What? A new chapter after almost a year of not posting a thing? Can it be?

Yes! It be :) So sorry about the long wait you guys. I'd love to say it's because I've been busy saving the world, building homeless shelters, feeding starving children, and yes, even recycling! But alas, that is not the case (except for the recycling part. I actually do recycle). Really, all I can say is, shit happens. Shit like, y'know, life XD

It's been so long I figure a lot of you will have to read a few chapters back to even remember what's going on, if not the whole story, so again, I am very sorry for that. But at least I've got a new chapter for your hungry eyes. And seriously, I give a huge thanks to you guys who are sticking with this story even after so long. It really means a lot and I hope you all still plan to continue sticking. I'm willing to keep up with this fic if you are.

And give a thanks to my bud, KazeNoSakura for being a wonderful beta!

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.

I stood as still as possible with my back against a tree, holding my breath. Despite all the sounds in the forest, mine were distinct. Human. If I made too much noise – moving, breathing – they would hear me. And that meant game over.

The gun in my hand was heavier than I thought it would be, and the trigger was harder to pull. They didn't have that problem, though. But now was not the time to complain. I had to stay alert, I couldn't even risk wiping the sweat out of my eyes.

I had to end this now. Any longer and I wouldn't make it, and all this would have been for nothing.

A twig snapped only a few feet away from me. If he was this close, he already knew I was here. He could smell me. In an instant, I cocked the gun and swung around the tree, shooting off rounds in all directions. The bullets went flying right at him and before he could move, two landed him right in the head. Ikkaku Madarame fell to the ground.

I let go of the breath I was holding, loosening my grip on the gun. I got him. I took down Renji quicker than I thought I would. Ikkaku ended up being harder. Yumichika was gone. I had no idea where Rangiku was, but she was probably still somewhere, waiting for the right moment to make her move.

And then there was a shift in the air. Something was behind me. Oh no. I had forgotten about him. I turned around, aiming my gun directly between his teal eyes while his gun was aimed at my chest. This was it. He was faster than me. The moment his gun's barrel was pointed at me, I was dead. He narrowed his eyes and smirked. "I knew from the start it would come to this."

"Did you now?" I said with a glare. "Then you should have finished me off by now. Or were you going easy on me?"

He sighed. "Don't take it personally. You know we can't keep this up forever." He dropped his smirk and frowned. "Good bye, Karin."

"See you in hell." I managed to spit out before his finger pulled the trigger. I was hit dead in my heart. And I, too, silently fell onto forest floor. To be honest, I didn't mind going out like this. Losing at the hands of Toushiro Hitsugaya was honestly the best way to go out.

But my defeat did not last long.

Two more shots were fired, the sound echoing between the trees, and I saw the look of shock cross his face as he stumbled forward. Standing not far behind Toushiro was my teammate, Rangiku Matsumoto, gun aimed at his back, having just shot him.

"Yes!" she cheered, waving her gun in the air. "We won!"

She ran over to me and pulled me to my feet. I brushed the dirt, leaves, and orange paint off of my clothes and joined her in a victory dance. "Hell yeah! Team Karin beats Team Toushiro 3 to 1! Suck it, boys!"

Ikkaku stomped over to where we danced, wiping away the green paint – that I shot him with – from his forehead. Renji also appeared with several green paint spots all over his chest.

"You guys take paintball way too seriously. It's just a game." said the third member of my team, Yumichika, who had orange paint covering his back. I rolled my eyes at him. He clearly didn't understand that paintball was war. "A very unattractive game at that." he added.

I picked up my paintball gun from the ground. "You're just mad because you suck at it. But at least you get to be on the winning team."

Rangiku giggled. "Yeah, looks like estrogen beats out testosterone!"

"Hey! I'm not a girl." grumbled Yumichika.

"Could have fooled me." I said quietly. Obviously they all heard me and started laughing.

Two arms snaked around my waist and a pair of lips appeared next to my right ear. "Hey there. I'm sorry I shot you." said Toushiro.

I turned around and faced him. "Aw, it's okay. After all, I did shoot you first."

He leaned down and gave me a quick kiss, but stopped short after hearing a large sigh. We turned around to find Rangiku looking at us with big eyes. "Oh! You two aresocute!" She ran over and gave Toushiro a hug, trapping his head between her...assets, while spouting something about having given up hope on him.

I wished I had a camera because this was too funny. The others laughed along with me at Toushiro's expense.

Toushiro finally broke free from her death hug. "Damn it, Rangiku! I told you to stop doing that!" he yelled. The fact that the always cool headed Toushiro was yelling only made this moment even funnier. It seemed only Rangiku could get that rise out of him.

We all walked through the forest until we reached the road that we followed along to the Spectacular Six's house. It took me all day to finally get Toushiro to let me come to his house. I was right, as usual, when I guessed that the SS all lived together. Once we got to the house, I fell out on the living room couch while they all found it amusing that I was tired already. Whatever. I'm not a supernaturally endured werewolf so they can just bite me. Not literally.

Everyone chilled down in the living room, Renji and Ikkaku playing videos games, Yumichika reading, and Rangiku painting her nails. Toushiro took a seat next to me and I stared at the ceiling, my head on his lap. Every now and then he would run his fingers through my hair.

I bit my lip, wanting to ask the question that had been bugging me all day, but it didn't seem appropriate. Instead, I opted to ask a different question.

"So, what's the verdict, guys?" I said out loud. The others stopped what they were doing to look at me. "Am I acceptable to hang around? Or do you have to kill me for knowing too much?"

Rangiku beamed and said. "My answer is obvious." Yumichika nodded in agreement. Those two, I was never worried about. It's Renji and Ikkaku I had to impress.

"You're cool with me. After all, I don't want you beating me with a basketball." said Renji, referring to my fight in gym earlier today.

"Same." said Ikkaku, laughing. "That was freakin' hilarious."

I tried to not laugh, as Toushiro was giving me a pointed look. He didn't like the fact that I had gotten into a fight. I didn't really know why he cared since it wasn't Hinamori. Whatever. I'll do what I please. That bitch who hit me in the head with the basketball deserved that beating! She was lucky the couch pulled me off of her because I was about ready to strangle her next.

I put my hand to my chest and made a melodramatic gasp at the others. "You mean you guys really like me? I'm touched."

That received me a pillow thrown at my face from someone in the room. However the laughing was cut short when the door opened and in walked my least favorite person. She looked right at me, my head on Toushiro's lap, and his hand in my hair. Hinamori, the one I wanted to ask my original question about, gave me a heinous look. She wasn't here when I showed up after school and she hadn't played paintball with us at all. I was wondering where she was since there didn't seem like much to do in Seireitei, and because she usually followed Toushiro around like a shadow.

Everyone had become very silent, looking between me and her.

"What is she doing here?" Hinamori asked, her voice unusually squeaky. Guess they didn't tell her I'd be here. She jerked her grey eyes from me to Toushiro. Her gaze remained on him as if she was still speaking, though she was silent.

Toushiro closed his eyes in irritation for a second. Suddenly Rangiku started giggling to herself and Hinamori looked distraught.

"You can't be serious." Hinamori said, her tone flat.

"I am." Toushiro replied.

She let out a growl and stomped straight upstairs, probably to her room. Within seconds, the loud slam of a door shook the whole house.

What was that? Did I somehow not hear or see them talking? I felt like I missed an entire conversation.

I looked up to see Toushiro looking down at me. He raised an eyebrow and I sighed. "Just go."

He got up and followed Hinamori's path upstairs. I sat up, annoyed by her childish behavior. Apparently she hadn't bothered talking to Toushiro earlier today after lunch. Normally I wouldn't mind that, but he needed to talk to her and I felt like it was my fault that they weren't talking. I didn't want to be the one who got in between their friendship.

The new teacher, Mr. Aizen didn't help the situation either. He told me he was moving Hinamori's seat right next to mine in the back of the classroom. I didn't know why he would do that when he was the one to break us up during lunch. It was pretty obvious Hinamori and I didn't get along. Just thinking about it, there was something seriously not right about that guy. For some reason, after I lost my temper and took it out on that girl who hit me, I was being chewed out by the principal when Aizen came in and asked that I not be suspended. I would be grateful if I weren't so creeped out by the guy.

Suddenly the sound of something breaking came from upstairs and shouting I couldn't make out. I looked to the others.

"Can you hear what they're saying?" I asked. They all nodded. I considered asking what was being said, but it was between Toushiro and Hinamori...and the rest of the Spectacular Six. I stood up and stretched my arms out a bit. "I think I'll head out. Tell Toushiro I left, okay?"

"Sure thing, Karin! Come back anytime!" Rangiku shouted after me as I left the house. I carried myself down along the sidewalk for over half an hour before I finally made it to my house.

At dinner it was only me, Goat Chin, and Yuzu since Ichigo and Rukia were still at their hunter convention or whatever the hell it was. I hadn't really talked to Dad since this whole mess started. Ichigo told me Dad used to be a hunter along with Urahara, but he's retired as well. So he basically knew everything that had been going on but just sat back and watched. Some Dad. Then again, it was better than him wanting to annihilate Toushiro and SS. The only thing that was bothering me was that he hadn't said anything to me about it.

I looked down at the dinner Yuzu prepared, taking small bites. I ate slowly, taking my time so I could debate whether I was going to confront him or not. And then there's Yuzu. She was still clueless. But maybe it was better that way. She didn't need to get involved.

"When are Ichigo and Rukia coming back?" Yuzu asked. "They're going to miss school again tomorrow."

Dad dropped his fork and began to gush. "Aw, my little Yuzu! So sweet, caring about their education while they're off canoodling and leaving us all behind and-"

I punched him before he could go any further. "Canoodling? Really, Dad? They went to Karakura to visit old friends. Quit putting stuff in Yuzu's head!" I turned to Yuzu, sitting back down in my chair. "They should be back tomorrow night."

"Oh, good. You have class with them so you can give them their missing work, right, Karin?"

"Yep." I said, shoving some food in my mouth. I was definitely not bringing up werewolves and hunters tonight.

"Karin." Goat Chin started. "Your principal called me today and told me what happened in your gym class."

I rolled my eyes. Was he going to start scolding me now?

"That's my girl!" he cheered. "Don't let those other kids get you down! Teach 'em who's boss!"

That idiot. Of course he wouldn't be like a normal parent and punish me for fighting.

He relaxed and started to say something else. "However, I've been hearing things lately...things that are starting to concern me. Things that involve a certain young man by the name of Toushiro Hitsugaya."

No, duh. Of course he heard stuff about Toushiro. Why bring it up? I rolled my eyes and shoved a heaping of rice in my mouth. "Yeah, yeah."

"I want you to invite him over for dinner."

Rice sprayed across the table like white rain. I started choking on the grains left in my mouth. "What?"

"You heard me!" he yelled, puffing out his chest. "I know you two are going steady and as your old man, I need to confront the little hooligan!"

Going steady? Hooligan? What?

Yuzu clapped her hands together. "That would be wonderful! I'd love to make dinner for your new boyfriend, Karin." she finished, giving me smirk.

I cleared my throat. "I don't think that's such a good idea. He's not really a people person."

"Nonsense! You'll invite him over this Wednesday that way Ichigo will be here to help me straighten him out!"

I groaned as my forehead met the table. "Oh, it'll be fine Karin. This is the first boy you've ever shown interest in and I'd like to get to know him." said Yuzu.

No. Please, no.

Bringing Toushiro around this madhouse was the last thing I ever wanted to do. Ichigo was one problem. Yuzu, nowhere near as bad but still not ideal. And then there was Dad. What was he getting at? He was a hunter, sworn to kill werewolves, and that was even before Mom was... I guess I just wanted to know why he retired. And why he suddenly didn't seem to have an issue with who I was dating, as far as species anyway. My father might be a goofy and bumbling idiot, but he was still concerned for my safety, right? He must have thought I was safe if he would let me associate with Toushiro and the others, right?

I didn't want Dad to get in between Toushiro and I, but I'd like to know that Dad cared about me enough to show concern over the fact that I'm dating what he was once dedicated to killing.

"Well, you girls have school tomorrow, so get to bed! Karin, just because a guy has finally found you feminine enough to be attracted to you, doesn't mean you can spend your nights up thinking abou-"

"Shut up, you pervert!" A kick to the face silenced him.

I went upstairs and right to bed. That night, I had a dreamless sleep.

The next morning I woke up with a terrible feeling in my gut. Today I'd have to invite Toushiro to come over tomorrow for dinner. Joy.

I hopped out of my bed and went straight to the shower. As I removed my clothes, I noticed something strange. Around my neck was a chain necklace. The chain was rusted and clearly old, but on it was a small four-pointed star. It looked to be silver. Holding it in my hands, I knew it wasn't some cheap knockoff or anything. I tried to undo the chain, but it wouldn't budge. Time was running against me this morning so I got into to the shower and planned to get the necklace off when I was done getting ready for school.

After the shower, getting dressed, combing my hair, brushing my teeth, yadda yadda yadda, I was back to trying to rid my neck of the jewelery. But no matter how hard I pulled and yanked, the stupid thing wouldn't come off!

Studying the charm again, it looked painfully familiar, but from where? I had this horrible nagging in the back of my head. I had seen this before, I just couldn't remember when. Maybe it was Yuzu's? Or Dad's?

Dad...

That had to be it. He was always sneaking things into my, Yuzu, and Ichigo's rooms at night. One morning I had woken up with pink barrettes stuck in my hair. Why did I get such a flake for a dad?

I sighed and headed outside. I'd be late at this rate. The necklace would have to be dealt with after school.

The walk to school was barely registered. I noticed I'd been zoning out quite a bit these days. Just thinking about how crazy things have turned in just a few months was amazing.

As usual, I waited by Grimmjow's locker for him and Nel to show up. Nel arrived first, by my side in a second, shouting into my ear. "Karin! Are you crazy? What was with you suddenly going she-hulk on that girl?"

I backed away for the sake of my ear. There was a reason I ignored all her calls from last night. "She hit me in the head with a basketball." I said. Was that not reason enough?

She crossed her arms. "Yes, a basketball. Not a bat, or crowbar, or knife, or gun. You went way overboard! Warn me the next time you're going to go batshit on people!"

"She. Hit. Me." I grounded out. "It doesn't matter with what. She initiated the fight. She couldn't back up her actions and that was her fault."

Nel huffed. "Jeez, Karin. You seriously need some anger management classes or something."

"Calm down. It's not like I was suspended or anything."

"How'd you manage that?" she asked.

"Aizen asked that I not be punished. It was weird." I said, taking my focus from Nel to the weird teacher.

Nel pouted at my lack of concern before suddenly saying. "Oh, Karin, that's a cool necklace. Where'd you get it?"

I found myself twirling the necklace without even realizing it. I shrugged. "Not sure. I think my dad might have given it to me."

A harsh laughter entered our ears. Grimmjow showed up, placing his hand on top of my head. "Didn't think you had it in you." he said to me. "Karin, I swear I was gonna shit my pants laughing when you started wailing on that girl!"

I just shook my head. Grimmjow seemed to appreciate my no bullshit attitude displayed yesterday. Then again, when I looked around the halls, everyone that passed me either gave me a thumbs up, or in the fangirls' cases, avoided eye contact and quickened their steps. Ha! I've got this school in the palm of my hand.

"When's your brother getting back?" said Grimmjow.

"Tonight. Why?"

He grinned and punched his fist into his other palm. "He left before I could settle some unfinished business with him."

I rolled my eyes as Nel started to berate him for fighting. Now that I knew what Ichigo was, I could care less about who he fought. I leave them to talk and head into the classroom. Standing by his desk was my favorite werewolf. "Hey, Toushiro."

"Hey." he said, turning. "Why'd you leave yesterday?" he asked. He pushed himself from off his desk and got close to me.

Wasn't it obvious? "Well, you and..." I refrained from using her name for the simple fact that I knew this conversation wasn't very private. "You two were talking for awhile and I figured me being at the house didn't do much to improve her mood. It's no big deal."

Toushiro chuckled. "Since when are you so considerate?"

"Whoever said I wasn't considerate to begin with? In fact, I find myself very selfless and thoughtful." All lies.

He just smirked and shrugged. He lifted his hand to my chin, pulling my face closer to his. "Guess I shouldn't judge a book by its cover."

I raised a brow. "I look mean or something?"

"You don't look nice." he said. Hm, maybe if I was a nicer person that would have actually hurt. "But I don't mind." he continued as he gave me a soft kiss.

"Oh, I know you don't." I said before kissing him back. I pulled away, only because I still needed to ask him. "So, did you talk with her?"

He groaned and pulled away, rubbing his eyes. "No." He turned back to face me, but then his eyes drifted down from my face. For a second I thought he was staring at my chest, but then I saw it was the necklace he was looking at. "Wh-where did you get that?"

He raised his hand to the silver charm that was on the rusty chain. His fingers touched the necklace...

I was sitting in the shed, trying to get to sleep. I found I couldn't get myself comfortable on the floor of the hut. But the hay gave me some sort of cushion.

The sun has already set. I stretched my limbs in the hay when my right arm began to ache. The arm where four deep gashes were still trying to heal. It had been a few weeks since the others and I were in the tomb, as well as a few weeks since we came face to face with Hari Mingan. Just the thought of him, thinking of the decaying beast inside the tomb made my arm hurt. It was so strange. Even after these weeks, the pain in my arm had yet to decease.

Our expedition proved without a doubt that the legends regarding Hari Mingan were true. But what did that mean for us? Us, who went down there, disturbed his tomb, and were then attacked. It was a miracle we got away...but what next? We were cursed, weren't we? At least that was what the inscription read. It had to be true, the myth turned out as such.

I felt for my necklace, then when remembering it was gone, sighed. Granny was quite upset when I told her I had lost it. I couldn't tell her it was now Hari Mingan's, after all.

A sudden jolt of pain raced through my arm and a wave of nausea hit me full force. Suddenly my head started pounding. Then my arm began to bleed. Everything in my body was hurting.

I got up and stumbled to the shed door, falling to the ground once I reached outside. It was night out, pitch black with a bright full moon. The moment I saw the white sphere, I could no longer breathe. Writhing in the dirt and hay, I grabbed my stomach, clenching onto my skin as hard as I could. Blood began to seep through my shirt where my nails dug into my skin. Anything to dull the pain inside me. It felt like my insides were tearing, slowly pulling apart from each other. I could do nothing but scream from the intense pain.

From where I laid on the ground, I heard a pair of footsteps. "Toushiro? Are you alright? What is wrong?" It was Granny. She knelt down beside me, placing her hand on me.

The pain was unwavering. I couldn't move. It was so excruciating. The sound of my clothes ripping entered my ears. My vision began to blur. And the pain only increased.

"Toushiro?" she called again. This time, her voice sounded fearful. I could only reply in a scream of agony. I screamed until an unfamiliar sound left my mouth. It wasn't my voice. It wasn't human. It was the scream of a monster.

And soon the night was filled with screams...and blood.

()()()

Around Karin's neck was my necklace. My father's necklace he left me after he died. The necklace Granny gave me before I went into the tomb. The necklace I gave up to Hari Mingan nearly three hundred years ago. It was the same as the last time I saw it. A silver four-pointed star on an old rusted chain.

How was it possible?

"Wh-where did you get that?" I asked, shaken. I hesitantly grabbed the charm. The second my skin touched it, my hand began to burn. I pulled away. Silver. It really was my necklace, which meant I couldn't touch it now. Silver was beyond my grasp.

"Karin?" I said. Karin was standing still. She had gone rigid as a board, eyes in a daze. She stood unmoving. "Karin, what...?"

Her eyes rolled to the back of her head and she fell backwards, hitting the floor with a hard thud.

"Karin!"

Her body started shaking, like she was seizing up. I grabbed her shoulders and lifted her head from the floor. Shit, what was going on?

"What happened?" Nel and Grimmjow rushed over. Several other students stood by, looking at Karin as she continued to shake.

I picked her up in my arms, holding onto her bridal style. There's something wrong with Karin. I'm taking her to Urahara's. Stay here. I told the others.

Shouldn't you take her to a hospital? Renji asked.

No, I think it has something to do with the curse.

The class had started to surround Karin so I pushed my way out of the room. I held her tight in my arms so I wouldn't drop her. She stopped shaking once we were in the hall.

"Toushiro, wait! Where are you taking her?" Nel called, following me out of the room with Grimmjow behind her.

I didn't have time for this. Think. What was a good excuse? I half turned to face them. "Um, Karin...is an epileptic. And her father has her medicine so I'm taking her to her house."

That sounded awkward. And did epileptics have medicine? I had no idea. They seemed to buy it, though, if only a little. I got the feeling they didn't trust me on a normal basis. They stood aside, going back into the classroom and I turned to go down the hall. Before I could leave, however, a hand grabbed my arm. It was Aizen. His eyes were narrowed behind the glare of his thick-rimmed glasses.

"Toushiro, I think you should leave her here. I'll take her to the nurse's office." he said with a smile that I didn't trust.

There was something off about this man. Momo had been talking with him yesterday. I tried talking to her after lunch and then again after school, but she wouldn't tell me anything. It got to where she started throwing things at me at home. I didn't know what it was, but I've got this underlying feeling that this man was somehow involved in her silence. He'd said something to her yesterday. I know it.

I didn't bother looking at him. "It's fine. I've got her."

He stepped closer, still not letting go of my arm and said. "No, I think I should take Karin."

I jerked my arm from him and a growl escaped my lips. Not my most inconspicuous moment, although he didn't looked surprised. He just retracted his hand and smiled. But I didn't have time to be concerned with him.

Urahara's shop wasn't far from the school, I could easily get her there. Just a minute after we left the school grounds Karin began to yell. She started squirming around in my arms, grabbing her head and screaming incoherently.

What was happening to her? I was positive it had something to do with the curse, but what? I grabbed the necklace, but the silver. Just touching the small charm made my entire body weak. I couldn't even muster the strength to pull it off her neck. The burning sensation was too much and I let go of it. I held Karin closer to me and continued to Urahara's as fast as I could go. This would have been easier if I had a car. But come to think of it, no one in Seireitei owned a car. Everyone walked to where they were going.

It wasn't long before I was at the shop, entering through the back door. Karin was still screaming.

"What do we have here?" Urahara said while fanning himself. He looked down at Karin and frowned. "What happened?"

"I'm not sure." I said, setting her down on a mat in one of the rooms. She continued to scream and grabbed her head, shaking. "Pull the necklace off."

He shrugged and yanked it off her neck. Karin stopped shaking and went silent as though she were sleeping. I sighed in relief. I wasn't sure if that would even work or not. He held it in his hand before looking at me skeptically. "Mind telling me what this is? I doubt you brought her all the way here just for me to take this off."

We left and went into another room with a low standing table. He eyed the necklace in his hands more closely. "That was the necklace I gave up to Hari Mingan as a gift when the others and I went to his tomb." I told him.

"The gift you gave in vain, thus resulting in you all being cursed." he said with a faint smile.

"Yes. That."

Yoruichi walked in, hopping onto the table in cat form. "You know what this means, right?"

No. Not really.

The cat began to stretch herself. "It means you'll have to tell Karin about the curse. It involves her now. You've noticed how often these 'accidents' have been occurring around Karin, haven't you? It's the curse."

Yoruichi was right. I'd known for awhile, but I didn't want to admit it. She spoke again. "However, she's lasted the longest. Wouldn't you say?"

Despite that she didn't mean it harshly, Yoruichi's words stirred up uncomfortable feelings. 300 years of meeting people, getting close, only for the curse to kill them off had made it hard. Anytime someone got too close, the curse did its job well. But again, she was right. Karin had lived much longer than anyone else we'd met who had honestly tried to accept us. I'd certainly tried to keep it that way at least. There had been countless instances where she almost died. The curse was incredibly persistent.

Urahara held up the necklace again. "And this is a good sign for you. It means it won't be long before..." he trailed off.

"Not with the way Momo has been acting." I mumble. He placed the necklace on the table. I glared at it. I wanted to grab it. To pick it up and put it around my neck where it belonged. Where it should have stayed when Granny gave it to me all those years ago. "Fine, I'll tell her when she wakes up."

"What happened? Why am I at this stupid candy shop again?" Standing in the doorway to the back room was Karin. She was rubbing her neck.

Urahara smiled brightly. "Perfect timing! It seems you had a spill at school, but all's well now."

Her dull eyes looked to me and stayed for a few seconds before she looked to the wooden floor. She was frowning, but not angrily. She looked sad. "I remember my dreams now." she mumbled.

Dreams? "Karin, what are you talking about?"

"Ever since I got here...I've been having these odd dreams. Dreams of going to a tomb with the others, how you got those scars on your arm, dreams of a monster...and killing people..."

My blood ran cold. She knew. But how was that possible?

"At first, I would have a strange dream, but I'd forget it the moment I woke up. But now I can remember them all clear as day. They feel real. Like I was really doing what I did in the dreams. But it wasn't me. It was you, right, Toushiro?" she said this with a firm voice. Not cracking, not wavering. Just a steady flow of words.

I stood up but she quickly raised her hand to stop me. "Karin, I..."

She shook her head. "You don't have to explain what you did. I understand. I felt what you felt. And besides, it's all in the past. It's just...I knew you haven't always been the best person. You told me what you'd done in the past. It's just, now I've seen it."

She looked me in the eyes, brows furrowed. I had no idea what she was trying to say or what she was thinking. But I was scared of what it was. No matter that she knew what I've done, I never wanted her to see it. It was one thing to hear about the mistakes I'd made, and another to witness them, because now she saw me as the monster I really was.

I went up to Karin and grabbed her arms. "Look, I know it's hard to forget what you saw. But what you saw in those dreams, that's not who's standing here in front of you. That was a long time ago when I was confused and angry. I'm not saying what I did wasn't wrong, but you have to believe me. If I could take back all those things, I would."

She shook her head. "I said don't explain." Her cloudy blue eyes were narrowed at me. "I'm sorry. I've been here, just playing games with you guys, thinking I knew everything. Turns out I still don't know what's going on because I didn't even know you needed help. Why didn't you tell me?"

"You shouldn't have to know everything." I said. I didn't want her knowing anything period. It was for her safety. The more she knew, the more danger she would be in. Karin was not someone I wanted to risk losing.

She pulled her arms from my hands. "No. I'm a part of this now and I want to know everything. I want to help you guys. You're not going to have me sitting back when there could be a way that I can help you guys."

Dozens of reasons as to why she shouldn't help came to mind. And hundreds of scenarios of what could happen if she did help blocked my view. Every single one ended with her dead.

"No, I can't let you-"

She placed her index finger over my mouth and smirked. "You're not letting me do anything. I'm making this decision on my own."

"Then it's settled!"

We both jumped, having forgotten we weren't the only ones in the room. Urahara came up to us and rested each hand on our shoulders, leading us to the table. "Toushiro, my good man, you catch Miss Kurosaki up with you and your group's mishaps." he said with a giant goofy smile on his face before leaving the room while twirling his cane, Yoruichi following behind him.

That idiot thought he was being cute.

Karin sat across from me and crossed her arms. "Well? Let's hear it, Toushiro."

My shoulders slouched. Where should I start? There was a lot considering how many years of crap added up.

"Alright. I'll start. First off, I want to get this cleared up because I've been wondering about this since the night you and Ichigo made that truce." she said, placing her elbows on the table. "You're not a normal werewolf, are you? Urahara told me a lot about them, but you and the others don't seem to meet the criteria."

I stared at the necklace on the table for a moment. I needed to get my thoughts together. This was going to be a long day. "Okay... Basically there's two kinds of werewolves. The ones that are born with the werewolf gene, and the ones that are bitten and turn later."

"And which are you?"

"Neither."

"Huh?"

Yep. This was going to be a long ass day. "I'm neither. Same goes for Rangiku, Renji, Ikkaku, Yumichika, and Momo. We weren't born with the werewolf gene and neither of us were bitten by a werewolf."

She scowled at me. "Then how is it possible that you guys are werewolves?"

"You said you had a dream about me and the others going to a tomb. Did you see what happened in there?" I asked.

She nodded and looked down at the necklace. "You gave up that necklace to Hari Mingan. But then he..."

"He didn't accept it." I sighed. "What happened in the tomb was how we were cursed. Hari Mingan was the first werewolf. Anyone born with the werewolf gene is a descendant from him and any other werewolves were bitten by those born with the gene. We, however, were cursed for disturbing his tomb."

"Okay, but what does that mean? Is that how you can turn into a wolf even when it's not a full moon? And why you're not bloodthirsty when you turn?" she asked.

"Those are because of the curse, but they aren't the actual curse. Being able to control ourselves and turning at will comes from years of being a werewolf. Only the oldest wolves can do that." I said the last part cautiously. It was an unnecessary add on, but I felt it was needed. It would open the next question.

She stared at me a long time before her eyes widened. She stood up for a second and put her hands to the sides of her head. "Oh duh!" she yelled. "I'm so stupid! Why didn't I put it together before? Those dreams – they didn't happen recently. They seemed like ages ago. In villages with peasants and farmers and shit. And you all are still the same age."

She had a funny way of stating her realization.

Karin then sat back down and stared at me with squinted eyes. "Wait, so how old are you?"

"Physically, 16. That's when I was cursed." I started. "But counting the years I've been around, roughly 300 years." 313 to be exact, but, well I feel old enough...

Her eyes went wide. "Are you serious? I'm dating an old guy?"

"..." My eye was twitching. I could feel it.

"I mean, I figured you were older than you looked, but 300? That's just...sad! So, you're like, stuck as 16 years old? How does anyone even take you seriously?"

Oh, trust me, they didn't. "Karin, I understand this is a bit of a shock-"

"A bit? Are you kidding me? You're three freaking hundred years old! My boyfriend is older than my old man!"

"Okay, I get it. I'm old." I grumbled. "Anything else you want to complain about? Take your pick: I growl when I'm angry, I bark in my sleep, I shed in the summer, I brush my teeth five times a day to avoid dog breathe. The list goes on but let's just take our time to bitch about these for now and then go from there."

Karin placed a hand over her mouth, snickering. "Sorry. When I'm surprised I tend to lack any couth." She placed her hands on the table and leaned over it, moving her face close to mine. "But, Toushiro, don't worry about it. I actually don't mind the age difference. After all, you're stilltechnically16, right?" she said with a smile before kissing me. She put her hands on my cheeks and crawled over the table. Pushing me backwards, she was on top of me with my back to the floor.

"Technically." I replied. I couldn't fight the smile she caused. Karin stopped and I looked into her eyes. "I don't like this."

"What? Is this position uncomfortable?" she asked.

She was straddling me at the moment, did I look uncomfortable? I rolled my eyes. "No, not that. I don't like the idea of you being involved. There's more to the curse."

Karin sat up a bit and crossed her arms. "Like what?"

"Are you fucking kidding me?"

Wow. Again? Really?

Karin jumped to her feet and I slowly stood up after her. "Ichigo! What are you doing here?" she said, covering her eyes with hand.

Ichigo Kurosaki was in the doorway, wearing the same expression he had when Karin and I were in her room. "Why is it every time I walk into a room, one of you is on top of the other!"

I'd like to know the answer to that as well.

"I thought you weren't gonna be here until later tonight." Karin said, her face bright red.

Rukia walked into the room from behind Ichigo. She smiled lightly. "Calm down, Ichigo. They're in that stage." She glanced to me and her smile wavered for the briefest second. She still wasn't comfortable with me, but she was good at hiding it.

Urahara walked back into the room, still swinging his cane around while whistling. "Good, you're back. How was the meeting?"

Ichigo and Rukia frowned. Rukia started. "We've got some bad news."

"What is it?" Karin asked.

"At the hunter meeting, they obviously knew about werewolves being here." said Ichigo, running his hand through his hair. "They don't care about the ʻalleged zombie issueʼ. They just want the werewolves here killed and they expect me and Rukia to do it."

Shit. I shouldn't be surprised, though. Werewolf hunters weren't the saints they tried to paint themselves out to be. They only cared about raking up their kill scores as if this were all a game to them.

The room was silent for a moment. That was, until the idiot cracked another carefree grin. "Well." Urahara started. "That's unfortunate. But I'm sure our little battle couple here won't go through with it."

"Unfortunate?" I snapped. "What do you think is going to happen when the Council of Hunters check-in and these two don't have giant wolf pelts?"

"Pelt." Rukia corrected. "We were able to convince them there's only one wolf. Had they thought there were as many as six living here, the Council would mark Seireitei as a red zone and send a Captain here."

"A Captain?" Karin asked.

Ichigo nodded. "Yeah, they're basically the best of the best. A hunter reaches Captain level when he's killed 100 werewolves. They're widely known for their ruthlessness. Anyone who gets in their way is target, werewolf or not."

I'd ran into a Captain before. Not the most pleasant experience. At least none would be coming here. "Well that's slightly better. I guess. We won't have to deal with anyone else trying to hunt us down."

"Actually, the Council is sending some hunters here to give us some help. They're just not Captains." Rukia mumbled.

Fuck me. At this rate I was going to end up dead, and not from being killed by hunters. A heart attack, stroke, aneurism, ulcer...so many stress-related deaths were more likely to end me. I leaned against the wall to give myself some support as I took a second to think. This was turning into a disaster. "Anyone else have some great news to add on?" I said sarcastically.

"Oh yeah! Shit!" Karin slapped her hand to her forehead. She then groaned and bit the tip of her thumb, giving me a funny look. "Toushiro, I forgot to tell you. You're having dinner with my family tomorrow night."

And I still manage to end it on a cliffy! How cruel. But hey, at least the plot is finally rolling along. I predict much blood and drama in the near future! But of course, served with a side of dry humor and occasional fluff...

Anyway, thanks for reading and I hope to see your reviews! Come on, let me know you're still with me :) See ya soon!