When she came back down a few moments later, she was dressed in a completely normal and covering set of pajamas. Tôshirô was surprised by his own thoughts and mentally berated himself.

Are you hungry?

The question snapped him out of his indecent thoughts. He hadn't really considered it, but now that she mentioned it, he realized he wouldn't mind eating something small. They headed to the kitchen, and Karin opened the fridge. She took out various dishes and placed them on the table. When she turned around again, she let out a despairing sigh. The white-haired young man gave her a questioning look.

I forgot to chill the sodas. They'll be warm. We'll have to wait a bit for them to cool down.

Give them to me.

This time, it was the girl's turn to look at him curiously, but she complied nonetheless. Tôshirô took the cans from her hands, and almost immediately, a cold aura emanated from his palms. He then handed one back to her.

You can do that? Oh wow, that's awesome!

He didn't find it exceptional at all since he was used to his powers, but seeing the admiration it sparked in Karin made him proud. She opened her can and drank almost half of it in one go. It felt so good! When she put the half-empty can down, she moved closer to Tôshirô and took one of his hands in hers. He hid his sudden discomfort behind a mask of neutrality. He wasn't used to people being so tactile with him. Well, there was one person who was, Matsumoto, but it wasn't the same. And as he had almost confessed to her earlier before catching himself, he wasn't attracted to her the way he was to Karin.

Hey, can you do it again?

The stars in Kurosaki's eyes left him no choice but to comply. Karin then saw a bluish aura cover the young man's hand, and the coolness it emitted was as unreal as it was pleasant. Mesmerized by this ability, she examined his hand closely before bringing it to her cheek.

He flinched.

Once the surprise passed, he watched the young girl and took some pleasure in seeing her sigh with satisfaction. She closed her eyes to enjoy it and didn't realize the effect it had on the young man, who started blushing.

He tried to concentrate and not think about the softness of the girl's skin under his fingers, but it was an impossible mission. So, he decided to focus on something else, specifically not emitting too much cold so she wouldn't get sick. As she reopened her eyes, she moved the young man's hand to her neck, and the look of pleasure in Karin's eyes scrambled his thoughts. Was she doing this on purpose to be so attractive?

On her part, the young woman didn't really know what she was doing. She was aware of playing a dangerous game, but since he didn't withdraw his hand, she decided to continue. His touch was so pleasant. When she looked at his lips, she suddenly wanted to kiss him. Would he stop her if she tried?

Disconnected from reality and lost in her imagination, she let herself be carried away by her desires and moved Tôshirô's hand to her collarbones, just above her chest. She shivered with pleasure under his fingers. She then ran her free hand through the captain's hair, playing with it for a few moments before moving her fingers down his neck and back up to his face. As she caressed his cheek, she felt it heat up under her palm.

She couldn't tell if it was from embarrassment or pleasure, but when she tried to withdraw her hand, slowly realizing what she was doing and feeling guilty for going so far, he stopped her verbally:

No.

She let out a smile before continuing her exploration of his body. She slid her hand to his chest and slipped her fingers under his kimono. When she felt his abs contract at her touch and sensed their firmness, she gave in and captured his lips.

He responded to the kiss immediately, pressing their bodies together. When they made contact, they both let out a moan, half-muffled by their kiss.

After a few seconds of embrace, Karin realized that even if she had wanted to, she couldn't have broken free from Tôshirô's grip, as his free arm was firmly encircling her waist. She couldn't describe the sensation of being trapped in his arms, but she didn't have the chance to think about it as a cold breeze surrounded them for a second before disappearing as quickly as it had come.

A quick glance around, and Karin realized the captain had brought them to his room. She smiled against his lips.

Since you're setting the pace...

She didn't finish her sentence. Instead, she carefully untied the belt around his chest that held Hyōrinmaru, before respectfully placing his Zanpakuto to the side. She was about to tackle the belt of his kimono when Tôshirô whispered that she could still stop everything if she wanted to.

Definitely not.

Her answer drew a broad smile from the young man. Good, he didn't want to stop either.

Damn, you're way too handsome.

Thrown off by the compliment, he kissed her passionately in response. He wanted to tell her that she was also beautiful, that she captivated his gaze at every moment, but he didn't know how to say it. He didn't want to just throw out a simple "you too," but he couldn't find the right words.

Instead, his still icy fingers gently gripped her hair before pulling it back to expose her neck and plant a multitude of kisses there. She was amazed. The contrast between his burning lips and his cool palms drove her crazy. She felt herself getting lost in a whirlwind of exquisite sensations.

Tôshirô.

He stopped all movement to lock his eyes onto hers, attentive. The way he gave her his full attention always made her swoon. Her heart, used to running a marathon, was almost at its limit when she felt his gaze on her. His look was so piercing and deep that she could feel her heartbeat skip.

She never got the chance to say what she wanted because a voice calling from the other end of the street interrupted them.

Taichooooooo. Are you here?

But why would he be here? There's no one, they're on vacation.

Orihime's voice also carried a lot.

Tôshirô buried his head in Karin's neck before letting out an exasperated sigh. Still in her neck, he murmured:

Give me 2 minutes. I'm going to kill them and come back.

Karin burst out laughing. The situation was incredibly embarrassing, and yet, she didn't feel embarrassed at all. The young captain wasn't either. No, he was just terribly annoyed to the point where a vein was now visible on his forehead, even though Karin couldn't see it.

The young Kurosaki took the opportunity to tease him even more.

Don't be so impatient. It's just postponed.

He straightened up to give her a frosty look. Angry, yes, but more than anything, terribly frustrated. She wouldn't give much for the skins of the two young women who had dared to interrupt them.

As for Tôshirô, he remembered the moment when he thought he wouldn't have any trouble losing his lieutenant, but especially the moment when he had agreed to let her come. It was the last time she'd have a vacation for a long time!