Chapter 22: Stronger II
Summary: My name is Kurosaki Karin. 17 months and some after my brother lost his powers I… died. After training so hard in almost two years to become stronger and protect my family back in Karakura, I needed to leave them after a freaking car accident. But I'm not worried. My life here in Soul Society just began. [HitsuxKarin]. Maybe I'll write stories for another partners, too.
Disclaimer: I don't own Tite Kubo's Bleach, and its characters. I just borrow some scenes on the manga and twist it into something that will blend with my story.
We're on the "The Thousand Year Blood War".
Previously on Hitsugaya Karin…
Ichigo tried to stop Yhwach from leaving, but Jugram appeared in front of him, and sliced Tensa Zangetsu into two. He then followed Yhwach away after telling Ichigo that his shinigami powers are weak and that the Wandenreich will welcome him anytime.
When the other Sternritters received the message of retreat, they stopped and called for their squads. All of them vanished, leaving a hell out of Soul Society.
Karin walked down the Fourth Division's hallway. She entered one of the rooms and was greeted by the sight of her best friend sitting beside a mummified man, well not really, but Byakuya's whole body is covered with bandages. "Nanami, please take a rest."
Nanami looked up. "I just got here, Karin-chan."
"What do you mean by that? You have eye bags, Nanami! Eye bags!" Karin screamed.
A Fourth Division peeked inside the room. "Please be quiet. There are patients still trying to recuperate."
Karin looked at the girl. "Ooops. Gomen." The member nodded and closed the door. Karin went to sit next Nanami. "What will you do if you get sick yourself? Why not let Rukia visit her brother, too?"
"She wants to, but she's helping with her Division." Nanami sighed. "Fine. I'll go home. I need to be strong for the clan, I mean, Rukia is Byakuya's heir until we produce one, but… If he won't get through this…" Tears fell down from her eyes again.
Karin hated it when someone cries because she doesn't know what to do. She put an arm on Nanami's shoulder. After a while, she got up and led Nanami out of Byakuya's room.
The Centrtal 46 is on chaos. A lot has happened yesterday, and the Captain Commander is gone. Everyone is on the brink of insanity, and the order in Soul Society is on the edge. Just one more push and they'll come falling down, if that happens, Soul Society will be literally gone.
Kyoraku watched as the Central 46 talked with each other. The Division Captains, minus those who were hurt, are present in the meeting. Even Clan members and representatives are there, too.
"What should we do?"
"The Captain Commander's gone!"
"There are to many casualties. If the enemy comes back, I don't think we can fight back."
Kyoraku heard many more concerns. He sighed. All of his happy goofy days with his precious Nanao-chan will vanish from today onwards. He stepped up. " I… will be the next Captain Commander." All the people in the room looked at the captain with pink haori. "Do you have any objection?" Silence fell the room. The captains in attendance shook their heads. "Meet me at the meeting room of my Division, seeing that the First Division was blown apart." He then walked out of the room, the captains falling behind him.
Yuzu's arrow hit the target. (She's currently on one of the Kuchiki training ground.) She relaxed and the reishi weapon on her hand disappeared. She turned around and saw Karin and Nanami watching her. She saw their proud faces, especially Karin's, but she also saw Nanami's red eyes. She walked towards the two and wrapped an arm to her Rukia-neechan's sister. "Are you alright, Nanami-nee?"
Nanami smiled. "I'm okay, Yuzu."
"She cried again. That Kuchiki-taicho always makes her cry!" Karin said with an agry face.
Yuzu smiled because she knew that Karin doesn't really hate Byakuya. "Well, to take your minds off a sad topic, would you like to hear how I got my Quincy powers?" Karin and Nanami nodded. "Well, it started when Uruhara-san convinced me to train with him."
"What! From Ichi-nii, me, then you? Did he want you to die? You can't even see a ghost!" Karin outraged.
Yuzu laughed at her sister's outburst. "Well, you're right. I didn't learn anything from him. He wants me to become a shinigami since I didn't have a trouble coming here in Soul Society. But I can't do any shinigami stuff; that's when Daddy brought Uncle Ryuken to train me. And then he brought me to his house, and there's a training ground, and it's really hard for me the first time, and…" She continued animatedly while Nanami and Karin listen.
Rukia and Ichigo were in Byakuya's room. They received a message from Karin a while ago, asking if Rukia can relieve Nanami from guarding Byakuya. They sat in silent for the first few minutes.
"How are you?" Ichigo began.
Rukia lean her head on Ichigo's shoulder. "You mean now?"
"Well, not particularly. You can tell what has happened to you while I was in the Living World. You know, how was your Bankai training? Is Ukitake-taicho's illness getting better?"
Rukia smiled. "My training is okay. I still can't beat Sode no Shirayuki though. As for Ukitake-taicho, well, he's getting worse." She said the last part sadly. "He was in the Academy Exams but we didn't let him fight those Wandenreich. We made him retreat." She looked at Byakuya. "Nii-sama was helping me with my training, you know? He even bothered Hitsugaya-taicho, making Toshiro-san help me with my element. How about you, what were you doing?"
"Aside from terminating hollows? I've been studying like crazy. What was I thinking when I decided to take Medicine? It's so hard, and Kon's not helping. Speaking of him, he always disappears, and I don't know where he has been going."
"It's more than five years now, right?" Rukia asked.
"Huh?" Ichigo was confused, and then he realized something. "Yes. Six years, six months, and a couple of days… You've been my girl for that long, but if you add the years from the first time I saw you enter my room unannounced… I would say…" Ichigo smiled. "Rukia, will you marry me?" His proposal was answered with his girlfriend's fist on his face. "Uh… Why the hell did you do that, midget!"
"That was so not cool! It's not even a romantic proposal! Baka Ichigo!" Rukia shouted back.
A Fourth Division member with an irritated look on her face opened the door. "How many times do I have to tell people to shut up!"
Rukia and Ichigo looked at the member. "You shut up! I'm trying to propose here!" Ichigo shouted while Rukia said, "I'm telling him how lame his proposal is!"
The unfortunate member's sweat dropped. "Okay." She closed the door. "Those two are scary…" She muttered.
Ichigo looked at Rukia when the door closed. "If you don't answer now, I won't ask you ever again!"
Rukia looked back angrily. "Then don't! Who wants to marry you?!" She pouted and crossed her arms over her chest.
Ichigo sighed. He reached for something, and then he knelt in front of her pouting queen. "Will you marry, midget?" He opened a Ziploc and took out a ring.
Rukia was about to say yes when she saw the storage bag. "It doesn't have a box?"
Ichigo looked at her. "Well, my dad gave it to me. He said that Mom wants me to use it when I found the girl I'll spend my forever with, and I thought, the fifteen year old me back then promise himself to be with the girl who changed his world forever. So what the hell, I'll always be with midget forever, I think I can live with that. That's what I'm thinking."
Rukia stared at his face, and then at the ring he's offering to her. It's a simple white gold band with one crystal embedded into it. Ichigo was getting nervous so he began to blabber. "Well, my dad said that the crystal is an amethyst, not diamond, and I thought that it will perfectly suits you. Because, you know, it reminds me of your eyes, and I… I asked my father why he would give Mom an engagement ring like this, and he said that violet symbolizes royalty and for him, my mom is his only queen. And for me, you're my queen, too, and even my Hollow thought you'll make a fine queen and…"
Rukia's crying while she nods. She offered her left hand. Ichigo's hand trembled as he slowly slipped the ring on his fiancée's ring finger. He stands up and gathered her in his arms. "I love you." He said softly as his lips touched hers.
After a few minutes, the two broke their kiss. Ichigo looked at the unconscious Byakuya. "You're right. This isn't very romantic. We're in your brother's room!"
Rukia, who held up her hand to admire the ring, answered. "That's what I told you. You won't get another chance to propose again, I won't give this ring back. It's mine now."
Ichigo sighed, but a have a happy face.
The next day, Karin and Toshiro walked in on one of the Academy Zanjutsu class. Toshiro wished to train from the bottom again, so that he could get his Bankai back.
The students looked on when they entered. Tanaka Rin immediately stopped the class' exercise, and bowed. "Hitsugaya-taicho. Third seat Kurosaki-san."
Karin smiled. "Sensei."
Toshiro held up his hand. "Please continue. And you don't need to bow down. From now on, I'll be on your care, Tanaka-sensei. I'll be starting from the bottom again."
"Then, Hitsugaya-taicho, please get a practice sword." Rin answered. The taicho nodded. "Karin-san, are you here to study, too?"
"No, I just want to give him my good luck. I need to go back to the Tenth Division. Matsumoto-san's already training our members, I need to face the paper works. Please look after him, sensei."
Toshiro looked at the girl coolly. "Stop worrying, Karin. Go back to your work."
"Whatever." She smirked, and kissed him on the cheek. She looked at her former sensei. "I think its okay for me to invite you in my brother's wedding, after this war, of course."
Rin grinned. "I'll be there."
"Troublesome." Toshiro began to swing. "I love her though…Tsk."
Kyoraku listen at the reports Nanao was telling him. He sat in a cushion with a serious face. "According to the data that the Divisions reported, more than half of our unseated officers died in the war. The Twelfth Division recorded one-fourth of the population in Rukongai died, and millions worth of properties was lost. As for Yamamoto-soutaicho, the formal funeral will happen tomorrow. We don't have the body, but the sword…"
Kyoraku nodded. "I expect that our captains are trying their best to get stronger. I need all of them to be on their best. I am certain that the Wandenreich will be back."
"Yes, all the remaining shinigami are training to the best of their abilities. Don't look at me like that. I still have the time to create a new barrier while doing my work. How about you? Your right eye?"" Nanao said.
Kyoraku waved off a hand. "I'm fine. I need to-" He looked outside when he felt four strange yet familiar reiatsus. "That's the Royal Guards. What are they doing here?" The rushed out of the office, and looked up at the Tenchuren. The other captains, having felt the huge reiatsu, gathered around them.
A foot stepped out from the pillar and a large and broad person with baldhead came into view. Followed by a man with pompadour, and then a plump purple head woman. A dark-skinned man with thick, black hair that is shaven and dyed green on the sides of his head was seen next, and after that, a beautiful woman with fair skin and long, black hair that is adorned at the back by a large golden ornament in the shape pf a crescent moon. Background music made their entrance a little…bit dramatic.
"Hello, Soul Society!" Ichibei Hyosube said, grinning.
"What are you doing here?" Kyoraku asked.
One of the Royal Guards, Senjumaru Shutara disappeared. Tenjiro Kenji approached Unohana. "Hello, Unohana-san. Are you still healing the sick like how I told you? How many died in your care?"
Ichibei kicked Tenjiro. "Talk later. Oh, hello, Kurosaki-kun." He noticed Ichigo. "Oh ho, holding hands with your girlfriend, I see. Nice going. Anyway, we're here to take Kurosaki, Kuchiki-taicho, and Abarai-fukutaicho backed to the Soul King's Palace. You know, helped them recover and such. And we need to help Kurosaki-kun fix his zanpakuto."
Ichigo stepped forward eagerly. "You can fix him?"
"Well, not really. But if you come with us, you'll know how to have him back1"
Shutara appeared with Renji and Byakuya. They were inside a circle and being held by Shutara's attached hands. She also had Zangetsu with her. Unohana saw this and protested. "You can't take my patients. They'll die if they don't rest."
"Unohana-san, they'll die in your hands. Don't worry, they'll be fine." Kenji said. "I'm going to heal them better than you."
Rukia, Nanami, and Karin stand aside and looking as Ichigo and the others going to the Soul Society stepped in the pillar. They're in Shukaku's house, and they're getting ready for the pillars take off.
"Do you want to come, too?" Oetsu Nimaiya asked, looking at the girls with appreciation.
"Ahmmm…" Nanami fidgeted.
"Yes." Rukia and Karin said at the same time. They're not going to pass the chance of going to the Palace. It's a palace, damn it! It's a once in a lifetime chance.
Nimaiya grinned. "Then get on." The three rushed into the pillar's platform. Karin searched for Toshiro's eyes, and when their gazes locked, he nodded. She smirked and blew a kiss, making Toshiro blush and Matsumoto giggle.
Before the take off, Ichigo looked at the Gotei 13, Rukia in his arms. "Oh yeah, after the war, all of you are invited in our wedding." And Shukaku launched the pillar. The soul reapers who were there were stunned, except Toshiro, who knew about the wedding.
"Did he say…wedding?" Kyoraku asked.
Nanao fix her glasses, sun glinted on it. "I think a bridal shower is in order. Women's association will talk about it in the next meeting."
In the pillar, Rukia have Ichigo by the collar, and he's hanging out in the air. One wrong move and he'll plummet back to Earth, er, Soul Society. "I'm soooory!" The people with them are amused.
"I think I know now who rules in their relationship." Karin grinned.
A/N: Sorry for the delay. I had a mental block after the war. I know what I want to happen, but I don't know how to write it down. Sorry for the wrong grammars and spellings.
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Guest-san- I don't know what you're talking about. Sorry.
Okay, minna. I am very disappointed in this chapter, but it sets the stage for the Soul King Palace. Yes!
I'm really sorry for the late update. I have a storyboard for the next chapters for this arc but I don't know how to write them.
If this chapter is not good enough for you, I'm so sorry. *Dogeza* I really want to update. Please tell me what you think (Please Review.). Chu. 3
Eurielle 2