Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach

Hey. There's an important note at the bottom of this chapter so please read it after you finish reading the chapter. I don't really want to spoil anything so read it afterwards. Unless you like spoilers, of course. I know I do. :)

Enjoy!

Take me to heaven: I'm yours

Chapter 16: It's not too late to change anything

He watches as she breaks, cries and screams. Her eyes like glassy dark pools of water, her mouth cursing profanities.

He tells her gently, steadily, to get a life. She can't stay cooped up like this any longer.

Tears subside and anger bursts. She yells at him to shut up. But he won't, he still cares for her and hurts to see her in this way. Her raven black hair is twisted, knotted and grimy but he doesn't care. He takes her hand and runs his other one through her dirty hair, loosening the knots and brushing it out. She turns away from him and pulls her own hand away, uncomfortable with the intimacy he's making.

She swallows and takes a deep breath, hiccupping as she tries to steady herself. Careful, he cautions as she tries to stand. She glares at him and tells him that she's not disabled and can take perfectly good care of herself, thank you very much. He's not convinced. He takes her hand once more and helps her stand, catching her when she wobbles.

Believe it or not, they're living in a huge oak tree, far away from Karakura Town. They don't know where they are, only that they ran for 3 days as far as they could from her hometown. It was at Karin's insistence, of course. Funnily enough, she didn't want to see her family after all this time. Toshiro, along with Matsumoto, had humoured her.

She's changed, he noted. Being with Aizen and Grimmjow had hardened her; her smiles were no longer so innocent, so playful. Instead, they dripped with sorrow and a certain frost that never seemed to melt.

He tells her to be more cautious and she decides to scream at him, sick of his urging and care. She's grown up, she tells him. She's no longer the little kid he once knew.

Matsumoto sits, watching sadly from the corner, wondering when their argument would end. Then she realises that it might just be premarital bickering and beams, shielding herself away from all the more difficult choices because, try as she might, she just can't take anymore misery.

It's a sad world they live in now, one devoid of any shinigami and action and bloody sword fights. It's boring and there not even any paperwork to keep him busy, to stop him from thinking those horrible thoughts.

So they come, in the form of the lovely Momo, shockingly spoilt and distorted, telling him what a heartless bastard he is. How he let her die so cruelly. Sometimes he even wakes up screaming from this deformed, evil version of his childhood friend.

This time, it's Karin who tells him to get a life and stop dwelling on the things from the past. The past is history, she tells him. Something you don't need to cling onto. You let go and then, only then, can you move on.

He tells her that she should start taking her own advice; maybe then the world might not seem so bleak. All right, she relents. If they both move on then life could only get better, right?

Right, he says.

And it's a promise.

…

He relaxes.

She groans.

And somehow, they complement each other.

"Sometimes, I don't know why I even bother." She grumbled as she cooked dinner. "I mean, it's not like Matsumoto's really that bad at cooking. At least she can make something edible."

He opened one eyes lazily and cocked an incredulous eyebrow up.

"All right, maybe she can't but that doesn't mean I have to cook. I have better things to do with my time."

"You bother because deep, deep down, you really do care for us, correct?"

She paled. How did he know!

"…"

"…"

She decides to try a trick; it works 99% of the time anyway.

"…Watermelon?"

Weak, he thought. But I'll give her points for trying.

He humours her.

"Of course."

Bingo!

…

"Neh, Toshiro?"

"Mmm?"

"I've been thinking-"

"Well that's a surprise." He couldn't help it; the chance was too good to pass up. She scowled at him.

"No really, I've been thinking that… you should go back to Soul Society."

He didn't reply and Karin sighed, knowing that he would act this way. She peeked a glance at him and her heart sunk. His eyes were rock solid, as if frozen in ice. His lips were so thin they could just disappear into the depths of his mouth.

"Look, I know it's a bit stupid and it's a bit out there but I've been thinking it through. I mean, you had a proper life there and you had an awesome job and you were… you were happy there."

"Do I not look happy to you?" He snapped back.

She chose to ignore that.

"I just don't think you should be doing all this for me, you know? I mean, it's your life; I want you to do something good with it. Being with me, helping me escape, you sacrificed your life. I don't want you to do that. I want you to be happy."

He sighed. "Karin, I made a choice when I took off with you and Momo. So did Matsumoto. That choice was mine to make, not yours, so I'll accept the consequences it brings. This is not something for you to worry about, alright? Because now that I've left, I sure as hell ain't going back."

Karin laughed, clapping her hands. Toshiro scowled.

"What?"

She beamed and leant forwards so they were face to face.

"I'm rubbing off on you. You never used to talk like that."

He reddened and turned away from her playful stare.

"Shut up."

She smiled and turned away from him, drinking in the sight of the hill they sat on. It was late, almost 11:30 pm and no stars lit the sky from where they were sitting. She leant back onto the huge oak tree that they called home and dug her fingers into the soil around it. Toshiro could only smile. She was so at home here, so connected to the nature around her.

He watched her, mesmerized and told himself that he was only watching her because she seemed happy. Here where the long grass had never been cut and the wind whispered melodies into her ears, she was content.

Matsumoto had gone to steal some more blankets and other useful things that they could use for daily living. They hadn't taken any of Momo's belongings from the cave and Toshiro was deeply relieved that he had remembered to put Momo's own invisibility kido spell around it, so that no other person besides himself would be able to see it.

That night, as the leaves blow into his face and the wind whispers into his tired ears, he lets go of his nightmares and dreams of Karin instead. Her pretty smile and captivating eyes.

…

I think I love her.

…

"Yay! Taicho, are you going to propose to her?"

"Prop-what?"

"Propose. That thing humans do when they get married, you know? The men hop down on one knee and say, 'Will you marry me?' It's so cute, neh taicho?"

His face turned a flaming red. He hadn't even said anything except that he liked it when she smiled! Over-reactive woman these days, honestly.

"We're not getting married!" He shouted at his lieutenant.

Matsumoto sighed, she had been joking. Over reactive white-haired captains these days, honestly.

"Who're you not getting married to?" Karin's voice rang loud and clear through the night. He looked up at her in surprise. He thought she had been sleeping. Her face held a hint of amusement, a hint of cheekiness, completed with a tinge of red on her cheeks. Her eyes glinted and her smile widened.

"Nobody." He muttered. "Go back to sleep, Karin."

She pouted.

…

His heart was pounding. He could feel the adrenaline coursing through his veins. A sword fight to death? That's easy. A world war? That's nothing. An angry Karin? Uh oh, now he's scared.

His hands were shaking as he fished around his pockets for that box Matsumoto had given him a few days ago. It's necessary, she had told him. You're an idiot if you don't have one.

He approached Karin as she sat beside the tree, plucking the grass and digging through the soil. She seems extra bright today, he thought. Or maybe that was just his nervousness speaking.

She smiled as he got nearer to her and showed him something cupped in her palm.

"Look," She said. "Isn't it pretty?"

(It's stunning, Karin. Just like you.)

It was a small flower, with white petals in shades of red. She lifted it to his face.

"Smell it, it smells nice."

He drew in a deep breath from his nose but smelt nothing except her aroma. She gave another huge grin and stood up.

"No, don't leave." He burst out.

"Um," She frowned. "I need to go to the toilet, Tosh. Either I leave or you leave because I don't want to pee right here in front of you."

He paled. As much as he liked her, he didn't want to see her pee. But it was now or never. He gulped, tilting his head back and gazing at the sky above him. The peacefulness of the pale blue hue calmed him and he finally drifted his beautiful teal eyes slowly down to meet her stunning midnight ones.

"What is it, Tosh? Hurry up."

He smiled, taking her hand in his.

"Will you marry me?"

OK. So people were getting confused and they don't seem to be seeing a storyline to this story.

Firstly, you're probably right. There is a storyline, but really faint. So I don't blame you for complaining. I wrote down the storyline in one big chuck, without much detail and planning cause I hate doing that. Bad habit. Anyway, basically I thought the storyline was something along the lines of:

Part II - Karin and Momo are in the cave. They set out to find Toshiro and Matsumoto. Along the way back, Momo is executed. The rest of the part is just Karin getting over Momo's death and there are some twists along the way. :)

I hope that's a good enough storyline. If you believe it's crappy. Just say 'it's crappy'. I will not be offended in any way, shape or form. And yeah, I kinda really want some opinions. So if you can tell me then that's great.

But please, revieeew! :D

Oh yeah, and sorry for the cliff hanger. :)