The moment Karin stepped into the room, Senjumaru seemed to spring to action when before she had quietly patrolled the room and had small talk with the royals. Silent as a ghost she approached Toshiro and shooed away Byakuya and Commander Balthazar who had been speaking to him a moment ago. Both men looked quite irritated by her interruption but couldn't do much with her multiple arms practically swatting them away. Toshiro didn't even seem to notice the change in audience.
"With everyone here now, Lord Hitsugaya, we can begin the celebration speech and feast." She said quietly to him. Not expecting to hear her, Toshiro snapped out of his stupor and looked at her in confusion. Speech? "Would you like me to do it?"
"Um, yes, if you would." Still not remembering anything about a speech, Toshiro just rolled with it, clearly distracted.
"I shall make sure Lady Karin is escorted to sit beside you." Senjumaru's sly comment as she slipped away again made him splutter. He had no chance to argue with her as she stepped to the head of the table, a bell in one of her hands that she rang loudly. Silence fell upon the room.
"Welcome, all of you, to this glorious evening of victory and celebration." Senjumaru spoke with clarity and power, a natural at capturing the room's attention. "Among us are the very souls that fought with life or death to protect us all, and it is them we welcome into this sacred land with open arms for their sacrifice and service to our king."
As she continued, Rangiku took the chance to lightly nudge Karin and lean over to whisper into her ear.
"Your boy is totally staring." She kept as quiet as possible.
At the comment, Karin was quick to look around for the familiar head of white hair, spotting him quick enough and locking her gaze with bright teal eyes. Realizing he'd been noticed, red colored his cheeks and he turned to look at the ground. The sudden shyness was somewhat cute, she found, but noticed her own cheeks were flushed as well and not just with make-up. Was he that flustered by how she looked? Great, now she was feeling a bit flustered. Her Kurosaki pride flared up and she stood tall despite the butterflies in her stomach.
"… And now we feast!" With that, Senjumaru gestured to the tables as staff came through the door with the main course and quickly decorated the table with them. Dishes from all kinds of cultures were presented, the different Royal Families from those countries gathering around the cuisine they enjoyed while the Soul Reapers were left to figure out their own seats and look baffled at the delicacies before them.
One of the servers approached Karin herself before she could go sit next to Yuzu.
"Please follow me, my lady." The woman said with a bow.
"Oh, uh…" A bit confused, Karin wasn't given much choice as the server gently took her hand and led her away from her family, all three of them watching with various degrees of curiosity and concern along with a few others.
It didn't take long to realize where she was being taken as she spotted Toshiro at the head of the table. There was an empty chair to his right side and to his left sat his sister Miyuki, the lost princess having slipped in at some point in silence, the tips of her wolf familiar's ears just barely visible above the table where she was laying down behind her master. She was not wearing a traditional kimono, instead taking to her mother's roots with a slim dress of snow white, with icy blue embroidery on the edges of the flowing sleeves and on the front of the corset, a blue sash wrapped around her waist with a silver Celtic knot sewn across the length. It was similar to the dresses the Greenleaf family wore.
"Um, hi." Karin greeted them awkwardly now that she was right next to them, the server bowing away quickly to leave them be.
"Hi…" Toshiro seemed to be in a similar state of speechlessness.
"That's your seat you know." Miyuki spoke up upon realizing her brother had become a hopeless school boy.
"Oh, right…" Clearing her throat, Karin settled herself into the empty chair, heart racing. "That, um, that haori looks really nice. It's like you've got Hyorinmaru guarding you."
"Thanks." Toshiro reached a hand up to fidget with his hair. "Yours is beautiful as well, and I don't think I've ever seen your hair curled."
"Rangiku insisted we try it." She reached up to pull at one of the curls.
"May I see?" Miyuki asked, holding a hand out in front of her. The wolf Anya perked up but it didn't seem to be the familiar she was reaching for.
"Anya is behind you." Toshiro replied, wondering the same thing.
"I would like to see it properly. Anya has better sight than most canines being a demon but she's still a bit red-green colorblind."
The wolf gave a huff and put her head back down over her paws.
"May I see with your eyes, dear brother?" Miyuki asked again in a clearer form.
"Oh, sure." Toshiro placed his hand atop Miyuki's waiting hand and leaned back in his seat.
Blinking a few times to clear her vision, the whitened irises turning a sharp teal, Miyuki took in the room around her for a moment before turning towards where Karin was sitting. She definitely looked like Toshiro's sister now as she borrowed his sight, the teal eyes and snow-white hair a perfect match between them. Miyuki in turn gasped as she took in Karin's attire.
"How absolutely stunning." She complimented with a smile, Karin turning red and reaching up to mess with her hair again. Miyuki then turned on her brother. "No wonder you stopped talking correctly."
"Hey!" Scowling, Toshiro pulled his hand away, Miyuki's eyes returning to normal as she let out a noise of protest. "I can speak just fine!"
"Yet all you said was 'hi' when she came over." Getting over her surprise of being blind again, Miyuki looked quite proud of herself.
Toshiro did not like how Anya was laughing at him with her strange barking noises. It didn't help when he noticed Karin laughing and turned towards her with a look of betrayal.
"S-sorry." She said between stifled laughter. "This just feel more comfortable than all the formal crap Rukia was trying to beat into me, I was so nervous coming in here."
"I'm sure you're not alone." Miyuki said in support. "This is my first time being here as a princess and not a traitor, I wasn't sure if they would allow me in."
"It's good to see you here, you deserve to be home after everything that's happened."
The elder sibling beamed at her kind words. Everyone else so far was just tolerating her, but the Soul Reapers were genuinely happy to see her returned home.
The feast continued in a calming chatter of voices as the evening went on and the sky grew dark. Just as everyone was starting to run out of things to talk about and inching towards more sake, a new figure burst into the room and caught their attention.
"What awful silence is this!?" Sylfie snapped in alarm at what she found inside. "You're all hopeless without my talents!"
"Good evening, Lady Sylfie, are you offering to provide your musical talent for the night?" Kirio casually greeted the matriarch.
"Well I can't very well dance with anyone without music, could I?" Sylfie motioned for people out in the hall to follow her inside and soon the room echoed with beautiful music. Her daughter Ӕlfwyn had arrived as well and easily slid into conversation with the other nobles to keep the peace.
"I'm glad to see that she's in a better mood for the night." Toshiro said to the two beside him.
"Perhaps this is her way of trying to move on." Miyuki suggested.
"Should we go say hi?" Karin asked the siblings.
"No need."
Just after Toshiro motioned off to her side Karin found herself wrapped in a sudden embrace.
"Look at this radiant young lady sitting by my nephew, I almost didn't recognize you!" Sylfie squealed, sounding happy enough to see them.
"L-let me breathe." Karin spluttered, tapping on Sylfie's arm in case she wasn't heard. The matriarch released her but still looked like a mother fawning over her child's first prom dress. "Nice to see you too, Sylfie."
"I'm sure everyone is, even Byakuya Kuchiki looked like he was starting to get bored and I'm sure the alternative was to have Yoruichi bullying him." Toshiro commented with a light chuckle.
"No one knows how to throw a party better than me." Sylfie beamed.
"Are you feeling up to it though?" Miyuki was the one to toe the line in the conversation.
"Mostly…" Her aunt admitted with a small sigh. "The distraction will be nice at the least. Besides, there are too many dragons over there, I needed some people to talk to."
"If you need any back-up singers it looks like a few of us are drunk enough to join in." Karin snickered as she noticed Rangiku, Shuhei, Kyoraku and Isshin trying to very badly sing along with the music. Since there was no one to sing in the first place, they were making up their own lyrics, so it was overall kind of a mess.
"Oh ho, I like your spirit my friends!" Amused, Sylfie rushed over to try and save them from their drunken humiliation.
She got them up out of their seats and stumbling about in the appearance of dancing in the empty space around the table, dragging out a few others who were not so drunk yet but happy to join. The royals didn't seem quite as inclined, but a few of the rowdier family members were quick to take their chance for some actual fun. Not all of them had sticks up their asses at least, which encouraged others.
As things started to pick up, tables being moved and the sound echoing out of the palace, Toshiro decided this was his chance. No one would be surprised that he was stepping out to avoid dancing. Before he snuck out, he nudged Karin's side to get her attention since she was currently laughing at her dad's poor dancing skills.
"Walk with me?" He asked as quietly as he could and still be heard over the noise, holding his hand out for her.
"S-sure…" Confused, Karin took his hand and allowed him to lead her away from the crowd. Two people noticed them leave and silently snuck off to see what they were up to.
As the doors closed behind them, the halls instantly felt a lot calmer. The noise was dulled down and there weren't people everywhere. It almost felt like a completely different place. They could see the night sky through the windows as they walked, a bright clear expanse of darkness dotted with sparkling stars. Occasionally a dragon could be seen dancing across the sky in flight. Karin felt like she was in a fantasy world, spotting the forested home of the Greenleaf family and imagining a kingdom of elves dancing the night away with their dragon friends. The fact that their reality wasn't so far off gave her a strange feeling, having never expected to be surrounded by so much magic.
She turned her attention back to the halls, specifically to the one walking beside her with purpose in his step. She could still remember their first meeting, that odd little boy who tossed her back her soccer ball, the stranger that helped them win a game when he had no reason to. Finding out he was a Soul Reaper that was friends with Ichigo had been such a strange revelation, and ever since then she looked forward to hanging out with him, to know what the other side was like, the one that had her brother always rushing off to save the world. Before she knew it, she had done what she always argued with Yuzu she would never do; she fell in love.
Feeling a stare upon him, Toshiro turned towards her, catching her gaze and the soft smile on her face.
"What are you thinking about?" He questioned, seeming to startle her out of a stupor as she blinked and shook her head.
"N-nothing!" She replied a little too quickly.
A single white brow was lifted in doubt, silently asking for an explanation since he didn't believe her for a moment.
"It's just…" She reached up to tug at one of the curls again as she gathered her thoughts. "It's been a long time since we first met. Back then you were just a really cool little kid to me, and now you're the ultimate king of the world." She smirked. "I never thought a little brat like you would get so powerful."
"Ha. Ha. Well this brat can send you back to the human world if you've got a problem with him." Toshiro returned the smirk.
"In this dress? You wouldn't."
"Fair point, I'd let Senjumaru collect her debt first, then kick you out."
They had their laugh before continuing their walk.
"I did get really worried when you disappeared after you found out you were a prince." She spoke up again.
"I had no choice." He reminded her.
"I know that, but friends still worry. Sometimes I wonder if I would have ever seen you again if you didn't come to my birthday that year."
"You might have been safer." This was something he wondered about every now and then as well. Would she have been left alone by the Demon Lords? Would he have ever discovered his feelings if he didn't have to protect her?
"Maybe I would have, but then I would have never have gotten the chance to get stronger, to find Dyrilӕn, to be here where I am right now in this super expensive kimono next to my boyfriend. I would never trade all this for being safer, not when all I worried about was you vanishing from my life forever with no explanation."
There wasn't an immediate response to that. Toshiro had to gather his own thoughts now in light of this confession.
"I think I still would have come back for you." He admitted, finally stopping their walk as they reached the balcony where the dragons could land. "I still would have asked for everyone's help in the Soul Society, because I know Dethmaiyn and his people would have still gone after my old home. Your brother would definitely be part of that which means I would have seen you again. But you probably would have been a lot angrier with me, so it's likely our friendship would have been ruined."
"Sometimes I wonder if you give up too easily." She huffed, crossing her arms as she looked at him disapprovingly.
"In my head I do." He shrugged. "But I didn't, so now we're here."
Her disappointment faded at hearing that and she relaxed again, leaning up against him as the night air washed over them. He made a good point. They could talk "what if" the whole night and get upset about unknown scenarios or accept that this is where they were now, victorious and alive together.
"Maybe you are more stubborn than a Kurosaki." She commented. "Even when you tell me all the things you worry about, you don't hesitate to do what's best for everyone else."
"That almost got me in trouble with you when you had to leave after training."
"Because you looked absolutely miserable and wouldn't tell me why!" She punched his arm. With a grunt he stepped away for a moment and rubbed his arm, frowning at her. "Sometimes you're stubborn and other times you're just an idiot, just like Ichigo."
"At least I'm not as violent." He grumbled at her.
"You've got the same suicidal tendencies."
"Ouch…"
Sighing heavily, Karin decided she'd bullied him enough and calmed back down.
"I already worry about my brother, don't make me worry about you too. That's all." Her tone was softer, inviting him to return to her side again.
"I could make a list of all the times you've worried me when you just rush in without a plan and antagonize your opponent." Toshiro argued back. "But I don't think talking about our fighting habits is healthy for us."
"Fair point."
"That said, I am proud to see how strong you've gotten. It's comforting to know you can defend yourself, even if you do tend to bite off more than you can chew." Toshiro dared to link his arms with hers though he still braced for another punch in case she didn't like his comment. Fortunately, she just laughed.
"I'm just glad you didn't try to keep me out of it when you invited everyone to train like Ichi always does."
"That's because your brother is an idiot so stop comparing me to him."
She laughed again a little louder at her brother's expense.
"Thankfully you're not that similar to my brother otherwise dating you would be weird, you're just both stubborn warriors. I could say the same of guys like Renji or Byakuya and they're as different as night and day."
"I suppose that's fair."
They fell into a moment of comfortable silence, listening to the echo of music in the wind and watching the dragons soar through the air. Toshiro reached into his pocket and fidgeted with the small box there.
"Karin…" Now that he was committing, he could feel his stomach twist nervously and wasn't sure how nervous he sounded. "Earlier, when you mentioned how long it's been since we first met… I've been thinking about that a lot as well."
"A lot has happened in those years, huh?" She smirked, currently clueless to why he was avoiding her gaze.
"Definitely a lot, and so much has changed." He removed his arm from hers and grabbed her hand instead so that he could face her, encouraging her to do the same. She felt herself freeze under the sincerity in his gaze. "And I'm sure it will keep changing."
"Toshiro, what's all this about?" She didn't like how her heart was racing under his look, acutely aware of her hand in his.
"Just let me get through this." He took a second to clear his thoughts. "Even just these past two years has opened my eyes to a lot of things I never saw before. I went from being a Captain to a King, and you supported me through all of it. I've been… confused, and scared, and pushed into a world I didn't know how to live in, but when you stood beside me it all became so much easier. I know I haven't made the best decisions, and I know I've hurt you before, but I don't think I could live without you."
"Toshiro…"
Her heart skipped a beat as she saw him take a small box from his pocket, eyes going wide. Was he serious?
"Karin… will you marry me?"
She couldn't help the gasp s the box opened and she saw the ring inside. Two dragons curled around each other, one with eyes of ruby and the other sapphire, their foreheads touching and their horns holding up the diamond above them. It was exquisite work, so much so she was afraid to touch it. She got so lost in admiring it that she forgot she was supposed to respond, snapping back to reality and turning her gaze back up to him. His hopeful expression was all she needed.
Toshiro was a bit surprised when she suddenly jumped at him, her arms wrapping around his neck as she hugged him tightly.
"I'll take that as a yes?" He questioned, unable to hide the smile on his face as he held his arms around her waist.
"Of course it's a yes, you idiot." The excitement welling up within her made her giggle a bit. "You're supposed to get down on one knee though."
"I didn't want to risk getting Senjumaru mad at me messing up this outfit."
"I figured." Loosening the grip she had on him, she leaned her head back before kissing him fiercely. They were both a bit breathless when they pulled apart again.
"Well?" He held up the ring once more.
"Am I really allowed to wear that? It looks like it belongs in a museum." She hesitated to hold her hand out.
"Oetsu made it, so of course it's well done." He replied lightly. "It took me a while to get used to things of this quality becoming common, I'm still not completely used to it. But this is yours now."
Though still baffled such a work of art was hers now, she held her hand out for him and he gently slipped it onto her finger. It fit perfectly.
"Wow…" She admired it being on herself before remembering the last time she was given such a fancy jewelry based gift. "There's no weird enchantments on here, is there?"
He laughed.
"No need for anything like that anymore, it's just a ring." He answered.
"Just a ring, he says. This is probably worth an entire country." She muttered under her breath, though as she looked at it again she smiled.
"I think the agreement was he gets to go on vacation for a decade, I didn't want him to make it for free."
"I agree. I'll have to thank him later, it's amazing."
It was then they noticed whispering off to the side, rapid hushed whispers of people who realized they'd been noticed when Karin and Toshiro turned back towards the halls.
"What do you think you're doing Momo?" Toshiro called out once he noticed who was hiding. He heard the woman squeak and shyly step out where they could see her.
"I was just curious is all." She admitted nervously.
From behind her a second figure rushed out and hurried to embrace Karin.
"My precious sister just got engaged!" Yuzu squealed as she trapped her twin in a fierce hug. "Oh my god, Karin, you're going to get married!"
"Y-yes, I was there." Karin was surprised at how tight of a grip Yuzu could get, unable to escape and feeling the heat creep back into her cheeks.
"Let us see it, we couldn't get a good look." Momo asked eagerly, almost visible stars in her eyes.
Toshiro watched in amusement as the two girls fawned over Karin and her new ring, just as excited for her as he felt hearing her say yes. He didn't get to escape their excitement either though as Momo soon hugged him.
"My little brother all grown up." She seemed ready to cry and he sighed.
"Always so dramatic." He grumbled at her, but he was still smiling so she knew he wasn't that bothered. "And I grew up ages ago, meanwhile you're still as short as ever."
"How rude!" Cheeks puffing up, Momo was able to hold a glare on him for only a few seconds before she couldn't help laughing. "I'm so happy for you two!"
"I can't wait to tell dad!" Yuzu clapped her hands excitedly and turned to run back to the great hall.
"Wait, Yuzu, not him first!" Panicking at the thought of her dad or Ichigo towering over them in judgement made Karin quickly chase after her sister. Toshiro and Momo just watched them go for a moment.
"I hope you're ready for this, Shiro." Momo finally broke the silence with a small giggle.
"I'd like to think I am, but she is a Kurosaki." He sighed in mock exasperation. "Just asking was the hardest part. After that, I feel like I could do anything."
The two of them walked back towards the hall where Toshiro was met with cheers and congratulations, though Ichigo stared at him sourly the rest of the night. With such good news, the celebrations ended up continuing well into the night.
"Looks like everything went well." Kirio said to Senjumaru as everyone began to tire out and wind down.
"Lady Greenleaf has the perfect touch for such things. Once I told her he was planning to propose she couldn't wait to join the party, it was the perfect excuse to have them step out for their moment." Senjumaru looked quite proud of herself. "I made sure to get the picture as she requested."
"Picture?" Kirio looked baffled. "When did you step out of the room?"
"That is of no concern, look here." Senjumaru casually passed over a small slip of paper. Curious, Kirio took it and looked over it.
"How adorable, they look so happy." She fawned over the picture like a proud mother. The couple was completely unaware of the secret photographer, lost in their own world as the ring was slipped onto her finger.
"And so stunning in those kimonos I made for them."
"You've outdone yourself, Senjumaru, I almost forgot how excited you were to participate with Lord Satoru and Lady Anya's wedding."
"Weddings are when a seamstress can present their best work!"
The pair's conversation went unnoticed for the night, more focused on the new engagement and celebration. Toshiro stayed at Karin's side until the night wore down and people were leaving to return home, saying their goodbyes until just the Kurosakis were left. They were free to stay as they wished being a Royal Family now, so the young couple went on their own, calling over their dragons and taking a ride through the sky with their partners. The future ahead of them was bright, but they would remember this night forever.
The King of ice and the Queen of fire would remain the legends of a huge change in the world order. Dragons were returning to the world, the demons were a threat no more, and a human had won the heart of a powerful spirit. Those who heard the story years later would write it off as a fairy tale, but those who took part would smile to themselves within their memories.
And so the birth of a new Soul King was now concluded, his story told and gone, and his legacy continuing onward in a reign of peace.