Heeyyyyy! Okay, so it isn't exactly one week, but I got such a positive feedback for the first I decided not to wait until Monday. And Saturdays are easier in the long run to update on.
DISCLAIMER GOES HERE.
A burst of spiritual pressure erupted from the soccer field. To everyone else, it felt like a miniature earthquake. But to Toshiro, it felt like his energy had been sapped out of him. He looked to see Karin grinning an incredible smile, grasping her own zanpakto. Toshiro looked at himself and gasped. Then he began to scream.
"This, this is impossible!" he shouted, looking at his clothing. He was wearing a pure white, simple kimono.
Karin looked at him, surprised. So the great Captain Hitsugaya can actually scream like a little girl, eh? she thought, smirking slightly.
Toshiro saw the smirk, but misread it. "This isn't funny!" he screeched.
Karin stared at him, and then whacked him on the head. "Shut up Toshiro! You think that screaming's going to help you?" She glared at him.
He glared back before responding. "I have a reason for screaming," he grumbled. "My powers are gone. Why else am I wearing this?" He tugged on his plain kimono. "Plus," he said in a panicked voice, "I can't hear Hyorinmaru!"
"Who's that?" Karin asked.
"My zanpakto!"
"Whoa, your zanpakto can speak to you?" Karin asked. She looked at hers. "Can mine speak to me?"
For the first time Toshiro looked at her zanpakto. It was an unusually long one; he suspected it to be around thirty inches long. Attached at the end of the handle was a long scarlet split ribbon. Her sheath was a bright red, and he could see that her hilt was in the shape of a flame. Then he realized she was waiting on him. "Oh, uh, yeah, but most shinigami don't find out their zanpakto's name for a while." So you have a fire zanpakto, eh? Fire and ice don't mix you know.
"Toshiro, what are you going to do?" Karin asked, looking him over.
He looked down. "I don't know." For the first time in a very long time, Toshiro Hitsugaya felt like crying. He forced himself together before that could happen. "I suppose I'll have to live in my gigai form until my powers come back. In the mean time, I'll be helping you get used to being a shinigami." That had, after all, been part of the orders.
"Come stay at my place, as you obviously have no where else to go," she offered. "Since Ichi-nii is at college, you can probably take his room. Unless Pops decides you'll sleep on the couch." She shook her head, already imagining the reaction her family would have.
"First, you need to get into your body while I find my gigai," Toshiro ordered. He scanned the area in hopes of finding his gigai as well as her body. At last he found them. Inwardly he moaned out of embarrassment. His gigai was lying on top of her body! Toshiro figured that he was trying to protect her from the blast of spiritual pressure, but that didn't make the embarrassment any less.
Karin had noticed as well apparently. "What is he doing lying on my body?" she demanded in a smoldering voice.
"I think he was trying to protect it from the blast," Toshiro said almost feebly.
She stormed over to his gigai and promptly kicked him hard off her body, which she then proceeded to slip into. He winced at the thought of slipping into his and feeling that pain, but he had no other choice. With reluctance he got into his gigai and at once felt the searing pain in his side.
"You know," he said through clenched teeth, "you could have nudged me or something. Now I really hurt." He moaned in pain as he shifted his body to find the source of it. Yup, she had bruised a couple of ribs. Ouch ouch ouch.
"Sorry about that. But I grew up with the idea to not let a guy just lie down on you." She was dusting off her clothes as she looked around. "Wow, it looks like we created a small crater. We'd better go before anyone investigates this place." Karin took his hand and led him away, back towards where they had come.
Normally he would have yanked his hand back and flash-stepped to wherever he needed to go, but this was not to be the case. First, he had lost almost all of his shinigami powers and second, he felt the need to have someone hold his hand. But no one was going to know that.
Eventually they made it home as the sun was setting. As Karin reached to open the door, it burst open with a wild cry coming from within, "KARIN-CHAAAAAAAAAAN!!"
"Wh-what?" Toshiro let out, instinctively reaching over his shoulder for his sword. Upon remembering that Hyorinmaru wasn't there, his hand froze. He watched, perplexed, as Karin was tackled by a big burly man, and perplexed still as she kicked said man back into the house.
"Geeze! Now that Ichi-nii's not home you're picking on us more often!" she shouted, shoving her shoes off her feet. She glared down at his now whimpering form threateningly, and then moved on into the kitchen. "Oi! Yuzu! I've brought a friend home!"
At the last statement, the man that Toshiro assumed to be her father looked at him. Both men's eyes widened with shock. However, Toshiro had the sneaking suspicion that it wasn't for the same reason.
"Oh, my darling wife! Our daughter has brought home her first boyfriend!" Mr. Kurosaki cried, pressing himself against a large poster of a woman. Toshiro felt a vein pop out. He was going to be spending who knew how long with this idiot?
"To think he was once a captain!" Toshiro muttered angrily under his breath.
"Who was?" Karin asked suddenly from behind him.
"Stop that!" he hissed at her.
"Oh, sorry, but you'd better sit down. You know, before my dad starts sobbing on you or something." She guided him to sit next to her, ignoring her father and his jabbering to the poster.
Toshiro looked at the other girl, standing at the stove. She had straight blond hair that fell past her shoulders. He figured she was about the same age as Karin, maybe a year or so younger. The girl turned, and he got a better look at her face. Looking back at the poster, he made the quick connection that she looked more like her mother than her father. "Who is she?" he asked.
"My sister Yuzu," Karin answered, pouring some milk for herself and shoving the carton his way. "Pour some for yourself if you want."
He did so. "Is she older or younger than you?"
"She's my younger twin. We aren't anything alike though. She's pretty and feminine, while I'm… I'm tomboyish." It's arrogant to say that you yourself are pretty. And if you say you're ugly, then it makes it sound like you're looking for praise. Besides, there's no way I'd be as good-looking as you Toshiro.
"You don't think you're pretty?" Toshiro asked, somewhat surprised. It wasn't as if he thought she'd be conceited. He thought that, since he thought she was pretty, she would think that about herself. Wait, where was the logic in that again?
Karin opened her mouth to answer but was interrupted by her father. "So, what is your name? We have not yet heard the name of Karin-chan's fiancé!"
Toshiro turned red with a mixture of fury and embarrassment. "I am not engaged to her!" he cried. "And my name is Toshiro Hitsugaya."
"Pops, honestly, he's just a friend," Karin said, taking Toshiro's side. But I wish we weren't. Wait, did I just think that?!
"Toshiro-kun, what school do you go to?" Yuzu asked, sitting down at last.
Toshiro twitched and almost snapped, "It's Captain Hitsugaya to you," but instead replied with, "I am going to Karakura High tomorrow." After all, he had erased the memories of anyone who would remember that he had already been there once. Since he was staying a while he'd have to stick with Karin wherever she went. "Unfortunately, I haven't got anywhere to stay." It was somewhat true, Orihime had offered her place for whenever he wanted, but he'd rather be in the same place as Karin. You know. Because of his job and all. It wasn't, you know, for any personal reasons.
"Oh, you could have onii-chan's room," Yuzu offered.
"I don't think that would be a good idea. After all, your onii-chan might get terribly mad if he finds a strange young man sleeping in his bed!" laughed Isshin.
"But Ichi-nii doesn't come back with Orihime-nee-chan for weeks!" protested Karin. "At least let him stay there until Ichi-nii comes home for holidays."
Isshin put on a somewhat serious face and thought about it. "All right! That makes some sense! You, my wonderful daughter's boyfriend, will stay in my delinquent son's room!" Then he started to laugh.
Both Toshiro and Karin growled and several veins appeared to pop out. "I'm not her boyfriend!" Toshiro shouted at the same time Karin exclaimed, "He's not my boyfriend!" At that statement Karin stomped up the stairs with mutterings of "Stupid idiot father."
"Wow Toshiro-kun, you eat a lot," Yuzu commented to break the silence. It was then that Toshiro noticed that he had been eating as much as she said. Shame flooded his cheeks as he stood up.
"I'll go upstairs," he muttered. Before she could call him back, he raced up towards Ichigo's room.
Thanks a million for my reviewers! I'm getting tired of listing my replies and stuff like that for everyone, so I'll just reply to you privately (next chapter).
Now, for Karin's zanpakto's name, the stats are
Honaga- fire dragon (3)
Honeko- fire cat (1)
Kakiwa- fire ring (1) (this is Hawaiian--or at least, the reviewer thought it was)
Homai (homae?)- fire dance (0)
Do you want to keep your favorite to win? Please vote! One vote per person mind you (if you give a vote and a suggestion they both count)!