Playing with Fire (Rewritten)

Chapter 1 Night

Stars sewn into a dark quilt blanket; the crescent moon woefully hung in the corner of her bedroom window. For just a while, the world stirred still.

A quiet neighbourhood and a home swept with slumber. Yet, her eyes remained wide open. She laid there awake for hours waiting.

A thud came from down the hallway. The sound of footsteps on creaky floorboards, the slight shuffle of clothing — all of it could be heard from here. With barely anyone in the house, it wasn't difficult to be perceptive to everything. Just from the shadows alone under her door, she knew it was her dad passing by.

'He's still not back.'

The thought made her heart uneasy. Always at the dreadful hours of the night, he'd come stumbling back after disappearing for so long. It was nothing new. For her, it'd become a pattern. Maybe it was the fact that her brother was prone to trouble, but she'd gained a new talent in keeping an eye out for whatever he did.

It was an innate ability that she'd honed pretty early in her life. But it wasn't like Ichigo was any good at lying. Like that time he said no to eating her cake with crumbles in his mouth. Or how he managed to put 5 delinquents in the hospital for no explicable reason. For someone who had so many secrets, he hardly kept them safe.

The worst of it came from when she was 10. Her then 15-year-old brother would often be gone to "deal with stuff" with no further explanation. Each time, he'd pull from his bucket load of half-ass excuses. All in an attempt to poorly hide his double life.

If only she could tell him how useless his efforts were. No matter how hard he tried, Karin had discovered a while back her brother's secrets. A part of which she shared unbeknownst to him. Because Ichigo wasn't the only one who could see spirits, and neither is he the only one that knew of soul reapers.

Most of all, Ichigo was a soul reaper himself. A soul reaper that did a terrible job in hiding it. Since that first hollow attack on their home, the memory of his black shihakusho and giant sword remained vivid in her mind. Of course, it made no sense in the beginning. It took hanging by Urahara's shop and the kids there - Jinta and Ururu - to familiarize herself with this new world.

But the experience that truly cemented it all came by when she was 11. It was then, Karin remembered, meeting a soul reaper for the first time and in the flesh.

They were hardly close when they first met. Noticeably cold, and distant – he never really gave in to her attempts of getting closer. But he did help her out in a game and saved her from a hollow attack — that she could excuse his prickly behavior.

Now that she'd thought about it, it had almost been a decade. She'd changed so much since then and she wondered if he did too. After all this time, it was natural to be curious. Every now and then, when she was zoning out or bored, her mind trailed back to him. He had a face that was hard to forget, but his name occasionally slipped from her mind there and then. Somehow, eventually, it would come back to her.

Her mind quickly snapped back to reality when an odd feeling wrapped around her chest. A heavy aura permeated through the walls and all signs led to outside of her house. It was hard to articulate the sensations she felt whenever supernatural spirits came into play. All of it was based on some sort of feeling, and certain people had hints and tones that differentiated them from others. This, from what she could tell, was widely different from Ichigo whose energy was sporadic. In fact, it felt very much the opposite.

Karin rushed downstairs and made it to her front yard. She was right – there was someone there. From across the street, a dimly lit outline of a person stood. She noticed as his feet took a turn in her direction and stepped into the light.

Her attention was swept away by just one glance. Underneath the pale moonlight, a particular pair of eyes shone brightly like emeralds in a dark cave. His illustrious silver hair glistened, and his porcelain pale skin seemed cool to touch.

" Are you...Toshiro?"

The words slipped right out of her mouth. She hadn't thought she would ever call out that name again. Toshiro remained unfazed, while she felt the breath sucked right out of her. A part of her questioned him for that. Surely, she couldn't be the only one shocked here?

The sound of footsteps steadily approached her as she straightened out her back. It suddenly felt so daunting having him here as his face became clearer with each step.

" Hello, Kurosaki. I see that you still remember me."

She froze. Karin looked up to see none other than Toshiro standing right before her. At first glance, it appeared that he didn't change at all in 6 years. Still sporting a youthful face and cool demeanour. But, if she paid attention, signs of age and maturity were etched into the fine lines of his skin. He had grown - both figuratively and literally. His deep-set gaze looked from above as she shook off her nervousness.

" Of course, I would..." She wanted to roll her eyes at the sentiment. Only once in a lifetime would she be able to meet someone as peculiar-looking as he. " I should be the one saying that."

You would think a reunion like this warranted shock, but after all this time, Karin was surprisingly mild. It was more so confusion that she felt as questions spiralled one after another in her mind. Karin felt awkward simply standing here with nothing to say or ask. There were too many and too little to pick from. After all, it had been 6 years.

" If you're looking for my brother, he's not back yet. "She sighed and ran her fingers through her unkempt hair, "If you're concerned about me prying, don't worry about it cause I don't care. I won't even ask about you or why you're even here. So I'm gonna head in first if you don't mind."

" I can't do that," Toshiro responded as the wind blew into their faces. His white locks of hair swayed loosely over his bright green eyes. Karin thought about how ghostly he looked - a picture-perfect image of an otherworldly spirit. He didn't look like he belonged here, " This matter involves you."