Rising Sun
I'm SO sorry, this took a hell of a lot longer to get up than I thought. Well, it's here now, took awhile to perfect it. Gah, MUST practice keeping to deadlines... this is an issue for me regarding school, as well. --
Thank you, all you lovely people who have taken the time to read my story. And thank you even more to those who have dropped a quick review. You guys have given me the self-assurance I need to write this last chapter. So, to Slothy Girl, BlakValentyne, GhostFlowers, ToShIrOU-kArIn, Baxter, Nefarious Seraph, Tangle, ayumidream, and finally, the loveliest of them all, MatsuMama... and now, Jinn, as well (finally)—thank you so much, I love you guys. :D
A black-haired young girl stepped up onto the window sill, crouching low to steady herself and holding on tightly to the window frame. Her eyes wandered to the very-far-away ground. Karin closed her eyes and breathed out, slowly. I can do this.
She straightened her body and shifted her foot, so she was hanging outside the window. Her left hand reached out to grab at the drainpipe, and she held on tightly, freezing there for a few moments. Damn it... I don't think I've ever felt my heart beat so hard...
She felt her legs shaking, in spite of her iron will, and gritted her teeth, taking a firmer hold onto the drainpipe and focusing her weight onto her right leg. With her left, she placed it against a groove in the wall and leaned into it, her other hand coming up to grab a higher point of the drainpipe...
And then, she slipped.
Her foot slid smoothly against the wall of the house, and gravity dragged her body down. Her knee had been scraped against the rough surface, and her arms, too, as her own weight jerked her away. Damn, my leg injured again... And that bruise from the game hadn't even healed... The ground, the ground! Why am I not worried about this? Why don't I feel as if I'm about to die? I'm... totally calm... about everything...
A breeze of black and white unfurled beneath her and wrapped around her, catching her gently. The figure landed smoothly on the ground, before leaping up again, the white haori billowing out in his wake. Karin's thoughts were scattered everywhere, but a part of her mind had found the calm serenity it had been looking for, and she accepted it; she closed her eyes and gripped tightly at the black cloth kimono of her savior. It was a strange feeling—she felt warm, and safe, she felt at home... yet there was also a soft coolness, and a tenderness... She sighed contentedly and sank deeper into the sweet sensation.
It was over way too fast.
Karin felt herself being let down, gently, and opened her eyes. And all at once, her consciousness, her memories, and her very situation all came flooding back to her. She gawked at the silver-haired figure, the steadying hand on her shoulder, and the fierce sea-green eyes that bore into her with unanswered questions. Gasping, she jerked herself away from that character, and swiftly found herself teetering near the edge of the roof, facing her death-drop again.
"Idiot!" A firm grip enclosed around her wrist and jerked her back up to safety. "You are on a roof, that's a slanted surface. You have to maintain your balance," he said, gripping her wrist tighter and pulling her against him.
His eyes burned at her.
"T... Toshiro..." Karin gazed in curious wonder at his figure. The way he had suddenly appeared, she was lost in the moment with those flowing motions, and fiery eyes... She stopped, meeting his burning gaze, his icy eyes scorching an unknown fury. He's mad at me... she found herself thinking, and then, why is he mad at me?
"My name," he hissed, his voice retaining some qualities of his dragon's harsh screech, "is Hitsugaya." And having said this, he roughly let go of her wrist and tore his gaze away. She unbalanced, gasping in shock and pain, and her flailing arms found his shoulder. She grabbed on, steadying herself. Hitsugaya's eyes snapped back to her in a silent contempt, yet he couldn't resist smirking ever so slightly at her inability to stand.
"No sense of balance, huh?"
"Shut up, Toshir..." she sighed, as he was once again inspecting the distant landscape, refusing to look at her. "I'm sorry." And then, "What did I do?"
"What did you do?" he repeated her sentiment back to her with a heated growl. He was at a loss for words—how the hell are you meant to communicate with the female species on topics such as this? He grimaced to himself, his usual frown deepening as he tried to figure it out. "How can you just..." the question died halfway in his throat, and he gave up, folding his arms and retaining as much poise as he could muster.
As his eyes swept over her again, he noticed something he hadn't earlier—a violent-looking gash across her leg, and matching wounds across her forearms. "You're bleeding," he said, his tone totally different to his earlier reproach. Before he could comprehend what he was doing, he reached out to gently take her wrist, and held her arm up to inspect the damage. Karin bit down on her usual complaints, and she felt her eyes watering. What the hell... What the hell?! I don't cry, god damn it! Toshiro was kneeling down to check her leg wound, and his teal eyes were weighted with concern.
"This is pretty bad." He said, and glanced up at her, a sigh in his eyes reading, when will you ever learn? "What on earth were you doing, anyway?"
"Nothing," she snapped back, as she furiously killed the collecting tears at the edges of her eyes. "I couldn't sleep! I kept feeling some... pressure, in the air. It was weird—it felt thick, and rolled across my skin, and it was warm..." she shot him a look as she felt her bitterness fade, "but... it was cool, as well..."
Hitsugaya stiffened a little, and a small noise escaped his throat as his eyes blinked up to meet hers. He stood, slowly, and realization dawned across her face.
"It was you, wasn't it?"
He carefully avoided looking at her. "You really should get that checked," he said, motioning towards her injuries.
She felt something inside his voice had changed, replacing his bitterness with the tenderness she had felt earlier. But she couldn't let him get away with side-stepping her question. "Was it you?"
His eyes blazed with resent as he finally looked at her. "What?"
"Was it you? That pressure, that cool, warm feeling I had before, that kept me from falling asleep all night. Was it you?"
Silence.
"I felt it again, when you... prevented me from falling, earlier." Karin bit on her lip, but refused to look away.
"Yes, it was me." Hitsugaya sighed, and then stared out at the stars again. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize it would keep you awake."
She shook her head, and frowned at him. "What were you doing?"
There was another very momentous pause, before he answered. "I just needed to... release. I don't know."
The air burned with the unresolved matter. But it was impossible to just bring that subject into the conversation.
ConfusedIdontknowwhywhyImsorryIwantedtoseeyouneededtoknowifonly...
The silence dragged on.
"Karin...—"
"You know, that's the first time you've called me by name..." she interrupted, before turning her face away. She slowly sat down, bending her legs carefully but still unable to hold back a small hiss of pain. She stretched her legs out in front of her and stared very pointedly in the other direction, attempting to mask her furious blush.
Hitsugaya could only watch all the oh-so-human emotions play across her face, as he kept his own carefully blank. Hurt, disbelief, hope, resentment, scorn, warmth... and... what was that last one? That word... love? The thought sent a ripple of shock through his body, and he dismissed it immediately. He simply could not waste precious moments mulling over something completely impossible. And... she's right. That's the first time I've called her by her name.
Exactly, you fool. You didn't even realize she's Kurosaki's sister. You never asked. You never cared.
I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Karin... I didn't know. I'm sorry, I made you fall out the window. I'm sorry, I kept you up all night. I've been so...
"What use do I have for such human emotions?..." he whispered softly to himself. His never-quieting conscience faded away for the time being, and he turned his attention back to now.
"Here," he said, thrusting his white captain's haori into her face.
"What..." Karin blinked at him confusedly, and then realization played over her face. "Oh... I'm sorry... I got blood on it..."
"Not that. Here," Hitsugaya shook the piece of clothing impatiently. "You're shivering. Put it on."
"I don't want to."
"Don't be stubborn, Karin." His icy eyes melted to a calm sea-green as she turned to look at him. "It's warmer than it looks... which makes it difficult for us taicho in the summer." She laughed a little, and he took it as consent. Stepping behind her, he draped the white haori over her shoulders, and she pulled the edges tightly around her.
"You look different without this on," Karin suddenly said, gesturing the haori wrapped around her. Hitsugaya blinked at her slowly. He hadn't realized that she'd been watching him.
"I imagine I do. Most people have always seen me with it on."
Karin grinned a little. "Does this make me 10th division captain now, then?"
"You can dream on," Hitsugaya chuckled a little.
A delicate pause.
"Heh, wow, Toshiro... that's the first time I've heard you laugh." Today was the first time I ever saw him smile, too. Heh, seems like today was a momentous occasion. Karin's midnight-black eyes gazed owlishly towards him, carefully gauging his reaction.
Hitsugaya shifted a little—some might even have thought he was uncomfortable. He sighed, quietly, and dropped down to sit next to Karin.
"Smiling... and laughing... are not really emotions that a shinigami needs. Especially a captain."
She stared at him for a long time, trying to see through him, as if her burning gaze would melt his icy exterior.
Finally, softly, she spoke, each phrase causing a small cloud to mist in the night air. "... Don't be stubborn, Toshiro..." Sea-green eyes turned to meet those shining obsidian jewels. "Everyone needs to laugh and smile sometimes... Even shinigami taicho..."
She was so close. And as she leaned into him, he thought... he thought...
But she didn't.
You could say he almost regretted it.
"I'm sorry... for earlier." Karin folded her legs close to her body and wrapped her arms around the top of her legs, resting her chin on her arms. She was gazing distantly at some particular star as she spoke.
"Are you..." Hitsugaya began, and then shut up. If she was talking, he should just let her talk.
"I just... don't really know why. It just... seemed right. I felt like I was home... but you know, a different kinda home to how we'd understand..."
He watched her carefully, almost afraid to make any movements, to say anything. And he realized that she was just as confused as he was. If he wanted the answers to his questions, he would have to figure them out himself. She didn't really understand at all. His eyes narrowed as he continued to watch Karin gazing out into the night sky. She's... impulsive. Passionate... fiery, heh. She's every bit like her brother. Only a little bit more level-headed.
"I think... I just like you." She had spoken so softly that he almost hadn't caught it, but even her breathy whisper couldn't escape his cat-like hearing. A soft flush crept its way up Karin's cheeks, but she was tired, so she didn't really care so much. She let her eyes close and just rested herself, not exactly asleep, but not exactly conscious, either.
And this left Hitsugaya to his own thoughts. He had been surprised, confused, even, by her sudden revelation—even if it wasn't meant for his ears. I just like you... what the hell does that even mean? What's 'like'? Nobody 'likes' me. I'm different, I'm weird. There is nothing to like. Even in the way... I didn't even think to ask her name after knowing her for three days!
"I'm just this selfish... egotistical... bastar—"
"No," a warm hand clasped over his arm, and he stiffened a little at the contact. "You're not." Karin pulled herself close to him, and then leaned her head on his shoulder, never once opening her eyes.
She smiled a little, through her closed lids. "Relax a little, Toshiro... or Hitsugaya-san... if you prefer..."
Hitsugaya smiled a soft, graceful smile, and willed his body to relax. He soon found himself melting into Karin's touch, his entire body warming to her weight pressed against his body. Her gentle, even breathing let him know that she was now asleep. Sighing, he stared up at the midnight black sky—the same color as Karin's eyes...—and the gentle stars, asking, pleading them for his longed-for answers.
Kurosaki Karin... just what on earth haveyou done to me?...
The moon was only a thin sliver of silver that wisped in the heavy darkness of the sky, but it was nonetheless beautiful. And due to the lack of the moon, there was no limit to the number of playful, twinkling stars in the sky. Hitsugaya gazed unto them, his deep green eyes shimmering with the reflected light from the stars. At this hour, there was total stillness; there were no pedestrians, no humans at all, anywhere... no blinking lights from the tall office buildings in the distance, not anything. Well, aside from the dark-haired girl who was sound asleep against him, breathing softly against his arm.
"Taicho?" It was a familiar voice. Hitsugaya's irritation flittered across his face. His calm serenity had been shattered. He turned very slightly, and very slowly towards the curious female voice behind him, only glancing at Matsumoto out of the corner of his eye. He was desperate not to wake Karin, because... Well, I don't really know, he admitted to himself. But, I just... don't want to wake her. She looks so peaceful...
Matsumoto was oogling him and the strange black-haired girl wrapped so comfortably around his arm. Her eyes were wide with questioning disbelief and her mouth was pursed to a small 'ooh' shape.
"Taicho" she sauntered towards him, bending down and peering curiously into his face.
"I can hear you, Matsumoto," he snapped, in his usual bland and very captain-y tone. "What is it?"
"Who is this?" she flounced to the other side, inspecting the peacefully sleeping Karin, her cornflower-blue eyes tinted with humor.
"You've met her before. She's Kurosaki Ichigo's sister."
"Yes, but what's she doing? Have you really become a stalker, taicho?"
A vein popped up, throbbing in Hitsugaya's temple. He gritted his teeth, and attempted to ignore his subordinate's obvious ridiculousness. "Why are you here, Matsumoto?"
"Taicho, you really do like this girl, don't you?" her eyes sparkled.
"I asked you, why are you here?"
"Tch. Taicho, I'm only here because you aren't doing your job. You have already missed around four hollows that were in this area." He stiffened as she spoke. Four? Four hollows? How on earth had that happened? "I took care of them, of course, and then decided to check up on you, see where you were. Who would have thought you'd be here flirting with a human girl?"
His confusion and guilt momentarily vanished at Matsumoto's light-hearted comments. "I was not 'flirting'." His eyes flashed, turning a strange shade of icy-blue, and the nearby atmosphere crinkled with the sound of forming frost.
Matsumoto 'hmph'ed a little, and blew a cloud of warm air. "I was only joking. No need to take on so."
The little irritated captain opened his mouth to retort, but then both of them stopped, froze, as Karin shifted in her position and curled more tightly into Hitsugaya. She was shivering, slightly, and each breath produced a small cloud which moisted against his skin.
"Karin..." he reigned his leaking power and brought it back under his control, his gaze never trailing away from Karin's shivering form. He placed a hand hesitantly over hers, and clasped it tightly. She was even colder than he was, which was a little different. Usually his skin was always like ice, and no-one's hand would be colder than his.
Her breathing regulated after a little while, her body temperature rising back to its normal level, and she never woke once through the whole thing. As her hand grew warmer against his, Hitsugaya took his hand away, feeling the heat rise up to his face. It was only then that he remembered Matsumoto. He glanced around behind him, and was greeted by empty space. She had left.
"Karin... wake up," Hitsugaya touched Karin's arm and shook her gently. She gave no response, except to clutch even tighter to him.
I wonder if she's dreaming...
"Karin... Karin...-kun. Hey, wake up." He shook her a little harder, and then nudged the shoulder that she was lying on. She slowly came to, her eyes opening a fraction, and her voice still thick with sleep.
"Wh... What is it...?"
Hitsugaya laughed, and detached his arm from her grasp. "Wake up, sleepyhead."
Karin blinked herself into consciousness, and the first thing she saw... sea-green eyes that were warm with laughter.
He leaned away from her, and she pushed herself to a sitting position, gazing at him inquisitively.
"The sun's rising," he said simply, his eyes fixed on the line of the horizon where the first few shafts of bright white sunlight were cracking through.
And Karin finally turned as well, just to be mesmerized by the sheer brilliance of such a spectacular scene.
It was something to remember. The midnight blue of the sky turned quickly to a rich lavender gradient which soaked into a warm orange-red color. And underneath the red was just pure, pure white. Karin had seen so many sunsets in all her slow walks home, but they could not compare with this. Sunsets were warm and golden, they were yellow, they were beautiful, and they basked the world in a pool of thick honey, so sweet, so luxurious... But this, this sunrise, it was just white. It painted a beautiful flow of colors across the sky, and it ran, one into another, like an endless rainbow. And the white would billow outwards, like the air, like the wind, claiming everything it touched. It was like power. It was fierce and passionate, and it ate you up, and swallowed you whole... and it gave you the most wonderful, uplifting feeling of release.
Karin's gaze was drawn to everything around her, to see the trees turn a brilliant white, for just the barest of moments, the houses, the silhouetted buildings... and the sky, that pretty, pretty lavender flooding over the night sky, washing over the stars and the moon...
And then there was Toshiro. His entire body was accented by the glow of the amazing sunrise. His hair wafted in the breeze, dancing, and as the light hit his eyes it turned them a pale blue-green color—the color of clear water, of a river. The light seemed to blaze from his skin, and his cool gaze, his set face, was all perfectly sculpted. And the black shinigami outfit, fluttering in wind, only seemed to accent the effect.
He looks like... an angel...
Karin didn't even have time to be embarrassed. She was just so completely in awe at this amazing spectacle, and the cold-hearted boy wonder sitting right next to her. She watched as he stood up and held his hand out to her, the wind catching his kimono and making it dance.
"Come." The half-shadow of his face curled into a smile. "I want to show you something."
Karin reached out and clasped her hand in his, and he pulled her up to her feet. With his other hand, he drew his Zanpaktou and held it loosely, pointing it at the sky.
"Souten ni Zase..." His voice was soft, and calm, but growling with quietly controlled power. Karin gripped his hand a little tighter, and took a step closer to him.
He spared her a soft smile, as he spoke again, his voice just a few louder, "Hyourinmaru."
The ice-dragon erupted from the end of his sword, swimming through the air and emitting several loud shrieks. Karin's eyes widened with wonder. The brilliant whiteness of the rising sun flashed against its snake-like torso, creating a breathtaking rainbow of light. Her attention was brought back to the present as Toshiro moved against her. She turned to look at him, and he was facing her, his eyes ablaze with an intense exhilaration.
"Come fly with me, Karin-kun?"
And we'll soar in the winter sky...
She could only nod, and he whispered almost too quietly to be heard, "Bankai."
Icy wings erupted from Hitsugaya's back, spreading slowly. Ice crept down his arms and his legs, and continued to crawl over the nearby scenery, enveloping the roofs in a thick layer of ice, and a tail whipped out, curling around them with languid grace.
Karin almost pulled away as Hitsugaya merged himself with his dragon, but his arm around her held her against him like frozen steel. She willed her tense body to relax against him, and surprisingly it worked.
"Are you cold?"
"No..." It was strange; despite the creeping frost all around her, Karin felt very warm. It was the exact same cool, yet warm power she had felt earlier, rolling across her skin, and the same undertone she had felt earlier when she was in Hitsugaya's arms. A soft breeze... it felt like home.
"That's good." And he pushed upwards into the sky, those brilliant ice wings flapping once, twice, three times, and then they were in the sky, gliding. Karin held tightly with one hand onto Hitsugaya's kimono, bunching the cloth in her hand. He gave her an amused glance as he slowed and hovered in the air.
"Hey." She looked round at him at the sound of his voice. "I'm not going to drop you. Okay? You can relax."
Her face flushed at his light cynicism and she loosened her tense grip on his clothes. He pulled her a little tighter against him, and took off again, soaring forwards. He flew with practiced expertise, catching onto the wind currents and letting it swing them forwards, so that they twisted and somersaulted through the air.
And so, they flew like that, for what seemed like an endless eternity. Karin was really enjoying herself; she had spread her arms out to feel the wind course through her body, rippling through her hair and her clothes. Her eyes shone with pure ecstasy, and she was laughing. Soft flakes of snow had started drifting from the sky, courtesy of Hitsugaya's freezing reiatsu, but despite this, Karin didn't feel the least bit cold. She felt warm, and complete. It was an absolutely breathtaking feeling.
Finally, Hitsugaya pulled them down to land on a building roof. They were high up, on the edge of the city center, and the view was spectacular—they could see for miles around. Karin gazed around slowly, and then lifted her head to the sky, as a snowdrop gently floated down and handed on her fingertip.
"Does it always have to snow?"
"No. I just like it." Hitsugaya shifted uncomfortably, and added, "I can make it stop, if you want."
"No, it's fine. I was just asking..." Karin sighed, softly, and fixed her gaze on him with a distant look in her eyes. "That was amazing, Toshiro."
He nodded at her in acknowledgement. "I had always thought, before... that the Hour of the Rooster (A/N – about 6-8pm, a.k.a. sunset) was the most spectacular. But, I was wrong." He shrugged gracefully, then shot Karin a glare as he realized she was grinning at him, the gentle white flakes settling on her and making her seem almost angelic. "What?" he asked her, and despite himself he realized he was smiling.
"You. You're so... old-fashioned." She grinned playfully at him.
Hitsugaya made a small 'tch' sound and turned away, his face flushing slightly, and then gasped as he felt Karin's arms wrap around him.
"Nothing wrong with that, Toshiro-kun," she whispered softly, leaning against his shoulder. "Thank you... for a wonderful, amazing, unforgettable memory."
He closed his eyes, and leaned into her. "... Yeah..."
He couldn't really understand. Despite being almost fifty years old, he had entered Sereitei when he was young, and hadn't aged since, so people always treated him as he looked. Due to this, he had never had any romantic experience of any kind.
So he couldn't really understand. Neither of them could really understand. He swallowed, and relaxed the breath he'd been holding. Maybe I don't have to understand...
Karin's right... it feels like home.
"Do you have to go?..." she asked, loosening her hold around him.
"... Yeah... I probably do."
She was shrugging out of his white haori as he stepped away from her. She held it out to him, smiling a little apologetically. "Sorry, it's still a little... bloodied..."
He waved her apologies away. "It's fine. It's seen a lot worse, believe me." He folded it neatly and held it under an arm, as he was unable to immediately put it on. He could still feel Karin's faint warmth in it, and the sensation made him feel oddly light-headed.
He stepped out to the very edge of the roof, and wavered, his eyes wandering back to linger at her reserved form. She was staring down at the ground, her hands rubbing up and down her arms. The pose seemed so small and sweet that it just didn't seem like Karin. He moved against her, taking hold of her hand and feeling her warmth seep through him.
"Are you cold?" He smiled, and she returned it, and then he had leaned forwards, pressing his lips against hers. And this time it was her eyes which widened in shock, but then slowly fell closed as she melted against him. His great ice wings enveloped around them, and their long and searing kiss was the fiery passion in the center of a great circle of ice.
It was a long time before they broke away, and Hitsugaya stepped back, moving to the edge of the roof again, his hand reluctantly slipping away from Karin's. There was silence; they simply stared at each other, endlessly, no need for words. And Hitsugaya felt as if he had all his questions answered.
This is home... our rising sun. One memory to never forget, along with the warm yellow sunsets and the deliciously sweet taste of watermelon... is our brilliant white rising sun, and the unforgettable warmth of unity...
He stepped out, and raised his eyes to the sky – the yin/yang of his gathering snowclouds and the white sunrise. With a careful blink and his clear consciousness, the icy atmosphere disappeared, and the snow stopped. He gazed at the lingering clouds, and they both understood that it was time for him to take his leave.
"So... I'll see you next time, then?" Karin asked, a tint of hope echoing in her voice. And despite the sadness she felt, she found herself smiling, if only a little.
And he smiled back, his eyes sparkling as he replied, "Who knows?"
Then he was gone, pushing off from the roof and flapping his great ice wings once, twirling in the sky. Karin squinted against the bright light as the fading black shadow shrunk into the rising sun... and the dark snowclouds over her head dissipated to nothingness.
So, how was that? I won't voice my own insecurities here, but... it's been revised over and over like hell, so yeah. Let me know what you think!
Thank you, all, for reading! I quite enjoyed writing this story – now onto some more complex stuff!
EDIT: Okay, lovely readers. This is just to confirm that this story is now officially complete, there will be no more updates for this story. P I know that some of you felt like it was a bit of an incomplete ending, but this is how I originally planned it, and I am not going to extend it to anything further. I'm really glad you all liked it, though!
And, a sneak preview, I am planning a much longer HitsuKarin fic, with a lot more depth and complicity. The basis isn't that original - it's another one of those Karin becomes a shinigami fics, but I intend to evolve it to something far more complex. So please, when the time comes, go over there and read it! D
--Caz