literature

Precious Times Together Ch 13

Deviation Actions

chakragoddess's avatar
Published:
1.1K Views

Literature Text

Toshiro's world went from black to gray to white in a matter of seconds.  He began to blink his eyes in the sunlight that was coming through the window.  

Where am I?

He sat up a little too quickly...a motion that he immediately regretted.  

He let out a groan as he flopped back down and buryed his head back into the pillow.  He wouldn't be trying that again anytime soon.

At least I somehow made it back to my place.

There was a light tapping at the door.  "Taicho?  Are you finally awake?"

"Ugh.  Matsumoto.  What are you doing here?" he asked.

"How do you think you got home last night?" she asked.

"Not so loud," he immediately answered.

"Sorry."

Toshiro turned over, but left the pillow over his face so he didn't have to deal with the light of the world quite yet.  

"Do you want me to escort you to squad 4?" asked Rangiku.

"What for?  I'm not sick or injured.  I'm just....hung over," he explained.

"That, I know, sir.  But believe it or not, they do have a medicine that will make all this go away and you'll be back to your normal crabby self in no time," said Rangiku.  "I've drank my share of it before and so have the people I normally wake up next to in the morning."  She smiled.

Toshiro tried to remove the pillow once again, only to quickly place it back over his eyes.  Rangiku grabbed the pillow and took it away from him.

"Damn it!" he cursed her.  

"You won't get anywhere if you don't at least get vertical and get out of your bed," she noted.

"Good point.  Hai, fukutaicho, please take me to squad 4," he relented, not wanting to feel this way anymore.

"I'll be in the next room while you get dressed," she said, walking out of the bedroom.  

Rangiku took a seat on the sofa in the living room while her superior fumbled around trying to get decent enough to walk through the seireitei.  

"So taicho, it's not like you to go drinking...not to mention...you were alone.  What's going on?" Rangiku said loud enough so Toshiro would hear her in the next room.

"I may as well tell you.  You'll find out eventually anyway," said Toshiro.  He popped his head out of the bedroom and looked at his fukutaicho.  "You were right."

"Now there are some words I never thought I'd hear from you," she acknowledged jokingly.  "And I suppose it has to do with Karin since you just got back from the world of the living."

"Hai," he replied.  "I went to help destroy a few hollows and ran into Ichigo.  Karin isn't happy at all.  I thought for sure she'd get over me - especially since we were never officially together anyway."

Rangiku interrupted, "You may have not have been a couple, but you were as close to it as two people could possibly be."

"Perhaps," he replied.  "Apparently I was rash in deciding to cut ties and stop visiting."

"Noooo," Rangiku sarcastically added.

"She's been kind of depressed and according to Ichigo, not like herself since I left her alone," Toshiro said.

"So what are you going to do about it?" asked Rangiku.  "You've got to see now that you are both officially miserable and unhappy."

"First things first," said Toshiro.  "I've got to see her and hope that she'll even talk to me - and if she's willing, we've got a lot to discuss."

"That sounds like a good start," noted Rangiku.  

Toshiro entered the living room dressed and ready to go.  

"Are you ready?" she asked.

"Hai," he replied.  He made his way to the door with Rangiku following right behind him.  

"Good morning taicho!" said a squad 10 Shinigami that happened to be passing by.  Toshiro grabbed his head.  "G'morning," he answered as a simple courtesy.  In truth, he wanted to avoid as many others as he possibly could - not only to skip the loud greetings, but also because he wasn't exactly proud of his condition.  He was sure he looked like hell after last night.

The two friends decided to shunpo to squad 4 once they were outside the barracks.  Kotetsu-fukutaicho kept the hangover cure in her office for use by her overindulging friends thus it was easily obtained once they found her.  Toshiro and Rangiku started walking back to squad 10.

"How long does this stuff take to work anyway?" asked Toshiro.

"You should already be feeling some effects now, but for complete relief, you'll need to wait about a half hour," answered Rangiku.  

Once they were back in Toshiro's office, Toshiro decided to flop down on the couch instead of Rangiku.  She smiled because it wasn't often that he wasn't at his desk hard at work doing something.  Now he was happy just waiting for his symptoms to go away completely and he looked more relaxed now than he had for a very long time.  

Rangiku took a seat in a chair facing the couch.

"So taicho, when are you going to try to talk to Karin?" she asked.  

"Ichigo told me that she's graduating in a few weeks," said Toshiro.  

"It's probably best to hold off until school is done then," she remarked.

"That's what he said," Toshiro answered.  "He wasn't sure how she'd react to seeing me and he didn't want me to screw up her last semester.  I'm supposed to go watch her graduation and talk to her afterwards."

"How do you think she'll react when she sees you?" Rangiku asked.

"I really don't know.  She could be relieved, happy, pissed, angry, upset....I think I know what 'normal' Karin would do, but from what Ichigo told me, she's definitely not herself these days."

"Do you want some tea?" Rangiku asked.

"Please," he replied sitting up a little.  He looked around the room as if testing something internally.  "Hey, this stuff really does work."

"Now you know one of our secrets," said Rangiku smiling.  "How do you think I come into work after I've been out with the boys on a work night."  She winked at him.

"Hopefully I won't have to use this remedy again," said Toshiro.  "Sorry about last night and thank you, Matsumoto....again."

"That's what friends are for," said Rangiku.  

OlOlOlOlOlOlO

"Are you sure you don't want to come to Risa's party?" asked Yuzu.

"I'm sure," said Karin.  "I'll be fine here after the ceremony."  

Yuzu had seen how much Karin had changed over the past year, but she continued to try to include her twin sister in as many social activities and events as possible.  She wanted to encourage her to do exactly what Toshiro thought would happen....to move beyond him and get on with her life.  But Karin was as stubborn as ever and consciously - and oftentimes subconsciously - refused to cooperate.  

Her whole family worried about her.  They had made attempt after attempt to move her past this situation, but saw that it was no use.  They were constantly hoping it would just take a little bit more time - always hoping that it wouldn't take much longer.  

Though Karin was technically depressed, she easily remained at the top of her class in school.  She could put on a happy public face very well and be very mannerly and friendly if a situation called for it.  It was just that she didn't feel like doing anything.  Soccer, her favorite activity for as long as she could remember, simply didn't appeal to her anymore.  Nothing did.  Most of the time she wasn't at school, she simply parked herself in front of the TV and watched mundane show after mundane show.  That is, unless she was helping her father in his clinic.  She never gave up on that because she knew he needed her.  If she was not helping out, he would be forced to see less patients and she didn't want to be the cause of that.  After all, she was still going to college to study medicine after the break and her experience in his clinic probably made a huge difference in her getting accepted at Karakura University.  

The Kurosaki family sat down to a simple breakfast before leaving for the graduation ceremony.  

"So what is the plan for today?" asked Ichigo of his sisters.

"I'm going to Risa's house afterwards.  Her parents decided to throw a party for her and her friends," said Yuzu.  

"Why don't you tag along?" asked Isshin of Karin.

"Nah, I'm not very close to Risa," said Karin.  It was a true statement, but Yuzu knew she would be welcomed just the same if she chose to come.  Yuzu had leaned on her friends as her worry about Karin continued and they all wanted to help as well.

"Well, if you change your mind at any time, just let me know and I'll be sure to wait for you," said Yuzu.

"Hai, thanks," said Karin.  

"So what are you going to do Karin," asked Isshin.

"Probably just come back here," she said.

"It's one of the most important days of your life.  You should really go out and do something," said Ichigo.  

"I agree.  You should go have some fun," added Isshin.

"I'm fine just coming back here," said Karin stubbornly.  

Ichigo gave Isshin a knowing look. "Well, we'll wait for you after the ceremony then," said Isshin.

"Ok, I'll come find you and we can walk back together," said Karin.  

OlOlOlOlOlOlO

The ceremony really wasn't anything special - that is, unless it was your friend or family member who was graduating.  It was a traditional graduation ceremony for high schoolers - the same as had gone on in hundreds of schools across Japan year after year.  Each graduating 3rd year student received their diploma and listened to the various speeches that were given by both students and faculty.  In the end, the atmosphere at the venue was jovial and buzzing with energy.  

Only a few people who were present were capable of seeing the lone figure sitting in an area normally off-limits to attendees.  It was a dangerous spot as it really wasn't a seat and one could easily fall off the perch and get hurt.  However, this was not a normal person.  It was a Toshiro Hitsugaya - and the few people who could see him weren't really looking for him so he remained unnoticed.

He watched the ceremony from his perch and was happy and proud that Karin had made it through high school.  He was well-aware of how big a deal this event was in a person's life in the world of the living.  

After the ceremony, Karin found her father and brother milling about in the crowd.  She needed to use the bathroom before heading home, so she instructed them to wait for her by a particular exit so they could walk home together.  She walked through the halls towards the nearest bathroom and noticed a familiar figure leaning up against a nearby wall seemingly waiting for her.  

It can't be....

"Hi Karin," Toshiro said to her meekly.  "Congratulations."

She was not alone and knew she couldn't just start talking to him without looking strange.  She nodded towards a nearby empty room and shut the door behind them.  

"What the hell do you think you are doing here?" she said to him.

He was taken aback a bit.  He had said before that he had no idea how she was going to react to seeing him again.  Just the same, he had hoped - and almost expected - she would just be happy to see him and give him a hug.  Guess not.  

"Uh, Karin, I wanted to see you graduate and...," Toshiro started to explain.

"Wait, wait...so you stop seeing me and basically cut me off as a friend.  I don't see you for an entire year and now you get the sudden urge out of the blue to see me graduate?" she said loudly.

"I was in Karakura town a few weeks ago and Ichigo....," he started again.

"I don't really care.  Y'know Toshiro?  You really make no sense at all to me," she ended the discussion and made her way to the closed door to leave.  She turned around, "And don't follow me!"
Sorry this one took me a few extra days to get up. Here is chapter 13. Enjoy!

Chapter 14: [link]

Chapter 12: [link]
© 2012 - 2024 chakragoddess
Comments3
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In
TheSkandranon's avatar
Ooooh, ouch. Talk about a blow off. Can't wait to see what Toshiro does to make her happy again.