A/N: Just so you know, I've been very good with my outline so far, and you can count the chapters we have left on one hand. Exciting!

So, just like with Phases, I'm thinking of wrapping up this fic and taking a break before posting the sequel. And, just like with Phases…it's probably not going to happen and I'm just going to go straight into sequel mode, because I'm already planning scenes and fluff is so overdue!

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach. At all.

Chapter 51: White emperor, blood moon

The walls around her were bathed in red, a dull light washing over the floor of the hallway. Yuzu moved across the ground, her twin swords flashing. Ahead of her, Kyoka Suigetsu took a step back to avoid getting struck, her blue eyes narrowing in determination as she raised her blade. She had shifted her sword from a one-handed to a two-handed grip, a sign that Yuzu had finally managed to gain some ground. Still, Yuzu pressed forward, swinging one of her swords down from overhead. It crashed against Kyoka Suigetsu's blade, and Yuzu quickly reversed her grip on her other blade, stabbing at Kyoka Suigetsu. The thin white blade slipped between their crossed swords, and Kyoka Suigetsu had to jerk to the side as it moved just past her waist, slicing a line through the zanpakuto spirit's layered kimono.

Yuzu's eyes narrowed, and she pivoted to the side, ducking her head in the instant that she slid her sword out from above Kyoka Suigetsu's. Kyoka Suigetsu's blade swept through, but she was no longer there, the blade whistling through the air just over her head. As she pivoted, she slashed with the now free blade, the edge of the sword slicing a strip of fabric off the end of Kyoka Suigetsu's sleeve. Kyoka Suigetsu jumped to the side, slashing with her own blade, and Yuzu ducked as the sword passed just over her shoulder, cutting through the fabric of her dress and coming dangerously close to touching skin. She sucked in a breath, then turned to follow Kyoka Suigetsu, her swords flashing in the dull red light as she slashed at the other woman's chest.

Countless other battles flashed through her mind as their blades came together again, the Hollow that had taken her life, that first battle against Catalina that had given her Jungetsu, the zanjutsu exam against Karin where Jungetsu and Ongetsu had crossed each other for the first time, her hakuda exam against Miyako. The battles in Tokyo, the fight with Jin, the battle with Kyoka Suigetsu in Inuzuri. Koyanagi, and the war in Rukongai. Jungetsu and herself, fighting in the basement of Urahara's shop.

Since joining the Sixth—no, since coming to Soul Society, she had been fighting countless battles, all despite not wanting to fight, and all of those battles—everything—came down to this.

She tightened her grip on her swords, her eyes fixed on Kyoka Suigetsu as the other woman advanced. Yuzu's feet never seemed to touch the ground for more than an instant at a time. She was constantly moving, constantly floating, dancing from one foot to another as she blocked and slashed, her blades whirling. More memories flashed through her mind, joining the Academy, meeting Kohaku, confronting Masaryu on a cold winter night, learning how she was related to him, meeting Ryushin. Training with Byakuya, her officer interview, the night she had stood in front of the restaurant with a Sixth Division tile clutched in her hands. Joining the Sixth, becoming promoted to vice-captain. Inuzuri in the rain.

She held onto those memories as she pressed the attack, her blades singing. She was tired, she could feel the exhaustion in her body and blood, but it seemed like such a small thing when faced with this battle, such an unimportant thing. Kyoka Suigetsu grit her teeth, her movements becoming jerky as she blocked Yuzu's sword, and her eyes fixed on the girl in annoyance.

Karin, Masaryu, and Kohaku sitting with her in an izakaya, laughing. Getting kicked out of a mall in Tokyo because Byakuya had to press every button in sight. Having dinner with the officers of the Sixth. Winning her hakuda match against Aoyagi Miyako.

Ryushin's funeral. Learning about Azami.

Standing with Byakuya in front of Hisana's grave, hearing the pain in his voice.

Those memories spurred her on as the red spread across her dress, and she drew strength from them, pressing the attack harder. Behind her, she realized, the scenery had begun to shift, the back wall of the hallway changing. She could feel it change even without looking at it, could feel it through her connection with Hakkyokan Jungetsu. The tiles on the wall shifted, red and white tiles forming a pattern.

"As it is…I feel like I'm…like I'm a little flower everyone has to protect…"

"There is strength in flowers."

Yuzu ducked underneath Kyoka Suigetsu's strike, stepping within the other woman's range and slicing upward. Kyoka Suigetsu jerked back, but only barely, the sword missing her by less than an inch.

"Have you ever been afraid of anything, Kuchiki-taicho?"

"It has happened."

"How do you deal with it? How do you keep going?"

"You ask yourself. Is it worth it? Is there something that matters to you more than this fear? Does the fear control you, or do you control it? Is this going to be something that stops you, or something that drives you?"

The tiles slid into place behind her, a mosaic of red and white. Lines began to engrave themselves into the stone, like trailing vines. Yuzu stepped back only far enough to gain distance before springing forward again, both swords cutting through the air, one on top of the other.

"There are many talented healers. There are fewer men of noble character."

Yuzu sprang back and out of the way of Kyoka Suigetsu's strike, that memory burning itself into her mind. She landed lightly on the ground before springing forward, ducking her head and slashing at Kyoka Suigetsu's side. Her blade cut through the air, forcing the other woman to turn awkwardly to avoid getting hit. Kyoka Suigetsu lashed out, her blade flashing as she stabbed through the air, but Yuzu moved quickly to the side, the blade going past her head and stabbing the air just over her shoulder.

Behind her, tiles continued to slide into place.

"The camellia stands for noble reason."

"…It serves as a symbol of our pride."

Noble reason.

Byakuya explained it as putting right above all, noble thought above anything else. But Yuzu had always seen it slightly differently. It was more than just the outward expression of what was right, it was a look within.

Noble reason demanded that each action had to be given careful thought, that motivations for everything had to be examined. Pride wasn't enough, anger wasn't enough. There had to be a reason to fight, a justification for battle. It demanded, on rare occasions, that someone put the spirit of the law above its letter.

And once it had been established, it demanded everything.

Even oneself.

The camellia bloomed on the wall behind her, red and white tiles forming the shape of the Sixth Division flower as Yuzu charged forward, eyes glowing with their own inner light as she slashed at Kyoka Suigetsu, one sword after another.

Rukia tensed as Hamano Tomoe advanced, holding Sode no Shirayuki out in front of herself. Steam rose off of the surface of the blade where the heated air had touched, cool mist washing over her sword hand. Behind her, she heard the sound of gunshots as Ishida chased down the shooter, Orihime's shields intercepting bullets as he darted across the roofs, firing arrows through the air.

Rukia didn't turn to look at them, keeping her eyes on the girl in front of her. She tightened her grip on her sword, gritting her teeth. Defeating Hamano wouldn't ordinarily have been a problem, but there wasn't much she could do to subdue her without killing her. She opened the palm of her free hand, bracing it against the hilt of her sword as she readied a kido spell.

"Kuchiki-san, please leave this to us," said Yasui, coming to stand in front of her. Water pooled around his hands, a river of water coiling around his back. Mari passed by on her other side, lightning arcing between her fingertips. The light reflected off her glasses as she came to stand next to Yasui, her eyes fixed on Hamano.

"Yasui," said Rukia, her eyes wide as she glanced between them. "Kouda…"

"You can get to Hisoka, can't you, Kuchiki-san?" asked Yasui, not taking his eyes off Hamano.

"I—," Rukia hesitated, her eyes moving away from Hamano to the space down the street where Masaryu's reiatsu flashed. "I can."

"Then go," said Yasui, water coiling up his arms as he turned to face Hamano more fully. "I have a score to settle here."

Rukia hesitated only briefly before nodding, turning away from Yasui and Mari. Her eyes moved up the street, towards her destination. In the background, the shooter danced nimbly between Ishida's arrows, thin blue arrows peppering the rooftops and street. "Stay safe," she told Yasui and Mari, quickly flash-stepping away.

Yasui waited until Kuchiki Rukia was gone, the last traces of her reiatsu fading into the distance. If he concentrated, he could feel Hisoka somewhere there, along with the two shinigami that they had met with in Karakura Town, but as much as he wanted to go to her, he couldn't. He wasn't fast enough, or strong enough. This, however, was something he could do. He raised his eyes to Hamano, the girl giving him a cruel smile in return as the wind started picking up around her again.

His eyes narrowed at her as he took a step forward, blocking her view of the street. "Sorry to keep you waiting, Hamano-san," he said.

"Take your time," said Hamano, still grinning. "I could use the warm-up."

Mari stepped up beside him, her hands and arms crackling with electricity. She didn't look up at him, keeping her eyes on Hamano. "Tetsuya," she said, her tone carefully clipped. "Is this the girl who destroyed your phone?"

He nodded. "She is, Mari-chan."

"I see," said Mari. She reached a hand up to her face, carefully pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose and ignoring the sparks of electricity emanating from her fingertips.

Hamano's eyes turned towards her. "And who are you supposed to be?" she asked.

"I'm the one that built that for him."

Mari surged forward before any of them could react, slamming her hands down on the ground. A net of electricity surged forward from between her fingers, spreading across the tiles. Hamano's eyes widened as it rushed towards her, and she raised her arms up in front of herself, the wind changing direction and swirling around her protectively.

There was a sound like a clap of thunder, and then Hamano was crying out, flying backwards. Steam rose off the surface of the street as Mari stood up, her expression unchanged.

Byakuya moved quickly through a narrow stone hallway, Hitsugaya and Karin keeping pace behind him. On his right side, the walls of the hallway were almost completely white, with red only beginning to stain the edges of the wall near the floor and ceiling. The left side of the hallway, however, was bathed in crimson, as were the walls and floor. The rapidly shifting color made him hurry—for what, exactly? He put the thought out of his mind. Why didn't matter at this point. Why was a question to be considered later, or not at all.

All he could do at this point was move.

He placed his hand on the sword at his side, feeling Senbonzakura's tension through the link between them, and something else as well. Confusion, or disbelief. Senbonzakura was well past the point where he would question Byakuya's decisions openly. Byakuya would have thought that he was past the point when he would have questioned them at all.

He removed his hand from his sword, focusing on running.

"Why did you do that?" asked a voice at his side.

Byakuya looked, his eyes widening ever so slightly as they landed on the other Kurosaki. Karin had picked up speed, and was now running alongside him, a frown on her face. Out of the three Kurosaki siblings, Kurosaki Karin was the one he had interacted with the least, despite her closeness with her twin. He had dismissed her in the past as another Eleventh Division member, brash and headstrong like her brother, but there was an unusual sort of perceptiveness in those dark gray eyes as they watched him, so that for a moment he forgot what they were talking about.

She was asking about Ichigo, he realized, the stunned expression fading from his face as he looked away. Not Yuzu.

He could answer for his actions towards Ichigo.

Karin looked away as they ran, as if she hadn't been expecting him to actually answer. He surprised the both of them by speaking—he hadn't been certain that he would answer himself.

"Twenty years ago, I was forced to choose between my sister and my duty. Kurosaki Ichigo showed me that I made the wrong choice. Today, I chose to return the favor."

"By forcing him to not pick Yuzu?" asked Karin, scowling.

"By reminding him that there are other things to live for." He saw violet eyes in the back of his mind, thought of the smell of plum blossoms on the night breeze. For an instant, he was there again, there in his manor with the sliding doors spread open to let in the cool air, holding Hisana's hand as his light died. He saw Rukia's face again as they left her, saw the same look in her eyes that he imagined he had worn on that day.

He hadn't intended to speak, but the words slipped out anyway. "Rukia…" he said softly, "…does not deserve to go through what I did."

Karin's eyes widened and he could see the question on her face as she turned towards him. Rather than face it, he flash-stepped forward, putting several feet of distance between them as he moved towards the battle. His hand tightened around the sheath of his sword again, his mind racing as he landed on the ground. Thoughts of Rukia, and of Hisana, and of Yuzu swirled in his mind as he landed, a tangle of duties and loyalties and emotions that he forced into the background again.

Rukia was safe. She would, in the event he didn't survive this, go on to become a good leader. He could trust her with his clan, could trust her with the Sixth, which would fall to her if he died. And Ichigo…

He could trust Ichigo to protect her, from her enemies, from those in the clan who would harm her, and from herself. If that had been the only thing he could trust Kurosaki Ichigo to do, it would have been enough.

He was trusting Ichigo with his family, with his pride, and with the future of his clan. And in return…

In return, Byakuya would do everything he could to make sure that Kurosaki Yuzu and Kurosaki Karin returned alive. Even if it meant losing himself. All of his other reasons were things to consider later. For now, that was a reason he could believe in.

Byakuya picked up speed, his eyes narrowed in determination as he moved towards the battle.

Kyoka Suigetsu raised her sword to block Yuzu's blades, the two of them hanging frozen in the air for an instant. On the wall behind her, the camellia flower continued to glow, the red light beginning to spread over the right side of the room. Yuzu jumped back as Kyoka Suigetsu pulled her sword through, the blade slicing a path through the air. She went into a back-flip, using one hand to push off of the tiled floor as she landed on her feet, her swords in front of her and her eyes narrowed. There was more red than white on her dress now, the red covering all of her left side and beginning to make its way down the sleeve of her right. The sword in her right hand was still completely white, but Yuzu knew it wouldn't be that way for long.

Time, Yuzu realized, her eyes still on Kyoka Suigetsu. She was running out of time.

Kyoka Suigetsu turned towards her, taking a step forward. Before she could reach her, Yuzu quickly slammed her left-hand sword down, the blade striking the ground. The earth parted as a Getsuga Tenshou erupted from the end of her sword, red light rushing towards Kyoka Suigetsu. The zanpakuto spirit jumped out of the way, only to have to raise her sword to block Yuzu's as she flash-stepped towards Kyoka Suigetsu, closing the gap between them. Their eyes met again over their crossed swords, the two of them frozen in the air for an instant.

Then, Kyoka Suigetsu was moving, gripping her sword with both hands as she slashed at Yuzu's middle. Yuzu jumped back and out of the way, the blade missing her by a hair as she rushed to keep up. She slid backwards on a platform of reishi, quickly raising her sword as Kyoka Suigetsu moved to attack. Kyoka Suigetsu's blade moved towards Yuzu's head, but before their swords could connect, the zanpakuto spirit disappeared, appearing in the air behind Yuzu. She grinned cruelly, reaching out with one hand and grabbing hold of a handful of Yuzu's hair.

She cried out in surprise and pain as Kyoka Suigetsu moved her hand, throwing her roughly to the ground. Yuzu hit the tiled floor with surprising force, tiles cracking around her as she landed. She grit her teeth against the pain and shock of impact as Kyoka Suigetsu shot towards her, sword held in both hands. Yuzu braced both her hands on either side of her and pushed back, springing backwards and out of the way of Kyoka Suigetsu's blow. The zanpakuto spirit's sword thrust through the tiled floor as Yuzu whipped around, kicking her in the head. Her foot struck the side of Kyoka Suigetsu's head, sending the spirit crashing to the ground.

Kyoka Suigetsu landed awkwardly on her side and rolled, thrusting her sword into the ground to bring herself to a stop. She looked up at Yuzu, her eyes narrowed in anger and her hair disheveled. Kyoka Suigetsu sprang to her feet, pulling her sword out of the ground. The blade flashed as it rushed towards Yuzu, but Yuzu was ready. She tightened her grip on her swords, taking a step back and blocking Kyoka Suigetsu's strike with one of her own.

She was breathing heavily, blood trickling out of the corner of her mouth from where she had bitten her lip in the fall. Her heart was pounding, and the red was steadily snaking its way down her sleeve, swallowing up the white of her uniform. She was exhausted and afraid, but at the same time, she had never felt stronger, never felt more powerful. Memories and people flashed through her mind—all the battles she had fought in, all the people she had fought alongside, all the things Kyoka Suigetsu, Aoyagi, Catalina, even Azami had said to her.

They had tried to make her afraid, to make her question herself, and for a while, she believed them. How could she not, when the things they were saying were so obvious? She wasn't as strong as her siblings. She wasn't as pretty or as poised as Azami. She would never be to her Division what Byakuya was, nor would she ever be to him what Hisana had been.

But it didn't matter. None of that mattered, because she was herself. She wasn't Hisana, or Masaki. She would never be Karin or Ichigo.

But she could be herself.

That was all she needed to be.

And for the first time, she realized, she was fighting as herself. As the red continued to spread across the walls, the camellia behind her began to shine, its petals slowly opening.

A flower blooming.

She wondered what they would say if they could see her now, what her siblings would say, what Byakuya would say. Would they still think of her the same way?

She wished he could see her now, she realized. She wished he could see who she had become.

She wished—

"Bankai. Senbonzakura Kageyoshi."

Yuzu's eyes widened as a wave of pink petals crashed down in front of her, swirling around Kyoka Suigetsu. She froze, her breath catching in her throat as she turned to her left. A door had opened up high in the walls of the hall she was fighting in, and a figure stood there, his gray eyes fixed on hers. A wind stirred from Senbonzakura's petals, rustling through his scarf and haori.

Her heart nearly stopped beating.

Byakuya.

Byakuya flash-stepped down towards the ground, glancing at Yuzu. His vice-captain immediately moved to the side as he approached, giving him space to face Kyoka Suigetsu. She held her weapons out in front of her, twin swords, he realized, one of them pure red from hilt to blade, the other red about halfway up the blade, with red already beginning to consume the white. Her eyes were bright red as well, irises the color of fire, or blood. There was a wound on her shoulder, but other than that, she seemed mostly unhurt, her swords already pointed towards Kyoka Suigetsu. She was crouched in the same stance she sometimes used when fighting with her fans, one in front of her and one behind, knees bent as though she was ready to spring.

In front of him, Kyoka Suigetsu snarled, slashing and flash-stepping out of the hold of his bankai. He glanced at her, but didn't make any move to increase the pace of Senbonzakura's petals. At the moment, he wasn't fully attacking her, simply distracting her, holding her there. Yuzu seemed to notice this as well, because her eyes moved to him, a brief glance before she looked back at Kyoka Suigetsu.

"Taicho—," she began.

His rank, Byakuya realized, not his name. His mind went back to the last time he had seen her, the moment before she entered the Shattered World, and he found himself feeling a pang of disappointment. But now wasn't the time to consider that, or her letter. His eyes moved over her right-hand sword as the red continued to creep, now just inches away from the tip. There was no more time.

He could feel Kurosaki Karin and Hitsugaya Toshiro coming down the same passage he had used. They would be here within moments.

Moments would have to be enough.

"Kurosaki," he said, cutting her off. Petals swirled around him, their color changing from pink to white. He kept his gaze fixed on Kyoka Suigetsu as more and more petals gathered, forming into white wings at his back. "We should end this."

Yuzu's eyes widened, and she looked as though she might have said more, but she nodded instead, looking away from him. Her eyes narrowed, and she held out her hand. To his surprise, the swords in her hand shattered into red light as the red consumed them, the ground beneath her feet shattering as well and leaving both of them standing in a void of black. Her dress was completely red now, her eyes glowing. Power swirled around her as the pillars and tiles shattered, everything breaking into light until the only thing behind them was the glowing camellia.

"Hai, taicho."

Kyoka Suigetsu raised her head towards them as the last of the petals pulled away from her, her sword held in one hand. She glared at them, her brown hair falling out of its bindings and hanging over her face. She held her sword out in front of herself as the floor broke away beneath her, but it was a futile attempt. Byakuya could feel power rushing through him from Senbonzakura, the hilt of a blade beginning to form in his hands. White light flared up around him, matched only by the red light that hung around Yuzu, shards of light swirling around her like pieces of broken glass.

"Shukei," he said, as the power within him rose to a fever pitch. "Hakuteiken."

"Tenkyu," Yuzu held out her hand in front of herself, the shards of light swirling into it and forming a light that was almost too bright to look at. "Haneame."

Byakuya shot forward, the white sword clutched in his hands as wings of white light formed around him. Kyoka Suigetsu raised her sword to block the attack, but it was useless, his blade striking the flat of her sword and shattering the blade itself. He felt his sword strike home, the two of them flying back from the force of the strike. At the same time, eight red spears of light formed in the air above them, pinpricks of light in the darkness. They swirled in a circle before shooting straight at Kyoka Suigetsu, all eight spears shooting through her at once. She threw her head back as the impact struck her, a glow spreading over her body.

She came apart, shattering into shards of light.

In the instant before she disappeared, her eyes met Byakuya's, her mouth spreading into what could only be a smirk. His eyes widened slightly at the sight, but before he could question it, she shattered, coming apart in a flash of red and white light.

There was a sound like crashing thunder.

Byakuya tore his eyes away from where Kyoka Suigetsu had been, pushing her last defiant expression out of his mind as his eyes landed on Yuzu. She was starting to fall forward, her eyes closing as the red light fell away from her. With the last blast of power from his bankai, he closed the distance between them, his arm wrapping around Yuzu's waist and pulling her to him as the world around them began to collapse, bright light shining at its edges. He held Yuzu close to himself with one arm, looking around for Karin and Hitsugaya.

"Kuchiki!" shouted a voice.

Byakuya turned. Karin was flash-stepping across the fading world, one hand outstretched towards him. Hitsugaya Toshiro moved alongside her, his hand on her wrist as the two of them moved towards them. The bracelets they wore were already glowing, steam rising off of the silver objects like mist.

He tightened his grip on Yuzu and jumped, pushing off of the crumbling ground as he flash-stepped towards the two of them. He stretched his arm out, reaching for Karin's hand. She stretched her arm out further, appearing in the air above his head with Hitsugaya holding onto her. The light coming off their bracelets started to surround them, glowing brightly. Their hands came within an inch of each other, only a small amount of space between them.

Karin strained to reach, gritting her teeth as she pushed herself forward. Byakuya formed a platform of reishi under his feet, pushing himself upward to close the gap.

His hand moved through the space where Karin's hand had been as the light surrounded the two of them, Karin and Hitsugaya disappearing. The sight of Karin's eyes, wide, gray and terrified, was the last thing Byakuya saw before he fell backwards into darkness, still holding Yuzu close to himself.

Light rose up to meet them.

TO BE CONTINUED

A/N: Tenkyu Haneame (天弓羽雨, heaven bow, feather rain) is an upgraded version of Haneame, and can only be used in Jungetsu's bankai at the very end of Gesshoku's time limit. It takes apart Yuzu's bankai and condenses those reishi particles into one final attack, forming eight spear-like arrows to pierce the enemy.

Shukei: Hakuteiken is a canon attack of Byakuya's bankai, and translates to White Emperor Sword, hence the title. Kaguya-hime's last suitor, and the only one she was actually interested in, was the Emperor of Japan, which is why once I decided Jungetsu was going to be based off Kaguya-hime, I started pushing ByaYuzu. Fun fact. ^^ (It still didn't end well for the Emperor and Kaguya. She returned to the moon, although in some versions of the story, he got to hold onto her feathered robe, which is what the scene of Byakuya grabbing the robe off Yuzu's shoulders as she disappears is a reference to).

Regarding the omake…why, oh, why can I not let Valentine's Day go?

Omake

Flashback: The Challenges of Inter-Division Dating

Karin tugged at the thick scarf she wore around her neck as she and Toshiro walked down one of Seireitei's streets, her breath misting in front of her face as they cut a path through the snow. Her eyes moved over a group of shinigami women clustered in front of a chocolate shop, the shop's windows decorated with red hearts.

"Oh, that's right," she said. "It's Valentine's Day in a couple of days, isn't it?"

"Huh?" Toshiro glanced over at her, following her gaze. "Oh, right," he said. "Do you think we should…do something for that?"

"Did we even do anything last year?" asked Karin, folding her arms and frowning in thought. She glanced up at the sky above their heads. "Yeah, we probably should. You could come over…"

"I don't think that's going to work," said Toshiro, frowning.

"Why not?" asked Karin.

"Remember last time?"

Karin winced.

"HITSUGAYA TOSHIRROOOO!" shouted a gravelly voice, Zaraki-taicho crashing through the wall of her quarters. Toshiro's eyes widened, and he immediately sprang away from her, picking up Hyourinmaru and jumping out of the way as Zaraki's sword came crashing down. The captain grinned, following Toshiro as he ran out of the room.

"FIGHT ME!"

Karin sighed from where she was seated on the floor, her eyes drifting from the hole in her wall, to the ruined floor, to whatever was left of her door. She could still hear the captain yelling from the hallway outside, along with Toshiro shouting at him to calm down, and presumably running away. She glanced regretfully at the dinner they hadn't finished, before looking over at the hole in the wall. Ikkaku, Yumichika and Yachiru were leaning through it, poking their heads into her room.

"Aren't you going to help him?" asked Yumichika, as a loud crash sounded from the hallway, followed by a loud yelp.

"He's a captain," said Karin, shrugging. "He can handle himself."

Another shout sounded from the hallway, followed by a blast of icy air. Karin popped a piece of food as frost crystals spread over the walls of her room, grimacing as she tasted splinters.

"I still say you could have at least helped," said Toshiro, frowning at her.

"And get between you and the captain?" asked Karin, folding her arms. "I'm not insane."

"Fair enough," said Toshiro.

"Look," said Karin. "I could just come over to the Tenth. Zaraki-taicho won't mess with you there."

"Well, yes, but…" Toshiro trailed off, looking away from her. A faint flush colored his cheeks at the memory.

"Taicho!" Matsumoto shouted excitedly, bursting into the captain's quarters. Karin drew in a sharp breath, diving under the covers as Toshiro whipped around to face her, his face turning red.

"MATSUMOTO!" he shouted.

"Oho?" asked Matsumoto, smirking. "What do we have here?"

"LEARN TO KNOCK!"

"You sure you need a vice-captain?" asked Karin, the heat rising to her face at the memory.

"Sometimes, I wonder," said Toshiro, frowning.

"Okay, look." Karin laced her fingers together behind her neck, looking back up at the sky. "This is getting ridiculous. There has to be something we can do, maybe outside of our Divisions."

"We could go to dinner," said Toshiro. "A nice restaurant for a change."

"If Yumichika will let me walk out the door without questioning my fashion choices three or four times," said Karin, running a hand through her hair in frustration. It sounded like exactly the sort of thing that annoying peacock would do. "How about a picnic? It'll be cold, but it's not like you mind."

"On Valentine's Day?" asked Toshiro. "Shinigami Women's Association."

She grimaced at the thought of the SWA showing up to take pictures. It wouldn't be so bad if those people weren't completely unsubtle about it. "I might actually kill one of them if that happens."

"Look, we really don't have to do anything," said Toshiro, coming to a stop. He turned to look at her. "We could just hang out in the office again, like we always do."

"No." Karin shook her head, an idea coming to her. She turned towards her boyfriend. "No, I have a better idea."

Valentine's Day

"What's wrong, Yuzu-chan?" asked Kohaku, turning towards her friend. "You look a bit lost."

"Oh, I was just wondering where Karin-chan went," said Yuzu, looking around. "I haven't seen her all day."

From beside her, Masa choked on the piece of chocolate he was eating, coughing loudly. Kohaku glanced at him as he quickly righted himself, sitting up again.

"I'm sure she's probably fine," said Kohaku, turning towards Yuzu. "You know how Karin is."

"Yeah, you have a point," said Yuzu, smiling. "I hope she and Hitsugaya-kun are having fun at least. See you two later."

Kohaku waited until Yuzu was gone, before rounding onto Masa. "Alright," she said. "Spill. What do you know?"

"Nothing," said Masa, looking away from her. His face flushed. "What makes you think I know anything?"

Kohaku made a disbelieving noise.

The World of the Living

"See, I told you," said Karin, bringing her snowboard to a stop. She grinned at Toshiro as he caught up with her, kicking up snow and ice in his wake. "This was a great idea."

The two of them were wearing gigais and winter clothes, having gone up to a ski resort in Hokkaido after going through the Ankoujin Clan's Senkaimon that morning. The Eleventh wouldn't miss Karin if she was gone a day or two, and Matsumoto would already be finding a note accompanied by a pile of paperwork on her desk.

"I have to hand it to you," said Toshiro, smiling back. "This is a lot of fun."

"So much better than chocolate, anyway," said Karin, turning away from him. "Come on. Race you again."

She jumped back on her snowboard, sliding down the rest of the slope. Toshiro's eyes widened as she took off, and hurried to catch up.