-dies- I'm sorry, this is a day late. Yesterday my computer was messed up and I felt too lazy to put proper effort into fixing (by fixing, I mean "turning the computer off and then turning it on") it. So here it is, eight-and-a-quarter hours late.
Summer is turning extremely humid where I live. x.x I can barely sleep because of it.
DISCLAIMER GOES HERE. If I owned Bleach, Yuzu's spiritual pressure would grow like Karin's. Has anyone else noticed that? At the very least, I'd make her comment more often about how she can see ghosts a little or something to that effect.
He walked aimlessly along a beach. It reminded him vaguely of the time Matsumoto had forced him to go on vacation with her and the Shinigami Women's Association. He stopped to look out at the waves. They were a clear, bright blue, and gently rolled near his feet.
"You're here!" a familiar voice called. Toushirou turned again to see that it was Karin, running across the sand to him. A smile formed on his face, and he ran to meet her halfway.
She embraced him tightly. "I've missed you Toushirou."
"I've missed you too. How have you been?"
"All right. Thanks to your lessons, I wasn't too far behind everyone. I'm glad you're the one who made up the excuse as to why I was gone."
"You asked me to, so I did." They moved to walk down the beach. "I would do a lot of things for you."
"I'm glad you didn't say anything, because then if I asked for something you couldn't or wouldn't do, I would feel disappointed and I would also feel like you had lied to me."
He smirked. "I'm smarter than that. So, now you know. Ask me anything, and I will tell you whether or not I can help you."
She laughed, to his pleasure. "Toushirou how is Matsumoto? And that Hinamori girl that never visited?"
He winced at her description. "Matsumoto is as lively as ever and Hinamori just started her bankai training."
"Do you think she'll attain it?"
"If she works harder, then maybe she will."
His words sounded off to her. "What else is there?"
"Maybe, if she remembers Aizen only as the enemy of Soul Society, she can move on in her heart. Maybe if she fell in love with someone new…"
"Maybe she'll find a new strength that her zanpaku-tou thinks is worthy of bankai?" Karin suggested. "Let's hope it's not you." She grinned at her joke.
He snorted in amusement. "I don't think it'll be me, so you have nothing to worry about."
"I wasn't talking about myself. But, since we are, I'm going to stake my claim here and now." She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.
A slight tinge of red grazed his cheeks. "Aren't you a little young to be thinking that way?"
"Nope. I'm twelve years old. Besides, you were always going to be mine. Especially after the eagle presented me with that dream and its explanation."
"Right. Well, the choice still has to be made."
"You're not going to actually choose being Captain-Commander over me, are you?" she exclaimed in mock horror.
He stopped and raised his eyebrows to her.
She threw her head back and laughed. "Oh, Toushirou, this is why I love you. The choice isn't for years and years and years; at least pretend you don't have to make one."
He looked almost sadly at the waves. "I think about the choice often. We're going to start preparing at the end of next year, but what if it all comes down to nothing? What if, even though everyone is prepared for such a huge battle, you die giving birth just like in your dream?"
Toushirou felt her arms wrap around him. "I won't die. I'll hide away in the human world and have my sister help me. The Hollows are surely going to think that I'm in Soul Society."
"I hope you remember that idea in the future," he muttered.
"I don't think I'm about to forget. But please, smile for me now. I don't want to see you and then have to talk about depressing things like the future."
He looked down at her (it wasn't very far; they were very close in height) and gave her a small smile. "Then, how is your sister? Did she believe your story?"
"Yeah, she did. Now she thinks I'm going to drop down with cancer or something at any minute, so she likes to check my pulse and put her hand to my forehead to check if I have a fever."
"She loves you."
"Yeah, and it's nice to have a sister like her. She doesn't have to lie about where she's gone, or what she's done. I think she's actually the most truthful out of all of us. I wish I could tell her about what happened to me, but that would break her. Yuzu needs to go on thinking that I went to America to get treatment." A sad look passed over her face.
"She'll understand when she grows older and perhaps gains a higher spiritual awareness. You do know how to control your pressure, right?"
"Of course I do! I don't want Yuzu to see Hollows. She doesn't need that part of my family." She sat in the sand, her feet lapped by the waves.
He sat next to her. "In that case, you have nothing to worry about. She's not going to be affected by your spiritual pressure. The one to worry about is your brother, but he's leaving soon, isn't he?"
"To college, but since it's in the greater part of Tokyo he'll be able to visit often. His friends are going with him, and then I think Ishida is supposed to go to America for a while."
"You're going to be in high school soon, aren't you?"
"In a couple of years, yes. But I'm trying not to worry about that now either." Her face grimaced. "High school is the only thing my stupid teachers can talk about."
"If your brother managed to make it, you will."
"Hey, my brother is one of the smartest kids in the school! Just because he's reckless and doesn't think about what he's doing half the time doesn't mean that he doesn't know his studies. Ichi-nii actually studies when he gets home and does all of his homework."
"I'm impressed. That has changed my view of him entirely." Toushirou had never thought of Ichigo Kurosaki as a hard-working student.
She settled on her back and pulled him down with her. "Work hasn't been too hard, has it?"
"At first, Matsumoto continued to do her work, but then she went back to being flighty and never doing it. It was difficult to get used to again, but now it's just the way things are."
"You'd hate to lose her, wouldn't you? I think that replacing Matsumoto for any reason would be hard."
"Well, yes, and you do know why."
She looked at him questioningly, but then a look of realization crossed her face. "Oh yeah, that's right. I remember. Matsumoto is the one who found you all those years ago and convinced you somehow to be a shinigami. I'm glad she did; otherwise I would never have met you. How did she talk you into it? I thought you never wanted to be a shinigami. You refused Hinamori hundreds of times."
"Yes, but Hinamori never said anything about obaa-san dying. That was the key. Matsumoto told me that if I did not become a shinigami, then obaa-san would die. My spiritual pressure was slowly killing her."
"So you went and here you are, the youngest captain ever."
He didn't answer her, because he felt she said that rhetorically. They felt silent, and while he lay awake, staring at the sky, she fell asleep, resting next to him.
—x—
A knock awoke him. He blinked, and lifted his head. I must have fallen asleep at my desk again. "Come in," he called, sitting up.
It was Momo. "I've come to visit," she announced cheerfully. "I hope it's not a bad time."
A softer look crossed his face. "No, it's all right." He stood up and walked over to the sofa, and she followed him. "How has your training been?"
"I can't say I'm close, but I'm trying. Tobiume said that there isn't any rush."
He nodded in agreement. "Good. It's better to take your time anyway."
"It's not like you needed to take your time," she teased. "You learned so quickly!"
He rubbed his head in embarrassment. "I didn't exactly choose to attain bankai faster than the average person. It just happened."
"I know, I know, I was only teasing." She smiled. "Have you seen her? That human girl—oh, I've forgotten her name…"
"Karin?" She nodded. "I haven't seen her for months." Even in dreams. That was the first time in a long time that I had one with her in it.
"That's too bad," she sighed. "Do you think she's okay?"
"I'd know if something was wrong. Her brother would probably come storming into Soul Society demanding answers or help and cause a general ruckus."
She giggled. "Well, then, let's hope nothing happens to that family."
"I think they can handle themselves. They're a hard-headed bunch last anyone checked. What they need is a more feminine girl in their lives." He paused. "I think that Karin's twin sister is that source."
"You really care about them, don't you?" Her voice was very quiet.
"Momo," he began, using her first name, which was something he hadn't done in years. "Momo, just because Karin is in my life does not mean I don't care about you. It would be a very difficult decision if I had to choose between saving your life or hers."
"I would be insisting you save her," she replied. "But I think, from what I heard her say, what I saw, and what I've heard about her, she would be saying the same thing."
Her comment made him pause. "What have you heard about her?"
"The subordinates don't know anything yet, don't worry. I'm sure all sorts of strange and hilarious rumors are going to sprout once we tell them." She giggled, and then coughed to keep herself on track. "I've talked with Kiyone, and she heard from Captain Ukitake that Karin has a bit of a temper."
"That's true. What else did he say?"
"That she had a sense of humor."
He laughed outright, remembering all of her complaints about how cold it was in the room with him. "Yes, that's true. She's rather sarcastic."
"Yes, that's what he said too. I'd like to talk to her someday."
"You would have if you had bothered to visit us," he pointed out.
She hung her head in shame. "I'm sorry. I… I didn't want to visit because I'd just gotten out of the hospital myself, and because I thought that maybe you'd ignore me if I did."
"She would have liked meeting you. Maybe the next time you go to the human world near Karakura Town you should visit." He said nothing about her last point.
"Are you sure that'd be okay?"
"Karin seemed put out that you never visited. So she may make a couple of remarks, but she wouldn't mind if you visited her and introduced yourself."
"Okay, I'll remember." She stood up. "It was nice talking to you." Momo flashed him a smile and left the office.
It was mentioned somewhere-be it guide, character book, whatever-that Karakura Town is a suburb of Tokyo. And can anyone guess where Uryuu would be going? I doubt anyone will, so I'll tell you now: he'd be going to Quincy College. I know; I laughed too when I found out such a college existed. XD
See! I make Toushirou worry about 'the choice'! As you may have noticed, Karin is doing most of the relationship stuff because Toushirou is somewhat reluctant to hurt her. Both of their views have been stated or partially stated in this chapter.