Yes, the last chapter was sappy, but I think this one is a lot more fun!
Hitsugaya awoke the next morning with a kink in his neck and a stiff back. But what bothered him the most was the manner in which he had been woken.
"Get out of my face, Matsumoto!" he said with exasperation, pushing his fukutaicho away from him. "I have no idea how you sleep on this thing, it's as hard as a rock." Matsumoto shrugged.
"It's supposed to be good for your back," she said, grinning as she watched Hitsugaya scoff and grab his in pain.
"Anyway, Matsumoto, I have something to ask you." Matsumoto looked at him curiously, and he relayed what Hyourinmaru had told him during the night. Matsumoto burst out laughing.
"You taicho! Need to woo Karin? In her current state?" She couldn't control herself, even when Hitsugaya fixed her with a patented icy stare. Finally, she calmed down.
"Well, you'll definitely need my help, you don't know the first thing about this topic. Well you don't!" she responded to the irritated look on his face. "And I didn't think you considered that a bad thing. Now, at the moment, Karin is gruff, rude, violent, and confident, am I right?" Hitsugaya nodded. He was starting to regret asking Matsumoto for help. He knew he would never live this down.
"Well," Matsumoto continued, "girls like the current Karin need a man who is stronger than her. Someone who challenges her, you know? Don't be kind and gentle. Go in there and show her who's boss. Then challenge her to a fight, and you'd better win if it's the last thing you do. She'll be totally pissed, so be prepared for that. But inside, she'll gain a deep respect for you, even if she hates you for it." Hitsugaya glared at her.
"And how is hating me supposed to make her love me? You don't make any sense." Matsumoto looked at him fondly.
"Taicho, you have a long way to go before you can understand the mind of a woman. How about, for now, you take my advice, and I'll explain what it all means when you're older." Hitsugaya didn't shout at the insult. Instead, he grinned mischievously.
"Matsumoto," he said, deciding he would get his revenge another way. "I'm going to be busy with Karin today. That leaves you here with the paperwork. And if it's not done today, there will be hell to pay." He smirked, ignoring her whines and protests. When he reached the door however, he paused momentarily.
"Arigato," he said sincerely before heading to his and Karin's room. He would see if Matsumoto's advice was worth anything. It was better than nothing.
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Taking a very deep breath, Hitsugaya pounded on the door.
"What?" grumbled a voice from inside. Hitsugaya braced himself as the door flew open.
"You again!" Karin screamed. "What are you doing here, you pervert?" She was shaking with anger. Hitsugaya stood his ground.
"This is my room too," he stated with confidence. "But since you feel that we can't share it, how about we fight for it? I challenge you to a match," he smirked, indicating his zanpakto as he spoke. Karin laughed derisively.
"What?! You what to fight me? You don't stand a chance shrimp. But why not, you stole my fight from me yesterday, I suppose you'll serve as a nice warm up for today." And with that she swept past him holding her head high with confidence. Hitsugaya followed her, wondering vaguely if this was actually an intelligent idea. He wasn't entirely sure he could beat Karin without hurting her. In her current state, she was much more likely in injure him than anything else. But getting her to let off steam wasn't a wholly bad idea.
They reached the training grounds and turned to face each other. Hitsugaya, with a pang, remembered happier times in this very place. Sure, he had sparred with Karin before, countless times, but this was different and he hoped he had the strength, both physically and mentally, to do what he needed to do. He drew his sword and glared at her.
"I'm not holding back!" he shouted, charging at her. Their swords clashed, and the sound echoed across the grounds. They swung again and again, matching each other's attacks. Hitsugaya fired a kido, which Karin easily dodged and countered by shunpoing behind him, slicing ferociously down towards his shoulder. He managed to move out of the way and send a jab towards her, which she blocked by an amazingly rapid change of momentum mid-swing. The battle continued and Hitsugaya noticed that Karin's fighting style was much more brutal than it usually was. She might actually be stronger this way, he marveled. It was taking everything out of him to hold his own, and on top of that, he knew he had to win.
Suddenly, Hitsugaya realized something, and he cursed himself for being so involved that he hadn't noticed it before. Karin hadn't released her zanpakto. Ordinarily, this wouldn't have been odd since they usually didn't fight each other with them, but Hitsugaya finally understood that the reason she hadn't done so wasn't because she didn't want to; it was because she couldn't. He could feel Mizukenikkusu crying out to her, but the more they fought, the more it became apparent to Hitsugaya that Karin couldn't hear her. Her mind was too damaged and she had forgotten her zanpakto's name. And Hitsugaya finally knew how to beat her. Filled with self hatred, he cried,
"Sit upon the frozen heavens, Hyourinmaru!" The ice dragon shot from his sword and surrounded Karin, holding her prisoner. But he didn't freeze her. He simply captured her, squeezing her so that she was immobile. He shunpoed to her side and held his sword at her throat.
"I win!" he said triumphantly. Karin struggled desperately against the ice binding her, but it was hopeless. "Do you surrender?" he asked vindictively. Karin shot him a look of pure loathing, not wanting to admit defeat.
"Fine, you win this time," she spat, and Hitsugaya released her from Hyourinmaru's clutches, returning the dragon to his sword.
"The room is mine! You're sleeping on the couch tonight!" he said proudly. He turned from her and sauntered away. As soon as he was out of sight, his resolve broke, and he fell onto his knees, clutching his chest to try and force himself not to vomit. He had held his sword to Karin's throat! He had never done anything like that before. He still couldn't believe he had had the strength of will to do it in the first place. He ignored the welt on his leg and the gash on his cheek that he had received from her brutal attacks and focused only on the pain her fingers must be in since he had smashed them with his hilt. It took a while for him to collect himself, but finally, his breathing was steady, his nausea was gone, and he decided he should return to her and see what the aftermath of their battle was.
Meanwhile, Karin was glaring at the spot where he had disappeared with disgust.
"I can't believe was beaten by a boy!" she derided herself. "And he wasn't even all that good, I'm definitely stronger than him! Still, I've got to give him credit. He's got a lot more backbone than I thought." She allowed a small smile to play on her lips. "I guess he's kind of cute, in his own way."
Suddenly, Karin felt a burning pain seer through her head. She collapsed on the floor, howling in pain as she clutched the sides of her head against the white hot fire that had erupted in her brain. Hitsugaya found her thrashing on the ground. He forgot that he was supposed to be rough with her and ran to his wife's side, his eyes filled with worry.
"Karin," he said with concern, placing his hands on her shoulders to steady her. "What's wrong?" She stared up at him with screaming eyes.
"It burns. My head…" her voice trailed off and her eyes rolled into the back of her head. Hitsugaya placed a hand on her forehead. It didn't feel hot to him, but he used Hyourinmaru's powers to press coolness into it anyway.
After a while, the pain seemed to subside and Karin stopped screaming. She closed her eyes, trying to compose herself, and Hitsugaya resisted the urge to hold her. Finally, she opened her eyes and stared up at Hitsugaya. But the look in them seemed different from before. There wasn't a trace of harshness or bitterness in them. They seemed happy, playful even.
"Are you alright Karin?" Hitsugaya asked carefully, not entirely sure what to expect from her.
"Huh?" she asked. "What are you talking about?" Hitsugaya gaped at her.
"Your head. Don't you remember?" he asked anxiously. Karin giggled.
"You're funny. Kind of cute too," she said in a sickly sweet baby voice. Hitsugaya was stunned. He had never heard Karin use that tone before. Ever. And he couldn't remember ever having heard her giggle. It was even more strange to him than her violent words.
"This must be Mizufenikkusu's doing," he reasoned to himself. "She must have done whatever personality modification she was trying to do." He watched hopefully as Karin stood up and brushed herself off. Then she let out a gasp.
"You're bleeding! Oh my! Did I…did I do that to you?" Hitsugaya touched his cheek and felt the blood. It was a shallow wound, and had stopped bleeding for the most part.
"It's nothing," he said with a small smile. "Don't worry about it. How's your hand?" He was liking this new Karin. She definitely wasn't back to normal, but at least she seemed easier to deal with than the first one.
"You did do this to my hand didn't you?" she realized suddenly, looking at the black and blue mark that covered three of her knuckles. "You horrible violent person, why on earth were you attacking me? I hate swords, I don't touch them if I can help it!" Hitsugaya didn't quite know how to respond to this.
"But, you always carry a sword," he reminded her. "It's right there," he said, indicating Karin's zanpakto which was lying on the floor beside her. She looked at it and screamed.
"Eeeeeew!" she squealed, jumping up and down like a little girl who had just seen a mouse. "I hate swords, I hate violence, and I hate blood! I couldn't possibly own a thing like that! And you! Why do you have a sword? Are you that bloodthirsty that you have to carry one all the time? And why were you attacking cute little me? I hate vicious people like you! I can't even look at you anymore, not with that bloody face!" And with that she ran away, leaving Hitsugaya to ponder what the heck she was talking about.
"Great," he thought aloud. "That plan backfired. This new Karin hates me already because I sparred with the old Karin. What am I supposed to do now?"
Ooo, new twist (and a new personality for Hitsugaya to deal with).