One thing before I start this properly, this is kinda AU, simply because I haven't gotten round to catching up with the most recent chapters of Bleach, so for this one-shot, let's pretend that the shinigami all fought the fullbringers and won and then nothing significant happened after it. (Because I honestly don't know what happened after the shinigami got split up).

I have to admit, I don't have much to say this time round, except I feel like my wonderful reviewer TheSkandranon deserves a round of applause for being able to guess the entire plot of this one-shot from the one word prompt (you've clearly been reading too much of my writing :'D), I find it impressive anyway. When I first got their review I was just kinda staring at the screen like 'oh shit!' XD But I figured I would stick with the original plot, and I hope everyone enjoys this, I have to admit, I kinda love this one.

SUMMARY: Toshiro sat down on the roof, taking in the scene before having his attention drawn away by a certain Kurosaki. After a while of sitting outside, Toshiro started to feel the cold. Karin was only too happy help.

Chapter 5: Scarf

Tōshirō sat down on the Kurosaki clinic's roof and sighed heavily. It had been a long day. It felt even longer than usual because the sun had set so early, due to it being winter. A small layer of snow had coated Karakura, it twinkling in the light emitting from the lamp posts dotted around the streets. Tōshirō took in the scene, enjoying the sight. He had never been to Karakura in the winter before. He had to admit, the city looked beautiful with all of the snow and lights.

A sudden voice from behind him made him jump and almost slide off the roof, causing the voice to giggle slightly. Tōshirō turned round and gave the girl a glare, although there was no intent behind them. It was nice to see her again. Karin carefully made her way over to the shinigami and sat down beside him. "Hey."
"Hey."
Karin stared at the scenery before speaking again. "How long are you staying this time?"
"Only a few days. I'll probably leave on Wednesday."
"Oh."
Tōshirō could practically feel the disappointment in her voice, making him feel a little guilty. "Sorry."
Karin shook her head. "It's not your fault."

The two sat there in awkward silence, neither knowing what to say to the other for a while, until eventually Karin spoke up again. "Aren't you cold like that?"
"Hmm? Like what?"
Karin pointed to his clothes. "In your shinigami uniform. It looks really thin."
"It's isn't that bad, besides it has to get pretty cold for me to feel it."
"Oh I suppose it would, ice sword and all."
"Yeah."

Tōshirō looked at Karin properly, the first time in months. Her hair had gotten longer and wasn't tied up, he assumed to help keep her ears and neck warm. She was wearing a thick jumper, thick black leggings and denim shorts. She didn't seem very cold, which had surprised him. Her voice snapped him away from his thoughts.
"Are you sure you're not cold? You have goosebumps."
Tōshirō looked down. So he had.

Without warning Karin had gone back into the house, making Tōshirō wonder what she was doing. About five minutes later she appeared on the roof again, this time with two mugs in her hands and a scarf wrapped very loosely around her neck. She handed him both of the mugs with a quick "Hold these" before she pulled the scarf from her neck and leaning down and delicately wrapped it around his neck.

The scarf didn't help much, but he smiled at the gesture. After Karin had sat down she carefully took one of the mugs off him and told him to drink while it was still hot. He obliged, the hot liquid warming him up a bit. The two of them sat in silence, both drinking their tea while admiring the view. After a while he finished and handed Karin the mug before standing up carefully so he wouldn't slip on the ice. "I should go."
Karin nodded. "Ok."
Tōshirō couldn't stop himself from seeing the slight hint of sadness in her eyes. He started to pull off the scarf around his neck before seeing Karin shake her head.

"Keep it. The scarf doesn't really match any of clothes any more and I have another one. I actually can't remember the last time I wore it."
Tōshirō paused for a moment before nodding. "Thank you Kurosaki."
Karin rolled her eyes. "How many times do I have to tell you, call me Karin."
"Fine, thank you Karin."
She smiled brightly at him, and before he realised what he was doing he found himself smiling back. He swore her smile was infectious.

He gave her a small wave before shunpoing over to Orihime's place, where he found Rangiku and Orihime cooking together. 'Oh joy.' Rangiku had heard Tōshirō come into the house and turned to greet him.
"Captain! Where did you get that scarf? It suits you!"
"I...Was given it."
Rangiku had a sly look on her face, correctly assuming that it was Karin who had given it to him.

Orihime politely asked Tōshirō to wash himself up for dinner, and he, not really being able to refuse her request, made his way to her bathroom. While washing his hands at the sink he looked up and caught sight of his reflection. Tōshirō stared at the mirror. Rangiku was right, the scarf did suit him, or at least he thought so. It was a fashion scarf rather than one to keep you warm, but it worked well with his hair and eyes, the scarf being a colour in between white and turquoise. He actually quite liked it, and so he decided to keep it on. However it was hard to ignore how it smelled like Karin. It was even harder to ignore the fact that that meant he knew what Karin smelled like.

Regardless he kept it on. For months actually. Obviously he took it off with the rest of his clothes to shower and whatnot, but basically, he kept it on all of the time. It had practically become part of his uniform (which he realised, did not go unnoticed by a certain Vice-Captain). Despite that, he continued to wear it everyday. Almost eight months after he last saw Karin, Tōshirō, along with other shinigami, were ordered to go to the human world to give Ichigo his shinigami powers and to assist him with the fullbringers.

After all of the fights had been won and everything had calmed down the shinigami had ended up running into Ichigo's family and friends. (Which ended up being rather awkward because Yuzu still couldn't see them, and she was the only one who couldn't, so the poor girl had a bit of rough time trying to figure out what on earth was going on.) Tōshirō was a little surprised to see all of the humans there, but was more surprised at Karin's appearance. He knew that humans grew and developed very quickly, compared to shinigami anyway, but it really was surprising how much one girl could change in eight months. Although, that being said, Rangiku had always said that girls grew up quickly and before boys.

It was obviously Karin, but a lot of the puppy fat had melted away from her face (although her cheeks still showed a little bit of chubbiness), she was taller by and inch or two, adding length to her already long legs, and well, she was a lot more 'endowed' than she was before. He would've liked to think that he didn't notice, but it was kinda hard not to. She looked a lot older than she did eight months ago. He glanced at Karin one more time before paying attention to the rest of the group. 'She's already growing up'. The thought made him a little sad, it reminded him of what he felt was likely to happen in the future. She was going to grow up, go to school, get a job and forget about him. He was going to be this young for a while yet, while she was barely a child any more.

When Karin spotted Tōshirō she grinned. Tōshirō saw it out of the corner of his eye and he tried not to notice how happy it made him to see her smile like that. He saw her grin widen as she spotted her (well his now) scarf around his neck. Tōshirō, not being able to resist, turned his attention to her fully gave her a very brief smile before turning to the group again. It was clear that it made her happy that he was still wearing the scarf she had given him. The thought made him smile.

You know I noticed the other idea that when I write, the characters sigh a lot. I wonder if that's just because I sigh a lot? Haha hopefully it isn't too much of an issue. Anyway, I would like to thank all of the wonderful people who have reviewed, faved, added to story alert, etc so far, I really appreciate it. Reviews are always welcome, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter! The next chapter has already been written up and will probably be posted in the next day or so, I just need to proof-read it. The next chapter update is 'Wish', I hope you look forward to it! You won't have much long to wait :)