike you, Kinoshita-san, I'm not a natural genius…"
"Bollocks!" Arisa snapped. "You're just as smart as I am. If ya' give it a year or so, y'all'l likely be even further'n I am!"
"Bullshit. I need to train every day. Yeah, I'm tired, but I can't even miss one day if I ever want to get as good as Ichi-nii…"
"Well, there's yer problem, sweetie…"
"Don't call me sweetie." Karin said in a disgruntled tone.
"Y'all're settin' th' bar too high. Aim to graduate first in yer class, or aim to graduate in three years instead of six, or whatever. Then, when y'achieve that goal, make a new one, like… Become a seated officer… I dunno… I ain't in any position to make goals fer y'all. I only want y'all to promise me one thing…"
"Oh yeah? What's that?" Karin asked with an appreciative smile.
"Don't forget 'bout me on yer' way up…" Arisa said, kissing Karin on the lips, causing her to recoil rapidly, punching Arisa in the face, breaking her nose. Arisa groaned, standing up, and looking at her face in the mirror.
"Wow… Karin-chan… Ya' really pack a hell of a punch… I can appreciate that in a woman…" Arisa said with a giggle. Karin, though, was still incensed that Arisa had done something so inappropriate. She had always planned to give her first kiss to Ichigo.
She had kissed him before he left for Soul Society, but she didn't really count that, as he hadn't consented. And she definitely didn't want her first kiss to be with a girl.
"Try that again, and I'll give you much more than a broken nose!" Karin snapped furiously. Arisa giggled, and reset her nose, and muttered a minor healing spell, fixing her nose perfectly.
"See? That's what I find so incredibly attractive about y'all. Yer so spicy and rebellious, and yet, you're gorgeous at the same time. I bet your mother was a beautiful woman."
"Actually, I look more like my father. Yuzu-chan looks more like our mother." Karin said coldly. "Listen, I have no problem with gay people, but I do have a problem with people; boy or girl, gay or straight, violating my personal space. So I won't mention this again if you promise not to try that again…"
"Okay. Sorry… Can I still call ya' 'Karin-chan'?" She asked? Karin smiled in resignation and nodded.
"Yeah. I guess so. But I'm serious. No kisses. I don't swing that way."
"I understand. But yer wrong. I ain't a lesbian…"
"Y-you're not? But…"
"I'm bisexual… I swing both ways."
"Wow. I never would've guessed. And that went down alright in Rukongai?"
"Eh… I came from one of the poorer districts. People didn't have time to worry about my sexuality. But may I ask a favor?"
"Um… Sure?" Karin asked uncertainly. She didn't know what Arisa wanted, but she wasn't sure at all if she could possibly agree.
"I'm supposed t' graduate this year. I'm getting' accepted right into th' Thirteen Court Guard Companies. They've said they're gonna put me in Thirteenth Division, under Captain Ukitake…"
"Yeah? Wow. Congratulations. That's really impressive. So what's this favor?"
"I want a kiss on graduation day… Don't give me such a look. I ain't sayin' you hafta do it in front of anyone. I ain't sain' you have to use yer tongue. I just want a promise that you won' forget me after we part ways…"
"Okay… Seriously? Right after I tell you not to try and kiss me again, you ask me to kiss you again? What the hell?"
"Never mind. Just the promise will be fine, th…"
"No. I'll do it. Just don't expect me to go all the way with you, or anything."
"Well… I ain't gonna expect anything of ya', but I can certainly hope that you'll give me more'n just a kiss…"
"Yeah, yeah… We'll see… Now, it's 2100h, and I have to get to bed. I'm exhausted from walking all day."
"Really? Where'd y'all go?"
"Well, we went to a prison called the Maggot's Nest on the outskirts of Seireitei. We visited some nutjob named Sosuke Aizen, and…"
"Wait! You saw the Sosuke Aizen!? No fucking way! He's like th' most dangerous criminal in Soul Society history. Even the old Commander General couldn't defeat him. Even the Vandenreich wanted his help."
"He was a boring guy. He was intelligent and devious, but his goals were boring as hell. He wanted world domination. I mean, really? He said something about wanting to be God, but that didn't make any sense to me, since I don't believe in God."
"There really is a God, y'know? Karin-chan… God really does exist. He ain't exactly like what th' Human Bible says he's like. He had nothin' to do with the creation of Humans, and there weren't no Adam and Eve. But God does exist. From what I understand, he's like a spiritual balancer.
He's the one that holds the fabric of all existence together. Whether ya' call ím God, Allah, Krishna, or Amaterasu, it all means the same thing. He reigns over reality, and had Aizen succeeded in killin' God, existence would have fallen apart. Hueco Mundo, Soul Society, and Earth would've collided, and chaos would've reigned."
"What the hell is Hueco Mundo?"
"It's th' world Hollows reside in when they ain't in the Human world. But I'll say g'night t' y'all, now. See ya in th' mornin."
Ichigo was sitting in the middle of the room, a fair amount of incense burning around the room, the lights dimmed so that they barely offered any illumination, and several candles around the room, several of which were scented. The room was filled with conflicting smells that were supposed to work together to create a sense of ease and relaxation in the smeller so that he or she could meditate properly.
Ichigo had been practicing meditation for weeks, solidifying his reiatsu around him so that he could learn to control it better, and so that his Zanpakuto would not be constantly released. He knew that he may never be able to have only one sword on him, but he would like to have a distinct Shikai form that was separate from his unreleased form.
He had never concentrated on reiatsu control, as it had never been an issue. But now that he needed to learn to control his Quincy powers at all, and control his Shinigami and Hollow powers properly so that he could stand tall and proud as a captain, and be respected by his peers, meaning the other captains.
He knew that they all respected him, but he couldn't respect himself if he couldn't do what even the lowliest of Shinigami could do.
"Good evening, Ichigo…" Rukia said, sounding a little too enthusiastic for her own taste. After hearing how excited she sounded, she covered her mouth, blushing in embarrassment. She had smelled the incense coming into the building.
They were all scents that she had smelled before, given that Byakuya meditated regularly, and used incense as well, though he didn't need it anymore. Byakuya often taught lower Shinigami proper meditation techniques, and in fact, had taught Ichigo a bit about it, although to be fair, her Nii-sama wasn't a very patient teacher, and had become agitated by Ichigo's slowness at learning.
As soon as the words came out, she started, having realized that Ichigo had been meditating. She blushed, and turned to leave, seeing that she had already disturbed him. She was stopped by a hand thrusting out and Ichigo's voice.
"Where are you going?"
"I-I'm sorry, Cap…"
"You call me Captain Kurosaki again and I'll have to give serious consideration to being offended. I'm not your damn captain. I'm your boyfriend. Besides, I was just about to finish my meditation. Half the incense is burned out, and the other half is on its last few puffs of smoke. So, what's up?"
Rukia blushed at being asked this, and looked away. Ichigo found that he was turning pink as well. Rukia had always been such a composed woman that he didn't know that she could even become flustered. Sure, she got angry. Everyone did sometimes. But she never showed embarrassment, or nervousness.
"W-well… It's just… We haven't seen much of each other since you got to Soul Society. Karin came to you, and I saw you briefly, then. By the way, I saw Karin on her date with Captain Hitsugaya. She seemed to be having fun… But are you sure you want her visiting Sosuke Aizen?" Rukia asked with an eyebrow raised.
"I don't care what she does. She's a… Wait… What?" Ichigo asked, the true implications sinking in about halfway through his answer. He was going to say that she was a big girl, and could do what she liked.
"Yeah. I saw her and Captain Hitsugaya leaving the forest that led to the Maggot's Nest, which is where they house Soul Society's most dangerous elements. Most of them aren't criminals in that they've not committed any crime. However, they are seen as potentially dangerous, and thus, are not allowed to leave.
"The lower levels are reserved for Shinigami, and those who have committed heinous crimes. Aizen's cell is an isolation unit about a kilometer underground underneath about three meters of Sekiseki rock, and separated from the rest of the Maggot's nest by dozens of doors, all with the most powerful of seals on them to prevent the use of reiatsu or Kido on them.
"Aizen's isolation cell is underneath First Division's barracks. I asked what they were doing in the Maggot's Nest, and Karin said that they had seen Aizen."
"They did WHAT!? Is Toshiro cocky, crazy, or just stupid!?" Ichigo yelled
"I don't think it's really that big a deal. Karin is a strong willed girl. From what she said, she found Aizen to be pretty boring."
"Boring? What do you mean?" Ichigo asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Well… She found his goal to take over the world to be extraordinarily trite and old." Rukia replied. She personally agreed with Karin on that point.
How many people in history, whether Human or Shinigami had stated their goal was to stand at the top? Whether that meant to rule the world like many before Aizen, or to be God, like Aizen wanted, it was all more or less the same.
"I see. So, what did you come for? Don't get me wrong, I'm glad to see you. If you hadn't come, I would've just had to go back to doing paperwork."
"I see… I guess it's good that I came, then. God forbid you having to do paperwork…"
Ichigo scowled at this, and looked away. "I've gotten good at doing paperwork. It's just boring…" Ichigo said.
"Didn't you say the same thing about meditating?" Rukia asked with a smirk, standing up taller, and kissing Ichigo on the lips. Ichigo blushed, and looked away from Rukia again. He was still trying to get his arms around the fact that Rukia really did return his feelings for her.
It still left him slightly dizzy when he thought about being with Rukia. She was so beautiful, and he was just… So ordinary. He sort of still wondered why he had bothered to confess to her.
"Ichigo, you look kind of strange. What's wrong? And don't tell me 'nothing'. I know you better than that."
"I'm just still kind of wondering why you agreed to go out with me."
"Geez… You're such a paranoid person. Why do I need an ulterior motive to do anything? I love you. That's why. I thought that much had been made clear."
"Yes. You did. But… Never mind. I'm glad to see you. Let's see… I should make tea since I have a guest." Rukia heard Ichigo muttering that he hated old fashioned dictates like that. She knew as well as he did that it was polite to make tea, though, so she didn't stop him.
Seireitei was different from the Human World. Custom was still very important. Ichigo stood at the sink and poured some water into a tea pot and started boiling it on high. After a few minutes, he heard it whistling, and so, he took it off, and took a tray out from his cupboard, or rather, Shunsui's former cupboard.
Shunsui had just taken over the stuff in the 1st Division barracks, so he didn't need most of the old stuff. Ichigo got some crackers and cheese from the fridge and put it on the tray with the tea, and walked out to the room that Rukia was in, and poured the tea in front of Rukia and handed her her cup. Rukia bowed and sat down on the pillow, and began sipping her tea.
She had to admit that for someone who hated old fashioned traditions, Ichigo wasn't bad at making tea. His wasn't nearly as good as Byakuya's, who seemed to have a real knack for it, and both of them paled in comparison to her own captain, who had an article in Shinigami Weekly about tea ceremonies.
"Thank you, Ichigo." Rukia said, continuing to drink the tea out of the small cup. After a while, they stopped drinking, and sat down on the couch in the room together, and held hands for a while. Rukia could freely admit that she had never even kissed a man before Ichigo.
Everyone in Soul Society had always assumed that she had been in a relationship with Renji. But she had only ever seen him as a friend, though she knew that Renji loved her.
He had confessed to her on several occasions, and she had turned him down every time. She had heard Renji ranting to himself when he thought nobody could hear him about Ichigo winning her heart after only a year when he had been friends with her for over a century and was still 'only a friend'.
She never bothered to correct him on his inherently erroneous belief that just because they had known each other longer, that she should love him. It was kind of funny, though.
"Tell me… How is Renji taking this? He was pretty bent outta shape when he first found out."
"H-how did you know!? I didn't tell anyone about his ranting…"
"He was ranting at me! You heard him but didn't see him, didn't you? I was the one he was talking to… If you can call that talking." Ichigo said, glancing away irritably.
Hearing this, Rukia began giggling, and eventually broke into a laugh. Ichigo had always loved the way Rukia laughed. It was such a beautiful sound, like pure silver bells.
"I guess that would be pretty annoying. How is your sister doing at Shin'o Academy?" Rukia asked, taking a deep breath to still herself. She knew it was unladylike to laugh so openly in front of another person, especially a man. Such rules of decorum were drastically relaxed in the Human World, but in Soul Society, there were still rules that noblewomen were expected to follow.
"There's no need to cloister yourself like that, Rukia-chan. I like your laugh. It's beautiful…" Ichigo said, sounding uncommonly romantic. In fact, him being so romantic was almost unheard of. Rukia would have been suspicious if she didn't know that Ichigo habitually wore his heart on his sleeve.
"And I don't know anything about how Karin is doing. She hasn't spoken to me in any significant capacity since she joined the Academy almost a month ago. She has a roommate with whom she gets along well. The girl is a genius according to Karin. Classes are going well, and she's near the top of her year. She hasn't said much more than that…"
"That's no good. You should take more of an interest in Karin's education. After all, if her goal is to become a Shinigami like you, you really ought to help teach her a little bit."
"She doesn't need my help. She always took after her mother in terms of intelligence.
"Karin is ten times as smart as I'll ever be." Ichigo said. It was a sobering fact that Karin was so much smarter than he was, but he was proud of her, nonetheless.
"That doesn't mean she couldn't still learn something from you. Come here… You're still her brother, and you're older than she is. Thus, you have more experience.
"You've been a Shinigami only three years, and already, you've defeated a monster that even the former Commander General couldn't subdue, beaten Yhwach, who killed the former Commander General, gained control of Quincy powers that you barely knew you had, gained mastery over your Hollow mask, perfected your Zanpakuto, begun to get good at meditation, become a captain…"
"Alright, I get it. I've come a long way. But my Kido is still abysmal, and my reiatsu control is also terrible. My Hoho could use work, and my Hakuda is decent, but it needs work."
"Well… If you want help with Hoho and Hakuda, you could ask Soifon. She's one of the best hand-to-hand combatants in Seireitei, not counting maybe the Commander General."
"Are you kidding? I'm pretty sure Soi Fon hates me with a passion. Besides…" Ichigo said, dropping his voice to a whisper. "She terrifies me… For such a small woman, she's really scary…"
Rukia laughed lightly at this. "I know she seems a bit intimidating. After all, she is a member of the Stealth Force. Basically, she's an assassin. She's supposed to be scary. But I don't think she hates you. Or at least she respects you enough not to want to kill you…" Rukia said offhandedly as though there wasn't a significant difference. Ichigo, for his part, could see a huge difference.
"I-It can't hurt to try…" Ichigo said. Rukia kissed Ichigo again, and smiled. "That's a good attitude. Come on. We've been dating for over a month, now, and we've barely spent any time together. I know we're both busy… But…" Rukia said, leaning in, and cupping Ichigo's cheek, kissing him.
Ichigo responded to her kiss by embracing her, and pulling her in tight. For a few minutes, they continued like that until Ichigo heard someone clear their throat at the entrance. For a moment, Ichigo was too terrified to look to see who it was, sure that it was Byakuya, ready to slaughter Ichigo at a moment's notice.
"I apologize for disturbing you, Captain Kurosaki. I was just sure that I was enough for you." Lisa said in a monotone. Fortunately, Rukia had learned enough about Lisa in the week or two that she had been there to know that she was joking.
What bothered Ichigo more was that Karin was standing there, her mouth hanging open. The girl blinked, and sighed. Karin frankly wasn't surprised. She knew that her Ichi-nii would have to have sex with Rukia eventually. She felt guilty and embarrassed that they had interrupted the two of them.
"S-sorry… I-Ichi-nii… I didn't realize you were busy… I-I can come back anytime."
"No, no… Come back in here. Rukia-chan… I guess…"
"Say no more. She's family. Lisa, did you just come to bring Karin here?"
"Yes. She was wandering around Soul Society like a lost puppy looking for her house, except that a puppy could find her way better."
"Well, let's go then. I'm sure Karin's been itching to see her brother for weeks, now."
"Captain Kurosaki? Don't hesitate to borrow some of my erotic magazines if you need some ideas for how to get started…" Lisa said, wearing her unflinching deadpan face. Ichigo scowled and looked away. He hadn't really wanted Karin to hear any of that. But Lisa seemed to be completely shameless.
"Well, good night, Captain Kurosaki." Lisa said quietly, walking out with Rukia.
"H-hey, Ichi-nii…" Karin said nervously. "I-I'm sorry I ruined your night with Rukia… I just wa…"
"Don't apologize. I'll see her again. We do live pretty close together, after all. And I was wondering when I'd get to see you. So what's going on? How're classes going? Do you like your teachers? How's your roommate? Are you still doing as well as you were when you last checked in?"
"Whoa… Let's see… To answer that in the right order… Classes are going well. I like all my teachers better than my Human teachers at any rate. My roommate is doing great, though the details will come in a different sentence, and I'm still doing as well as last time."
"Good. I always knew you were smarter than I ever was. I could never get my hands around Reiatsu control. My focus was always on Zanjutsu. So what's this about your roommate?"
"Well… I found out recently she's bisexual… But she's also brilliant. She's gonna be graduating at the end of this year, so I guess I'll be getting a new roommate…"
"Wait… What was that?"
"Oh, you mean about her being bi? It's not a big deal. I told her, I have no problem with bisexuals."
"Yeah… But how did you find out? She didn't just say 'guess what, Karin, I'm bi, did she?"
"No… Well… It's a little embarrassing. She just suddenly kissed me last night. I punched her in the face and broke her nose, and told her that if she did that again, I'd break more than just her nose."
"So she's a lesbian…"
"No. She likes boys and girls both. But it's not a problem. She promised she wouldn't do that again. Besides, she's nice, and it's good to have a roommate that can help me out a bit with my work. Since she'll be graduating soon, she's already covered everything I have and more."
"Whatever. So, did you just come to say hi?" Ichigo asked, glad to see Karin. Karin suddenly moved at a rate that Ichigo had not expected of her, and hugged Ichigo tightly.
"It's good to see you, Ichi-nii…
I wanted to know if you could work on Zanjutsu and Hakuda with me after school… Only if you aren't too busy, of course…"
"You want me to teach you Zanjutsu and Hakuda? Well, there's not a problem with that, but Captain Soi Fon is better at Hakuda than I am, and the Commander General is better at Zanjutsu…"
"Yeah, but Captain Soi Fon is scary, and the Commander General is a creepy lecher…" Karin said. At this, even Ichigo had to laugh.
"I agree completely on both those points. But Soi Fon learned at the hands of Yoruichi. Trust me. She's the best."
"Are you crazy? You're even better than Tatsuki, and she's the second best in Japan, even with a broken arm."
"So? Best in Japan. Best in the world. None of that means shit in Soul Society, where even Chuck Norris couldn't touch even the weakest of these people. I'll be your teacher if you really want me to… Actually… There's another woman in Soul Society who's no doubt better than I am. What time is it?"
"2100h. Why?" Karin asked. Ichigo looked at her.
"Come to me after you're done at the Academy tomorrow evening. I'll introduce you to her. Try to be patient with her. She's great at hand-to-hand combat, but she's got a short attention span, and hasn't got a serious bone in her body."
"Then… Why the hell would you put me with her!? How could I possibly learn anything from her!?"
"You'll learn something. Her captain is the polar opposite of her. He seems to be one of the few people who can keep her in line… Well…" Ichigo said, looking away with a slightly doubtful look. "Sort of… Almost…"
Karin sighed, but nodded. She had a feeling that she wasn't going to get along well with this person. She had met a lot of strange people whom Ichigo considered friends. Orihime, who was a master at making the strangest dishes.
Tatsuki, who was the very picture of a tomboy. That Riruka chick, who had a crush on Ichigo but was so tsundere that she could barely admit it to herself, and couldn't even look Ichigo in the face when she admitted it to him.
There was Chad, who was a hulk of a man, bigger than most wrestlers, and stronger than most bodybuilders, but almost always completely silent. There was that… Damn… What was that red haired girl's name? Shizuku? No… That was the girl from that Hayao Miyazaki move… Whatever… The super lesbian… Well… She was more Orihime's friend.
"Ichi-nii… Do you have even one normal friend?" Karin asked with a helpless smirk. She wasn't so much making fun of Ichigo as she was starting to despair that she would be as big a magnet to weirdoes as he was.
"Do you consider Rukia normal?" Ichigo asked.
"She's a Shinigami. I meant human friends, though… Considering all your Shinigami friends seem to be nutjobs as well… Dunno if it matters."
"Let's see… Chad, Inoue, Tatsuki… No… Mizuiro, Keigo… Hell no! Dokugamine-san, no… Hat n' Clogs, Ms. Yoruichi, Uryu… No. Nope. I ain't got a single normal human friend… Damn. I guess that's kinda depressing… If I consider my family to be my friends, then maybe you and Yuzu are normal friends…"
"So. You have three normal friends, if you include Yuzu-chan and I? That's pathetic Ichi-nii. But… It is getting pretty late. G'night Ichi-nii…"
"Alright… Lisa… Rukia-chan, you guys can come back in." Ichigo said. He had known that they were there the whole time. He just didn't feel like calling them out.
"Y'know, Lisa… That's a pretty bad habit you have there, eavesdropping."
"I'm a curious girl. It's perfectly natural to want to know more about my captain."
"Yeah, yeah. Rukia-chan… I know I can't give you orders, but could you take Karin back to Shin'o Academy. Lisa, just go home…"
"Why didn't you ask me to take your sister back to the…"
"Because you would've probably discussed your perverted magazines with her the whole way. She's too young for that shit! She's only thirteen."
"You give me too little credit. Y'know, I was pretty close with Nanao Ise 100 years ago, when I was still Kyoraku's lieutenant."
"You mean the Commander General's lieutenant? What could she possibly want from you? She's so… Proper and intellectual… And you're so…"
"I get it, I get it. She liked to have me read to her once a month. No, it wasn't dirty magazines. She was fond of Sherlock Holmes and Howard Phillips Lovecraft."
"Who and what?" Ichigo asked.
"I'll… Just take Karin-chan back. I'll see you tomorrow, Ichigo." Rukia said, walking over and kissing Ichigo once more. She was being strangely romantic that night. Ichigo was almost suspicious, but he knew that Rukia only acted when she wanted to get away with something.
She was an accomplished actor, in fact, and often played a part in the Seireitei Theater Company's plays. Plays that had her in them were well liked, and drew people from all thirteen divisions… Even the eleventh.
"Pardon my rudeness, Captain Kurosaki, but how stupid are you? Sherlock Holmes? By Sir Arthur Conan Doyle? HP Lovecraft? He wrote The Call of Cthulhu, The Music of Erich Zann, The Rats in the Walls, The Arkham Horror, Nyarlathotep, Celephais…
"You've never heard of any of these… Have you?" Lisa asked in irritation.
"I've heard of The Call of Cthulhu. I didn't know who wrote it, though. I think I remember something about Rukia-chan liking Lovecraft, and I've sort of heard of Holmes."
"Forget it… Take this book… I usually use it for beating Shinji over the head when he comes onto me. But you can probably learn more from it than he ever could. Gute Nacht, Captain…" Lisa said, surprising Ichigo with her sudden transition to another language.
"S-sorry?"
"I said good night, Captain. Good luck with your sister and your lover."
A/N: Samhain, pronounced Shau win is an ancient Gaelic holiday celebrating the end of the harvest season and the beginning of Winter. Samhain begins at sundown on October 31st and ends at sunrise on November 1st. It is celebrated with a feast and large bonfires, dressing in costume and going door to door (it is the precursor of Halloween), and divination by the Celtic druids.
More about Samhain can be found at wiki/Samhain
Oh, P.S. Sorry the chapter is so long.
