Chapter 2. Wanted to post it yesterday but I was kinda busy. So well. Here goes. Chapter 2, a whole chapter of recollections between Toshirou and Karin. Hope you enjoyed it.
To Sarah: Smile! If all else fails I still love you )
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach
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"There you are again!"
7pm. Sunset. Toshirou sat at the railing of this deserted road uphill, hands by the railings with his green eyes fixated at the sunset.
He remained silent to her call. So she ran all the way towards him and tugged at his arm. Toshirou tried to suppress a little smile as she did so. Karin was indeed different from other people. She may look like a child, but she wasn't as bratty as those others that he saw. But that didn't mean she was totally innocent to the whining that children usually do. There was no way he could stop her from achieving something that she wanted. On the other hand, she may be kind to people around her, but yet there was always a rebel streak in her. That streak had caused her to not play by other people's rules but her rules. She probably got that from her brother, Toshirou concluded.
All in all, she was a mixture of a mature and immature and that intriuged Toshirou. Unlike people of Soul Society. Soul Society felt like a clone army sometimes where everyone sets their sights on training and fighting to get to a particular seat and after they achieve their first aim the cycle goes round again. The only interruptions to this montonous cycle only came when there was an invasion of sorts, which obviously, rarely happens. During those times, was when one would see the other side of everyone. So in all, there wasn't indivduality to talk about in Soul Society at all.
Karin was the direct opposite. She was the embodiment of indivuality and character. And she took his breath away.
There was one other thing he didn't want to admit. Though it was true that he did enjoy looking the susnet from this particular spot but there was another reason why he was always there.
He knew she would come.
"Come on,. why are you always looking so gloomy!" Karin said, grabbing his arm and interrupting his train of thoughts, "Let me show you fun places,"
And Toshirou let Karin drag him.
--
That was the first and the only time Toshirou went to an amusement park in the real world. He didn't like the bright lights that shone around the place and he knew Karin knew it as she made several comments about him being too grumpy for a fun place. He remembered the pirate ship, the roller coaster and other weird rides that Karin dragged him along to. Well, he couldn't understand why humans enjoyed these "thrill rides" but he did enjoy staring at Karin's expression when she screamed her head off at one of these weird rides.
Karin also excitedly dragged him to those little shops that were inside or lined the perimeter of the amusement park. Some sold food, some sold drinks, some were games. Karin dragged Toshirou to these litte stalls and she particularly enjoyed the games. She was literally winning the soccer one to the disappointment of the stall holder. The price for her victory was a huge teddy bear which she tried to give it to Toshirou who tried to give it back to Karin saying that he had no use for it. So began a series of "pushing-the-bear-to-each-other". The final outcome of this little match was that they decided to give the bear to Yuzu, Karin's twin sister.
--
"Where are we again?" He asked.
"A circus,where people perform stunts!" Karin excitedly told him.
"Why do I have this feeling that it's not going to be exciting," Toshirou muttered under his breath.
"Ahem, I heard that," Karin narrowed her eyes at Toshirou, "I don't care whether is it fun to you or not, it's fun to me for one, for two, you have never been to a circus before, so take this as an experience,"
Right. Toshirou thought to himself as the performance went on. He felt that the ringmaster was too much of an actor and the stunts didn't impress him either. But everytime he turned, he would see Karin's awestruck face. She looked so captivated in the show that she didn't even realize that Toshirou was staring at her. He examined her features, her short hair, her eyes, her face. He never realized someone could be this innoccent and this pretty before.
He wanted to kiss her.
Thank goodness the applause and cat calls from the audience snapped him back to reality.
--
"Why are these animals trapped in cages," Toshirou asked Karin, "Aren't they supposed to be out in the wild?"
"Ah, this is a zoo, Toshirou, these animals are here for display,"
"Display?" He replied, not really understanding the concept of it. The only conclusion he could come up with was that humans were plain queer.
Karin dragged Toshirou through the sunday crowd (which he hated) to the other side of the zoo, where the sea animals resided in various tanks. Curious visitors were seen putting theirs hands onto the tank surface as though trying to feel the creatures that lived in it. Toshirou didn't really understand the rationale for that, but he decided to not probe further. His stay in the real world had taught him that humans are just bizzare. It was then a dolphin leaped above the water in a nice curve before dipping into the water once again with a splash. As the audience clapped for the dolphins, Karin bent over and whispered into Toshirou's ears, " They are my favourite animals,"
Toshirou looked at Karin. Ah, indeed, she was like a dolphin, carefree and beautiful, living and enjoying life in her own rhythmn and yet awe the people who looked at her.
--
Karin couldn't help but laughed when she saw Toshirou's back straighten up and eyes sprang wide open as the lights in the theatre dimed.
"Relax," She said in between her laughter.
Toshirou heaved a sigh of relief. For a moment he thought that something bad was going to happen.
"Just sit back and watch the show okay? I promise you it's a good movie,"
Karin noticed that Toshirou was still pretty tensed up so she took the effort to put her hands on his shoulder and pushed it back gently to the cushions of the seat,
"Relax," She repeated.
Toshirou found himself looking into Karin's eyes and for that moment Toshirou thought he stopped breathing in beauty of her eyes. He thought he felt his heart stop, he thought he saw heaven in her eyes, a sensation that he could not put a name to just washed across him. Did they pause in that postiion long? Was is awkward to the people around them? He did not know. The only thing he knew was that Karin was looking straight into eyes too. But after what felt like a long while, Karin just blinked and moved back to her seat as though nothing happened. Wait, did he see her blush?
It was then a bang was heard from the speakers. Karin saw Toshirou bolted up from the comfort of his seat and looked around and laughed once more, "It's just a sound effect,"
--
That's all for Chapter 2. I hope you all liked the recollections. This mini story is ending in the next chapter ) And tomorrow's is V-Day (For me, that is, because I stay in Singapore) In any case, reviews?
Till then,
See ya )