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Author's notes: Hope you enjoy this little one, and if you did, please leave a review!
Midnight Showers
29.04.2005
The raven-haired, petite girl that sleeps inside of Ichi-nii's closet takes a shower every day at midnight. Her timing is incredibly sharp, just like a Swiss clock. And her older brother Ichigo, as usual, stands guard outside the door on the hallway during the fifteen or twenty minutes that the girl takes to bath.
Karin finds that particular part of their routine, him waiting outside like a guarding dog, quite pointless. If Yuzu or their father, or even herself, were to find him standing in front of the door at such hours, it would make it look even more suspicious. She doesn't tell him this, however; her brother wouldn't be happy once he discovered that she actually knew about the girl who lived in his room. He would surely not like it one bit, because it wouldn't be right if he were to have a girl living in his close. After all, Ichigo is her role model, the one who sets the example for her and Yuzu… or so he likes to think. And of course, Karin lets him believe that.
Karin also finds these midnight showers a little bothersome because they always, always fight over something. Even when her sister or Pops don't hear them (although she doubts the old man can hear anything above his own loud snores), she does hear them every night as they bicker down the hall. They often argue about meaningless things, and her brother loses each and every time.
She is definitely is getting tired of all this scheme of theirs… Sometimes, she even gets restless thanks to them. If they could just stop fighting and let her sleep, things would be much, much easier for everyone… She can only guess they spend too much time together. And, really, why can't she take her bath during the afternoons anyway? It's not like she and Yuzu, or their father, roam around the second floor the whole afternoon. Oh, well, whatever… She is used by now, although they could be quieter.
That night, however, the usual arguments lessen in volume. It is indeed rare that they haven't even spat insults at each other yet. In fact, she can't hear them at all. Ichigo's black-haired, younger sister is curious enough to quietly get out of bed, tiptoe to the door, and peek through her slightly ajar bedroom door to see what's going on outside. She hears Yuzu stir in her own bed, and she holds in a deep breath. If her twin were to wake up, her cover would be blown. Yuzu doesn't move any longer, and she is able to sneak a quick look one more time.
Then something surprising happens, for she finds that the girl is holding her brother's hand loosely and he doesn't squirm away from her hold. The girl whispers something to the eldest Kurosaki in the lowest of voices, something that the eleven-year-old girl can't hear and to which Ichigo nods in agreement. But when Karin sees her brother simply following the pale faced girl inside the bathroom, she closes her door and goes back to her bed for some good sleep, thinking nothing of it.
Maybe Ichi-nii finally realized that standing outside the door was really useless.