Chasing Dragons

Spoilers: Set approximately 14 years after the Winter War with Hueco Mundo and Aizen. Assumes knowledge of current manga plot line, mild spoilers.

Author's Note: This story is a sequel to both "Empathy" and "In the House of Tomorrow." Although I'd love you to read those prior stories, you don't need to have read either to understand this one. All the necessary background will be recapped in this story as it unfolds. The plot follows the general history/character development in my three previous stories, including, "King's Key: The Four Prongs."

Pairings: This is first and foremost a HitsuXKarin love story, but it does also have some IchiXRuki adventure/romance, as well.

Disclaimers: The story is mine, but the characters belong to and are from the incredible imagination of the manga god Kubo Tite. I am in awe, Sensei.

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Chapter One - Prologue

Two Weeks After the Battle at Karakura:

"I found you once," said the dragon. "You were small, insignificant, barely worthy." He flicked his tail and the ground shook in response.

"Who are you?" Hitsugaya asked.

The dragon exhaled and ice crystals formed in the air. "If you must ask," the ice dragon replied, "then you are undeserving of the answer. You must learn my name for yourself." He was a proud creature and slightly vain, but he could wait for the Guardian. He had waited before.

"What are you?" asked the silver-haired man.

"I am your strength," answered Hyorinmaru, opening his wings to their fullest, his head held high. "I am your past and your future."

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He awoke to the sound of rain pounding on the metal roof. It leaked down in spots, creating small rivers around the place where he had slept. The first light of morning had begun to turn the sky gray. It was cold, but he did not mind. The cold was comforting, familiar. A friend.

"They're coming," he thought, gathering his few belongings in a small drawstring bag. "Time to move." He crept out the back of the building, looking around to see if he was being followed. They were still out there, watching him from a distance. He could hear them, almost sense their presence. "If they'd wanted to kill me, I'd be dead already," he thought. He headed back onto the road, where he felt more at ease.

He walked several miles before stopping by a stream. He washed his face in the icy water, melted snow from the mountains that towered above. He drank deeply, relishing the feel of the cold against his parched throat. It was then that he sensed it: something was different today. Someone else was following him. A woman, by the sound of her footsteps. Nearby.

"I know you're there," he said, turning around and looking towards a stand of pine trees, dripping with melted ice.

She stepped out from the trees and smiled at him. A tall woman with long, dark hair. Athletic and quite beautiful, wearing a pair of tattered jeans and a heavy sweater.

"Who are you?" he asked. "Why are you following me?"

"I'm Kurosaki Karin," she said. "I've been looking for you, Toushirou."