Well hey there everyone! I've finished reading The Scarlet Letter and am now working on the writing part of my summer reading (it's not just reading the book anymore... ): That's so disappointing.). I did consider uploading this chapter on Friday because it's the thirteenth chapter and it was Friday the 13th, you know, awesome occasion, but I stuck to the schedule.
This chapter is shorter than it originally was. It originally talked about a supposed ability Karin has, but then I decided that had nothing to do with what I wanted her zanpaku-tou to be, so I cut it out.

This chapter is dedicated to: falling into wonderland. Thanks for being my fanfiction buddy.

DISCLAIMER APPLIES. If I owned Bleach, I'm not sure I would've come up with turing Aizen into a butterfly...

She ran across the snow covered plain in desperation. Karin tripped, and suddenly she was tumbling down a sudden drop. Down, down, down she went, yelling the whole while. She screeched as she crashed through some trees and landed on a forest floor.

Once she regained her breath, Karin sat up to check for injuries. "I'm absolutely covered in scratches," she complained.

An alto voice laughed and as Karin lifted her head, the eagle landed on it. "Oh, Karin. Why were you running from the great ice dragon?"

"I don't know!" Karin snapped, frowning. "Would you like to explain what's happening to me?"

"I must. It's the time to do so." It spread its wings and flew to the ground. "You remember now?" it asked.

"Yes. All of the dreams; every last one of them. I even remember Toushirou's dreams." When she had finally met Toushirou, she had somehow gained access to his memories of his dreams with her in them.

"I don't need to remind you about the choice, then."

Karin hissed at the eagle. "Not that again. Why can't you give it a rest? Soul Society's been preparing for this ever since I was thirteen for heaven's sake."

"All of the best preparations can be for nothing in a single instant. I still want you to think about what you're doing when you make that choice."

"How come I remember things?" Karin asked abruptly, ignoring her eagle's warnings.

"Your father was a shinigami; you were born half human, half shinigami. It explains your spiritual awareness, your unique connection to Hitsugaya, and the fact you remember your life."

"Wait a minute. The dreaming souls that came before me and Toushirou, was one of them half and half like me?" She decided to contemplate the fact that her father was a shinigami much, much later.

It nodded. "Indeed. I chose to be your zanpaku-tou to protect you."

"You're not doing a very good job," Karin snorted.

The eagle pecked her foot in annoyance. "Karin, I'm doing what I can; and besides, you are capable of defending yourself. You don't need me much at this point anyway; you'll need me more when you eventually fight Hollows. I will be a better protection when you learn my name in any case."

"Won't you tell it to me?" Karin asked, curious.

"My name is—" Karin saw its beak move and knew that sound came out, but the wind suddenly blew harshly around her and she cried out. Her eagle was shouting, trying to do so over the noise, but Karin still couldn't hear.

"Why can't I hear you?" she yelled.

—x—

"Hyourinmaru, I saw her."

"Yes, you did."

Toushirou looked pointedly at the dragon, and then returned his eyes to the far-off horizon. "I wonder how she will turn out."

"You mean you're not going to demand that she be placed in your division when she graduates?" Hyourinmaru asked a surprised look in his eyes. "I was expecting that of you."

"Of course not. She may be more suited towards the Kidou Corps, or the Sixth Division, or any other division. I'm not going to force her onto the Tenth Division."

"It would be interesting to me if she ended up on the Fifth Division. Hinamori would have to look at the girl you love everyday."

"I don't think Hinamori would care," Toushirou replied.

"It's been a long time. She still hasn't fully recovered from Aizen's betrayal, and thus she has not achieved bankai."

"Hyourinmaru, if you're saying that she's going to fall in love with me instead, I sincerely hope you're wrong."

"I did no such thing. Now, if you'd like, go and visit the eagle yourself."

"I will not enter another's soul," Toushirou insisted. "That is a breaching of privacy. If the eagle wants to talk to me, then it will find a way."

"If you say so. Now, wake up!"

—x—

"Captain? Oh, goody, you're awake!" Matusmoto cried with glee when she saw her captain raise his head from his desk.

"Is there something you needed to speak to me about?" he asked, looking at the clock—apparently he'd fallen asleep at his desk the night before.

"Well, Captain, I want to know what you're going to do about Karin. Are you going to tell her brother?"

"I don't think so. He would have a hard time hiding it from his other sister."

Matsumoto nodded. "He'll find out eventually, though."

"I think it'd be best to wait until she's graduated to tell him." He stood up and walked over to the window.

"Captain, do you want her on our division?"

He looked over his shoulder at her. "Of course I do. But she's still growing; it may be better for her to go to a different division. I don't think she'd like it if I claimed her for this division before she really had a chance to discover where she wanted to go."

Matsumoto paused, but then decided to continue. "Captain, how do you feel, now that you've seen her?"

Toushirou was silent, and Matsumoto was unsure if he had heard her. "I feel… almost afraid," he said at last. "The eagle told her that the Hollows would get her killed; I'm still not sure if her death wasn't caused by a Hollow controlling her killer. I'm afraid to choose her," he admitted.

"Captain, there isn't anything wrong with loving her," Matsumoto said. "If you don't choose her, I'd be rather ashamed of you."

"I don't need your approval for everything," he told her, and a cold feeling settled her stomach.

You can't be serious! You're really going to choose being Captain-Commander over her? Captain! "I will still be ashamed of you," she answered, "because you would have chosen something over love. Captain, even if you were trying to save her, how broken would that leave you?"

"That doesn't matter!" he hissed, whirling around. "Nothing matters besides the fact that no one dies from that choice. Hollows will not come and eat us at the birth of any children, and we will not have to rebuild Soul Society again." He turned back to the window. "But more importantly," he said so softly that Matsumoto almost couldn't hear him, "no children of mine will die before they can live."

"Captain, I hope that when you do have to make a choice, it will not be one you regret making."

He didn't reply, choosing to instead look out the window. A stony silence fell about the room. Matsumoto sighed and left the office. There was something she needed to do.

—x—

"Oh! Look, she's awake."

Karin groaned and opened her eyes. "Where am I?" she mumbled, and then clutched her head. "My head hurts."

"You're in the hospital room," a kindly voice told her. "Your roommate brought you here last night. You'll be just fine, don't worry. Here, take this." Karin turned her head and saw that it was one of the academy's doctors and he was holding a pill in his hand for her to take.

"Thank you," she said, and took it. Picking up the glass of water by her bed, she gulped down the pill. "Am I allowed to go to class?"

"You will later. Right now, you've got a visitor." He beamed. "You're lucky—it's a seated officer." He stood up and headed over to another patient on the other end of the room.

Karin wondered who on earth could be visiting her when she felt herself be squeezed into a pair of large breasts. It must be Matsumoto, she thought as she struggled.

"I was worried when I heard you had collapsed, but it looks like you're okay!" Matsumoto said cheerfully, letting Karin go.

"So I guess you had some other reason to see me?" Karin asked as her breathing pace returning to normal.

Matsumoto sighed sadly. "I do. Karin, what have you thought about the choice you're going to have to make someday?" She wasn't quite sure if Karin remembered or not, but was prepared to explain.

She didn't need to. "I think it's stupid. Soul Society shouldn't be depending on two souls like us to keep it safe. That's what the Gotei 13 is for."

Matsumoto was quieted by her words. "My captain seems to think that he must not choose you to protect you."

Karin nodded. "Yeah, I think he's finding 'the choice' difficult to answer. Toushirou's taking it a lot more seriously than I am."

"At least you're willing to take the chance of Hollows attacking," Matsumoto pointed out. "I think that just because two zanpaku-tou foresee you two dying by the hands of Hollows does not mean that will happen. No one knows the future for sure."

"Did you tell him that?"

"No. He'd just think that since no one knows the future, it'd be better to not take a chance." She shook her head. "Captain doesn't want his children to die before they have the chance to live—he said so himself."

"How unusually sentimental of him," Karin snorted. "Thanks for talking to me Matsumoto, but right now, I think he needs you. I'm not going to be of much help at the moment. I'll probably make it harder for him if I try to convince him of anything."

Matsumoto sighed and then patted the younger woman's hand. "You've grown up Karin. A lot."

"Thanks for saying so, Matsumoto."

Matsumoto sighed deeply again. "I'll leave now, if you think that way. Take care Karin, maybe I'll see you soon." The smile on her mouth did not reach her eyes. That worried Karin; did Matsumoto think that she had no effect on her captain?

"Yeah, see you Matsumoto."

Um, the plot thickens? Eh, I have nothing to say. I need to get back to my writing.

Feel free to review! : )