Chapter 5: A Cry in the Night
He was pulled from his wandering mind as he began to realize that she was giggling at him. "You do that a lot, don't you?" she asked jokingly.
He frowned indignantly, "No, I most certainly do not. I find it insulting that you would assume that I could be so careless and inattentive to situations like this."
The giggling stopped, but muttered softly and almost inaudibly, "Liar…"
His eyes shot to her and he immediately went on the defensive, "What was that you just said?"
She folded her hands together in her lap and sat up straight and proper, "Nothing, Captain Toushi, nothing at all…just talking to myself."
Exasperatedly, he rolled his eyes and sighed, "You know very well that my title is Captain Hitsugaya, and what is this about already beating Yamamoto to it?"
It was her turn to roll her eyes as she looked out at the still darkening sky. It's probably about 11:30 or so… so much for my night jog…she thought to herself.
When Toushirou realized that she didn't seem to be making a move to answer his question, he growled slightly and decided to try once again, "Are you deaf, Karin? I asked you why you think that you are already one step ahead of Yamamoto!"
She smirked slightly, having let her mind wander and forgotten about the question at hand. Preparing to answer with a smart aleck remark, she turned to look at the young captain sitting beside her. Noticing that his fists were balled up and jaw was stiffly set, eyes blazing, she decided that it was probably best to just answer instead of pissing him off further and totally ruining his night. She took a breath and casually stated, "Because I'm already a Soul Reaper."
Toushirou allowed a tiny gasp to escape his lips as his eyes widened considerably and he questioned frantically, "What is that supposed to mean? How can that be? You haven't died!"
She leaned back into the step above her and crossed her ankles out in front of her, "It wasn't hard, I started having strange dreams and I figured that they meant something profound. Still not sure what, but I'm sure they do. Anyway, I went to see Urahara about it and he told me that those were dreams in which my zanpakuto was trying to make contact with me. He told me that it was very rare that someone living could make contact with his or her zanpakuto, especially since I was not in spirit form at the time. So to test the theory out, he told me to swallow a soul pill, finding that when I did and my soul separated from my body, that it wasn't just a normal human soul, but a full Soul Reaper decked out in that black robe thing you all wear with a sword on my back…quite comfortable actually. I think that he was a bit weirded out but pretended like it was nothing out of the ordinary. My dad knows too, but I don't think Ichi or Yuzu does. Dad told me to keep it to myself for a while and see how things progressed with Urahara training me. He said that it was very rare that people became Soul Reapers without having someone lend them their powers, but that it was possible."
Toushirou was speechless, grabbing for something to reply, "But…how can…how can you be so casual and laid back about this? This is so serious."
She smiled and stood, motioning for him to follow her. As he stood to make after her, she led him down the path that wove around her house. As he began to fall into step beside her, he heard her snicker before breaking into a sprint. Rolling his eyes he began to run after her, careful to stay slightly behind her to watch her every move. He wasn't ready for more surprises.
He noticed that she was slowly picking up speed, becoming difficult for him to keep up with without using shunpo. His breathing picked up as it finally dawned on him what she was doing. She was proving something to him. Proving to him that she was indeed learned in the ways of a Soul Reaper. She was going to have the audacity to challenge him in shunpo. He was almost amused at these antics. As her speed continued to increase, he could feel them slowly transferring into shunpo, the wind bighting at their skin like needles at the velocity of their bodies cutting through the air around them. So, she wants to play… He thought to himself, biting back a grin from sliding onto his face.
Soon he realized that he was almost at the extent of his shunpo abilities before he began to pass her. He heard her snicker beside him but was startled when he felt her warm hand close around the cool skin of his forearm, pulling him back slightly. He let out a tiny gasp of surprise at the contrast of temperatures, not expected their heats to be so different. "What was that for?!" he asked irritated, slightly bothered at being thrown of balance and affected so highly by her touch.
She rolled her eyes in reply and said, "Take a look around you. Look familiar?"
He sighed in frustration before glancing around, his eyes widening suddenly as he realized their location. This is where they had first really spoken, six years ago, when he had first realized that there was something different about this girl. Why did she bring me back here? He wondered, leaning against the railing on the side of the road.
He took a deep breath, not allowing his thoughts to get the better of him. He could not afford to lose his composure right now. Why does she continue to make it harder for me to keep forgetting?
Shaking his thoughts away from him, he turned to her before noticing that her hand was still around his forearm. Panicking slightly at the unfamiliar contact, he cleared his throat. Realizing the predicament, she snapped back to reality with an "Oh, sorry…" before releasing her hold on his right arm.
They stared out at the night quietly for a moment, feeling the hot breeze lick at their skin uncomfortably. She finally decided that it was the time to speak, breathing deeply before uttering her words, "This is where I first realized that something was different about me. Something that went beyond just seeing ghosts and getting attacked by hollows. Not only was this the place that I realized it, but it is also the place that I came to accept it."
Toushirou found himself listening intently as she told her story, intrigued by the way that everything had played out. She continued, "That day that I stopped you from leaving when your Soul Pager went off, that was when I realized that I couldn't run from this anymore. I am different, and I can't change that no matter what I do. I was born like this for a reason and, like my brother; I have been sensitive to the Spirit World for a long time. He found his reason when he met Rukia six years ago, secretly deciding that being a Soul Reaper was what was in the cards for him. I didn't have that choice though. This kind of just happened to me, whether I liked it or not. Not that I'm complaining. I think that being a Soul Reaper is pretty cool. I enjoy helping souls and killing hollows. Don't give me that look. Did you really think that I would just sit around and let these powers go to waste?"
Toushirou didn't even realize that a look of horror had come across his face in the previous moments. "Fighting hollows?! Why would you do something so reckless without aid? You can seriously injure if not kill yourself. How can you be so foolish?"
She glanced over at him and met his hesitant eyes. Cocking an eyebrow at him, the corners of her mouth turned up slightly in a mini grin. "You really shouldn't underestimate me, you know. I'm better than you think."
Sighing, he stood upright and it was back to business from there, "We need to get to Urahara's Shop. We're supposed to all meet up there at midnight. I assume that it is getting close to that time."
She glanced at her digital watch and raised her eyebrows tilting her head, gritting her teeth at him. "I hate to break it to you, but we're late."
His eyes widened and he impulsively grabbed her arm, startling her slightly. He looked at the watch and noticed that it read 12:05a.m. "Shit…" he muttered under his breath, eliciting a snicker from her, "We have to go NOW."
And with that he grabbed her other wrist and dragged her behind him, "We're gonna shunpo there." He warned as he began the technique, Karin falling into step beside him.
Within moments, they had reached the doors of the shop, sliding them open quietly to sneak into the meeting. Hoping to be unnoticed, but highly unsuccessful, he cringed slightly as all eyes in the room turned to face the two of them. Yoruichi's irritated eyes could be seen across the room. But it was Urahara that greeted the two of them warmly, "Well, if it isn't Karin and Toushirou…What took you guys so long? We were beginning to get a little worried about you. But don't' worry, you haven't missed anything. We were just chatting, waiting for you to arrive. But now that you're here, we can start the meeting. Okay, let me open the communications portal and we can begin."
Toushirou breathed a sigh of relief at the casual greeting. But he didn't get to comfortable; for he knew the tongue-lashing he would receive from Yoruichi later that night. Taking a seat beside Rangiku, he whispered an apology over his shoulder at her. She simply grinned and shrugged her shoulders, signifying that it didn't matter to her if they were late. As the portal began to open and Yamamoto's face came into view, Toushirou tensed slightly, wondering what he would ask them, not really prepared with any kind of report. "Good evening Captains, Vice Captains, and Special Guests. How have things fared so far? Any problems?"
All members shook their heads in response and passed a pot of green tea around. "No problems at all, Head Captain Yamamoto. Everything has proceeded as planned." Yoruichi answered confidently as she poured herself a generous cup.
Karin looked over the table and noticed that Rukia and Ichigo were discreetly holding hands under the table. I wonder if they care that everyone in this room notices. She looked to her left and saw that Renji was obviously pouring saké into his green tea. Like your liquor that much, Eyebrows? Returning her eyes in front of her she noticed Yoruichi glaring menacingly at Toushirou. What bug crawled up her ass and died? Finally she decided to check back over to her right at Toushirou. What's his problem tonight? He seemed a lot less uptight last time I was around him. Has that much changed for him in six years?
She was pulled from her thoughts by the voice of the older man on the screen. "Hello there, Ms. Kurosaki. I'm honored that you could join us tonight. I trust that you received your letter from young Captain Hitsugaya?"
Caught off guard, Karin noticed the whispering and strange stare pointed in her direction. "Umm…yes, sir. I did."
Before anyone could question further, Yamamoto finished, "Well, then that is all that was required of this meeting. Enjoy your two days in the World of the Living. The gate will open for you again on Friday at noon. Until then, be safe."
And with that the portal faded, before anyone could protest. The room was silent for all of one moment. Then Renji opened his mouth, already slightly tipsy, "So, Toushirou, what the hell is going on?"
Sighing once again, "I have told you all already that it is not for me to say at this point in time. If you want to know that badly, take it up with Yamamoto. I am not going to betray his trust for a group of curious officers."
On that thought he rose and left the room, walking to the room where the gigais were being held. He quickly found the tuft of white hair sticking out of the rows of bodies covered in the thin white sheets. Grabbing the pile of clothes in the baggy with his last name on it, he walked over to his allotted gigai. What he didn't notice was the dark haired woman following behind him slowly and quietly sticking her head out just as he entered his gigai.
After entering his makeshift body, he cringed at the sensation of is soul attaching to it. It made him slightly queasy for a moment, before shaking it off and pushing the blanket down to his hips, exposing his toned and lean upper torso. Karin gasped at the sight, closing her eyes quickly, knowing that it was improper to be watching him. Okay Karin, stop. It's just your raging teenage hormones. He's your friend and superior for God's sake. She thought as she turned her back to him, knocking on the door to alert him of her presence.
Toushirou jumped at the sudden noise, quickly pulling on his green boxers and dark washed jeans and socks. Throwing the sheet off, he replied, "Who is it?" as he rushed to pull on the emerald green collared t-shirt.
"It's just me, Karin." She said waiting for him to give her permission to enter.
"Okay, you may enter." He replied while fastening his black digital watch onto is left wrist and running a hand through his soft, clean hair sticking up on his head in it's usual spiked style.
Karin squeezed through the opening and padded over to him softly. "Is everything okay? You seemed rather irritated out there. Is it supposed to be a secret, what you gave me? Because if it is I won't tell."
He slipped on his black track-style shoes and wiggled his feet so that the heels didn't get bunched up. He hated it when that happened. "The orders from Yamamoto were that no one but you and I were to know of this decision until everything was in order and in place. Now that I have uncovered that you are already a Soul Reaper, I'm not sure what will happen from here. I will probably set up a private portal conversation with him to inform him of these recent developments before the meeting in two days."
She sighed and sat beside Rukia's gigai. Playing with its hair softly. "I wish my hair was this soft. I guess that's what I get for abandoning it and wearing it so short for 13 years." She spoke softly, continuing the gentle ministrations on the mock body. "It's almost hard to believe that this isn't a real body, just a temporary vessel to hold a soul."
Toushirou watching in silent awe at the gentleness and openness of this young woman. "Do you always say exactly what's on your mind, no caution as to who could be listening?"
She laughed quietly, "Pretty much. What you see is what you get with me. I have nothing to hide and no reason to hide it. Why, does that bother you?"
He sat there silent for a moment before answering as honestly as he could, "No, I find it rather refreshing, actually. It's not every day that you find someone as open as you. It's definitely a contrast from the closed off people that surround me on a daily basis."
"Cool, I agree. The world needs more people like me!" she replied, sticking her chin in the air as she started to stand up.
Unexpectedly, she didn't use quite enough force to hoist herself completely upright, so she found herself falling directly back where she had began. Bracing herself for the rough landing, she was extremely surprised when it never came. Opening her eyes to gauge the damage, she was shocked to find that she had been firmly grasped by a sturdy arm across the back of her shoulders and a strong hand grasping her left forearm, a cool body leaning over her as if it were part of a dance. When her onyx eyes met the blue-green pools of sight merely six inches in front of hers, she couldn't stop the soft blush from creeping up to her cheeks and ears. "Well, I guess this would look totally awkward to any spectators…Thanks though. I totally would have face planted into Renji's body otherwise." she muttered more to herself than to him.
At those words Toushirou felt his own cheeks redden, betraying the tension that tickled at his conscience. Clearing his throat, he helped her to stand the rest of the way up. "You're welcome." He said, turning to exit the room, waiting for her to exit first.
Whoa…that was a weird feeling. She thought to herself as she walked in front of him, exiting the room. What was that? I almost felt slightly queasy. Whoo…must be about to have my period or something…
After reentering the main room, she noticed that they had passed Renji and Rangiku on their way to get their own gigais. "Looking sharp, Captain." Rangiku had commented as they quickly passed. He does look pretty sharp doesn't he? And he's gotten considerably taller too. Come to think of it, he does look older now. He's freaking taller than me. That's not fair!
Her thoughts were interrupted by the object of her concentration, "And you were saying I get lost in thought a lot…speak for yourself."
She attempted a death glare at him, only to succeed in making him snicker to himself. She is so easy to rattle. It's very entertaining to not be the butt end of a joke for once.
Both of their thoughts were interrupted by the return of Renji and Rangiku, now clad in their gigais, working on getting them as drunk as their spirit forms. "Really, Rangiku, I sometimes really wonder why I have never had you transferred to another division…"
Rangiku only succeeded in falling over onto Renji and kissing him on the cheek as the two fell over, unable to compensate for their shift in weight in their current condition. Toushirou rolled his eyes and slowly shoved Karin towards the door. "Rangiku is staying with Orihime, and Rukia is obviously staying at your place, probably in with your brother. Renji and Kira are staying here for purposes unknown to me. I think that everything is set, so I'll walk you back to your home."
As he began to walk he noticed that she wasn't following. "Is something wrong?" he asked.
She tilted her head and stared at him. "Where does that leave you?"
He shrugged and sighed. I'll probably stay on the roof at Orihime's house again. I was fine there the last time."
She frowned at that and replied, "You will absolutely not be staying on the roof of that house. You can't get any sleep up there."
He gave her a half-smile and replied, semi-lost in thought, "It's okay. I probably won't be doing much sleeping anyway."
She still shook her head, "Why not?"
He closed his eyes and bowed his head for a moment. Not now… "I just—"
"Can't get passed the dreams?" She finished for him.
He opened his eyes slowly and looked up at the night sky, "You could say that…"
She walked closer to him, standing to his right and tilting her head to see his face, "Did something happen? You know I'm here for you no matter what it is. I don't judge. I've had some pretty screwed up things happen in my life too…"
He shook his head and looked back at her, "Now is not the time to talk about such things. We need to get you home and I need to get to Orihime's. We can finish these conversations at a later date."
As he turned to walk she placed a hand n his right shoulder, stopping his movement. She turned him to face her and, to his surprise, threw her arms around his neck in a comforting embrace. As soon as her chin was over his shoulder, she could smell the lingering scent of cinnamon and vanilla resting in the nook of his shoulder and neck. The scent was rich and exotic, and she felt something in her very core shift.
Likewise, Toushirou, already dazed at her impulsive display of affection, had his senses reeling from the scent of her jasmine-vanilla shampoo in her hair, collected in that bun at the back of her head. Thought the scent was subtle, it was intoxicating nonetheless and he could feel all of the blood in his body rush from his head, leaving him slightly lightheaded and faint.
When the moment came that they finally broke apart it was with both hesitation and relief. Letting her hands slide down his arms to his elbows, Karin looked him directly in the eyes and said, "You're staying at my house. You can have the couch. You're not sleeping on that roof again."
Before he could protest, she had grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him to face the right direction and fall in step beside her. When she finally dropped his wrist, he felt a shocking, but subtle sense of emptiness sting at him. It had been a long time since someone had touched him like that. But he couldn't think about that right now. Those were thoughts for solitude.
As they walked, their hands occasionally bumped together unintentionally. Every time they did, Toushirou's resolve broke a bit more as he was pulled from his thoughts. It was a godsend when they finally reached the girl's home. Opening the door, Karin allowed him to enter first, bolting the door behind her, as they both kicked off their shoes. "Just wait in here. I'll go get you a blanket and pillow."
He watched her back as she disappeared down the hall and entered the last room on the right. He took a deep breath as he waited for her to return. Why was he feeling like this? Was it that long since he had felt a woman's touch other than his belligerent Vice Captain's? Had he really missed platonic affection that much? Wait, no. In the past it hadn't been…"
His thoughts trailed off as Karin returned, carrying a thick pillow, a blue sheet, and a thicker brown blanket. "I hope these will suffice or the next two nights. If not just let me know tomorrow and I'll steal them off of someone's bed."
He nodded slowly and reassured her, "I'm sure they will be fine, considering that fact that I was planning on not having any on the rooftop."
She smiled at him and let her hands fall to her sides, "Well, I'm going to try to get some sleep. Let me know if you need anything else. My room is the last room on the right. No need to knock, just come in if you need me. Shake me, yell at me, whatever. I don't mind."
He snickered and replied, "Don't give me permission to irritate you, because I usually can't pass up the offer."
She rolled her eyes and gave him a swift, "Good night," before retreating back down the hall, her feet softly padding the floor as she went.
When he heard the door to her room shut tightly, he quickly fixed up his makeshift bed and went to stand next to the window across from the couch. He leaned on the windowsill and gazed out at the waning moon, hanging like a crescent in the sky. It was now that he finally allowed his mind to rest and his memories to flood in. His mind was suddenly filled with thoughts of his childhood, sitting on the porch outside of his home in the Rukongai, eating watermelons with her… Memories of watching her train, watching her grow into a gentle and kind woman. He fixed his mind on the memory of the day that he became Captain and the look of pride obviously displayed on her face for all to see, her black hamaka draping over her body with her Vice Captain badge glistening in the sunlight. He remembered her smile as he walked up to receive his haori, sparkling as the sun danced across her ever-youthful face as she cheered him on.
There was only one other time that she had ever looked more beautiful to him. That day was the day that she was falling apart in his arms, writhing and moaning his name as if it was everything that she was born to do. Her skin was the softest he had ever felt and her voice eliciting moans and whimpers of pleasure was the most beautiful music he had ever heard. The moonlight had kissed her body everywhere that his lips couldn't reach among the millions of kisses he had showered over her body as they gave their purity to one another, surrendering to the passion that had hidden itself inside of them since childhood as it consumed them as a hungry animal would its latest catch.
She had come to him in the midst of a violent rainstorm in the Seiretei. The wind howling against the wooden doors of the chamber he called home. She had emerged clad merely in her white sleeping hamaka, the rain soaked completely through, leaving very little to his imagination. She had run to him, sobbing into his chest as she spilled words that he couldn't understand from her mouth, only making out the words "Aizen" and "dead."
He had held her, as she broke apart, kissing him desperately, needing his strength as much as he needed her weakness. She had ripped his hamaka open and kissed him everywhere that she could reach, wanting to feel all of him at once. He couldn't resist her or deny her or himself what they both needed and gave himself over to her wishes. He could feel her sorrow bleeding into him as he pulled her hamaka off of her shoulders, letting it fall to the floor as they knelt facing each other with their foreheads pressing together in a last desperate grasp at the innocence they were so passionately letting go of. She had pull the rest of his hamaka off of him, letting it slide carelessly to the pool at his feet, hanging off of his heels as he ran his hands down the soft skin of her sides, listening to her hum in satisfaction.
She had pushed him backwards and lowered herself onto him, straddling his hips, as he began to thrust into her slowly, feeling his shoulders digging into the woven carpeted floor as a last shred of sanity left him and he grasped her hips and drove his heat into her own as if it was the last thing he would ever do. Her whimpers of pain and pleasure mingled together with his moans of passion and grunts of exertion and created a melody for passion. They had allowed their hands to roam this uncharted territory as they rhythmically ground into each other in a dance of forbidden fruit and primal lust.
When she had finally reached her breaking point, she had whimpered his childhood name, "Lil' Shiro…" as her walls contracted against him as she fell thousands of feet into him. As she had laid panting on his chest, he had reached the pinnacle of his pleasure and gave one last thrust into her white hot moisture and emptied himself into her as he moaned her name, "Oh Momo…" and relaxed against the ground, clinging to her as if she would disappear without the embrace.
They had never spoken of that night. Not to anyone else or even to each other. It was just an understanding. A night of passion that only happened once and then was gone, but somehow lingered on in the hearts of the two childhood friends.
He rubbed his eyes, fighting back tears, as he came back to earth, taking a deep breath as he sighed out her name, "Oh Momo… If only I had been there…"
He finally resigned himself to sleep as he lay down on the small couch preparing for a long night as he fell into a fitfull sleep that he understood would never award him rest from his troubles...
What he didn't realize was that he wasn't alone in his sorrows...one other could understand his pain better than anyone else. The loss of innocence with a cry in the night...