DISCLAIMER: This is a work of Fanfiction based on anime/manga Bleach. The canon universe and all of its original characters belong to Tite Kubo. Any similarities to other materials that you may find are purely coincidental.

Chapter One: His Entire Fault

Since when had it happened? Since when had her mind started to roam aimlessly about it? To be more exact, about him? While she wasn't the person who'd have her time consumed by daydreaming, it seemed like it had inevitably changed in the past few days.

Snow-colored, unruly locks. Sea-green pair of orbs. An odd combination. Yet, for someone like him, it looked like even the weirdest features could be turned markedly into most attractive characteristics.

Refined actions, unornated style. Simple though he was, he still had the undeniable charm.

Icy personality. Rare words. Perhaps, some people were right when they said that cold persons were usually the ones who could set others on fire.

But... He wasn't exactly a cold person, was he? He was actually...

"Kurosaki-san?"

"Eh?"

Forth from reality, the one who'd been called wasn't already able to give a better reply.

Deep gray eyes blinked, as the vague image of good-looking high school guy with unusual hair and eye color suddenly changed into a more distinct form of a blonde woman. Said woman had her hair tied up in a neat ponytail and beautiful face set in a frown, but neither anger nor irritation was interpreted on her features. If anything, the concern was evident on her hazel eyes.

The other party let her gaze wander on her current surroundings. It was no longer blurred like it had been, just a few seconds. Everything was crystal clear, and instead of a single, certain person, there were numbers of them who were looking at her. Their too familiar faces spoke different kind of expressions, though each pair of eyes was giving the obvious sign that they were waiting for her to say something.

Her vision stopped straight ahead where a green, rectangular surface was hanging firmly; an array of numbers, letters and symbols were written on it. And, that was it! She was no more on her earlier virtual world.

Realizing what she'd just done—that was daydreaming on her Maths class—the raven-haired girl, who'd unintentionally brought the whole class' attention on her, looked back at the woman who'd withdrawn her from the dreamland.

"Kurosaki-san?" The blonde woman called her again, concern on her voice.

"Y-yes, Sawada-sensei!" Kurosaki Karin, now fully present-minded, let her teacher know that she'd gotten her full attention at last. "Pardon, Sensei. I wasn't able to catch what you said," she admitted in a low volume. No, she wasn't scared. Not even at the slightest. Not to mention, the teacher that she was currently dealing with was far from being a terror. But, even if it wasn't her Maths teacher, there still was no way that Karin would be terrified. That would just make her out of character.

Kurosaki Karin, a high school junior, had somehow built a name in the whole Karakura High. She was one of the well-known girls on said school. No, she wasn't one of those stereotypical campus princesses whose school life revolved on applying cosmetics on every part of their well-being and wearing flashy accessories together with their personally customized uniforms just to draw the school population's attention. In fact, Karin was the exact opposite.

She might be a sweetheart when it came to physical appearance, but people, who had the practical understanding of her factual character, were fully aware that her outer surface was not a giveaway of her inner attribution. In the rear of the lovely facial lineaments was a sarcastic, young woman who could beat the crap out of anyone, should they do anything that displeased her. Simply put, messing with her was a grave mistake that no one would consider to repeat. Ever again.

"You have been spacing out during the whole discussion. I hope it is not because of your personal problems."

In spite of her actively hostile attitude towards some 'idiots', Karin still knew to hold herself in a decent manner as determined by the circumstances that she was in.

"I'm sorry," she apologized again, knowing that she really didn't have any excuse. Or, at least, she didn't want other people to know.

"No troubles, Sensei," she said, shaking her head to negate her teacher's assumption.

"If you are positive about that." Sawada offered her a kind smile, and then proceeded to take her place back in front of the class. She pulled the chair and sat, but not before she looked back at Karin. "And, Kurosaki-san, don't think too much about him. I'm sure he loves you, too." Her voice was a combination of her natural sweetness and the playfulness of her teasing. It was just supposed to be a pure joke, since everyone was aware that the raven-haired beauty had never shown any romantic interest for any guy. But, little did any of them know, Sawada's words had actually hit a nerve.

"S-sensei, I'm not thinking about anyone else!" Karin snapped, not even realizing that her words were incongruous with the whole truth. "Let alone, a romance-related one!"

The blonde-haired mentor stifled a giggle. "Yes, of course. I was only kidding. No need to be defensive about it."

Karin's face heated up slightly, whether from annoyance or embarrassment. Even her classmates were amused by her reaction. Some of them were not already able to help their wild snickering. It was only when the subject of their quick entertainment glared at them did they stop.

Sighing in an attempt to cool down herself, Karin rested her right elbow on her desk and cradled her face with her hand. She looked out through the window near her seat, and a scowl crept on her face at the thought of 'him'.

Again.

"It's his entire fault," she muttered, audible enough for the guy sitting in front of her to hear. He shot Karin an odd look, but it was no match to the annoyed stare that Karin returned to him. It had made the guy look away immediately and pretend that he hadn't heard anything.

xx

If there was something that had made Karin popular, it was definitely her skills on soccer. It was exceptional, quite literally, since she was the very first and only female who had become a regular member of the Karakura Soccer Club. The only rose among the thorns, as she had been tagged. Every time she played, all her senses necessary for the game were centered only on the four corners of the soccer field and those which were within the area. In her personal record, nothing had been able to break her attentiveness on every single game that she'd played.

That is, until now.

The Karakura Soccer Team was having their usual after school practice. Karin was running towards the goal, maneuvering the soccer ball on her feet, when she saw him.

Yes, him. The same person who she held responsible for what had happened on her Maths class. The student council president, top student and known as the boy genius. The school's pride, who was not only admired intelligence-wise. The guy who had his own fan base, in and out of the school. The school prince himself, Hitsugaya Toushirou.

Unlike earlier, the guy in question was in actuality and not only a mere imagination of hers. He was passing on the school's pathway near the soccer field, dressed on his normal school uniform, one hand on his pocket.

There really was nothing special about his actions, but being the confident person he was, a simple movement still gave him an air of elitism. Even the casual gesture of adjusting the strap of his sling bag didn't go against his regal appearance.

Most of the female students, also known as his fan girls, were flashing their oh-so-friendly, or maybe flirtatious, smile at him. Some were practically begging for his attention with their sugar-coated greetings.

"Good afternoon, Hitsugaya-senpai!"

"Hello, Prez!"

"Have a good day, Toushirou-sama!"

He would nod at them, but the emotion was missing. However, being the obsessed fans they were, that insignificant acknowledgement would already make the girls squeal in delight.

Karin wondered if Toushirou was just naturally oblivious to the fact that his fan girls looked like they were having a hard time on restraining themselves from jumping him, or he was just really good at caring less about such things.

The scene playing before her eyes aroused bitterness on Karin. But, she was incognizant about the feeling. Or perhaps, she was only in denial.

"Bitches." She whispered in a scornful derision, her current situation forgotten. Until...

"Kurosaki!"

... but the warning was too late, as Karin found herself kissing the ground. The ball rolled away from her. A deep, inarticulate sound escaped from her when she finally understood what had happened.

She sat up to look at the person who had tripped, and found the guy looking at her, surprised.

"Karin-san, a-are you alright! Sorry! I didn't mean to do that!"

Karin looked at him incredulously, then sighed. "Seriously, Yuji. Why are you apologizing? We're on the game, and it isn't as if what you did is against the rule." Her voice was impassive, as though she hadn't just stumbled on the ground.

Accepting her argument, the boy nodded and walked to her. He held a hand to help Karin get up. "Right. Maybe, I was just not expecting that simple move to get you. I mean, it had never worked on you before."

Karin stood up, brushing the dusts off of her shorts.

"Uh.." was her only reply in the hope that that would save her from further explanations.

Unfortunately for her, it looked like her other team mates also didn't look forward for what had just happened, and they were not going to let that incident slip without her making it plain to them.

"My, my, Karin. Is there something troubling you? You seemed like you're not yourself today." A tall, red-haired guy asked her, lazily scratching the back of his head.

She sighed again, noticing that the game had momentarily stopped just because of her earlier mistake.

"I'm alright, captain." She raised an inquisitive brow at her team mates, who all had paused and looked at her disbelievingly. "Really, why are you all looking at me like that? I just lost my concentration, is all! No big deal!"

"But there is, Kurosaki. You never lose your focus on the game," Heita Toujoin, one of Karin's buddies since grade school, butted in. "Like what Captain Renji asked, is there something troubling you? Or could it be..." he trailed off, as if contemplating if he should continue. "...could Sawada-sensei be right? Are you thinking about a guy? Like... Uh... Are you lovesick?" He didn't even bother to filter the questions, though he fully knew that it would get Karin annoyed.

Being in the same Maths class with her, he had also witnessed the incident on said class. It was actually a surprise for him to see Karin not paying attention on where she was supposed to be, not only once but twice. If it wasn't something really serious, then what other excuse was there?

Karin sent him a death stare, but it hadn't really done anything.

Kurosaki Karin, plus a guy, plus lovesick—three things which were very unlikely to put together. So the topic that Karin Kurosaki was lovesick over a guy was already enough to pique her team mates' interests.

"I told you, I am alright! And, don't make excuses to slack off! We still have a practice game!" She looked at their team captain to make him accede with her, but her hopes fell when she saw the mischievous grin of the read-head.

"Oh, so our dear Karin is in-love. Interesting."Abarai Renji said, ignoring his junior's protests.

Karin gritted her teeth, unhappy with the turn of events. "Not you too, captain," she hissed.

"Who could it possibly be?" Renji pushed further, feigning ignorant on Karin's annoyed expression. "Is it Yuji? Hikaru? Heita? Hmm. Or could it be... Oh! Hell! Are you in love with me? Or maybe..."

"Cut it, captain! He's not a member of this team! Damn it!"

With her outburst, the time seemed to freeze. Different reactions were obtained from the players. Shock. Disbelief. Most of them gaped. The team captain smirked victoriously, while Karin wondered what she had done now.

Then, it came to her. Her eyes widened. Her face became rosy-tinted.

Oh, gods. She hadn't just...

No, that was an inadvertent admission. There was really nothing to admit in the first place. But, was there any other way to make everything clear to them?

Oh, someone, just kill her now!

xx

"Stupid hotshot. With stupid hair and his stupid eyes." Karin grumbled vehemently, without caring about the weird looks that people on the street were throwing at her. She was just grateful that her team mates didn't know anything about him, save from the information that he was not a member of their team like what she had unintentionally given during their practice.

She stopped mid-ranting, and looked up at the sign board of one of the department structures.

Chappy Ice Cream Shop. At the end of those words was a weird-looking white bunny which looked like a ten-year-old's creation.

Karin raised an eyebrow at that oddity, but then thought that she needed to cool down since this day had never been kind to her.

She entered, silently wishing that the ice cream flavors were not as weird as the name of the shop and its mascot sign. There were quite a number of customers inside. As she looked at board on which the flavors were written, she noted that their ice creams were all rather normal.

"Can I have a Strawberry one, with fudge covered waffle cone pieces and caramel swirl?" she asked the selling staff.

While she was waiting for it, a thought of him came again. She snorted.

'Stupid smart ass and his stupid pretty face.' She stopped musing, and frowned. "Who said that his face is pretty?" she asked herself, failing to keep the words to her thoughts.

Hearing her speak, the male staff of the shop looked at her, but realized that she wasn't talking to anyone else. Confused, the guy turned to look at his co-worker beside him. The other just shrugged, also unsure of what was that all about, and undertook to give Karin's ice cream instead.

Karin thanked and paid them before she searched for a good place to sit. She settled on the one near the glass-framed wall, then started eating her ice cream.

'It was good' she thought, and it made her lighten up somehow. As she took another spoonful of ice cream, she spotted a head of white through the transparent glass frame. He was walking across the street.

Karin followed him with her gaze, wide-eyed, spoon still shoved on her mouth.

As soon as she got rid of the plastic utensil, she exclaimed, "Is he doing it on purpose?!"

All people near her, turned to look at the owner of the voice and, to their surprise, found her alone. Not even a sign of any gadget would give the assumption that she was having a conversation online or through phone.

Karin, finally coming into realization that she'd been talking audibly to herself, blushed and resumed eating her cool treat.

"What a waste. She's pretty, but it looks like she has some mental issues." A person, close to where she was, whispered but Karin heard it, loud and clear.

She groaned.

'It was his entire damn fault.'