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A rustling of a plastic bag caught Karin's attention as she ate breakfast. The darker haired Kurosaki twin watched with amusement as her sister hurried to place the homemade giri-choco and tomo-choco into her bag. She carefully set her bowl and chopsticks down onto the table before grabbing her school bag from where it sat next to her chair. With one quick movement the bag was swung over her shoulder, and her feet started her towards the door. A mutter from her sister caused Karin to stop, and twist her head around.
"Yuzu?" One eyebrow went up in pretend worry while the corners of her mouth tried not to twist up from the laughter she was holding back. "Something the matter?"
The lighter haired twin looked up at her sister. "Karin-chan? Don't you have something for Toshiro-kun?"
Karin felt her mouth open to form a circle. She then let out a sigh and a light laugh. "I don't know if I'll be getting to see Toshiro today."
"He is your boyfriend though... so you should have honemi-choco for him, right?"
"Hmm..." The darker haired twin fought to suppress another laugh as she imagined the reaction Toshiro would have if he overheard what Yuzu just said, not to mention the blush that would have spread across his cheeks. "I think honemi-amanatto would have been a much better choice." A hand clapped over her mouth as she stifled another laugh at the confused look on Yuzu's face. "He seems to really like amanatto for some reason."
The confused look didn't leave her twins face causing another chuckle from Karin as well as a comment about heading onto school. She watched as her sister headed off to join her group of friends who were busy giggling about who they planned on giving honemi-choco too. The dark haired twin sat down at her desk nearby and bit her lip in amusement as none of her guy friends were mentioned. "They are sadly going to be disappointed yet again this year."
Yuzu of course quickly gave out her various chocolates as their friends came into the classroom. Karin leaned on her chin and watched as some of the guys including her guy friends became excited about receiving chocolate from a cute girl like Yuzu only to see her hurry off to give chocolate to the next person that entered the classroom. Her eyes drifted to the window out of becoming bored with her classmates usual antics for the day.
Two violet eyes caught site of a white head of hair outside the school gate. Karin let out a sigh as she closed her eyes and tried to pretend a certain someone wasn't waiting for her. Instead she watched as her guy friends and some of the girls got into the usual spat about who was better during their free period in the afternoon. She turned her head to see that a light drizzle was falling outside, and that the familiar head of white hair was still waiting for her.
"Hey... did you hear what I asked Karin?"
The young female's head jerked up to look at her friend who bleached his hair. "What is it Ryohei?"
"We're having a contest to see whose better at the karaoke place... you know, us guys versus the girls."
One of Karin's eyebrows rose up as she gave her friends a rather amused look. She stood up and grabbed her bag as the bell rang. "No thanks. I'm going to head on home."
"Why not?" Kei's hand reached up to scratch his curly head of hair. "You actually sing better then any of us."
"I think you guys forgot that I'm not a guy. I'd have to be on their side. Plus... I have some things to do." Karin watched as the boys faces looked at her in shock. A smile appeared on her face, and she quickly headed down the stairs. She slipped out of her school shoes before heading over to the rack to grab her umbrella. She then headed to the entrance to meet the person she knew was waiting for her.
"Are you playing soccer today?"
Karin's head jerked up as the corners of her mouth twisted up. Her amusement didn't leave as she looked at the white haired youth in front of her. "Toshiro... your soaking wet."
The young captain's bright eyes were wide with excitement, and for once his mouth twisted up into a smile telling her he was actually looking forward to playing soccer with her and her friends. "That's all right. We'd be getting wet anyways if we played."
"Unfortunately my friends have other plans." Karin twisted her head slightly to see the shocked look of disappointment on Toshiro's face. "By the way... why are you here? There hasn't been any activity lately."
"Why am I here? The office is stuffy. For some reason Matsumoto is acting weirder then normal."
Karin's violet eyes blinked a couple of times, and her smile widened upon realizing something. "Toshiro... do you know what today is?"
"What today is?" The boy's head darted up with a look of confusion. He crossed his arms in thought for a bit. "I'm not really good at keeping track of days. I don't even know the year I was born." His eyes were wide with curiosity and excitement. "It is though an important day though."
"I guess you could say that." The dark haired female crossed her fingers behind her back. "Him being dense about social customs means I can actually do something for him for Valentine's Day without him objecting to the meaning behind it." She took a deep breath. "Do you want to hang out? We don't have to play soccer to do that you know."
Karin's amusement increased as she looked at the look of confusion on his face. "Something else?" Toshiro folded his arms across his chest. "The only other activity I know how to do really is spin tops."
Two violet eyes blinked in surprise. "Spinning tops? As in that old game? Well... his favorite candy is in fact amanatto." A short laugh came out of her mouth. "That's what I like about him." Karin watched as the soul of his shoe scrapped the ground in a nervous manner. "That won't do." Confusion reflected on the young captain's face as he stared at her. "First... let's get you out of those wet clothes. Did you bring any with you?"
"Uh... I was kind of... expecting to go back to soul society today, and not stay the night."
"Then you can borrow some of Ichigo's old clothes until yours dry in the drier. They're not exactly your style, but they're nothing like my dad's clothing." She watched as Toshiro opened his mouth to protest. A smile crept across her face as she darted past him and grabbed his hand. What ever he say ended up lost from the surprise of her taking his hand. She peered over her shoulder to see that a blush had appeared on his face. "What? You aren't worried about people seeing us like this?"
"Of course not!" Toshiro's face flustered up more. "Don't you think though... some people might... I mean... we're not..."
"... not boyfriend and girlfriend. Don't worry about it." Karin increased her speed – something she could do because there was only a drizzle. She let go of Toshiro's hand when they were finally in the entrance to the Kurosaki household. "Ichigo's still at school so I'll go ahead and grab something from his closet. You can then change in the bathroom."
"Yes... but..." A sigh escaped his mouth. Two violet eyes caught a glimpse of the blush deepening on Toshiro's face as she headed up the stairs. She quickly came back and he disappeared. The young taicho came down the stairs with a frown on his face. "So... where are we going?"
"Have you ever been to an arcade?" Karin watched as Toshiro's eyes widened. She opened up her umbrella outside and looked at him waiting for him to come. "What are you waiting for?"
"It's still raining. You just got me into dry clothes."
"We can share an umbrella." Unabashed amusement fell over her as she watched a blush reappear on his face, and his bright teal eyes widened. "Don't worry." The sound of the rain hit the top of her umbrella while their feet hit the ground. Toshiro instinctively hooked his arm through hers, and pulled closer so that he could be closer to her under the umbrella. She could sense the nervousness emanating from him as well as the excitement. A sudden flinch caused her to speak up just before they arrived at the arcade. "Something the matter."
"It's just. I think I've been thinking something perverted. I feel I need to apologize for that." Toshiro's arm unhooked from hers as they came under the awning, and he stepped away from her.
Karin twisted her head to see that the blush was very deep. "Don't worry about it."
She took his hand again and pulled him into the arcade. This time she picked up on the feelings of confusion, as well as slight embarrassment. She turned her head to look at Toshiro and saw the look he gave when someone was treating him like a child. "What is this place?"
The young female shook out her umbrella before closing it. She then took his hand and tugged him into the place. "Let me show you Ichigo's favorite game. He's played it since middle school. You'll stay long enough for me to show you that game?"
"So..." The young taicho's voice changed to one of curiosity. "... he still plays in?"
"Look around Toshiro. You see a lot of people ranging from elementary to high school, even a few adults. Right?"
"Yeah..." The boy looked around trying to figure out the place.
Karin ignored his obvious discomfort and tugged him over to one of the fighting video games. She took out a coin and sat down. "Watch first."
Toshiro stared at the screen as she picked a character, and then proceeded to use said character to beat up characters. "I'm not exactly following why this game is interesting."
"You've not played it." Karin moved aside and let him sit down. Leaning over his shoulder she could easily pick up on how nervous he was in regards to the situation. The nervous emotion he gave off was betrayed by the excited look in his teal eyes. The sparkle told her he was excited at the prospect of being able to try something new. She watched as he switched out the character to one of his liking.
Eventually this grew old and he let out a sigh. He turned to look at her without realizing she was still leaning over his shoulder. The blush on his face spread, and he began to stammer. "This... not so... all right. Other... things."
The dark haired youth watched as her companion twisted his face away to try and hide the deep blush spreading across his face. "Why don't we look around. We should at least try the photo booth before we go too."
"Why?" His voice strained as he turned to look at her.
"I want a picture of you. Don't you want a picture of me?"
The sharp sound of drawing of air came from Toshiro's lips. "Yeah. I guess I could. Um... I mean... what I mean to say is that would be nice." His voice lowered suddenly in an attempt to hide what he said next. "You have pretty eyes."
One of Karin's eyebrows rose up, but then she looked away. "I'll pretend that I didn't hear that as he didn't want me to hear it." She pulled him away from the fighting games. "I doubt anything else here would interest him." She almost let go of his arm when he suddenly stopped. "What is it Toshiro?"
"Neko..." The tone of voice the young captain used sounded different then his usual tone of voice.
Karin twisted her head around to see him pointing at a white cat with green eyes staring at them from inside a claw machine. A frown spread across her face as she looked at the cat in question. "That's not something I would want. Please tell me he's not thinking of getting me that thing." She took a deep breath to say something, and turned her head to look at him.
What the dark haired Kurosaki twin saw caused her to be taken aback. Toshiro's mouth was twisted up into a wide smile, and his teal eyes were open wide. For some reason he was excited about said cat. Karin took another deep breath. "Toshiro... do you like that stuffed animal." A look of shocked realization hit Toshiro's face as a slight blush crept across his cheeks. His head jerked away quickly and he stammered out something. "Toshiro..."
"I..." The young taicho chocked on the first word. "Why would I like something childish like that?"
"... and yet I know you like that stupid thing." Karin's violet eyes darted back to the game. "You've never tried playing a crane game before, have you."
Toshiro startled again. "Crane game? That is what it is called?"
"Yeah. You try to get a prize with the crane. Most people can't get anything from the games though."
"Oh... then I guess it's not worth bothering with."
"Toshiro..." Karin's tone of voice caused him to turn his head towards her. "I don't like you just because your more mature then the guys I know. I also like this side of you too. If you want that stuffed toy then you should try for it."
"That..." The young taicho began to stammer again. A coin pressed into his hand. She pushed lightly on his back when he wouldn't move right away. The coin clinked into the machine, and a nervous frown appeared on Toshiro's face. He carefully moved the crane and watched as it moved. The time ran out and it went down grabbing something other then the cat toy.
Karin blinked a couple of times as the box dropped into the open slot. "Amazing... you actually got something on the first try."
"It's not what I was aiming for though."
The young Kurosaki female reached in to the hatch and pulled out the box. In the box were clips matching Toshiro's eyes. "Well... these certainly would look better on you then they would me." She twisted her head around to see her comment had an ill effect. She quickly pressed another coin into his hand. "I should have explained how the game works. You have a certain amount of time to position the crane over what you wish to get. You push the red button to lower the crane to get an item before the time is up."
Toshiro let out a sigh before letting the coin clink into the slot. Karin watched as he moved the crane again. This time he positioned it over the cat, and the crane lowered to grab the stuffed animal. It lifted the white thing up, and to the female youth's amazement the cat dropped down into the shoot for the prizes. A thin hand reached in to take the toy, and then held it out to Karin. "Here."
Karin shook her had as she bit back the amusement that tried creeping into the corners of her mouth. "No. Both of these are yours Toshiro."
She watched as his bright teal eyes widened. He looked at the hair accessory she held in her hand. "What am I supposed to do with that?"
The amusement couldn't be held back as a smile spread across her face. She took the two thin clips from the box and quickly pushed the lock of hair that kept straying into his eyes. She clipped it back as a blush appeared on his face. "You can use it to keep your hair out of your eyes."
"Yes... but..." Toshiro looked away as one of his hands went into his pocket and the other pulled the white cat close to his chest. "For some reason I feel silly."
"Because you're a guy? You honestly look good with it in your hair like that. You shouldn't care though what other people think though."
"I care what you think."
"Of course you would." A smile spread across Karin's face. "I think it looks good on you. You should experiment with your style a bit too." Her hand reached out to tug his. "The photobooth then?"
"Wait... like this?" A blush appeared on his face.
"Why not? I want to capture the moment. I don't want to forget about today. Do you?" Glancing over her shoulder she could see his eyes widen. Then he looked away as a soft smile spread across his face. This time around she explained how the machine worked before pulling him in. She could feel his slight discomfort. No protest came from his mouth.
For some reason she decided to lean over and kiss him on the cheek while the pictures were being taken. This resulted in the visible blush on his face to deepen in that picture, as well the look of surprise on his face. She pointed at that picture as he frowned at the photos in his hand. "I want that one. Which one do you want." He didn't respond as he continued to stare. "Toshiro..."
"Kurosaki..."
"Yes."
"I can't pick one. None of the pictures show how pretty your eyes are."
Karin's hand went to her mouth to cover the slight blush she knew was now spreading across her face. "I shouldn't be a kick out of him saying something like that. I'm not one of those girls who gossips about guys, or thinks they need a guy praising them."
A voice in the back of her head butted in. "You know that was just one of his where what he's thinking comes out of his mouth without realizing it. He doesn't know what today is, nor would he purposefully say anything he thought would embarrass you. He's also pretty clueless when it comes to this type of thing."
"That's one of the things I like about him."
"Could you pick one out for me?" Toshiro's voice was near her ear causing her to suddenly jump. Out of the corner of her eye she could see him blink a couple of times. "Did I say something wrong?"
"No..." Karin turned her head as she took the pictures from him. "I'll pick out a picture for you when we get back to my place. You're staying for dinner." She watched as a look of shock came over his face. "You've got to pick up your clothes. They should be dry now, not to mention the fact the rain has finally stopped."
A smile spread over his face causing her to tug on his hand. They arrived at the house to see Yuzu looking through the cook books trying to figure out what to make for dinner. Karin kicked off her shoes. "Have you ever had ice-cream before Toshiro?"
"Yes... my taicho actually introduced me to it when I was younger."
"Oh... how about pizza?" Karin watched as a look of confusion came over his face.
"Hold on a second." Yuzu's voice came from over in the kitchen. The lighter haired twin walked over and grabbed Karin's arm. "I need to talk to my sister for a bit."
The darker haired twin clapped her hands together. "Please would you order pizza tonight Yuzu? It can come out of my allowance."
Yuzu folded her arms across her chest as her mouth formed a pout. "Karin... you aren't trying to make up for the fact you didn't get Toshiro-kun honemi-choco?"
"No. I'm not trying to make up for not making him honemi-choco. We got the clips and cat at the arcade."
"Karin..." Yuzu's foot began to tap on the floor. "How is that a substitute for honemi-choco?"
A finger went up to Karin's mouth. "Shush you. He doesn't know that today was Valentine's Day, and he still hasn't a clue that we went on a date."
Two brown eyes blinked a couple of times. "Wait... how can he not know he just went on a date... or that it is even Valentine's Day? And isn't this what the guy is supposed to do for a girl on White Day?"
"That... I don't want him to feel like he's obligated to give me a White Day gift."
"He is though obligated to give you one."
"He'll try over thinking it, and I'm fine if he just learns to lighten up a bit and enjoy himself. That's the point of what I did today. He'd never been to an arcade. He's never had pizza before either."
"Why are you worried about hm over thinking a White Day gift when you went cheap on him?"
"Because to him it isn't cheap." Karin handed the photos to Yuzu. "Could you pick out one for him?"
Yuzu's cheeks suddenly flushed with a blush as she looked at the pictures. She then looked over at the white haired youth sitting at the table playing with the white stuffed toy. "Hey? Toshiro-kun. I'm going to order pizza. If we had ice-cream afterwords what would you like?"
"Mint chocolate chip?" Toshiro blinked a couple of times as his focus was drawn away from the stuffed animal. He then went back to fiddling with the cat.
"Lucky... that's the one dad likes a lot." Yuzu went to the phone. "Dad's by the way not going to be home tonight. He has another meeting of some kind."
"Oh... so Toshiro won't get to meet dad." Karin looked over at the boy. For some reason he seemed quite content with the stuffed animal from the arcade.
"Are you sure this is all right? I mean... shouldn't it be the other way around?"
"That's..." The darker haired twin blinked a couple of times as the front door opened. She twisted her head around to see her brother come into the room.
The orange haired teen stopped by the table with a rather bored look on his face. He blinked a couple of times upon seeing Toshiro. Ichigo pointed a finger at the young taicho. "You're wearing my old clothes."
The young taicho in question looked up at the orange haired teen with a blank stare. His fingers stopped manipulating the toy in his hands. Karin let out a deep breath. "His clothes are in the drier Ichi-nii."
Ichigo opened up his bag before tipping it over so that the contents dumped out. "You guys can eat the chocolate if you want. Just don't spoil your dinner. Can't even take books to school because of today."
The teen swung the bag over his shoulder, and headed up the stairs as if nothing happened.. Toshiro blinked a couple of times, and the corner of the boy's mouth twitched slightly. He then looked at the pile of chocolates on the table. One hand reached out to grab one of the objects Ichigo had left on the table. His voice was scratchy and strained. "Valentines? You mean today is..."
Two teal eyes looked up at Karin. After a staring awhile the eyes blinked a couple of times, and looked down at the stuffed toy while a frown spread across his face. A sigh escaped Karin's lips as she placed her hands on her hips. "Not a clue how he's going to react." One thin hand reached up to ruffle his hair in frustration, only to pause when Toshiro remembered the hair clips that Karin had placed in his hair. His fingers quickly unclasped them. Karin's violet eyes widened, and her mouth opened slightly. "He's going to get rid of them."
Instead he clipped them onto the stuffed animal. A sigh escaped his lips as he turned to look at her. She flinched at what she thought was a glare. Her muscles relaxed when he began to stammer out his words. "We... um... that was... it was a date... right?"
Karin took a deep breath – out of the corner of her eye she could see the confused look on Yuzu's face. "Yes. That was a date."
Toshiro's cheeks suddenly lit up with another blush while one finger nervously rubbed just under the ear. "I... does this mean... should I..."
"Should you what?"
"Call you by..." An audible swallow was heard as Toshiro's head titled down, and the blush deepened. She couldn't see his eyes in part because he wasn't looking at her anymore, but in part because the stray strand of hair was covering his eyes. "... call you by your first name."
A sigh left Karin's mouth as her body began to relax even more. "Toshiro... you should have been calling me by my first name a long time ago."
Toshiro's head of white hair titled back up, and then to the side as he was lost in thought. One hand went up to cover his mouth lightly so that his stammering was turned to being muffled. "So that was why Matsumoto was acting strangely."
Yuzu let out a sharp reply. "Wait... after all that happened today that is what you think about? What about your date with Karin? Didn't you like it? And what about what you're going to do for her on White Day."
"It's not important! I already told you."
"It is..." Toshiro began to stammer again. "I mean... that's what Matsumoto would tell me."
Two brown eyes blinked a couple of times. "Wait... whose Matsumoto?"
The stuffed animal dropped to the table. The two thin hands reached up to ruffle his hair in frustration. "She's going to tease me about this!"
"Wait... she?" Yuzu's voice strained.
"Just order the pizza Yuzu." Karin folded her arms across her chest, and stepped over to the table. She sat down with a thump and looked at the boy with his vividly red cheeks. "Toshiro... you don't have to get me anything for White Day you know. I just want you to be yourself rather then hiding who you are."
Two teal eyes blinked a couple of times as the blush began to lighten. Toshiro's arms fell to his side as his head titled back over the edge of the chair. "Yeah... well... Matsumoto's going to figure out what happened today. She's going to bug me about getting you something special."
"Then let her pick it out if she's so worried about that."
"I still feel like I owe you a lot for this."
Karin sighed. A thought came to her mind, and she leaned over to whisper something into Toshiro's ear. "How about you give me my first kiss that day? As on the lips." She watched as his cheeks suddenly reddened, and he began to stammer again – this time about how a first kiss wouldn't be a sufficient payment. "Why not? For you to work up the courage to do so is significant."
Toshiro turned in the chair so that he could look at her. He made a quick bow. "All right. If that is what you wish for, then I'll try my hardest."
"Wait..." Yuzu blinked a couple of times. "What did he... what..."
A smirk spread across Karin's face. "That's for me to know Yuzu."