Yaaaaay! I can update! Well, I'm not done with my book, not even a third done, but I've been taking small breaks. So I'm here to update this and then go back. THIS CHAPTER IS THE LONGEST I HAVE EVA WRITTEN. IT IS 4,138 WORDS LONG. PHEAR MY AWESOMENESS.
Karin felt very much like asking if it had been a dream. Last night, impossibly, Toshiro had kissed her. Also impossibly, she had defeated a Hollow that had knocked him out. Hugging her pillow to her chest, she blushed. A kiss! Even if it was only on the cheek, it still was a kiss. She was a big pile of jelly right now.
"Karin-chan! We're going to be late for school!" Yuzu called from downstairs.
"AHH! School!" Karin screeched, hopping out of bed and yanking on her uniform. "I'm so late!" she cried, running downstairs. She grabbed her lunch and dashed out the door without eating anything.
Finally heaving into her chair, she checked the clock. Blinking, she did the math. "What! No way! I got here in seven minutes? How fast did I run?" Doing the math once more, she shocked herself. "I'll bet it has to do with running late or something. Maybe having this much spiritual pressure affected it."
"Good morning Karin!" her soccer friends chimed. "You look extra chipper this morning," banana-top said.
"Ah, well, it's nothing," she said breezily. "Good morning to you guys too. Did you guys have problems on the math homework last night?"
Her Ronald McDonald-look-a-like friend sighed. "Yeah. It was so hard! I must've spent two hours on it!"
Karin grinned evilly. "I had no problem on the homework at all." Aaaaaaaand that'd because I didn't even do the homework. But for some reason I feel as if I actually did. If that's what a soul candy is designed to do, that's awesome!
"Karin!" they moaned. "You're so lucky! How'd you get to be so smart?"
"I'm not that smart and you know it. I have an average intelligence. Last night's homework might have been easy because I understood it for once." She smirked at them.
"I'll bet she had Hitsugaya help her," one of them muttered.
"Did not!" she insisted hotly.
"There! You admitted it! Hitsugaya did help you!"
"No, he didn't! Toshiro isn't interested in helping people with homework troubles!"
"You know Karin, it's fascinating watching you argue with people," Toshiro whispered in her ear.
"Stop popping up on me!" she cried, whirling around.
He snorted. "What, and you're allowed to sneak up on people?"
She frowned but didn't answer. Instead she turned away and refused to look back at him.
He sighed and headed over for his seat, staring at her over his shoulder all the while. I've committed a crime, he thought. It is against the law for a shinigami and a human to love one another. Karin, what have you done to me? Toshiro felt very much like screaming (again). What, exactly, was so wrong about love between a human and a shinigami? Right now the laws weren't coming in handy.
Wait, hold it. Who said that he loved her anyway? Whatever this was was probably just some physical attraction. She was just some silly human. A silly, hilarious, unusual, weird, interesting, beautiful, stupid human. What am I denying? I feel like I'm denying something. But what can I be denying? There's nothing to deny.
"All right class, we're supposed to be performing a play in a few months for New Year's." His teacher's voice jarred his thoughts. Shouts of different plays rose up around him.
A play? When was the last time I went to a play? he thought. Must've been when I still live with obaa-san. When Momo wasn't so hurt. No! I can't think about her, it's too painful.
Toshiro stared ahead of him, not quite paying attention to what was going on. Apparently a play choice had been made, with squeals and moans to go along with it. His teacher had then announced she'd be picking the parts and no bribery would be accepted.
"All right guys, I'll post the results tomorrow. You guys can chat until lunchtime, which is in fifteen minutes." She turned away and began to scribble something on her clipboard.
"Ne, Hitsugaya-kun, who do you want to be Elizabeth?" Hana asked him, turning from her seat in front of him.
"I'm not inclined to tell you. I'd much rather keep my thoughts to myself." He stood up, preparing to go to the other side of the room.
"Oh, fine, go ahead. Talk with Karin," Hana grumbled. "It's as if you know her. You never talk to anyone else, and it was like she knew your habits yesterday. Plus, you call her by her first name and she does the same to you."
He sat right back down. "I don't know her at all," he insisted. But he didn't have anything else to say. What could he say to defend why he talked to Karin only?
"Then get to know me," Hana said, smiling. The smile reminded Toshiro of the one Karin had given him the night before.
"Well, then who do you want for Elizabeth's part?" Toshiro asked quickly. He didn't want to know her, but knowing her votes would help him get an idea about her.
"I really want that part. The part needs someone who can sing and dance."
"I think all of us will be learning to dance, so being able to dance isn't going to matter much. And who says that we'll need singing?" It was stupid of him not to know what play they were doing because now his responses would be all messed up.
"Well, there is a lot of singing involved in the book, or so I've heard. Have you ever read Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen?"
"Oh! That I have read. In the original format too." That was one of the few English literature books they had in the Soul Society library. It was an original copy, still in good condition.
"English and all? Wow Hitsugaya-kun!"
"I guess."
"I don't understand why Karin has to be so great at English. It's supposed to be one of the hardest languages in the world! She only ever seems to talk about soccer and she's average in every other class."
"I'm not that surprised. Everyone has at least one subject they are better at." Hana was insanely jealous and thought that saying bad things about Karin to him would make him think more of herself and less of Karin. Well, it's not like he cared. Instead of saying anything else to her, he pulled out a book that (coincidentally) Karin had given him and began to read.
Did I do something wrong? Is he afraid I'd get mad at him for last night? Over on the other side of the room, Karin was completely confused. Toshiro had stood up, but then he had sat back down at what Hana had said to him. The two of them had talked for a bit, and then he had pulled out a book. Why am I expecting him to come to me? I don't need to wait for him in order to talk to him. She stood up and walked over to Toshiro and plopped down in her sister's vacated chair. "Hi Toshiro. Is that book interesting?"
"Hmmm… it is intriguing." He looked at the front cover. "All we have of literature where I come from is really old stuff."
"Then we'll need to go book shopping so then you can stock up your libraries with more modern fiction." She thought a minute. "How about today?" C'mon, I did such a good job last night; give me a break, please? Just for today. I swear. Besides, you need a bit of a break too. All that stress can get to one's head.
"I suppose. However, no skipping out on training tomorrow as you still have a long way to go."
Karin laughed. "I know, I know, I was just thinking you needed a break. Besides, you don't want your library to have only old stuff, do you?"
He smiled weakly. "I heard you Karin." Toshiro looked at the book he was reading. "Whatever Harry thinks, I doubt it's Snape behind all of this."
"I'm not telling you yes or no," Karin answered, looking at his book. "If I do, it'll spoil everything."
"I certainly hope that if you went to a boarding school you wouldn't go around the school at night." He looked down at it disapprovingly. "Especially on a sort of dare, or whatever it is Malfoy and Harry set up."
"Oh, well, if I was dared to do it, of course I would. You know me Toshiro; my pride always gets in my way."
"Actually, I didn't know that about you. I've already told you; there are many things I don't know about you."
"I guess we'll just have to change that," she said in an oddly cheerful way. Noticing that Hana was giving her the evil eye, she turned to her. "Soccer practice is at six tomorrow for forty-five minutes, don't forget."
"Like I would, it's hard not to with you as captain." Hana gave a twisted smile, like she didn't know what else to do with her face. "Karin, who do you want for the lead parts?"
"Lessee, I think that Yuzu should be Jane, and Toshiro should be Mr. Bingley, and I think I could be Mary, and you could be Miss Bingley, and I think Ami could be Mrs. Hurst, and, oh, I don't know about Elizabeth."
"Why on earth did you place Toshiro as Mr. Bingley?" Hana asked, incredulous.
"Ah, well, Toshiro's personality would have difficulty playing the part. I just didn't want him to be Mr. Darcy because that would go to his head."
Toshiro hid his smile by his book. Okay, maybe her last jab bothered him a little, but it was her way of thinking.
"What! Karin! You're so mean!"
"Yeah yeah, whatever you say Hana." Karin turned to Toshiro. "Hey, which part do you want anyway?"
"I have no idea."
"Surely you must have some idea," she said, pushing it a little.
"Well, actually, I think I'd play Darcy rather well." He put on a somber face. "'She's… tolerable I suppose. But she's not handsome enough to tempt me!'"
She laughed at his Darcy imitation. "You're right, you probably would!"
"Honestly, I'm curious about which part you'll end up with."
She put a hand on his. "Don't worry about me. Let's just focus on the mission."
"What are you two talking about?" Hana demanded.
Before either of them could answer, the lunch bell pealed through the school. "All right! It's lunch time!" Karin jumped up, snatched her bag, and dashed out of the room.
"Karin!" Toshiro called to her retreating back. She was already gone. "Argh, stupid human," he muttered, putting his book away and picking up his bag.
"Karin's usually a big eater," Hana muttered to him. "I was surprised yesterday when she gave you almost all her food." She looked up at him. "Why do you like her so much? There are much prettier and smarter girls in this class."
"Hana, I'll say this once and once only." The temperature in the room dropped a few degrees. "That's. None. Of. Your. Business." With that, he ran after Karin.
"Karin!" he panted once he had caught up with her. "Let's… eat somewhere else today," he suggested.
"Why? Are the fangirls that bad?"
"No…"
"Oh, I get. You're used to being alone. All right, no problem. Not many people eat up on the roof. We can eat in privacy up there." She took his hand and guided him up the stairs towards the roof.
Somehow, they had evaded all of his fangirls as they made it to the top of the building. They sat side-by-side against the wall, quietly eating their lunches. The silence was almost pleasant, as both weren't entirely talkative people. Together they brought about an unusual talkativeness.
"Hey, Toshiro?" Karin asked, but it wasn't an inquisitive sounding sort of question. This one sounded like she was stepping into restrictive territory.
"Yeah?" He wouldn't look at her.
"I didn't really mean it last night, I was just playing."
You WHAT?! he thought. What do you mean by that? "I don't understand."
"I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable, that's all. To be honest, I felt like I was watching another person say and do things in my body."
"Karin, it happens to everybody. I'm not offended." But, really, it hurts to hear that. I don't understand what you mean! What am I to you?
"Oh, good." She relaxed and ate her lunch in a much more cheerful way. It's better for us. You forget about me, love someone else. I know perfectly well that a shinigami and a human cannot love. It makes sense to be kept apart. Where would we live? How would the children grow? Would they even like having a father that never ages while I do? No, no, it's much better for you to forget about me because I am a human. "So, what kinds of books do you think your colleagues would like?"
"That's hard and not at the same time." He frowned in thought.
"While you think, don't frown." The frown deepened. "I'm serious To-Captain Hitsugaya! It makes you look much older than you are!"
His smiled, but he had not missed the abrupt name change. "But, sweet Karin, I'm eighty. The more frown lines I have, the more obvious my age."
"Don't be silly," she teased back. "You still look less than twenty! Besides, smile lines are better than frown lines."
"Well, anyway, I'm sure Captain Zaraki would look for books about wars, as bloodlust and his name are synonyms."
She laughed a short burst of laughter. "Oh, really? Wow. Go on."
"I'm quite sure Captain Ukitake would like books about sweets and how to make sweets. He loves sweets and tries to give them to me."
"How can you not like sweets? I don't get to eat sweets that often." She pouted slightly, the taste of sugared peach at the back of her throat. Karin only got to eat sugared peaches on special occasions.
"I'm not too fond of it, and there are others who share my opinion." Without waiting for her, he continued. "Captain Unohana would probably want books on the healing arts, and no doubt there are hundreds of those. Plus, there is the basic literature."
"Yeah, I'll bet the rest of the Soul Society has never even heard of Harry Potter!" Karin exclaimed.
"You like that book a lot, don't you?"
"It isn't just one book you know. It's a whole series of seven!" She smiled shyly, unusual for her. "I'm sort of embarrassed to admit it, but when I first read those books I really liked Harry."
A shot of ice-cold jealousy passed through Toshiro. "He is a likable character," he admitted.
"I stopped liking him a while ago, but I still love the books. They're just about the only books I'll read."
"Hence the pristine condition I found them in."
"Yup." She finished off the last of her rice ball and put her lunchbox aside. "I stopped liking him because I met someone better." Toshiro stiffened at this. "He's really nice to me, he's smart, he's a good leader, he cares about his friends, and I just adore his eyes."
Toshiro didn't know what to say to this. Did he know this guy? Why would this guy try to take Karin away from him? Who was this guy?! "Do I know him?" he asked carefully. Maybe he could get enough information out of her so he could track the guy down and give him a piece of his mind.
"Oh, yes, intimately."
"Describe him for me."
"His hair is kinda spiky for starters. Think you can figure it out?"
He thought. That nearly eliminated all her friends, except for the one with black hair. But all of her friends followed her lead even if they didn't always want to. So that cut him off. Toshiro didn't even want to consider her family members. There was Renji, but what would be so special about his eyes? Not many people thought his eyes were special.
Who did he know (intimately mind you) that had spiky hair and gorgeous eyes like she said, as well as the traits she had mentioned? He could think of nobody. "I can't think of anyone. No one I know fits the list."
"Not even yourself?" she teased.
It felt like something had clicked. Himself! "I hadn't considered the possibility…"
"No, of course not." She leaned towards him and gave kissed him on the cheek. "You're just humble about yourself." Placing his head in her hands, she forced him to look at her in the eye. "I know that this isn't right, that what we need to be doing isn't kissing and flirting with each other. There's a war going on; I know. But relax, just for today. Pretend, just for today, that you're a normal human boy, and I'm a normal human girl. Please. Indulge yourself, if just a little." Once more she kissed him. "Okay?"
"I believe so…" Mimicking her, he placed his hands on her cheeks. "Even if it is against everything I've ever known…"
They leaned in to kiss each other, but were rudely interrupted. A beeping came from Toshiro's pocket. Both of them sighed irritably and he pulled the soul pager from his pocket.
"Orders. Two Hollows down by the elementary school." He stood up and handed her another soul candy. She took it and popped it into her mouth.
"Is fighting two Hollows any different than fighting one?" she asked.
"Yes, they could be fighting together. In that case, you need to make sure that you're not caught from behind. Plus it takes longer to defeat them."
"Well, all right then, I figured that'd be what it was." She took his hand and together they raced towards the elementary school. Surprised that he seemed to know his way, she asked, "Have you been nearby the elementary school before?"
He raised his eyebrows a bit before answering. "I did, once. To see you."
"You were stalking me? I guess I'm flattered."
"I wasn't stalking! I was interested in you."
"So now I have an admirer. I really am flattered now."
"No! That wasn't it either! I was interested in your ability to sense Hollows."
"How very boring," she huffed.
"Boring used to be my life you know." Before I met you.
"Yeah yeah, whatever. Let's just get this over with. I really do want to go to the book store today, and I really don't want to miss class."
"You're a studious student."
"What's wrong with wanting to stay in school?" she demanded.
The flames of her anger leaped around him, making him uncomfortable with the heat. "Nothing, but with your personality, one wouldn't have guessed."
"Gee, thanks," she muttered sarcastically.
They arrived at the elementary school fairly quickly as it was not too far away. "Is anyone going to wonder why you're here Captain Hitsugaya?" Karin asked.
"No, and why are you calling me Captain?"
"You demand it of everyone else."
"But I do not demand it of you. In fact," his face turned slightly pink, "you're the only one I want to call me Toshiro."
"Not even Momo?"
"Not even Momo."
"I am flattered!" She flashed him a warm smile. "Time to get to work," she said cheerfully. Karin pulled her zanpakto and gripped it with both hands. Closing her eyes, she began to search out the Hollows.
Searching for a Hollow felt like spreading out little tentacles. Slowly, you stretch out your senses, and the little feelers at the end stretch farthest. It was also like feeling in the dark, when you carefully feel around with your arms so you don't run into something and take baby steps so you don't step on anything.
Karin blinked. "Found 'em. They're in the playground, causing havoc."
"When do they not?" Toshiro asked rhetorically.
She shrugged, and together they leaped down to the ground, running for the playground. As they neared the site, cries and howls could be heard. They sprinted faster, knowing that lives were at stake.
"Karin, be careful now!" Toshiro said loudly. "I'm going to go try to help the children; you're on your own!" With that, he raced off, leaving her by herself.
"Okay, I can do this. I did it last night," she said, calming herself. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, letting it out and opening them. Her grip tightened, and she took off at a sprint. "Hey! Hollows, I'm over here!" she shouted, waving her arms.
The two of them looked a bit like bees. They saw her and howled like all Hollows, and started to fly for her. She wasn't prepared for their speed at all, having to throw herself out of the way.
"Oh, great, this is going to be harder than I thought it would be," she mumbled. Raising her zanpakto, she screamed and charged. Swiftly, she sliced- a leg got chopped clean off of one of them. "Arrghh, I was hoping that'd do more damage," she muttered. Just then one of them charged, and she had to dive to get out of the way again.
"This is ridiculous, I'm not trained enough!" she cried, attempting to scare them off with a one-handed swing. It didn't deter them; they charged at her and each drew a deep gash along her arm. She screamed in pain and grabbed her arm.
Toshiro had rounded up the kids and had convinced them that it was a good idea to eat lunch inside today. Once he had seen every last child into the school, he had heard Karin's scream. "Karin!" he shouted, running after her voice.
"Can't… move," Karin muttered. "Too… much… blood loss!" Well, she wasn't part of a family medical clinic for nothing. She tried to stem the flow of the blood, but it was useless. She'd die once she fell unconscious, those things would certainly eat her, seeing as they had now stabbed her legs.
Toshiro had arrived in time to see her faint from loss of blood. "Karin!" he shouted, screamed more like. In about five seconds he had reached her, tearing her clothes to wrap around her wounds. It didn't help much, but she'd be fine until they managed to get to a safe place for him to try to perform healing kido.
The Hollows wailed, not pleased that Toshiro had arrived before they could eat their prey. They charged at him, stingers ready. He dived, pulling Karin with him.
What could he do?! He was useless! Hyorinmaru was not in his possession, and all he could do was weak kido. "That should scare them off for a while!" Toshiro thought, standing up. Toshiro performed a weak version of Way of Binding 31, and it made them fly off. No doubt they'd be back in a while, but at least he had enough time now to make a battle plan.
Kido was way too weak. No way would he be able to defeat them. Calling for help was stupid; he'd have to explain why he didn't have his powers, which would take time. Desperate, he looked around him. Not a single weapon in sight! He couldn't use Karin's sword, it'd be too heavy for him.
But it might be the only way to save her, a little voice in the back of his head told him. Besides, you don't know that it's too heavy for you. It could be almost as light as Hyorinmaru for all you know.
Sighing and wondering why he was listening to voices, he reached for the zanpakto. As soon as he touched it, it glowed red. He picked it up. The glow dulled. It wasn't as light as a feather, sure, but he could still use it. Excellent.
The Hollows howled, eager for revenge, and Toshiro was ready for them. In two quick moves, he had defeated them. He slid the zanpakto back into its sheath; it was never a good idea to perform a soul burial with another shinigami's zanpakto. Gently, he picked Karin up and headed for Urahara's shop.
"Don't worry, you'll be fine," he whispered to her. It took a few minutes to reach the Urahara shop, but if he had gone any faster she would have lost more blood. "Hey, Urahara!" he shouted when he arrived. "I need you right now!"
Mr. Urahara came out, grinning his weird grin. "Why, hello my young captain what may I-" he stopped once he saw Karin. His smile wavered, but stayed. "First mission against multiple Hollows?" he asked.
"First by herself. I have no knowledge of her past adventures with your shop helpers."
"I see. Tessai! You have a patient." The man he had called for came into view, wearing his sunglasses and apron as always. "Your patient is Karin; you remember her, correct? Good. She'll need to be healed as quickly as can be efficiently done." Tessai nodded, took Karin from Toshiro's hands, and moved to a different room.
Toshiro was reluctant to leave, but he had to go back to school. "I will return as soon as I can," he said, and left.
Hey guys! Did you like? I've been debating about whether or not other shinigami can use another's zanpakto. Like wizards' wands, y'know? So I went with only in special cases can things be done. Karin and her zanpakto will have a chat about it in chapter eight. Speaking of which, her zanpakto's name is... Honaga! Thanks everyone for voting. :)
I did think of making Urahara look sad, or upset, or troubled, but he's so weird that I didn't and instead made his smile waver a bit. I also hope that you guys don't mind that I made Karin lose use of both her legs and her sword arm. Don't worry; I'm sure Tessai will fix her in no time. :D
Hee. I've been wanting to make Toshiro perform in a play for eva. I'm not sure I'll be spending too much time on it, but I'd like you guys to guess about who in the story is going to get which part. By the way, if anyone knows, I'd LOVE to know Karin's friends' names.