I'm really glad you guys liked the last chapter. Hitsugaya as a blacksmith is a strange career, but I liked the idea of him working with swords and doing something both physically challenging and creative. His job will be really important as the story goes on, so I didn't just through it in there for no reason. And, as promised, Hitsugaya's back in this chapter :)

Hitsugaya had had a particularly bad day. His cheek really stung, but he still had several swords to deliver, so he had been forced to run around Karakura all day, where all his clients commented on the impressive welt on his face. He was inwardly grateful that Karin had turned down his offer to join him for breakfast. He really had no desire to talk to her. And his resentment only grew with each person who stared at his black and blue mark.

He returned home, drained and hungry, looking forward to a calm dinner and a restful evening. But with Karin in the house, he sincerely doubted he would receive either.

"Welcome home Hitsugaya-sama," Matsumoto greeted him when he arrived. "How was your day?"

"Long," he replied curtly. "Is dinner ready?"

"Of course!" she sang. The two of them headed towards the dining room.

"So how's my precious little princess?" he asked sourly. Matsumoto grinned.

"She's hardly a princess Hitsugaya-sama," she teased.

"Alright, so my crazed wildcat, is that a better description?" Matsumoto sighed.

"You're not being very fair to her," she said gently. Hitsugaya glared at her.

"If she's not going to make an effort than why should I?" he shot back. "Matsumoto, she punched me! She has no desire to be here and even less desire to spend time with me, so why should I even bother?"

"I think you might be surprised Hitsugaya-sama," she said with a knowing smile. "She was understandably angry yesterday because she didn't like the thought of an arranged marriage. Neither did you if I remember correctly." Hitsugaya scoffed.

"But," Matsumoto continued, "I think once she's calmed down a bit, you two might actually get along." Hitsugaya rolled his eyes.

"Yeah right," he said sarcastically. "Like that girl is capable of calming down. What did she do all day, terrorize the servants?"

"Actually," Matsumoto said slyly, "she helped out in the smithy." Hitsugaya stopped dead.

"What?" he asked, completely floored. "She did what?!" For some reason, he had been under the impression that she was the kind of person who had never worked a day in her life and who would be utterly horrified by the thought of even setting foot in a place as filthy as the smithy.

"That's what Renji said," Matsumoto explained with a grin. "She was there for hours apparently. She fixed a badly damaged chisel. Said she had fun." Hitsugaya was at a loss for words.

"Oh, and she also loves the garden, at least, according to Yumichka," Matsumoto added. "She said it was, how did he put it, 'like a fairy tale.'" Hitsugaya felt his heart soften unwittingly at those words. He loved that garden, and anyone who felt the same couldn't be all bad. And the fact that this high-stung girl who was willing to spend hours hammering away in a smithy could also appreciate the spectacular beauty of his garden meant that there had to be more to her than he had been giving her credit for. She had a heart in her somewhere, even if it was buried very, very, deep down.

"So," Matsumoto prompted. "Are you going to give her a chance?" Hitsugaya scoffed and continued walking.

"That's entirely up to her," he replied coolly, opening the door to the dining room. "I still don't think she wants to speak to me…" He trailed off as the door opened, revealing a much calmer looking Karin. She came up to him and glanced at him bravely.

"Look," she said with a sigh. "I'm sorry about yesterday. We kind of got off on the wrong foot, so I was wondering if we could just start over." She held out her hand to him.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Kurosaki Karin," she said with a grin. "Or, I guess I'm Hitsugaya Karin now." Hitsugaya stared at her for several seconds before taking her hand and shaking it.

"Nice to meet you too," he replied, still processing the fact that she was actually being civil.

"I'll just leave you two alone then," Matsumoto said gleefully before bowing herself out.

"So…" Karin began, having no idea what to say now that introductions were over.

"Um…" Hitsugaya said awkwardly. They looked away from each other. Neither could ever remember feeling this uncomfortable.

"Would you like to sit down?" Hitsugaya offered, indicating the table.

"What?" Karin said distractedly. "Oh, yeah. Sure." They sat down across from each other, avoiding eye contact the whole time. It was the heaviest silence Hitsugaya had ever felt. He fiddled with a string on his napkin as Karin absently ran her finger around the rim of her glass.

"So I heard you helped out in the smithy," he said by way of making conversation. Karin nodded.

"It was fun, but it was really hard work. I'm surprised that you do that every day."

"Yeah well, not every day," he corrected her. "I have to go to market once a week, and I make deliveries a lot, but I do try to be in there as much as I can. It's my business you know."

"Still, it wasn't easy," Karin continued, feeling slightly more relaxed now that she was talking. "I was really tired after only half an hour, and I usually have great endurance. And my shoulder is killing me." She rubbed it for emphasis. Hitsugaya shrugged.

"I've been doing it ever since I can remember. I used to help my dad out when I was little. He taught me everything I know. It's a family trade you see."

"So I've heard."

"Yeah." They lapsed back into silence, having exhausted the topic, and Hitsugaya felt a tremendous wave of relief when the door opened and a maid came in with food. They occupied themselves with eating for the next several minutes, not saying a word.

Finally, Karin decided that it was her turn to pick a subject since Hitsugaya had chosen the last one.

"So, you play soccer?" she asked and Hitsugaya looked up from his plate.

"How do you know?" Karin blushed.

"I…saw the metals in your room," she admitted. "Sorry I was snooping."

"That's ok," Hitsugaya replied. "You're staying in there. I don't mind. And yeah, I used to play all the time when I was a kid. The team I was on was pretty good too, so we used to win a lot. But I haven't had time to play since my parents died."

"Oh." Karin looked down at her plate. They had now brought up the subject of his parents twice.

"Do you…ah…miss your parents?" she asked, then suddenly realized what a personal question that was. "Wait, sorry, you don't have to answer that…"

"Yeah, I do," he said, ignoring her last statement. "How could I not? They died in a freak fire in the smithy. It was completely unexpected. But that was almost five years ago, so it doesn't bother me now like it did before. I just kind of got used to being on my own. Besides, one good thing came out of it."

"Oh?" Karin asked curiously.

"Matsumoto came home. My parents had named her as my guardian. She was off in the army when they died, but they let her leave so that she could come take care of me."

"That explains why the army didn't do a number on her," Karin said in realization. She had never seen anyone return from the army with as much spirit as Matsumoto had. Hitsugaya nodded.

"Yeah. It still took her a while to adjust to being home, but she was only gone for three years. It's better than the seven or eight years most people have to suffer through. It left its mark though. She's much calmer than she used to be." Karin raised an eyebrow.

"Really?" she asked incredulously. Hitsugaya smirked.

"I know, hard to believe right?" he said amused. Karin grinned ever so slightly.

"So, do you miss your mom?" Hitsugaya asked.

"Are we talking about death because it's the only thing we know about each other?" Karin chided. "It's a rather strange choice for a first conversation, don't you think?" Hitsugaya shrugged.

"Better than nothing right?" Karin had to agree with that.

"I guess. And yeah, I do miss my mom, but, like you said, she's been dead a long time. And I barely remember her; I was only four when she died. I remember she was pretty though. And that she had a beautiful…"

"Singing voice?" Hitsugaya finished her sentence for her and she gaped at him.

"How did you know I was going to say that?" she gasped, utterly shocked. Hitsugaya shrugged.

"It's all I remember about her," he replied. "She came to visit us a few times before she died. She was my mom's childhood friend, but you know that already. Anyway, every time she came, she used to sing me to sleep with the same lullaby. My mom never sang to me, so those moments really stick out in my mind. I can't remember her face though, but I do remember her voice."

"Did she sing a song about a bird in winter?" Karin asked fondly, her eyes unusually soft.

"Yeah," Hitsugaya replied thoughtfully. "I think she did." Karin smiled.

"She used to sing that song to me when I was little." Hitsugaya looked at her and was amazed at the transformation that had occurred in her. She looked so different when her features were relaxed and happy, instead of angry or on guard. She looked…radiant.

"Do you remember it?" he asked hopefully.

"Huh?"

"The lullaby. Do you remember it?"

"Why?" Karin sneered, the moment broken. "It's not like I'm going to sing it to you!" Hitsugaya suddenly felt incredibly stupid.

"Sorry," he apologized quickly. "Dumb question." Silence settled over them once again, but neither of them picked up a new topic.

"I'm going to sleep," Karin announced, unable to sit with the tension any longer.

"Alright," Hitsugaya replied. "Um," he added as Karin stood to leave. She paused and looked at him.

"Thanks," he said awkwardly.

"For what?"

"For talking to me. For turning yourself into a person rather than just a name and a fist."

"You're welcome, I guess." Karin replied, feeling incredibly strange. "Well, goodnight."

"Goodnight." He waited until she had closed the door before allowing his head to fall to the table.

"I'm such an idiot!" he derided himself. "We had a good conversation going, and I had to ask her such a foolish question. What's she going to think of me now?" He sighed and stood to gaze out the window at the darkened garden.

"She's a complicated person," Hitsugaya thought. "She's rough and loud, but she's got a sensitive side in her, even if it's hidden." He was intrigued by her. She was unlike any girl he had ever met. And, despite himself, he felt a growing affection towards her that was entirely unexpected.

"Maybe things will work out after all," he thought optimistically. "That is, if she ever speaks to me again. After that faux pas, I don't think she'll want to."

ooooooooooooooooo

Karin escaped into the hallway and breathed an enormous sigh of relief.

"Well that was amazingly uncomfortable," she thought. "But, all things considered, it could have gone a lot worse." As she climbed the stairs to her room, she subconsciously found herself humming a tune that she hadn't thought of in quite a while.

Oh little bird,

Where do you go?

When the snow starts to fall,

And the wind starts to blow?

Oh little bird,

Do you still sing your song?

When the days are so cold,

And the nights are so long?

Oh little bird,

For spring do I yearn.

And so until then,

I await your return.

Wow, this is possibly the most awkward thing I have ever written, but they can't be too comfortable with each other for their first real conversation can they? But there's a spark now, at least from Hitsugaya's perspective. Karin's still not entirely sure.