Part 2: i bet you thought you'd seen the last of me.

Because Matsumoto needed to also be involved in the Tenth Division Reunion that never was.

Rangiku cackles.

"He did that? Really?" Rangiku asks between breathes, wiping the tears from her eyes, and Toushirou nods, grudgingly, his face flushed with embarrassment even after he's finished recounting meeting Karin's old man for the first time, only to realize that it was his former Captain who had disappeared so long ago. It sets Rangiku off again, hooting with laughter, clapping in delight, and Karin watches their exchange with bemusement. "Classic Captain Shiba! Sounds like he hasn't changed a bit."

"He got old," Toushirou mutters, snidely, and Karin bites back an affectionate smile, because she adores seeing glimpses of his petty side.

"How did you not laugh, Karin-chan?" Rangiku says, turning to look at Karin with wonder, her grin irrepressible even after her cackling ends. "The visual of it is just… oh, it takes me back."

"I was kinda concerned about my boyfriend over here," Karin nudges Toushirou, not exactly lying. Not that she'll tell anyone, but finding out that her father apparently habitually picked her boyfriend up and swung him around like it was nothing in the past pleases her to no end. She coughs, trying to rearrange her features into something more aloof. "I thought he was going to have a heart attack."

Besides, Goat Face was always pulling ridiculous stunts like that, even though he should know better.

Most of the time, they made Karin cringe. But this? Not in a million years could Karin could have predicted such insanity. It was horrifying. It was hilarious. Karin still couldn't believe that it had happened.

"I nearly did," Toushirou admits, softly, cheeks still bright. "If not for you, Karin."

And at that, she has to kiss him, swift and sweet. Because Toushirou is the best, and he takes her breath away, and somehow he can get away with saying sappy things that make her feel warm and fuzzy.

"Aw," Karin murmurs, their foreheads touching, and she wants to linger in this moment, taking her time with him, but she bites her lips and pulls away before the urge becomes too strong, and looks at Rangiku. Arching an eyebrow. "So my old man was this Division's former captain?"

"Yes," Toushirou huffs, disgruntled. "So it would seem."

"The nerve of that man," Rangiku shakes her head, sighing with annoyance, no doubt recalling fond memories of him. "Always trying to make me do his paperwork! Can you believe it?"

"Matsumoto," Toushirou says, flatly, "It's not as if you weren't trying the same to him, back in the day."

"Yeah, but —"

"And," Toushirou continues, overriding her rebuttal, whatever it might have been. "You still try to make me do your paperwork!"

"But Captain," Rangiku pouts, not in the slightest remorseful for her actions. "How can I deny you the chance to do more paperwork when you enjoy it so much?"

Toushirou glares at her.

"I rest my case," Rangiku says, folding her arms across her chest, flippantly. "You should be thanking me."

"You're terrible," Toushirou declares suddenly, attempting haughtiness and missing the mark a little. He comes across as a spoilt brat, in Karin's fond opinion, who once again is trying really hard not to smile. "Terrible."

"Maybe so, but at least I've never faked my own death just so I could avoid paperwork!" Rangiku counters and then pauses, considering what she just said. "Wait a minute. That son of a —"

"DID YOU FAKE YOUR DEATH JUST SO YOU COULD AVOID DOING PAPERWORK?" Rangiku shrieks, hands on her hips, as she stares at Kurosaki Isshin with disapproval, appearing out of thin air, Toushirou and Karin quick to follow.

Disapproval, yes. That must be it.

Except.

Except there almost seems to be a note of jealousy in Rangiku's voice, amazed at the sheer scale of dedication in trying to avoid paperwork, succeeding in a way that Rangiku never has.

"Of course I didn't!" Her old man denies at once, bombastically, not even batting an eye at her sudden appearance and Karin and Toushirou just look at each other. Karin wonders if Goat Face had been expecting an encounter like this, after having seen Toushirou. Her father scoffs, announcing dramatically. "I have much more noble reasons than that!"

"Circumstances called for it, you said," Toushirou echoes drily, and Karin still needs to have a talk with her old man, find out what else he has hidden about his secret other life. "Which are?"

"Love!" Her father announces passionately, slamming his hand onto his chest to really emphasis his point. "I met the love of my life!"

"And?" Rangiku raises an eyebrow, unmoved by his gesture.

"And nothing!" Her old man insists staunchly. "That's all there is to it!"

"And?"

"And," Goat Face nods, slowly, sadly, giving in with a sigh, his shoulders slumping. "And… maybe to avoid doing paperwork too."

Karin actually hears her boyfriend gasp.

"The paperwork you left behind took weeks to complete!" Toushirou hisses, outraged. But no one except Karin is listening to him.

"Ha!" Rangiku crows, triumphantly, utterly oblivious to everything except for her own vindication. "I knew it!"

"But I do plenty of paperwork as a doctor!" Goat Face continues, after a beat, as if this last minute addition gives him the high ground.

It… doesn't.

It really, really doesn't.

"How unlucky for you that you don't have ol' Captain Hitsugaya to do the work for you," Rangiku gloats, crossing her arms, completely unsympathetic for all the wrong reasons.

Karin snorts, because she can't believe after years of not seeing each other, this is what they're going to fight about.

Unbelievable.

Out of the corner of her eye, she can see Toushirou's mouth frothing.

"His generosity knows no bounds," Rangiku continues, bragging without any sense of shame. Karin would not be surprised if she's completely forgotten about him at this point.

"Hey!"

"I miss those days," Her father admits, also ignoring Toushirou and pretending like he didn't hear anything. He sighs, reminiscing. "It is my one regret that I can't shove paperwork on him like I used to."

"Hey!" Toushirou says, indignant. "I'm standing right here!"

"It's good to see you again, Captain Shiba!" Rangiku cries, arbitrary changing her mood and is now brimming with joy and grinning at Karin's old man, and… flinging her arms around him. A joyful hug. "I knew you weren't dead!"

"I knew we would meet again one day, Matsumoto!" Her old man says, and there's something ridiculously melodramatic about the whole ordeal, and Karin watches in confusion as the two become a blubbering incoherent mess. "I've missed you so much!"

"I've missed you more!"

"Ugh," Toushirou harrumphs, rolling his eyes and storming out of the room.

Karin watches him leave; torn between going after him and staying to watch Rangiku and Goat Face interact some more because it's so… so mystifying and captivating that she almost can't bear to look away from them. It's a weird kind of fascination, and Karin keeps trying to make sense of the two larger-than-life personalities clash and can't quite believe what she's seeing.

Again.

Eventually, her heart wins out, concern overriding fascination, and Karin finds Toushirou leaning against the wall, folding in on himself and frowning deeply.

"I hate them so much," Toushirou mutters, as she approaches him, his face a bitter crimson. "They're always like this."

Karin can't help but feel pity for him. She's only seen her old man and Rangiku talking to each other for five minutes, but already she can easily envision them winding her boyfriend up with ease, flip-flopping from one melodrama to another in the blink of an eye. Her mind is still reeling and trying to keep up with their extremities, she can't imagine what a nightmare it must have been for Toushirou.

Her dad is an expert at making his children feel embarrassed by his insane antics, it really shouldn't be a surprise that it came from embarrassing his subordinates first.

"You miss it, though," Karin says, her hand on his shoulder, and she feels him breath out, relaxing under her touch.

"A little," Toushirou admits, sighing, his hand enclosing over hers. "They're just so… frustrating, sometimes. In a minute, they'll probably go back to fighting again. Something usually gets broken whenever they're like this."

And just as the words leave his mouth, something smashes.

"YOU COULD HAVE LEAST STOPPED TO SAY 'HI, RAN-CHAN! YOU'RE LOOKING MORE BEAUTIFUL THAN EVER', CAPTAIN!"

"IN THE MIDDLE OF A WAR?"

"WHEN ELSE? IT WAS THE PERFECT MOMENT TO ANNOUNCE YOUR RETURN AND YOU WASTED IT!"

"DAMN IT, YOU'RE RIGHT!"

"How did you put up with this?" Karin deadpans, amazed that he did at one point, as her old man and Rangiku continue to escalate in their shouting war and reunion filled with turbulent emotion. Karin has no idea how it's going to end, or how long their encounter could go on for, but regardless, it's going to cause a racket for anyone near their vicinity. "For years?"

"With difficulty," Toushirou snarks, quietly, and Karin can't help but chuckle, observing him with new admiration. "It was a different time back then, and I was a different person."

"Clearly," Karin smirks, not believing him in the slightest, but kind enough to humour him, just this once. "You'll have to tell me about it one of these days."

"I promise."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"You sure you don't want to be Kurosaki Toushirou?" Karin teases, suddenly reminded of an earlier conversation of theirs, and the thought cheers her up for some reason. "I kinda think it has a nice sound to it."

"Is that a proposal?" Toushirou teases back, donning a cocky smirk and the meaning of his words take Karin aback. Her eyes widen, and panic and regret flashes across his face. "Hey. Hey, no. I wasn't…"

"I wasn't either," Karin mumbles, feeling sheepish. But now her insides are fluttery and she can't help but feel self-conscious and awkward and she never meant to accidentally propose.

"C'mere, Karin," Toushirou murmurs quietly, and Karin does, tucking her head under his chin, and her heartbeat is unsteady at first, but as the seconds pass, she begins to relax in his embrace, comforted by his hand running down her spine. "It's okay."

Karin hums in response, melting under his ministrations, and they stay like that for a moment or so, his hands curling around her hips, his thump pressing gentle circles on her skin. Desire courses through her, thrumming through her bloodstream and Karin wants.

The world rights itself when her mouth finds his, losing herself in him for just a moment. Karin wanting to take Toushirou apart with the gentlest kiss she can give him, wants to have all the time in the world and spend it in his arms. Their kiss deepens, grows hungrier and —

"ADMIT IT! I COULD HAVE BEEN AN AMAZING CAPTAIN! BETTER THAN YOU EVER WERE!"

"YOU'D HAVE BEEN LAZIER THAN KYOURAKU AND YOU KNOW IT!"

Leave it to them to kill the mood.

"On second thought," Toushirou drolly says, as they break apart, and Karin laughs breathlessly, too giddy to feel mad at those loudmouths. "Maybe it isn't such a bad idea."

"Kurosaki Toushirou," Karin repeats, considering, and she means them, slipping away for five minutes, unnoticed by Matsumoto and Goat Face, Yuzu swooning at the romanticism of it all, just so they can have a private moment to themselves. "What do you say we get out of here?"

"I think it's the best idea you've had all day," Toushirou says, with a smile, a touch ironic, but takes her hand, regardless, and laces their fingers together, and she knows that he understands. "C'mon."

They slip away and Karin's heart skips a beat, and she feels so light and carefree, ready to go anywhere with Toushirou, anywhere at all.