Hey everybody! I hope you all had a great Valentine's Day and a Happy Easter! :) I'm sorry about not updating this sooner, but school has been horrendous the past couple of months. I hope you guys will forgive me. Thank you for the continued support of this story. It means so much to me :) I don't own Bleach. Anyway, here's the next chapter; I hope you enjoy it!

Chapter 6- And So It Begins

Toshiro awoke on Sunday morning from the light coming in through the window. He blinked his eyes a few times to help them focus on his surroundings, and soon realized he was in his bed, the same place he went to sleep. He sat up, stretching his arms above his head, the bones popping. Sighing in relief, he got up to stretch his legs as well. As soon as his feet hit the floor, however, a knock was heard from the door.

'Who could that be at this hour?' Toshiro thought. He shrugged and walked to the door. He pulled it open a few inches and discovered that it was his vice-captain.

"Rangiku, since when are you up before eight?" he asked her with curiosity, though sleepiness dulled it a little bit.

"Well, normally I would be asleep, Captain," Rangiku said seriously. "But Rukia knocked on my door about twenty minutes ago and said that Isshin wanted the Gotei 13 to meet in the great hall as soon as possible."

"Did he say why?" Toshiro asked, a confused expression on his face. He analyzed his vice-captain's face carefully to see if what see said was really true. After a moment, he realized that what she said was indeed the truth.

"I wasn't lying, Captain," she said. "I was shocked too. Usually King Isshin does announce when he wants a meeting. But Rukia said he wants to meet with us one last time before we all leave on the mission tomorrow, so just be in the great hall as soon as you can, alright?"

"Tell him I'll be there in about ten minutes," he said in an even tone. Rangiku nodded, turned on her heel, and began walking away. Toshiro closed the door and walked to the bathroom to get ready. He took a quick shower, threw on his uniform and haori, brushed his teeth, put on his sandals, slung his sword across his back, and walked out of his door. While he was walking down the hall, he ran his fingers through his wet hair to try to fix it.

Toshiro walked through the open doors of the great hall about two minutes later to find almost all of the members of the Gotei 13 were already present and in their seats. He made his way to his squad's position along the right wall and sat down, his subordinates bowing and greeting him. Rangiku, who was sitting beside him, turned her head in his direction.

"I'm impressed. You got here in exactly ten minutes," she said with a smirk. Toshiro glanced at the clock, and saw that ten minutes had gone by.

"So it would seem," he said in an unimpressed tone. "Has Isshin began the meeting yet?"

"No, not yet, but it looks like he's about to say something, though." Rangiku had looked to the platform where the thrones were, where Isshin was standing in front of his. Ichigo and Yuzu were still sitting, and had their eyes on their father.

"Thank you all for gathering here on such short notice," Isshin said in a calm voice. "I would have already begun the meeting, but no one seems to know where Karin is, and it is imperative that she's here. . ."

Everyone in the room looked at each other, as if asking one another if they had seen her. It seemed like no one had. Suddenly, loud clomping on the marble-tiled floors was heard, and everyone looked through the doors to see if they could see the source of the noise. At first, all they saw was an empty hallway, but then a horse and rider came into view. No one could see who it was from that distance, but it was closing quickly. Once they got close enough, everyone gasped, for they saw Karin on the back of her buckskin stallion. But she wasn't riding the normal way. Instead of sitting on the horse's back in a saddle, Karin was crouched sideways, her feet resting on the bare, saddle less back, using her hands in the mane as the only source of support.

Many of the Gotei 13 members looked at her in shock. She smirked at the looks on some of their faces, then turned her eyes back in front of her. She saw that the large platform that held the thrones was coming up in a few seconds.

'Hmm. There are five steps leading up there. Can Mikon make that jump?' Karin thought. She looked down, then back up once more. 'Yeah, he can.' She pulled hard twice on his dark mane, and he shook his head as if he understood. He ran three more long strides before using his strong back legs to jump the stairs. Once he made the jump, Karin used the hands in his hair to steady herself and to steer him beside her throne. She let go of his mane, hopped down, and sat in the correct seat.

"Good morning, Karin," Ichigo greeted her. "Why were you late? We were waiting on you, you know." Isshin turned and gave her the same questioning look that his son had.

"Yes, I believe I'd like to know that as well," he said. As soon as he spoke, a servant entered through the doors.

"I believe I can answer that, my king," the girl said. Everyone turned their eyes on her upon hearing her voice.

"Very well. Do tell me what happened, please," Isshin spoke in a calm tone.

"Well, earlier this morning, Princess Karin came to the stables for her morning ride on her stallion, Mikon. She immediately got him ready and went for a ride. She came back about an hour later, and took the saddle and bridle off of the horse. I found her a second later to tell her that she was needed in here for a meeting, and had she returned earlier, she wouldn't be late. So instead of running here herself, she jumped back on her horse and rode in here, even though she knows that horses aren't allowed in the palace." The girl finished her story and hung her head down. At hearing the story, some of the guard laughed at Karin's spontaneity.

"Is that what happened, Karin?" Isshin asked his daughter. Karin smiled a little and nodded. Isshin smiled in return and shook his head. "What am I going to do with you?" he said, his voice full of laughter. Karin only grinned and shrugged her shoulders.

Isshin turned back toward the servant. "Thank you for telling me the truth. I appreciate it. And as for Mikon, he can stay just this once. You can leave now." The girl nodded and walked away. Karin reached out her right hand and stroked her stallion's neck, smiling at him. The horse turned his head and rubbed the upper part of his nose against her cheek. Karin smiled widely, grabbed both of Mikon's jaws, and rubbed her face against his in return. He whinnied quietly and stood straight beside her again.

The tenth squad captain, who had been watching like all the rest, was stunned momentarily, his normally passive and icy facial expression gone. Instead, a look of slight happiness and wonder settled on his face.

'Wow,' Toshiro thought. 'That ride was impressive. Not many in the palace have enough skill at riding to do that, much less in Seireitei.' He looked up to her face once again. 'And what's more, Karin hardly ever smiles like that. It's breathtaking.' After a few seconds, Toshiro jolted slightly, as if he finally realized what he said. 'Did I really think that? Where did that even come from?' He realized that he must be letting his thoughts show on his face, so he steeled it back to his normal, icy expression once more. Unfortunately for him, however, three captains and two vice-captains saw the icy mask slip from the young captain. They looked to one another and smiled.

"Alright, now that everyone is here, shall we begin?" Isshin asked, and everyone gave the affirmative.

Sometime later, after the meeting was over, Karin found herself riding her horse once again. She wasn't really aiming to go anywhere, she was just enjoying the alone time.

'It's so hard to believe that we'll all be leaving tomorrow,' Karin thought. 'Yuzu and I have never really traveled that far away from Karakura before. Everything will be fine though, I'm sure of it.' Under her, she felt Mikon slow down to where he was just barely walking. She didn't really pay much attention to it, since she was lost in her thoughts, until she felt him stop altogether. Karin rasied an eyebrow and looked in front of her to why her horse had stopped so suddenly, and without her direction.

Karin realized where she was immediately, because she had been there many times. She saw that he had taken her to the cemetery, but she heard a shuffling of feet next to her and knew she was not alone. She looked to her left, and was genuinely surprised to see Toshiro standing in front of a grave, his face more solemn than usual. Karin swung her right leg back, using the left stirrup of the saddle to hold her weight for a moment, before getting of her horse. Toshiro heard the sounds of the leather, so he looked up at Karin. His facial expression reverted back to normal, but she could see that his eyes were still full of pain.

"Karin," Toshiro said, acknowledging her presence. "I didn't realize that anyone else would be coming here now. I'll leave so you can be here alone." He turned toward the exit, but before he could make a step, Karin's hand grabbed his arm. He turned his head to give her a questioning look, and she gave him a "stay-here-or-else" look. He nodded, and she turned around. She reached into the saddle bag to retrieve her notepad and pencil, and turned back to him.

'It's alright, Toshiro,' Karin wrote. 'You don't have to leave on my account. Since we're both here for the same reason, why not do it together instead of alone?' She flipped the pad and showed him what she said. He read it silently, and thought about it for a moment.

"I suppose you're right," he said. He sat back down where Karin had seen him standing before. Karin took about four steps and sat down herself. For a while, they both remained silent. She was thinking about writing something down to try to talk to him, but he surprised her when she heard him speak.

"Am I right in assuming you came to visit your mother one last time before you leave?" She nodded in answer to his question, before she began to write once again.

'Who did you come to visit?' Toshiro read. Instead of replying with words, he nodded his head to the headstone in front of him. Karin followed his movement with her eyes, and glanced over the name written in the stone.

Momo Hinamori.

"She was my sister. Not by birth, but she was in every other sense of the word." Toshiro said in an even, but pained, tone. Karin, who was surprised that the normally detached captain was opening up to her a little, reached out and put her hand on top of his. He looked at her with slightly-widened eyes, but she held his gaze confidently.

'It's okay, Toshiro. I can see that it still causes you pain to talk about it. You don't have to tell me until you're ready,' Karin thought. She tried to convey that message through her eyes, hoping that he would understand without her having to write it down. Toshiro did see something flash across her eyes and somehow understood what she was thinking, for he nodded and closed his eyes.

"Thank you," Toshiro said. Karin nodded in reply, and the corners of her mouth turned upwards in a small smile. She squeezed his hand in reassurance, and he surprised her by returning the gesture.

Toshiro and Karin lost track of how long they stayed in the cemetery together, holding on to one another's hand for comfort and stability. Eventually, the sun started to sink lower and lower in the sky, alerting them of the lateness of the hour. They both stood up and took a step to walk in different directions, but stopped when they felt a tug. Both of them looked down and saw that their hands were still entwined, and immediately released the other's hand. Karin looked up to meet Toshiro's gaze, but as soon as their eyes met they turned away with heavy blushes on their cheeks. Karin bent down and picked up her notepad and began to write.

'Thank you, Toshiro,' she wrote. She showed it to him, and once he read it, he had a confused look on his face.

"For what?" he asked. "I didn't do anything but sit beside you." Karin smiled at him and wrote her simply reply:

'You did, but it meant so much more than that.' He read that statement, and couldn't help the small smile that made its way onto his face, along with a slight blush that dusted the tops of his cheeks. He nodded in agreement. She was about to reply, but suddenly they heard another voice from the palace.

"Karin, are you out here?" Yuzu's voice rang out. "Daddy's been looking for you."

Toshiro and Karin looked at one another again. She wrote down something quick before showing it to him.

'Well, looks like I've got to go. I guess I'll see you tomorrow, bright and early!' Toshiro read it, and nodded. Karin walked back to where Mikon was standing, put the notepad and pencil in the saddlebag, and got back on her horse. She used the reigns to turn him around in the direction of the palace and urged the stallion to run back the way he had come. Before she was completely out of sight, however, Karin turned and waved at Toshiro. He raised his hand and returned it, and he could've sworn he saw her smile before she turned around and was out of sight.

However, what Karin couldn't see was that Toshiro was unconsciously smiling back.

The next morning, Rangiku, Toshiro, Rukia, Renji, Ikkaku, Yumichika, Shuhei, and Ichigo were all getting on their horses in front of the palace, waiting on Yuzu and Karin to come and join them before they began their journey. Many of the other Gotei 13 members from various squads came to see them off, along with Isshin, who stood beside Jushiro and Shunsui.

"Hey Dad, where are Karin and Yuzu?" Ichigo asked his father. Isshin looked up to his son.

"They were on their way down from their rooms the last I heard from them, son," Isshin admitted honestly. Rukia turned to Ichigo in concern.

"Should we go look for them?" she asked. Ichigo and Isshin nodded, and Rukia was about to get off of her horse when Yuzu came up beside her father.

"There's no need for that," she said with a smile. The group was relieved to see her, but Isshin's look quickly went from one of relief to confusion.

"Why isn't Karin with you?" he asked her. Yuzu smiled.

"She forgot her knife and holster in her room. She went back to get it. She also wanted me to make sure that Mikon was out here as well, and I see that he is," Yuzu replied. She went over to Mikon to put Karin's notepad and pencils in the saddlebag, and ran her hand over his jaw. He turned back and rubbed his nose against her hand in return. She smiled at him before she turned away and walked over to her horse, Taira, a palomino mare. She grabbed the saddle and put her left foot in the stirrup before she pulled herself and sat down.

"Well, that solves that," Shunsui said. The others nodded. They only had to wait for a few seconds before they looked to the front doors to see Karin running toward them. She had her sword slung across her back, and her knife and holster could be seen under the edges of her shorts when she ran. She continued to run until she reached Mikon, and climbed on his back.

Karin then turned and nodded to Yuzu, Ichigo, and the members of the Gotei 13 that were accompanying her on the mission to signal she was ready to leave. They all nodded back in return. She turned Mikon toward the gate and pulled the reigns back hard, and Mikon reared back on his hind legs. While hanging on to her stallion using her legs and one hand on the reigns, Karin turned around slightly to look at Isshin and the others. She smirked and nodded at them before saluting with her other hand. Mikon touched back on the ground and Karin tugged on his mane, and he took off at a run. The others, seeing that Karin had taken off, began to guide their horses in the same direction and urged them to a run. They each waved and said their goodbyes before going out of sight.

"Well, I guess it's up to them now," Isshin said to the two captains beside him. The tone that their king used was confident and hopeful, but still held the slightest bit of worry.

"It is," Shunsui said. "But all of them are strong in their own ways. All in all, I'd say they make a pretty good team. I think it will go well."

"Shunsui is right," Jushiro said with a smile. "The plan will work perfectly, and the curse will finally be lifted." Isshin looked over to his friends, who were both smiling in reassurance, confidence, and hope. It seemed that their smiles were contagious, for Isshin smiled in return.

"Yes. If there's one thing I've learned over the years, it's that my children and friends never cease to amaze and surprise me."

Hey guys. I know you probably want to kill me for not updating this for a few months. I know I've already apologized already, but I can't help it. I feel awful for doing that. Stupid school! :( Anyway, thank you so much for the continued support for this story. I promise to post the next chapter when I have free time. As always, please read and review! It would be fantastic! Lol.