Prompt: Isshin introduces them
Rating: K+
He wondered what she was doing here. She couldn't have been older than fourteen, and this was certainly not a good environment for a child.
Members of the Eleventh Division, never ones to miss a party, were starting to get extra rowdy, wrestling matches frequently breaking out. Matsumoto, sake bottle in hand and Madarame Ikkaku under arm, was avidly participating in a singalong, becoming increasingly out of tune the more sake hit her system.
Kurosaki Isshin was leading a conga line, his hakama mysteriously missing, displaying underwear that declared him to be the "World's Best Dad!"
Abarai Renji was passed out, face-down, on the floor, having lost a drinking game to Hinamori Momo. Kira Izuru looked like he was quickly going to join his red-headed friend, barely hanging on to consciousness, while Hinamori grinned triumphantly. No one ever suspected her ability to drink just about everyone under the table.
To the surprise of absolutely no one, Kurosaki Ichigo and Kuchiki Rukia were vehemently trying to find each other's tonsils. While they had always adamantly denied having any sort of romantic feelings for each other, their tongues told a different story. Alcohol did that to people, he supposed. That and almost dying.
And, in midst of the madness, the dark-haired child sat at a table, clad in a school uniform, idly sipping on a beverage that was most likely too mature for her.
Unable to leave it alone, he found himself sliding into the seat across from hers, the words tumbling from his mouth. "Aren't you a little young to be here?"
She blinked, dark lashes surrounding darker irises, and he was struck with a feeling of familiarity, though he had never met her before. She swirled her cup slowly. "Aren't you?"
"I'm one hundred and two," he retorted.
Those familiar eyes widened, and she whistled low. "You don't look a year over twelve!" She took a sip of her drink. "Please, share your secret!"
"Dying," he deadpanned, reaching over and plucking the cup from her fingers.
She scowled, the expression completely changing her face, and once again she looked familiar, though he couldn't put his finger on why. "Excuse you," she snapped, reaching for the cup unsuccessfully.
He held it out of her grasp, contemplating for a few moments before downing its contents. Champagne, he noted as the sweet liquid slid down his throat. She had good taste for someone so young.
Her enraged face tinged with pink. "Why didn't you just get your own goddamn drink?"
A snowy eyebrow raised at her choice of language. This girl really was too mature for her own good. "I don't drink."
"You just did!" she mocked. Her face pinked again, and he wondered how much she had had. "From my cup! And for your information, I'm allowed a drink during celebrations. And I think the end of the war is a reason to celebrate."
He wanted to ask her what she could possibly know about the war, but she was suddenly tackled by another girl, the force of the hug almost knocking her out of her chair. The new girl grinned, snuggling her nose into the crook of the dark-haired girl's neck. She sighed at the newcomer. "How many have you had, Yuzu?"
"Just one," the light-haired girl said defensively. "…I think."
The dark haired girl muttered something that sounded suspiciously like lightweight, but the other girl, Yuzu apparently, focused her gaze on him. She didn't look any older than the other girl—wearing the same exact uniform, in fact—yet her face was clearly pinked with liquor. "He's cute!" she declared loudly. "Who's that?"
The dark-haired girl let out an audible sigh. "Some tight-ass."
"Really?" Yuzu grinned, releasing her from her embrace. "You looked?"
"And that's enough for you," she replied, slipping a fruity-drink from the other girl's lax fingers.
"You're right," she sighed, winking at him. But then her gaze focused on something else, and he followed it behind him, straight to where an inebriated Ichigo had pinned an equally inebriated Rukia to a wall. "They're really going at it, aren't they?"
The dark-haired girl shrugged, sipping on the drink she had just confiscated. Her eyes briefly locked with his, smugly challenging him. "It was bound to happen. I just wish they'd get a damn room!"
The sudden shout did nothing to stir the offending couple, easily swallowed in the noise of the party. The girl named Yuzu laughed, patting her on the shoulder before wandering over to join Matsumoto's rambunctious song.
"Your friend?" he asked her, not even bothering to take her second drink. She seemed perfectly lucid, if not embarrassed.
She inclined her head. "Twin."
Well, that was a surprise. Where the girl Yuzu had been fair-haired and sweet-faced, this girl was dark, from her hair to her eyes to her speech. On first glance she had seemed young, but after interacting with her, he wasn't so sure anymore. There was a sort of maturity in her familiar eyes, and her face was losing babyfat, sharper angles peeking through.
There was a loud crash as a bottle was cracked over someone's head, champagne fizzing onto the floor. He sighed, happy everyone had decided to hold the party in the Ninth.
"Why are you here?"
He met her confused gaze.
"You've had a stick up your ass this whole time," she said matter-of-factly. "Why even come if you're just going to damper everyone else's fun?"
He sat back in surprise, not used to someone speaking to him so unrestrainedly. He wasn't sure how he felt about it. "I'm expected to be here," he replied cooly. "Why areyou here?"
She smirked, amused. "Well I—"
The words completely halted, a look of pure horror on her face. That was all the warning he got before he suddenly found himself picked up by a nearly naked Isshin. The man had discarded the rest of his shihakusho, standing now only in his "World's Best Dad!" undies. "Toshiro!"
"Taicho," he said, exasperated.
"Dad!" the girl hissed. "Where are your clothes?"
That shocked him enough to stop struggling in the older man's hands. Dad?
It made sense, now that he knew what he was looking for. The eyes that seemed so familiar were an exact replica of ones he had looked at for decades—Shiba Isshin's. The curve of her jaw as she scowled at the older man looked exactly like Kurosaki Ichigo's.
"That Hinamori girl took them from me. I'm pretty sure she's cheating." Isshin looked nonplussed. "Don't play any games with her."
"I wasn't planning on it, you goat-faced loon," she snapped.
Toshiro's eyebrows receded to his hairline. She may have resembled her family, but her sharp tongue was hers alone.
Isshin's eyes struggled to focus, and he looked cross-eyed at him. "Toshiro-kun! Why aren't you having any fun?"
"Toshiro," the girl repeated.
"You don't know each other?" Isshin lit up. "Allow me! This is Hitsugaya Toshiro. He used to be Daddy's subordinate when Daddy was a captain, honey. Now he runs Daddy's old squad! And Toshiro-kun, this is my daughter Karin-chan~!"
Hitsugaya sighed, his feet dangling limply. How was anyone supposed to take him seriously when he was being toted around like a child? "Nice to meet you."
Her jaw dropped slightly before she caught it. "You're a captain?"
"Yes," he bristled.
"You need to have some fun, Toshiro-kun," Isshin slurred, swinging the small captain side to side. "Why don't you come have a drink with me and Rangiku, eh?"
"Karin-chan!" It was Yuzu again, grinning ear to ear. "Karin-chan, there's a closet around the corner!"
Karin frowned. "So?"
Hitsugaya was startled when the light-haired twin intensely looked at him in a way that she probably thought was discreet. He sputtered indignantly.
Karin got beet-red at the insinuation. "Oh for the love of…" Her head snapped to her father. "Put him down and let's go!"
Isshin pouted. "But—"
"Down!" she snarled. "You're both drunk. Let's go!"
Hitsugaya Toshiro could only watch in amazement as the strong, fearless captain he knew bent to the will of a mere teenage girl, setting his feet gently back on the ground. He felt Isshin ruffle his hair affectionately. "Some other time, eh, Toshiro?"
Karin was now glancing around the crowded room. "Where'd Ichi-nii go?"
"He's in the other closet," Yuzu happily supplied.
Karin mumbled about not being able to take them anywhere, linking an arm through each of family members' and starting to drag them away. At the last second, she looked over her shoulder, meeting his eyes. She was blushing from her family's antics, but the look she gave him was strong, unwavering. "See you later, Toshiro." And without waiting for his answer, she continued walking away.
"She'll call you!" Yuzu shouted above the noise, much to her sister's chagrin.
He watched them as they stepped over Renji and Kira's unconscious bodies and around Matsumoto, who was unknowingly starting to suffocate Hisagi Shuuhei with her breasts. Then they were gone.
And he found himself thinking about this anomaly of a girl, hoping to see her later.
A/N: Yeah, I don't even know anymore. lol
Let me know!