Rising Sun
Sunset
Okay, my first fic, but don't dismiss it immediately. I try to work hard on my fics, so spare me a little time and give it a try. I'm sorry if their behavior may seem to be a little inaccurate; I'm not the most talented of writers, and I've long since forgotten what it was like to be a 10-year-old... much less understand the experience of being an ageless shinigami soul. Just bear with me.
And review. A little. Please?
A warm gold color brushed over Karakura Town, as the setting sun took the world into its own hands, painting over everything with a faint yellow glow. Karin wandered slowly along the dusty path, kicking at the floor as she strolled along, swinging her soccer ball by her side. She looked down, her eyes unfocused at any particular point as she ambled along the winding route so familiar to her... that same dusty road where he, Hitsugaya Toshiro, always is, leaning so casually against the metal railing and so indifferent to everything around him.
It had been three days since that soccer match. Was a pretty eventful day; first with their soccer game against those idiot middle schoolers, and then that... thing, again. The giant monster thing. And Toshiro, revealing that he is, in fact, a shinigami, and then defeating that huge monster.
It had been a pretty trying day, to say the least. And she had not seen Toshiro since that day. Not that she cared.
Karin raised her head to the sky, folding her hands behind her head. It was almost as if she was trying to shake off her train of thought, but her mind continued to wander nevertheless. As she lazily watched the clouds go by, her thoughts dragged her unsuspecting mind back to Hitsugaya Toshiro.
Hitsugaya Toshiro... now there's an interesting name. She wondered idly. As her conscious mind supplied, why do I care, her subconscious waved a hand dismissively and continued on. Toshiro is for... "to", winter? That's quite a fitting name, given his hair and his eccentric nature, Karin thought, the idea bringing a smile to her face. And the shiro... what's the "shiro" for? "White" hmm...
Maybe I'll have to ask him. Given I see him again...
She dropped her gaze back down to the floor and gave the path a harsh kick, instantly creating several dust clouds which floated high and hung in the air. Some of the dust caught in her throat and she began coughing violently, slight tears forming in the corners of her eyes.
"Gah. Damn it," she choked, trying to clear her throat. She kicked at the path again, frustrated at her current discomfort, but in the process bringing more clouds of dust to hang around her, aiding in her gagging.
Great, she thought, as she stumbled out of the dust cloud and up along the road.
--------
Farther along that same winding road, Hitsugaya Toshiro leaned against his familiar place at the rails and stared out into the sky. The sun was already nearing the horizon, its warm golden color darkening with every moment passed. His harsh, blue-green eyes were glazed over slightly, unfocused and unaware. He was too wrapped up in his memories to acknowledge anything in the present.
Moments like this... are far too difficult to come by, now.
Hitsugaya sighed a little, and spared a quick glance at his cellphone-like command receiver device hanging loosely in his hand, before returning his gaze to the sunset in front of him. It was like the sun was just lazily slipping away, little by little. I guess for it, it would be the most natural thing in the world, huh Rise up in the morning, cross that great arc through the sky, and then slowly fall back to where we can't see... 'til the next day. It's been doing that for as long as time itself... as I have...
He closed his eyes at let his memories take him over, succumbing to the strange release of forgetting who he was, where he was, and what he was doing... if only for a moment.
"Shiro-chan..."
Hitsugaya let out a slow breath as his mind wandered in that dangerous realm of memory, lingering between his consciousness and his daydream. He inhaled quickly, suddenly seeming to snap out of it, and snapped his command receiver shut. Better not to remember...
It was only then that Hitsugaya grew conscious of someone coming up the path. He spared them a quick glance, for only the briefest of moments, and returned to his sunset. Surely, it was no-one important. But something about the figure this time made him look again...
He narrowed his eyes slightly as Kurosaki appeared around the bend of the road, choking dust. The image brought a quick, bewildered grin to his face, which then faded quickly. It's Kurosaki... Huh. Idiot. He turned his head round, apparently disinterested. He fixed his gaze on the sunset again, determined not to look at her before she approached him but smiling a little all the same.
Karin finally got over the worst of her coughing fit. Her throat felt irritated and dry and she desperately wanted some water. She had finished her bottle earlier during the soccer practice, and was now helpless to ease her itching throat. All this was lost as she spotted a familiar figure loitering at the top of the path—a very distinct arrogant, white-haired shinigami. She ran up the last few meters to Toshiro, gasping as she came up to him.
"It's you," she said, trying to catch her breath.
"Yeah," came the non-committal reply. He didn't even glance at her.
"Um, you have any water?" Karin asked.
Hitsugaya fixed his cold gaze on her, and then reached down to his feet and tossed her a small bottle of water. Karin caught it, surprised, and nodded her thanks (which went unacknowledged), and then unscrewed the bottle cap and drank greedily.
Hehas probably already drunk from that, her mind supplied, and she choked again, for the second time in just a few short minutes. Water splattered onto her shirt and flecked onto Hitsugaya's arm. He jerked a little, involuntarily, and shot her a glare (which went unnoticed).
"Sorry... sorry," Karin quickly tried to repair the damage, wiping off her mouth and then trying in a weak attempt to dry her shirt. The water bottle had only a little bit left in it, as she had drowned herself in half of it and splattered everything nearby with the other. She used her shirt to clean the neck of the bottle and screwed the cap securely back on, then handing it back to Hitsugaya, who, thankfully, took it, despite still shaking off a few rogue droplets from his arm.
Jeez, Karin, nice going. Way to embarrass yourself. She thought. And then, Oh my god, I just shared saliva with a guy! Probably the most immature and girly thought to come up with at that moment, and the very thought made Karin's face flush a bright red. She tried to hide it, but rather unsuccessfully.
Hitsugaya didn't notice though. He was doing what he did best—ignoring her.
He had thought that she was going to leave immediately, but to his bewilderment, she stepped over the metal railing and leaned back onto the fence next to him. He was slightly irked, and made no attempt to hide it. She looked into his face with a curious expression, and he had his usual impassive expression on, staring straight forwards.
After a short pause, they both staring speaking at exactly the same time.
"What are you doing—"
"I was just going to—"
They blinked at each other, before glancing away quickly, and then making eye contact again.
"You first," Hitsugaya nodded at her.
"Erm..." Karin now suddenly found it difficult to begin, and Hitsugaya's piercing gaze was doing nothing to help. "It was nothing, really. What are you doing out here again? I haven't seen you for the past couple of days." She turned a little pink at this, and avoided his gaze. What the hell, look at him, Karin. He's just a friend, just some guy.
Still, that last line was awkward, though. It made it sound like I'd actually missed him, or something.
"Yeah." Hitsugaya's answer brought Karin back to the present. "My 'subordinates' dragged me off someplace to help with a Kendo club or something." His tone was flippant, as if discussing something extremely boring. Karin sighed a little, but then blew all those tiresome thoughts to the back of her mind. He's talking, at least, right? That's a start.
"Really? You do Kendo?"
"No. It was just something stupid."
And that was it, abrupt and absolute. It was spelled out as obvious as day. End of conversation.
Karin sighed and tilted her head back, inspecting the soft gradient of the sky. The sun was a dazzling red color now, and the clouds around it were tinted orange and yellow with purple shadows. She angled her neck even more, marveling at how the soft gold sky transcended into a darker gray-blue... Like Toshiro's eyes... she thought, flicking her gaze sideways at him, then tilted her head back again, not even comprehending her thought. There were far fewer clouds in the middle of the sky, away from the sun. I guess everything gathers where there is light... she mused.
"Or maybe it's just because they're farther away and we can see more of them together," a low, male voice supplied. Karin was confused for moment, before she realized it was Toshiro, and that she had been thinking out aloud. A pink flush tinted her cheeks. Had she voiced all her odd little thoughts?
"Hey, Toshiro."
"Yes?"
"What was that memory you were talking about, that day?"
--------
Karin, running up the same winding path that they were at now. A smile crossed her lips as she saw him there, leaning against that same metal barrier.
"I thought he'd be here," she said to herself. Then, "Toshiro!" as she ran up towards him, to the now familiar beep beep, beep of his cellphone thingy.
"You again?" He said more than asked, without even glancing at her, as Karin bent over double, trying to catch her breath.
"Why didn't you come to practice?" she asked, an irked expression drawn over her face.
"I never said I would... Besides, I don't have much free time."
"Why are you so busy when you're just an elementary student?" she queried, with a skeptical tone.
"Shut up," he sighed, casually, closing his eyes as if doing that would rid him of some bothersome pest.
"Hey. Why do you come here? Is it close to your home?"
A pause.
"Not really."
Karin blinked, unsure if he was going to answer. He seemed a little strange. At first, Karin had thought that he was just trying to be cool with the whole 'dark and silent (and rude)' act, but there seemed to be real emotion sometimes behind his eyes. Karin decided she wanted to know more, right then and there.
"This is the best place I can find... to look at the sky," Toshiro said, softly, his eyes distant. He was silent for a long moment, before adding, "It brings back memories..."
"Memories? How old are you?" Karin asked, with a disbelieving tone
"That's none of your business," Hitsugaya replied, exasperated, as if Karin was being extremely immature
As he crossed back over the metal barrier, his command receiver beeped, and he turned and ran in the opposite direction, without so much as a goodbye. Karin took a step forward and grabbed his arm, purely on instinct, halting his leave.
"Don't go that way," she said, firmly. And then gathered herself and tried to correct herself as Hitsugaya gazed at her quizzically. "W-well, uh... I mean..."
She averted her eyes and folded her hands behind her back. "I have a bad feeling about over there," she said, telling the simple truth.
Hitsugaya stared at her, his blue-green eyes piercing into her as if it would somehow let him see through her. All the while, new and confusing thoughts were running through his head. He narrowed his eyes and looked carefully at this strange girl standing in front of him. She was no taller than himselfand looking away from him for all she was worthwith her arms hidden away behind her back. She couldn't be... Hitsugaya's thoughts raced... but were interrupted with the insistent beeping of his command receiver, again.
The flashing dot on the miniature screen blinked a couple of times, and then faded with a dying beepDid someone defeat it? Hitsugaya mentally shook himself as he gazed at the screen. Someone probably got it, but that wasn't the burning issue right now. The real problem was...
"Toshiro, what's wrong?" Karin asked, snapping his attention back to her.
"No. It's nothing," he snapped his command receiver shut and stuck it into his pocket. As he turned to go, Karin made as if to stop him, but this time carefully avoiding contact
"Hey, you'll come tomorrow, won't you?" her eyes were pleading softly
Hitsugaya replied as only he could. "Who knows?"
--------
"What was that memory you were talking about, that day?"
Hitsugaya stared quietly and intently at the fading sunset. It seemed as if he had just completely ignored her, but that wasn't it. He was considering the question. He was mysteriously curious about this girl. She had soul power, and she was bright, and loyal. She was also hopelessly hot-headed and undeniably determined, just like that idiot, Kurosaki. But she had something else. She could see things that others couldn't, with those deep black eyes. She had a way of entering the hearts of people and knowing exactly what was wrong—and she knew too exactly how to fix it. Just how much should I tell her
"I was... thinking back. To when I was younger... I had a friend, and she allowed herself to be captivated by one who didn't care for her." He spoke hesitantly, afraid to open up. "But... before all that. It used to be just me, and her, and obaa-san (grandmother)." His voice held more emotion than he had ever remembered. Hitsugaya sighed, and then inhaled sharply when he felt Karin's warm hand over his cold one.
His attention snapped over to her, turning his head round, his eyes wide with shock. She was gazing back intently into his teal-colored eyes, and smiling, lightly. Hitsugaya let the tension leave his body and relaxed, still looking, bemused, at her. She had turned away, transfixed on the sunset, a faint blush creeping up to her cheeks. Hitsugaya blinked slowly, and then turned his hand over so that hers was resting in its palm. Karin looked back at him uncertainly, and he gave her a faint smile, before pulling his hand away and crossing his arms.
Karin laughed, understanding, and the two of them rested quietly in their positions, content as they were. She pulled her arms up in a stretch, and then laced her fingers at the back of her head.
"Hey, Toshiro," she said, and he quirked a brow at her, showing that she had his attention. "What's your name for?"
Rather oddly phrased, but Hitsugaya understood the question. He did his usual infuriating silence for a couple of minutes, before slowly unfolding his arms and speaking, more to the sunset than Karin.
"My name is to, for winter. Shi, for lion. And ro, for... young man." He had spoken slowly, as if revealing this information might somehow damage him if delivered in the wrong way.
"Ah... To – shi – ro..." Karin said, just as slowly, dragging his name out over her lips. After a considerable pause, she slapped her hands down onto her thighs and said, "Suits ya," killing the momentary emotion that had been lingering in the air.
"Huh," was Toshiro's reply, as a little twitch of frustration pulsed in him and bounced on his forehead.
"Winter, 'cause that's like, your hair and eye color, not to mention your charming personality," Karin ranted on, oblivious to Toshiro's little display of irritation. "Lion, 'cause that matches your hair," she grinned up at it, "Kinda does look like a lion's mane."
Another vein appeared.
"And, uh... 'young man'..." she grinned at him, but then the smile faltered and faded off her face. "Well, you are a... um, 'young man'..."
Hitsugaya turned his gaze away and looked out at the distant sun. "Yeah."
A small silence enveloped them. Hitsugaya spared a glance at the girl next to him. She really is something, huh? Asking what my name means? He sighed, and then it suddenly struck him.
"What's your name?"
"Oh. My name's ka, for..." she stopped and squinted at him. "Wait a second, you don't even know what my name is." She was surprised, as was he, at this minor fact. I guess, as well. Obnoxious jerk never bothered to ask, did he?
Well, he's asking now.
"I'm Kurosaki Karin."
"So that's ka for...—"
"Summer. As opposed to your winter."
"... Ah."
"And rin for 'pear'." She made a slight face.
"What's wrong with 'pear'?" Hitsugaya smirked. "It suits you."
Karin took a half-hearted swipe at him and missed, laughing. "Idiot."
The couple at the fence smiled lightly at each other as they lapsed into silence. Hitsugaya's eyes wandered from Karin to the distant skyline. The round circle of the sun had already sunk below the distant silhouette of the mountain range, the beautiful golden sky beginning to fade into twilight.
"You should go," Hitsugaya said softly.
"I was wondering, the—" Karin began.
She made a soft face, as Hitsugaya stared out at something apparently very interesting in the opposite direction. It was the second time they'd done this in their short heart-to-heart session together. Karin turned on Hitsugaya, speaking softly. "What, you want me to leave, Toshiro?"
"No, nothing like that," Hitsugaya replied hastily. He paused, turning back to look at the darkening sky. "Just... it's getting dark."
"Heh, you don't have to worry about me. My house is just over there," she gestured her arm in a vague direction. "Anyway... where do you go at night, Toshiro?"
Hitsugaya's lips perked into a slight smile. "That's nothing you need to know."
"Well, I was just wondering if you slept at all."
"You idiot, of course I sleep," Hitsugaya laughed, his gaze softening as her turned to look at her.
She grinned back, and then stared out thoughtfully into the fading sunset. It really was getting dark, and he was right, she should be heading home soon. But it had been an interesting experience. Mostly because Hitsugaya had never seemed to exchange more words than necessary, with anyone. But for some reason, he felt okay to open up around her. Karin felt a little surprised, a little flattered, and a little uneasy about someone placing this intimate sort of trust in her.
But it was Toshiro. It was okay. And she was glad that he could trust her, even in such a small way.
"I was just wondering..."
"Hmm?"
"The sun... rising and setting every day, for as long as time begun... It must be tired of seeing the same thing for all those billions of years..."
Hitsugaya gave her a look of pure shock and awe. This was some very interesting philosophical stuff coming from a ten year old girl. And his own earlier deliberations had been so similar to what she was saying now. His eyes burned as he looked at her, urging her to carry on.
She must have noticed, because she glanced at him briefly. And she was surprised, because she had beheld his eyes with the most emotion she had ever seen in him. Blinking a couple of times, she continued, somewhat puzzled yet encouraged by his enthusiasm. "And a sunset, like this, to us, can be something so..." she searched for a word, but couldn't lay her finger on it. "I don't know..."
"They call this country 'Land of the Rising Sun'. I guess the sunrises must really be something, huh?" Karin drifted off into silence, feeling a little weird at the small speech she had just delivered. She glanced at Toshiro to gage his reaction, expecting laughter or teasing, but he was looking back at her gently with a small smile playing over his lips.
"Mm. Who knows?" he replied, as only Hitsugaya could, as he stared, once again, into the distant horizon.
Well, this was originally supposed to be a oneshot, but that sorta failed with the first 1/3 took up eight pages. So I'm changing this to a mini three-chapter story. I hope whoever is bothering to read this can tolerate my writing and my laziness 'til this story is finished.
Gah, that really wasn't as nice as I'd have liked it to be. Many, many parts in there were just... not well done, frankly. But I should upload it now, 'cause otherwise this ain't ever gonna end. And it's like 4am here, now, so... yeah.
Thank you for reading, though.
Few notes: I'm not totally sure I got their name translations right. Bearing in mind that my source was Wikipedia, and that I'm not actually Japanese, I hope I haven't made any stupid mistakes. I can understand the meaning of the kanji which their name is written in, though, so I hope it's okay.
Next chapter update: ... I don't know. But within the next few days (3-4), definitely.