A/N: Thanks to all who reviewed! Much appreciated. The shunpo soccer episode... won't be long :)

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Abarai was all for the idea. He was getting sick of the basement.

Madarame liked it. It was similar enough to combat without actually fighting, and he enjoyed the few games he had seen.

Ayasegawa hated the notion initially, because he remembered that he disliked the uniforms, but one look at Karin's Christiano Ronaldo poster and he was raring to go.

Tessai was alright with it because he wanted to keep an eye on Ururu and Jinta.

Yoruichi sulked because she wasn't allowed to play.

Urahara had hemmed and hawed before deciding to join in the fun.

Matsumoto had bowed out, because she felt her breasts would impede her running speed and argued that the windswept look wasn't for everybody.

Sado agreed after realizing his sparring partner was playing truant from training. But since his forte wasn't in shunpo, he took on the role of goalkeeper.

Hitsugaya and Karin then decided they should take different sides. It was more interesting that way. Plus, someone on each team had to know the rules.

So the teams were decided: Abarai, Karin, Ayasegawa, Sado and Madarame on one side, Urahara, Ururu, Tessai, Jinta and Hitsugaya on the other.

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"This way, you bloody idiot!" yelled Abarai, running on her left.

"Shut up!" Karin dribbled and dodged a tackle from Jinta. The boy had some serious antagonism towards her. "Ayasegawa!"

The slim shinigami caught the pass and ran down the field, neatly avoiding the ferocious tackle from Ururu. Ayasegawa had had to remove his feathers, and he was feeling rather pissed off about it. Ururu and Karin had both ran up to the goal, and just when Ururu was about to try another tackle-

"Dammit!" Abarai swore under his breath when he noticed the white streak that flashed between the two girls. He was competent in shunpo, but out of the five on their team only Karin could catch up to him. "Ikkaku! Get ready! Sado! Can you see him?"

Karin sprinted and cut across Hitsugaya's path, stealing the ball from him and bringing it back to bear on Tessai, the opposing team's goalkeeper. As she drew her foot back to send it into the net, Hitsugaya was already in front of her.

Matsumoto slurped on her iced tea. "It's like their having own game, isn't it?"

"Yeah," said Yoruichi, slouching over at the bench. "Oh, no, look, Abarai's trying to get the- ooh, that's gotta hurt."

"I'll say."

Sado crouched over and prepared himself. A steely-eyed captain was tearing down the pitch...

"GOAL!!" Matsumoto screamed and cheered. "Way to go, taichou!"

Abarai, Ayasegawa and Karin exchanged glances while Jinta and Ururu celebrated. Abarai, their designated captain, nodded at Ikkaku. Karin smiled humorlessly.

All's fair in love and war... and football.

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"That was a foul and you know it!" Jinta argued at Yoruichi's decision to let the game continue. "He tackled our goalkeeper and wrestled him to the ground!"

"But Tessai isn't injured, and the ball was in the vicinity, and I'm the damned referee so shut up!" Yoruichi stretched lazily. She went back to her packed lunch.

Jinta was incredulous, but was firmly directed away by the his team captain Urahara. "Yoruichi, at least look at the game while refereeing?"

"I'm hungry." She ignored him and continued munching. "Keep playing."

Smirking, Karin exchanged a low five with Ikkaku.

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Hitsugaya smashed in another goal, after a throw-in from Urahara. Karin fumed because Jinta had tripped her deliberately while Ayasegawa was blocking Yoruichi's view. The two discussed for a minute with their captain, and Abarai suggested a double-team.

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Karin and Ayasegawa paired up and dribbled past the youngest captain in a flurry of passes. Hitsugaya was fine with that, except he really disliked the impromptu victory dance Madarame and Abarai put up in celebration when Tessai failed to stop the goal.

"It's just so immature," he said in an undertone to Urahara, who was silently laughing at Madarame's toe-wriggle moves.

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Sado missed catching Ururu's shot. Now they had a hole in the net because Ururu fired it in with too much power.

"I'm sorry," she said sheepishly before running back up the field. Karin passed the ball to Abarai and the redhead returned the favor with a roar.

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Urahara tapped in one goal, but was challenged for a foul because he had used killing intent to make almost everyone – his own team included – fall to their knees in cold sweat

Yoruichi ceded the foul, and everyone gave Urahara a kick on the shin after Ayasegawa kicked the ball in.

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Hitsugaya nailed another goal in. He dodged the impromptu celebratory hug from his teammates and ran back to his place on the field.

Urahara shrugged. The white-haired captain was too uptight for his own good. "Was I ever like this when I was a captain, Tessai?"

"No," he replied loyally.

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At the end of the game the score was tied five-five. Karin flopped down next to Yoruichi, tired, sweaty, and happy. "I haven't had this much fun since... I dunno when. I love soccer!" she howled at the darkening sky.

Abarai laughed. "Kurosaki Karin, I believe you're high."

"That I am," she said in all seriousness. "After all, I'm just a kid."

"Not just a kid," Hitsugaya interjected coolly.

Everyone exchanged raised eyebrows and meaningful half-smiles, but Karin merely grinned. "No I'm not. I'm also a shinigami, like you."

"Not like me at all, dolt," he said, without the usual bite.

Matsumoto hid her smile, but couldn't resist whispering something into Yoruichi's ear. The sleek dark-haired woman snorted but glanced away when both snowy-haired captain and brunette preteen looked over at her.

"Just something caught in my throat," she said hastily. "Ahemm-hrmm."

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Yumichika skipped along beside Ikkaku. "I thought that was fun," he said cheerfully.

"Yeah, I think we should introduce soccer to Seireitei," said Ikkaku, strolling.

"Not the game silly," said Yumichika, "Hitsugaya-taichou and Karin."

"Eh...what?"

"Did you even sense the whole sparkage that was going on? Man it's better than what Rangiku and I had believed!"

Ikkaku shook his head. "You don't know what you're talking about, Yumi. Hitsugaya-taichou likes Hinamori, we know that."

"No he doesn't, not that way," argued the silky-haired shinigami. "I've seen them together, and she thinks of him as a younger brother. Karin treats him as an equal, and that's important in any relationship."

"Like ours?"

Yumichika laughed as Ikkaku offered an arm for him to slip through. "They really should go out sometime soon."

"Yeah, they should." Ikkaku was nodding and then he suggested, "Shall we assist?"

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"Matsumoto, just because I allow her to call me by my surname without a suffix doesn't mean I like her more than anyone else." Hitsugaya ran the line through his head and realized it sounded stupid. He tried again. "I think Karin doesn't need to address me as formally as the others because I'm not working with her in any official capacity."

Sounds better. He breathed out. Then he frowned. Why did he need to justify himself anyway?

Because you know you're hedging.

Hitsugaya rolled his eyes. Sometimes his own sword could sound patronizing even to himself.

"You wanted to see me, taichou?"

"About your surmise the other night," began Hitsugaya, but he was cut off mid-speech.

"I'm completely right and you know it, taichou. Everyone else has noticed it, and you'll lay some ghosts to rest if you'd just admit that Karin is someone special to you." She planted her hands on her hips, formidable bosom heaving with righteous indignation. "I can't believe the girl is more gracious than you about this matter!"

"What?" Completely derailed in his train of thought, Hitsugaya tried to figure out his lieutenant's words.

Matsumoto ran her hand through her mane and shook it out. "Karin knows she likes you. She's not hiding it, but neither is she acting all weird about not hiding it. In this case, taichou, I'm gonna have to say: grow up."

He sputtered indignantly; she flounced out of the room with a cheery greeting for Madarame and Ayasegawa who had turned up early.

With an exasperated groan he grabbed his sword and followed the trio.

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Madarame frowned.

Fed up with the two useless shinigami trying to converse with their swords, Hitsugaya looked over. "What is it?"

"Nothing," the bald one said, although Hitsugaya remained alert. Madarame didn't like to raise false alarms, but if something had impinged on his senses that might be a danger signal. Privately he believed Madarame was at captain level; he radiated power. Yet, since the man was content to work for Zaraki, Hitsugaya saw no reason to inform the soutaichou of his suspicion.

Then he felt it: a rasping across his senses. "Arrancar?"

"Dearie dearie me, we're rather lucky, ain't we? Finding a buncha shinigami immediately," said an effeminate arrancar. They exchanged a few more words among themselves, too far for any of the shinigami to hear, but then again they weren't listening. Then a blue-haired arrancar dashed away, and Hitsugaya wondered why that was.

He pulled out of his gigai and attacked the largest one of all. "Hitsugaya Toushiro, captain of the Tenth Division."

"Yammi, number ten." The arrancar smiled ferociously.

"Number ten... Espada?"

"You know your stuff," the Espada mocked. "You musta fought someone with a big mouth."

They exchanged a flurry of blows, but the effeminate one – Luppi – took over the battle... and things turned rapidly downhill.

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Hitsugaya groaned as he sat up. Ice shards were scattered about him, the bits of his wings and from Hourinmaru evidence of Luppi's strength.

"What the hell is he?" asked someone behind him.

Hitsugaya turned. "What are you doing here? It's dangerous!"

"I was supposed to meet you here, Ikkaku said. Who is that guy, uh, girl, uh... it?"

Hitsugaya shushed her and pulled them both into the relative shelter of trees. "Espada. You can't fight him."

"Neither can you, apparently. He just tossed you aside like so much spaghetti!"

"Huh?"

Karin sighed. "You're definitely out of it if you're trying to understand my references. Look, I want to help."

"Then get out of here," he urged. "I can't watch over you while rescuing them."

"I can help," she insisted. Before Hitsugaya could brush her off, Karin had pulled herself out of her body. "Look. We both know i'm no match for him. But you need something I can give, and I suggest you better get ready to catch that wave."

Hitsugaya narrowed his eyes. He understood what she was saying, but the protective instinct was strong. Finally he gave in. "Once you're done, scoot. As fast as possible. I don't want any of them to even catch a hint of you having been here, okay?"

"Be careful." The worried look in her dark eyes made Hitsugaya almost smile.

"I'm Hitsugaya Toushiro, have you met me? I'm nothing but careful."

Karin grinned and stood. "Ready or not, here we go. Gekido, Yuutsubame!"

Riding that first surge of water Hitsugaya called on his sword's power. Come on, Hourinmaru. Let's show that bastard arrancar what a shinigami can do.

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Karin watched and swallowed nervously. She attributed that as the reason she jumped when a large hand fell on her shoulder.

"Urahara-san! Yoruichi-sensei!" she yelped, albeit quietly.

Urahara looked grave and very unhappy about Karin being there. "Bring her home, Yoruichi."

"Will do. Come on, you can't help here. Watch over your family instead." The two brunettes flash-stepped away.

Karin couldn't help one last, over-the-shoulder look at the shinigami engaged in battle in the sky. He'd better come through this fine.

He will, girl. Relax. He's a captain, what could possibly happen to him? Wait... I can think of some really horrible things happening to him.

Sometimes, Yuu, I'd really prefer it if you didn't talk.

Fine, fine...

Karin worried all the way home.