Chapter 5, Hot Drinks
Groggily she sat up. She looked around her room. It had been a dream.
A great dream. She and Toshiro had left the diner, and they flew/ran through the air together. and they had parted on her windowsill like they had last night, but they had with a...
"Karin?" she looked to her twin Yuzu. she was at the door looking at her sister quizzicly.
"you were smiling.. care to tell why? her twin came in and sat on the bed. Karin looked at her. she knew she could tell her virtually anything. She knew she would never hurt would do the same.
"I had a really nice dream." she smiled again. Yuzu smiled.
"Come on, get ready. school's in an hour!" she hopped up and left, probably to make herself and their crazy father breakfast. She knew Karin didn't like breakfast.
She got ready for school. She left for school and had an uneventful day with her and Toshiro talking for most of the day in the back of the class after Toshiro completely outwitted their teacher leaving most of the class dumbstruck too. they talked during lunch, They played soccer together during their Sports class. She was bored in the two classes they didn't have with each other.
After school they left walking the same path they took the day before. Neither thinking about the two arrancar or school.
They turned a corner, to see the boys for yesterday standing around. She looked at him, and he just kept walking. Karin noticed how today there were none of the vulture-girls today.
when they noticed them walking they headed over to them. Toshiro just gave them a cold, blank look.
"yes?" was all he spoke. One of them looked at him then just sighed, they all looked defeated already.
"listen, we wanted to apologize about the other day." Karin was shocked to say the least.
"I wanted to say sorry about picking on you too Karin." one of the boys said. the others nodded in agreement.
"Okay?" She was confused. Toshiro nodded to them and grabbing Karin's hand started walking away.
They just left, they went to the diner and sat there drinking drinks, talking and doing their homework. it would become a daily ritual. They left the diner, saying goodbye to the smiling owners.
They were walking through a park barely a minute away from her house when he stopped. She looked at him, he was reading something off his cell phone.
He looked over at a house. It was big. and on the side of it, (separate from the actual home.) was a modified garage, made into an apartment.
"thats where ill be living for awhile apparently." they looked at each other. "Well I guess this is goodbye for today."
She looked at her feet. There was something needed said, from both teens.
"I wont be at school tomorrow." he said finally. She looked at him with a surprised face.
"sorry, but ive got some business i have to go see to tomorrow." he looked at her. "sorry"
"its okay," she said. "tomorrow i wont be at school either."
he looked at her questioningly.
"Its the day my mom Died. We all go visit her grave." He Jerked at this. His face unreadable.
He just nodded, said a final goodbye then marched off to get his things and move into his new home. She just smiled as he left, and walked home.
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The next day they all prepared a lunch together. everyone was silent in their own duties. It was strange with Ichigo gone, but it still felt the same. They all walked to the graveyard. silently.
By the time they reached the graveyard it was just about noon. Ominously, and chesily, a cloudfront had been rolling in, and it the moment it was slowly darkening the sky, yet half of it was still bright and sunny.
They sat about Masaki Kurosaki's grave, telling stories, mainly by their father. He was unusually happy, not energetic, but happy that day. when the day began coming to a close, and the clouds began darkening the sky fully, they began packing up. it began a light drizzle as they started to leave. When Karin saw a certain white haired boy, sitting on a bench in the distance. he was looking her way.
"Hey can i walk home alone today?" she looked at her family. her father nodded knowingly, and with a small waved and smile from Yuzu they walked off.
She turned and walked over to Toshiro.
"how long have you been here?" she asked, looking at him, raised eyebrow.
"A few hours. I was watching you and your family. you all looked pretty happy considering the day." She smiled solemnly. And looked back to her mothers grave.
"yeah were all at peace with her death, finally. but i don't think Ichigo and Yuzu arent completely over it." She looked back at him. he was looking back at her strangely. he held out his hand.
"come. i want to show you something." she took his hand, fingers lacing as they walked to the exit of the graveyard.
She was just starting to wonder where they might be going, when he suddenly stopped. she looked around. he was looking down at his feet. a different look on his face. he spoke.
"you know when a person dies, they usually forget everything of their previous life, except the name you were given right?" she nodded. they began walking. she felt different. they weren't leaving the graveyard. just going to an older part of it. She looked around. it was hard to see with the fog that had come in with the rain. they finally stopped, they were in front of a grave. she looked at it. it said Taro Yamada. She looked at him. he was staring intently at the headstone.
That was it. She was confused. she looked at the headstone to the right of the one they were at.
It said Taro Yamada. she looked to another headstone. Hanako Yamada.
"Toshiro, who is Taro Yamada?" she asked breaking the Icy silence.
"Taro Yamada is the name they used to give people when they could't be identified, and they had no name they could be given." he said stoically.
"So this grave is someone you loved?" she said a slight realization coming to mind. the grave must've been someone close to him. At the moment he seemed like he was doing his best not to breakdown. he must've loved them alot. he said usually when he talked about losing memories earlier. he must've retained them of this person.
"No. The grave... is...is..." he looked about to cry, it saddened her. she could see the sided of his eyes bunch, his face slightly reddening around his eyes. his voice was cracking. she wrapped her arms around him, leaning her head on the back of his shoulder.
"Its okay.." they stood like that for minutes. She felt his shoulders shaking. it saddened her. And she came as close to crying as she had ever in a long time. it hurt her to see her only friend like this. If she had seen his face when she said that, she would've burst into tears. It was the one time, the one time he ever let any emotion on his face. was when he visited the grave. He wished he would've forgot his life. but he strangely didn't. maybe because he died young and didn't have much to forget, that he remembered everything. living in Karakura. with his parents. when they were burned alive, destroying most of their bodies. they were unidentifiable. and only he knew who really lay beneath these headstones. he went to wrap his arms around himself. His arms ended up laying intwined with Karin's across his chest.
After over an our of standing there, Karin holding him, and him grasping her arms, in the silent patter of the rain, the word tore free. he didn't know if he meant to say it. if he wanted to or not.
"Mine." he dropped to his knees. Agony coursing through his being. Karin never let go.
A few tears leaked from her face. Mine. he had said mine. the grave want his mother's. Or father's, or Sister's, Or Brother's. or anyone else's. It. Was. His. It hurt. She never dreamed of being in this situation. she couldn't say anything. how could you possibly offer sympathies, to someone standing literally in front of their own grave? Their own, occupied grave. the only thing she thought she could do at the moment, was hold him all the tighter. Suddenly all bout them, in splotchy patches, the sunlight tore through the depressed clouds, hundreds of the beams shone all across Karakura. The light burning through the hopes of the depressing demons all about.
a beam of light shone upon the graveyard, the beam starting on a hill near the two, shining upon a nest of birds, as the first of three eggs hatched, breaking his tiny shell and crying in defiance against the storm.
As the light grew across the graveyard. lighting on the two, A man walked up to Karin from her trance. she looked over to him. She didn't want anyone to see her with tear tracks.
She was surprised to see her father standing there. a drink carrier in his hand. he wordlessly set the drinks down near them. she saw a K and a T written on the top of them. She stayed staring at the steam rising from the drinks, not noticing her dad walk off. she didn't even notice the fact that he was walking away.
Toshiro shifted. and got up after a long while. she stood with him. When she finally looked at his face, she didn't know what to think. his eyes and face weren't red and puffy, but his face had the faint lines of tear tracks, he had cried, she didn't think much of it. anyone would cry sitting on the ground, six feet above their own body. She grabbed the drinks, and handing one to him a confused look on his face, smiled at him. A truly rare smile, of one who had no idea of the pain you were in. but shared it in a strange way.
they smiled. they moved and sat down together, backs to some other persons headstone, looking at his sipping the two warm drinks.
"Eighty years ago." he began. she knew he was older than her by a bunch, but she also didn't care.
" Eighty years ago my parents were burned alive. they had been sitting at home, when a fight had broken out in a nearby home. the men somehow had caught the house on fire. and the blaze quickly burned the surrounding all wood houses. the blaze killed six people. i didn't die then because they were horrible people. i was chained in a small little shelter in our yard where they sent me when they had friends over to eat. I heard them scream and die. i felt the warmth of the fire even in the hole i was in."
She listened. knowing this was most likely the first time he ever told the story.
"The fire burned a tree near where i was. it collapsed on top of where i was. concealing my imprisonment. i stayed there alone, chained up for weeks, living off of water that was stored there for me. until one day it began raining. the place i was began filling, I would've drowned."
She sighed, taking a sip of her drink. at least he hadn't died in a horrible way like drowning or burning alive. he Continued however.
"because i didn't want to slowly drown, i wrapped the chain about my neck." her eyes widened. he didn't.
" It took every ounce of my strength not to get tup to breathe. it felt like forever. my head felt like it was on fire, my eyes bulging. every inch of my body hurt. until suddenly, everything felt normal. i didn't hurt. i could breathe, and there wasn't even a chain on my body keeping me to the wall. i had go tup. and looked at my own body, lying on the ground. it had shocked me. my body had still been moving, the death throes, moving my limbs in weird ways. i turned and ran out of the place. the blocked entrance didn't stop me. because i was a plus by then. i was like that for thirty six years. i had been chained to myself. it made no sense. i still don't know why i was never targeted by a hollow. but forty three years ago, Matsumoto actually showed up, being a new shinigami then. and preformed a soul burial on me. i don't think she knows it was me then, or now, and i don't want her knowing."
he looked at her, his quick story finished. she couldn't believe it. he had hung himself. he couldntve been fifteen then she thought. and the way he did it...terrible.
"enough of all this." he rose. stretching his back. he turned and looked at her, and giving her the same look they gave each other the other night on her rooftop, they stayed like that for a minute.
"how about we go get something to eat? he asked. "well go do something fun afterwards."
She stared at him, did he just ask her out on...a Date? he shifted a bit. he held out his arm.
"I guess you could say that..." she didn't realize she had whispered the last part. she just nodded.
She Reached up, and took his hand.
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Poof! another chapter!
thanks
Icedragonshiki-sorry ive been misspelling Karakura, I had no idea it was wrong.
Every shadow has its twin- Isshin is a great dad hehhe.
winkkikyo
your reviews, and views are appreciated. at least all this isnt just boredom taking up space.
huh...now to edit this thing...I wish I had a BETA TO HELP! *wink wink*
heh I just bought two square fifteen inch kicker solo barracks for my grand Cherokee... and guys, its an amazing experience. you should all try it.