Author's Note:

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! I hope you enjoyed chapter 5, and Ichigo's 'big brother' talk with Toshiro, lol. Karin and Toshiro's relationship will continue to progress from here, but we still have a few more chapters to go before anything significant happens ;-) In this chapter, Karin receives some exciting news from home, Toshiro's glad to be back with his family, and playful teasing returns :-D

Enjoy! Don't forget to let me know what you think!

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. All credit goes to Tite Kubo.

Twelve days later…

Toshiro couldn't remember the last time he'd looked forward to being home so much. After his 'talk' with Ichigo by the fire that night, he and the crown prince hadn't seen too much of each other, except for on the battlefield. For the majority of Toshiro's last week and a half there, the two men had taken their separate divisions, and divided up the areas to be secured between them, while Byakuya and his men scouted out the next swaths of land to be targeted. The young king had been more than happy to give the strawberry a wide birth after their awkward, and somewhat intense, conversation; and when king Renji and queen Rukia arrived with their general, Sentaro Kotsubaki, Toshiro was more than ready to pack up his belongings, and get on the road to Orora. As it was, he was already a week out from his home on horseback, and he wanted to make sure he was gone before sunrise; that way, he wouldn't be traveling through the most dangerous areas of the route at dusk.

It only took him, Ichigo, and Byakuya a day to get the new arrivals up to speed, and situated; and he made sure to get his soldiers' chain of command verified with the other rulers before he passed along the information to his men, and bid everyone farewell before finally retiring at midnight.

He only slept for three hours, but it was more than enough to sustain him for the start of his long journey home. He had already sent the archers, and Matsumoto, back ahead of him in the carriage with his luggage, so he would be traveling alone. He preferred it that way, so he could ride for as long as both he and his horse could manage, before needing to stop for rest.

Saddling his animal before the first light of dawn, he made sure he had his sword, crown, a roll of cloth to sleep on, a couple days' worth of food, and two canteens of water. Satisfied that he had all of the essentials, he mounted his horse, and began making his way out of the camp.

"Hey, Toshiro; hold on a second."

Hearing the familiar voice of Ichigo, Toshiro brought his mount to a stop; turning to face the crown prince, and raising a curious eyebrow at the man walking towards him. "You're up early. What is it, Ichigo?" he asked; watching as the strawberry pulled out four letters that were tucked into his leather belt, and handed them to him. "Yeah, I needed to catch you before you left. Could you give these to Karin when you get back? They're letters from me, Yuzu, Orihime, and Dad." the Karakura prince said; the faintest hint of a smile on his face.

Toshiro took the letters, and nodded; putting them in his saddlebag for safekeeping. "I'll make sure she gets them as soon as I get back." he replied; glancing skeptically at the orange-haired man.

The strawberry smirked back at the northern ruler, and crossed his arms over his chest. "No need to look so worried, Toshiro; I didn't write anything about our conversation last week. Just be sure to keep what I said in mind, and we won't have any problems, now, will we?" he said; giving the young king a pointed, and protective, look.

Toshiro glared back at him; not intimidated by the crown prince in the least. While most other people found Ichigo to be a frightening figure, especially when it concerned his over-protective nature towards his sisters, Toshiro didn't find him so. When it came to protecting their families, he and Ichigo were actually quite similar in that regard, so he could understand the strawberry's worries; it just annoyed him that the Karakura princeling felt the need to try and bludgeon him into submission, when he was sure that the orange-haired man knew it wouldn't work.

After a moment's pause, Toshiro nodded his head once in reply. "I keep my word when I've given it, Ichigo. She's safe with me; you don't have to worry about her."

Ichigo laughed in response, and gave the young ruler an amused look. "Of course I'm still going to worry; she's my sister, and I know how men work. Granted, you're definitely different than most men; but we all have red blood in our veins, so I don't take anything at face value. The only reason why I'm not taking my own involvement with you two, and your relationship, any further is because I know Karin would kick your ass if you tried anything with her, anyways. Besides, I've seen enough of you by now to know that your word, and your famous self-restraint, are trustworthy. I'm sure you understand where I'm coming from, since you have a sister of your own. If the rumors that I've heard are true, then I can definitely believe that you were a menace to her husband when he was courting her." the crown prince said; a smirk appearing on his face.

Smirking back in reply, Toshiro nodded his head in confirmation. "Oh, they're true. Izuru didn't get within ten feet of Momo before I'd thoroughly interrogated him, and forced him into submission. To be honest, I'm amazed he lasted the course; there were times when he would look at me, and you could tell he was ready for me to kill him." he said; thinking back to Izuru's days of courting Momo, and how much hell he'd put the blonde through before finally giving his consent for his sister to marry the young noble. He was sure that Izuru had slept with one eye open for the first year of the marriage; thinking Toshiro would murder him in his sleep if he put a foot wrong.

Laughing once more, Ichigo took a step back from the ruler, and his horse; giving the young king a pointed look. "And that's why I'm trusting you with her, Toshiro, so don't disappoint me. If you do, and I get wind of it, you'll regret the day you were born. Now, get going; I'm sure you want to get back home as quickly as possible, and see everyone." he said; a knowing smirk on his face.

The young sovereign shot the strawberry an irritated look, before nodding once more, turning his horse back towards the north, and breaking out into a gallop; disappearing into the distance, and leaving a trail of dust and sand in his wake.

'You had better keep your word, Toshiro, or I'll personally gut you like a fish' Ichigo thought, as he watched what could be his future brother-in-law vanish beyond the horizon; letting the reality of his baby sister actually having a suitor sink in, as he turned, and walked back to his tent to try and get another hour or so of sleep before they continued their push north.

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One week later…

The week-long journey home was interminable, and grueling, in the summer heat; but once Toshiro reached the border walls, and gates, of Orora just as dusk was starting to settle in, he found his second wind. As he approached, the guards cheered, and welcomed their sovereign home; opening the metal barriers that separated him from his kingdom. He made sure to greet each and every one of them upon entering, and checked in on how the border wall was faring, before making his way up the mountain.

He passed by the men, women, and children of the villages and town, who were out in the fields to assess the crops, and get the equipment ready to start the harvest; all of them rushing over to see him, and thrilled that he was home safe. He talked with them for a while, and told them that he would be joining them first thing in the morning to help, before continuing on his way up to the castle; anxious to get home, and eat something that he didn't have to kill, gut, clean, and cook himself.

As soon as his horse's hooves clicked on the granite cobbles in the entry courtyard, his ecstatic nephew came running out to him; the doors of the castle swinging wide to reveal his beaming sister, excited general, and smiling brother-in-law. 'There really is no place like home' he thought, as he dismounted his horse, and handed the reigns to the stable boy standing nearby. Crouching down, he opened his arms to hug his nephew; the little boy latching onto him like a leech. "Uncle Shiro, you're home! I missed you SOOOO much!" Ryu cried; burying his freckled face into his uncle's neck.

Toshiro smiled, and held the boy close; picking him up into his arms. "I missed you too, Ryu. How have things been here with your parents, Rangiku, and Karin while I've been gone?" he asked; an amused smile making its way onto his face as the child removed his own face from the king's neck, and looked at him excitedly. "It's been awesome! Daddy is feeling lots better, and Karin has been helping me practice fighting with a sword while you've been gone! She'll be really happy to see you; she's missed you a lot, and she said she really wanted you back here with us." the boy said; beaming at him, and completely oblivious to the subtle messaging in his words.

The young king's eyes widened slightly in surprise; and, Momo, seeing her little brother in a state of slight shock, and confusion, made her way over to him; smiling softly. "That's enough, Ryu. Let your uncle come inside, and have something to eat, okay?" she said; watching as the little boy nodded to his mother, and squirmed out of Toshiro's arms to walk back into the castle.

The young mother looked at her brother, and gave him a warm smile. "He's right, Karin has missed you…we all have. She's been telling Ryu stories about the fun times you two and the men had on the front lines, and he's been enthralled by them. It's good to have you home, Shiro." she said; giving him a hug, before releasing him, as Rangiku came up behind him, and threw her arms around his shoulders. "Oh, your highness, it's so good to have you back~! We've missed you so much~!" the bubbly general squealed; squeezing him so hard he was sure she was trying to break his ribs.

"Matsumoto, let me go!" Toshiro squawked as he struggled to extricate himself from his general's iron grip; letting out a disgruntled growl in the process, and wondering for a moment why he still put up with her.

"TOSHIRO!"

The young king didn't have time to process his general releasing him from her grasp, before he felt arms around his neck again, and he was tackled to the ground by the woman who'd occupied his dreams every night for the past nine weeks. Instinctively, he wrapped his arms around her waist as they both fell backwards from the force of the impact; making sure to keep them both as upright as he could, and trying to regain his bearings.

Rangiku and Momo burst into laughter at the dazed look on his face, as Karin released him; a smirk on her face, and laughter in her stormy grey eyes. "It's about damn time you got here; we were expecting you three hours ago." she said; her smirk morphing into a soft smile. "It's good to have you back. We've all missed you…especially Ryu."

Seeing the raven-haired woman's smiling face focused him, and he offered a small smile in return. "Well, I've missed all of you, too. I'm sorry I'm late; I stopped to talk with the villagers, and townsfolk, on my way here." he said; a slightly apologetic look on his face.

Karin shook her head in reply; her bright smile still on her own face. "No, don't apologize. They've all been anxiously awaiting your return, so I'm glad you stopped to talk with them. Now, you must be hungry; come on, let's get you some food." she said, as she extricated herself from him, rose to her feet, and offered him a hand up.

Toshiro smiled gratefully back at her, took her hand, and got to his own feet, before taking out four white envelopes from his horse's saddlebag, and following everyone inside while the stable boy took his mount back to its stall for a well-deserved rest.

Everyone filed into the dining room, and spent the next three hours talking about everything that had happened during the past week; from Toshiro's trip back, to the latest events in the kingdom, while they ate dinner. Karin was in the middle of asking how Byakuya, Rukia, and Renji were doing when Ryu started yawning, so the adults agreed to suspend their conversation until tomorrow; deciding it was time for bed. Momo and Izuru grabbed the exhausted little boy, said goodnight, and headed to Ryu's bedroom, while Karin and Toshiro got up from the table to let the servants get in there, and clean up.

Toshiro had gone to his room to bathe and change, as had Karin, and they both found themselves in the drawing room afterwards; Toshiro in a loose white nightshirt and green sleeping pants, and Karin in a long red silk nightgown with a brown dressing gown.

They sat by the fire, and Karin filled him in on everything that she'd been doing in his absence that she couldn't fit into her letters; including taking up his role as Ryu's swordsmanship instructor. He'd listened intently; amazed that she'd managed to see to every single one of his standard duties while he was gone. She'd left the paperwork, trade negotiations with the other kingdoms, and any diplomatic affairs to Momo, but she'd seen to everything else involving the running of the kingdom.

Toshiro figured she probably knew almost as much as he did about the kingdom now, and the thought of her knowing his homeland so intimately made him smile, as he watched her talk animatedly about all of the things she'd enjoyed doing while he was away.

Finally, when she'd finished recounting the last two months to him, and asked how he'd been since their separation, he gave her a full report on how everything was going at the front; pulling out the four letters he'd retrieved from his saddlebag earlier from the pockets of his black dressing gown. Handing them to her, he gave her a small smile. "Ichigo asked me to give these to you when I got back; one letter from each of your family members." he said; watching her as she examined the letters, before opening the first one. Toshiro saw the handwriting, and immediately recognized it as Isshin's; watching Karin's face adopt an amused smirk as she read.

One after another, she read the letters; various expressions of amusement, laughter, and love for her family making appearances on her face as she read. Finally, when she got to Orihime's, she read for a few minutes before stopping dead in her tracks; her mouth dropping open slightly, and her eyes widening. "Oh my god!" she hollered, as a huge smile threatened to split her face in two.

Toshiro eyed her curiously; silently asking her what the matter was, as she looked to him with shining eyes. "Orihime's pregnant! I'm going to be an aunt in November!" she said excitedly; a level of happiness he'd never seen from her before practically radiating from every part of her.

The young king felt his own eyes widen slightly in shock, before a small smile made its way onto his face. "That's wonderful news. Congratulations, Karin. It's interesting that Ichigo never mentioned anything to me during the time I was with him."

Karin gave him an amused look in reply; a smirk on her face. "You're really surprised that my brother didn't tell you, when I didn't even know?" she asked; her eyes dancing with humor.

Smirking in response, the white-haired man shook his head. "No, not really. He may be a loud-mouth, but I've learned that he does keep certain things close to his chest. If I'm being honest, I respect him for it." he replied, and the smirk on Karin's face morphed back into a smile as she held his gaze for a moment, before going back to reading the letter in her hands.

All remained quiet for a while, before Toshiro spoke again. "Actually, that news is a pretty good opener to something that I promised Ichigo I would ask you." he said; watching as her head snapped up from the letter, and she found his gaze once more. She looked at him quizzically; silently urging him to continue.

Holding her gaze, Toshiro spoke once more. "They all really miss you, Karin, and they'd like to see you again. I was wondering if you wanted to take some time off, and go back to Karakura for a visit?" he asked; watching as Karin's eyes widened in shock, and she stared at him for a moment before answering; slight hesitancy in her voice. "Yeah, I would…but I'd like to stay here long enough to help with bringing the harvest in, if that's all right with you. I promised the villagers that I'd be out there with you this year." she said, with a somewhat pleading look in her eyes.

Not expecting her to want to stay a little longer before heading home, but happier about it than he knew he should be, a surprised expression came onto Toshiro's face for a moment, before he nodded in agreement; a slight smile on his face. "That's perfectly fine with me. Traveling by horse on your own, it will take you three weeks to get there if you only stop for rest; so, as long as you leave by no later than the first week of October, you can be there for when the baby's born. That should get us to the end of the harvest season before you need to leave."

Karin nodded her head in reply, before a slightly melancholy look came over her face. "Yeah, that sounds like a good plan…it's just sad that I'll be leaving only a month after you get back. I was hoping we could spend some time training together, and you could teach me how to sketch over the next few months. I've been wanting to learn, so I can keep an illustrated journal of all of the new medicinal plants I've found here; and, even though I love Rangiku, she's definitely no Toshiro Hitsugaya with a sword." she said, as her melancholy expression was replaced with a slight smirk.

A smirk made its way onto Toshiro's face as well, as he raised a questioning eyebrow. "And who says I know how to sketch?" he asked amusedly; a curious expression on his face.

The raven-haired Kurosaki's smirk broadened, and she gave him a knowing look. "False modesty doesn't become you, Toshiro. I may have stumbled upon a few sketches of yours on the desk in your study. Sorry, I didn't mean to pry, but I was curious; I'd never been in there before. Out of curiosity, is there anything you aren't good at?" she asked; sarcasm in her voice, but also an admiration that he'd never heard from her before.

Toshiro chuckled in response, before the smirk on his face morphed into a soft smile. "There is, but art's been a part of my life for a long time." he said, as his face adopted a far-off look, and his gaze turned to their left. Karin followed it, and saw a large painting of Toshiro's mother hanging on the wall. It was beautiful, and the most accurate likeness of her that Karin had ever seen; just judging from the little she remembered of the woman.

She looked from the painting, and back to Toshiro; watching as his smile grew slightly. "I can thank my father for that skill. He painted that portrait of my mother when they were first married, and I always admired it; so, he taught me how to paint, and sketch. It's become something of a hobby now; a way to keep him close." he said, before looking back at her, and adopting a sly smile. "I can still teach you, if you want. You're a quick learner, so I doubt it will take you long to pick it up. All I ask for in return is archery lessons."

Karin gave him a playful smile back, before nodding her head. "I think I can agree to those terms. I hope I live up to your expectations, Toshiro; I've heard from both your nephew, and Rangiku, that you're a tough teacher. I'm pretty sure 'Task master' was the phrase Rangiku used." she said amusedly; not expecting Toshiro's sly smile to melt into a soft, affectionate one that she wasn't used to seeing from him.

He held her gaze with his own, and she watched the shadows from the flames of the fireplace dance across his face as he replied. "After everything you've managed to do here in my stead, I'm sure you will." he said; his bright turquoise eyes drawing her in yet again, and making her realize just how much she'd missed seeing them the past two months.

A moment of silence passed between them, before he got up, and offered her his hand. "Come on, it's getting late. We should both get to bed if we're going to be in the fields at dawn."

Karin nodded, and took the offered hand; noticing how rough and calloused it was, and how well hers fit into it. 'Stop, Karin; you're proving Ichigo right' she thought frustratedly, as she suppressed the blush that was threatening to make an appearance on her cheeks.

Toshiro pulled her up, released her hand, and the two of them made their way out of the drawing room; heading up the stairs, and stopping at Karin's door. The young king offered her a small smile, as his eyes found hers. "Goodnight, Karin…and thank you again for everything you've done. I owe you more than I can ever repay." he said; appreciation and gratitude evident in his eyes.

Smiling back, Karin walked up to him, and ruffled his hair playfully the same way Momo often did. "Like I've told you before, Toshiro, you don't owe me anything. I'm happy to help my best friend when he needs it." she replied; watching in amusement as an embarrassed flush came over his cheeks, and he disgruntledly tried to fix his now shaggy white locks.

Sighing, and giving up on his attempt to remove his hair from his eyes, Toshiro gave her a small smirk. "You know, you may be a fierce warrior on the battlefield, but you still act like a child in private. Are you sure you're nineteen, and not nine?" he asked; his smirk growing at the clearly fake-offended look on the raven-haired woman's face.

Crossing her arms over her chest, Karin huffed good-naturedly in reply. "Hey, I resent that. I just enjoy life, instead of behaving like an arrogant prig. You should take a leaf out of my book, Toshiro; staying so uptight will shorten your lifespan." she said; a humorous smirk on her own face.

Toshiro rolled his eyes, and looked down at her amusedly. "I'm not a prig, as you know full well. Also, you should address your superiors with proper respect, Karin. I am the ruler of the land you're staying in, after all." he replied; mirroring her stance, and giving her a cocky smirk.

Karin's smirk changed to a cheeky smile then, as she backed away from him a step. "I'm glad you're back, Toshiro; I've missed our verbal jousts. Now, I should let you get some sleep. Goodnight, your highness." she replied; her voice taking on a seductive tone, as she curtsied to him with grace and elegance that she almost never portrayed; looking up at him through long, thick, dark eyelashes, and giving him a sultry smile as she enjoyed the dumbfounded look on his face.

Reveling in her victory, Karin smirked triumphantly once more, before turning, opening her door, and walking into her room; closing the wooden divider behind her, as Toshiro just stood there in stunned silence.

Replaying the scene over again in his mind, the young king took a deep breath, before turning on his heels, and heading to his own room. 'Dammit, Karin' he thought frustratedly, as he felt his face warm up; knowing full well his cheeks were probably a noticeable shade of red.

Closing his own door, he crawled into bed, and let his mind wander until he fell asleep; the sight of stormy grey eyes, and a teasing smile once again making their way into his dreams.