Hinamori's Apprentice
Chapter Twelve
"So how is this going to work?" Karin asked Momo as they stood in her quarters.
"A Senkaimon, or Senkai Gate if you prefer, connects Soul Society and the World of the Living. It goes through the Dangai, the world between the two worlds. Unassisted, it is extremely difficult to pass between the dimensions. However, with one of these…" Momo pulled out a hell butterfly, "It is fairly simple to traverse."
"Why did Rangiku make such a big deal about it if it's so easy to create a Senkai Gate?" Karin asked.
"It's not easy. It normally takes dozens of Kido Corps troops to set up a Senkaimon, and they're heavily regulated and tracked. However, I am proficient enough in Kido that I can both create a Senkaimon and hide its presence from others," Momo explained, "I've set up barriers around this place that will hide the presence of the Senkaimon. Now if you don't mind, we must be going now."
Momo raised a hand, and suddenly a sliding door materialized in front of her. It slid open, revealing a brightly lit blank room. Momo gestured for Karin to go in, and she apprehensively did so, with Momo following after her. The doors shut after them, and the blank, bright walls seemed to flash with brightness. After a few minutes, the doors opened again, and Karin gasped.
They were standing in the streets of Karakura Town. Karin couldn't believe it. This was it, her old home town. She breathed in deeply, the fresh air of Karakura filling her lungs. Everything from the roads to the houses to the trees was just as she remembered it. She felt like jumping up and down in happiness.
"It's just after midnight right now," Momo said, "I'll allow you up to six hours, after which we must return to Soul Society. Understood?"
"Yes, I understand," Karin said.
"Good. Now perhaps we should get going," Momo said.
"Um…actually, I was wondering if I could go on my own," Karin said, "Nothing against you, I just want to do this on my own. Don't worry, I'll stay at my old house and come right back to this spot when the time is up." Momo looked at her for a moment before nodding.
"Very well, I'll trust you with this. I don't believe you'll try to run off somewhere, but just so you know, I do have ways of finding you should you do so," Momo said. Karin nodded.
"Yes, I understand. I think I'll go now," she said, turning and walking down the street.
Karin inhaled deeply. The scent of her hometown was something she had never noticed before, but now she could smell it with every breath. Perhaps it was just her imagination, but it was real enough to make Karin feel immensely happy. These were the streets she walked when she was alive. The sadness she felt seemed to temporarily leave her as she walked in the direction of her house. Well, not technically her house anymore, but the house she once lived in.
The streetlights illuminated the path before her, and she could see her home just a short ways off in the distance. Despite this, the walk seemed to take forever. She was so eager and anxious to see her family that time seemed to pass extra slowly. She knew they wouldn't be able to see her, but the thought of seeing Yuzu again was still a happy one. She was even eager to see her obnoxious father again.
Soon she was nearly at her old house. Her heart pounded as she walked past the yard and up the driveway. She walked past the flowers planted in front of the house and up to the front door. Her hand shakily reached for the door and grabbed hold of it. It was locked. Karin stared in disbelief. She had just taken huge measures to get back to her family, and now that she was finally here, the door was locked. She felt like shouting obscenities at the door. She had travelled between dimensions to get here; she was not going to be stopped by a locked door, dammit! She was beginning to contemplate which window would be easiest to climb through when she remembered an important fact: she was a spirit; she did not have a physical body and thus was unaffected by physical objects.
She placed a hand on the door and pushed. Her hand went straight through the door, nearly making her laugh at herself. She walked through the door into the house. It was quite amazing. She could touch physical objects, but she could just as easily go straight through them. She would have to ask Rangiku about that later, as right now she was eager to see her father and sister.
She walked through the kitchen and up the stairs. The first thing she noticed was that her father's bedroom door was open a crack with golden light coming out. Karin walked through the wall this time, not wanting to startle her father by accidentally knocking into the door. When she was inside his room, she saw that he was sitting up in bed reading a book by the light of a bedside lamp.
Almost as soon as Karin walked in, he looked up. For a moment Karin thought she had inadvertently made a noise or accidentally bumped into something, but he quickly looked back down at his book, an odd smile on his face. Shrugging it off, Karin turned her attention to the room, and realized that it was different from the way it had been last time. Before, the room had been plastered with posters and pictures of their mother, Masaki. Now the walls were covered with posters of Masaki and Karin. Even dead Karin felt incredibly embarrassed by this, and had her father not been sitting right in front of her, probably would have torn them down.
She groaned as she looked at all the posters and pictures of herself around the room. She hoped nobody else came in here. Sighing, she looked back at her father as she prepared to go over to Yuzu's room.
"Bye, Dad," she whispered, turning and walking through the wall.
Now in the hallway again, she walked over to Yuzu's room. Taking a deep breath, she walked through the wall and into her sister's room. It was dark, but Karin could vaguely make out the outline of her sisters bed. She quietly walked over, but to her surprise, Yuzu was not there. She was confused for a moment, but then looked over to the other side of the room. She smiled when she spotted Yuzu sleeping in her old bed.
Karin silently walked over, sitting down on the side of the bed. She watched her twin sister's sleeping form peacefully resting. She wished that she could sleep next to her. Whenever Yuzu was upset, she would always climb into Karin's bed and sleep with her. Now, for the first time, Karin wished she could sleep with Yuzu. She tried to hold off the sadness as she had in the past few weeks, but it was no good. She felt tears leaking from her eyes, which she hastily wiped away. She hated crying, but right now it was just too hard not to cry.
She longed to be able to talk to Yuzu again. To interact normally with her family as if nothing had happened, as if she had never died. She wanted to live again. It wasn't fair that she wouldn't have the chance to experience so much in life. She would never go to high school or college, she would never have high school romances, she would never go to college parties, she would never be able to drive a car, she would never grow up or get married or get a job or retire…there was just so much that she would miss. She had tried to push such thoughts away for the past few weeks, but as she looked at Yuzu, who would be able to experience those things, the realization of just how much of life she would miss hit her like a board to the face.
"I guess you'll just have to live your life for both of us," Karin said quietly, patting her gently on the head. Suddenly, Yuzu seemed to give a small jump, causing Karin to immediately withdraw her hand and back away. What happened? Had she woken her sister up? She didn't realize that physical beings could feel the touch of spirits. Or was it just a coincidence that she had woken up?
Karin watched as Yuzu slowly sat up in bed, looking around in the darkness. Karin didn't move, observing quietly as Yuzu stood up and walked across the room to flick the light switch on. The room lit up, causing Karin to squint a little. Yuzu looked around the room, but judging from her lack of reaction, could not see Karin. She went over to her bedroom door and opened it, walking out. Karin followed her. Yuzu went down the stairs and into the kitchen, where she poured herself a glass of milk. She quickly drained the glass and set it on the counter before walking back upstairs. Karin sighed; evidently she was just thirsty.
As Yuzu reached the top of the stairs however, she seemed to lose her balance in her sleepy state, and fell backwards. Karin, still following behind her, immediately caught her, preventing her from falling. Yuzu seemed to breathe a sigh of relief for a moment, but that relief was soon replaced by terror as she realized that something she couldn't see was holding her up. She opened her mouth to scream, but Karin hurriedly clapped a hand over it, muffling her.
Panicking, Karin dragged Yuzu back into her room, closing the door behind her. She didn't know what to do. Yuzu tried screaming as Karin covered her mouth and restrained her. She didn't want to scare Yuzu further, but she didn't want to cause a panic by waking her father and the neighbors up either. She eventually decided to take Yuzu to her bed and hope that this incident would be dismissed as a nightmare. She hurriedly moved Yuzu over to her bed, pulling the covers over her with difficulty as she tried to scream.
"Come on Yuzu, be quiet," Karin muttered. Yuzu's eyes suddenly widened, and she stopped screaming. Puzzled, Karin hesitantly removed her hand from over Yuzu's mouth. Yuzu was silent for a moment before speaking.
"Who-who's there?" she asked timidly. Karin stared in shock.
"You can hear me?" she asked.
"Y-y-yes," Yuzu said, "I-I can see you a little too. You l-look like a shimmery outline, but I can see you. Who are you? Are you haunting me?"
Karin suddenly burst into laughter driven by a complex mix of emotions.
"D-don't laugh! Who are you?" Yuzu asked again. Karin smiled at her sister.
"Don't you remember my voice?" she asked. Yuzu seemed confused for a moment, but then her eyes widened.
"That…that's impossible! It…it can't be…is it? Is it really you…Karin?" she said, her voice barely a whisper.
"It's me," Karin said. Yuzu's eyes filled with tears, and she suddenly grabbed Karin and pulled her onto the bed.
"Oh Karin! It's you, it's really you!" she cried, "I thought I'd never see you again, but it's you, isn't it?"
"Yes, it's me," Karin said, a little teary-eyed herself.
"Oh Karin…Karin!" Yuzu cried, hugging her sister's soul and crying into her shoulder, "I-I'm starting to see you better now…you're still fuzzy and transparent, but I can see you! I see you! You really are Karin!"
"Yuzu, I'm so happy to see you," Karin said quietly.
"W-what happened? How did you really die? How did you get here?" Yuzu asked.
"It's a long story."
Karin told Yuzu everything. About how she'd been killed, about being sent to Soul Society, about being taken into Seireitei and trained by Rangiku, everything. Yuzu listened in fascination.
"So…so you live on the other side now?" she asked.
"That's right," Karin said.
"I'm glad," Yuzu said, "I'm glad you still live on, even if I can't see you."
"Just remember to live your life to the fullest," Karin said, "I want you to live a life good enough for the both of us."
"I-I will!" Yuzu said.
"Thank you," Karin said. She looked out, and saw that it was nearly dawn. "I'm going to have to go soon."
"Go? Why?" Yuzu asked.
"I was only able to visit for a little while. I'm sorry, but I have to go back now," Karin said with a sad smile.
"Will you ever come back to see me?" Yuzu asked.
"I don't know," Karin said, "With luck though, we may eventually meet on the other side, after you've lived a rich, full life."
"I…I don't want you to go!" Yuzu whispered, hugging Karin.
"I know Yuzu, I don't want to go either, but I have to. Stay strong, Yuzu."
With tears in her eyes, Karin exited the room and left the house, walking out into the street. It was morning, and Momo would soon be expecting her back. She turned to walk away when there was a loud roar in the distance. Karin froze and looked behind her, recognizing that sound.
Off in the distance, she saw the outline of a hollow. Karin gulped, recalling her previous encounters with hollows. This was different from those times though. First, this hollow was much smaller, and second, she could fight back this time. She glanced at her house, which she knew would probably be the hollow's target if she did nothing. She ran down the street towards the hollow. As she got closer, she began to get a clearer look at it. The hollow was greenish grey in color, and was vaguely man shaped, but much thicker and several feet taller than an ordinary man. Its mask was square in shape, and it was clumsily walking forward, dragging its knuckles on the ground like a caveman.
She approached it cautiously, but the hollow barely seemed to notice her. Deciding that this was the best opportunity, she immediately ran forward, drawing the sword Rangiku had given her from its scabbard. She raised the katana into the stance that Rangiku had shown her and charged forward. The hollow finally seemed to notice her, and swung one of its thick arms at her, but it was too late. Karin's blade cut deep into the hollow's left forearm.
Karin thought for a moment that she might emerge victorious from this, but then the hollow let out an angry roar and swatted her away with its other arm, sending her flying. Karin was only barely able to land on her knees and stand back up when the hollow attacked again. Karin tried stabbing at it, but she attacked too soon, and the tip of her blade barely scratched the hollow. Again the hollow attacked, this time punching her and sending her skidding onto the pavement.
As Karin shakily tried to get up, she realized a horrible truth: she was no match for her enemy. This hollow was clearly a weak one, but still, even with weeks of training by Rangiku, she stood no chance against it. She had been foolish to think she could take on a hollow so soon. Her training was only the most basic elements of the most basic training. Rangiku had tried to push her forward, but in reality, Karin was nothing compared to this hollow or other Shinigami. As she watched the hollow approaching her, despair overcame her, and she felt as if she couldn't even stand up to resist.
Suddenly however, a ball of red light flew over Karin's head and hit the hollow with a huge explosion. When the smoke cleared, the entire right half of the hollow's body was blown off, and it fell to the ground, disintegrating moments later. Karin shakily tried to get to her feet, but found that she was too weak to stand up. She settled for raising herself up to her knees, turning around to see Momo Hinamori standing behind her.
"I wish you would have come to me instead of facing the hollow yourself. Ichigo's going to skin me alive if he finds out about this," she said.
"It…it was heading for my family! I couldn't just wait for you!" Karin protested.
"We'll talk more about this later," Momo said, "Right now we need to hurry up and get back to Soul Society. If there are hollows here, it will attract Soul Society's attention, which could result in us being discovered. I'll carry you."
Momo bent down and picked Karin up, lifting her onto her back. Karin winced a little from the bruises she sustained, but still managed to be amazed by Momo. She wasn't that big or physically impressive, yet she easily picked Karin up. As Karin thought this, there was another roar. Momo groaned and turned around to see another hollow. She raised her hand in the direction of the hollow.
"Hado 31, Shakkaho!" she said. A ball of red fire shot forward from the palm of her hand. It hit the hollow in the chest, vaporizing it almost instantaneously. Just as she defeated this hollow however, two more arrived from behind it, and then another and another. Soon it became apparent that there were a huge number of hollow's approaching. Momo swore quietly to herself.
"Damn it…Soul Society is sure to notice this," she muttered, "I don't know how we're going to beat all of these guys without being discovered…"
As she said this however, a blue light flashed over their heads and hit the nearest hollow, causing it to disintegrate.
"You are no longer needed, Shinigami. I, Uryu Ishida, am the one who will protect this area from hollows."
Momo smirked, seeming to recognize what was going on without even turning around.
"So you're the Quincy that lives in this area, huh? Can you take all of these guys?" she asked.
"Of course," Uryu said.
"Good, in that case, we'll be going." Momo turned and ran in the other direction towards the Senkaimon.
"Wait! My family!" Karin said, trying to stop her.
"The Quincy will take care of those hollows," Momo said, "He's more than a match for them."
"I know, but I don't want to leave until I'm sure my family is safe!" Karin said.
"They'll be fine, forget it! We need to get back to Soul Society before our absence is noticed!" Momo said. Karin paid no attention however, and tried to jump off of Momo's back. Momo immediately grabbed her and picked her up.
"Put me down!" Karin yelled, trying to get away, "I just need to make sure my family is alright!"
"There's no time! Stop squirming around!" Momo yelled back, trying to keep control of Karin as she ran. Karin continued to struggle, and after giving a sigh of frustration, Momo grabbed her head and forced Karin to look into her eyes. Almost immediately, Karin fell unconscious.
---
Karin groggily opened her eyes. Her vision was blurry and she still felt dizzy. She vaguely noticed that she was in a dark room with only a small window near the ceiling. She raised a hand to rub her head, but when she did so, her other hand jerked up as well. She blinked in confusion, trying to focus on her hands. Only after several moments did she realize that she was in handcuffs. She suddenly became much more alert, looking frantically around.
"What's going on? Where am I?" she blurted out.
"Where do you think?"
Karin whipped around to see Momo sitting across the room, her wrists cuffed just like Karin's.
"What's happening? Where are we?" she asked in a panic.
"We're in jail. Where did you think we were," Momo said irritably, "We got caught, and they're keeping us in a holding cell."
"Jail? Isn't that a bit severe?" Karin asked.
"I told you before we left that we could get in big trouble, didn't I?" Momo said, "I illegally opened a Senkaimon and transported you to the world of the living, not to mention the fact that one of the Kido spells I used to hide the portal was a forbidden one. I really thought it would work, but I guess not…"
Karin tried to stand up, but immediately felt dizzy again and sat right back down.
"What happened before? I don't remember getting arrested or anything. The last thing I remember is you grabbing me and trying to get away. Did they knock me out or something?"
"Actually I knocked you out."
"What?! It was you? Why did you do that?!" Karin nearly yelled.
"You kept on resisting and I had to get you out of there. It was the only way," Momo said.
"What did you do to me? I'm still feeling really weird," Karin said, rubbing her forehead, trying to bring herself back to full alertness.
"I used Hakufuku. It is a wordless spell that causes the victim to lose consciousness. Perhaps I cast it too strongly though, you've been out for hours," Momo said.
"So now what?" Karin asked, feeling rather irritated towards Momo.
"Well, now that you're awake we'll probably get chewed out by a few Captains before being sentenced. They probably will let you off with a slap on the wrist, but me…I'm probably in a fair amount of trouble."
Karin didn't have the chance to question her further, as just then, several guards arrived and informed them that now that Karin was awake, they would be taken to receive their punishment. They were led out of their cell and the building. Karin's mind was still rather hazy, and before she knew it she was standing before Captain-Commander Yamamoto, Captain Kyouraku, Toushiro Hitsugaya, and to her dismay, Ichigo.
"Good afternoon Vice-captain Hinamori, Karin Kurosaki. Do you understand why you're here?" Captain-commander Yamamoto said in his intimidating voice.
"Yes sir," Momo said quietly, staring at the floor. The eyes of the Captains were fixed upon them, and she appeared to be avoiding their gaze.
"You are charged with the crimes of opening a Senkaimon without authorization, illegal transport of a soul, entering the World of the Living without a power limiter, and use of a forbidden Kido spell. Do you have anything to say in your defense?"
"No sir," Momo said, still staring at the ground.
"In that case-"
"Wait a minute!" Karin suddenly said, boldly stepping forward.
"Karin, be quiet for now," Ichigo said sternly.
"No! I won't be quiet! She didn't do anything wrong, you can't punish her!" Karin said firmly.
"She broke the law and put you in danger," Ichigo said.
"At my request! She only did those things because I asked her to! It's not her fault!"
"You don't know any better. She is a Vice-captain and knew exactly what she was doing."
"No, I fully understood that I was breaking the rules. If you punish her, you must punish me equally," Karin said firmly.
"You will be disciplined," Yamamoto said, "However, as the younger sibling of a Captain in training, we will be lenient towards you. You will be sent to Rukongai for the time being."
"No, you can't do that!" Ichigo interrupted, "We already know that she attracts hollows, putting her out there would only put her in danger!"
"Not to mention danger for those who would live near her," Kyouraku said.
"I am of the opinion that while both of them acted illegally, we should give them minimal sentences," Toushiro said.
"They must be punished," Yamamoto said.
"If you send Karin to Rukongai, I will go with her," Ichigo said, "If you wish to keep me as a Captain, you must keep her in Seireitei."
"She is not a Shinigami. She cannot stay in Seireitei without good reason," Yamamoto argued.
Ichigo was about to respond when the door flew open, and Rangiku Matsumoto came running in.
"Karin! Momo!" she cried.
"Matsumoto, why are you here? You were not summoned," Toushiro said.
"My apologies Captain, but I cannot allow these two to be punished," Rangiku said.
"I'm afraid that any testimony you have will be meaningless. Karin Kurosaki will be removed from Seireitei and Momo Hinamori will be stripped of her rank and placed in prison for an undetermined amount of time," Yamamoto said.
"No, it wasn't their fault," Rangiku said, "You see, this was all my idea. I wanted to help Karin see her family again, so I persuaded Vice-captain Hinamori to create a Senkaimon. This entire incident is my responsibility."
"Matsumoto!" Toushiro said in shock.
"If that is the case, you will be punished as well. I cannot dismiss the punishments of these two however. All involved must be disciplined," Yamamoto said.
"If that is the case, you'll have quite a bit of trouble," Rangiku said, "Renji Abarai and Rukia Kuchiki were both aware of this plan. I also consulted Vice-captain Kira and Captain Hisagi on this issue. If you desire to punish all who were involved, you'll be missing four Vice-captains and a Captain, not to mention the fact that Ichigo and Captain Kuchiki will quit if you try to punish Karin and Rukia. Is it worth it? No harm ended up coming from this incident, so what point is there to punishing everyone?"
"The rules were broken. I cannot let this pass," Yamamoto said, "Karin Kurosaki particularly must be dealt with. She is not properly disciplined and cannot be watched. She has no place in Seireitei."
"Don't worry, I already took steps to prepare for that," Rangiku said, "You see, for the past few weeks I've been training Karin in the ways of the Shinigami!"
"You what?!" Ichigo roared, "I thought you were just teaching her basic defense!"
"Well sure, that's what I told you," Rangiku said, "But this works out, doesn't it? Karin just needs a bit more training and she can become a Shinigami!"
"It takes six years at the academy before most souls are able to train sufficiently to become Shinigami," Toushiro said, "It is unlikely that she will be capable of becoming a Shinigami any time soon."
"Normally that would be correct, but with a genius like me training her…"
"No! I won't allow that! You have nothing but a bad influence on her," Ichigo said, "I won't let you train her further. You are only setting her up to be put in greater danger."
"But Ichigo, this is what I want!" Karin argued.
"I know, but a Shinigami's life is dangerous. I can't let you enter such a life. You're too young. We'll figure out a way to keep you in Seireitei, don't worry about that. You don't need to take such extreme measures."
"But Ichigo-!"
"No, I won't allow this," Ichigo said, "You'll only be put in greater danger!"
"Now hold up a minute, Ichigo," Kyouraku said, "Old man, are you certain that you wish for Karin Kurosaki to be punished?"
"That is correct," Yamamoto said.
"And you also wish to punish Vice-captain Hinamori?"
"Indeed."
"Then why not combine their punishments? Karin will be put through the training to become a Shinigami, and Vice-captain Hinamori will be the one to provide the training," Kyouraku said.
"What?!" Ichigo, Karin, Rangiku, and Momo said at once.
"It's the best option. Vice-captain Hinamori can be temporarily dismissed from her normal duties to train Karin. It will be something of a punishment for both of them, and will also result in Karin being able to stay in Seireitei as a Shinigami. Vice-captain Hinamori can teach her discipline alongside the Shinigami ways."
"No, that idea won't work," Momo said, "I can't train her; I don't know the first thing about training or teaching others! Not to mention the fact that I barely even know the girl!"
"That's why it's your punishment!" Kyouraku said cheerfully, "You'll be stuck training her, and she'll be stuck being trained! It will be more work for both of you than if you were in more comfortable settings! Besides, I think that this sort of thing will build character. In any case, it's better than jail time, right? So what do you say Yama, do you think that this could work out?"
Yamamoto looked over Karin and Momo for a moment before nodding.
"Very well. Momo Hinamori, you will train Karin Kurosaki in the ways of the Shinigami. She is to serve as your apprentice, and you will both give your full efforts in this matter. That is my final judgment."
Thanks for reading! Thank you to The Great Pineapple MEKI, Thunder Claw03, war90, Reven Firebane, nexuswarrior, Taeniaea, Chillis, Hinata-cutie, Revolation, and Psyco101 for reviewing! Please review!