Chapter 7

Toshiro's Plan

Toshiro slowly lifted his heavy eyelids, blinking in an attempt to adjust his tired eyes to the dark room. He pushed up on his elbows- bad idea. A sharp pain pierced at his chest, causing the young captain to lie back down. Groaning, he carefully placed his hand on the throbbing wound that covered the center of his chest. "Hot…?" He muttered to himself as he felt the heat radiating off the wound.

"You're awake."

Toshiro flinched slightly at the familiar voice. His brows furrowed as he shifted his eyes around the dark room. "Hyōrinmaru?" Toshiro quickly shielded his eyes at the lights turning on in response to his question. After a few moments, he brought his arm down from his eyes, squinting at the now-bright room. Again, he attempted to push himself up. He gritted his teeth as he shifted into an upright position, bringing his eyes to the meet the gray eyes watching him.

"Why are you…?" The small captain glanced down at his zanpakutō lying beside him then back up at the tall man standing a few feet away.

"I was concerned." The human form of Toshiro's zanpakutō answered as he moved to crouch down beside the young captain. "I felt that I lost all contact with you."

"What happened?" Toshiro asked, returning to his calm yet serious composure he usually wears. He peered down at the black welt on his pale chest, moving his hand to match the hand-shaped welt.

"Rest, young Master." Hyōrinmaru spoke softly while carefully nudging Toshiro to lie back down.

Toshiro rolled his eyes but allowed Hyōrinmaru to push him back down. He sighed and draped and arm lazily over his eyes, wincing slightly at the pain from his chest. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to recall the previous events. "Why can't I remember anything?" He huffed and flung his arm off his eyes, running his hand through his light hair. "Focus." He inhaled and exhaled deeply, clearing his panicked thoughts.

Soon, images of a cloaked figure began appearing in the captain's mind. He gasped as the memories began returning to him. "I couldn't move! What did he do to me?" Toshiro tapped his fingers frantically against the floor as he tried to recall what happened after that. "Nothing." e H

He sighed and opened his eyes to stare at the white ceiling. "After that, I can't remember anything."

"Toshiro?"

The small captain was brought back from his thoughts by the sound of a soft, welcoming voice. He smiled in relief and rolled his head to the side to peer at the young girl. "Karin." He watched as she hurried over to his side. "Are you hurt?" He darted his eyes across her small frame, searching for any sign of an injury.

Karin let out a loud sigh, quickly shaking her head. "No." She glanced down at the bruised welt on her friend's chest. "I…Um…Does it hurt a lot?"

"I'm fine," Toshiro answered as he began pushing himself into a sitting position- the struggled effort to sit up made his words seem like a lie.

Karin quickly wrapped her arms around Toshiro's bare shoulders and helped him into a sitting position, noticing the way each movement caused him to grit his teeth. She watched as he drew one knee to his chest- careful of the wound. He rested his chin on his knee and tried to control his light panting.

"Can you tell me what happened?" Toshiro suddenly asked, causing Karin to jump- she was lost in thoughts concerning the small captain.

"Um well," She rubbed the back of her neck and looked down. "The man pushed you on your chest," she stopped to point at the hand-shaped welt, "and you flew backwards, but Ichigo caught you. Then he grabbed me and-" Her words were cut off by a small yet strong hand grabbing her arm. "Toshiro?"

"He…" Toshiro looked down and spoke in a low whisper-his bangs masking his eyes. "He grabbed you…?"

Karin could hear the desperation that hung off of his words. She carefully placed her free hand on the hand gripping her arm. "I'm fine. He didn't hurt me. Urahara got me right as Ichigo attacked him." She smiled softy as she felt his grip loosen on her arm.

"Did Ichigo kill him?" He watched as Karin's eyes quickly dropped to the floor, shoulders sagging. "Damn," he mumbled.

"He managed to get a hit in, but the guy got away right after…" Karin watched Toshiro's concentrated face. "He's thinking… Should I tell him about what the Head Captain said…?" Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of creaking floorboards. She hopped up and reached for her staggering friend. "Toshiro! What are you doing!?"

"I need," He shook free of Karin's grasp on his shoulders and stumbled to the wall closest to the door. "I need to speak with Kisuke." He began to quickly blink away the black spots forming in front of his eyes before clumsily reaching for the doorknob.

"This is bullshit!" Ichigo slammed his fist against the floor before jumping up, pacing back and forth. "Why the hell won't they let her into the Soul Society!? She will be safer there!" He sighed and leaned against a wall, digging his palms into his eyes. "What did that old man mean..? That he's worried taking Karin there will put a threat on the Soul Society?"

"What…?"

All heads turned towards the raspy voice- a unison gasp rang throughout the room at the sight of Captain Hitsugaya.

"Ca-Captain!" Rangiku jumped up but stopped as she watched Hyōrinmaru reach the small captain first.

Hyōrinmaru knelt down to pick up Toshiro but was brushed aside.

"Stop," Toshiro demanded- his voice as cold as his aura. He brought his turquoise eyes to meet Ichigo's brown ones. "What," He began, gripping the wall to steady himself, "What did you just say?"

Karin appeared seconds later behind the tense captain. She peered around the room, taking in all of the shocked faces watching Toshiro carefully. She went to place a comforting hand on Toshiro's shoulder but stopped as she noticed he was shaking. "To…Toshiro?"

"Ichigo," Toshiro began, never taking his eyes away, "Repeat what you just said."

Ichigo looked down, finally breaking free of Toshiro's icy glare. "The Soul Society won't let Karin stay there because they are afraid that her being there will cause a dangerous threat."

The room fell silent as all watched the young captain. After a few moments, Toshiro finally looked away from Ichigo and began stumbling towards the door leading outside. "I need some air," He mumbled as he staggered outside.

"Uh, Toshiro!" Karin quickly began going after him but was stopped by a hand on her shoulder.

"Leave him," Urahara spoke. "He will be fine." Urahara had trouble believing his own words, so he gave a light nod to Renji and Yumichika, motioning for them to keep a close eye on the injured captain.

The two soul reapers stood up and left through the back door.

Toshiro welcomed the cold air brushing lightly against his heated cheeks. He shuffled to a nearby tree and collapsed against it. "Dammit," he cursed under his breath as he carefully touched the wound on his chest. "Why won't this heal?" He sighed and placed his head into his cupped hands. "What do I do..? I promised to protect Karin…" He slowly lifted his head as an idea popped into his mind. "Damn, I think that's my only option…"

The young captain groaned as he stood back up and turned to walk back to Urahara's shop. He glanced up at the roof, sensing spiritual pressure. "You two," he called out, nodding as Renji and Yumichika appeared, "You can go inside now." He continued walking into the shop, stopping before all of the worried eyes watching him. He waited until Renji and Yumichika came before he stated his plan.

"I'm afraid that we are out of options, so I've come up with a plan." He stopped to make sure everyone was listening. "I will take Karin far away from the town and wait until the man appears again. I'm assuming he will since he has a fascination for Karin. Once he comes," he paused, locking eyes with Karin's, "I will kill him."

Aaaaaand there is chapter 7! Sorry in advance for grammar errors, and thank you for all the favorites, follows, and reviews! It means a lot!