HELLO EVERYONE. This story lives!! I'm so pleased that I have the tenth chapter done! You see, the computer this file is on (it is referred to as the 'downstairs computer') had a huge spazz. My dad needed to work on it to recover some files, and when I could finally get on, word wouldn't load! The internet wouldn't load! Well, my dad fixed it, and so, Fire and Ice and every other story is back on track!

I'm sorry that you guys had to wait so long for this! This was actually done on Monday! However, I am going back to updating regularly on the weekend.

DISCLAIMER. I own nothing besides Honaga. If I owned Bleach, then, well... I would be awesome. 8D

Yuzu carefully watched her sister and Hitsugaya for the rest of the evening. They acted quite intimate for acquaintances. That's it, she decided, I'm talking to Karin-chan tonight, and I'm going to get some answers. She's been hiding something from me. A sad frown crossed her face. I thought we were close.

And so, after dinner, Yuzu watched the two of them head upstairs, and heard two different doors shut. Isshin had left to check on the patients in the clinic and would be back in an hour. Now's my chance! Yuzu thought. I just need to hurry with the kitchen. She grabbed the dishes and hurriedly washed and dried them.

"Lunch, oh, what about lunch?" she fretted. As she debated about making lunch that evening or doing it in the morning, she heard her bedroom door open and close, then her brother's door open and shut. That cleared things up. "I'll just wake up earlier. This is the time to find out what's going on!"

Quietly, she headed upstairs. As she approached her brother's room, their voices were becoming louder. Instead of using a cup, she pressed her ear against the door and listened.

"Karin, no, I'm not forcing you to train when you're still weak from your last battle."

"But I've got to get better! How am I going to kill Hollows all by myself if I don't train?"

"Your body can't handle it!"

"Why won't it? I've been through pain before!"

"And you were an idiot, Karin, for running with that bruised leg."

"It wasn't sprained or twisted or broken, was it?"

"No, but you could have messed your knee up."

"Why are you saying it like it's my fault? That middle-schooler was the one who kicked me!"

"I still say your body won't be able to handle it. Instead of coming home tomorrow with bruises and cuts, you'll come home with full-out gashes."

"It's not like my skin got any more fragile."

"No, but the bruises take time to heal. Tessai did an excellent job, but like I said, your healing rate has been messed up because of that idiot Urahara."

"I'm sorry, but I don't care. I need to get better, and the only way to do that is to train. Plus, I'll get hurt in battle anyway. What's better than to practice with injuries?

"I said no and I mean no!" Toshiro shouted.

"I need to get better!" Karin screamed back.

I think I should make my move now, Yuzu thought, reaching for the door handle.

"Karin, I am your superior, and you are going to listen to me whether you like it or not," Toshiro stated firmly. The temperature was dropping slightly.

"So what? I'm not in a squad, so does it matter?"

Before he could say anything more, Yuzu flung the door open. "I think," she said, crossing her arms, "it's time I knew something." It was dead silent in the room, both of them staring at her with stricken faces. "You can't think that I don't know anything. I'm not that stupid." She shut the door and crossed the room, sitting on the bed.

"Yuzu, there's nothing going on," Karin began, but she was interrupted.

"No! There's been a lot going on these past few days! And years! Whatever onii-chan did while he still lived with us, you're connected to, I know it! I can't believe you guys would think I'm seriously dumb enough to never notice!" Yuzu frowned sadly. "So you are going to tell me right now what's going on so help me God!"

Toshiro and Karin looked at each other. What were they going to do? Ordinary humans were not allowed to know about shinigami. Except… Yuzu lived in a house with three shinigami. Wasn't it fair if she knew the dangers of their job? Well, technically, their dad wasn't active, but that didn't matter.

Toshiro sighed, looked at Karin, and nodded. He looked back at Yuzu. "First off, there are such things as shinigami. They are this world's protectors. There are also two types of souls."

Karin stepped in. "Evil ones called Hollows and good ones called pluses. Hollows eat other Hollows, pluses, and sometimes humans. Shinigami are supposed to protect pluses and send them on to the Soul Society, and to exorcise Hollows."

"I come from the Soul Society. There, I am Captain of the Tenth Squad." He waited a moment, letting it sink in.

"I don't get it Hitsugaya-kun. Why are you here if you're a Captain? And what are the ranks anyway?"

"The Soul Society," he answered, "has Thirteen Court Guard Squads. In those squads, there are seated officers and those that are not. The rankings vary, but usually there are at least seven seats. Captain, Vice-Captain, Third Seat, Fourth Seat, and so on. Aside from the Court Guard Squads, there are border patrol units."

"Okay, so, you're a Captain of a Squad." He nodded. "But why are you here?"

"I'm here because I was ordered to turn your sister into a shinigami representative."

"But Karin-chan's alive!"

Karin spoke again. "There's a way to turn a human into a shinigami. It doesn't always work," she warned, "but it is for a human to take a shinigami's sword and thrust it through their heart while the shinigami pours some spiritual pressure into the sword. Shinigami swords are called zanpaktos."

"So, you're a shinigami now?" Yuzu asked.

Karin nodded. "And Ichi-nii is too. He was made one when he was fifteen."

Yuzu's eyes widened. "But that was four years ago!"

"Yes. He's been a great help ever since," Toshiro said. "Right now, the Soul Society is at war against Hollows. Three of our Captains betrayed us and are in control of Hueco Mundo, the place where Hollows go. The situation's desperate, which is why I had to turn Karin into a shinigami."

Yuzu was silent. Her family was involved in a war right under her nose. "How can I help?" she asked quietly.

Toshiro was taken aback. He was thinking about simply replacing her memories and dealing with this when she figured it out again. But it was possible she could help, after all, she did live with three shinigami, and she must have some spiritual abilities. "You can help by covering for us for starters."

"And you can heal us when we get hurt!" Karin said brightly. "You're a better nurse than I am. And since Ichi-nii and I are shinigami, you must be able to have spiritual pressure."

"But I can only see spirits, not touch or talk to them," Yuzu protested.

"That should be enough," Toshiro said, "for what we want you to do. I can't teach you how to access your spiritual abilities for healing, because I know they're there, but when we come home, we'd like it if you were there to heal our wounds."

Yuzu thought. It meant that she could help her sister. The whole talk meant that they trusted her. "Okay, I'll do it," she declared.

"Great!" Karin exclaimed. "As for me, I'm going to bed. Good night Toshiro, good night Yuzu." She left the room, shutting the door behind her.

"Hitsugaya-kun, why do you let only Karin-chan call you by your first name?" Yuzu asked curiously.

"Sometimes, I don't know," he said softly. "I like it when she calls me by my first name."

"Hitsugaya-kun, if you hurt her, I'll make sure to tell Ichi-nii and I'm sure he'll come up with some way to make you pay." Yuzu stood up and headed towards the door.

"Hurt her how?" Toshiro asked, confused. He had only said two sentences!

"Karin-chan loves you, I can tell. And I can also tell that you love her. But if you do something stupid and think it's for the best, I'm sending my brother on you." She opened the door and left the room.

Karin was waiting for her back in their room. "How did you figure it out?" she asked. It was only too obvious what she meant.

"You guys were careless. For one, you were always together. That had to signify something. And then, I overheard you arguing about training. I'm not that dense you know," she said, crossing her arms.

"What if we were always together for a different reason?"

"I would find out about that reason. Even if it was that you guys were secretly dating. Of course, I'd be hurt you didn't trust me enough to keep your relationship a secret."

"Well, duh." Karin sighed with relief. "I actually feel better, now that you know."

"I feel better being trusted." Yuzu smiled and sat down on her bed. "But Karin-chan, please, be careful. Don't let yourself get hurt."

"Nah, I've fought Hollows before."

"That's not what I meant. I meant, are you okay with loving a shinigami?"

Karin froze. Gosh darn it, her sister was good! And people called Yuzu oblivious. She could either lie and pretend she didn't know what Yuzu was talking about, or she could tell the truth. "I am," she said, choosing the truth. "Even though I know it'll be painful, I'd like to think I love him."

"Why not just say you do?"

"Because face it, I hardly know him."

"True, I guess. But what about love at first sight?"

"Yuzu, have you been watching Cinderella lately?" Karin teased.

Yuzu blushed. "Only the Disney version!"

"Well, you've obviously never figured it out. Love at first sight doesn't happen in real life. You have to work at it."

"So you admit that you like him very much."

"I admit that I like him more than a friend should, and more than a human should feel for a shinigami."

"Then that's good enough for me," Yuzu stated simply. The two of them began undressing for bed as she thought. Karin-chan and Hitsugaya-kun may not think they're in love, but I do. The signs are too much to be just a simple crush. What Karin-chan says is true, but I believe that they a merely at the beginning of a deep, passionate love. How it shall end, I don't know, but I hope, for her sake—she glanced at her sister, who was staring, dazed, out the window, robotically going through movement—that it ends well.

You like? Was it okay?

My stories actually are written as they go. I have how it'll end and how it'll begin, but NEVER the middle. XD I rreaalllly need to fix that.

Anyway, I've decided to do a little 'fun' thing in my author's notes down here at the bottom from now on.

First, what's your favorite candy?

Mine, today (it varies), is mike and ikes.