I don't own Bleach, dammit!! _ Well… hi everyone. I can't believe Moron! Is ending so soon!! I'm eternally grateful to you all, thanks for all your never-ending support and reviews! There's no way I would've ever gotten this far writing hitsukarin without you guys!! ^_^
Here's the last chapter- chapter five!! I hope you enjoy!! Read and review!
Chapter Five: Moron!!
There was a frown on Karin's face, but it wasn't her normal stubborn negative facial expression. Her eyes were dark and her eyebrows crinkled over them carefully, as though she had suddenly matured overnight.
She was so deep in thought that she walked on and almost didn't see Hitsugaya as she wandered through the park. Hitsugaya hadn't seen her since yesterday, and that was when he had run off, completely humiliated.
Hitsugaya blinked in confusion and amusement at the girl moving around like a zombie. He took a few steps after her, calling out, "Hey! Karin!"
Karin had barely gotten any sleep last night because she had been so confused and shocked. When she had finally drifted off, it was a restless, dreamless sleep- a daze that she was in, as though she was just lying there awake but with her eyes closed.
Karin paused as she turned to look at the Tenth Division Captain. She felt her heart cringe as she met his gaze. The frown on her face didn't leave, it only deepened.
There was no way, there was absolutely no way, she continually chimed in her head.
Her heart beat out of control as she watched him. No way…
Just watching him now… she was so totally in awe of him. So perfectly calm and in control, his snowy white hair in its usual style, cold icy-blue green eyes piercing through hers. He was in his gigai and so wasn't in his shihakusho, but whether he wore his uniform and haori, she knew just how powerful he was. She knew just how high-ranking and incredible Toushirou Hitsugaya was.
So…
The pain in her heart became evident on her face.
So how could someone like him possibly fall for a simple human schoolgirl like her?
"Oi, Karin!"
She blinked in surprise.
Hitsugaya was standing in front of her, his icy eyes puzzled as he commented, "Gee, Karin, you're so out of it today. What on earth happened to you?"
He was just standing there, right in front of her and it wasn't like he hadn't done this before; but suddenly his closeness there made Karin feel awkward.
"T-Toushirou," she began, struggling to find her voice and pull her confused self together.
"Yeah?" Hitsugaya looked at her, his voice friendly.
"Y-you…" she started, but couldn't continue. Her face flushed bright red and Hitsugaya looked at her worriedly.
Karin grew frustrated. Dammit, how hard could it possibly be to tell him??
…you… you're in love with me?!?
"Yeah? What is it?" Hitsugaya asked, a frown appearing on his face.
Karin swallowed and composed herself. Her face was burning up as she glared down at the ground and tried again:
"Y-you… Toushirou, you…"
She glimpsed Hitsugaya watching her with wide blue-green eyes and then her words completely failed.
"…you ran away from me yesterday when I saw you at Urahara's! What the heck was that about??" She snapped at him.
Hitsugaya looked at Karin's annoyed face and felt his insides turn. Oh crap. He couldn't hide it much longer. It wasn't even like he was trying to hide it; he just wanted to get it out there. She didn't even know how long he'd been struggling with these feelings, she didn't have a clue who it was that he liked, she had no idea…!!
"I… I just…" Hitsugaya frowned mid-sentence. "I just… got annoyed at Hanakari for something incredibly trivial."
Karin asked, apparently completely innocently, "Oh yeah? I overheard Jinta asking you if you were jealous or something? What were you jealous of?"
She watched as the expression in his eyes changed. Pained endearment seem to flash in his eyes as he seemed to stiffen his shoulders and then sigh deeply.
Hitsugaya settled stern eyes on her and said, "Listen, Karin. What I'm about to tell you is what I've been trying to get across to you for the past week or so. What… Hanakari meant, what Matsumoto mentioned to you before, and the person that you've been trying to guess…"
Karin, who had been so shocked by her discovery last night, suddenly found her hands clenched into fists and her teeth gritted. Why? She had been so pissed off at the way she reacted to him today, she had been in such disbelief with her realization before, so why…? Why was she tightening her fists now? Why was she hoping with such hope that she was right? Why did she want to be right, when she knew he was too incredible for her?
"Karin…" He forced himself to gaze at her and let his icy eyes stare at her truthfully. "The person I've fallen for… the one I love… "
"I know who it is."
Her voice was dull and unsurprised.
"What?" Hitsugaya exclaimed. "Dammit, Karin, just listen! It's-"
Karin kept her face still and hard as she practically glared at Hitsugaya. Her voice was not loud, still blank and measured.
"Me."
"-you."
She was having trouble keeping her face like this. She was trying to keep herself stern and expressionless. But she persevered, and Karin's dark eyes seemed slightly pained as they fiercely met Hitsugaya's icy ones.
He didn't know what to say. He was really… completely and utterly… lost.
What… what was he meant to do now? He had not anticipated this at all, he didn't expect for her to have guessed this or realized it.
What happens now? Did he… have to discuss with her what would become of their friendship now that they both knew this? Could he… could he shrug and grumble at her that she sure took her time figuring it out and then just casually stroll away? Could he… pretend that once it was known, it didn't matter anymore?
But… They stood there and searched each other's eyes for what seemed like forever.
But could she possibly understand the full extent of his love for her? Hitsugaya bit his lip. He really… really, truly, deeply loved her. He couldn't just let it go like this.
What… was this feeling inside her right now? Karin didn't understand it. Okay, that was enough. She did understand it!! She understood it fully, all right? She knew why she had worked so hard trying to find out who Hitsugaya liked!! She knew exactly why her heart beat out of control whenever he stared at her with even a glimmer of care in his eyes. She knew fully well why she was in such shock, why her heart panged when she realized last night.
Hitsugaya was watching her, and before either of them knew what was happening; he felt the love he had kept to himself all this time explode from within him and he was reaching out and grabbing her hand, pulling her towards her and planting a gentle kiss on her lips.
---
Their lips had met in confusion and Karin was the first to pull away. She paused there, standing away from him; his hand was still holding hers. Her eyes were wide open and her face burning as she stared gobsmacked at the shinigami captain.
Her heart which had not stopped pumping unusually fast all morning sped up even more. She was at a complete lost for words, and so was he. She breathed shallowly in her inner turmoil and pulling her hand lightly away from his, spoke: "I… Toushirou, I don't know… what should I do?"
Hitsugaya didn't know what to say or what to do next. This awkwardness between them… what were they to do now?
"It's-"
"Me."
"-you."
Karin stiffened as her eyes hardened and her heart cringed again. Meeting his icy cool, though confused gaze was harder than ever. And then, she did the thing she thought she would never do.
She ran. She turned and ran from him.
---
He considered chasing after her, but realized that he knew her too well for that. What she needed was time, time alone to process her thoughts. The time seemed to drag on throughout the day, his thoughts were filled of her and as he watched the day grow old, he wondered whether she had come to terms with their situation.
It became afternoon, the sky bright orange, streaks of pink and red stretched across its endless area.
Hitsugaya made his move. He knew exactly where to find her.
---
Karin sat on the railing beside the road, looking over at the town of Karakura, seeing the way the sky stretched endlessly before her. She was solemn, as serious as she could ever be, sitting there and staring out in front of her.
How… how can I possibly explain to you how I feel? How can I tell you… why this makes me so shaky and uncomfortable? You… realize why it was so hard for me to guess, right? You know why I couldn't respond to that kiss…
She heard the footsteps interrupt the fast rate of her heart-beat. She didn't need to raise her head or turn to face him to know who it was.
She continued staring out across the scenery. The footsteps gradually grew louder and stopped behind her.
Hitsugaya stood there, looking out into the beautiful sky over her head. Karin felt herself tense as she pulled her head down and stared at her feet.
"…I'm sorry."
Hitsugaya blinked. "What? Why are you apologising? I was the one who forced that kiss on you!"
"I… I had given myself all of last night to understand it, but I still had to run from you today. I must've… made you feel bad."
"No, it's okay. I understand. Guess it… makes us even for yesterday."
He stood there, his voice casual and calm as always, hiding his nervous energy and anticipation.
Karin's shoulders slumped down as she relaxed. She smiled as she said, "Do you know why it took me so long to figure out who it was you liked so much?"
Hitsugaya's face heated up slightly. He was careful as he replied, "No."
"It's not like… I was ever as stupid as you made it seem. Yeah, the idea of you falling for a human girl of all things was hard to believe but… it wasn't like I hadn't considered it could be me. I had… asked myself that before. I had… wondered if someone like you could ever like someone like me… it's just that I decided it was impossible."
Impossible? Hitsugaya frowned.
"Even now… after all this time, I find it so hard to believe…! I mean…" Karin turned to smile awkwardly at the captain. "How could someone like you… someone so icy cold and cool in everything he does… someone as powerful as you are- a soul reaper captain! How could you ever like me? I'm just so… simple. Just a kid. Just a human girl…"
Hitsugaya's eyes lowered as he sighed lightly. I know. But even so, I…
"But even so you…"
I love you for who you are. I love you because you are Karin.
Karin didn't finish her sentence, just left it trailing off there. Then she beamed at Hitsugaya. "I… But you made me so happy because you do like someone like me!!"
Her smile made Hitsugaya's heart swell. He stared at her, entranced in her words.
"And I… I'm still having so much trouble accepting this because… 'cause my small human heart is bursting just trying to take it all in!! 'cause, Toushirou, I really…"
She paused, tearing her gaze from his, glancing down at the ground for a moment, gathering her courage to continue.
Karin raised her head and although blushing, grinned her absolute hardest at Hitsugaya.
"…I really love you too!"
Hitsugaya just stared at her, awestruck, eyes wide. And then the love he had for her burst out again, he pulled her up from her sitting position and into his arms.
Karin stammered over her words, flustered and embarrassed. "G-gee, Toushirou! D-don't just do that! I… I could've fallen over!"
He didn't reply. He tightened his hold on her until she slowly returned his embrace. "You know what, Karin?" he murmured quietly over her shoulder.
"What?" Karin was puzzled.
"Working this all out. You sure took your time…"
Karin was silent as she frowned.
Hitsugaya smiled to himself as he gently touched his forehead to hers.
"…Moron."
The End!
Oh yeah, ya heard right!! It's the end!! So SCRAM!! Nah, just joking! emichii's hitsukarin fics aren't over! I promise there'll be more to come! I don't know if there'll be any more fics this year though, because I'm off to HK soon! Still, thanks once again for all your support, everyone!! HITSUKARIN FOREVER 'N EVER!! ^_^
I hope to see ya again soon! emichii!