OH MY GAWD this took FOREVER to write. -dies- Ugh. Foreevvverrrzzz. But I've finally managed it! By the way, this chapter is 5,656 words long. That's even longer than chapter seven (or maybe it was six, I forget now).
Standard disclaimer applies.
That's exactly what they were. Screwed. Ichigo stared down at Hitsugaya, who stared back up. "What are you doing in my house?" he demanded. "Aren't you supposed to be at the Soul Society or something?"
Toushirou's eye visibly twitched in irritation. "Orders from the Captain-Commander himself. Do I have to say more?"
"Yes. What are you doing in my house?" Ichigo repeated, foot tapping in impatience.
"I offered him a place to stay Ichi-nii," Karin cut it, taking Toushirou's arm. "If you need us, we'll be in my room, practicing."
"Wait! Practicing for what?" Ichigo called, face suddenly turning worried.
"The play of course!" she called down the stairs, and slammed the door.
"Onii-chan!" Yuzu cried, breaking into his thoughts. "I'm so glad you could visit! Come in!"
Upstairs while Yuzu was distracting (on purpose or not was unclear to the two of them) her brother, Karin watched Toushirou pace the room from her bed. "What's our excuse going to be? You could have easily gone and stayed at Orihime-nee's house, right?"
"Yeah, that's true. Though, I didn't and still don't feel like staying in another person's house without them knowing." His frown deepened.
"So, back to our problem. How am I going to defeat Hollows if my brother goes on the job instead? Plus, how am I even going to train when my brother's in town? Yuzu's going to want us to do about a zillion things everyday after school because he's home for who knows how long, I won't be able to get away."
"You're always playing soccer, right? You can say you need to practice soccer."
"You know… she might actually fall for that. Or, she'll understand that I need to train. After all, she does know what's going on."
"Well, let's practice this script anyway," Toushirou said, tossing her packet to her.
She easily caught it and flipped to one of the pages. Almost as soon as she began speaking, Ichigo barged in. "What the heck Ichigo? I thought I said we'd be practicing!" Karin had her hands on her hips, glaring at her brother.
"I… I was sent to come get you guys! Yuzu wants you!" He turned tail and ran from the room.
"Dunno if he's lying or not, but we'd better follow him," Karin said, shrugging.
That night neither Karin nor Toushirou got much sleep, as Ichigo constantly went into his sisters' room, threw the closet open, sighed in relief when he found Toushirou wasn't there, loudly ran down the stairs, stopped at the couch and leaned over, and ran back up when he found Toushirou was where he was supposed to be. The fifth time that happened, Toushirou gave an icy glare and threatened to freeze Ichigo if he did it one more time, because unlike Ichigo, he had school in the morning. Before Ichigo could ask why he'd be going to school, he said, "Part of the mission. I am to protect all spiritually-seeing in the vicinity. Now go to sleep Kurosaki, before I kill you." He turned over and pulled the sheets over his head.
Ichigo left in a huff, and at last the house got sleep.
Over the course of the next few days, Karin and Toushirou grew grumpier and grumpier. Every night, the same thing happened: Ichigo would constantly check to make sure that Karin and Toushirou were not sleeping in the same room, much to their annoyance.
"He's being overprotective, and I hate it," Karin grumbled to Toushirou. "He knows perfectly well that we're not in the same room."
"That may be, but pay attention." She barely had time to block his sword with hers. They had been sparring for the last three hours straight, because Toushirou had said that there were times you couldn't stop to rest during a battle. Karin parried and gave a side-swipe, managing to hit him in the ribs. He grunted, but retaliated.
"I don't understand why they do this everyday," Ami muttered to Hana. "I don't even know why we do this everyday." They were the only two that day; usually, they had about five more girls with them.
"I don't know why they do this either. But if they do anything out of line, we'll catch them in the act."
"I don't get what the point is. Karin's the captain of our team."
"We had to play an entire week and a half without her. And look, we survived."
"Hana, I don't really care…" Ami trailed off, still watching Toushirou and Karin spar. He's so cool… she thought, sighing inside. I wish I could get lessons, just so I could be near him…
"The rest of us care, so it doesn't matter what you think. We're watching out for both of them, if it makes you feel better."
Ami mumbled something, and resumed the watch.
"Toushirou," Karin muttered when their faces were close enough for a whispered conversation. "Have you—" she backed away, swinging her sword and then closing in again, "—noticed that we're being watched?"
"Of course I have," he muttered back, twisting away from her stab. "What do you expect me to do about it?"
"I'm not sure. But it's beginning to bother me."
"It provides an excellent training exercise. Sometimes, you'll fight being watched. This helps focus your mind."
Karin stiffened suddenly, throwing herself out of balance and almost being speared through her arm by his sword. "Hollow's nearby," she said seriously.
He checked his soul pager, and sure enough, it began beeping. "Two blocks down, nearby the grocery store." Toushirou tossed a soul candy to her, which she caught and swallowed quickly. "Be careful, we don't need another setback."
"Shut up, I know," she hissed, and they raced together towards the Hollow.
The Hollow this time around was easy to defeat, much to Toushirou's relief. "Okay," he called over to her. "We can have the rest of the afternoon off, since you defeated a Hollow."
"Really? Awesome!" Karin shouted, quickly jogging over to him. "Now I just need my body, and we'll be all set to do something." They walked to her house at a leisurely pace, quietly basking in each other's presence.
Just as they walked through the door, Ichigo looked up from the table. He stared at them, face growing red with anger. "Toushirou!" he shouted angrily. "What have you done to my sister?!" Ichigo jumped up, and lifted Toushirou roughly by the collar.
"Hey, hey, Ichigo, put him down!" Karin demanded, yanking on his hand. "He had orders from the Captain-Commander to do it, it's not like he did it because he wanted to!"
Ichigo's grip relaxed, and Toushirou was placed back on the floor. "What? You're saying that old man told Toushirou to make you into a shinigami representative?"
"He did. She did, however, have the opportunity to refuse," Toushirou answered. Karin looked at him, furious that he had divulged that particular piece of information.
"Yeah? And why didn't you Karin?" Ichigo demanded.
"Because, stupid, I want to do this. I wanted this job."
"Karin, don't you know how dangerous this job is?" Ichigo asked.
"Yes," she answered fiercely. "And now that you know, I don't need to hide it at all. Toushirou and I are running on a strict schedule, thanks. So if you don't mind, where's my body? We're going to go have some fun since I defeated a Hollow twenty minutes ago."
Ichigo was slightly shocked, but jabbed his thumb up the stairs. "She's in your room. Where will you be going?"
She started to run up the stairs. "Oh, you know a walk around town. Maybe a little shopping; who knows? We're just going out to relax."
Toushirou walked pass Ichigo, meaning to change his clothes, but was stopped. "If you hurt my sister, I'll kill you," Ichigo growled. He roughly let go.
Five minutes later Karin and Toushirou were walking out the door with promises to be in time for dinner. "Come on, let's hurry before he changes his mind," Karin whispered, walking faster.
"Do you know where we're going, exactly?" Toushirou asked, easily keeping up.
"The park. I didn't want to tell Ichigo that, because if he knew he'd follow us."
"If you don't want him following, it'd be easiest if we were on the rooftops."
"Oh, sure," her voice rose to a normal tone. "Like we can do that. Come on Toushirou, you don't have your powers yet; I'm not trusting jumping on rooftops until that happens."
He looked embarrassed, but stopped talking. They arrived at the park a short time later and sat at a bench secluded from the other people. "Hey, Toushirou?" Karin asked, facing him.
"Yeah, what?"
"When I first talked to you, you said something about memories."
Toushirou took a moment, but nodded, remembering. "What of it?"
"Can you tell me what those memories are?" she asked, voice growing smaller.
He frowned slightly. There was nothing to be afraid of. "Of course I can, why are you afraid of that?"
"You don't seem to like it when people ask into your private business," she said, sounding relieved.
"You might as well know what you can about me, since we're working together." He took a moment to collect his thoughts. "I was born in the West Rukongai, First District. Or, at least, I appeared there. We usually refer to those places as our birthplaces." He checked to see if Karin was following him. Her bright black-purple eyes were riveted upon him, so he continued. "It wasn't long before Momo found me and took me to her home, where she lived with someone she referred to as 'Grandmother' and urged me to do the same.
"We lived in this peaceful way for a few years. I rarely spoke to anyone besides the two I lived with, which was both my fault and others'. I wasn't social like they were, and they were scared of me. Instead, I spent most of my time exploring the areas I was in, but always making sure to never worry Momo and Grandmother.
"Then, Momo came home one day saying she wanted to go to the Soul Academy. I tried convincing her not to; after all, what good would it be to be a shinigami? Since we were from the Rukongai, the noble snobs wouldn't like us. She persisted, and she came to us to say that she'd be leaving, but she'd be back to visit."
"Did she visit very often?" Karin asked, taking a chance to speak.
"No. When I went to the Sereitei, I had plenty of opportunities to visit Grandmother. Granted, sometimes I didn't go to visit, but I still went more often then Momo did." He thought a moment, but continued with where he had left off. "It was Matsumoto who told me I needed to go to the Soul Academy. She told me that since my reiatsu was going about unchecked, I was slowly killing my Grandmother. So, regretfully, I left."
"Why didn't you want to be a shinigami?" Karin asked. "I thought you liked your job."
"I didn't want to be one because I didn't want the responsibilities."
Karin burst into laughter, causing him to blush. "What?! You didn't want the responsibilities? You're joking, right?" He shook his head. "Well, you've certainly undergone a personality change since then, because all you ever seem to talk about is responsibility."
He twitched, acknowledging her comment. "Well, I had to grow up considerably. I entered the school, became a shinigami shortly after, and was soon elevated to the rank of Captain."
"So, where do the memories come in?"
"Mostly my life in the Rukongai." He leaned back. "We weren't rich, but we lived in an okay house at the top of the valley. The view was beautiful. Grandmother grew a patch of watermelons behind the house for the two of us, especially for me since it's my favorite food. Momo and I used to talk about what we wanted to do with our lives. We'd make up crazy adventures for one another, and Grandmother would bring plates of sliced watermelon for us."
Karin began to feel lost, and lonely. Toushirou didn't need her, he had Momo, and they had grown up together. His affection for Momo was obvious. But why does it hurt this badly? We barely know each other compared to that. I mean, we've known each other for what, a month total? There's no reason I should be this hurt. No reason at all. Despite her reassurances to herself, she still felt injured.
Toushirou had been struggling to understand where he had gone wrong with Momo for so long. Hadn't he shown her how much he loved her? The hurt he felt when he saw how infatuated she was with Aizen shortly after entering the Academy that had lasted for so long was slowly washing away. But…why? he thought, somewhat confused. I'm quite positive that I loved her. So how can it be that she's becoming less and less important to me?
"Toushirou, I have a question for you," Karin said, interrupting his thoughts. He looked up. "Did you ever love Momo? I think I've asked you this before, but I really do want to know. It's important to me."
Will I hurt your feelings if I say yes? "I did. It seemed that it would always be that way, that I'd love Momo while she'd always be infatuated with Aizen."
Her face dropped, but she tried to put on a smile. "Well, now she can love you instead, since we know that Aizen's the bad guy."
He chuckled slightly, shaking his head. "No, it doesn't work that way Karin. Besides, when I close my eyes, she isn't who I see."
"Really? Wow, I'm impressed. I don't think I know how to do that."
He raised his eyebrows. "Well now, that's unusual." She punched his shoulder out of embarrassment. "Anyway, here, I'll tell you. Shut your eyes." She did so, and he did too. "Now, think of yourself with all your friends and family. Everyone is standing before you except one person. Who is standing next to you, as your husband? Because this is your wedding day."
Karin saw. Her husband's hand was clasped into hers, and she felt herself smile. She looked through her friends, seeing their happy faces, and her family. Her mother was there, which she supposed was okay, since this was not real, her sister and father were crying, and her brother was giving a happy grin too. After looking several times through them all, she began to worry. Where was Toushirou? Where was he? Where? After looking frantically again, she turned to ask her husband.
Her eyes widened. It was Toushirou, looking at her with love. She should have known. Of course it'd be him. No other guy has made me feel so complete, so happy, like Toushirou has. He's made me feel like I'm wanted and needed.
Toushirou, likewise, was looking through his friends. Not surprisingly, Momo was standing in front of him with everyone else instead of by his side. For some reason, she had never stood next to him. He had always considered it a fluke, since she had always stood right in front of him, instead of now, where she was standing with the others. Every time, he was unable to turn to see the girl with him for an unknown reason. So this time, he tried again.
And he succeeded. Smiling up at him, or maybe it was more like grinning, was Karin. This is right, he thought. This picture is complete.
Karin spoke now, interrupting his thoughts again. "But Toushirou, what if the person standing next to you is someone you can never have?"
"Well, what do you mean?" he asked, opening his eyes.
"I mean what I just said. What if there's something stopping you from being with that person?"
"Then… I don't know. Why?"
Should I tell him? I don't think I could bear it if I held this in for long, she thought mournfully. She stood up. "Because Toushirou. I see you." She turned to run, but he caught her hand like she had caught his so long ago.
"Karin, stop. I have to tell you something."
She waited, knowing that he was going to turn her down. She was never going to feel comfortable with him again after this.
"Karin, whenever I tried seeing this, I could never turn to see my wife."
"But you just said that you always saw Momo…" she said, confused.
"That's true, I did. She always stood right in front of me, like she was about to hug me. This time, she stood with the others. Also, this time, I was able to turn and see the woman next to me."
"And?" Her heart beat faster as she waited for him to finish.
"I saw you."
Okay, bye-bye heart, Karin thought. "Don't be joking, seriously?"
"I'm dead serious."
"Toushirou, I—" she was interrupted by a voice.
"Well, look at this. The young Captain Hitsugaya, in love with a human girl? And here I thought that you'd always be in love with dear Hinamori-kun."
Toushirou jolted at the voice, but shot up and slid in front of Karin. "Aizen! Come out!"
The voice laughed. "I'm sorry; my voice is only being projected over to where the two of you can hear me. I am not in the vicinity."
Toushirou relaxed slightly. Neither of them was prepared to fight, so it was good Aizen was not there to attack them. "Then what do you want?" he demanded.
Aizen laughed again. "I want this war to end of course. I have thought about this for a while now, and I have made my decision. I wish to battle you, Hitsugaya-kun, and your lovely partner here. The loser dies, as it is only natural."
Toushirou was whiter-skinned than most everyone else due to his having the natural affinity to things cold and white. At this statement, however, his normally white skin turned four shades whiter. "Are you playing with me? She hasn't even activated shikai!"
"Well then, you'll just have to train her until she does, hmm?" Aizen's voice paused. "All right, I suppose it is fair. You may tell the young Ichigo Kurosaki if you so wish. However, he is not allowed to interfere with our fight. Three against one is very unfair you know."
"Then what's the point of telling him?" Karin demanded, speaking for the first time.
"To help you activate your shikai of course. Fighting against someone who has access to their shinigami powers is much better than someone who does not." Their eyes widened, but they supposed it was only natural that he knew. "This fight will take place in three weeks tomorrow, at eleven in the evening. Have a good day you two." Aizen spoke no more.
Silence followed for a few minutes before Karin let out a wild scream. Toushirou jumped and reached a hand out to her, but she whacked it away and raced over to a nearby tree. Still screaming, she kicked the tree with so much ferocity that she was in danger of making it fall.
"Karin! Stop!" Toushirou cried, running after her. She paid him no mind and moved on to another tree, kicking so hard that the tree rattled each time. "Karin! Stop now, that's an order!" Toushirou demanded. Simply approaching someone who was in a foul mood like that would definitely mean receiving an injury, which he was not willing to do.
"It's not fair!" Karin finally shouted, stomping on the ground. "Why can't anything be normal around here?! My whole life there's always been some stupid danger that I have to be protected from! When is it going to be my turn to do anything?" She gave the tree she had been kicking a final swipe, causing it to teeter but stay it place.
"That's enough!" Toushirou cried angrily. "Nothing is fair, got it? Nothing! So get used to the idea!"
Karin stared at him, shocked to the core. Had he always been so… pessimistic? "Toushirou…" she said, not knowing what else to say.
"Listen to me," he said in a cold voice. "A mission has been laid before you. It is to eliminate Aizen in a tag-team consisting of yourself and me. This is an honor that you should be pleased to receive. There are many people in the Soul Society who hold a grudge against him and would gladly take the chance to kill him." The temperature began to drop. "Now, soldier, to kill him with me you must train until you at least reach shikai. You will not stop until that happens." His eyes narrowed in warning. "Go home and rest well soldier. Because starting tomorrow, you're going to be training and training only. Forget school and soccer, because this isn't the time to think about pleasant amusements." With that, he turned sharply on his heel and left.
Karin's mouth hung open. Had Toushirou seriously called her soldier, like she was simply a playing piece on a chessboard? She was completely speechless. He had called her soldier twice. That was more insult than if he had scolded her like a small child. In the latter case, he would have used her name. He took up his responsibility as a captain, didn't he? Toushirou can't afford to have an immature person like me ruining the chances of the victory of the Soul Society… Our lives are at stake… As her thoughts drifted away, she felt the tears coming.
It was hard, but despite her efforts, the tears fell. And when they did, she knew that she could not stop them. Attempting to choke back a sob, she ran out of the park and towards her school. If anyone was there, it'd only be the teachers. She'd be able to do what she wanted to in peace.
~*~*~
"You are a great fool," an icy voice said.
"Yeah, well, at least I'm able to help my shinigami," replied a hot one.
"You're the one who sucked away most of my power!"
"It's because I love you and I missed you so much, I wanted all of you for myself."
"Don't be ridiculous."
"Sorry."
"Apology accepted. But anyway, what are we going to do? Didn't you say that Aizen didn't want our shinigami to form a tag-team?"
"Yeah, he does."
"Then why did he just challenge them to a battle?"
"How on all things that burn should I know? I've only woken up recently."
"Hmph. This is why I'm the older one."
"Since when have I cared?" the burning, feminine voice retorted.
"Never. She's going to have to be able to call upon you though, because there's no icy way that they'll kill him otherwise."
"There isn't a fiery way either, just to let you know."
"Stop trying to turn this situation into a game."
"Bite me."
"No thanks, last time I did that, you melted half my teeth."
"Wonderful times."
"Anyway, just because we know how to work together out there doesn't mean they know how to direct us. And as it is written, we can't do anything without their direction."
"Well, duh, smarty. When we think it's the best time to use those attacks, we'll tell them what to do. They're smart enough to do as we say."
"With his calling her soldier, I don't think she'll want to work with him."
"No. I will talk with her if she won't."
"I can't talk to him and give him a lecture like you can. Make it good."
"You'll be back with him in less than a week, don't slack off."
"Make me."
"Oh, I think I will. When I'm finally let out and he calls on you, I'll tackle you once the battle's over."
"Don't. If you do, I may have to resort to freezing those beautiful scales of yours."
"Yeah, well, I've always been a hardy type."
"Why don't you go comfort the poor girl now? She needs it."
"Fine. Goodbye." The voice paused.
"Anything else?" Her icy, masculine partner asked.
"Just so you know I treasure you very much."
"I do know." With a soft whoosh sound, the other figure disappeared from the connection.
~*~*~
Karin was running around the track at school. She'd already cried the last of her tears and wiped away the remains four laps ago. Running like this wasn't a problem as she believed it helped her build endurance. And she would keep running until she literally dropped. I'm going to prove my worth to him! I'll show him I'm not just some soldier!
She ran faster, not counting any longer. There was no point in it, as she didn't care how many laps she ran. Karin would not stop until she could move no more, no matter how much her muscles screamed at her to stop.
"You devote yourself to him. I am astonished you would put yourself in physical harm for him."
"I want him to realize that I'm not just a nameless soldier," Karin said through gritted teeth.
"You know that's not what he thinks of you."
"No, I don't."
"Well, he doesn't. He treasures you just like I treasure my mate."
"Then why did he talk to me like that?"
"Because you were acting like a child and he needed to step back into his captain's position to force you to stay focused. Besides, I'm sure that he didn't like the pity party as much as I did."
"S-sorry," Karin mumbled, looking at the ground.
"You're over it now though, right? So there's nothing to worry about. Just attain shikai and then we can work on the tag-team tactics."
"He doesn't have his sword though, how are we supposed to practice?"
"He'll gain it in about a week, don't worry."
"How do you know?"
"I thought I told you that his zanpaku-to and I are friends."
"Yeah, I think you've mentioned it once or twice."
"Well, I've talked to him recently. He'll be back soon, don't you worry."
"I'm more worried about Toushirou."
"I know you love him."
"Thanks for telling me; that's the problem!" Karin shouted.
"What are you mad at me for?" Her companion's voice didn't sound pleased in the slightest.
"How can I love him? How can he love me? We barely know each other!"
"Consider this. You spend nearly every waking moment with him. Compared to that, I don't think that the few visits he and Hinamori-chan shared these last couple of decades means anything."
"What about the time they grew up, huh?"
"Simple. She left him early, when they were in the Academy they didn't interact much. When they had lived together, often he was out or she was. Added together, I'm quite positive that their time together can be added to maybe four months, all hours being slotted in."
"Put it that way, we've known each other less than a month."
"Hardly. You two have known each other for more than a lifetime."
"Don't play games with me, please. That's impossible."
"Please. I don't play games." Karin stopped and raised an eyebrow. "Okay, okay, I like to play games, but I'm not kidding about this."
"I still don't see how that can be." She began to pick her pace back up.
"As part of your soul, I am you, correct?"
"Duh."
"And as part of Hitsugaya-kun's soul, Hyourinmaru is him, right?"
"Yeah…"
"Well, there you go. Through us, parts of you, you have known each other for a very long time."
Karin was silent for a moment, dumbstruck. "That is some twisted logic you've got there," she managed to say at last.
"Whatever works, right?"
"Yeah yeah, whatever." Karin continued running until it was well after dark. She knew that Yuzu would be terrified and that Ichigo would blame Toushirou without question. Her father would probably be sobbing into her mother's poster and Toushirou would be who knew where. Yet it didn't seem to matter. She could only continue; she couldn't stop the rhythm of her feet pounding on the track.
It was maybe two hours later that she finally dropped to the ground. "I can't go on," she mumbled, and promptly collapsed. "I can't move anything…" To prove her point, her pinky wouldn't respond when she tried wiggling it. She attempted to chuckle, but coughed instead. "I guess I did what I wanted, now all I have to do is wait for morning," she muttered before falling asleep.
It wasn't long before Toushirou jogged over to her side and sat down next to her. He had known that she was at the school, he could sense that much at least. "I'm sorry," he whispered to her. "I didn't think you would wear yourself out like this." Gently, he turned her over and maneuvered her until he was holding her in his arms. "Everyone's worried about you. Your brother blamed me for everything of course. I guess he was right, because I was stupid enough to yell at you. You're still a human girl; I shouldn't have treated you like a soldier or a fully-grown adult." She was still sleeping and would likely stay asleep while he was talking.
"Hitsugaya-kun, can you hear me?" a deep yet feminine voice asked. He started, but nodded. Likely it was Karin's zanpaku-to, though he didn't exactly understand why he could hear hers when she couldn't materialize her spirit. "Good. I've needed to speak to you."
"What do you want?" Toushirou asked.
"Take care of her, but be careful. She's still only fifteen."
He felt somewhat ashamed. "Yeah, I know that, I was not exactly gentle with my orders."
"You're just used to ordering around people who look older than you."
"How are you speaking to me anyway?" Toushirou asked, curious.
"Because of a reason I can't tell you."
"I should have known," he grumbled. Zanpaku-tos and their need to keep everything mysterious! "Fine then. Be mysterious."
"Good. Anyway, whenever the two of you are able to activate shikai at the same time, which will be hopefully soon, don't be afraid to make attacks together."
"I will not, if you say so." He was still somewhat doubtful of making fire and ice fight together. She did not speak again, and he relaxed. Karin was still asleep, but he'd need to take her home soon or her brother would get even angrier. He stood up, her still in his arms, and started walking over to her house.
"Karin, I know you can't hear me, so when you wake up at some point I'll tell you this." He took in a deep breath, but continued. "I love you. I know you'll think that there's no way I could, but I do." Now that he said it, it was not as frightening to think about. Of course, there was still the Soul Society to worry about, but he was still allowed to love her from afar, right? So far as he knew, there was no rule against that.
He walked, and was soon at the front door of her house. "Now, I just hope I won't get killed," he muttered, opening the door and stepping in.
"Hitsugaya-kun, did you find her?" Yuzu asked immediately, rushing towards the entrance. She stopped when she saw him.
"Yeah, I found her at the school, at the track." He made to head up the stairs to be stopped by Ichigo.
"Was she like that when you found her?" Ichigo asked, scowling.
"Yes. She was collapsed on the track. She needs to get in bed." He moved past him and went up the stairs.
When Ichigo had heard the door shut, he turned to Yuzu. "Are you sure that they're in love Yuzu? They barely know each other! Especially after that performance, I don't think so."
"Onii-chan, have a little faith in them," Yuzu pleaded. "They really do love each other. They spend so much time together; I don't see how they couldn't. It's in their words and actions, please don't try to ruin their relationship!"
"But he's hurt her Yuzu; can't you see? Her face had tear stains on it!"
"Everyone in love cries from arguments Onii-chan; I didn't say their love was perfect." She began preparing a late meal for Toushirou, who hadn't eaten anything at dinner. "I mean, come on; you still have girl troubles, don't you?"
Ichigo flushed from embarrassment. "How did you—"
"Know? Because I am an observant person when it comes to relationships." She tested the soup, found it acceptable, and began making a tray to go upstairs. Halfway up the stairs, she turned and said, "Onii-chan, Karin-chan loves you, but she doesn't like it when you're overprotective." She smiled and continued up the stairs.
"Hitsugaya-kun, I've brought you some dinner," she said, entering the room she shared with Karin. He was sitting by Karin's bed, so she put the tray on her bedside table. "Do you know what happened to her?" she asked, sitting next to him.
"She purposefully wore herself out," he said, voice tinged with sadness.
"Why?" she asked, surprised that her sister would do that.
"I'm not quite sure, but I think it's because I called her soldier twice."
"Karin-chan wouldn't normally overreact… How did you tell it to her?"
"Rather coldly, like the captain I'm supposed to be."
"That would have done it then. Well, as long as you say sorry to her, I'm sure she'll forgive you."
"Thank you, Yuzu," he said, looking at her with a tiny smile.
"You're welcome Hitsugaya-kun." She smiled in response and stood up. "Eat, and bring down the dishes. See you later." Yuzu shut the door behind her.
He did as he was told and quickly cleaned the bowl. Toushirou leaned down, kissed her on the forehead, and left with the tray. "Good night Karin." The door shut softly behind him.
In regards as to why Toushirou didn't bother to make Ichigo let go of him in the beginning of the chapter, I don't really know. I figure it was because he just didn't feel like making him let go. Which is lazy of him, but.... Whatever.
Unusually OOC, I know, but please, this thing wrote itself. Seriously. It took all of my willpower to make the stupid chapter end where it did. It was telling me, "No, I'm just going to keep going on and on and on, and there's nothing you can do about it!" Eventually I did though.
Oh! And since today's Valentine's Day, here's a related question. What's your favorite saying on those awful tasting heart candies?
Mine is "I'm Yours." Dunno why, I just like it.