Chapter Text
Toshiro sighed as he shuffled through the large amount of paperwork that was currently on his desk. Although the boy was only sixteen years old, he still was a captain, and being a captain meant doing paperwork all day long. He knew that Matsumoto hadn’t meant to destroy the buildings so close to the allegedly famous Statue of Liberty, but as he began filling out the papers, he really wanted to kill her. Matsumoto, while in a fight against a powerful hollow all the way in normal world New York City, had managed to wreck five buildings. FIVE! The Head Captain, his eyebrows raised and his voice low, had explained the situation to Toshiro, who could only sigh and slump his shoulders in defeat. Matsumoto had been taken off duty from NYC and the more responsible Kira had taken her place, albeit for the rest of the week.
The young boy tossed the finished papers into the basket next to his desk, trying to read as fast as humanly possible while still making sure his handwriting was eligible. He managed to clear five papers in a minute. The huge stack of six hundred twenty-seven papers disappeared fast enough.
“Taicho?” Matsumoto nervously poked her head in. “How have you been the last few weeks?”
“Matsumoto… welcome back.” Toshiro said in a quiet voice. “Considering it’s been a while, perhaps you’d like to begin the day with some paperwork?”
“Yeah… sure.”
“I’m home!” Karin Kurosaki walked into her small clinical home, beaming with delight. She was sweating and slightly out of breath. The girl advanced into the living room. “Hello? Are you guys-”
She was cut off by Yuzu. “SURPRISE!” Her twin, along with her father, Orihime, and Ichigo, were all sitting down at the kitchen table, surrounded by plates full of lavish food.
“Congrats on becoming Captain!” Ichigo said, smiling. A bit of jam was smeared across his face, probably because of the jam pie currently sitting on the table.
Orihime beamed. “I’m so proud! My sister-in-law, soccer captain of the best team in all Karakura!”
“Guys… y’all are really crazy, aren’t you?” Karin smiled in appreciation, taking a seat at the head of the table. She looked at her father, who was silent. His face was downcast.
Yuzu noticed her looking. “He’s sulking. He’s mad because you took his place at the head.”
Their father grumbled. “The father should be at the head of the table. They should always be at the head of the table.”
“Oh, stop it. You’re being overdramatic!” Ichigo hit his arm and the two glared at each other, their eyes flashing red with anger.
Orihime and Yuzu smiled helplessly as the two began to fight, only stopping when the guest of honor; that is, Karin, began to berate them for their actions.
“YOU GUYS AREN’T SUPPOSED TO ARGUE AT MY SPECIAL CELEBRATION! I’M GOING TO BED!”
Annoyed, she stomped off to her room. And everyone went to bed, sullen.
It was five AM when Orihime woke up.
“Whattimeisit?” she mumbled sleepily, words tumbling over each other as she touched her phone screen to see the time. “Five? Well, considering Ichigo and I are leaving at six…” The girl tapped her boyfriend’s shoulder lightly and rose, rubbing her eyes.
“Ichigo? Wake up, it’s time to eat breakfast!” She said, her voice tired and yet cheerful.
The sleepy boy grumbled in his sleep and stirred, his voice quiet and a bit raspy, “Okay… five more minutes.”
Orihime grinned and stretched, quietly walking out his bedroom door. She went to the bathroom, and in a mere twenty minutes, Orihime Inoue was her usual bubbly, cheerful self. She hummed to herself and cooked breakfast, enjoying the quiet peace that came in the morning.
“Orihime?” The voice was so like Ichigo, Orihime thought it was him for a sec. “Wow, you’re up early. Want some help?”
Karin Kurosaki, dressed in her school uniform, smiled at the ginger haired girl, walking over to the stovetops. She took out the slightly burnt toast from the toaster and started spreading out butter and cream cheese. “When are you leaving? Six? Yuzu and I leave at seven, so you can leave a bit late if you’d like. Get a few more minutes of sleep, maybe, considering it’s five thirty? Unless you couldn’t fall asleep last night.”
Orihime smiled kindly back at the black-haired girl. Karin was taller than her, so Orihime felt a little embarrassed, but the voice speaking was literally Karin. Practically her baby sister. “I’m good, thanks, but if you’re leaving later, you should sleep a bit more.”
Karin grinned. “I slept early, remember? At around eight. I’m not tired at all. Should I wash some fruit? Or a glass of milk, perhaps?”
“Apples, maybe. Ichigo likes those.”
“Aah, sure.”
The two ladies, quietly engaging in small talk, managed to create their very American-style breakfast by six. Yuzu joined them after Karin had washed the apples, and Isshin woke up when Yuzu was frying the eggs. They were sitting down, about to begin breakfast, when Ichigo came to the table.
“Hey, guys. Sorry for yelling, Karin.” He sat down at the empty spot, and they began eating.
“No problem.”
As Yuzu bit into her toast and Ichigo chomped on his apple, they heard the familiar beep of Ichigo’s denreishinki.
“Aah, this early?” Ichigo grumbled. He sighed and was about to go pull out his chair when Karin stopped him.
“I’ll go. But… can we talk about something later?”
Ichigo watched, a bit confused, as Karin grabbed the kendo sword she used for her lessons and walked out, scuffing her shoes on, and kicking the soccer ball she so loved.
“She’s been taking care of the hollows. Well, not the super crazy ones. Little ones, but still. I’m worried, but Karin’s strong. She can take care of herself, I think.” Isshin told Ichigo, who was a little out of the loop since he’d been gone for the last eight months. “Karin wouldn’t get herself killed, so don’t worry. I’m more worried about the fact that it’s six twenty and you still haven’t packed. Anything. At all.”
“I can help,” Yuzu offered, but she was quickly told to finish her breakfast and get ready for school. They began clearing the plates and the kitchen quickly emptied.
A few minutes later the door opened. Karin walked around quickly, glancing around the medicine cabinet to make sure no one was around, and grabbed a few painkillers.
“Shiro! Shiro, wait up!” Hinamori ran after the white-haired captain as he was walking with Matsumoto. “Sorry, I’m not interrupting your conversation, right?”
“You’re good.” Toshiro said quickly. Matsumoto shot him a look and he blushed, knowing what she was thinking. Certainly not appropriate, that’s for sure. “What’s wrong?”
“So… basically, the Head Captain wanted me to tell everyone -like all the captains and lieutenants- that we’re holding a formalish party! He said that one of the Districts had started it, and then Rukia thought it was fun and he asked me to hold it and-”
“We’re in, Momo! Sounds fun!” Matsumoto said quickly. “But… well, we must hurry. The squad’s waiting.”
“Okay, it’s in a week, right after Kira comes back! Hope to see you there!”
Toshiro shot a glance at Matsumoto. They were having a silent conversation, with their eyes, about the topic. He knew she knew that he liked Hinamori, maybe just a little bit, and she knew it would be good for their “relationship.”
“Cmon, Taicho, it’ll be fun! A distraction from all the paperwork, right? A party! How fun!”
Toshiro sighed. “Don’t want to keep the squad waiting.”
Matsumoto grinned.
“So, what did you want to talk to me about?” Ichigo asked as both Karin and him sat at the couch. No one was around: Orihime packing for Ichigo, Yuzu packing for Ichigo, and Isshin packing for Ichigo. The only one not packing for Ichigo was Ichigo himself and Karin.
“Well… I want to become a Soul Reaper.”
Ichigo’s eyes widened and he gripped her shoulders tightly. “Karin, you’re joking. That’s way too dangerous, and anyways, you’re in high school.”
“You were in high school when you were a Soul Reaper!” Karin bit back. “And anyways, I’m strong now. If I can get a Zanpakuto, then I’ll be stronger and can protect everyone here!”
“You don’t have to, Dad and Urahara are both here!” Ichigo said angrily.
“Dad’s busy, he has a life, and besides, he’s old and out of practice! And Urahara isn’t here, he’s in the mountains with Yoruichi and the others!” Karin argued back.
“…Urahara’s gone?”
“He left ages ago! Face it, Ichigo, this isn’t your home anymore. And you’re not here, never here, to protect us. I want to be able to protect Yuzu and I, to make sure that no one in this house ever gets hurt!”
“Karin… ugh, fine, I’ll ask the Captain commander. But… don’t get hurt, alright?”
“Sorry, I can’t guarantee anything. I’ll be fine, Ichigo.” Karin rose. “I have to get ready for school, so yeah. See you. And… thanks.”
Man, why is my kid sister so reckless? Ichigo thought. He sighed.