To break is all I know Chapter 11: Wrong conclusions & Chess, a bleach fanfic

I do not own Bleach… :) and I do not earn any kind of money from this snippet

This chapter had been beta-ed by Cittyno2 (thank you very much). If you find any mistakes, it's her fault (not mine). I wish you pleasant reading.

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To break is all I know

Chapter11: Wrong conclusions & Chess

"Everything had changed since he left me. Damn it, we weren't even together to begin with, but I had all these false hopes with him and me. His only fault is that … he didn't stay long enough to hear my stupid feelings and me.

I want to tell him so badly … but I can't.

There is always this fact that stops me from barging in Soul Society (not that I know the way there, but a girl can dream) and it's so annoying. I'm a 12-year-old child, while he has many years of experience behind him.

Still … I know I love him. I'm a child and yet I know I love him and I think that I'll never be able to forget him.

Yuzu keeps on telling me it's normal and I shouldn't get this hyperactive over the stupidest things; she says it's just a crush and I'll get over it, but what if it's not just a crush. What if no other guy could attract me ever again?

I'll die an old maid …virgin for eternity; all because you are a jerk, Toshiro.

Should a 12 year old write stuff like this?

…

I even carved a stupid message in a stupid tree.

How can I say that something happened between us, when we acted only as friends? We didn't happen … we just didn't."

Kurosaki Karin's diary

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After Gotei 13, namely the captains, lieutenants, Rukia, Ichigo and some other seated officers had been informed of Aizen's elopement and Ichimaru Gin's sudden come back from the mysterious land of the dead; life took another turn and not for the best.

Gin wasn't received in the most appropriate way because of his previous crimes and if this wasn't enough some of his friends, like Matsumoto and Kira ignored him completely. The only one that really talked with him and spent over an hour in his presence was Unohana and rarely, if he was in the mood for a chat/fight, Zaraki.

There was someone else that had visited him twice since his rebirth, but what they shared wasn't what it could be called a normal conversation, because the girl clearly wanted information and nothing more. Hinamori was curious about anything that was even remotely related to her old captain and Gin was the only one able to give it to her. He explained twice how had escaped Aizen from Muken and third times why was he so sure of Aizen's current location, namely the human world. She tried to combat his theory, but her reasons were weak and easy to demolish.

Still it was something Gin wasn't sure about and that was his hypothesis over the true reason of Aizen's escape: to destroy Soul Society, to recreate the damn key and maybe to get revenge on the one that destroyed his great ambitions. Yet none seemed correct for various reasons.

First of all Soul Society was even more powerful than before the Winter War, with the exception of Ichigo's sudden loss of power which was unfortunate but not irreplaceable, the boy still being able to keep up with a lieutenant's level of reiatsu.

The second reason was Karakura's change of reiatsu. If before the Winter War, Karakura had been the perfect and only location for the Key's creation, now this feat was impossible; its attributes had changed in the 5 years that had passed. Karakura couldn't create the Key and none other city could do it either.

The last, but not the least reason was that Aizen couldn't be so capable in hiding his reiatsu in the presence of the Kurosakis. Even if Ichigo failed lamentably at sensing reiatsu, Isshin was very perceptive in this domain. If Aizen dared to come even 10 meters from his house, the ex Shinigami was bound to sense him. Moreover, having an impressive mass of spiritual energy came with an unsurpassable obstacle that even the great Aizen might find difficult to pass.

For now the Kurosaki family and Soul Society were safe, but … he wondered … for how long?

Gin turned around looking at the calendar hanged on the white wall that wavered every time a stronger gust flicked through its pages. It was November the 1-st, or at least that was indicated on the vividly colored piece of paper, and coldness was threatening to envelop the whole world into one of the coldest winters ever experienced. Maybe Toshiro was frostier then usual or maybe … it was a divine punishment for their carelessness regarding a dangerous maniac.

The man rubbed his temples thinking that this was how one month had passed without any sign of Aizen in the human world and with supreme secrecy over his disappearance. It was boring and incredibly stupid, judging that standing in a chair and signing the same old forms helped nobody, but some Central 46 pricks.

Usually Gin wasn't so cynical, but anything related to his old captain got him in this state of pessimism … and anything related to Central 46, which seemed to like emitting judgments without thinking throughout them first. He was lucky that Yamamoto had put a good word for him and he had discovered Aizen's elopement or he would have been fried chicken by now.

Banishing those negative thoughts from his mind (because nobody can grin all the time with a mind full of crap o.O) Gin turned around just in time to see Unohana enter through the door. She had a grim expression and I'm-not-in-a-good-mood written all over her face.

"Retsu" waved happily Gin "You look kin' of … down"

The woman took a seat on a chair and relaxed her body.

"Central 46 is seeking for someone to blame and the best contestant is …"

"Me," completed Gin apprehensively. "The perfec' scapegoat"

He was the only one with dirty antecedents and an easy target for bureaucratic bastards, like the nobles attending Central 46.

"Yes" answered Unohana "They do not understand that finding Aizen is top priority. I guess some things never do change, even after 5 years"

"Rets'?"

"Yes"

Gin slowly opened his eyes and pointed them at Unohana. Judging his tone the problem he was trying to bring in discussion was serious and of grave importance.

"Why did he s'nd Byaku'a and Abarai in th' huma' wor'd, when Capta'n Hitsugaya was a better choic'?"

"I do not know" answered the woman, barely being able to understand Gin's jumpy question "but Captain Commander Yamamoto must have a good reason for not sending Captain Hitsugaya, the only one that knows the human world like the back of his hand" the honesty of her words couldn't be doubted, because she seemed genuinely upset over the old man's decision "After all, he had spent 3 months in the human world after the Winter War"

A moment of silence embraced the room. It wasn't an awkward silence, but if was fruitful due to the necessity of a simple break. Both of them needed the time to clear their minds of useless things and keep the ones that really matter inside it. However, Gin was engrossed in something and the woman realized it.

"What occupies your mind, Gin?"

The man shifted in his seat a clear sign of uncomfortable thoughts, but he answered, owing a little honesty to the healer who kept him alive through 5 years of coma.

"I don't understand' where can Aizen hid' that nobo'y is able to fi'd him? And what's hi' plan?"

"These are only question"

"I wan' the answers" his face lost the grin "and … I fe'r for us all"

Retsu didn't seem happy either and judging by the silence that enveloped her it was safe to say she was agreeing with her friend's opinion.

'And I also fear for whoever crosses his path' thought Gin, not wanting to scare Retsu with another dark presumption 'God have mercy on the poor human soul, because he will not.'

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The human world wasn't experiencing the coldness Soul Society was forced to. The temperature wasn't getting over 20 degrees, but it wasn't going under 10 either. It was the perfect time for thick sweaters, leather shoes and umbrellas. Who couldn't afford a pair of leather shoes was stuck with plastic or second hand sneakers, but it didn't matter because winter was sure to come with a cover of soft snow, white like the 10-th squad captain's hair.

In the month that had passed like the wind through the little town of Karakura, leaving behind only melancholy and sadness, many things had happened.

The once beautiful and green forest had been destroyed by the merciless rain and tempestuous winds, random bushes of weeds being the only green things that dared to raise their head over the ocean of dead leaves. The flowers had withered along with the whole nature. The once gorgeous white roses Karin loved so much had been stripped bare by enthusiastic children and stupid boyfriends, that couldn't buy a flower for their loving girlfriend. Guess it was cheaper to cut a rose from the park than buy one from a shop.

Ichigo and Karin were still upset after their fight and due to this inconvenience; he had totally forgotten to inform her of Aizen's disappearance. In addition, the Substitute Shinigami was being jumpier than usual because Toshiro was making pressures in Soul Society to come in the human world along with the search group.

He understood why did the child genius want to put his hands on Aizen's throat and squeeze till his eyes were unplugged from the sockets, but at the same time Ichigo wasn't sure he wanted him near his sister. It had been 5 years and Karin was still recovering after the abandon the boy had inflicted upon her. Toshiro coming in the human world won't do any good to the already hurt Karin.

However, Ichigo had no idea that his hurt, little sister was spending every afternoon with his archenemy, namely Aizen.

Yes. After that day, when Karin had coincidently met Aizen in the woods, after school escapades became a routine. Karin would sneak in the forest and there, Aizen would always wait for her, sometimes patiently and sometimes … not so patiently. They would always find something to contradict on, but one of them would find a middle way or, if that didn't work, they would drop the subject.

The girl had gotten used to him and his creepy way of behaving, but it didn't mean she approved it … entirely. When Aizen was being a bigger ass then usual she would snap him in place with a well-aimed invective and when that didn't work, she would get violent.

From here, there were two options. One Aizen would stop with the comments and two, he would not. In the first case, everyone was happy and pleased with the result, but the second one was always painful for both of them. If Karin was very upset, (this implied very fast as well) Aizen was sure to go home bruised or banged up depending on the level of annoyingness he put her trough, but it didn't mean Karin was off the hook. Just by trying to beat up one of the toughest Shinigami in history, even if that someone was stuck in a gigai, was a complicated job, so Karin had been forced to go home bruised up more than once.

However, nothing could compare with the sentiment of accomplishment she felt every time she injured Aizen. There was a downside of these fights, a downside Karin wasn't eager to confess.

Well …let's say that when you're trying to kick someone's butt you can get in some pretty embarrassing position without trying too hard. And for some reason they tended to get in these position because of Aizen's clumsiness. Karin suspected something about it, but she was preoccupied by other things, like the fact that Aizen was too ignorant of some aspect that should have been simple, like minimum geography knowledge and mobile phone usage, but had vast knowledge of Japan history.

She had asked him once if he lived under a rock, but he had dismissed her pretty quickly. He always did that when he felt threatened by something and Karin avoided those subjects. Of course, she had this spontaneous memory, which magically activated whenever Aizen was being a jerk, which happened almost all the time.

During this time, Aizen hadn't talked with Yuzu even once. He avoided any contact with her.

The obsession Aizen had developed for Karin had grown in magnitude and it became even more acute than ever, but for some unknown reason he wasn't inclined to act upon it. To say they were bonding was a good world for Karin, while Aizen thought of it more like learning about the human's habits and traditions.

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In a secluded place situated in an obscure café bar, two figures were staring at a piece of wood that rested on the little table. It was barely enough space for the board, but somehow they made some room for two cups, one filled with coffee and the other with black tea.

The girl sipped from the dark liquid, enjoying the bittersweet taste. She had been forced to add three spoons of sugar, but after that, the coffee was in perfect balance. However, the boy seemed upset with the tea he received, twitching his eyebrow every time he tried to degust it. It wasn't that bad, but with a low price comes a cheap tea.

In front of them, on the coffee table, chess pieces were spread on a chessboard. By the looks of it, the board was pretty old and the pieces were partially eaten by carries, but still resembled the originals. The girl was maneuvering the black pieces and the boy was stuck with white. Judging the actual settlement, the girl had advanced ruthlessly in her opponent's territory spreading black pieces all over the table, while he was playing in defensive, keeping the pieces together under his careful supervision. He was playing safe and she wasn't.

On a third chair, not occupied by anyone, the two being the only people at the table, 4 black pieces were mingled together with 3 white pieces. It appeared that the safe playing wasn't really helping in front of a vicious assault from the opposite color.

"Let's make a bet. Whoever loses the game will have to … finish the other's drink" said the girl.

The red headed man glared at the dark haired girl, not believing she was being serious about the proposal.

"And how is that in the winner's advantage?" asked the man.

With a devilish smirk, Karin bent over the table picking up the cup of tea, being careful not to spill its content. She began to swing it in Aizen's face, looking awfully happy for someone that could drop it any second.

"It is in the winner's advantage 'cause I despise tea and you hate coffee" she motivated as the cup's sways became faster and more dangerous.

Aizen tried to stay calm, even if the hot liquid was threatening to shed its hotness on his unprotected crotch, but in the end succeed only in delighting Karin.

"It's a deal" he said while grabbing the cup from her hand.

Luckily, nothing was destroyed, apart from Aizen's right palm, which received a pretty nasty burn because of the cup's hotness.

"It's a bet. Pawn to D4" smiled Karin, moving the pawn at the indicated position, without noticing the hurting teen.

Being a stubborn man (no pleonasm intended) with a shrewd mind, Aizen wasn't easy to impress, especially by Karin's farts of intelligence.

"Pawn to E3" calmly replied the man.

"I'm going to get you pawned, sucker" smirked the girl "Literally. See … you are not that smart"

If the villain was being amused by Karin's childish behavior, he didn't show any sign of it. Maybe because this was the way she usually acted when being around him. In the month they spend together, the human girl had dropped her defenses, leaving herself bare open to any attack. But none came, whether because Aizen seemed to follow her example, whether because he was too engrossed in their game to notice it.

"It's just a pawn waiting to be sacrificed" said the man, sipping from the tea "And it doesn't matter since I'm going to take your pawn after you take mine" he was really sure of his plan, but he couldn't let the guard down, fearing a counterattack from his opponent, namely Karin.

Meanwhile the girl was giving her options another thought. She began to gesticulate towards the chessboard while explaining her opinion about what she should do.

"I hate when this happens. If I do not take your pawn and move forward at D3, you will take mine with that white thing standing at C2. If I do nothing you'll take it with the pawn, you have just moved and if I take your pawn, you will take it with another one. It's a win-win … boring"

She moved the piece over the white pawn, but a hum stopped her from any other movement.

"What!" she snapped at the source of the sound.

Aizen was leaning on the seat studying her with that amused smile of his. He wasn't only humored by the situation, but overly pleased with Karin's ridiculous predicament. After all, who had the possibility to see Kurosaki Karin in a chess dilemma, but him?

"I had some difficulties deciphering what you just said" he answered, lying about the true reason behind his amusement and not wanting to uncover the obsession he had acquired.

"Then you are stupid" stated the girl.

"Then you do not know how to make a plausible sentence"

"Okay. I'm fine with it. You are a stupid retard and I cannot make an intelligible sentence" concluded Karin.

When he heard the answer, Aizen snorted noisily, but decided to humor her for a while.

"Stupid retard … so mature Karin" the girl mumbled something about him being a retarded asshole "Are you sure it's a win-win?" He continued ignoring her completely.

"What do you mean?"

Aizen gestured towards the chessboard pointing at the white pawn.

"Your pawn is very close to the edge"

"And?"

"If I let you get it to the edge you'll have your Queen back" answered Aizen reticently "And I cannot let you do that, right?"

The smirking face of Aizen snapped something inside Karin, but she was able to contain her anger in a compact bubble inside her.

"Evil bastard. I bet you had planned your whole life"

"Almost"

Karin believed him for a second ... maybe even more. So she checked his expression and when no malice or dishonesty appeared to be hidden anywhere, she continued.

"You're just jealous I chose back, while you're stuck with white"

"Stupid to A5"he tried to move a white bishop "Sorry. That's you"

"Motherfucker"

They grinned at each other, remembering all the ironies and invective shared between them. For some reason, these predicaments became never boring habits. A routine … a pleasant routine.

After one hour, while in the background the radio played some unknown music, the game had taken another turn.

"Bishop to B3 and checkmate" smiled proudly Aizen.

"It's just check" babbled Karin clearly vexed by the situation "My king can still move at E1"

"Okay, then move it. I'm going to win the next round. Give up"

He spoke the truth because Karin was in a pretty nasty pinch, from where there was no escape. Being too stubborn to admit defeat, Karin shouted, scaring a silent couple that happened to be in their vicinity.

"NO!"

"I have a Rook, a Bishop and my Queen is waiting for your king" rapidly came the calm reply.

After she sulked for a while and pouted for 2 minutes, the girl admitted defeat. It was kind of impossible not to admit it when the opponent had made an impressive and quick checkmate.

"Why can't I beat you anymore?"

"Because I'm a fast learner and …" tried to say Aizen, only to be interrupted.

"And I'm a good teacher"

"I was about to say I'm smart"

With a raised eyebrow and question marks in her eyes, Karin attacked the man … nothing abnormal in their relationships.

"Narcissistic god. I'm not teaching you anything else"

"Sore loser" clarified Samaki.

Karin sighed and turned around to search for the school backpack. She easily found it hanging from a wooden rack.

"Anyway …I have to go home. See you tomorrow" she paused when she reached for her bag "… and don't forget we have that public soccer game tomorrow morning"

"Not so fast" purred Aizen, stopping Karin on her tracks "You have to drink my tea, or have you forgotten about it?"

Usually Karin wasn't the type to back down from a challenge, especially one initiated by her, but tea was her biggest hate and … maybe the only thing she was unable to digest. Raw slugs were suddenly sounding delicious.

"Look, I really have to …"she tried to digress, but Aizen always knew how to push her buttons to erect a proper response.

"Coward"

"Okay … if you insist I'll drink it"

She grabbed the cup, but when her lips touched the dark liquid that nested inside it, the stomach revolted at the awful taste. Trying not to gaggle, even if the burning sensation in her gut provoked her to follow her instincts of throwing up, Karin closed her eyes. This only amplified the feeling. When the whole world was spinning in circles around her head preventing the girl from continuing the quest, the last portion of liquid drained down her throat.

"God … this thing is atrocious" sputtered Karin.

Aizen couldn't help but smirk at the disgusted expression painted on Karin's face.

"Anyway …I'll go now" and she handed the cup back to its owner "See you tomorrow Samaki"

"Maybe"

He always said that after their sessions and he was always there the next day.

Karin waved at the waitress, a beautiful woman with light blonde hair, and thanked her for borrowing them the chess equipment. It was pretty old and eaten by caries, but for teaching Aizen how to play chess had been enough.

Only one thought passed through her mind while exiting the café bar.

'Toshiro… Maybe I will be able to forget you' she made a few steps, only to realize there was a little mistake in what she had just thought 'Toshiro I'm not only able of forget you … I think I finally did it'

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Well Ta1234, everything you said sounds true, and from the moment, I received all these reviews I was sure something like this would happen. I can tell you this: I exchanged messages with ElvinEaston, and WillDieForever. If you want, I can give you a print screen. Report it for abuse ... I do not care, because the system cannot lie ... believe me. All these reviews were sent from different countries ... everywhere, but not mine. I know that your reasons are just, but understand that ... I didn't fake my reviews.

Everything is against me, but I have this one last card I plan to play. I don't know how this site works but I think that it keeps a straight record of the reviewer's countries. I will also ask the targeted reviewers (Luce2086, Ferd1088, ElvinEaston, Hariman, WillDieForever and ToushirouKarin), if they are kind enough, to show their countries for a short period of time. I cannot do anything about the anonymous ones, but I'll fight for the ones with accounts.

To tell you that when I didn't have an account and I had a story in radar I one-line reviewed just to encourage the writer … anything is useless. I won't even try. I'm only destroying my health and my sanity.

I don't know if someone is faking reviews, but I can tell you this. That person is not me.

I'm sorry to tell you this, but if this continues I'm going to halt the writing, because no matter how sensible are all these reasons, they sicken me. I'm an honest person that just wants to publish her ideas. I sent a message to the support crew and asked them to check my story. Let's see if they find something at amiss.

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Sorry I didn't put too much spirit in the second part, but … I couldn't do it …

I took a large time skip because I don't want to bore anyone, and truth to be told I was bored with it XD. There is also so much more to the plot and so little time …

I'm sorry to inform you that I'm being forced to rarefy my updates. I'll have a math exam (only one) on 12-th of September. I'll try to update weekly till then … and when school starts, I'll do it twice a month. So if you want to follow the story, alert it and when I update you'll receive an email.

Hakkuchi: thank you for pointing out some rather embarrassing mistakes. I'm happy you "get too into some stories" I hope it's the same case with mine. And yes, Aizen's abilities have decreased because of the gigai. I'll tie all these loosened ends, but in due time. About the happy ending … it's too early to decide what I want to do. I have decided my plot for the next … err… 15 chapters, but from there I can go right, left … maybe it will be a crushing end, maybe it will be a happy one. I'm so vague XD You are not a random reviewer *smile* you are my reviewer *big hug 4 u*

Yoyo: I was the same … until my BF, snowAry, told me this amazing idea of coupling Karin with Aizen. He's an evil bastard and she's … not. The perfect combination.