Title: Guilty Nightmares, Devoting Kicks

Summary: Kurosaki Karin takes after her brother; short tempered, powerful, understanding, rude, yet determined. She's determined to become what her brother became by going to the shinigami academy in Seireitei, and then become a powerful shinigami, exactly like her brother. While she becomes prey at the academy with Kuchiki Rukia, her relief at the end of the day is with her friends. One of them, specifically, makes her happy; brilliant soccer player, Hitsugaya Toshiro. Hitsugaya's mind wanders from Karin to Hinamori, wondering what they've created in his life. Rukia's unfazed charisma is suddenly cracked open with the sudden announcement of Ichigo and Inoue's 'relationship.'

Pairings: Karin/Hitsugaya Hinamori/Hitsugaya Rukia/Ichigo Inoue/Ichigo

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach…Sadly…

Chapter Two: That Soccer Game Three Years Ago…

Yoruichi and Karin were following Rukia, looking almost defeated, in Karin's opinion. Yoruichi's seemed to be thinking up some kind of argument against the 'Captain Kuchiki,' while Rukia had her head bent low, almost looking gloomy, very uncharacteristic. Karin decided to contemplate who the captain was, by talking to herself. "Ichi-Nii told me about Captain Kuchiki, Rukia-san's brother, some bastard who thought he was high and mighty. He said that he was a captain, so I suppose this high and mighty noble is Captain Kuchiki. But why would this be bad? Captain Kuchiki couldn't possibly hate Ichi-Nii to the point of trying to get rid of me, right? Yoruichi-san was saying if she could get to Captain Soifon or Captain Hitsugaya, she might be able to put in a word for me to attend Shinigami Academy… Rukia-san couldn't possibly… she couldn't just turn me in so heartlessly, right?"

Lost in thought, Karin didn't notice they had stopped until she tripped over Yoruichi. She landed on her stomach and winced before leaping to her feet again, silently cursing herself.

A tall, well built man stepped out of the house she was facing. His bangs were fashioned in an odd way, as if he put them in tubes when he went to sleep. Karin's eyes rested on his face, trying to see if he and Rukia had anything in common. Rukia's eyes were wide and a deep violet, holding a sensation of sadness and happiness; this guy's eyes were cold and devoid of emotion, an unlit piece of coal, Karin mused. She turned away, knowing that this guy wasn't going to help her with her wish. It was all too apparent in his features and harsh eyes.

Yoruichi's shadowy figure leapt beside Byakuya and walked beside him into the dark hallway. Because they hadn't called her to follow them, Karin decided to follow Rukia's quivering body. She opened the door to the first room on the right. Shocked, the small figure stood in the same spot, nonmoving. Karin peered in, curious to why Rukia had just ceased movement. Inside, she found a fairly tall and fair lady with a braid wrapped around her neck, so that the braid trailed down her stomach, instead of the back. Beside her stood three, Karin assumed, assistants. They were all fairly short. She wondered what they were doing, as the whole room was filled with their reiatsu, soft and relaxing. Rukia stepped into the room softly and peered at what was happening. Karin followed, a bit reluctantly. She had a gut feeling she wasn't going to like what she was going to see.

A lock of hair was sticking to his sweating face. His eyes were closed, but once in a while, it seemed to twitch, life a timer, telling them to hurry. The white hair was exceptionally familiar, but the face was so far away from what Karin had remembered. Every now and then, he would seem to give off a weak reiatsu, as if fighting. Karin placed his face with a name; something-Toshiro, one of Ichi-Nii's friends that had visited him, and the brilliant soccer player she had met three years ago. Karin had a hard time trying to figure out Toshiro's full name for awhile, until she landed on the memory of when she had first met the Shinigami captain. It sounded something like, 'Hisugeo.' Karin could only remember the parts about his amazing soccer ability and the way he'd been able to save her from the Hollow after the game. He didn't look so in-control as his whole face was a mask of pain. Karin realized the kid hadn't grown much, at all, just like her. His height was probably the same as her own; she guessed that he hadn't reached the age of puberty either.

Hitsugaya was lying on his side; his back on the opposite of Rukia and Karin. Karin scrambled to the other side of his body, where she got a peak of what the lady with the braid was doing. She was expertly slicing open the back of his neck with a knife. An assistant was holding Hitsugaya's neck up in a certain degree while the operation was occurring. The lady's eyes squinted as she looked carefully at the incision she made, until she seemed to figure out what happened. Quickly, she made the incision a few centimeters higher, the slit almost reaching where his first white hairs were sticking up from. She was given another knife from her second assistant. Using the second more curved and dull knife, she inserted it almost three centimeters into the slit. Blood had yet to come out, Karin thankfully realized. The lady seemed to have realized the operation was about to become serious, as she hurriedly pulled out a flask with a clear liquid inside, and poured it onto the curved knife, which was still sticking in Hitsugaya's neck. Karin watched as the last of the liquid ran into his cut. Almost immediately, she pulled out the sword that was slung on her back and placed it a few centimeters away from the fragile skin she had just cut apart. Rapidly, the sword seemed to dissolve into green mist, until there wasn't anything in her hand. The light coursed through the fragile skin on the back of Hitsugaya's neck. It only took a few minutes, but Karin was sure it was longer than that. She was apprehensive, unsure of what would happen.

One by one, the flickering, misty green light trailed through the healing skin, until it reformed into the original sword. The lady stood up and sheathed it. Her assistants crowded around the healing neck and began to seal it up once more, just in case. Karin walked back to where Rukia was trembling. Her eyes shifted to Hitsugaya's face, now a peaceful expression, unlike the one contorted in pain a few minutes ago. Blowing out a dramatic sigh, she tapped Rukia's shoulder and nodded at the lady with the braid, who appeared to be motioning towards both of them to follow her. Karin glanced behind her shoulder at the shivering, white-haired figure, and swiftly followed.

"What happened to Captain Hitsugaya?" Rukia questioned, her eyes dilating in fright.

Hitsugaya Toshiro! That was his name! Karin felt as though she had grasped something about the white-headed kid. A familiar feeling swept over her as she repeatedly uttered the name in her head. A comforting feeling…

Unohana Retsu was the lady's name; she was the captain of the 4th division, the healing division. Byakuya addressed her as Captain Unohana when she led Rukia and Karin into his office. Yoruichi had climbed onto Byakuya's desk and was perched beside a stack of papers. Captain Unohana's soft, calm voice silenced everyone. "Captain Hitsugaya's just suffered a minor blackout die to stress. I wouldn't say that it's life-threatening, but if his objects of stress isn't worked out soon, then I fear Minazuki would be of no use." At this point, she tapped the hilt of her sword. "Minazuki can only heal wounds of the flesh. Stress is a problem that develops in the mind or heart, like depression. We all have the innate ability to create a barrier between our conscience mind, and our unconscious, but Captain Hitsugaya' s… all I could do was temporarily close down his ability to comprehend all of these images and thoughts. I'll have to assume all this stress is because of paperwork, schedules, and such. As a result, Lieutenant Matsumoto will take on the Captain's work for the 10th Division until further notice. I will notify this to Captain Yamamoto now. My three assistants will take care of Captain Hitsugaya until he regains consciousness." After bowing respectfully, she smiled and walked out of the office. Captain Kuchiki seemed to consider her words carefully, weighing his words for a few moments.

Everyone in the room seemed to hold their breaths, just waiting for him to speak up.

"Rukia; when Captain Hitsugaya wakes up, you're going to escort him back to his living quarters. Go wait in the room he's currently in. After I sort matters out with Yoruichi-san and Kurosaki's sister, I'll go check up on you." His cold demeanor seemed to make the room stiff, the air hard to breathe. Rukia stuttered a bit as she bowed and treaded out of the office. Karin's heart was beating awkwardly now. Every two or three seconds it would beat; she had never felt so much pressure filling her lungs. Then, Captain Kuchiki addressed her. She almost choked on oxygen as his gaze narrowed on Karin's black eyes.

She felt self-conscious. Karin's eyes stared at her shoes, checking up on what she was wearing. Her sneakers were perfectly acceptable; a pair of worn-out shoes with a faded grey denim pattern. Her black khakis? Were they repulsive? They'd been Ichi-Nii's a few years ago. They were pretty big on her small thighs; faded, worn-out, but comfortable. Her T-short was also like the rest of her attire; faded and worn out, yet still holding the lovable comfy feeling of home Karin had wanted. It was a long green T-shirt with an image of black buildings and flying ravens, looking like they'd been graffiti-ed on. She almost crumpled to the ground, had it not been for the metal 'crutches' that still clung around her feet. My clothes must look unacceptable. But the hell with that; did he expect me to wear a Shinigami uniform like Rukia-san? I'm not dead; I just came back from soccer practice….

Captain Kuchiki was eyeing the exasperated look in the Kurosaki girl's eyes. He snapped her out of her delusional thoughts with a sharp cough, followed by, "Take a seat, Karin." When the girl obeyed, fairly quickly, he continued. "Yoruichi-san told me about your situation, and I disagree with your thoughts on becoming a shinigami, just like your brother. Frankly, I believe it's completely out of the question. You're still a living human who has come to Soul Society to become something that only deceased spirits can become. It's against Soul Society's laws. I advice you not to take after your brother."

Karin jumped up and slammed her hand on the desk, almost cringing at the pain. She steadily spoke, "You want me to step down because you don't want another shinigami like my brother? You son of a bas-" She was silenced by Byakuya's cold stare.

He pointed to the chair she had jumped up from. Karin fell down in it, pushed down by his reiatsu. He continued on, rather coldly. "I didn't finish. No matter what your intentions are, about going to the Shinigami Academy, there's no possibility that you could actually learn there. The simple fact is, 'You're not dead.' Soul Society and the Shinigami Academy are for the dead."

"So you want me to die."

"I don't intend for you to die, just to become a shinigami."

"I could die just to protect everybody else from Hollows. That's an option. Ichi-Nii, Yuzu, and Daddy would understand."

Silence followed the statement. Yoruichi seemed to be purring loudly, as if laughing at Byakuya for losing this battle. Like brother, like sister, she seemed to be saying. Ichigo had risked his life to save his friends, and Karin was willing to do it as well, even if it meant actually losing her life in the process.

oOo

Euphoric; that's what he felt when he awoke.

Well, he felt like he'd just had a drug overdose until he came crashing back to reality. As soon as he stood up, he vomited. Rukia hurriedly raced towards him. The three assistants pressed his body down and made him swallow some pills. They flipped his body over and started healing his neck again. One of the assistants looked up at Rukia and explained what was going on.

"Captain Hitsugaya's feeling nauseous because Captain Unohana sliced and healed a section below his cerebellum. I'm sure you know what the cerebellum controls; movement, balance, posture, and so on. Captain Hitsugaya's going to feel nauseous when he moves around too quickly, for a period of time. He'll recuperate faster if we keep him on numbing pills and heal him every few hours." The assistant went back to forcing reiatsu into the skin. Rukia sat there, helpless to what was going on.

Toshiro's eyes watered. He couldn't feel anything other than the alarmingly loud throb of blood and reiatsu pulsing through his body. He felt like he was dying and painful, torturous death. Somebody's voice seemed to speak loud and clear over the pulsing reiatsu entering his body. He listened intently to what the assistant was saying about his unbalanced state. Somewhat alarmed that he wouldn't be able to move, he stirred. Somebody's legs collapsed in front of his face. Then, that person's face came into focus. Rukia glanced down at the Captain, and began to talk.

"Captain Hitsugaya, I'm supposing it'll be awhile before you're going to be able to move again…" A sigh. "But don't worry; Captain Unohana's decided that Lieutenant Matsumoto will take over your duties until your stress and nauseous state wears off. I also have some news; Ichigo had two sisters, you remember, right? One was named Karin; the black haired, soccer star was the one who inherited developing Shinigami powers like Ichigo. Then, there was Yuzu; the pretty blond-haired one who could only see outlines of spirits. Karin-chan's come to Soul Society with Yoruichi-san." Toshiro felt lightheaded again.

He remembered the two sisters. Yuzu had treated him to cake; his impression of her was, 'sweet kid who had a knack for cooking.' Karin had befriended him and gotten him to become a team member on that soccer team of hers. Then, he had killed a Hollow after the soccer game, which was the only reason why he had later known that Karin was Ichigo's little sister. Yuzu and Karin both kept calling him Toshiro, which agitated him to no ends. Rukia seemed to take no notice of the glazed look plastered on Toshiro's face. She persisted, "Karin-chan probably came here to train, since Ichigo will be going off to this other school somewhere else. Ichigo calls it 'college.' But since Ichigo says that 'college' will be somewhere not in Kurakara, Karin-chan's probably decided to become a shinigami and protect Kurakara when Ichigo's gone. Not only that, Yoruichi-san seems to have come back for another reason. She's discovered a Hollow that's been able to merge with corpses or… something along those lines. Urahara-san told me he'd discovered this new species, and he'd send Yoruichi-san back to Soul Society to report about it." Toshiro began to feel nauseous again.

Against the will of the three assistants, he grabbed onto Rukia's shoulder and hoisted himself up. He suppressed the sudden urge to vomit. He waved to Rukia, signaling her to stay put. On his slow way out the door, he managed to suppress his need to vomit, although quite painfully. The captain needed to stop every few seconds to breathe. The three assistants rushed to his side and forced pills down his throat. As Toshiro stood two feet away from the door, another wave of nauseous spread through his system. He turned away from the three pale, petite figures and coughed up blood. He grunted out, "Get Captain-" Then stumbled and collided with the tatami mats.

Rukia scuttled up from her position and ran for her brother's office. From outside she heard a shake voice proclaim, "I could die just to protect everybody else from Hollows. That's an option. Ichi-Nii, Yuzu, and Daddy would understand." Karin's voice, she realized. Rukia couldn't understand. Karin-chan would die to protect everyone else from Hollows? This was…Ichigo all over again.

oOo

Kira woke up quite dazed. As far as he could remember, Ichigo had tied Rukia up with reiatsu, and they were having a great celebration. And then Captain Hitsugaya had come, and everything after that was a pleasant dream. He had dreamt that he was walking across the rainbow. It seemed to stretch across the world, and he continued walking and walking. Out of nowhere, there popped a mini-Ichigo and a mini-Renji. They looked like bobble-heads, actually. They started chatting about something; something Kira still couldn't remember, and then they pushed him off the rainbow. Little bobble-heads pushed him off the beautiful rainbow. And then he woke up.

Renji and Ichigo were still slumped on the ground; most likely because their alcohol intake had been exceedingly larger than his own. Rukia was gone. Captain Hitsugaya was gone. Kira stood up and shook Renji awake.

The redhead was jostled around for more than a minute before he cursed and tried to aim a punch in front of him. The blond-haired man swerved out of the way, narrowly escaping. Renji's eyes twitched slightly when Kira flicked the space between his eyebrows. In a swift move, Renji's hands gripped Kira's neck and pulled him closer. The redhead's tone was menacing and pissed off all at once, as he spoke, "What. Do. You. Want." Slowly and steadily, Kira eased his neck out of Renji's death grip. And then, breathing slower, Renji's figure seemed to slack, and he was back to his deep-sleep.

"Rukia's been captured."

Renji's eyes popped open immediately. He grabbed Kira's shirt collar, and yelled, "Where the hell did she go?"

"Captain…..Captain Hitsugaya!"

In a split second, Renji had had kicked off the hill and was tracing Toshiro's and Rukia's reiatsu. Kira gazed from below. He could've sworn that he'd seen Renji's mouth foaming with anger a few moments ago. He pulled Ichigo's form up on his back and started, slowly, chasing Renji's disappearing figure.

oOo

Inoue Orihime slid her slender fingers through her billowing, sleek orange hair. It was strange having Ichigo gone; she'd been a little frustrated with the idea that he would stay with Rukia until her birthday had passed. It was selfish, but she'd been a little joyful that Rukia was in Soul Society now. It was very selfish, actually. Rukia was a friend, and she was going to be gone for months, and here she was, celebrating. But nonetheless, she felt happy that Ichigo would be able to stick around her, and not have to worry about Rukia for once… She had gone and waved as Rukia and Ichigo had walked through the gate. Ishida and Chad hadn't come because they'd already said their farewells a few days ago.

She'd heard Urahara and Yoruichi whispering about a new Hollow. When Ichigo and Rukia had departed, she had asked about the Hollow. Very gingerly, of course.

-Flashback-

"Um… Urahara-san, Yoruichi-san, what Hollow were you talking about just now?" She pulled a few strands of loose hair behind her ear.

Urahara answered loudly, "Don't worry about it Inoue-chan! We're going to tell you about it after Ichigo gets back. It's nothing to worry about, since all of you are so powerful…" Inoue nodded and waved, preparing to leave.

Yoruichi stood up and spoke though. "Inoue-chan, can I ask you… You do know the difference between the body and the body's spirit, right?" Inoue looked confused for a moment, but then nodded quite happily and bounced off. She had absolutely no idea why Yoruichi had asked that.

-End Flashback-

A body and a body's spirit were connected until it died, right? Why did it matter so much? It was funny, really. When she thought of Ichigo, her spirit would be lifted, and she would suddenly feel as though she could fly. Because… Ichigo was special to her; somebody who she truly cared about. She had doubts in her mind about her feelings; what would happen to Rukia? Love can destroy friendships, after all.

It applied to everyone.

oOo

Toshiro had no idea what was going on. One moment, Rukia had run out the door, and the next, he was flat on the ground with everyone crowded around him. He blinked and tried to name everyone. A black cat's stern stare, Captain Kuchiki's dull expression; Rukia's closed, shivering eyes; those three helpless assistants trying to pin him down; and that Kurosaki girl. It only took a moment to sit up. This time he felt no pain, but his stomach gave a throb. They had numbed him. God.

"Good grief Toshiro! You think the last image I want to have in Soul Society is you? Not to mention you about to hurl on me?" The floppy black haired Kurosaki girl rolled her eyes playfully and received a cruel stare from Byakuya. This silenced her, for a few seconds. "Toshiro, I was thinking; since I have to go back to the human world… and it's going to take awhile for the gates to open up again; maybe I could stay with Rukia-san, at your place?" Rukia shaky smile managed to confirm Toshiro that Karin wasn't making this up as she said it. Byakuya and Yoruichi made no attempt to stop this speech of hers.

"Captain Kuchiki said I would have to go back to the human world as soon as possible, so I'll go back with Ichi-Nii. But since Ichi-Nii and Rukia are staying with you, could I stay with you? It wouldn't be that bad, right, Toshiro?" Toshiro watched Karin bounce a black ball up and down in her palm. It was hypnotizing. He was vaguely hearing what Karin was saying, nodding along. "So what do you say, Toshiro?" The short captain kept nodding, all the while staring at the mesmerizing onyx ball.

"OH YEAH!" Karin grinned, very unladylike. She punched the air and sat down beside Toshiro, her legs spread out wide, as if she were a boy. Byakuya was reminded of Ichigo. His desire to get rid of the Kurosaki girl only multiplied as she began to mouth off to Toshiro, once again. It didn't matter to Byakuya; as long as she left and never tampered with Soul Society again. He really didn't think she would actually die just to come back here. Children would exaggerate, after all. He stepped out of the room and silently walked back to his office, followed by an unhurried, almost smiling, Yoruichi.

Toshiro watched Byakuya leave. At once, he spoke, "Help me up Rukia-san. I'm worried about Matsumoto, Ichigo, and the rest of them." Rukia stood up and came towards him, but instead, Karin lifted him up like a kid and smiled eagerly.

"Toshiro, c'mon! You can trust me! After your brain feels better, we can play soccer again right? That soccer game three years ago… I want to see who's better now!" She pulled Toshiro's small form onto her back and followed a stunned Rukia. "So, Rukia-san, where's Ichi-Nii and all those other people?"

As soon as the question had left her mouth, something crashed into the trees a few feet in front of him. Byakuya seemed to have appeared again. A redhead stepped out of the crash, followed by a worn out Kira, carrying Ichigo, who was still snoring.

oOo

Authors Note: I was ecstatic, yet distressed when I finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows today. I've decided that it's one of my favorite books in the series; on my top two with Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Anyhow, J.K. Rowling's lovely ending with Harry and Ginny having five children, naming them all after someone important in the series shocked me a little, but 'Albus Severus' made me laugh. Then there was Ron and Hermione, funny as usual, with their own children. And, of course, Malfoy and Scorpius… I wish there'd be a whole other sequel dedicated to the epilogue, but J.K's finished with Harry Potter, apparently. Honestly, it was a hell of a series; brilliant…

We've finally started with the action plot, and, yes, I won't forget romance in my desire to completely drive Soul Society insane…. (Maybe) –cough, cough- Anyway, I like having people favorite and story-alert me, but reviews really make me happier! Please R&R!