"Now…what should I name you?" Karin stood over her kitchen sink squeezed the wet towel. On the sink in a little basket was the kitten watching her comfortably on soft towels laid for it. It tilted its head one side as she squeezed the towel again.

"Smokey for your colour? But it is such a common name." Karin said as she reached into the basket and picked the kitten up gingerly with one hand. She lifted the kitten up to her eye level and gently wiped the kitten's head with the towel. The kitten mewed as it lay across her palm.

"How about ash?" Karin wondered as she wiped down the back of the kitten. Wait…reminds me of Matusmoto's zanpaktou. The kitten sneezed. Karin proceeded to wipe its tiny paws and its belly. Finishing at the tip of the tail, Karin placed the kitten back down into the basket and washed the towel. The kitten purred loudly as it settled on the towels. Karin sighed with adoring eyes as she watched the kitten kneading the towel with its little paws.

"Well you got a home now. Mummy Karin will take care of you." Karin told the kitten as its long tail swished left and right. The kitten wiggled its body as it got into a crouched position like it was preparing an assault. Then it lunged forward and tumbled into the towels. Karin inhaled deeply as she fell in love with the little creature. She placed the towel at the side of the sink and wiped her hands dry. She reached into the basket and lifted the towel off the kitten. The kitten looked up at her with its big sparkly eyes and mewed at her. It got onto its hind legs and fell right into the palm of her hand.

"You're so small sweetheart! You're like the size of my hand!" Karin exclaimed as she raised the kitten up to her face and nuzzled her nose against the kitten's tiny, tiny pink nose.

Once again the kitten raised its paws and smacked them on the tip of Karin's nose.

"A kitten?" Isane stared at Karin in disbelief.

"Are you serious?" Isane asked again. Karin nodded. Isane bent down and lifted the lid of the basket but before she could peek in, a tiny paw shot out and punched her cheek lightly. Isane jumped back in shock as the paw retreated back into the basket. Finally, a little grey furry head peeked out the basket.

"Whoops!" Karin raised the basket and gently used her finger to pushed the little kitten back into the basket. It mewed in disappointment as Karin closed the lid. She returned her attention back to Isane who looked a little shocked.

"Where did you find it?" Isane asked, still looking very surprised.

"Not me. Hitsugaya taicho found this little troublemaker in his office. How it got there still baffles me but Hitsugaya taicho left this rascal in my care." Karin giggled.

"Well, I'll have to check with Unohana Taicho. We don't normally have medical attention for animals here. Wait here okay?"

"Yep, sure. Thanks Isane-san," Karin thanked as she took a seat and placed the basket on her lap.

The kitten rolled about in its towel, waiting for what seemed like forever in partial darkness. Only a few streaks of light seeped through the wooden threads of the basket. It mewed once more; hoping to see its mummy open the lid to take it out. As it rubbed its head against the soft material, it continued to mew. Where was its daddy? His white fur and protective teal eyes made it wanted to see him again so badly. The lid finally opened up and the kitten got onto its paws, hoping to see those teal eyes and white fur again. However the moment a man with short black hair, three scars and a funny looking colour on his face appeared over the basket, the kitten jumped backward and shook. That was not its daddy. Why did this man look so scary? Where was its daddy?

"It's scared of you idiot, look at the little guy shaking!" Another voice bellowed. The kitten looked to the other side where a violent red haired man that stood next to the black hair one. The kitten shook even more. Finally a pair of hands reached in and the kitten jumped at the contact. It turned to see the sweet face of its mother looking at it with concern. The kitten quickly buried itself against its mummy's soft chest and shook.

"It's scared of both of you." Karin laughed as she covered the kitten's entire body with her protective arms. Finally the shaking receded and the kitten calmed down. It popped its head out of her protective hold and looked at the two men standing. They looked tall and brutal. The kitten ducked its head.

"Excuse me," Unohana stepped out of her office. All three ranking shinigamis got onto their feet and bowed. Unohana bowed back and turned to Karin who happened to be cradling something small in her arms. Isane would not tell her as it was as she said, an adorable surprise.

"Kurosaki-san," Unohana walked to Karin. "Don't be afraid little one. She's not going to hurt you." Karin spoke softly.

The kitten slowly peeked its head out of its mother's protection and met the face of a very surprised lady that looked nothing like those scary beings earlier. The kitten stared at her before shying away back into the hands of its mother.

"He or she got frightened by them." Karin turned to Hisagi and Renji.

"We didn't do anything." Renji defended as Unohana took on an expression of awe.

"You guys just look scary." Karin laughed.

"Come, let's not frighten the little one even further." Unohana motioned Karin to step into her office.

"Hai," Karin placed the little kitten back into the basket. The kitten reluctantly let go of her fingers as she retracted her hand.

"It's okay." Karin whispered before closing the lid.

Hitsugaya stared at the mirror, looking at the lock of hair that hung over his face. The black ink dyed the tip of it. He had washed it several times but the ink was stubborn as ever. He scowled. What he really hated, and he had just discovered it, was that he was extremely fussy over his hair. For one, it was full on white and having streaks of black would stand out and it was all thanks to one small kitten. How could that small thing cause such damage? His haori was good as gone, his papers were all blotched with inky paw prints and his reports were half decorated smeared ink. Instead of giving Hisagi a hard time, Hitsugaya decided to redo the reports.

"Taicho," Matsumoto stared at him. "It's going to be there for awhile. Just ignore it."

"You didn't get ink on your hair." Hitsugaya snapped and returned to his desk. He was halfway through his report and Matsumoto dropped by to help, strangely.

"It was just a baby kitten. You don't need to get so mad." Matsumoto smiled.

"I'm not mad. I'm irritated. It's not you that has to redo three hours of work." Hitsugaya replied her coldly.

"But I'm helping you aren't I?" Matsumoto tilted her head.

"Yeah but I don't know why." Hitsugaya said bluntly as he picked up his brush. Matsumoto returned a sheepish smile and continued to finish up a set of reports. Hitsugaya reached for a new sheet of paper and scowled as he noticed a blotch of ink on it. He crushed it up and threw it over his shoulder.

"I can't wait to see the kitten," Matsumoto commented. Hitsugaya remained quiet as he tried to focus.

"It must have been so adorable!" Matsumoto laced her fingers together.

Hitsugaya rolled his eyes as his subordinate as she thought of the kitten. Sure it looked cute but he would not have gushed foolishly over it like how Karin or Matsumoto reacted. It was just stupid. All he knew was that the kitten was literally out of his hair and in the care of someone else. No way ever would he want to come near that thing again. He had enough to handle with all his squad duties and pushing his subordinate to get her own share of work done. He did not need extra stress of cleaning up after a baby kitten. Other people could do it, not him.

"It's a little girl." Unohana smiled as she placed the kitten back in Karin's care.

"Really?" Karin smiled brightly as she cradled the kitten.

"You're a little girl!" Karin smiled at the little fur ball. The kitten looked up at Karin and reached for her lock of her hair.

"She's beautiful." Unohana commented as she watched the kitten trying to reach for Karin's lock of hair.

"She is." Karin sighed.

"Make sure to keep her warm and feed her milk every few hours a day. The milk must be warm when fed. I'll get someone to prepare a can of milk powder formula and have it delivered to your doorstep tonight. For now, just hold onto this bottle of milk." Unohana passed her a bottle of warm milk. Karin placed the kitten back into the basket and closed the lid. She took the bottle and bowed.

"Thank you, Unohana Taicho."

"Where will you be heading now?" Unohana asked as she headed out of her office with Karin.

"I think I will pay a visit to Hitsugaya Taicho. I think he would like to know this little baby here is a girl. After all, he was the one who found her."

Hitsugaya ran his hand through his hair as he finished up the last sentence of his paper work. It was a frustrating day but he had managed to finish up what he had to redo. He placed his brush down and placed the reports aside to let the ink dry. He stretched his arms out and cracked his fingers. He sighed as he leaned back into his chair and closed his eyes.

For a while he stayed still, indulging in the accomplishment. Then he got up from his chair and headed to the coffee table. He looked over a sleeping Matsumoto on the couch.

"Oy," He poked her head with his finger. Matsumoto sleepily swatted his hand away.

"Get up," Hitsugaya said as he continued to jab her head.

"Another ten more minutes," Matsumoto groggily replied him.

Hitsugaya wiped his face with his hand, wondering why he could tolerate such behavior. In fact, he could be the only captain who could ever have such a subordinate. Then again, there was Kyouraku, except the roles switched around. Suddenly a knock came upon his office door. Hitsugaya returned to his seat and grabbed a fist full of crushed paper from the floor. He flung them over to the couch and watched Matsumoto get up in a fluster, waving her hands in front of her face frantically.

"Baka. It is just paper. Now straighten yourself up, I don't want you to set another bad example to your subordinates again." Hitsugaya snapped. Matsumoto sighed and adjusted her bosoms.

"Come in," Hitsugaya gave entry. The door slid open and in stepped Karin with a basket in hand. Matsumoto let out a sigh of relief and lay back down on the couch as Karin shut the door behind her.

"Oy, just because it's Karin doesn't mean you go back to sleep." Hitsugaya growled. Matsumoto simply mumbled before shutting her eyes. Karin giggled as she watched the two of them.

"It's only five pm and she's out like this." Hitsugaya grumbled. He returned his attention back to Karin and noticed the basket in her hands. He raised an eyebrow at her.

"Is there food inside?" Hitsugaya asked. It had seemed Hitsugaya had completely forgotten of his furry found.

"Nope. Something better!" Karin chirped. She placed the basket on the table and lifted the lid. Hitsugaya waited but nothing happened. He leaned closer but there was nothing in the basket.

"There's nothing." He stared at Karin with a blank expression. Karin opened the lid fully and looked in it.

"Oh no!" Karin freaked out as she spun round looking at the floor.

"What?" He asked. Suddenly, he felt something tugging his haori. He looked down and met a pair of grey round eyes on a small furry head. It mewed softly and its tail started to sweep the floor excitedly like it was happy to see him. It started to make attempts to climb up his haori and Hitsugaya was nowhere near prepared to reenact earlier part of the day.

"Is this what you're looking for?" Hitsugaya pointed behind his desk. Why did she bring it here? He thought.

Karin got round his desk and quickly picked the little kitten up. Hitsugaya instantly grabbed his reports and placed them in his drawer for safe keep.

"How did you get out of there little missy?" Karin scolded the kitten by nuzzling her nose against the side of the kitten's face.

"Missy?" Hitsugaya stared at Karin.

"Yes, it is a missy, mister. This little fellow is a baby girl." Karin smiled as she cradled the kitten.

"Congratulations." Hitsugaya sarcastically replied her. The kitten struggled in Karin's hold as it desperately pried itself free. It shuffled its hind legs and finally, slipped out of its mother's grasp. Successfully landing on the table, the kitten padded up to its daddy. It sat in front of him and steadied itself on its hind legs. With its back straight, butt planted on the desk, it raised its front paws and remained in that position. It just stared at Hitsugaya like it wanted him to do something. Karin held her breath and placed her hands to her lips while Hitsugaya stared at the kitten in disbelief. For a while, Hitsugaya and the kitten participated in a staring contest while Karin observed from the side. Neither blinked for a long time.

"Are you sure the fourth squad didn't overdose it with some kind of drug?" Hitsugaya finally said as he raised an eyebrow at it.

"Strangely it's not terrified of you like how it was with Hisagi-san and Abarai-san. You should have seen her shaking from head to tail. But here she is, right in front of you, doing…that." Karin rubbed her chin. It clearly was not shy at all considering it was making an adorable spectacle of itself in front of the Captain. But why was this little fellow so interested in Hitsugaya? He looked just as scary and unwelcoming but why was this little girl so comfortable with him?

Then it clicked.

"Ahhh…" Karin let out. Hitsugaya turned to her and noticed a sparkle in Karin's eyes.

"What?" He asked. She grinned, he did not like that grin.

"Don't you see?"

"See what?"

"I think she thinks you're her daddy!" Karin laughed.

Hitsugaya looked back at the kitten with its front paws back down on the table.

Hell no. He thought.

The kitten got onto its paws and moved nearer to the edge of the table. It attempted to cross over to him but uneasiness kept the baby at bay. It tilted back and forth, hoping to pounce across but it hesitated every time it tried.

"What's it trying to do?" Hitsugaya moved back a little.

"She's trying to get to you." Karin shook her head at Hitsugaya. Suddenly, the kitten tilted forward and tumbled into Hitsugaya's lap.

"Karin." Hitsugaya called for her as he kept his hands to the side as the kitten recovered from its short fall.

"Don't you think it is adorable?" Karin asked, making not move to take over.

"Not in the slightest." Hitsugaya watched the kitten walked up his lap and placed its front paws on his stomach. It mewed softly and the rubbed its head against his stomach. It started to purr loudly as it indulged in its daddy's protective presence.

"She loves you," Karin awed.

"Make it un-love me." Hitsugaya replied her coldly. Karin shot Hitsugaya a scowl.

"Why are you so cold hearted towards it? What has it ever done to you?" Karin crossed her arms across her chest as the kitten was already in a vertical position, stretching its neck to make contact with Hitsugaya's neck. However, being it so small, the distance was fairly significant.

"You didn't have to clean up your office, tolerate ink on white hair which you don't have and redo three hours of work. How's that for you?" Hitsugaya lifted his hands but reluctantly tried to push the kitten away.

"You're so unloving towards such innocent creatures." Karin finally took the kitten off him and cradled it in her arms.

"One day you'll grow to love this sweetheart. I'll make sure of that." Karin kissed the kitten on the head and let it lick her chin a few times.

"That's the day I actually cry over a sappy romantic movie." Hitsugaya rolled his eyes. Karin scowled at him. She stretched her arms out, raising the kitten in front of Hitsugaya, over his desk.

"Look at it!" Karin said. The kitten started to make a funny cough.

"What's wrong with it?" Hitsugaya gave it a weird look.

Suddenly without warning, the kitten opened its mouth and a large amount of white liquid shot out from its mouth onto Hitsugaya's desk and his uniform.

"KARIN!"

There you have it! :} Review please, so I know what you guys think of it. Private Message is also cool haha

Have a great day ahead!