Title: Putting You Together
Pairing: Chad/Karin
Rating: G
Summary: They figure each other out eventually.
Spoilers: None, brief mentions to SS arch and HM arch but nothing that gives anything away (Between you and me, I only just finished the SS arch so a lot of what I've written is probably of the AU variety.)
A/N: My first valiant stab at Chad/Karin fic. In fact, my first valiant stab at Bleach fanfiction in general! Huzzah! I'd be mighty thankful if you could provide any pointers if needed. Non-betaed. Standard disclaimer applies.

1. First Impressions

When they first meet they are both far too busy trying not to die to learn each other's name.

Their chance meeting doesn't last long. "Old Man" is lying in a heap on the ground and "Ichigo's Little Sister" has run off to get help (if you could call her crack-pot father help).

When she returns with her father in tow, the large rock of a man is gone and she begins to panic. This also doesn't last long before her dad's stupid antics force her to beat him up, and by the time he's the one lying in a heap on the ground "Ichigo's Little Sister" has forgotten about the "Old Man".

He does not forget "Ichigo's Little Sister". Her chiding voice and thin frame clinging to his back are burned into his mind (her kicks were too; they were just like her brother's). Her face, however, is lost to the recesses of his brain. When he tries to remember he ends up with something vaguely creepy and figures it best if he just waits until he sees her again.

"Ichigo's Little Sister" finally does remember the "Old Man" during those long summer days when her brother is "out" or whatever the hell he's up to. The memory comes with the realization that she's seen him before, that he's one of Ichigo's friends. This revelation does not shock her in the slightest: all of her brother's friends are weird.

"What was his name again…?" "Ichigo's Little Sister" wonders out loud, sipping some kind of purple sports drink.

She thinks it was something foreign.

2. Somewhere In the Middle

Summer is almost over when "Ichigo's Little Sister" finally meets up with the "Old Man" again. She's in the middle of a soccer game with her friends when she sees his huge brown figure looming in the back ground of the empty lot she's playing in. She almost cringes; his shirt looks like a five-year-old was given the biggest box of crayons ever in existence then set loose on white fabric.

She makes an excuse that she's tired, jogs over to the sidewalk where he's standing and sits down heavily, glaring at her feet. Their eyes never make contact.

"So," "Ichigo's Little Sister" begins in the closest thing she can manage to conversationally, "You're finally back, huh?"

"Yeah," the "Old Man" says.

Silence. It's strange, but not too bad.

"Well, I guess you didn't die then," "Ichigo's Little Sister," says after a stretch.

The "Old Man" nearly laughs at this comment, his full mouth twitching upwards in a smile, "Yeah."

"Ichigo's Little Sister" nods once then stands up, brushing off her shorts and straitening her cap. This was as good as place to end this conversation as any.

"Later, Old Man."

"Bye, Ichigo's little sister," He says, voice even and unsurprised at her sudden departure.

"It's Karin," she shouts over her shoulder as she trots over to her friends, "Kurosaki Karin!"

The "Old Man" smiles again, "I'll remember."

It's only later that Karin realizes she never asked for his name. She shrugs, not bothering to feel guilty about it, and makes a mental note to ask him next time she sees him. She then throws herself on the couch and flicks on the T.V. in one fluid motion and promptly almost forgets.

The "Old Man" is working at a check-out counter in a grocery store when he spots the diminutive Kurosaki.

His work is actually very sparse, considering most people avoid his check out line in general, due to his size and odd (scary) appearance. The "Old Man" doesn't blame them; he'd be scared of himself too.

He pauses then as he imagines two images of himself staring at each other, one substantially smaller then the other and quaking in fear while the bigger one is trying to find a price on a colorful cereal box. The thought brings the corners of his mouth inching upwards.

A sudden bang causes him to look down and there he sees Karin, grumpy and hatless, pulling food out of a basket with loud, jerky movements. Milk, eggs, rice, and an orange soda, in that order. The soda strikes him as an odd non-sequitur after all the white. He stares at it.

After twenty-seven seconds, Karin's thin patience snaps, "Well, are you gonna stare at it all day, or are you gonna ring me up?" she all but yells.

Unfazed, he coolly picks up the rice and begins searching for the bar-code; he always seems to have problems finding those things. Maybe he just wasn't suited for the check-out counter.

"You don't seem like the type to go grocery shopping," the "Old Man" says, still searching. Karin sniffs and crosses her arms.

"Everybody else is busy," she says.

The "Old Man" nods. He finally finds the bar-code and runs it under the red light, numbers flashing on the screen. He reaches for the eggs. "And your hat?"

Karin's eye twitches noticeably, "My old fart of a father is "holding on to it" until I get the food."

"Ah."

It takes the better part of five minuets for the "Old Man" to finish with the remaining items and the air between them remains still for the entire duration. It's almost comforting this time around.

"Thanks," Karin says as he hands her the bag and the drink; she's looks down at his chest and spies his name tag, her eye brows rising slightly as if she just remembered something, "Chad."

The mistake is creepily familiar. "You're welcome," Chad replies, "and it's Sado Yasutora."

"Whatever," and she genuinely sounds like she doesn't care, but Chad can see the almost-smile on her face.

It makes him smile too.

Things between them are weird.

But in a good way.

The two of them meet up from time to time, every time completely unplanned, and there's an unspoken agreement that every time they do, they sit around and talk about whatever for a while. So what if Karin's starting to be late home more often then her brother? Her father can stuff it for all she cares.

They never say very much, but they understand everything.

"You and Ichi-nii are gonna get yourselves killed one of these days."

Chad can hear some actual venom behind those words. He and Karin are sitting on a bench close to his school, people streaming pass, some staring, some not. It was probably not the best place to have a personal conversation, but it was there and Karin was too stubborn to care about moving someplace more private. His arm is heavily bandaged and there's a jagged cut near his eye. Ichigo faired better, but only just.

Chad doesn't say anything and neither does Karin. The silence speaks.

I'm worried you, jackass. If you don't start being more careful I'm gonna just kill you myself and save the hollows the trouble.

"I'll be more careful."

Karin scoffs. "Do whatever you want, it's your life."

But don't you dare die.

Karin is sitting on a street corner near her house, the sun setting in an orange blaze, casting a warm light on her face. She's fiddling with her cap in her hands, fingers running over and over a frayed bit on the bill. She's staring down the street. She's waiting.

The sun sets, waiting for no man, and street lights slowly wink to life. She sighs and stands up, putting her hat on and picking up her long since finished bottle of… she honestly can't remember anymore. It might have been apple juice.

Looking down the street one more time, she whispers, "Get home soon, you idiot."

She has no idea which one she's talking to any more.

She hugs her brother when he gets home; it nearly mortifies her but she's so happy she can't stop herself.

She almost hugs him too, but that doesn't feel quite right. For a second, the idea of a kiss crosses her mind and she beats it down with a bat full of rusty nails.

So she punches him in the gut.

"So, you're going to a college in Spain."

"Yeah."

The silence burns. Karin picks up a stone and throws it into the river. Then another. Then another. She's about to toss one more when his big, strong, warm hand engulfs hers. She looks up, unable to keep her eyes away, and his eyes stare into hers through his curls. Karin feels a strong urge to cry well through her then ebb away.

"I'm sorry," he says, and she wants to hit him he sounds so pitiful.

She turns her head and watches as a firefly drones lazily across the water, "It's fine."

He can tell it's a lie.

-- A Brief Interlude –

They do not send letters to each other after a few failed tries. It just doesn't feel right.

3. In the End

It's been years since they last spoke to each other. Years.

It's almost surprising when they meet up again; almost surprising, but not, as many things with them were. She's standing by a vending machine, looking taller and just slightly curvier then he remembers, and has her head thrown back, chugging a caffeinated, fruity substance. She finishes her drink with a loud sigh and lets her head drop, and suddenly she's face-to-face with his chest. She knows it's him right away: the shirt is hot pink

"Hey," Karin says first, leaning back and trying to look him in the eye through all his hair, the barest hint of a smile flitting about her face, "Chad, right?"

It was really Sado Yasutora, but she knew that.

"That's right," Chad replies, and nothing about him has changed at all, "Ichigo's little sister."

It was really Kurosaki Karin and he knows this as well. Revenge, perhaps?

She shoots him a hard glare and flicks her hair over her shoulder. It's longer then the last time he saw her. His fingers twitch.

"Kurosaki Karin," she bites off, "-san."

Chad smiles and sees she hasn't changed at all either, "I'll remember."

Karin doesn't doubt it. There is a silence between them after that, warm and personal, saying everything that needed to be said for them and filling in the gaps that had been left hungry and wide.

Years didn't matter.