Hey everyone! Here is chapter 6 of Genie of the Teapot! I know that it has been awhile and I am sure you aren't even surprised anymore. In this chapter the romance slowly (and realistically) starts to blossom! We also have a special guest! Enjoy!

Lots of Love

SugarFox

Chapter 6 – I Acquire a Jewel Encrusted Sugar Pot

"Get your figs here! Dried figs for sale!"

Toushirou swerved to the left to avoid being trampled in the busy market place. It was more than likely with the traffic of camels and merchants bombarding them left, right and centre. The aromatic smells of cloves and cinnamon permeated the air whilst shoppers jostled about cheerily. Toushirou was aware that being caught in the middle of the whole hubbub was not a good idea, but Karin had insisted that they absolutely had to visit. This city was far enough away from the capital and the palace so he was no longer as easily recognised as before. It was also famous for its huge daily market that stocked everything from previously mentioned dried figs to lucky rocks. Right now he felt as though he might just need a lucky rock to get out of here alive.

Karin was having the time of her life as she literally bounded from one stall to the next. Her complete and utter fascination with little things like roasted chestnuts and woven carpets was enough to amuse him. It was because of this that he humoured her. He supposed that a couple of hundred years in a jewel encrusted teapot made one appreciate the simple things a little bit more. He was glad she was enjoying herself and he was beginning to find this whole escapade rather fun after the last few disastrous days. Not so much the actual sight-seeing, but just watching her having a blast was strangely comforting. Almost as if there was just a tiny grain of hope left in the world. Toushirou was glad that they had managed to sort out their issues before they had left camp this morning. Otherwise this little trip would have been very awkward for the both of them. Especially with her trying to kill him yesterday and whatnot. Alright, so it hadn't been her intention to let him nearly dehydrate to death, but it had happened regardless and he felt the need to sort out the problem.

Toushirou had slept like a rock last night after she had healed him and woken up this morning feeling the best he had in ages. Something that was oddly soothing after the last few chaotic days they had had. Sure, running for his life from various dangers was super fun (not really), but he was glad for the break. He had quite enough of fan girls, Espada gangs, the desert, being flung off balconies, being a dog, photosynthesizing etc. Enough was enough. So when he rubbed the sleep from his eyes he found that Karin was in a sombre mood. She was packing up camp around him whilst muttering indiscernible things to herself. Toushirou wondered how best to broach the subject of the previous day. The plant incident had left him as pissed off as a rattle snake that had been shaken up in a rice sack. Karin was probably wondering if it was safe to mention the topic and let the snake out.

However, she had apologised to him and used her powers as a great genie to heal him. Without blowing him up which was always an added bonus. For which he was truly grateful. There was nothing more relaxing than knowing all your limbs where exactly where they should be. If she hadn't healed him the night before he would probably feel much less charitable but now he just wanted to move past the whole ordeal. His anger had significantly receded now so she was slightly off the hook. However, only a little bit off the hook. Toushirou also had to consider the fact that she did get him away from the Espada gang before things turned ugly. Even if she did throw him off a balcony and turn him into numerous things. So he did have to consider thanking her at the same time. Not to mention the fact that he did need her on his little trip. He had her to thank for a lot of close shaves, and her magic meant that they didn't have carry an excessive amount of luggage either. She was quick thinking and her powers were an asset despite her many mishaps. He also couldn't deny that the trip would be horrifically boring if he had been doing it on his own. It was nice to have someone to watch your back, even if they ended up turning said back into a plant. He was not going to enjoy his travels at all if things continued to be so tense and hostile between the two of them all the time. The least they could do was sort out their issues and be friends. He also felt as if his journey would be very boring and lonely without her. Honestly, personality wise Toushirou was about as fun as an annual flu shot. Karin was the one who was making this whole escapade an adventure! When he got home he was going to have so many anecdotes to share with Matsumoto and his father! He could hardly cut it short.

So instead of awkwardly adverting his eyes from Karin as she tried to pretend that he wasn't there, he decided to confront her.

"So here is the deal," He said and her head snapped up to look at him in surprise. "I am still hacked off that you turned me into a pot plant, but I can get over it." He told her firmly and she nodded as relief slightly relaxed her pretty features. Obviously she thought he was going to break the contract and send her back to her stupid cave of gold pears or something. Now that he thought about it, a cave of gold pears sounds like a rather nice sightseeing place... Hm. Anyway, point was, if she was anyone else he would seriously consider it. However she was growing on him, and she kept him on his toes. You never knew what would happen next with her around and just maybe he was enjoying her company a little bit.

"But no more turning me into anything anymore, got it?" He frowned at her and she nodded eagerly at his ultimatum. Her tense frown broke out into a wide grin and she nodded eagerly. She must have thought he was angrier than he was. He could swear she thought she was completely done for. You would think that he was going to banish her to her teapot and fling it into the ocean, never to be found again! That was rather a good idea, Toushirou mused but a little hard to implement with the obvious lack of an ocean in the desert. However he would make sure to store that little plot away in file 13 for if they ever made it to the coast.

"Got it," She agreed easily and then before he knew what was happening she lunged at him. Her grip was around him like python as she hugged his stiff form. It was nice, he had to admit and strangely comforting. However he tried his hardest to suppress the heat rushing to his face when he realised that Karin's outfit really did show a lot of skin. He hadn't really thought about it before, but now that she had practically thrown herself into his arms it was a tad harder to ignore. "I swear that if I mess up you can send me back to the cave of gold pears!" She had exclaimed excitedly as she released him and offered her pinky finger up for a promise. What were they? Five years old? He shook his head at her childish nature but linked his own with hers and they shook on their promise.

As a truce trip celebration Karin insisted that they visit the market in this city and just enjoy the morning before it got too hot. Toushirou had been to a great many market places in his lifetime so he wasn't too overwhelmed by the general vibe. However Karin had been like a kid who had been given free reign over a candy store. She hadn't wanted to buy anything because they were travelling and would not be able to carry much on their horses, but she was determined to look in every single nook and cranny. Toushirou knew that by the end of the day there wouldn't be so much as a single pistachio nut that they didn't know about. He shook his head at her unlimited energy as she darted around and showed no signs of slowing down.

Suddenly Toushirou realised that in his musing he had lost Karin in the crowd of very exuberant shoppers. He tried not to curse as he was rudely shoved aside yet again by a man moving his wares. He stood on the ends of his toes as he tried to look over the crowd to find her. He hated that he was so short! Sure, he wasn't exactly a midget, but a few more inches would not go amiss! The last thing he needed around bout now is for Karin to pop up again and made comments about vegetables and his height! He was cursing his lack of height and Karin's tenancy to wander off like an unpegged camel when he was nearly trampled over.

He was on the verge of losing his temper when he suddenly felt a cool hand around his wrist. The hand was slight with a bronze bracelet around the wrist. He looked up to see Karin's grinning face not far from his own. He froze for a second as he breathed in a smell of honey and jasmine that drifted from the petite genie. She linked her fingers with his own and he managed to snap out of it but his teal orbs locked on their entwined hands. No one had held his hand in years, not since his mother passed away. Karin's hand in his was somehow reassuring. As if he wasn't alone anymore.

"Don't get lost," She teased him with a warm smile before tugging him to the next stall. As he followed her, Toushirou took in her figure with curious eyes. She really was something else. An enigma and he was having a difficult time working her out. She still wore her genie clothes of billowing pants and a cropped vest that exposed her smooth midriff. She managed to pull the fashion statement off with ease. Her skin remained only lightly tanned despite the harsh desert sun and her dark hair managed to look perfectly ruffled without her really trying. Toushirou didn't have time to comprehend why his thoughts were suddenly taking a different route. Karin had said something and he had missed it. She shook her head at his distracted state and repeated herself.

"I want to go look at that crockery merchant's stall," She told him as she pointed it out for him a little way down the square. Toushirou merely nodded in agreement and allowed her to lead him in that direction. It appeared that Karin was still definitely a woman, and therefore had a weakness for shopping, window or otherwise.

The merchant of the stall was a tiny pudgy man who sat on a Persian cushion smoking a reed thin pipe. Toushirou though that the merchant's customer service skills could use some work. Instead of offering any assistance he merely squinted at everyone as if he suspected them of stall lifting. His greying beard and turban gave him a sort of authoritive look. Karin perused his wares with a casual demeanour with her fingers anchored firmly in Toushirou's. They both seemed to have forgotten that they were holding hands. Every now and then Karin would see a piece she thought was rather beautiful and she would nudge his shoulder with her own to gain his attention. The touch was light and intimate almost like a lovers caress. A thought that Toushirou decided was completely ridiculous since he and Karin were just barely passing friendship right now. Ignoring the jumble of odd thoughts he decided to return to the present. Another slight bump from her and Toushirou nodded in approval at a beautiful hand painted tea set with a cherry blossom pattern. The pandemonium of their shopping had fallen into a more relaxed and calming atmosphere when suddenly the pressure on his hand tightened. Toushirou's eyes flicked to Karin's face to see what had worried her. Her expression seemed to be one of disbelief and Toushirou's gaze fell onto what had startled her.

It was a sugarpot. However, not just any sugarpot, but a jewel encrusted sugarpot of gold. Karin seemed to hold an unusual amount of interest in the small item. It looked as though it could have been part of the set that Karin's own teapot had come from. He decided that that was a silly thought. Karin said that she hailed from England which means that the rest of the tea set should be halfway across the world. She probably just liked the look of it. Maybe she had magpie tenancies and liked shiny stuff. It would explain how she could live in a gaudy gold teapot without a care in the world. Heaven only knew what she kept in that bloody teapot of hers. It wasn't as if she had invited him to tea inside or anything.

"Toushirou," Karin gave him a forced smile for the benefit of the merchant who was hovering nearby. "Buy the sugarpot." She told him and he blinked twice. Why would he need to buy a sugarpot on his travels? Besides it was slightly tacky and sort of dented. In his opinion it was really not worth buying.

"Karin-" He began to protest when she placed almost painful pressure on his hand. Toushirou felt a few of his metacarpals click like scorpion pincers. Damn this woman didn't know her own strength sometimes!

"Honey..." She cooed in a sickly sweet voice as her eyes flashed in a menacing manner, "Buy me the sugarpot." She demanded like a spoilt princess. Toushirou yanked his hand out of hers and rubbed his aching appendages. With a frown as he took in how serious she was. He eyes reflected an almost anxious desperation.

"Anything for you, dear." His tone was almost patronising, but he turned to the merchant and made an offer on the sugarpot. After a couple of minutes of bargaining and some daylight robbery the man took his money and handed over the purchase. Karin grabbed it quickly and hugged it to her chest before grabbing his wrist again and making their way out of the city with haste. He felt as though he was being dragged behind a camel as she tore across town to the gates. Toushirou wanted to ask what that was about, but Karin was thinking very hard about something and didn't seem to want to respond. It didn't take that long to leave the city limits and make their way to their concealed camp in the desert. Karin waved her hand and the small gazebo she conjured to shield them from the sun appeared with two bored looking horses.

Toushirou took a deep breath to ask what on earth was going on and why he had to part with a ridiculous amount of cash, when Karin finally lost it.

"Alright! Come out you jerk!" She demanded as she whipped around and flung the sugarpot into the sand in a very violent manner. It bounced once before it ended up partially emerged under the warm grains. Toushirou was shocked, but she paid him no mind as she glared at the sugarpot. It glinted in the sun in an almost mocking manner. She pointed at it in an accusation and shook her finger in an obvious scolding way.

"I know you are in there! Don't you think for a second that I didn't recognise that shitty piece of real estate!" She growled even more viciously, but nothing happened. She began to pace and Toushirou was beginning to wonder if Karin was hallucinating from sunstroke or dehydration.

"Karin..." He began but trailed off when she raised her hand at him in an obvious 'not now' gesture. Her face was set in a firm glare and she squinted almost as if she was having a staring match with the little sugarpot.

"That's it!" She seemed to reach her breaking point, "Either you come out or I come in!" However, she didn't wait for a response before her body began to turn into wisps of smoke from the feet upwards. He body faded away and before Toushirou knew it, she had disappeared into the sugarpot and left him standing under the gazebo alone. Toushirou always knew that she was a few nuts short of a pecan pie. It was only a matter of time really. If he thought that this was the last of the strange things that would happen to him today be was seriously mistaken.

From Karin's reaction he knew that this was no normal sugarpot, but even he was not prepared for the ear piercing alarm that the piece of the crockery emitted. It was louder and more ear piercing than the alarm on the palace causing Toushirou to drop to the ground with his hands over his ears. Then as aggressively as she had dived into the little sugarpot, Karin was blasted out of it again. She materialised from smokes and spun gracefully through the air. She landed on her feet no far from where the sugarpot was still shrieking looking particularly smug with herself. Toushirou was going to demand that she make the blasted racket stop when the pot began to make a large number of popping and whizzing sounds. Smoke burbled from the spout and figure began to form. A few seconds later an orange haired and exceptionally well built genie appeared and he looked murderous. At least he did until he caught sight of Karin. Then he grinned and floated over to her and petted her head affectionately.

"Karin! It's been awhile!"

He was really tall with an absolutely humongous sword strapped on his back. The curved blade was not unlike the one that Karin kept at her hip. Karin grinned at the other genie before she bounded into his arms and gave him a huge hug. Toushirou felt an emotion that felt a lot like jealously swell in his chest as he got up off the ground and scowled at the newcomer. He didn't like this stupid genie, he looked like a punk gangster and had his hands all over his

"Ichi-nii!" Karin greeted cheerfully and cut Toushirou's thought short. The frown dropped very quickly, only to be replaced with a slight feeling of dread. This man had at least a head and half on him and probably wouldn't take too kindly to his sister travelling with some random man. Now Toushirou was no coward and he was quite a whizz with a sword, but this was a genie with magic powers at his disposal! What chance did he have if this 'Ichi-nii' suddenly decided to crush him with a conveniently placed anvil? Or turn him into that desert rat that Karin had threatened him with on their first meeting? Or even a pot plant left to dehydrate amongst the dunes! (Actually that last idea sounded the best since there wouldn't even be a body to find! He would probably get eaten by a desperate camel. He didn't want to be camel food!) He was screwed. Although before he could presume any further about his future demise Karin had released her brother and led him over to where Toushirou stood.

"Ichi-nii," She grinned and gestured towards Toushirou. "This is my good friend, Toushirou." She introduced with an exaggerated hand wave. "Toushirou this is my older brother, Ichigo Kurosaki." She stood there beaming at the pair of them and Toushirou wondered if this was some sort of test.

So he extended his hand in greeting and Ichigo shook it with a grin almost as wide as Karin's usually were. "Nice to meet ya," he said, and Toushirou tried not to flinch as his fingers suffered yet another round of abuse today. Clearly their iron grip was genetic.

"Likewise." Toushirou nodded, although his thoughts screamed that it was anything but. His thoughts couldn't help conjuring up an untimely demise as camel feed!

Karin appeared to be oblivious to the little exchange between her brother and Toushirou. Something that he was thankful for until he had a chance to sort through his scrambled head. Instead Karin busted through their things and began making a pot of strong coffee on the fire. The three of them made themselves comfortable under the gazebo whilst the siblings exchanged little anecdotes about what had been happening over the last 200 hundred years or so. Soon Karin shoved a cup of the bitter black liquid into their hands that the conversation started to head steadily south.

"It's so cool that Karin managed to get out of that blasted pear cave and make a new genie friend." Ichigo commented and Karin suddenly looked like a mouse thrown in a pit of vipers.

"Well Ichi-nii..." She trailed off awkwardly and Ichigo abruptly leaned forward waiting for what Toushirou believed would be an interesting explanation. "The thing is..." She tried again with minimal success so Toushirou decided to help her out. If he was going to be camel feed, then he had best get it over with rather quickly.

"I am not a genie." He told the older man straight and Ichigo's eyes widened in surprise at the answer. There was a tense stretch of silence in which Karin sprung to her feet and cleared their half full cups as her brother processed the whole situation. Somehow Toushirou knew that this whole debacle was going to go down like a lead balloon. Realisation dawned and Ichigo's face hardened into harsh lines. He rubbed his jaw wearily before taking a deep breath.

"Karin, tell me that you didn't." His voice held just the slightest hint of hope that she would not confirm what his mind had managed to piece out of the whole puzzle.

"I didn't." Karin replied almost monotonously and it appeared that Ichigo knew a lie when he heard it.

"Damn it, Karin!" He finally snapped and jumped to his feet to point an accusing finger at his sister. "You made a contract with a human?!" Ichigo appeared have quite the temper, so Toushirou stood as well and moved a few feet away from the raging genie. If Karin was trying to avoid a confrontation before, she had quickly changed tactics because suddenly she was stomping over towards Ichigo.

"Not that it is any of your business, Ichi-nii," Karin hissed with barely concealed venom. "But yes, I did!" She raised her chin in defiance and crossed her arms of her chest for good measure. It appeared as though the hot temper was another genetic feature, Toushirou mused.

"How could you be so stupid!" Ichigo ranted, and Toushirou noticed that Ichigo began radiating a white glow around his figure. "That is punishable by exile you know!" Ichigo informed them with an angry shout and Toushirou felt horrid all of a sudden. Sure it wasn't his idea to do this whole contract thing, but he was half of the problem here.

"What?!" Karin yelped, as this was news to her and Toushirou noticed she was encased in a similar glow of white. "I thought it was just a fine or something?!" She waved her hands around and began pacing at a furious rate.

"Yeah, well that changed!"Ichigo shouted and the gazebo that gave them shelter began to flap around madly. Toushirou felt a warm blast of power emanating from the two genies and it was starting to blow apart loose items in the tent. He realise that their magic must be going a little bit haywire with all the swirling emotions. Their two auras were clashing and causing the mother of all sand storms around them like a giant sand tornado and the three of them were in the eye.

"Well I didn't know that!" Karin hollered back at him and Toushirou was beginning to wonder if he would be able to escape this whole crisis. Nick and Stollen appeared to exchange nervous glances and huddle closer together.

"Well that's what happens when you disappear for 200 years!" Ichigo threw back, "and you are bound to this stupid human!" He added with a rude point in Toushirou's direction. The stupid human in question had managed to hang for dear life to one of the gazebo legs and was trying quite hard not to get blown away. His feet were clean off the ground and he was flapping around like a cheerful cactus day flag.

"Guys!" He yelled at the two in panic, but they were otherwise preoccupied.

"Don't you insult Toushirou!" Karin leapt to his defence and managed to conjure a slipper and pitch it at her brother's head. The strike was true and hit Ichigo between the eyes. When it knocked him clean off his feel and left a crisscross print across his brow. "He might be a stupid human, but he is a loyal stupid human and he treats me like a person!" Karin growled at her brother who was rubbing his injury with a scowl.

"You shouldn't be fraternizing with a stupid human anyway!" Ichigo threw back as he got to his feet. The cocoon of sand they were trapped in began to flicker and Toushirou, still clinging for dear life managed to see their location changing with absolutely no disruption to the scene inside. They were heading to the town. Toushirou waving around, the gazebo that was surprisingly still in one place, the slightly nonchalant yet huddling horses and two very angry genies.

"I am four thousand and sixteen years old, Ichi-nii!" Karin ploughed forward and grabbed Ichigo by the front of his bedazzled genie vest. "You can't tell me who I can and cannot be friends with!" She gave him a good shake. "If I want to be friends with the stupid human I will do as I please!" She told him straight, and suddenly Toushirou dropped to the ground gaining a face full of sand as he realised the raging sandstorm had suddenly subsided. He got up quickly and spat out the annoying granules before scowling at the two childish genies that got him into this condition. He noted that they were on the outskirts of the town they had left and there were a few people milling around looking very surprised at this whole display.

"Excuse me, but I am standing right here." Toushirou decided to pipe up in the gap and defend himself from all the 'stupid human' insults and natural disasters that were being thrown around. However these Kurosaki siblings paid him no mind and continued their argument. Karin released Ichigo with a huff and a growl.

"Either way, you have to undo it." Ichigo insisted as he tried to reason with her. "Now. Before they find out about it." He implored her to take his advice and Karin frowned at him thoughtfully. It looked like the main part of the argument was over and for that Toushirou had never been more thankful. Now, Toushirou decided would be a good time to make his point heard. You know, before one of them pissed the other off and they created a tsunami or something. Now that would be pretty hard to explain to the general passerby.

"Karin," He began trying to ignore the death glares he was getting from Ichigo. "Your brother is right. We have to break the contract." Karin gave both men a surly look and a sulky pout. She obviously did not like being told she was wrong. It wasn't long before she stared at the sand and sheepishly kicked a wayward bag.

"Yeah, that's the thing..." She mumbled, "I kinda don't know how." She admitted. Ichigo's jaw dropped and Toushirou's head whipped to look at her so fast he feared that he gave himself whiplash.

"What do you mean you don't know how?!" Toushirou demanded of the petite genie. It was one thing to be bound to a genie for a year or two, but for his whole life? Heck no! He didn't have the time or the energy to fear for his life everyday! It had only been a few days and he had suffered more horrors than most people did in their whole lives! Been there and done that!

"It's alright." Ichigo inserted calmly. "We can just go to Urahara and get him to undo it." The group took a collective sigh and the confrontation died down. If this Urahara character could fix this, then all hope was not lost, Toushirou decided. Karin did not appear to like the idea of breaking the contract at all, but the threat of Exile from Lamp Society was enough to make her concede. Even if she was taking it a bit like a petulant child.

"Fine, but we are travelling the long way." Karin informed her brother firmly. "I have spent the last 200 years in a cave with gold pears and I refuse to go back into my teapot that quickly." Karin refused to budge on this point so Ichigo shrugged and sighed in resignation.

"Just make sure you don't get caught on the way there." He told her tiredly and Karin snorted at his request.

"You underestimate me." Her face took on an almost knowing smile that Ichigo returned. Toushirou felt a little bit like he was intruding on a personal joke of sorts.

"It's not hard, especially with you being the suckiest genie of all time." Ichigo insulted his sister with a playful smirk and Karin puffed up from the remarks.

"That's not fair Ichi-nii!" She whined comically. "I have been much better! I haven't even killed anyone yet!" Toushirou wanted to remark that the 'yet' was the operative word but he would rather keep his head where it was.

"Yes, oh Genie of Incidents of Great Consequence!" Ichigo teased as he waved a hand and restored the camp to its previous state. "Now why don't you try and wipe the memories of those idiots." Ichigo asked her pointing to the people watching the magic exchange with eyes the size of saucers.

"Fine!" Karin snapped and snapped her finger sharply in the direction of the meddlesome people. It took a split second for all of the people to turn gang green and drop dead. Toushirou gasped and Ichigo began to crack himself laughing.

"Aw crud!" Karin sighed in exasperation and hid her face in her hands.

Toushirou guessed that that was one way to get them to shut up about the ordeal. Maybe just slightly extreme but 100 percent effective...

"Always with the plague, Karin!" Ichigo seemed to choke on his laughter before collapsing to the sand and rolling around in near giggles.

"Oh bugger off." Karin retorted and then stalked off towards the people where she began to revive them. This left Toushirou and Ichigo alone in the simple camp. Ichigo recovered from his mirth and turned to give Toushirou a suspicious glare. A look that Toushirou returned with a stubborn glare of his own.

"I don't trust you." He told Toushirou straight as he sat down in the sand, "and if you hurt Karin I will not hesitate to shred you to pieces and scatter you across the desert." Ichigo threatened him and Toushirou had no doubt that the older genie was more than capable of doing it. Camel feed, camel feed, camel feed, his head chanted annoyingly.

"Don't hold back, tell me how you really feel." Toushirou commented sarcastically as he took a seat in the shade of the gazebo as well.

"However, Karin seems to like you so I guess I'll give you a chance." Ichigo didn't sound too happy with this course of action, but what could he do? "But you had better look after her. She isn't as tough as she makes out to be." Toushirou took Ichigo's warning with a pinch of salt. Karin was more than capable of looking after herself. She could cause people to drop dead from the plague in two seconds, no one would ever mess with her.

"I don't need you to tell me that." Toushirou rolled his eyes and waved away the whole 'big brother' speech with a single hand.

"Then we have an understanding." Ichigo concluded and Karin came back to the camp looking worse for the wear from bringing people back to life.

"What are you two talking about?" She asked suspiciously as she began to prepare food next to the fire that was now nothing but a naked circle of ashes.

"Nothing. Guy stuff." Karin was appeased by the explanation and continued looking for cooking utensils in her bag.

"You staying for supper, Ichi-nii?" She asked with her nose halfway in her bag so that all they could see was the top of her head.

"Nah, I had better get back before Rukia wonders where I disappeared to." Ichigo told his sister as he got to his feet and brushed the sand off his clothing. "See you at Urahara's place soon?" He asked and Karin nodded as she found the chopping knife she wanted.

"Give us a few weeks or so." She told him as she began to dice vegetables. "We have to go around the desert and into the mountains beyond, and I refuse to hurry." Ichigo realised that this was about as good as it was going to get so he let it go.

"Be careful, ne?" He warned them as his body began turning into smoke and promptly disappeared into the sugarpot.

Once he was gone Toushirou let off a sigh of relief. "Your brother is charming you know." He told her and Karin raised her head to see his playful grin. "Are your fights always that violent?" He enquired curiously and Karin laughed.

"Nah that was a mild one."She told him, "We didn't even have a magic battle there."

"Oh." Toushirou said with a thoughtful look. "So we leave to find this Urahara person tomorrow?" He asked her and she nodded as he got up to help her with supper.

"Yeah," She said casually. "But we are going to take our sweet time getting there." She grinned and Toushirou found himself mirroring it. Take their sweet time indeed!

Omake 1:

Toushirou and Karin had departed from camp early this morning after a quick breakfast. Karin had produced a map to show Toushirou the route that they would take to get to the mountains on the edge of the desert. The entire desert was almost circular and in order to get to the mountains they would have to go around the edge of the desert by hopping from town to town.

"I don't completely understand why we can't just go straight through the middle of the desert and cut the journey in half." Toushirou commented to himself as he tacked up Nick, his trusty steed. Suddenly a voice piped up from next to him.

"If you think I am carrying you across a desert you are sorely mistaken." Nick drawled with a roll of his large chocolate eyes.

"Ah! My horse talks!" Toushirou yelped and then shook his head to make sure that he wasn't dreaming.

Nick gave his rider and wide horsish grin displaying all of his white teeth. "I can belly dance too."

Please review! (Even if I don't deserve it because I am horrid at updating!)