Winter, Melting.

Time Signature

Summary: When the "Fuyu no Kuchidoke" Pocky comes out, Karin knows winter's coming. Toushirou has no idea why she's trying to stuff it in his mouth. HitsuKarin. Written for Pocky Day 2014.

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach. Neither do I own Pocky. I believe I had a box in my cupboard, though, of the plain kind…

Karin felt a slight shift in the reiatsu around Karakura. It was a comfortable change, though, that felt like a flurry of soft snow, although it was still the middle of November. Toushirou was here. She grabbed her jacket (it wasn't time for a coat yet) and shouted, "I'm going over to Urahara's!"

She ran through the streets, feeling the cool autumn air tickle her face. When she reached the store, she skidded to a stop to prevent herself from crashing into the door. Honestly, they needed to invest in automatic sliding ones. They didn't live in the Edo era anymore.

Once she was safely inside, she went up to the counter which Ururu was manning. She'd come to know the girl well, from the fact that they attended the same middle school, where both were third graders, and also because they often fought Hollows together along with Jinta.

"Toushirou's in the back, right?" she asked, looking around for something to buy to be polite. True, she held not much respect for the owner of the shop, but she did for the girl at the register. A white-and-blue box on a shelf at her eye level caught her attention.

She heard Ururu murmur "Yes, he is," as she picked up the container. Embossed in beautiful lettering was "The Melting of Winter Pocky." Below in small print it said "Limited Time Only."

She brought it to the counter, after debating between it and the regular red box and deciding that she wanted some white chocolate for a change. "It's already almost winter, isn't it? I can't believe we're going to have our midterms in two weeks," she commented, staring at the snack, as she waited for the other to ring it up.

Ururu nodded. "Ah, yes, I am slightly worried about the chemistry examination."

"Sorry, I don't take chemistry. I could help you on something else, though." It was well-known that Karin, unlike her "delinquent" brother, was at the top of the class.

The girl shook her head. "No, I am fine. I believe he is coming out now."

Indeed he was, followed by his boisterous female subordinate. His brows were furrowed as he tried to ignore Matsumoto's fawning over how good he looked in modern clothing and how he needed to wear it more.

Karin secretly had to agree. The captain, though he appeared to not have changed from the last time she'd seen him – had it been about half a year now? – near the age of twelve or thirteen, did seem quite dashing. She could imagine some of her kouhai fancying him.

"Hey, Toushirou!" she greeted, before being smothered in the vice-captain's bear hug. She could barely hear his correction of "It's Hitsugaya-taicho."

The woman squeezing her complained, "What, no hello to me, Karin-chan?"

"Hello, Rangiku-san," she replied with a forced smile, since she knew from experience that she would never be released any other way.

It was at this point that Ururu tapped her on the shoulder, holding out the Pocky. She immediately apologized and took it, when she happened to see the festively decorated box and Toushirou together. Her eyes gleamed because she had thought of something brilliant.

"Toushirou," she said, pushing it into his hand. "Eat some."

He raised his eyebrow, as if she had gone crazy. "Why?" he responded, rather gruffly. Her mouth split into a wide grin.

"You go so well together."

They did. They were both reminiscent of snow and winter and a hidden sort of kindness. When he still made no movement to open the box, she decided to pitch a small speech about the wonders of Pocky.

"It's the limited edition winter Pocky! It has more chocolate on it than normal, like you, because you have such a thick defense for everything. Besides, it's free food, and we all know you need it."

His eye twitched. "This is my gigai, Karin," Toushirou ground out. "It has nothing to do with my actual height."

He was sensitive about it, she knew, especially since Karin had grown taller and he hadn't. Eventually he would shoot up, but that wasn't for about fifty years or so. She pressed on. "Eat it anyway. Think of it as really late obligatory chocolate."

Ururu mentioned quietly, "It happens to be Pocky Day today, which is why we put this on our shelves."

Or that could work too.

She wasn't sure why she was quite determined to have him eat the sweet, but she was. Kurosaki Karin never bowed down from a challenge.

She grabbed the box and tore it open. Taking one stick into her hand, she called, "Toushirou?"

The instant he started to say "What?" she stuffed it into his mouth. His head instantly jerked backwards from sheer reflex (if that had been a sword he would have died).

The girl smiled. "See, that wasn't so bad, was it?" And then she swooped down to bite the biscuit part that was out in the air.

The boy turned a slight shade of pink that she could only tell because he was so pale and they were so close.

Matsumoto snapped a picture.

"Happy Pocky Day, Toushirou," Karin said gleefully.

A/N: And happy Pocky day to everyone else! Thanks for reading my first Bleach fic! This was a burst of inspiration, and I started writing thinking that it would be a short drabble, and it turns out to be 900 words. Huh.

HitsuKarin is so cute, and I love the slight age difference since Karin's just a bit more mature and Toushirou's secretly worried that she'll grow up and forget about him and *squeals*

For those of you who don't know Pocky Day, it's 11/11. Because all the 1's look like sticks, and sticks look like Pocky.

If you're confused, Karin talks about midterms in November because most Japanese schools go by two terms and have midterms and finals for each.

See you soon,

Time Signature