Chapter Fourteen
"Dokugamine…" Came a young voice from the doorway. Riruka turned around and looked levelly at Yukio.
"Yukio? Just call me Riruka. I'm the same person as I was before I started working for you. The fact that I work here changes nothing."
"I-I know… You're doing a great job here. We're making more money than ever with your dresses. Your style is incredible. How do you keep coming up with dresses like that?"
"I just base my decisions on what I would like… Being as eminently talented as I am, people pick up on that through my work…" Riruka said snidely.
Yukio sighed. He should have known that she would give a smart answer like that. He blushed and looked at Riruka one last time.
"Hey, R-Riruka… I know this is sort of forward of me, but… Would you maybe like to go on a date sometime?" Yukio asked, turning a deep crimson color.
Riruka seemed actually hesitant for once. She looked away, turning a slight pink color as well.
"I'm flattered, Yukio… But… I'm already dating Shukuro. Damnit! Where did I leave off on this dress!?" Riruka flared, looking all over the dress for the pin, but not finding it.
"You were hemming the frill on the right sleeve, Riruka…" Yukio said. Riruka nodded, and went back to sewing the frill on it. After another hour of watching Riruka sew and occasionally sit and stare at the dress, she finished, and pressed the call button.
A middle aged woman came in with whom Yukio was somewhat familiar.
"Yuu-kun! How nice to see you again… I didn't know that you and Riru-chan were friends. Riruka hissed.
"Don't call me Riru-chan!" She snarled angrily. The woman smiled apologetically.
"Sorry… You're just so adorable. I think you and my daughter would get along really well." The woman said. Riruka snorted under her breath.
"My daughter is about the same age as you. She loves those gothic lolita style clothes you always make."
"They're not Gothic Lolita! They're just trendy! I-I'm sorry… What was your name again?"
"Oh, Tsunenaga Asuka."
"Mrs. Tsunenaga… Maybe I've already met your daughter. Does she go to Karakura High School?" Riruka asked, gritting her teeth and trying to be friendly.
"Yes, actually. She's… Well, how old are you, Riruka?" Asuka asked. Riruka scowled, but after a moment, she answered.
"I'm 15. How… How old is your daughter, Tsunenaga-san?"
"Well, she's 15 as well…"
"Wait… Is your daughter named Noa Tsunenaga?" Riruka asked. Asuka nodded happily.
"I know her. I met her my first and last day at Karakura High. I wanted to punch her for asking me what kind of conditioner I used."
"Oh, well… You know teenage girls. So concerned with appearance. You do have lovely hair. I'm not surprised you make others envious."
"I-if you'll excuse me… I-I have to get back to work. I have another dress sketch to produce by the end of the day."
"Of course, Riruka. See you again, Yuu-kun!" The woman said, walking out. Riruka sneered, and went back to work on the dress, clipping the end of the string, and fluffing it slightly before going to her drawing pad and beginning to sketch out another dress. She had already made eight different dresses. The particular line of dresses called for fifteen dresses.
"Let's see… Karin… I've been wondering… We've been seeing each other… Well, not really seeing… At least not in the way you humans consider it… But I've taken you on several… Outings? Is that what humans would call it…? And, well… No… That sounds completely stupid! Hinamori! What do you think I should say!?" Toshiro demanded. Hinamori perked up slightly, blushing a light shade of pink.
"I don't think you need my help, Shiro-chan… Just tell her how you feel. I'm sure she'll be happy. You're overthinking this." Momo said, wishing somewhat that he would want to spend as much time with her as he did with Karin. She couldn't deny that Karin was gorgeous.
She was smart, strong, pretty, and being related to Ichigo, she probably had some Quincy in her as well. Between her and Ichigo, they could probably bring about a whole new breed of Shinigami… Shinigami who could use Quincy powers as well as their Shinigami abilities.
"O-Okay… How about this… Karin… Would you like to go on a date with me? No! That's way too forward! I'm a captain! She's an academy student! Hinamori! I could r-really use your help on this!" Toshiro exploded helplessly. He had never really felt this way about anyone. He had thought he had feelings for Hinamori at one point.
But then he realized that he only ever loved her like a sister. But, Karin was completely batshit for her brother. So maybe the two didn't need to be mutually exclusive. That said, he didn't feel romantically for Hinamori, and he was certain he never would. She was his best friend. She was like a sister. She looked out for him sometimes. She wasn't anything like a love interest.
"You give yourself too little credit, Shiro-chan. I'm sure Kurosaki-san will be very charmed by you." She said sincerely. Toshiro raised an eyebrow at this.
"Charmed? By me? The last person that was charmed by me was Captain Ukitake, and he just wanted to give me weird presents. I can't remember a single girl that was ever charmed by me." Toshiro muttered.
Hinamori put a hand on Toshiro's back, sitting down next to him.
"Why don't we go back to roleplaying for a bit. Maybe with some practice, you'll know what you want to say. Okay. So, you knock on Kurosaki-san's door, and she answers the door…
"Yeah!? Whaddaya want!? I'm studying!" Hinamori said, roleplaying her impression of Karin's personality, giggling slightly at her somewhat contrary personality.
"Um… Um… U-um… K-Kar… K-Kurosa…"
"Just call me Karin, damnit!" Hinamori snapped, trying to even adopt Karin's scowl, but having to stifle a giggle. She really did act a lot like Ichigo. She looked like him, too. They both must have resembled their father… Or so she assumed.
"K-K-Karin, then… I-I wanted t-to know… To know if… If you wanted t-to go… Out with me…" Toshiro stuttered, feeling like a little child, cowering from an angry parent. Hinamori couldn't help but be amused. For all that he tried to be cold and collected all the time, he really had a hard time asking Karin out. They had been talking about this for hours, and they had made little if any progress.
"Oh… I guess I could go on a few dates with you… I make no promises, though." Hinamori said, going for Tsundere, but failing miserably. She was just so cheerful that she couldn't pull off tsundere.
"See? You can do it if you try. Just practice what you want to say, and practice saying it with confidence. Kurosaki-san will pick up on your confidence…"
"I-I'm sure she'd tell you to call her Karin as well, Hinamori-san."
"Just call me Momo! We've been friends for over a hundred years!" Momo snapped, storming out. Before she left, though, she winked and wished Toshiro luck with confessing to Karin.
Finally, the day had come. It was Friday, but the entire school had off because it was the headmaster's birthday. The Shin'o Academy had a three day weekend. Karin would no doubt use most of the time to train. But Toshiro had a message sent to her telling her to wait in her room until 1000h, after which point, she could leave. Not terribly clever. But the best he could think of on short notice.
Toshiro took a deep breath, already feeling vertigo overwhelming his senses, and reaching up to knock on the door. Before he could, though, he was told to enter by Karin, who seemed to sense his coming.
"How did you know it was me?"
"Your reiatsu is out of control today. You seem dizzy. What's wrong? You usually have the focus and control of a hawk."
"I'll take that as a compliment. I-I… Geez… I had my entire speech written out, and I memorized it earlier. Now I can't remember a single word…"
"Just get on with it. I have shit to do, you know? I'm a student, not a carefree child."
"I-I know… I wanted to know if you'd… G-go out with me…" Toshiro muttered. Karin heard him loud and clear, despite his muttering, and scowled for a moment, before bursting into laughter. She hardly ever laughed. The only thing she did less than laugh was cry.
For a moment, she couldn't stop, but finally, she got control of herself and took a few deep breaths, wiping her eyes.
"S-sorry, Toshiro… I just didn't… I thought you and that lieutenant girl were dating…"
"Hinamori? No. We've been friends since we were kids… Well, relatively speaking. So… Is that a no?" Toshiro asked, seeming somewhat hurt. Karin shook her head.
"Sure… I'll go out with you. Do you want to spar with me today?" Karin asked. Toshiro seemed surprised by this question.
He wasn't really supposed to spar with students. He could seriously hurt a student. He was a captain. But maybe it would be alright. He nodded, and followed her down to the dojo, which was already filling up rapidly. Toshiro scowled and took Karin's hand, going down to the dojo, where they each grabbed a bokken. Karin faced off against Toshiro, and the two crossed swords and bowed.
Toshiro counted down, although counting down to make sure that both fighters were ready would be a moot point in a real battle. There may not even be time to prepare. One would have to be ready for anything. But Karin was still an Academy student. So it wasn't something he should do. The two clashed, and Karin's sword seemed to move uncannily fast considering she was such a new student.
Toshiro had to step it up a bit if he was to not embarrass himself in front of a student. Of course, he wasn't going all out. But if he remembered correctly, Karin had been training with Mashiro, who was not uncommonly skilled with Zanjutsu, but was highly talented with Hakuda and Hoho. However, she was also training with Soi Fon and Ichigo on certain occasions.
So that would indicate that she must be fairly skilled in most areas of fighting if she had such a well-rounded group of people training her…
If only Captain Kurosaki could be so well rounded. His Kido is almost non-existent. He's gotten better. But he has a lot of work to do on it. Toshiro thought to himself.
"He could still wipe the floor with me." Toshiro said to himself, not realizing that he was talking out loud. Karin stopped midstep and was rewarded with a strike to the stomach, driving the wind out of her. Karin gasped, and fell to the floor, trying desperately to catch her breath. Toshiro seemed lost in thought for a moment. Then he realized what had happened.
"Are you alright, Karin? I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hit you that hard." He said, kneeling down.
"Wh… Who… *Gasp!* Who would wipe… The floor with… You…?" Karin asked, curious, now. Toshiro looked at her.
"I didn't say that out loud, did I?" He asked. Karin confirmed this for him. Toshiro silently cursed.
"Your brother. He may be imbalanced in his fighting. But he would kick my ass in a fight. He's… Incredibly powerful." Toshiro said, looking slightly jealous. Karin couldn't blame him. Toshiro had been a Shinigami for over 100 years, most likely, whereas Ichigo had been one three years at most, and already Ichigo was more powerful than most captains.
"I understand that you still have feelings for Kurosaki… But…"
"Don't… Talk about that. I can't stand when boys aren't confident in themselves. I said I'd go out with you. Either accept that, or we can go our separate ways right now." Karin said authoritatively. Toshiro nodded, and prepared for another clash.
The two crossed swords again, and Toshiro began to see that Karin was already quite talented. Karin was quite skilled at acrobatics, or Hakuda as it was called. She was doing cartwheels, twisting out of the way of every attack that Toshiro made on Karin, and pressing small, but creative attacks back on Toshiro. He was deeply impressed with her nimbleness and speed.
He could easily have sped up, himself and outmaneuvered her. But for the time, he was enjoying himself. He made occasional attacks, but mostly defended himself from her attacks, and exploited her weak points to force her to try harder and become more impenetrable. She was impressive. But soon, she was truly on the offensive, and she kicked him in the chest, sending him skidding back a bit.
Here, she stopped and apologized, but was still scowling like she was angry.
"You're going easy on me! You're not even giving a tenth of your full ability, are you?" Karin demanded. Toshiro scoffed.
"Of course I'm not. If I gave a tenth of my full ability, you would be in the infirmary in five seconds flat." The young captain sneered. Karin hissed in annoyance at his perceived arrogance.
"I'm not as weak as you think I am! Just because I'm only a few months into the Academy doesn't mean I'm weak or defenseless! Don't look down on me!" Karin yelled. Toshiro sighed, then nodded.
"Okay. One tenth it is. Don't protest later, though." He said with a smirk, taking his stance, and moving at a quick run at Karin, then seeming to disappear and reappear behind her. Karin felt his spirit signature, though… Just in time, and turned, blocking his attack, pushing back and flipping into the air and using a level four Bakudo, unincanted. It was weak, but it held Toshiro momentarily.
Karin landed and kicked high, aiming for his head. Toshiro broke the Kido, and dodged, striking for Karin's side, just barely missing. Karin found that Toshiro was right. One-tenth of his power was impressive. But she felt he was still going too easy. Suddenly, though, she felt a heavy blow to her chest, and gasped as a level 1 Hado struck her.
It was unincanted, but very powerful, and sent her flying across the room into the back wall, completely winded. Already it had been hard to fight him at 10%, and she felt certain now that he had been lying about going at 10%. She suspected that he kept himself at 1% or something like that… If he had even been measuring like that. Maybe he just went as easy as he could, then went up just slightly.
"Kurosaki! Are you alright? I'm hardly a master of healing Kido. But I can at least take care of simple injuries. Hold on." Toshiro said, kneeling down next to Karin, feeling just over her chest, sensing that she had a hairline fracture of one of her ribs.
"I'm sorry. I-I didn't mean to…" Toshiro began. Karin kissed him into silence, though.
"Don't apologize. I asked you to fight harder, and you did. I still don't believe you used one tenth of your ability." Karin laughed, coughing hard, and holding her ribs.
"Don't talk. I'm healing your rib right now. Unless your Quincy powers allow you to regenerate?"
"Nope. I don't think so. It would be cool if I could. But I doubt it. I heal pretty quickly. But it's hardly regeneration. More like… Well… I just heal quickly…"
"That may be partially due to your high level or reiatsu… Being related to Kurosaki, I don't doubt that you have the ability to manifest ridiculous amounts of reiatsu. Your Hoho is getting much better, though. You're still training with Lieutenant Kuna, aren't you?" Toshiro asked. Karin blushed slightly at the compliment.
"Y-yeah… Well… I've always been better at sports than at swordfighting… Besides, I'm pretty sure swords were created by men who were insecure about their size." Karin said with a snicker. Toshiro turned bright red at this. Was she making fun of him? When had she ever seen him down there to know how big he was?"
"I-I… You…!"
"Oh, relax, Toshiro… It was a joke. It wasn't aimed at you. I'm sure you're huge, or whatever it is men want girls to say about them…" Karin said, waving her hand dismissively. This didn't really set him at ease too much. But he took her word at face value for the moment.
After all, Karin didn't seem the type to mince words. She was just like Ichigo in that sense. If she had something to say, she would say it. If she didn't like someone, she would confront them about it most likely.
"You know, I seem to remember a bet that you and I made… It was a bit more than two months ago. But I think it's time to call in our bet." Karin said with a smirk. Toshiro nodded, uncertainly, and the two went to see Ichigo, who was in his office, trying to meditate. It seemed to be a habit of hers, now, walking in on Ichigo's meditation time. He was getting better, and he didn't notice them.
They walked in and sat down across from Ichigo. After approximately thirty minutes, Ichigo opened his eyes and saw the two of them sitting there, waiting for him. Ichigo scowled.
"Today is my day off. I haven't had any stuff to do today, so I was actually taking it easy. What's wrong?" Ichigo asked. Toshiro's eyebrows knitted together irritably.
"Karin and I made a bet on whether you could actually learn Kido in the two months since she joined the Academy. That means, that you have to prove whether or not you can do Kido." Toshiro said. Normally, he wasn't so competitive. But at the moment, he needed to know who was right.
"Which Kido did you want me to do? I'm better at Hado than Bakudo. Wait! Why do I have to be the subject of your bet!?"
"Why not? There are a lot worse things Toshiro and I could have bet on about you… How good a kisser you actually were.
"That would have required that we ask Rukia… How big your…"
"Alright! I get it, damnit! What Kido do you want me to do?" Ichigo demanded. Toshiro thought for a moment.
"Just the highest level Hado that you can." Toshiro said, the scowl still on his face.
Ichigo walked outside, and pointed in the air.
"Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Inferno and pandemonium, the sea barrier surges, march on to the south! Hado Number 31: Shakkaho!" Ichigo yelled, shooting a blast of red fire into the air.
It was unrefined, and if he used too many kido at that level, he would end up draining himself of his Reiatsu. However, it was impressive that in only two months, he could manage all that. Again, it took most Shinigami-to-be until second or third year until they could even hope to have the control to perform Kido like that, then another year or so to actually have the reiatsu to do it.
Ichigo gasped as he tried to catch his breath after unleashing a Kido that powerful. He hadn't been prepared for the backlash. He was exhausted, and collapsed into a chair. Toshiro actually laughed at this, causing Karin to punch him.
"I… I've actually never done that Kido before. I wasn't sure if it would work. I'm better at low level Kido…" Ichigo said.
"So, have you asked Karin out yet, Toshiro?" Ichigo whispered. Toshiro nodded.
"Good for you. Did she say yes?"
"Yeah… I was surprised, too… With her huge brother complex, I never expected her to say yes. But I'm glad. I hope I can make her happy."
"Well, I hope so too… But it's not my business who my sisters go out with. You'd better treat her right, though…" Ichigo said threateningly. Then he half smiled. "I'm sure you will." Ichigo said. Toshiro raised an eyebrow. He was never this nice. But he wasn't going to complain.
