Disclaimer: It is so obvious that I don't own Bleach.
Karin sat at the porch of the medical cabin waiting for someone to tell her about Ichigo.
She overreacted when she saw him, but it was understandable, sort of. Karin remembered her mother's death, even though she didn't remember much of her life. She remembered when her mother was carried into the village, after she was dragged into the woods. She remembers the blood, the gashes, every cut and scrape that appeared on her mother's body is ingrained in Karin's mind. From where Karin stood in the village, she knew that Ichigo's wounds were far more serious than her mother's.
Karin Kurosaki does not get scared very often, but at that moment in time she was terrified. All she could see was the grave that Ichigo would be laid in, and her words just moments before.
"Why would I be excited? Am I supposed to be excited about no more quiet days in the afternoons or in the mornings?"
Karin winced at that memory. No wonder Yuzu acted so surprised, that was cruel to say even for Karin.
"I can't believe I said that." Karin whispered to the ground hugging her knees tighter. "To think, Ichigo may never come home again." Karin mumbled and buried her forehead in her knee.
"You shouldn't beat yourself up over this." Toushiro stated walking up beside her with two cups of steaming tea in his hands.
"May I sit beside you?" He kindly asked indicating the spot at her right side she slid over slightly to give him room.
"Here take this," Toushiro offered one of the tea cups, "it's green tea it will help calm your nerves." Karin accepted the cup and calmly took a few sips.
"I overreacted, and I'm sorry." Karin sadly stated staring at the steaming liquid in her cup.
"For what?" Toushiro asked taking some sips from his own tea.
"For getting worked up about Ichigo in the middle of the street. It's not like me. I mean my dad is a doctor so I've seen injuries like that-"
"Stop that." Toushiro quietly ordered effectively silencing Karin.
"This is not your fault. Anyone would have done the same thing in your position. To tell the truth, you were pretty calm considering what you were going through." Toushiro admitted. Karin glanced over at him then continued drinking her tea.
"Still, I should have-"
"How many times do I have to say stop?" Toushiro asked again.
"You're right. But, what I said earlier is getting on my nerves!" Karin yelled in frustration as the guilt started eating away at her.
"What did you say?" Toushiro asked raising a white eyebrow as he became more curious.
"I said that I didn't want him coming home and I would miss the quiet afternoons and mornings." Karin took a long swallow of tea before continuing.
"Since I've seen him so seriously injured, I may never have another hectic day at my house." Karin stared at her cup.
"You don't have to worry about Ichigo. I just came from speaking with Isane and she said that he would make it." Toushiro explained to Karin.
'But, it was very close.' Toushiro thought to himself, he didn't want her to know how close Ichigo really came to leaving them.
"Do they know when he'll be able to come home?" Karin glanced over at him.
"They don't know. He'll survive this attack Dr. Unohana is more than certain . . . but, he lost a lot of blood and because of that his body is going to take a long time to heal." Toushiro finished his tea before he looked Karin in the eyes.
"Do you mean days or weeks?" Karin asked with worry etched in her face.
"Weeks that could stretch into months. Dr. Unohana has been studying more advanced kido styles in order to help advance his recovery. The only thing we can do now is wait for Ichigo to awaken." Toushiro sighed in relief at seeing the worry lift from her face.
"That's good to know." Karin smiled, finishing her cooled tea in one swallow.
"Yes, it is." Toushiro agreed.
"Yuzu's going to be glad that Ichigo will be alright, and I know she'll be counting the days until he comes back." Karin giggled trying to improve the situation, but it wasn't working as the laugh died and her expression became sour.
"Yes, she will. Are you okay?" Toushiro kept his eyes on Karin when she turned back to look at him.
"Hmm?"
"Are you okay?" Toushiro asked again.
"Yeah, I'll be fine. Thanks Toushiro." Karin stood up and handed her empty tea cup back to him.
"You're a good friend." Karin turned so quick she didn't see Toushiro grimace.
"Yeah, I'm a good friend." Toushiro set the cups on the porch preparing to leave when an older man approached him.
"Ouch, it hurts to be the good friend, doesn't it?" The man had long black wavy hair with long bangs framing the left side of his face wearing a big straw hat and a pink kimono over his black shirt and pants.
"Mr. Kyoraku, how are you today?" Toushiro politely asked, ignoring the older man's question.
"Well, I was heading this way and I happened to overhear you little conversation. I know what it's like to be a friend and want to be something more." Shunsui Kyoraku joined Toushiro on the porch, tilting his hat a little higher on his head.
"I don't know what you're talking about?" Toushiro averted his eyes from Shunsui making the older man smile a devilish grin.
"I know what you're thinking." Shunsui teased the boy with a sigh Toushiro turned his attention to him.
"So, I want to give you some advice on how to get that girl." Shunsui proudly exclaimed ignoring Toushiro's look of disbelief.
"Thanks but no thanks. Rangiku has warned me not to take ANY advice from you, Mr. Kyoraku." Toushiro kindly declined the offer.
"What?" Shunsui blinked in surprise. "Why not?"
"Rangiku does not think very highly of you, and she's asked me to stay as far from you as possible." Toushiro kindly summarized Rangiku's opinion. She really thought the man should be fed to a dragon for being a flirt and playing with a woman's feelings.
"So what does she think of me?" Shunsui curiously asked.
"You don't want to know." Toushiro stated but Shunsui ignored him.
"Come on, I can take it." Shunsui stated again, this time Toushiro shrugged his shoulders.
"Okay, in short, she thinks you should not be allowed to procreate." Toushiro censored the majority of Rangiku's opinion.
Shunsui Kyoraku stared in open shock then bowed his head in defeat.
"You're right I didn't want to know that."
"I tried to warn you." Toushiro stood from the porch, holding the empty tea cups as he turned from Shunsui Kyoraku.
"I will see you later, Mr. Kyoraku."
"Just a minute, Toushiro," Shunsui called his attention, turning toward him Toushiro listened very carefully.
"Chief Yamamoto sent me to fetch you." Shunsui explained, this really peaked Toushiro's curiosity.
"Why would the Chief want to speak with me?"
"I don't know, but he said it was very important and he wanted to see you right away." Shunsui explained.
"Thank you, Mr. Kyoraku." Toushiro bowed and turned toward the cabin doors.
"You know I could take those tea cups in to be washed, if you want to head on over to the Chief." Shunsui offered and Toushiro handed over the tea cups, seeing the Chief is more important than getting the dishes cleaned.
Toushiro left the porch of the medical cabin and headed toward Chief Yamamoto's office. Halfway to the office, he heard a loud slap and one female voice screeching from the medical cabin. Toushiro ignored this commotion with a shake of his head, continuing toward the office without even a look over his shoulder.
…………
Karin had left Toushiro sitting on the porch at the medical cabin while she walked down the main road of town heading toward her house. She didn't pay much attention to her surroundings as she passed the black smith. She didn't even notice the pounding of the metal, but the noise that startled her was that of an explosion.
"That was a nice shot, Uryu." Karin heard a woman compliment Uryu at the back of the smithy.
"Thank you, Orihime." Uryu replied. Karin turned around to the back of the Black smith furnace and watched a red haired girl with a very large chest compliment a tall, thin man with long black hair and glasses that glared when he nudged them higher on his nose. Orihime turned to look at Karin walk up behind the smithy.
"Oh hello Karin, how are you doing?" Orihime asked extending her hand to shake Karin's.
"Um, do I know you?" Karin hesitantly asked this strange woman.
"Oh, where are my manners? My name is Orihime Inoue. I'm a friend of Ichigo." Orihime explained while she shook Karin's hand fiercely.
"We haven't officially met, but I've known you since you were much younger than you are now. My you've grown a lot. How old are you?"
"Orihime! I'm sure Karin doesn't want her arm shaken off." Uryu kindly noted to Orihime, she promptly dropped Karin's hand. Karin tested her hand to see that there was still some feeling.
"My name is Uryu Ishida." Uryu introduced with a bow.
"Well, I'm Karin Kurosaki, but apparently you knew that." Karin responded. She looked beyond Uryu and Orihime spotting a type of barrel with a bull's eye target drawn in the center. It was difficult to see the center since there was a charred arrow sticking in the center.
"What are you doing?" Karin asked, Uryu turned toward the barrel adjusting his glasses higher on the bridge of his nose he turned back to her and explained.
"Well, I am an archer. I was testing out a new type of arrow."
"One that explodes?" Karin asked, he nodded his head.
"That is correct. I have discovered a mixture of raw materials will combust on impact with a solid object. I'm trying them out right now." Uryu pulled out an arrow with a little sack tied at the tip covering the arrow head.
"Orihime, will you please set up another barrel?"
"Right away, Uryu," Orihime saluted and ran around another cabin rolling a similarly painted barrel beside the charred barrel. After adjusting the barrel to face Uryu, she ran back to stand behind Uryu with Karin.
"You might want to cover your ears." Karin and Orihime did as he suggested. Karin watched Uryu set the arrow in the bow aiming for the barrel; he patiently waited a moment then released the arrow. The arrow flew with surprising speed with the pouch covering the tip and hit the center in a cloud of dark smoke and an echoing "boom". Covering her ears didn't keep them from ringing, Karin stared in shock when she saw the arrow lodged in the center with the area immediately surrounding the arrow was covered in soot.
"That's amazing. Why did you invent it?" Karin asked, rubbing her ears until they stopped ringing.
"I invented it as a way to fight the dragons. Our biggest trouble is hitting them where they are most vulnerable, but sadly a dragon has very few vulnerable locations. So, I am hoping that the gunpowder will weaken the point of contact on the dragon's scales enough for the arrow to pierce the flesh. It won't be a kill but it will certainly injure the beast." Uryu explained with another nudge of his glasses.
"Really. . ." Karin rubbed her chin, glancing between the bow and the barrel.
"Hey, Uryu, may I try?" Karin asked. Uryu blinked in surprise.
"Do you know how to use a bow and arrow?" Uryu asked.
"Yes, I've shot an arrow before, one time. Ichigo let me try a few months ago before he went on a mission. He said I had some talent." Karin explained with a shrug of her shoulders.
"Alright then," Uryu handed her the bow and gave her a powder packed arrow. "Just remember to keep your arm and back straight and wait until the right moment. You'll know when to let the arrow go." Uryu finished explaining as Orihime rolled out another barrel. Karin nodded her head, waiting for Orihime to run behind, then setting the arrow in the bow and raised it to aim.
Karin closed her eyes for a second taking a deep breath she fixed both her eyes on the barrel and waited. The next moment Karin let go of the arrow and it hit the target with a "boom" and soot splattering the side of the barrel. Karin groaned quietly, she had hit the outer edge just inside the target zone.
"That was very good, Karin." Orihime clapped her hand in applause nodding her head as if to agree with herself.
"Yes," Uryu adjusted his glasses stunned for a moment that Karin was able to hit the barrel seeing as this was only her second time.
"It appears that Ichigo was correct: you do have quite a lot of talent." Uryu complimented her again. Karin didn't appear to hear him since her eyes were still focused on the barrel.
"Uryu, have you ever tried to shoot an arrow with kido?" Karin asked.
"No, I don't know Kido and have no interest in learning." Uryu explained. "Why do you ask?"
"Well, I want to try something, if it's alright with you." Karin stated to Uryu. Uryu shrugged his shoulders motioning for Orihime to roll out another barrel while he moved for the bag tipped arrows.
"I don't want to use those. I just need a normal arrow." Karin explained, Uryu glanced over at her blinking in surprise. He moved to another quiver leaning against the smithy pulling out a normal arrow with a very sharp tip and handing it to Karin.
"Thank you." Karin accepted the arrow and waited for Orihime to move out of the way.
"Do you think it will work? From my understanding, those kido spells are for destroying things and only the dragon hunters are able to perform them." Uryu noted to Karin, she faced the barrel and notched the arrow in the bow.
"Toushiro has been teaching me kido for the past two years since he graduated from his schooling. I'm almost as good as he is." Karin stated with pride. Orihime ran behind Karin standing beside Uryu. He shrugged his shoulders at Orihime's silent question.
Karin raised the bow and arrow pointing to the barrel and focusing very hard, she then started the incantation.
"Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man!" A red ball of energy began forming around the arrow tip growing and spiraling into a small sphere engulfing the arrow head. "Inferno and pandemonium, the sea barrier surges, march on to the south!" With the final verse, Karin released the arrow. The arrow soared with the ball of energy speeding it to the barrel where it hit and exploded on contact causing wood chips to fly in all different directions as the arrow continued on its course to implant in a tree trunk several hundred feet behind the destroyed barrel.
Uryu and Orihime stood in stunned silence, staring unblinking at where the barrel once stood and now a pile of wood pieces lay in a huddled pile steaming from the heat of the kido blast.
"I would call that a successful hit." Karin quietly exclaimed. She didn't see Uryu and Orihime's eyes nearly pop out of their sockets at her casual attitude.
"Do-do-do you know wh-what you just did?" Orihime slowly asked pointing to the destroyed barrel.
"Yes, I do. I just fired an arrow fused with kido into that barrel and tree." Karin calmly answered.
"But, no one's ever done that before. That has more power than hundreds of Uryu's powder bag heads." Orihime rambled on and on, but Karin drowned her out as a plan started forming in her mind. Her plan for revenge was forming as she held the bow in her hands.
…………
Toushiro calmly walked into Chief Yamamoto's office and became slightly surprised to see Byakuya Kuchiki standing in front of Yamamoto.
"I came at a bad time, I'm sorry, Chief Yamamoto. I'll come back later." Toushiro headed for the door but was halted by Yamamoto's words.
"There is no need; I would like to speak to the both of you." Chief Yamamoto spoke to Toushiro's back. He immediately turned around and calmly walked up to the desk.
"Thank you for coming in such a short time, Toushiro." Chief Yamamoto began, Toushiro replied with a silent nod.
"As you are aware, Byakuya Kuchiki is a kido expert from the kingdom of Sereitei." Yamamoto paused to give Toushiro time to nod in agreement.
"But, what you do not know is that Byakuya Kuchiki is a high ranking member of the army." Toushiro's eyes widened, since Byakuya had come to Karakura no one had paid him the respect of his office.
"However, Kuchiki did not feel the need to express his opinion seeing as we are such a small village with so few people. These new events have shown us different." Toushiro looked on in confusion.
"Byakuya Kuchiki is a Captain in the army and is a representative of the kingdom while he is out. He continues to lead his division in the army but is in need of more assistance. This is where you come in, Toushiro Hitsugaya." He continued to focus all of his attention on the Chief.
"Captain Kuchiki would like to induct you into the army of Sereitei as a Captain, if you are able." Chief Yamamoto ended his speech and Toushiro stared at the leader of Karakura in shocked silence for a moment.
……………
Karin left the smithy a few moments after the arrow demonstrations. She carried the bow and some normal arrows so she could practice her shot and improve on the new attacks. Uryu handed them over without question. Karin was pretty sure his silence was due to her kido charged arrow. She couldn't surpress a giggle that passed from her mouth as she walked up to her house. Her house is a small four room single story cabin that includes a dining table and location for the kitchen. But, before she entered her house she took a detour to the stable behind the house.
They were the owners of a single horse named Masaki. She is a beautiful pale beige horse with black tail and mane. Their father named her shortly after her mother passed away. The horse was found in a meadow as a young philly after being separated from its herd. Her father had found it and brought it home. He proudly named the young filly Masaki for their shortly departed mother. That was five years ago. Ichigo and Karin took care of the horse on alternating days, but now Karin was the sole caretaker for the horse.
Walking into the stable, Karin stroked the long neck of Masaki; the horse gently neighed in pleasure at the small gesture.
"I'm the only one who comes back here, Masaki. No one else will know you're gone. We'll be back before anyone even notices." Karin continued to pat the horse, explaining her plan. Masaki listened to Karin with both ears pointed in her direction.
"I have to do this, Masaki. You understand." Karin sighed leaning her head against the wood rail holding Masaki in the stall.
"No one else will understand, especially Toushiro. But I have to do this." Karin explained looking back into Masaki's eyes.
…………
Toushiro stared across the desk at Chief Yamamoto.
"Chief Yamamoto, I respect your opinion however, I am only thirteen years old. How am I supposed to be a Captain?" Toushiro asked and Yamamoto nodded his head in understanding then looked to Captain Kuchiki.
"I have been speaking with Princess Yoruichi and she is highly impressed with your skill and assistance within this village. She believes that you will be a great asset not only in this situation but all situations that may occur in other areas of the kingdom." Captain Kuchiki paused for any questions.
"Captain Kuchiki, I am incapable of performing the duties of a captain." Toushiro explained.
"Your duties will continue to be what they are in the village: noting the amount of dragon attacks, and the methods used to destroy them. The only difference is that you will be reporting to both Chief Yamamoto and Princess Yoruichi. Other than that, nothing about your life will change." Captain Kuchiki explained in hopes of easing Toushiro's fears.
'But, my life will change. More responsibilities and more people to ensure are safe – I could do that easily. If I accept this offer, then everything will change.' Toushiro thought hard while Chief Yamamoto and Captain Kuchiki waited patiently.
…………
Karin dropped the bow and arrows in the stable with Masaki's saddle and the items she would need for traveling through the forest.
'If I do this, then there is no going back. Everything will change.' Karin thought to herself as she walked up to the house. She entered in the kitchen area where Yuzu was furiously working on chopping vegetables to be put in a salad sitting in a clay bowl at her right elbow. She only paused in making supper when she spotted Karin enter through the sliding pane.
"Karin! I'm so glad you're back." Yuzu put the knife down to run to her sister and give her a big hug.
"I heard about Ichigo, I'm sorry that you had to see. Rukia told me you were taking it pretty bad." Yuzu continued to explain. Karin nodded in agreement with her twin sister.
"Yeah, it was pretty bad, but Dr. Unohana says that he'll be fine. It will take some time, but Ichigo will wake up and be as loud as before." Karin explained to Yuzu. Yuzu beamed in joy and began dancing in the small kitchen area. Karin chuckled watching her sister be so excited at this simple bit of news.
"Oh, that's right. Ms. Hoshi came by a little while ago. She said that we could miss tomorrow's class since Ichigo was hurt so badly today. Ms. Hoshi understands and will work with us to make up for any school that we miss." Yuzu explained again, Karin nodded her head.
"Alright, you can go to school tomorrow, Yuzu. I need a break." Karin stated, her sister's face fell immediately.
"Are you sure?" Yuzu asked.
"Yeah, I'm sure. I'll just hang around here all day and take a ride on Masaki to clear my head. The meadows are in bloom now and I enjoy going down there to get my mind off things. Besides, Masaki would just love to roll in the field - she needs a few hours out of that stable." Karin effectively explained her story making Yuzu beam in happiness.
"Alright, I'll tell Ms. Hoshi tomorrow. I hope you enjoy your day off tomorrow." Yuzu exclaimed. Karin nodded her head to walk past her sister heading to their shared room at the far side of the house to wait for dinner. While waiting, Karin mentally went over her plans. She would have to be fast if she wanted to return before dark.
…………
Toushiro closed his eyes in thought before looking Chief Yamamoto in the eyes.
"Very well, I agree to be a Captain in the army of the Sereitei." Toushiro Hitsugaya agreed.
"Very good, Captain Hitsugaya," Yamamoto made sure to emphasize his title. Toushiro nodded his head, there was no turning back now.
"I will come by your cabin in the morning to drop off your official uniform and to further explain your duties." Captain Kuchiki explained then turned from Chief Yamamoto and calmly leaving the office.
'I'm sorry, Karin. It looks like I won't be able to spend as much time with you as before.' Toushiro quietly apologized in his mind as he bowed to Chief Yamamoto and followed Captain Kuchiki out into the darkening street of Karakura.
…………
Karin ate supper the night before and went straight to bed. Karin woke up with her sister just like every day. Like every day before, Karin ate breakfast while Yuzu tidied the house up. After cleaning the house, Yuzu gathered her books and waved goodbye to Karin. Karin waved back with a smile on her face as she watched Yuzu leave down the street toward their school.
Karin quickly ran to the stable behind the house where she quickly dressed in the white hakusho and red pants she wore to train with Toushiro. In record speed, Karin saddled Masaki and adjusted the bridle and saddle to fit her short arms and legs. She gathered the saddle bags holding the food supplies and the hunting knife she carried with her and placed them behind the saddle securing them with rope making sure they would not move. Finally, she retrieved the bow and quiver of arrows she obtained from Uryu yesterday.
Karin walked Masaki out of the stable looking around her to make sure no one was watching. Outside she moved to the stump of a fallen tree so she could jump on Masaki's back. After a minute to adjust in the saddle, Karin looked around the house and stable for a minute. With a click of her tongue, Karin urged Masaki to the outskirts of Karakura where no one would be watching.
'There's no turning back now. Toushiro, I'm sorry. I have to do this.' Karin thought to herself glancing at the street and seeing it was empty. Karin tapped her heels into Masaki's sides and they galloped into the forest. The forest engulfed the horse and rider as they swiftly traveled deeper into the forest and the unknown.
A/N: I hope you like this chapter. Also, I didn't mention this earlier but this story was inspired by the movie How To Train Your Dragon, but I'm not following the same path the makers of the movie used. Anyway, if anything seems too similar it is not meant to be and I'll include the disclaimer anyways.
Disclaimer: I don't own the movie How To Train Your Dragon, this is owned by Dreamworks.
A/N2: I went back and fixed the problems you guys had during the first chapter. I'll try really hard not to make those same mistakes again. And, it really helps when you guys point out the grammar problems – grammar is my weakest area and I do not do well.
Well, please review and let me know what you think.