A/N: As promised, here's a Trials update. For those of you following Chasing, we're going into our last arc with approximately 10-11 chapters left, and some of the things that happen to Karin in this chapter will definitely be getting a call back there.

The sequel to Chasing will be primarily ByaYuzu fluff, but I aim to actually make the sequel about three pairings (Hitsukarin fluff is a problem to write because they are not very fluffy individuals, but I will do my best to make them romantic as well without being OOC), so that fans of all three pairings won't walk away too disappointed. (Whoops, did I say three? *glances at OCs* I meant four, ohohohoho~)

Also, the omake may or may not be a preview for much later on, depending on what I decide to do~ (My sister designed the two characters in the omake, so I threw them in as a tribute to her).

This shouldn't be a warning at this point, but I just figured I'd point out...Karin has a potty mouth when she's annoyed (especially when she thinks she's alone). Eleventh Division is a bad influence in that regard.

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

Chapter 4: Lessons learned

One year later

"ORRRRRAAAAAAA!"

Karin's eyes snapped open at a sudden flux of reiatsu, and she quickly rolled out of bed, still wrapped in her blanket. As soon as she was out of the way, the wall above her bed splintered, a grinning Zaraki Kenpachi and some hapless Eleventh Division officer crashing through. They fell backwards onto what was left of her futon, swords locked together and debris scattering around them. The officer went limp, his zanpakuto falling from his hand as his dazed eyes stared up at the ruined ceiling. Zaraki grinned at her, swiping his sword out to the side. She was still crouched under her blanket, facing her bed with one hand on Ongetsu's sheath and the other on its hilt.

Ikkaku and Yumichika poked their heads through the new hole in her wall, surveying the destruction.

"Oh, not bad, Karin-chan," said Yumichika as he saw her. "Your reflexes are getting better."

"Nah," said Karin, sitting up and dusting herself off. She thought back to her childhood, where rolling out of bed to avoid flying Isshins was a necessary survival skill. "I'm used to this." She blinked, looking around at everyone as if just noticing that they were there. "Also, what the hell are all of you doing in my room?!"

"Yay! Party in Karin's room! Good morning, Rin-chan!"

A flash of pink tore through the hole in the wall, slamming into her chest. Karin let out an 'oof' as she fell backwards, glancing up at a grinning Yachiru.

"Oi..." she began, frowning at the younger girl. Yachiru scrambled off her before she could say anything, running to Kenpachi.

"Did you get him, Ken-chan?" she asked, excitedly, poking at the unconscious officer that now lay in a pile of wood on her bed.

Karin sighed, lying back on the ground in defeat and running a hand through her hair.

Karin was many things, but a morning person was not one of them. She was perfectly capable of waking up and being functional in the morning—had done it many times, both in the Academy and in Karakura Town for soccer practices—but that didn't mean she liked it. Unfortunately, while she was lucky enough to be in a Division whose captain considered sleeping in as a perfectly valid excuse to get out of work (alongside training, shopping, eating, drinking, and just about anything else that wasn't sitting around being useless), she was also in a Division where getting woken up by early morning brawls crashing into her quarters was just par for the course.

As such, she was not in the best of moods when she staggered into the mess hall for breakfast, her shihakusho slightly disheveled and her long black ponytail slightly askew. It had been about thirty minutes since said incident with Zaraki and the wall, just long enough for her to conclude that, no, sleeping on the floor wasn't worth it, and besides, she really needed to get that unconscious officer out of there and—crap, was he bleeding all over her bed? Not cool. She used some of her old medical training to check his vitals and make sure he wasn't dying, then, convinced that he was just a little dazed, slung him over her shoulder and deposited him roughly in the hallway, all while wondering what on earth possessed him to pick a fight with the captain. A quick shake of the mattress and a sweep of the area and her bed was good as new. As for the wall...

...She'd deal with the wall later. Much, much later. She wondered if there was any way she could get that officer to fix the wall for her, considering he was the one who broke it in the first place.

No, wait. He outranked her.

Well, there went that idea.

She grabbed a tray of food and a steaming cup of coffee and plopped it down on a table in the corner of the mess hall, waving her hand absently to acknowledge greetings of 'Morning, 17th Seat Kurosaki.'. She wondered how many seats she was going to have to win to convince these guys that she really didn't mind being called by her first name. Karin took a long sip of coffee, resolving not to bother with that until she was conscious. Thankfully, after a year in the Eleventh, most people seemed to understand the whole 'not a morning person' thing. Maybe they would actually leave her alone for a few hours.

"Morning Rin-chan! Are you drinking coffee? Ken-chan says I'm not allowed to drink coffee, on account of the last time I did it, I broke the roof and it was raining. Can I sit with you? Are you gonna eat your toast?"

—Or not.

Karin reached out with one hand, placing it on Yachiru's head and gently but firmly pushing the preteen off her lap. She wondered if this was how Toshiro felt dealing with Matsumoto all the time. She popped another piece of food in her mouth, not looking at Yachiru as the pink-haired girl dropped into the seat next to her, still grinning. She did, however, reach out as Yachiru attempted to stealthily snatch some of her food, trapping the pink-haired girl's chopsticks beneath her own.

"That's mine," she said. "Go get your own."

"But I already ate," said Yachiru.

"Then, go steal food from someone else. Yumichika's probably on a diet. He won't notice."

"Oh, are you two talking about me?" asked Yumichika, walking over to them with a tray in his hands and a smirk on his face. Behind him, Ikkaku followed, grinning. As they placed their trays down, Yachiru launched herself up at them from across the table, letting out a giggle. She placed one hand on Ikkaku's shoulder and the other on Yumichika's, nearly knocking them both into each other as she pushed off of them, swinging around Ikkaku and dropping into the seat next to his. Both of them let out shouts of alarm as they tried to keep their balance, and Ikkaku immediately straightened up, turning towards Yachiru.

"Oi!" he said. "You're getting a little too big for that!"

"But it's still fun!" said Yachiru with a grin, reaching out and picking up some of Ikkaku's food.

"Hey—!" said Ikkaku, reaching out with his chopsticks. He was too late to stop her, however, and Yachiru grinned, kicking her feet back and forth as she chewed on her ill-gotten gains. Karin propped her head up with one hand and took a sip of her coffee with the other, wondering how some people could be so alert in the mornings.

"Oh, yeah, Karin, that reminds me," said Ikkaku, looking up after a small scuffle with Yachiru over whatever was left on his plate. "You're training with me today. Hope you're prepared. I'm not gonna go easy on you just because you're Ichigo's sister."

"Yeah, yeah," said Karin, waving her hand in vague acknowledgment. "I'll be there." She raised her cup to her mouth, taking another sip of coffee. She lowered her cup, tensing slightly as she noticed Yumichika staring at her hair, his expression strangely contemplative. "Yumichika," she said, glancing at him. "You're doing the thing again. Stop doing the thing. It's creepy."

"But your hair..." said Yumichika, reaching out and tugging impatiently at the end of her messy ponytail. Karin's eyes widened, and she sprang back, nearly falling off the bench. "It's just not fair. You've got all this long, straight, beautiful black hair, and you tie it up in a ponytail! It's a crime!"

"Will you just stop messing with my hair?!" asked Karin, reaching out and swatting his hand away. "I like my ponytail!"

"At least make it an artsy ponytail. Instead of that 17th century samurai look. What are you, some kind of wandering swordsman that goes around picking fights?"

"..." Karin had to think about that one for a minute. "Yes!"

"Still ugly," said Yumichika, sitting back in his seat and folding his arms.

"Keep that up and I'll cut it all off," Karin warned, gripping her chopsticks in both hands.

Yumichika smiled. "As long as you cut it off..." He struck a pose, sparkles flying as he pushed his hair back and grinned. "...beautifully."

"Alright, I'm out," said Karin, slapping her chopsticks back onto her tray. It was too early to deal with this. She stood up, picking up her tray and maneuvering her way around the bench. "I'm eating in my room."

"Training yard in thirty," Ikkaku called after her as she walked away.

Karin raised an arm in acknowledgment, making her way to the door.

As she walked away, Yachiru stared after her, her head propped up in both her hands, and a frown on her face as if she was thinking.

"I think Rin-Rin likes it here," she finally said, tilting her head to the side.

Karin took a step back, her eyes wide as Ikkaku advanced. She raised Ongetsu's scythe quickly, catching the point of his spear on the flat of her own blade. Karin turned Hozukimaru's spear point aside, then quickly reversed direction, slashing Ongetsu at Ikkaku's middle. The third seat stepped easily out of reach, blocking her blow with his spear's shaft. He swung the spear down, and Karin had to jump back to avoid getting cut. The blade passed within an inch of her shoulder, tearing open a line in her shihakusho. Karin's eyes widened as she jumped back, quickly swinging her scythe at Ikkaku. He caught it easily with Hozukimaru's blade, keeping it there.

"Oi," he said. "What's with that boring fighting style?"

Karin looked up at him. She was breathing heavily from the intensity of the training session, the strands of dark hair that had fallen out of her ponytail clinging to her face with sweat. Ongetsu's scythe blade curved in the air a few inches from Ikkaku's head, held in place by Hozukimaru. "Boring?" she asked, once she had caught her breath.

"Slash, slash, slash, slash," said Ikkaku, frowning at her. "You ain't gonna win if that's the way you fight. Your zanpakuto's got two ends. Use 'em."

Karin frowned, glancing at Ongetsu's other end. The bottom of the shaft was capped with metal, but other than that it was dull, especially when compared to the large blade on the scythe's other end. "There's no blade on that side," she said.

"That so?" asked Ikkaku, grinning. Without warning, he suddenly flipped Hozukimaru around, jabbing the point of the shaft at her midsection. Karin's eyes widened as the wind was knocked out of her, the force of the blow sending her flying back. Ikkaku quickly advanced, a grin on his face as he spun Hozukimaru around, the blunt end of the shaft catching the side of her face before she could hit the ground. She flew off to the right, groaning as she slammed into the ground hard and continued rolling. Ikkaku advanced, and Karin quickly rolled to the side, still gasping for breath as Hozukimaru's blunt end slammed into the ground where she had been a few seconds ago. He turned towards her, swinging the shaft, and she managed to get Ongetsu up in time, holding the scythe out in front of her to stop him. The shaft slammed into the side of the blade, coming to a stop.

Karin stared up at him, breathing hard. Her whole body ached, in a way that told her she would be feeling it later. She moved her jaw experimentally, clenching her teeth against the pain. Not broken. One hell of a bruise, probably, but not broken.

"Well?" asked Ikkaku, grinning down at her. "Still hurts, doesn't it?"

She tasted blood in her mouth from that last blow. Karin wiped at her mouth with one shaky hand, meeting his eyes. "You've made your point," she said.

"Hm." Ikkaku stepped back, removing the spear. Karin sat up as soon as the pressure holding her down was gone, holding Ongetsu with both hands and using the scythe to help push herself to her feet. Ikkaku was already turning away from her, walking back towards the Division. "You wanna become a serious contender around here, you gotta learn to use that weapon to its fullest," he said. "That means start spinning. We'll pick this up again tomorrow."

Karin watched as he walked away, her eyes traveling to the scythe in her hand. Experimentally, she gave it a spin. It slipped from her fingers, clattering to the ground. Karin frowned, reaching down to pick it up again.

"So, I'm guessing you and Karin-chan had fun earlier?" asked Yumichika, smiling as he and Ikkaku walked back to the Division later that night, Ikkaku with a jug of sake slung over one shoulder. The third seat shrugged, glancing at his friend.

"Ah, she's a cocky brat," he said. "Same old, same old."

"You said that about Renji too," Yumichika noted, still smiling.

"Did I?" asked Ikkaku, glancing away. He thought back to Renji's first years in the Eleventh Division, how he thought an extending sword would give him an advantage when he was too afraid to actually extend the damn thing. "Well, it was true."

"Hmm?"

Yumichika smiled, saying nothing more as they walked down the streets of Seireitei, approaching the Eleventh Division. There, he paused, the jug of sake still in his hand as he studied the scene in front of him. Ikkaku came to a stop as well, watching.

"Oho..." Yumichika said.

The training yard of the Eleventh Division was lit by moonlight, the silvery light reflecting against Ongetsu's blade. Kurosaki Karin stood in the center of the courtyard, her scythe in both hands. The two Eleventh Division officers watched as she drew in a slow breath, her eyes fixing on the scythe as she slowly raised it over her head. She spun it, lazily at first but quickly increasing in speed. The scythe moved, becoming a blur of black above her. She shifted it to her right hand, bringing it down to her side.

The scythe slipped from her fingers, carried too far by the weight of the blade.

"Fuck," Karin cursed, bending down to pick it up. She winced in pain, her other arm going around her middle where Hozukimaru had stuck her. As the two of them watched, she picked up the scythe again, resting the other end on the ground as she glared at it. "Alright," she said, taking in a slow breath and letting her hand slowly peel away from her midsection. "One more time..."

Ikkaku watched Karin for a moment more, then turned away, disappearing through a side gate and walking into the Division. Yumichika hurried to keep pace with him, giving his friend a knowing smile.

"Well?" he asked, as they entered the Division's corridors.

"She's still got a long way to go," said Ikkaku, walking a little ahead of Yumichika. He couldn't quite manage to hide his smile though.

From the courtyard outside, Yumichika heard the sound of the blunt metal striking flesh, followed by the scythe clattering to the ground.

"...fucking piece of shit..." he heard Karin mutter.

Yumichika smiled, hurrying to catch up with Ikkaku.

TO BE CONTINUED

Omake: Masa-Masa's Love Love Life Diary Corner Star Sparkle!

...

"Iwase...what does that even mean?" asks Masa, glancing up at the title above him.

"I don't know," says Kohaku, lowering the bright pink paintbrush with a grin. "I think it's English, though."

"Do you even speak English?" asks Masa, frowning at her.

"Nope!" Kohaku replies cheerfully. "Not a word!"

Masa sighs, deciding by this point that it's best to just get on with it. He turns to face the audience, the title fading as he taps his pointer against the screen. "Today," he says, "We're going to talk about—"

"—My zanpakuto, Ayatori!" Kohaku blurts out, her arms spreading to cover the entire screen. Masa glances at her, frowning, and Kohaku looks back at him, a sheepish smile on her face. "Sorry," she says. "I've been waiting for this one forever."

Masa sighs, shaking his head. "Fine," he says. "If you want to, you can—"

"YES!" says Kohaku before he's finished talking. She quickly grabs the pointer out of his hands, slamming it excitedly at the screen and talking at rapid-fire speed as a series of images flash by on the screen, accompanying what she's saying."My zanpakuto, Ayatori, appears as a regular katana. But its unsealed form appears as a bunch of wires, just like the children's game, ayatori. Oh, sorry—it's cat's cradle over there, isn't it? Anyway, it lets me make a whole bunch of shapes with the wires, just like the children's game, except my wires can be super sharp, and they're much longer, and it's super awesome. I can use it to trap enemies, or to slice 'em to little bits, or to make platforms between buildings for me to stand on—you know, just like the cat's cradle bridge. Its release command is 'come out to play', and its zanpakuto spirit is—HEY!"

Kohaku lets out a shout as a bright light fills the screen, before the entire structure explodes outwards, a huge hole forming in the wall where the screen had once been. The blast knocks both Kohaku and Masa back, sending them tumbling to the floor as debris and rubble are strewn all over. From behind the wall, a small head of blond hair peeks out, glancing in both directions.

"I think it's safe, Kayo-chan," a young boy says, pulling himself up through the hole and extending a hand to the girl behind him. He's dressed in a white gi and dark red hakama, and his skin is dark, in sharp contrast to his blond hair. His eyes are gold as well, and he appears to be around eight years old. The girl he pulls through the hole by the hand looks about the same age, with long brown hair and brown eyes. She's dressed in a pale pink kimono. The boy is wearing some sort of device around his wrist, with several blinking lights.

The girl lets out a groan, holding her head. The boy turns toward her, looking at her with some concern. "Are you alright?" he asks.

"I'm fine," says the girl, Kayo. "Just dizzy." She looks behind her, and her eyes widen as she sees the wall. "Oh no, Eisuke! We broke the wall again!"

"Again?" asks Eisuke, scratching the back of his head as he considers it. "Darn. That's like, the fourth wall, isn't it?"

"Are we really making that joke?" asks Kohaku, pushing a hand under herself and struggling to her feet.

"And also, who are you?" asks Masa from the other side of the room, his eyes narrowing.

The two children look towards them, their eyes wide. Their eyes move between Masa and Kohaku a few times, before exchanging glances. In a flash, the two of them are standing huddled in a corner of the room, whispering to each other.

"That definitely looks like Masa-ji," the girl says.

"Agreed," says the boy. "That's definitely Haru's dad."

"Which means the lady is Koha-basan."

"But they look so young..." says the boy.

The girl frowns. "That must mean..."

"We went back in time!" the two children say in unison, their eyes wide as they turn to each other.

"Oi..." says Masa, as he and Kohaku walk slowly towards the children. "Who are you two again?"

"Yeah, and who's Haru?" asks Kohaku, frowning.

Kayo smiles brightly, stepping forward. "Haru is—mmph!"

Before she can finish speaking, Eisuke springs up, covering her mouth with one hand and pulling her back with the other arm. He glances up at Masa and Kohaku, then jumps back into the corner, releasing Kayo. "Don't tell them anything," he says, in a whisper loud enough to be heard anyway. "You could change the future!"

"The future...?" asks Kayo, blinking up at Eisuke.

"Yeah," says Eisuke, nodding. "A time paradox! For example, what if your dad finds out about me before I'm even born?"

Kayo stares at Eisuke, realization slowly dawning on her face. "We would never meet!" she says, her eyes widening in horror. "I would be so bored!"

"Exactly," says Eisuke, nodding again. "So, no talking about the future, got it?"

"Got it," says Kayo, nodding back. The two children exchange another round of nods, before Eisuke steps forward, clearing his throat.

"We are...aliens!" he says. "Um—cat aliens! From the planet...Pizzicato! Uh—nyan!"

"Right, nyan!" says Kayo, coming to stand next to Eisuke and nodding emphatically. "We are looking for our mothership, nyan."

"The—uh...Cat...astrophe, nyan!" says Eisuke. "And we really must be going!"

He grabs onto Kayo's hand, the two of them running off into the distance. As they run, Kayo reaches up with her other hand, waving at Masa and Kohaku. "It's nice to meet you, nyan~" she says.

Masa and Kohaku stare, blinking as the children run away.

"Phew," says Eisuke, once he and Kayo are far enough away. "That was close. Now to figure out how to get home." He holds the watch up close to his face, starting to fiddle with it.

"You're sure there aren't any instructions?" asks Kayo, straightening out her long brown hair.

"I'm sure," says Eisuke, looking at the watch. "My dad doesn't leave instructions. But don't worry, Kayo-chan! I can get us home."

"Okay, if you say so," says Kayo, looking around. She frowns, seeing something white resting on the floor. "Hey, Eisuke, what's this?" she asks, picking up a crumpled up sheet of lined paper.

"Just some lame note my dad wrote," says Eisuke, still fiddling with the settings. "It doesn't have any instructions, though, I already checked."

"Huh..." Kayo frowns, turning the note over. Instead of a signature, it has a pair of faces drawn onto the lower right corner, one of a chibi head with messy hair wearing a striped hat, and the other of a black cat. She shrugs, tossing the note away.

Meanwhile, approximately 70 years in the future...

"I don't get it..." Urahara Kisuke scratched his head in confusion, blinking down at an empty metal pedestal where his new invention had been sitting just a moment ago. "I told him not to touch it."

Yoruichi folded her arms from where she was sitting on top of a rock in the underground training room beneath the shop, her legs crossed. "How did you tell him?" she asked.

"I wrote him a note," said Kisuke, lifting one finger. "It said 'Eisuke, this is very dangerous and still experimental. Do not touch. Heart, heart, smiley-face.'."

Yoruichi scowled, a vein pulsing on her forehead as she sat up. "Then of course he's going to touch it!" she said.

"I even drew him a picture of us to show that I was serious..." said Kisuke, ignoring her outburst and walking away. He sighed, rubbing his chin with one hand. "Kids these days..."

Q & A Time

"Alright," says Kohaku, pulling out two sheets of paper. "That was weird, but on with the show. Today we have two questions. First, for Masa. Mysticfolly really wants to know...what kind of food would you prefer? Italian, Chinese, or French?"

"Hmm..." Masa frowns, considering for a moment. "That's a difficult one. I suppose my answer would be French."

Kohaku snorts, setting down the paper. "You're just saying that to sound classy. I saw you scarf down that pizza."

"I don't know what you're talking about, Iwase," says Masa. He picks up a second piece of paper, glancing at Kohaku. "This one's for you. whitedragon2645 wants to know what Seireitei pairing you ship." He pauses for a moment, frowning. "Ship? Ship to where?"

Kohaku sighs, waving a hand dismissively. "Never mind, Masa. It's a fandom thing. You wouldn't understand."

"Understand what?" asks Masa.

"Nothing," says Kohaku. "Nothing. Anyway, I wanna say ByaYuzu because she's my best friend and all, but ByaRen is actually kinda hot. You've got that whole forbidden love, opposites attract thing going, and maybe my taicho will finally stop staring wistfully at Rukia when he thinks she isn't looking and—ooh! ooh! PLOT TWIST! ByaIchi! Ooh—or—UkiShun or whatever the name is for that—or—or—."

"Iwase..." says Masa, inching away from her on the couch. "I have no idea what you're talking about, but you're scaring me. And also your nose is bleeding."

Kohaku sniffs, wiping at her nose with one hand. "The price of youth," she says.