I don't own Bleach.
"try your best, karin. that's all you can do."
"You have any family, 'Shiro?" Karin asks one day. It was curiosity, really, mutual on both parts. Even though Toshiro initially didn't want to nosy, he begins to wonder about her, gradually forgetting about his own troubles in the process.
(Still, Toshiro knows he'll never truly forget those lifeless eyes.)
Why does she sit like she's half-ready to fall down the cliff?
Why does she keep smiling with melancholy etched in her eyes and mouth?
Not that he can voice out his concern.
Toshiro was always aloof. Before and after.
After a few weeks of silent company, a mysterious bond that none of them could explain had been created, and both of them wanted to stop being morose acquaintances with a common shade of sorrow.
"My foster sister. I met her when I was in the system. I'm staying with her right now."
"You thinking about going back to your old town?"
"No. Not yet."
"Well, if you ever decide to leave, tell me, okay? I'm gonna miss having someone watching the sunsets with me." Another wave of quietness passed by before Karin decides to divulge just a bit. "You know..." A pregnant pause. "My sister, my twin. She died on this day. Three years ago."
Toshiro doesn't say anything, and Karin continues like he isn't even there.
"She died right here. This highway. Goat Chin drove right off this road when another car came at him. My dad, he was in a coma. He wasn't going to wake up. We let him go a couple of months after. My brother is in college. I live alone most of the time," she chuckles at her unfortunate situation because there just aren't any tears left. "And I... want to die."
Icy arms suddenly encircle her torso.
(She didn't really expect him to be warm, anyway.)
Karin hugs him back, an awkward hug, she thinks.
And there isn't a word said - they weren't ones who were good with words - but that's okay.
They're just broken and battered and lonely people who are trying to live their lives one day at a time.
The sun disappears below the horizon, and they both know they have succeeded for the day.
Toshiro lets go, and Karin smiles at him before getting up and walking away.
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Listen
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"My best friend was murdered by her boyfriend," Toshiro reveals two days later.
(It took two days for him to gather enough resolve. He knows that once he tells her, it's done.)
"You loved her," Karin states. It wasn't meant to be a question. Toshiro nods.
"I loved her," he echoes. "And I was the one who found her body. I went here to get away. I was running. I am running."
"I don't think you're running," Karin amends eventually. "I think you're just trying to move on. Yuzu was my special person. I loved her more than anything. It's been three years. Maybe it's time I should try to move on too..."
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Maybe You'll Hear It
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Toshiro doesn't see her the next afternoon, and he's worried.
She didn't... give up? Did she?
Was that her twisted way of moving on?
Toshiro scours the city to find the girl who changed his world.
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L
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After an hour, he finds her in an abandoned lot kicking a ball around.
"Toshiro? What are you-" Karin is surprised to see him.
"This... was where you were?" He's breathing hard because he ran the whole time.
"Um, yeah." Toshiro releases a breath he doesn't know he's been holding. "Are you alright?"
"Just fine," the boy rubs the back of his head nonchalantly, but Karin smirks.
"You were worried." Toshiro rolls his eyes, but doesn't argue.
"You're playing... soccer," he looks at the ball with a foreign expression.
"Yeah," she dribbles it absently. "I quit when Yuzu died, but I think I'm gonna pick it up again. You gave me back my confidence."
Toshiro isn't all sure if that's a good thing.
"Can you play?"
"A little," Toshiro shrugs.
"Really? Wanna have a quick match?"
"Sure."
Toshiro wins, but Karin put up a good fight.
She complains how he lied when he said he can only play a little, and Toshiro gives himself an excuse.
Twilight.
And then dusk.
The sun dims without them knowing, and they're content.
Can't forget the soccer.