Bleach 1. Life's Lists

**-I don't own Bleach-  
However...There are few characters in this story that I have designed myself.  
Also,I'm new..at this..never really written a fan-fiction before, so likely..a few of the character will be off and abit of the information wrong.  
. I Love Bleach anime..But I'm too impatient to study the facts.  
Also..My grammar might be abit off too..It almost always is.**

(First chapter is kind of..prologue-ish,Not much story..but hints..and stuff.. ) 

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Chappy 1: Life's Lists

_..: Women age like fine wine, Or at least..they start to look like the bottle the wine is stored in. :.. _

In the time span of six years many, many things could happen and in dreams anyone with a conscience shall be be blessed with those events that they remember,as well as they shall be cursed with those they may not forget.  
Karin Kurosaki wasn't dreaming though-...she was more half asleep/half awake and currently listing the most prominent events..as well as recalling memories that had been long since lost into the depths of her mind.

Was it truly to review the years as a time line? She never had been quite sure, But everyone else seemed to think of it as..depressing, Since Karin took it upon herself to keep a list and by now..had also memorized it, as well as vowed to go over the list at least once a week.  
But, y'know...it was only her way of making sure she wasn't as old as she felt.

This mourning there was nothing to do,except for going to school, but she simply didn't feel the need to attend today, So there was nothing to do, in fact-.. there hadn't been anything to do in quite a long while; Say- three years at the least.  
Perhaps she was just a little nuts, she seemed to be the only one who literally being driven to the brink of insanity from boredom..and..quiet.

There had only been two or three Hollows in the last month,each of them had been fairly weak and hadn't taken her more then a single swipe of her zanpakuto, Tsukiba-Dawn.

Karin began to throw her head back against her headboard repetitively, her voice listing her little time line as she barely whispered it aloud.  
"Most of the Espada rebelled against Aizen..Then they helped Ichi-nii.  
-Aizen defeated,Espada turns on said Ichi-nii and partners when they come back to Karakura..Yuzu..is hurt in accident.  
-Espada defeated..Except for Nel, Said Nel brought here.  
-Ichi-nii married Rukia, Nel becomes..daughter-like..to them. " Karin exhaled softly,taking a moment to breathe.Her eyes are glazed with sleep..giving her the appearance of someone caught in a trance.  
"Rukia pops out baby Kale none too later and Ichi-nii takes...leave, from being a shinigami.  
Though Yuzu recovers...once again, soon she is hurt.."

Karin couldn't help it, she had paused and no longer could she speak her list out loud. She felt as if she were being swallowed whole by her memories, Yuzu had died that day..only perhaps...a couple of weeks after Karin had become a shinigami. Poor little Yuzu had been left unprotected, Issin had reported to Soul society after regaining his reiatsu.Ichigo was dealing with an arrancar child..and a baby and also..a very warn out and constantly nervous Rukia.Yuzu had died, swallowed up by a large hollow when Karin wasn't paying attention.  
Though she may not admit it, This had disrupted Karin's original character ..at least it hadn't been by much though, or so some would say.

Over the years Urahara's shop had become popular, they had many more customers..now that she truly thought about it.

Sado and Inoue decided to start dating..and it still seems to be going pretty steady. Around this same time Ichimaru Gin was finally found and accepted back into the Sereitei..well..kinda', He was put on some sort of parole that might just take him more then a couple decades to get out of.

Issin,Her father, had been killed only three years ago by a strange illness. It wasn't as if he had died though, not really..since he had become the new..fourteenth division squad captain back in Soul Society once they had found him there.  
The number of shinigami seemed to rapidly increase do to some spirit particle malfunction.. or something, if anyone wanted the scientific explanation they'd have to ask the freaky scientist-shinigami, but anyways it was simply not only thirteen divisions..but now..fifteen.

Karin has her home_ 'No longer a clinic though'_ all to herself since Ichigo and Rukia moved into their own dwelling. Ichi-nii was promoted to vice captain..something or another of the fourteenth squad as a personal request from Issin _'Not for very long though,since then he had to leave for awhile to take proper care of a retired shinigami, His wife..Rukia.. Who is presently big and round with a set of twins.'_

At some point during the December war a group of people had shown up that had powers that seemed..relative to a Quincy's _'They call themselves the Succua family'_, Not all the same though because their abilities were based more on defense then offense, the movement was also..slightly different with the way their arrows were made. Ishida ended up falling for one of the younger women..practically head over heals for a petite blond girl named Kenna.. Whom..Karin is surprised isn't pregnant yet, assuming Rukia's little bit of gossip is true.

For the first time in a long while Karin stopped, she had forgotten where she was going with this list.. and also tried to figure out how the hell it hadn't gotten so long over the years.Karin seemed to darken in mood, her deep onyx eyes hidden as she lowered her eyelids, She knew she was forgetting something..and yet..even for the life of her she couldn't seem to remember what it was.

Only lately had she been forgetting, though right now..it felt as if she were drowning her thoughts. Floating higher and higher on a bubble with this strange...fizzy feeling deep in the pit of her stomach.All of the voice,the expressions,the colors,They all began to fade into the background of an abyss until they were captured within a dark golden frame. Her life a tiny picture frame that hung on the wall..and slowly, so very slowly start to crack and fall to the ground as particles of dust..until it too, that tiny pile of dust,disappeared into the darkness.

Her mind screamed, An earthquake took possession of her body as a light flickered on.

...Three minutes of that loud screaming passed, sounding like a fire alarm, until she realized she wasnt going crazy.

Karin's hand came down upon her alarm clock, nearly shattering the tiny electronic into a million pieces..as she had many others by pounding them to death or hurling them into the hard wall '_Usually hurting the wall in the process too'_.  
It was getting dark out and she soon came to the realization that she had fallen asleep at some point, slept through the mourning, into the afternoon and was now waking as the last traces of sunlight left the sky.  
For a moment she paused, her dark eyes widening slightly and her skin became impossibly more pale, a soft ache crept upon her..as soon her head was throbbing,she felt smothered by an enormous and dark reiatsu, and somehow.. she realized something else : The current peace was destined to be shattered; Someone..or something very evil..and equally powerful was lurking in Karakura Town.

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**Likely...Vvvveeerrrryyy out of character at the moment,But understand that she is going through this weird depressive state since her sister died..and she blames herself for it,But hopefully I can get better at capturing her original character when I get more into the story. **

**Annou.. ; R&R? Ive planned this to be HitsugayaxKarin fic **

**Also **

**-Big new war -New enemies (I'll try to keep it original,But if you want you can supply me with a few ideas 3 )  
-Kinda' like a second generation thing..but not exactly **

**Wish me Luck!! And also..Should I try and continue? Or am I a hopeless writer and need to quit while I still can? ; Anyways,I am thankful to those that read it!! **

**_-Tsukiba_**


	2. Faceless

**-I don't own Bleach-**

**Oh Cant help myself.  
So..Second chapter already..**

**Chappy Two : Faceless**

_..: A stranger will judge you from afar,But make a bond with them and they shall judge only the weight of your heart :.._

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Karin never was one to waist time,She was bangin' down the Urahara shop's door only minutes after she had first awaken.

Her dark eyes were slightly widened, she felt the rare feeling of excitement stir her stomach and make her heart flutter. Tsukiba-Dawn dangled from her hip, her soul reaper uniform was tousled ; The sleeveless top revealing a fine portion of her large bust, falling open slightly before Karin gripped the cloth and pulled it tightly around her.

"Urahara!! Answer this damn door!!"

The older male was asleep around this time of day-..night, He'd be awakening in an hour or so though. Lately most of every-ones schedule had been fucked up..as most of them ended up sleeping most of the day and staying up all night.

Perhaps Karin hadn't been paying much attention, since she obviously hadn't felt the gathering of her friends inside. The door crept open, revealing a rather worn out looking Ichigo with a toddler in one arm as he gestured for her to come in with the other.

So many people could fit in such a small place..around a rather small table. Turns out Karin was the last to arrive,Everyone was already there..including two captain,two vice captains, and three members of the Succua family..including Kenna.

_'Good god, I think I was getting dizzy.I hadn't even realized I know this many people..and well..I don't,I certainly don't know anyone in the Succua Family,And out of the four shinigami I only recognize Renji's face.A woman with strawberry blond hair and large breasts I can place because I have sensed her before,and then there is the man with white spiky hair and his sea green eyes.., wait..I know him don't I? The green haired woman I obviously don't know..Actually..Ive never even heard of her...'_

Karin's memories were fuzzy,hell..at the moment she could barely remember anyone's name much less their face. She was desperately trying to remember,though everything was cut short when someone began to speak.

"Well..seems everyone knows what is going on, For the most part at least.We can feel them,and..there are few back in the sereitei that have heard them,never actually experienced it myself..until now." Tirina, A woman with dark green hair whom happened to be one of the two captains stood near a corner.One would say her voice was hard, and she sounded on edge..almost scared in a way. Everyone could understand that feeling right now, there was a disturbance..and they didn't know what to do ; How do you fight an enemy that you nothing about?

For the next few hours a conversation was carried throughout the crowded room, each and every person looking for some sort of decision. However..A certain man with silvery white hair, and that certain woman with long raven hair stood silently..staring at each with boring eyes .

Hisugaya Toshiro felt truly foolish,standing there staring at a human girl he had actually had a crush on..well..something of those sorts, rather..he had simply enjoyed her company...or so he had convinced himself that was the only reason.  
_'She is a..stubborn little soccer obsesser'_ He thought absently as he looked away from the young woman he had once known.

Karin had finally remembered, He had been the boy she had such a 'crush' on so many years ago!! They had played soccer together..she had liked it, and she had dared herself to kiss him as a thank you the next time she saw him..that is..until she found out he was a captain, and that he may just be so very much older then her..even a couple of centuries..Maybe? That had gotten her to back off and back down, she couldn't kiss a guy that was so high over her head that he was likely to laugh at her and think of it as some poor excuse for a joke, either that..or he would be offended by it.

_'Not that I could imagine him laughing..'_

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Whatever it was that had been in the city had gone by now, not leaving the slightest trace of its presence in the town and leaving most of them quite puzzled. The 'official' shinigami decided to stay however, since they had been picked to watch over the town and look for anything suspicious.

Jinta poked Karin in her side..this led Karin to twitch slightly, His fingernails dug into the fabric until she felt as if he had made a hole in it and his sharp claw-like nail pressed a red crescent shaped welt into her skin.

"We'll be staying here...To keep watch over the town and pursue the enemy..when we find it." Renji's voice broke out of the soft silence that had previously graced the room.

"Oy, Renji! You make it sound like we cant handle it ourselves! " Ichigo bellowed

"Annou..you cant."

Tirina's voice was so soft it was barely heard, even though she hadn't been before she'd suddenly seem so shy. Her eyebrows furrowed in slight worry when she reached out to lightly brush her fingers across Ichigo's shoulder to grab his attention.

" We may not be sure what they are, But according the computer back home they've been showing up all over Japan, Ocean included." Hitsugaya said Cooley.

Tirina spoke again,Her dark green hair bobbing as she continued to nod her head over and over. "They're making a pattern too, Though it may be slow..from what we can see..There are hundreds, And they are headed straight towards this area." She kept on "Also, from what we've seen they are a hell of alot like hollows. They devourer souls frequently , but ..they've also been eating other Hollow."

"We're pretty sure they are demons of a sorts"

"But so far...no one has seen one, or been able to trace one after it disappears."

"We believe they could come from another dimension that stands along side our own. "

Jinta just wasn't going to stop poking her like that was he? And her older brother had seen what the guy was doing, He seemed to think it was funny too..since Karin was fuming and the redhead beside her was grinning arrogantly. Ichigo shook his head _'Poor guy is going to get hit over if he keeps that up..'_

Sure enough, It only took a few moments more before Karin drew Tsukiba-Dawn and whacked Jinta over the head with the broad side of it. "Stop that! "

Urahara sighed softly, He had been unusually quiet sitting there flipping his fan back and forth, open and closed and according to the large swept drop that continued to grow that was just about ready to crash to the ground like a water balloon , Well..he seemed rather overwhelmed.

_'Woe is Me!'_ He though _'I always get stuck with that red-headed freeloader and now I'm going to be stuck with four of them? '_ He continued to ponder, not paying much attention to the bickering that had broken out amongst of the youngest in the room.

Jinta and Karin were fighting and throwing many colorful phrases at one another. Ichigo and Rukia had move to the back of the room , Both with their hands of a child's ears...they evidently didn't want them corrupted so soon. The Succua members had left, they were a rather peaceful group..and didn't seem to like arguing unless it was truly necessary. Inoue and Ururu were trying to break up the wrestling match that had broken out in the middle of the room. Sado and Ishida stood on the side lines..looking rather unamused, This was something they were used to seeing happen.

Matsumoto, Tirina, And Renji were cheering on the two teens..And Captain Hitsugaya stood in the center of the room with his arms crossed and one eyebrow raised. After about...say..five minutes, He walked out the door and leaped up onto the roof.At the point of which Karin was straddling Jinta and trying to fight the playful punches he was throwing, it didn't take much of her wriggling around on top of him for her to win the skirmish because he had to push her off, and looking rather flustered..and red , Run off down the hall to his bedroom.

Karin, now laying out in the middle of the floor and panting from the workout she had been needing for the last couple of week , sat up quickly and began to finger-comb her rather long raven hair, doing her best to untangle the end of it where it had become slightly wavy over the last few years.

_'Tessai, Jinta, Ururu, Myself,And Renji are okay..Not enough room for the others though.'_

As if Karin had heard the shopkeepers thoughts she spoke of her own idea. To be honest, she felt sorry for anyone who would have to deal with that many people at once.

"You cant all stay here! The shop is big..but it isn't that big y'know.."

"Hmmm...Annou..I propose that someone stay here, Someone stay with Inoue and Sado, As well as with Ishida and Kenna..And someone else with.." She paused,She had been wanting to say with Ichigo and Rukia , But those two had enough problems with a child, a young arrancar and two infants on the way..they were stressed ,And the Succua family didn't seem likely to house someone they didn't really know within their family manor.

"Ah..Oy,And someone will stay with me."

Renji, Having already become attached to the shop after staying here when he had first arrived in the real world announced that he would be staying here , That wasn't a surprise.

Matsumoto preferred to go with Inoue and Sado, She did like the redhead's cooking anyways..and she intended to drag her on a few shopping sprees.

Tirina decided to go home with Ishida and Kenna.. Since she didn't want to go home wit the hormonal teenager that she might accidentally get into an argument with, She just wasn't good with arguments..

_'This leaves me with Mister cynical and arrogant.. Ha! Ha! ..Just great..'_

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So..when all had left, Urahara had walked off with Tessai to do what not, Jinta still hadn't come back and Ururu and Renji were sitting at the round table talking about something or another, Karin was sitting in the corner with her large broad sword sitting across her body and leaning against the wall. She had her eyes closed and seemed to be half asleep even though most people that had any sense could tell that she was waiting for Hitsugaya to come back down off the roof so that she may tell him that he was doomed too live with her until this next weird war came to an end.

Poor Toshiro.

Poor Karin.

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**With the next chapter I plan to start out with a more of a ..hmm, I guess.. Hitsugaya's point of view, and what he was doing on the roof.**

**Karin-chan9473 : Aye!! I Made sure to do so in this chapter!! So I hope it made it better. :**

**_-Tsukiba_**


	3. If A Dog Shall Sniff Hard Enough

**-I don't own Bleach-  
-This is probably a slightly pointless chapter, Was fun to write though-  
I almost got writer's block half way through!  
Anyways,I am thankful to those who have added the stories to their alert lists :D**

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Chappy 3 : Dang Dog

_..: When the Going Gets Rough, You are Obviously in the Wrong Place :.._

Hitsugaya Toshiro lay back upon the roof with his usual bored expression, though for once his brows were knit together in deep thought. For the love of him he just couldn't seem to remember her name, And he was usually one with sharp memory, So it was indeed and odd thing.

He remembered those pretty onyx eyes, her raven hair, And her odd expressions that often..somehow..shocked him.

Too many things had changed though, she had been so young and..angular.. in a way, she had been shorter as had her hair, But now she just seemed so..Ahh, Grown-up, even more so then he did. Her black hair fell passed her waist and it was neatly curled at the very end, her body had filled out ..more voluptuously then expected , She had gotten taller even though it didn't seem to be by much since her and Rukia were only about the same height now.

There was something else that had changed, But he couldn't quite place it.

_'What was her name again?'_

An irritated sigh escape him as his body began to shift and he eventually ended up on his side.

He wanted to place her name..To the point where he began to speak it allowed until he found one that sounded right.

"Gaile? "

"Kary?.."

"Kayla..No, I think.."

_'Damn, What was her name? '_ At some point or another, Karin had gotten bored with waiting, also ..Ururu and Renji playing some weird card game was not fun to listen to. She masked her reiatsu, attempting to at least surprise the snowy haired captain.

Silently she crept towards him, all the while listening to his droning voice wondering on about someones name. _'Likely my own...'_

Once she was sitting behind him with her hair tumbling forward over her shoulders, seeming to create a soft silky curtain around her and the unsuspecting man, staring at him..and absently..admiring him. She let a whisper escape her perfectly pale lips, her eyelids fell slightly and made her look as if...she were slightly disappointed.

"Its Karin.."

Karin then figured out why you should never sneak up on a certain white haired captain when he was trying to think.

Hyorinmaru's cold blade pressed harshly to the flesh of her neck and Hitsugaya sitting on her slim stomach..easily pinning her to the roof, And she of course, happened to start laughing her ass off the very moment she realized this. 

His lips parted, as he couldn't help but stare slightly, clearly unable to bring himself to his previous state contemplation. Hyorinmaru was lifted from Karin's throat and then sheathed somewhat slowly. Karin stared up at Toshiro's blue-green eyes, silently watching how he went to speak several times..though not a single word seemed to escape him, She clearly found it rather hilarious that he actually..y'know..looked confused for once.

It took her much longer then a minute to control her laughter and finally manage to stop the fit of hysteria.

_'Life is too short to take every blade to my throat seriously.'_

Toshiro's face set into a hard line as he moved off of Karin and fell back onto his rump at her side. He realized that he'd want to think she made him feel young again, though..he was never young around her, So rather..was it that she made him feel short..again?

However, Karin could say that an old friend made her feel younger, and as if she had taken a trip back to a time when she was always happy and so very carefree, And it was nice to feel like this again.

She felt playful, and the urge to play soccer was rekindled ; It had been two years since she had felt so light, and she hadn't played soccer since her father died of lung cancer.

"Soo..I see you can face off arrancar, hollow, rogue shinigami , demons and whatnot..."

"...Yet..A substitute shinigami makes you jump out of you skin? "

".."

Karin paused and then started to giggle softly, folding her pale hands over her mouth as she watched the snowy haired captain fume.

"You could have passed for a hollow..certainly never seen any human with such a pale and ugly face."

Karin didn't mind Toshiro's comment, instead she pulled herself from the roof and turned her back to him. She seemed to darken and switch back to the stoic and quiet mood she had been in when she first came to the Urahara shop on this night.

"Renji is staying at the shop..naturally,vice captain Matsumoto with Inoue and Sado..Tirina wanted to go with Ishida and the other girl..So..you're stuck living with me while all of you are here..So I suggest you follow me back, or at least keep track of where you are to be staying Hitsugaya."

"Captain Hitsugaya." Toshiro corrected quickly before standing up.

_'Sad that I have to follow a teen substitute shinigami around like a dog to recall where the Kurosaki clinic is...'_

Karin leaped off without another word or thought, she had decided to ignore him for the rest of the night..perhaps just to see if she could pass him off like that..since it seemed to work on her brother and everyone else.

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He called her ugly, and pale, and that really irked her.

Of course, she had always put herself down because she was just so..plain. She was a simply woman with dark hair,dark eyes, and very pale skin. She had an odd personality, she was shorter then most girls at her school, she was a tomboy , she never did anything with her hair , she believed her hips to be too wide and her breasts too big, her backside was too round , her feet were to big. All around.. she was just as ugly as any woman could get..wasn't she? Or at least, That was what she thought.

In truth, she was likely the envy of more then half the girls her age that she knew. She was beautiful, and anything but plain ...she just had some kind of ugly duckling syndrome, at least that was what everyone else said.

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Karin nearly ran into her own front door, she wasn't paying attention, but when she finally made her way back inside she shut the door behind her..or at least.. nearly did, Toshiro caught it before it could hit him in the face though.

She had made her way to her room already, whacking her large dog, Grimmjow, over the nose with her fingers when he attempted to jump up on her, she fell back onto her bed..finally figuring that she couldn't actually ignore him, since he wasn't likely to know what to do in her house ...What if he started growing through her stuff or something? And so, her voice would echo from her room and through the house.

"Oy! you can take your pick of the rooms to stay in! Four upstairs and three downstairs! Shiro-chan.." ( I honestly don't know how many rooms there are, and since I couldn't find a document stating that there was a certain number of rooms..I assume that since it use to be a clinic it would have many..along with like an office and whatnot...I dunno'.)

Toshiro visibly twitched at the use of an old nickname but he wasn't going to get the chance to correct Karin. A cold nose had been wedged between his legs from behind and happened to be pushing against his rear, the cold nose sniffing so hard he was positive that his insides were going to be sucked out his backside.

Karin had been heading towards her laundry room with a small square basket she had pulled out of her own bedroom. She couldn't help but stare at the sight she came across on the way there, Toshiro hadn't made it very far into the house and was now frozen in place with his back slightly bent forward, Her slightly teal colored dog with striking blue eyes seemed to have a maniacal grin, his right paw was lifted..as it seemed he had been creeping silently before though that was hard to imagine..since a great Dane wasn't exactly quiet when it walked.

However, the thing that made her pause was the fact that her dogs nose was shoved straight up Hitsugaya's ass and the naturally calm and collected young man had an expression of absolute horror painted on his face. Her lips gaped, she didn't laugh, she didn't even feel the need to tease him because he already looked humiliated enough.

"Grimmjow, Sit."

The dog dropped to the ground without a second of hesitation, he didn't want to get disciplined by Karin's scabbard. The raven haired teen turned on her heel and rushed to her laundry room slightly shaking her head and muttering about damned canines, damned stoic captains, and their damned weird ways of of greeting each other.

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**I realize..that I need to go back to paper and plan abit, since I wasn't too sure where to go with this chapter..so hopefully the next one will be better :**

**-_Tsukiba_**


	4. When Books Fly

**-I Don't Own Bleach-  
Heh, Sorry this update came a little later then my others did, Ive been fairly busy as of late.  
Hmmm...Anyways, Thanks for the reviews! They are very much appreciated :D Has anyone seen the new Bleach movie? I think its called the Diamond Dust Rebellion, Is it even out yet? -- Send me a note if you know if there is a website I can download the movie off of..Please?**

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Chappy 4 : When Books Fly 

_..: My Reality Check bounced. :.._

Two weeks..and three days had passed- 

It felt like atleast three years. 

Each and every night all of the -currently active- shinigami had gone on patrol. 

No Hollows. 

No Souls. 

No Rogue Shinigami. 

No more powerful demonic-like presences just popping up out of nowhere... 

Nothing- 

Not a Goddamn thing! 

All were restless, bored, and also currently losing their minds or becoming slightly lazy..-er then they had once been. 

* * *

Karin had fallen into her usual mourning routine, starting with her annoying alarm clock going off, being shattered against wall opposite of a rather moody teen, the large half great dane-half wolf laying across her feet grunting sleepily before he started to lick her feet.. and then came the loud bangs as she began to repeatedly slam her head back against the wall. 

_'Damnit..'_

Toshiro was downstairs, currently taking his turn of cooking breakfast for the two..and the dog. He knew Karin had awaken by the sounds that echoed from her room and then through the house, Of course the first day.. he had been slightly freaked out by all the noise she made... and several times during the night he had been woken up by her restless sleeping. 

She kicked the wall often, she moaned, groaned, screamed, and on few occasions she started talking in her sleep. 

Luckily after the first week he had become accustom to it and now knew that once everything went quite Karin would trudge down the hallway an into the kitchen with her damn dog padding along behind her. 

Today he noted that she was in a good mood..since she waltzed into the kitchen fully dressed in her school uniform and she didn't slam any books down onto the table. 

"Annou..Need any help Taichou? " 

Toshiro grunted in response, Karin took it as an obvious 'No' and took her seat at the large round table in the kitchen. 

They ate breakfast in their usual silence and then got ready to live the throughout the day in boredom..once again. 

* * *

At some point or another Karin had convinced Toshiro that he was _required _to go to school with her, she had a good reason of course.. That one little fact that whatever was out there was quite..powerful and it was highly likely that it was going to take more then just one shinigami to defeat one of the unknown visitors. 

So here he was sitting to the right of Karin attempting to not grind his teeth away as the teacher babbled on and on about god knows what. 

The woman was way too enthusiastic...about everything, ever other word was: Oh My Golly! or.. Oh Wow! 

Karin had a short temper.. So why wasn't this woman split down the middle and falling apart into a gory mess yet? 

None of them may ever know. 

Though perhaps it was the fact that whenever Toshiro actually did look over to study the substitute shinigami she always seemed so off in thought, even as her eyes followed the teacher's every move you could tell she wasn't even attempting to pay attention. 

Though the teacher may be abit annoying..or rather..incredibly so, Karin was young and obviously need to know whatever the stick thin blond woman was getting so excited about. 

And so, Toshiro, knowing that if he tried to whisper to Karin the teacher would hear and glare menacing daggers at both of them, thus bringing more attention to themselves..which didn't seem like such a good idea since they had more then there fair share already, simply stretched his leg out a little bit to seemingly 'gently' kick Karin on the side that was closes to him. 

Said thoughtful teen yelped and fell (Also partially jumped) out of her desk and onto the ground. 

He shook his head slightly as he softly mumbled something about her being too distracted and an idiot when it came to being attacked versus someone simply trying to get her attention. 

_'Today is going to be a very,very bad, most unfortunate, and horrible day.'_

Ms. Enthusiastic was alerted the very moment Karin threw her book at poor Toshiro who just happened to dodge at the right time. Book hit Garak, One of Karin's few good friends, he sank to the ground faster then a brick thrown into a kiddy pool. 

Then it was like World War Three- 

Students dove headfirst under their desks as well as under other students! Pencils were aimed at one another like missiles,Paper airplanes nose dived the unsuspecting,Books went flying across the room as if they had grown wings, The teacher panicked, young men and women rushed into a state of chaos fearing for their lives! 

Mrs. Grim peeked through the open door, and though the room may experience a depression and years of rebuilding, each and every student took their seat and smiled angelically at the white-haired and bony old woman. 

Mrs. Grim forced her thin lips into a tight smile as Ms. No-Longer-Enthusiastic harshly excused Toshiro and Karin. 

"Kurosaki! Hitsugaya! Into the hallway now! And don't come back to class until you two have worked out whatever kind of little spat you're having! " 

The two practically stomped out of the room practically glaring daggers at each other. 

_' Yes..very bad, most unfortunate, and horrible. '_

So as the two walked through the hallways in silence they would glance at each other from time to time and had eventually decided that neither of them wanted to go back to class today. 

Karin looked awfully down and it was a big turn around from her good mood this mourning. Toshiro could tell that she wasn't angry just by watching the way she carried herself at the moment, actually...she seemed to be brooding, at least..maybe slightly. 

She whispered softly, her velvety voice seeming somewhat..detached, in a way she was talking to herself more then she was to him today. 

" You didn't have to kick me out of my chair y'know.." 

"The teacher was talking" 

"I know-" 

"You should be paying more attention." 

"Ah-..You weren't paying attention either!" 

"I'm much older then you ..and Ive already gone through such schooling." 

Karin paused for a moment, in all honesty she had forgotten once again that even though he may only look maybe a few years older then her he could possibly be..even centuries older then she? 

Her final effort to the small conversation was barely heard as it was breathed out within a soft sigh. 

"Aye.." 

* * *

They were nearly home, Karin however had no intention of going inside. She needed a walk today, atleast an hour or so..perhaps she should go to the park or something? 

Toshiro was his usual self, seeming deeply perplexed by something or another. He wouldn't even notice as Karin strayed from the sidewalk and he was left walking alone. 

It actually took him a moment to look up a realize the raven-haired woman was no where in sight. 

* * *

Karin had found the highest tree near the center of the park, she had taken to the highest branch that would hold her..and yet still keep her hidden to everyone's view. 

Her dark eyes looked out into the distance, she stared through the sky and into a perfect dark space. The heavens above..nothing more then planets and stars..aswell as comet,asteroid,rocket ships and whatnot. She didn't really see any of it though, it was too late for that since she had been swept into the churning waves of her mind around second period, trying to find her way back and concentrate now was probably a lost cause. 

The bad thing was is that she was only thinking of..very...off-the-wall things. 

It wasn't long after she had dropped her guard and completely stopped paying attention that Karin was nearly knocked off of her tree branch. She steadied herself by twisting herself around to lean back against the thick trunk of the tree. 

Toshiro was crouched only a few feet away from her, her lips gaped as she realized that he looked alot like a lion with the stance he had taken. With a mane of white..and those deep sea-green eyes that stared her down as if she were his prey, the way his lips were set into a thin line because he was always thinking, the power that seemed to radiate around him and then reach out to gently caress her very soul. 

Oh god, he made her blood boil. 

It took her a moment to finally come back to Earth, as for a long while there she had stopped breathing..and she hadn't even blinked as she stared up at him with her wide onyx eyes. 

Toshiro had never once questioned Karin's lack of ability to look so perfectly innocent, he had just been proven wrong. 

Though soon her dark eyes showed a different emotion, one of slight irritation to be exact..which he had started to realize was a cover up for her..at least.. he thought it was. 

She glared at him and her pale lips curled into a small frown, yet..they almost seemed to be a little pouty too. 

"I almost fell out of this damn tree because of you! " 

" I don't plan to break into your house, Karin." 

Her gaze drifted to the keys that hung from a thin chain around her neck. She had just left him there hadn't she with no way to get inside..unless he wanted to break down that door or shatter a window? It wasn't like there weren't atleast three other places he could go if he wanted to, though then of course she remembered his unusual desire to get in the house and get into anything other then his damned school uniform...plus, he just had to have his moody moment of throwing his books down on the kitchen counter didn't he? 

"R-..right.." 

* * *

Once they had gotten home Karin had done the only thing there was to do, she talked to white-haired guy that was currently bustling about her kitchen half soaked to the bone and making Squeaky noises every time he took a step. 

"Don't ever surprise me like that again..You looked like a lion." 

She was particularly glad that he was stubborn..and sometimes a smartass, since this in fact gave her the minimum of five minute that she wasn't losing her mind to laziness. His deep voice rumbled from the opposite side of the living room wall, he clearly enjoyed having his mind occupied most of the time too, and though he would likely never admit it..he simply liked to listen to Karin's voice. 

"Lions generally don't climb..Unless they plan to eat something so high in the branches." 

"You were looking at me as if you were going to.." 

"Would you have stop me had I tried to eat you? " 

"Ah-..I-..Pervert!" 

"Eh? Pervert? " 

"Arrogant, cocky, devious jerk!.." 

"Really now?.." 

"Smartass!.." 

"That ..I shall not deny." 

* * *

Ichigo stood outside the front door, his ear pressed to the hard wood as he listened in on their conversation. 

"Hmmm...They seem to be getting along well." 

He stroked his chin slightly and as if he were fidgeting with a beard. 

Rukia wasn't going to tell him just how much he looked like Issin right now..She did however tug on the back of her husband's shirt and eventually ended up prying him away from the door. 

"I told you Love! We can tell them _later_, they seem busy now anyways..so lets just call them while they are out on patrol later tonight?.." 

Rukia didn't wait for an answer, instead she just let her left hand rest upon her swollen abdomen as her right firmly grabbed hold of Ichigo's ear as she quite easily dragged him down the sidewalk to their home. 

* * *

**Couldn't come up with any interesting names for teachers..so I decided that since Hitsugaya isn't likely to be interested enough to learn them he would call them as he saw 'em xD**

**Anywho! I'm hoping that sooner then later the original plot will begin to unfold, Yay! Oh? Did I mention Ive been in a rather good mood lately for no reason at all? So hopefully if I can stay in my excellently wonderful mood I will have the fifth chapter out before the end of spring break!**

**Oh Wow.. o.O; Fifth chappy already.  
I'm surprise I made it this far actually..I am determined to finish this story! ..Either that or stop it around thirty chapters with a cliffy and make a sequel..Cant decide yet! Ha vent made it that far..Darn. Its not going to smoothly either, I have a few main events that I need to put into play..but until then I'm very much just making it up as I go.**

**P.S. My mother is in the other room snoring like a buffalo.**

**-Tsukiba**


	5. Photographs

**- I Don't Own Bleach-  
Ahh.. This want done as quickly as I would have hoped, But..its been a long while. We had to put my dog down a few days ago v.v So.. I just couldn't get into a writing mood and I give my apologies to everyone that was waiting for this.**

**I had to go back to the drawing board for this one too! I forgot my first idea for it o.O Anyways, It also because Ive been having many exams lately..so the** **updates may be slow until Summer finally comes 'round.**

**My apologies for the delay**.

* * *

Chappy 5 : Photograph

_..: Life is a sexually transmitted disease with a 100 mortality rate. :.._

Rukia sat at a kitchen table quietly sipping a cup of tea.

Toushiro leaned back against the counter with his arms cross and his teal-and-slightly-sea-green eyes cast towards the poor white wall that was being glared at for no particular reason.

Ichigo was practically screaming his lungs up and out of his throat while trying to wake a sound asleep Karin that was currently sprawled out across her couch.

She had fallen asleep after making dinner and had been napping for just about an hour when Ichigo and Rukia came a knocking.

She didn't seem likely to wake up anytime soon either, she slept like the dead...if one chose to ignore the occasional groan and soft mumbling.

Eventually the elder Kurosaki gave up.

"Oy, she isn't..going to wake."

He shook his head slightly as he made his way into the kitchen and settled infront of the door, his hand idly resting on the door.

"Hitsugaya-taicho, there is to be held a small meeting at Uraharsa's..once again. From what we've heard..The Succua seems to have gotten abit of information on the ominous presences. "

He sighed softly and released his grip on the door knob for a brief moment before reaching up to run his fingers through his strawberry blond hair.

"Tirina-taicho issued it to be around midnight or so..You need to be there, try to wake Karin before then too, Or Matsumoto will come by an fill her in tomorrow."

Toushiro looked up, his expression turning to that of mild curiosity.

"Oh..Matsumoto?.."

Ichigo's grin turned devious as he let out a chuckled darkly.

"Yyyyyyeeeeeeeeesss..She plans to drag Inoue and my poor sister along with her tomorrow, to go shopping!.."

Though nothing happened, Rukia could feel the Ichigo's evil laughter echoing through the silence, since, if there was one thing Karin _really_ hated it would just happen to be shopping- especially the kind where she was dragged from store to store and forced to try on dresses,skirts,jewelry, and other 'cutesy wutesy' accessories.Oh the horror..

The door was nearly shut in Ichigo's face, clearly..when Rukia decided to leave it was most defiantly the time to get going, and so Ichigo left with his crazed and devious grin still present..likely scaring some of the neighbors on his way home.

* * *

Toushiro had three hours to wake Karin up, which he decided wasn't likely to be easy. It wasn't very often that he was left to awaken someone, usually if he was he would simply hit them over the head with something and they'd be up and doing what they were suppose to be doing in a matter of seconds.

This one happened to be human though, plus.. she might be more sensitive then he believed her to be, such as..what if she turned out to be one of the few that he hit over the head and once she had awaken she started crying like a baby? Or what if she was capable of pulling the 'Puppy dog eyes' look on him like his vice captain?

And then again..what if he woke her up and she beat him to a bloody pulp?

He did really want to wake her up anyways, she simply looked too peaceful.

Her raven hair dishelved and spread out across the large white pillow she layed back upon, her delicate frame twisted towards him slightly, her school uniform wrinkled and twisted tightly around her body, the way one arm was layed across her chest and seemed to push her cleavage up just a little higher then it should be, and sometimes..she made those delightful little noises in her sleep.

He couldn't think.

Toushiro reached out and buried his right hand in her ink-black hair, his fingers swimming through the perfect tresses. Her hair was softer then the finest silk, or at least..that was Toushiro's opinion at the moment.

His teal eyes gleamed as he leaned in slightly and allowed himself to drown in her sweet cherry scent, he couldent help but close his eyes when he began to feel slightly intoxicated.

_'Delicious..'_

His left hand reached for her arm, the one that slightly fell of the edge of the couch and her fingers barely swept across the carpet, his fingers gently playing across her soft pale skin and he even seemed..somewhat proud when goosebumps prickled across her skin and her entire body shivered violently.

" What are you doing? "

Toushiro froze and Karin watched as his eyes snapped open. His eyes haunted her now as for a split second he looked at her with such longing, like he was ready to pin her to the wall and do god knows what to her, but then..that was gone and followed by a breif moment of surprise..which was not to long after replaced by his usual expression of annoyance with a slight hint of a glare.

His voice was utterly flat, his mouth pursed into a thin line, and his eyes dull.

" There was a bug in your hair, we don't need one of your glorious lice outbreaks again.."

He expected her to counter that with telling him she had never had lice before and never would.

However..just his luck, she had actually had it once..since Yuzu had gotten it from some girl at school and then passed it to Karin. Her sister wasn't one to complain about her hair being itchy- well she never really complained about anything, but Karin certainly had..so she had gone through all of this treatment to get rid of it and she just kept getting it back from her sister.  
So, Karin hadn't gone to a school for a month..and then since Yuzu kept going to school all the other kids got it, the teachers got it, and eventually everyone had to have their hair specially treated to get rid of it, oh, it was just a horrible incident. Ichigo and Yuzu were the only people that had actually ever known that Karin had gotten a case of it too, everyone else simply thought she had taken some kind of trip to her Aunt's house or whatever..because that was usually the story.

"Ichigo told you about that?!"

Karin looked..infuriated, that had been a secret!! And she had specifically told him not to tell a single soul about it!!

" I'm going to kill him!!"

Toushiro believed he had just gotten Ichigo in trouble, which meant of course.. that in the end, he was likely to be in more trouble then he would have been in if had just told her that he had lost his mind and gone into some kind of freaky hormonal and dreamy like state in the first place..

"No. He didn't tell me anything, with the length of your hair its easy to assume you've had something so common atleast once in your life. "

There was a moment of awkward silence, though that may be an understatement.

He was still leaning over her, and even if his left hand had moved to grip the edge of the couch and steady himself his right hand was still buried in Kairn's hair with his fingers twisted and tangled in a odd fashion, The young woman didnt look too amused anymore either.

"You messed up my hair.."

" I was trying to wake you up, we have to get to Urahara's soon for a meeting , Three hours, its better to be early though ."

Karin didn't seem to hear him, rather..she looked slightly worried, or maybe she was just incredibly pissed off since she had to work so long on her hair..due to its incredible length. Her plump lips would curl into a devious smirk as she got a brilliant idea, It probably took Hitsugaya more then a few minutes to get his hair stand up like that..and he always had the very same piece hanging down, surely he had done that on purpose?

_'Haha! Payback! '_

She reached up and grabbed hold of his ivory hair, His eyes widened as she lightly yanked his head to the side and began to coquet with his hair..so it only took a few seconds to mess it up completely so that it was flat and tousled.

Then it popped right back up into place.

Karin nearly knocked the poor confused man over as she bolted upright from the couch with her lips pursed into a thin line and a throaty groal escaping her.

"That's just-..just-...Mean"

He had officially ruined her fun, so Karin stalked off to her bedroom and shut the door behind her. Urahara's..again, It was beginning to feel like a second home to her since barely a day could pass without having to be over there, with a plus to it..atleast she had fun and was slightly productive when she did chores over there.

Now that she was in her room- she had to..spin around and circles for abit, trying to remember why the hell she was in there. Possibly to get dressed, but there wasn't much of a reason for that since she would be going as a shinigami anyway, it would simply feel to weird showing up there as she was. So now she simply stood there, staring at herself in the mirror and combing her fingers through her ink-black hair.

She thought to herself about how she could act so confident, she acted like she didn't give a damn- and yet..she did, she was a substitute shinigami..but all the same, she was still human deep within.

That's why she stood there in front of the mirror and pointed out each and every little flaw without meaning to. She looked so boyish sometimes, she had breasts of course, but she was a woman..and that was natural- though other then that she just felt so..angled!

She wasn't as petite as most girls because instead she had rather broad shoulders and even if her stomach was flat and rather toned she was still pretty wide.

She was pretty yes, and she could be the sweetest thing when she wanted to, But this didn't change the fact that she felt like a giant and most of those her age seemed scared of her- not that it had anything to do with her height, she was shorter then she would like to admit.

Hitsugaya had watched closely as Karin abruptly stood up and and stomped away, and he stared as she shut the door behind her so hard it ad shaken the pictures on the wall.

He hadn't meant to upset her, she was unreadable when she was upset and he was never sure whether or not she was going to become and agressive woman determined to tear his head off..or if she was going to look so hurt and mope around as if she were miserable. Occasionally he was unlucky enough to have her go through a small state of both, one directly after the other and then..it would repeat.

He was unlucky today, so likely she was in her room sulking and he needed to go and atleast make her angry with him..since she was better off and _-admittedly-_ quite cute when she was angry.

It took him only moments and a few long strides from his crouched position, his long fingers twisting around the doorknob as he questioned his sanity, then without another thought pushed his way into her room.

He realized then that he had never once been inside her room.

It was a large room, and her queen size bed was in the right corner of it pushed up against the wall. Her furniture was black, as were her sheets,pillows, and curtains, but that wasn't much of a surprise. It was simply that the room didn't seem to suit Karin, it didn't reflect her, atleast Toushiro didnt think so.

The ceiling was one large mirror, and there seemed to be many full body mirrors attached to the walls around her room, even a few around her bed. She had a large dresser with what seemed to be millions of plushies stacked up on top of one another in a decorative fashion, and then there were the pictures..thousands of them, some of them framed while others were not, they were pinned to her walls and didn't leave the barest bit of blank wall space.

Toushiro couldn't even tell what color her walls were painted.

Every picture was more beautiful then the last, and each of them seemed so real that he couldent figure which ones had been painted apart from which had actually been take with a camera.

It took nearly took him more then a minute to fall back into reality and remember why the hell he was in this room in the first place.

A crestfallen Karin stood on her bed with her hands planted firmly on her hips, her onyx eyes stared into the large mirror infront of her that covered most of the wall. She stood so close to the wall/mirror that the tips of her toes touched it, but she was no longer watching her herself..but instead, the man that stood behind her across the room. She blinked slowly as she turned to him, the bed creaked beneath her weight, Toushiro stared as she took one graceful step at a time..not paying much attention- she in fact too busy staring into those perfectly teal eyes that so easily hypnotized her.

One step.

She wondered how he could stand so still, looking so stoic and so stern.

Two steps.

How could he? With that vibrant fire that danced in his eyes, with such an untamed need for something that coursed through him in small tremors.

Three steps.

_'Wait-..did he just shiver?'_ His impetuosity clearly showed, it certainly wasnt the cold that made him quake so violently.

Four steps-

Now, Silk sheets and pillows didnt go well together. They tended to slide, So when an unsuspecting Karin stepped on a silky pillow slid across the bed. She panicked because she knew if she fell backwards it would be right into the mirror wall, her head would hit it first..leaving a nasty wound and the mirror would shatter and fall to her bed just before she did, so she would land harshly on all of the glass and get herself shredded along with a concussion.

Now it was Hitsugaya's turn to panic because he saw it all happen before him within only few seconds.

His body reacted on its own though.

Imagine Karin's surprise when she thought she was destined for certain doom ,or atleast many bad injuries and some scaring, when strong arms wrapped around her waist, tugged her up into a standing position and held her against a hard warm chest. Breathing heavily, their heart was nearly jumping out of their chest and into hers, the soft scent that reminded her of a thunderstorm fogged her mind and, if even for a split second, made her forget who she was..and where she was, and the entire incident that had just taken place.

Her gaze traveled up his neck to his lips, she couldn't help but lick her own before finally reaching his eyes, those wild eyes that watched her with such an intensity she thought she may crumble beneath the weight of it, his face was a dark cherry red and his warm gaze was suddenly gone, only to be relaxed by a moment of surprise as the silence around them thickened.

The wild fire that she had seen within him before now died down abit, his vibrant eyes became slightly dulled and relaxed. His chest rumbled as deep laughter bubbled up inside of him until he could contain it no longer .

He threw his head back and he _laughed_.

"You Dolt."

* * *

**Aright, That was fun, Im sleepy and about to clonk out.**

**So Anyways..This took awhile, and the next chapter probably will too.  
Thanks for readin'! Bye-Bye!**

**-Tsukiba**


End file.
