A/N: just a quick note to say how sorry I am for the little hiatus I took with this story (and also how freaking short this chapter is). Don't you worry we are getting right back on schedule.
Becoming who we were meant to be
7: Out of the closet
The next morning, Karin exits her room, once again dressed in that purple yukata; the same one that's been annoying the living shit out of her ever since she entered the Seireitei, two days ago. In her twenty years of life, the number of times she wore dresses could honestly be counted on a single hand, and if Karin could cut her own hair and exchange it for a pair of yoga pants, she would in the snap of a finger.
Unfortunately, her dress code is probably the least of her current worries. After all, she did spend the entire night eating the inside of her cheek as her family's known and unknown secrets rummaged through her head. How neat.
Karin rolls up her annoyingly long sleeves as she steps into the hallway and silently walks over to the dining room. She stops on the side of the door when she notices Ichigo and Rukia, facing each other. They're whispering something she can't hear, and Rukia's face looks troubled to say the least. Karin feels anxiety creeping in her stomach; what could they be talking about? Does it concern her? Or is it none of her business?
Her worries are quickly put to rest when she sees Ichigo's lips curve upwards and his eyes soften. Karin frowns from her hiding spot as Ichigo's hand reaches forward and brushes a piece of Rukia's hair away from her forehead. Rukia blinks and mumbles something incoherent as she turns her head away, and Karin only catches the word 'idiot' before her brother's laugh quietly resonates through the room.
Deciding this is most likely none of her business, she scoffs to herself and turns around, heading for the garden. As she steps outside the sun hits her face with warmth and she closes her eyes for a moment, trying to adjust to the brightness. When she opens her eyes again, her breath gets caught in her throat and she freezes on the spot.
A man is sitting on the bench, right under that little Sakura tree. The same bench where she sat and talked with Toshiro, that first night she got here.
Karin studies the man; he has long, raven-black hair that's partially held back on the side. He's wearing a peculiar scarf, almost as if he's trying to hide his face with it. He's dressed in what Karin now perfectly recognizes as a shihakusho, and a captain haori. She swallows.
The man's eyes are closed, and for a second, he almost looks like he's made out of porcelain. Intact and inanimate.
Is he Rukia's brother, Karin wonders silently. The one Ichigo's been telling her about?
He is beautiful, that's for certain. In the same way she always thought Rukia was, but…strangely he doesn't look anything like her.
Suddenly feeling inexplicably afraid to see the man open his eyes and notice her eavesdropping, Karin backs down, one foot after the other, until the garden is out of view.
Maybe it's time for her to go explore the Seireitei on her own, after all.
Karin wanders down the streets of the Seireitei alone for a while before she starts to wonder if her brother will ever notice she's gone. Not that it matters really, she's grown used to this place enough not to require constant babysitting. Although she had expected to feel threatened, or at least somewhat intimidated by this place, it never once felt anything close to Rukongai.
Karin makes her way in between buildings, silently observing the world around her but making sure to keep a safe distance with every Shinigami that crosses her path. She gets a few confused glances once in a while, but most of them just carry on their daily tasks without paying special attention to her, something she realizes she feels relieved by. Karin cannot begin to explain just how fascinating this whole place is. In the human world, everyone is different. Everyone goes through life thinking about themselves, and what they want to do when they grow up. Become a nurse, an artist, a teacher, or a business man, in the end, everyone is serving themselves.
In Soul Society, people train to achieve one common goal; become stronger to be able to protect. There are no complicated questions, no 'what do you want to do with your life' and no mess altogether.
There's just…life.
That thought alone is captivating enough to make her smile.
Karin's head jerks up when she suddenly walks straight into someone's back. She quickly backs off and blinks repeatedly, frowning.
"I'm sorry I…wasn't paying attention," she mumbles her excuse. The person she walked into turns around, and Karin widens her eyes are she recognizes the tall woman.
"Karin-chan!" Rangiku exclaims as her eyes widen as well. She throws her arms around her and hugs her so close and tight any spec of light suddenly disappears from view. "I wanted to come see you but 'captain said you needed time! Tell me, how are you doing sweetie?"
Karin blinks, pressed into the darkness of the older woman's cleavage. She tries to answer but her voice is muffled in the proximity.
"What's that?" Rangiku asks, but still doesn't let go of her death grip.
"For god's sake Matsumoto, at least let her breathe," Toshiro's voice reaches her ears.
"Oh!" Rangiku spurts out and finally releases her. Karin takes in a breath of oxygen and looks up at the vice-captain. "So sorry! What were you saying?"
"I said I've been doing…" Karin starts but hesitates to find the words. "…better than I expected." She answers genuinely as a grin appears on her face. Relief spreads its wings into her stomach when she realizes that she doesn't need to fake her smiles anymore.
Rangiku smiles back warmly, her beautiful blonde hair shining under the sunlight. "I never doubted how tough you were," she tells her in a kind voice, putting a hand on her shoulder. Somehow, something about the way Matsumoto speaks and looks at her makes her feel…comfortable. Like she's with family, or almost like a mother talking to her daughter.
As strange as it is, Karin doesn't reject that foreign feeling.
Matsumoto suddenly claps her hands together, an excited expression on her face. "I know what we should all do!" Her chest bounces almost as much as her hair does. "Let's go back in the 10th barracks and enjoy each other's company over a warm glass of sake!" She exclaims with wide, sparkly eyes.
Toshiro appears from the side, eyes closed and arms crossed, looking as annoyed as he always used to look. Karin can't help the tiny grin that tugs at her lips.
"Matsumoto," he snarls. "Might I remind you that we're on duty in less than an hour."
Matsumoto sticks her tongue out for two seconds and grimaces. "Your point exactly, captain? Come onnnn," she whines. "That never stopped us before!"
Toshiro frowns and sighs in frustration. "You mean that never stopped you before."
The blonde lieutenant grins widely and turns back to Karin, taking her smaller hands in hers and shaking, eager in anticipation. "Come on Karin-chan, what do you say?"
Karin blinks, looks back and forth between the exhilarated Matsumoto, and the scowling Hitsugaya. She shrugs her shoulders and smirks. "Sure, why not?"
"Yo, anyone in there?" Renji calls out as he opens the sliding office door. What he finds instead of an empty room is Rukia, sitting at her desk with her head buried in paperwork, and Ichigo, leaning on the corner of her desk, arms-crossed and staring back with surprised brows.
"Yo," he says as a greeting.
"What are you guys doing?" Renji asks as he steps into the room.
Ichigo shrugs. "Rukia's doing paperwork," he answers plainly.
The sixth division lieutenant glares at his friend. "What about you?"
"Karin slipped out of the Kuchiki mansion this morning, and I can't find her. Knowing her, she probably wants to explore the place on her own," Ichigo's lips curve slightly. "So I'm here in case she shows up."
Renji nods and smirks, his thick red hair tied up high on his head swaying with the movement. "Not too threatened by this place is she? How's she doing?"
"Not too bad," Ichigo answers as he pushes himself off the desk. "Actually, better than I could've expected. I think she might be trying to adjust to this lifestyle."
Renji raises a brow as he leans against a pillar. "Wow. Already? That was fast, even for a Kurosaki."
Ichigo chuckles and scratches the back of his head. "You tell me."
"And what about you?" Renji throws the question out on a limb. Ichigo stays silent for a second, then finally shrugs out of habit.
"Guess it'll depend on how tomorrow's captain meeting goes."
He's been trying to avoid thinking about it, but no matter how hard he tries, Yamamoto's angry voice calling out a second meeting to decide his fate just keeps twirling back and resonating in his head.
"Not that I don't enjoy listening to your reunion, but if you could do that somewhere else," Rukia interrupts as she makes her presence known, a frown on her face. "I've been trying to read this report for half an hour and you two are not helping."
Ichigo rolls his eyes. "Rukia, you've been complaining about being late on your paperwork for two days, yet you've caught up so much that you've literally started tomorrow's pile."
Rukia blinks, staring at the sheet in front of her, and bites back her words. She turns her head and huffs out her answer. "Whatever."
Renji snickers as quietly as he can before clearing his throat, bringing Ichigo and Rukia's attention back to him. "I'm actually here because I found out more about the whole Shiba clan situation, like you asked me," he says as his eyes move over to Rukia. The 13th division lieutenant gets up from her chair, curiosity piqued.
"What'd you find out?" she asks. Ichigo frowns in confusion as his gaze travels between Rukia and Renji.
Renji's face turns a shade more serious as he crosses his arms and puts his weight back on his two feet. "The Shiba clan, as we already knew, has been gaining back its power of influence for a few years, but they've only recently regained their title of the fifth great noble house, and not without reason." Renji stops and rubs his chin. Ichigo notices the seriousness on Rukia's face from the corner of his eye, and immediately knows how important this is. His eyes narrow as he gives his full attention over to Renji.
"A couple of years ago, the Shiba clan officially added two new members, two shinigamis studying at the academy. The two are apparently known as 'the Shiba siblings' and there's been rumors about them being some kind of prodigies; scoring at the top of their class in nearly every discipline."
Rukia takes a step forward, crossing her arms under her chest. "Then how have we never heard of them?"
Renji shrugs in response. "Dunno. I actually had to dig pretty deep to get the info." It seems like he hesitates to continue, but eventually does. "The oldest sibling is the boy, Atsuyo Shiba. He's been in the academy for only four years and it sounds like he'll graduate within the next months. Apparently, people have been comparing Atsuyo to his predecessor." Renji's voice lowers and he gives a weird glance over to Rukia, who stays silent with a blank look of her face. Ichigo doesn't say anything, but seeing the way his friends are acting, he can only think of one possible person as Atsuyo Shiba's predecessor.
Kaien Shiba.
"The girl, Yui Shiba, is a few years younger than her brother." Renji continues. "She joined the academy a year later, and although there hasn't been any rumors of her graduating any time soon, people say she's a genius of Hohou(1)."
Ichigo's eyes drop to the floor. He knows the Shiba clan is somehow linked to his father's past, but he can't bring himself to get past that whole noble power shenanigans. And seeing the affect it has on Rukia, he can't help but feel uneasy about it.
"Anyway," Renji sighs as he relaxes his shoulders. "It seems like those siblings are the reason behind the power rising of the Shiba clan."
"I can't seem to tell if that's all a good thing or a bad thing," Ichigo mumbles like he's thinking out loud. Rukia's brows are furrowed. She sighs as she attempts to relax as well, although she's probably not as successful as she'd hoped.
"Probably both," she answers.
Matsumoto hiccups and bursts out laughing after finishing her sixth glass of sake. Karin feels a little lightheaded herself, but after all the shit she's been through during the last couple of days, she welcomes the feeling with open arms. She turns her head, smile wide on her face, and catches Toshiro looking at her with a surprising look of amusement and interest. Both of which are rare things to see on him.
"So," Karin starts as she sets her glass of alcohol aside on the floor. "Can I ask you guys something?"
Toshiro stays silent but doesn't frown, and Matsumoto nods lazily. "Sure thing, go ahead sweetie."
Karin bites her bottom lip, hesitating for only half of a second. "These past few days I've been here, I found out a few details about my father's…past life, if you could call it that," she stops for a breath. "And I realize there's so much about him I never even knew… I…guess I'm wondering if you guys could know anything about him, and how, or rather who, he used to be."
Karin finishes her sentence, subconsciously tugging at her yukata. She raises her head again to see both shinigamis staring at her in seriousness. Karin arches an eyebrow when they both share a knowing eye-contact. Her curiosity grows ten times stronger.
Matsumoto turns back to her and smiles slightly, and it's as if any trace of intoxication has vanished from her system. "You came to the right place to ask that question, Karin-chan."
Karin sits up straight on the floor, crossing her legs in anticipation.
"Karin…your father was the head of the Shiba clan," Toshiro starts, and his eyes speak to her. It's like he's torn between wanting to tell her everything and not being sure if he should. "But he was also the captain of the 10th division."
"I was his lieutenant, and Taichou was his third seat." Matsumoto finishes with a small smile.
Karin's eyes widen almost as soon as her blood freezes in her veins.
*** (1) Hohou: The art of moving, dodging, and countering.