I have up to six chapters already written, from now on the speed of my updates depends on how many reviews I get :3. For those who have reviewed regularly, thank you and you are all very awesome. I have already written a HitsuKarin scene that is oh so fluffy and cute that involves nakedness *wiggles eyebrows* , it's like 3 chapters away :).
Please enjoy!
Chapter Five.
Karin's dreams were nothing peaceful and for once it had nothing to do with the pair that seemed to enjoy waking her ever since she had died. Her mind was filled with broken images, like a mirage of terror all the anger and all the pain of betrayal haunted her as she came to the realization that what Urahara had done to her was humane in comparison.
The masks that spilled forth and turned them into monsters troubled her as she acknowledged the fact that it was a miracle that her Hollow had been open to the suggestion of peace, but the white masks were not what had her sweating cold in silent terror. The mask of flesh and bone, the cold brown eyes and the deceptively friendly face that smirked at their misfortune was what made her tremble.
With a violent start, she woke up panting. Her onyx eyes were wild and wide with panic; choking on her own breath, she realized she was hyperventilating. Her eyes travelled across the room in search of the terrifying image she had just woken from, but everything was getting fuzzy and she could not get enough oxygen.
A sharp resounding noise was all she heard before her head twisted to the side. The stinging pain leveled her breathing and her panic was replaced by tears that she denied. In front of her was Yoruichi, her hand outstretched, palm open. She had slapped her.
Karin felt like she should be angry at the action, that she should've yelled at her for doing it, but focusing on the dark face she noticed the worry inside her yellow eyes as her hand changed its angle and started rubbing soothing circles over her arm.
"Are you okay now?" Asked the olive skinned female, in a gentle voice.
Karin nodded, too weak to speak just yet. She cleared her throat and pulled her arm sharply from her grasp. "I'm okay now. I'm not a breakable china doll." She said in a strong voice that hid the pain beneath the tone. "I'm not weak or scared, either." She added, confusing the glint of emotions inside the yellow eyes for pity.
Yoruichi frowned at the hardness of the response, even as the dark eyes were filling with tears that she refused to spill. "But you are human; it's alright to feel emotions. It doesn't make you weak, it makes you stronger, it's what makes you human." She answered softly.
At her words Karin realized with a start that the tears she had not spilled since her mother's death were running down her cheeks. With that comprehension her will to remain strong shattered and she grabbed onto Yoruichi as the woman returned the embrace with the gentleness befitting of her mother. This fact made her cry harder.
Stroking her hair, rocking slightly and murmuring soft nothings, Yoruichi listened to the words that spilled from the girl in her moment of weakness. She spoke of her decision to remain strong, to become a pillar of stability after their mother died for all the family. She spoke of the though persona that she had built to hide her emotions from the world. She spoke of the pain from the fact that she never grieved her mother and of missing the woman, but mostly she spoke about the dream that had spilled the pent up emotions.
Through it all, the noble struggled with her own tears, tears that she would never show anyone. She herself knew what it felt like to bottle up emotions, but not to Karin's degree. As she listened to the scene described by the young girl, she realized that like Ichigo (who could feel a person's heart through their blades.) she could analyze Reiatsu.
Dread filled the purple-haired woman at the familiar setting she was narrating. It was the night of the Vizards. The description of the captain of the fifth was the last straw; she could not keep her in the dark. Not after seeing her in her current state, she was not Ichigo.
"But worst of all was his Reiatsu. It felt so…tainted, so tainting." Finished the small girl as the fists that had clutched the woman's shirt trembled, her words muffled because of her position with her face hidden in the crook of her neck.
The silence that rang though the room was heavy with emotion. Yoruichi's hands never stopped caressing the black locks as she spoke softly. "It was not a dream Karin." She said, shattering the moment. "What you saw was a fragment of the past, the reason for which Kisuke and I can't return home." She finished before untangling herself from the younger female.
"B-but…" Karin stuttered. "But Urahara would never do that!"
The yellow eyes softened in appreciation to her words. "I know that and you know that, it is all that matters. The Central 46 believed him guilty of the charges and sentenced him, as well as all the Vizards, to death." She offered the information freely. "He didn't even get to say a word in his defense, people do not know what Aizen did, what he is still doing. The real reason we sent Ichigo to help save Rukia was to retrieve an object that had been placed within her soul."
"With the Hougyoku, he would be invincible. We need to bring it back safely and destroy it before he can get his hands on it." She finished, the horror of their predicament finally penetrating Karin's mind. She finally understood what payment Urahara had received by helping her brother, even if he didn't know.
"Now we live here and the Vizards live in seclusion, if Soul Society were to find them they would surely order an execution, even if they were all once Captains and Lieutenants in their army." Her voice continued in a tone as sharp with disdain as the blade of her Zanpakutou.
Karin was speechless in horror. "This all happened over a hundred years ago." The noble said smiling through the grim moment. "But don't ask me what my age is, it is never wise to ask a woman her age." She joked attempting to lift the mood.
A small laugh escaped Karin's lips, but it was a weak laugh. "I'm guessing we age a lot slower than normal humans." She asked in curiosity, the olive skinned woman nodded in response.
"But right now we are within a Kido barrier that will slow real time. Meaning we are going to be inside of it for two weeks, but to us it will be three years." Yoruichi said not willing to keep any secrets from the raven haired girl.
"Seriously? That is awesome! This way I can train until I'm really ready." She said with a happy smile on her face.
"That is not all." Yoruichi interrupted before the girl could continue. "Your body will age as a normal human within this barrier." At the confused expression on Karin's face, the woman decided to elaborate. "Normally, this kido is prohibited by the Court of Pure Souls, but seeing as we are exiled anyways we don't care. It is forbidden because only Shinigami with high level of Reiatsu can survive it."
"To normal Shinigami, it means certain death while to Shinigami with high spiritual energy it will only age you faster." She supplied to negate any confusion.
Karin hummed in understanding, not in the least annoyed by the turn of events. "There is a price to pay for everything after all, this should be no different." She said in an understanding tone, but her eyes were still clouded with a small hint of bewilderment. "Why are you doing this? Why would you purposefully age your body just to train me?"
"Because we need to train you and you deserve this." Replied the ex-captain. "And it's not only me you know, Urahara is here too." She added laughing at the sour face that stared back at her words. "There are more people here too." She said, turning the atmosphere serious once more.
"Who else is here?" She asked in a small voice.
"The Vizards." Replied the noble shortly.
Contrary to the reaction the woman had been expecting, the child smiled at her. "Seriously?" She exclaimed. "I know you had hinted to the fact that they had lived, but it is such a relief to know they did survived that night."
Yoruichi smiled at the light that entered her eyes, the shine that had been missing from her grey orbs since she had woken from her troubled slumber. "Yes, they are also here to help you with your training." She added with a smirk.
She crossed her arms and smirked at the thought of the intensive training that Karin was to receive. "Judging from the fact that you are a Kurosaki, we are counting on your power to be explosive as well as your evolvement in all of the arts we are to teach you, but since you are not Ichigo whose only real skill lies in Zanjutsu, we are going to train you to your bones in all four subjects. Be prepared." She said with an amused smirk over her lips.
"You are learning from the best, so we expect you to be the best. I have faith that you will not disappoint." The woman finished with her grin still in place.
Karin smiled and stood, her composure securely settled back in place. "Then we better start." She smirked back to the purple-haired woman with her shoulders squared.
Yoruichi's smirk softened into a smile, inwardly she was glad that the rude behavior she had been treated with by her had stopped. She followed her lead and got on her feet, together they both left the small room and made their way to the tea room/meeting room where all the other Reiatsus within the building were.
'He's still touching me.' Whispered the perturbed voice from the recesses of her mind, Karin laughed softly at the misfortune of her Zanpakutou. The amusement did not mean that she would let him go free, he had no right to take her sword.
The sight that greeted her was that of four people sitting around the tiny tea table, all of them familiar to her, but the raven haired girl only knew one of them. Urahara was sitting in his regular spot as he stared towards the doorway she had just come in.
As he opened his mouth to speak, a fist slammed into his nose, interrupting whatever words he had been about to utter. With wide bewildered eyes he clutched his nose as blood seeped between the cracks of his fingers.
The silence was broken as a small foot slammed onto the table, with her fist shaking in his direction, Karin glared. "Who told you that you had permission to touch her you perverted old man!" The fire that burned within her eyes making his own eyes to drift towards his lovers, hoping to find an ally in his predicament.
"Now hand her over!" She snarled with an outstretched hand. Urahara smiled goofily as he focused on the pissed off girl in front of him. Reaching behind his back meekly, he handed the small sword over to her. Karin huffed as she snatched her Zanpakutou from his blood covered palm.
Seconds later a sandal flew over Karin's shoulder and slapped the blonde's face, leaving a violently red mark. "What are you smiling about?" Yelled the blonde girl that was wearing a red tracksuit and had her hair tied in two ponytails. Urahara kept on smiling goofily and gave up on the notion that Yoruichi would help him when she took a seat next to a lime green haired teen.
A giant pink haired man placed a hand over the thin shoulder of the blonde and attempted to calm her temper as the neon haired teen who sat next to Yoruichi giggled into her hand. Watching the spectacle, Karin's eyes drifted towards the blonde girl.
"Nice throw." She stated as the other girl watched her from her peripheral vision.
"Nice punch." Replied the other girl in a nonchalant tone before breaking into a smirk, Karin returned the smirk as her arms crossed over her nonexistent chest.
"I think we will get along great." She said before taking a seat.
Urahara gulped in real dread and watched fearfully as the alliance was struck. He wondered what the hell he had been thinking by bringing these two together in the first place, he also wondered if it was too late to regret his choice of training companion.
Taking a look at the two girls who now sat next to each other, he realized that his fate was sealed. Yoruichi smiled into her tea, Urahara knew better than to ask for her assistance. He was doomed.
It took several moments for the meeting to start, but when it did the humorous aura of the previous conversation had shattered and been replaced by a seriousness that weighted on Karin's shoulders.
"We are here for one reason, and that is to train Kurosaki Karin." Yoruichi started as Urahara failed to speak because he was sulking in resentment. Karin turned from her inspection of her sword to listen to the woman who had gained her respect in such a short time.
Taking the hint, Urahara corrected his stance and cleared his face of emotion. "We are currently behind a time-slowing kido barrier as you know; said barrier will be stable during a time of two weeks. This means we will be here for three years, it means that we will physically age three years. During these three years we will be teaching Karin the four combat arts. We will perfect and enhance her abilities until our time runs out.
Having the attention of the room, the scientist continued. "There will be two teachers for each subject, except for Kido. Said subject will be taught by Ushoda Hachigen." He said pointing with his eyes towards the pink haired man.
Said man gave a grave nod, allowing Urahara to continue. "Saguraki Hiyori and I will teach you how to communicate and learn the name of your sword. We will also teach you Zanjutsu."
"I already know the name of my sword." She chimed in as soon as there was an opportunity. The shocked faces that stared at her at her declaration made her feel smug. The siren smiled cockily; proud that her owner was so advanced in something that should've not happened anytime soon.
The stunned silence was broken by Yoruichi. "That's amazing, not even Ichigo managed to get the name of his blade until he had battled Hollows for over two months." She mused in amazement.
Karin shrugged in faked indifference, she was proud of it after all. The faces around her smiled in relief at that fact that she would be able to learn all they had to teach in the time space they had. It would be no problem at all to get her to captain level over the course of three years.
Urahara cleared his throat before starting once more. "Shihonin Yoruichi and Kuna Mashiro will be your Hakuda and Hoho instructors. After you have mastered all your shinigami arts, you will be taught how to use and maintain your Hollow mask. All three of them are-"
"Vizards. I know." Karin said as she watched them. The three from the masked army stared back with different expressions, the blonde with her typical snarl, the pink haired man with a contemplating look and the teen with a sweet smile. "I dreamt of them."
Taken aback by her words the three Vizards and Urahara stared at her in surprise. "She knows what happened to us all and she knows about Aizen." Yoruichi declared in a level voice. Urahara's eyes snapped towards hers, at seeing no emotion he sighed.
"You have some question, I assume." Urahara said as his eyes hardened at the thought of Aizen.
"Not really, I know the basics and I know he needs to be stopped. That's all I really care about." She said with a small shrug that did not manage to disguise all of her hatred and anger towards a man she hadn't even met.
Urahara understood her attempt to downplay her emotions. "Just make sure to not see his release. His power consists of complete hypnosis, he can make you see whatever he wishes you to and once he has you in his illusions you can never escape."
Karin's eyes widened at the tidbit, but nodded in gratitude to the warning. "Now how about we start this?" Urahara exclaimed as he clapped his hands and smiled. The next thing Karin heard was a sandal slapping against the blonde's face. With a smirk, she made her way to the basement.
That night as Karin lay in bed sore, hurt and tired to the bone, her mind drifted to something that Urahara had mentioned, something that had made her remember a half forgotten memory. The explanation of the squads of the Gotei 13 made her recall a white haired boy with a white haori which had the number ten kanji on its back.
That first night she fell asleep with a smile on her face, at the thought that Hitsugaya Toshiro was a Shinigami Captain. With the thought that she would see him once more.
She remembered the night she had met him like if it had been yesterday. It had been a cold winter day and as the sun had set, the cold had turned from pleasant to bitingly cruel. She had been eight years old and in pain over the sudden loss of her mother, even if she had been dead for over three years.
In her refusal to let her family see her this way, she had left the house in the middle of the night and travelled to the park she had often visited with her mother. Once she had gotten there she watched the snow covered benches with distaste. Finding the one with the least amount of snow in it, she pushed the rest of the white powder off before taking a seat.
The cold seeped into her bones despite the large amount of padding that she had worn to protect her from the wind. In her seat, she stared across the park listlessly, but no tears even came. She had promised herself she would not cry, that she would be strong for her family.
She did not know how long she sat there, but she had long lost any feeling in her body and her breath came out in great clouds that in another moment would've made her laugh. The far off sound that awakened her from her trace sounded like shriek of pain. With a violent start, she jumped from the seat she had been using. The sound had chilled her far worse than the cold ever could.
She took a couple of steps away from where the sound had come, afraid even if silence was all she heard. Just as she turned to make her way back home, another screech emitted from the other side of the park. This time it was much closer. Within seconds a huge monster appeared from the darkness. The red eyes watched her from behind the white mask in hunger and a shiver passed over her spine.
She remembered being frozen solid in terror as the beast lunched towards her in an aggressive way. Her eyes closed in fear and defeat. A roar of pain made her onyx eyes snap open and the sight that greeted her was that of a white haired boy using a large katana to cut the beast in half.
As it disintegrated, the boy sheathed his sword and took a step away in a clear intention of leaving. A small hand flashed forward and clutched his slightly larger hand. The soul reaper started and turned to stare into the warm grey eyes which belonged to a small girl.
"What is your name?" The small girl asked him.
His eyes widened in surprise as he answered. "Hitsugaya Toshiro."
She smiled in gratitude. "Thank you, Toshiro." She said before adding. "My name is Karin."
The boy nodded slightly before slipping out of her grasp and disappearing. After that incident she never saw him again.
Ta taaaa! The end of chapter five! Remember, reviews make authors happy :).