Author Note: Hello everyone! This is CrazyAce, reporting for duty! (PokerFace also says hi.) We welcome you to the next installment of Midnight Snow. Thank you for keeping up with us, and we do hope you enjoy this latest chapter. Also, we'd like to give a heartfelt bow of gratitude to anyone who alerted, favorited (is that even a word?), or reviewed this story, namely: Spockie, anna1594, Tutrtle-chan in Blue, , Tharrow, ticking-clocks8, XX825N12319W, oOoHKoOo, Red-Haired-Jack, NarayaEdea, ichilover3, Revanent. You guys are awesome! And thanks to everyone who just took the time to read this story; we're grateful for all of you.

Please note that this chapter is Karin-centric, and Hitsugaya makes no direct appearances. But Ch. 3's all about him, so don't worry. :)

Normal = prose, italics = thoughts or inner conversations

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. They belong solely to Tite Kubo. However, if there was an alternate universe where I do own Bleach, I will promptly give my left arm to switch with my other self. I also do not own any of the chapter titles. Cookies for anyone who guesses which poems they're from. Ooh, but I do own Dr. Takano. :)

Chapter 2: All That's Best of Dark and Bright

i.

The boutique was a lot less frilly than she had expected. It was actually kind of tasteful, and had the type of clothes she might even wear without wanting to burn right afterwards. Still, the name left a little something to be desired. After all, what kind of person named a store "Exquisitely You"? Something about it just hinted at lace and lingerie, and there was a section of such items discreetly tucked away in a back corner of the store. But overall, the effect was one of understated elegance.

She sincerely hoped Yuzu didn't expect her to pay for any of the stuff. They looked expensive. She dug out her wallet, and checked out the measly bills contained within. Yup, definitely broke. Shrugging carelessly, she tossed her water bottle up into the air and caught it, wondering when they'd get out of the store and out onto a soccer field.

Fingering a black turtleneck, she studiously avoided the gaze of one of the more "helpful" employees, and quirked a brow in surprise as she caught sight of the price tag on the sweater. It was cheaper than she expected for an item of decent quality. Probably why Yuzu had decided to drop by. If there was one thing her sister was good at (besides cooking, cleaning, sewing, and generally being perfect), it was finding a bargain.

Moving on to the back of the store, she joined her sheepish and embarrassed (yet somehow enthusiastic) gang of friends as they held an assortment of clothing, shopping bags, and purses (Yuzu always carried two, usually one inside the other, Kami-sama knew why). They were hanging out in front of the dressing rooms, which were just across the lingerie area. Karin could see Ryohei making eyes at one of the store clerks, who giggled flirtatiously and fluttered her own eyes back at him. Pinta assiduously stared up at the ceiling, trying to ignore the flower-embossed bag hanging on his arm. Donny and Kazuya were arguing over which looked better on Yuzu, the black pencil skirt or the bright green dress. What was most disturbing about that last scene was that those two were neither gay nor hot for Yuzu—they just liked fashion. All of them were waiting patiently for the star of the show to appear and model off her latest choices, oohing and aahing as she twirled around—the perfect entourage.

Rolling her eyes at her friends' devoted fawning, Karin stepped forward and simply said, "Pick the other one, Yuzu. Yellow suits you better than black, and besides, that one doesn't exactly fit you properly."

Yuzu giggled, and replied, "It's not for me, silly. It's for you!"

Karin choked on the water she was sipping. "What?" she spluttered.

"Well, since you refuse to try on any clothes, I have to try them out for you, to see if they're comfortable. This dress is in your size, and you always look good in black," Yuzu stated, matter-of-fact.

"Yeah, Kurosaki, you look stunning in black," said Donny emphatically, agreeing completely with her sister. That traitor, Karin thought angrily. Should've known he'd side with Yuzu. She turned to her other friends for support, only to remember what they were actually like.

" Ye-aaahh, Kurosaki looks stunning in black," said Ryohei and Pinta tauntingly, before collapsing on the floor in a fit of laughter. Glaring balefully at them, Karin moved to kick them both in their obviously addled heads, before Kazuya's question stopped her in her tracks.

"But is she going to need a dress any time soon? I mean, graduation's not until the middle of next year. That thing will just hang in the back of her closet for months, unless she decides to toss it," Kazuya said.

"Hmmm. That's a good point. Besides, Kurosaki's not really the type of person to wear dresses, even if she does look good in them," Donny replied.

"You think I look good in dresses?" asked Karin incredulously, only to be met with thoughtful nods from everyone around her.

"Yeah," said Ryohei. "They even make you look like an actual girl. Ouch! What was that for, Kurosaki-chan?" he exclaimed, rubbing his now-bruised shin.

"She is a girl!" said Yuzu crossly, coming to her sister's defense.

"But only in a fake kind of way!" Ryohei protested.

Karin couldn't help but laugh at this, watching her friends and her sister argue over the merits of her beauty and the definition of "female." Still, it was reassuring to see that she was considered just one of the guys. She wouldn't know what to do with herself in a relationship. Much better to leave the mushy stuff to Yuzu. Now, all she had to do was convince Goat-chin of that…

Seeing the argument begin to escalate, she decided to step in and save herself the hassle of interfering in a full-out scene: "Just buy the stupid dress for me."

At the shocked looks on the faces of her friends, Karin continued, "What? I'm sure it'll fit fine. Yuzu and I've got something formal-ish coming up, so I am gonna need it. Besides, it'll make Goat-chin ecstatic to see me showing an interest in something other than school or soccer balls."

Yuzu smiled happily, battle won without too much bloodshed, and made her way over to the cashier, beckoning Pinta and Ryohei to follow her, as they were her main packhorses and carried the majority of her selections. Karin's black dress she proudly carried herself, much like a trophy of war. Donny and Kazuya trailed faithfully behind them, already making plans to join Yuzu for her next expedition. Karin smirked and shook her head. She should've known that this trip would result in torture for herself alone. At least she'd make the others suffer once they got outside. Seemed like a pretty good day for a soccer game, and after surviving that shopping excursion, she certainly deserved it.

Humming quietly, she made her way outside, pulling the cap low over her eyes in an effort to shade them from the bright glare of the sun. Upon hearing the gang plus Yuzu exit behind her, talking loudly and generally making a public nuisance of themselves, she walked towards her beat-up, black truck, hoping she could get everyone inside without too much fuss. She hated it when she drew attention, preferring instead to watch silently from the edges, but when she was with her friends, lying low was impossible to do. This point was dramatically illustrated when Ryohei and Kazuya started hitting each other with the shopping bags. Oh, well. It wasn't as if she cared what other people thought anyway, and it's not like she was involved this time, so might as well let the passerby stare.

Soon enough, they were making their way back home. The seating arrangements were as follows: Karin was driving and Yuzu was riding shotgun, and the four idiots were crammed in the back, along with all the newly purchased merchandise. Oh, yes, thought Karin, grinning evilly as she watched their discomfort in the rearview mirror. Revenge is sweet. And she turned the radio on louder, ignoring the protests from the guys as she subjected them to Yuzu's favorite music station.

ii.

They left Yuzu at the house, and she graciously sent them on their way with a wave and a smile. As soon as she was out of sight, Karin revved the engine, heading straight for the soccer field, grinning while the guys whooped and cheered in the back. Ryohei climbed over the seats to the front ("Get off, you idiot! Do you want me to lose my license!"), and he and Donny were now arguing over whether or not their high school's soccer team would win the coming tournament. Within five minutes, Kazuya was trying to get his glasses back from Pinta, Pinta was trying to get Donny's foot out of his face, Donny was trying to strangle Ryohei, and Ryohei was laughing madly at the tangled mess they made. All in all, it was just another car ride, and Karin just rolled her eyes at their antics and sharply told them to knock it off, secretly happy to be in the midst of it all.

When they got to the field, Karin stepped out of the truck and stared for a second at that expanse of green space, at the golden light that grazed each blade of grass. Breathing in the scent of fresh air, she gave a fierce grin and began to stretch her limber body, looking forward to an hour spent playing a good, hard game of soccer. She divided up their group into two teams, with Ryohei, Donny, and Pinta on one side, and her and Kazuya on the other (it was vastly uneven, but the boys' pride would never let them play four-on-one). Then the game was on, and she was running free, free, free, glorying in the feel of the wind in her hair, the breath whooshing in her lungs, the ease of her graceful, fluid movements, and the racing beat of her heart, blood flowing red and swift within her. Inhale, exhale. Run, dodge, kick. Exhale, inhale. Block, step, sidestep, pass. Feel the sun, the wind, the grass beneath her feet. Fall back some, protect the goal. Oooh, should've anticipated that fake. Sprint a little, keeping the stride easy, and—there! Steal the ball, run it down the field, dodge Ryohei's attempt to stop her, stick her tongue out at Pinta, and drive the ball straight into the goal, leaving Donny to fall flat on his face. Slap hands with Kazuya, do a little victory dance. Jump up and down, feeling this exhilaration, this contentment, this sense of belonging.

And forget for a moment that tonight she'll dream of dragons and castles, and live a fairy tale straight from the Brothers Grimm. Here and now, she was fully awake and fully alive. This was her world. She couldn't let herself forget that. She wouldn't let herself forget that.

"Kurosaki…Kurosaki!" Kazuya yelled.

"What?" she snapped, shaken out of her reverie. Damn. She got sidetracked again. Looking over at the guys, she lifted her brows, silently asking what the hell they wanted.

"You were zoned out again, Kurosaki. We've been calling you for about two minutes now. Donny was thinking about his stupid stomach again, and he wanted to grab some pizza. Figured we might as well join him, maybe go for a movie first or hang at the arcade. You know, just usual stuff," said Ryohei. "You gonna come?"

"Nah. You guys go on without me. I've got—"

"Studying to do. We know, we know," they said in unison, rolling their eyes in exasperation.

"Gonna be a great cardiologist someday, right, Kurosaki? So you better hit those books," said Pinta.

She scowled. "If you knew what I was going to say beforehand, why'd you even bother asking, idiots?" she said.

"Because it's what friends do, Kurosaki," replied Pinta. "They ask."

Touched, Karin just stared at her gang. They stared back, and for a second, all was right in her world, dreams included. Then she broke her gaze, scowled, and said, "Even if you spout that wimpy talk, I'm not driving you guys there."

And listening to a chorus of their groans, she walked away smiling.

iii.

Driving back home, Karin thought idly of the school assignments she had waiting for her. Like her brother, she was smart and willing to work hard to get what she wanted. But a big difference between the two of them was that she didn't want to be a shinigami, to protect lives by wielding a sword and fighting—not that she held any judgments against her brother's choices. Or against swords for that matter; after all, in addition to being the captain of the girls' soccer team, she was also the kendo team's vice-captain. But fighting wasn't what she wanted to do with her life. No, she didn't want to cause injuries or hurt people; she wanted to heal them, to fix them up after they'd been broken down, which had always struck her as the more difficult feat. She remembered how easily violence had shattered her world when her mother died, and how difficult it was to make life better again.

It had actually been a ghost who'd helped put her world back together. (This was back in the day before they'd become whiny pests who wouldn't leave her alone, back when she'd still acknowledged they existed.) Her very first ghost.

He was an elderly man who'd died peacefully in his sleep. She met him while visiting the park with Yuzu, and he'd sat down at the nearby bench, just watching the birds. Yuzu and her father hadn't seen anything, and her brother was still at school, so Karin was the only one he could talk to. Not that he'd talked much at first; he was a rather quiet ghost, content to just sit and watch the world go by.

But day after day, she'd stare at him and talk to him and try and share her snacks with him, the way her mother had told her good people did. She hadn't known he was dead at the time, so she'd treated him just like a normal person and disregarded the way people asked her about her new "imaginary" friend. The first time she ever figured out he was different was when she'd introduced him to Yuzu, and her twin had totally ignored his outstretched hand, preferring instead to shake thin air. But she'd shrugged it off with her usual aplomb, and gone on talking to Dr. Takano. That was his name. Dr. Takano.

He'd taught her a lot of things, like how to tell time by looking at the sun, how to get birds to land on you, how to kick a ball so it would curve…and how to tell the living from the dead. It had taken a while before she understood that there was a difference, but he'd shown her how to sense the distinctive…feel of a soul. In someone who was alive, it felt a lot like the sun, nice and warm and bright. In someone dead, like himself, it was still pretty warm if they had just recently died, or if there was something to tie them closely to the world of the living. But sometimes, a soul would get colder and colder, and eventually something bad would happen to them. Or at least that's what Dr. Takano assumed, as the cold souls disappeared often, and he never knew what happened to them.

Most souls actually left as soon as they died, but sometimes there were extenuating circumstances. Karin had scrunched her face at this word, and he'd explained that this meant that sometimes a soul just had to stay behind, because they had something they had to do before they left. Karin had nodded, and asked what was keeping him here. He'd smiled sadly, and said that he'd died before he could say goodbye to his family, or see his granddaughter smile one last time. She reminded him an awful lot of his little Kyoko, and that was probably why he was drawn to her. Karin had stuck her chest out proudly at this, and said that she'd love it if he was her grandfather, and that he could stay forever if he wanted.

After all, he was the best listener ever, and he never got tired of her stories. He'd sit without interrupting her, and always listened with the gravest intensity. It made her feel good, to be treated just like an important adult. She hadn't been cared for that way since her mother died.

So she happily told him all about how she wanted to go to school like her brother, and how she could climb trees higher than the neighborhood boys, and how Yuzu could make the best cookies and she didn't understand why she always burnt hers…

…And how she missed her mother so much that she was sure her heart was literally breaking to pieces. At this, he'd nodded slowly and held her hand, and she'd fought the urge to just break down and cry. Then he'd rummaged in the little bag next to himself and pulled out a stethoscope.

"That's just like the ones my Daddy has," she stated in surprise.

He'd nodded once more and simply knelt in front of her. "May I?" he asked, holding up the instrument.

She'd sniffed and nodded in reply, and he'd put the stethoscope to her chest and listened to her heart with the same tender seriousness as when he'd listened to her stories. After a second or two, he'd put the earphones on her head, and let her listen to the soothing rhythm. Th-thump. Th-thump. Th-thump, went her heart. Taking the stethoscope off, he put it back in his bag and sat down next to her once more.

"When I was still alive, I was a cardiologist, you know," he stated.

"A cart-ee-lo-jis?" Karin asked.

"Mm-hm. That's a special kind of doctor who helps people when their hearts are broken," Dr. Takano said.

Karin's eyes had widened, and she'd asked, "Can you fix my heart, Dr. Takano?"

"No, my dear, I'm afraid not," he'd sadly replied. "This is the kind of broken heart that a doctor can't heal."

Karin had looked down, disappointed. If Dr. Takano, the kindest, wisest person she'd ever met (besides her mother, of course), couldn't fix her heart, who could? Now she really was crying.

Suddenly a pristine white handkerchief was in front of her, gently wiping her eyes.

"Now, now, Karin-chan, there's no need to cry. Remember your heartbeat. It sounded good and strong, didn't it? To me, it certainly sounded like one of the strongest hearts I've ever listened to," Dr. Takano said. "Now, a heart like that, it can get broken and just keep on going.
It may be hard, and it may be painful, but eventually it will heal. A heart like that won't stay broken forever."

"You really think so?" she'd hiccupped.

"No, Karin-chan. I know so." And he'd smiled at her. And for the first time in a long time, she'd let herself give a smile back, one without any sadness in it.

Seeing the smile, Dr. Takano had stood up and said, "I really should be going, Karin-chan."

Puzzled, she'd asked, "Going where?"

"To heaven, of course. And there I'll find your mother, and tell her all about how her daughter is doing just fine and bravely smiling each day, even if it hurts her soul a little. And I'll tell her how I had the honor of listening to that special young lady's heart." With that, Dr. Takano had patted her head, waved good-bye, and faded into thin air.

That was the last time she'd ever seen him, and the last time she'd ever cried about her mother. From that day on, she knew exactly what she wanted to be: a cardiologist. Just like Dr. Takano. So she'd determined to get the best grades in her class, get into a good college, and go on into a prestigious medical school. Through her father, she already had important contacts, but she knew that hard work and bullheaded determination were necessary to get where she wanted to be. Medicine was a highly competitive field, cardiology more so. And she could count the number of high-ranking women cardiologists in Japan on one hand. She'd picked a hard path, in some ways as hard as Ichi-nii's, but she wasn't going to let anything stop her from achieving her goals. Not even freaky dreams.

Her thoughts drifted back to the present, and she noted the time, glancing out the window at the setting sun. Looking a little ahead, she smirked a little when she noticed where she was.

The railing.

It was where she'd met Hitsugaya Toushirou, one fateful day six years ago. Oh, technically they'd met when she'd kicked her ball away in a fit of ire and angst, but who counted a five-second exchange? No, their first conversation had been right…here.

And she stopped her truck and got out to watch the sunset, thinking now of memories and carefree days and a white-haired boy who'd made her lose her breath. In a non-romantic way, of course. Forcing her to run all over Karakura looking for him wasn't exactly the kind of reason why a boy set a girl's heart pounding. And admiration over his prowess at soccer and awe over his powers as a shinigami were the closest she'd ever gotten to starry-eyed devotion. She respected him, and she liked his company. He'd made her laugh during one of the most worry-filled times in her life, and he'd saved her from humiliating defeat on the soccer field. What was not to like? And of course…he was her best friend.

After the war had ended, and Aizen—that jerk-face, how she despised him—had been defeated, Ichi-nii had come home, arm slung over their father, both wearing shikahushos. And she'd gone out and kicked both of them right in their smug, elated faces. Then she'd sat down and bawled her eyes out, and Yuzu had come running, laughing and sobbing and talking all at once, and she'd sat down right beside her, and they'd cried together while Ichi-nii and Goat-chin had wrapped their arms around them.

Life had been…a little chaotic after that. Her father had explained about his life after death, her brother spilled the beans about why he'd been gone getting half-killed all the time, Kon had elucidated why he could no longer be Bostov, and Karin had clarified about how she'd found out about it all. Yuzu had just taken it in stride and made them dinner as usual.

Shortly after, they had received an invitation from Rukia-nee-chan, to a ball in Soul Society in celebration of the end of the war. Yuzu had dragged her along, giddy because it was the first glimpse into a world she'd only known about through secondhand information. Besides, Jinta-kun had formally asked her for a dance. Karin had hung out by the punch bowl, watching her twin from the sidelines and surreptitiously observing the goings-on. She'd then retreated to a nearby balcony when the atmosphere began getting a little too festive. She hated crowds, after all. Too much noise and too much energy, and not enough control.

She'd caught a glimpse of him, then; she'd waved him down, and he'd avoided her until she mentioned how she wouldn't want to hang out with such a midget anyway—and then he'd jumped right in her face, telling her quite loudly how he was not a super-midget. She'd laughed, he'd nearly burst a blood vessel, and somehow they spent the rest of the night talking. Well, that wasn't entirely true, as Karin had done the talking, mostly about soccer and video games and certain heavy metal bands she was fond of, and Hitsugaya had done the listening, just replying with one-word answers every now and then. She'd been slightly alarmed at herself, and wondered if the punch had been spiked, because she never talked this much, especially not to arrogant boys she barely knew…when he'd said, "It's good to see that you're the same as ever."

Just as if they were old friends catching up. As if nothing about this conversation was out of the ordinary. And somehow, she'd found herself forgetting that they were strangers, that he wasn't someone she was sure she could trust. So she ignored the warning signals her brain was sending, because her heart was saying that he was someone she could trust, could depend on for anything. So she'd replied, "Of course I'm the same, you idiot. It's only been two months since you've seen me. How could I have changed?"

"How am I supposed to know? You humans are so fast-paced; it's a miracle anyone can keep up with you. It was just a couple years ago when Matsumoto was bringing back tied-dyed shirts and Beatles music from the Real World."

"More like a couple decades! Really, Toushirou, if you want to be an up-to-date Taichou instead of someone from the Jurassic age, you ought to stop by my place and hang out with me for a day."

He'd smiled that half-smile of his, the one that was equivalent to five minutes of laughter from anyone else, then replied, "Who knows? Maybe I will."

She'd been shocked out of her mind when he actually showed up three weeks later in a gigai, dressed in his usual black shirt and pants, standing at the railing. She'd been walking home from soccer practice, and just happened to be passing by. Stupefied, the first words out of her mouth were, "What the hell are you doing here?"

He'd scowled and said, "It's none of your business, Kurosaki."

So she'd shrugged and feigned disinterest, saying, "Whatever. Fine with me. I've got to get home anyway."

And she'd started walking away. Surprisingly, he'd started walking with her, saying how it wasn't safe for someone with her level of reiatsu to be waltzing around unescorted, especially since there were still remnants of Aizen's army at large. Correctly assuming that that was the reason he was stuck down here once again, she'd teasingly replied, "Oh? And how is a kid who's barely taller than I am supposed to protect me?"

"By making sure you don't go looking for trouble—and I'm not a kid, Kurosaki. Get that through your thick skull, will you?" he retorted nonchalantly. "Besides, I've got at least two inches on you, so I wouldn't be talking."

So he'd walked her home, stopping for a quick game of soccer (which he'd easily won, much to her dismay) and two ice cream cones from a nearby convenience store (which he insisted on paying for, with no argument from her). And the next thing she knew, he was showing up once a month or so at the railing, ready for a day at the arcade or the soccer field, always claiming how it was just to kill time since he'd already killed off most of the Hollows in the vicinity. He nearly always arrived when her schedule was free and she had time to spare, so she'd laugh and show him around town, spending a couple of hours just having fun. Or sometimes, she'd accompany her brother to Soul Society for some errand or other, and she'd inevitably find her way to his office, handing Matsumoto the latest concoction from Hime-nee, cheekily swiping a couple papers from his desk to make paper airplanes.

She found herself getting used to his presence in her life, gradually letting her guard down around him. Soon, she was telling him things she'd never told anyone else, sharing all her dreams and aspirations and trusting him to simply listen and understand her.

Until one day, at the railing, she'd turned to him and asked, "Are we best friends?"

He'd sighed and replied, "Who knows?"

And she knew they were.

She laughed softly at that. Sure, they didn't see each other as often as other best friends did. Actually, it'd already been some time since he'd last visited the Real World (five months, three weeks, and two days...but who was counting?). Still. He was her best friend. The person who shared the (mostly) same taste in food and music and video games, and who had the guts to argue when their differences came up. The person who could tease her, and make her smile, and get her to laugh when the day was going to pieces. The person who didn't hesitate to tell her when she was screwing up. The only person who could beat her at soccer (not even Ichi-nii had that honor anymore). The only one besides Yuzu and Dr. Takano who she'd ever told about her mother. The only one who understood about being different than everyone else, even her own friends. The only person she'd ever let see all of her.

And she missed him dreadfully.

She wondered what he'd say about her dreams. Should she even tell him? She'd even kept the details from Yuzu, but then Toushirou was…Toushirou. He was different from everyone else. She was sure that she could tell him about her dreams, at least the basic details, and he could help them make some sort of sense. Would he have any good advice for her? Maybe she could ask him for tips on talking to dragons; after all, his zanpakutou was one, wasn't it? Perhaps they had a network or something…

Catching the direction of her thoughts, she laughed again, then started as she noticed the time. The sun was almost completely gone now. Great, she thought. Just perfect. Now I've wasted an hour I could have spent studying for that biology test on Friday.

Running to her car and making her way home, she spared one glance back at their railing, a thought running quietly through her mind.

It's all right. I'll see him soon…at the wedding.

Endnote: Please do not expect the chapters to always be this long…my muse isn't usually this faithful and helpful, and I do not often have the entire day to write, as I'm usually at school. So in two weeks, after spring break is over, the chapters'll be short again, and probably coming more sporadically.

Also, for those of you who wonder why Dr. Takano was simply able to fade away, I would like to put forth the explanation that if spirits no longer have something holding them to earth, then they can just "move on," without the need for konso. Otherwise, there ought to be a LOT more shinigami around, like one posted at every hospital and freeway. Anyway, that's my theory. So once Karin was able to smile from her heart, he fulfilled his wish of seeing his "granddaughter" smile before he left.

The title for the last chapter was taken from John Keats's poem, "Ode to a Nightingale." So Easter chocolates for anyone who guessed correctly.

Anyway, thank you for reading this story, and please review if you can. :)