Fire and Ice- Chapter 4

     When she entered the classroom the next day, Karin noticed that a bunch of her classmates were muttering.  Not that that was unusual, it was just they were doing it with extra fervor.  Wandering over to her longtime soccer friends she heard a snippet of their conversations.
     “-new student-”
     “-rich family-”
     “-handsome?”
     “-Tokyo-”
     “So, what’s going on?” Karin asked, dropping her bag on her desk with a bang.  Her friends started to excitedly jabber about something, each trying to tell her whatever it was.  However, it was getting all jumbled.  She sighed.  “Uh, hello?  One at a time please.”
     The banana-top spoke first. “There’s a new guy!  From what we’ve heard, he’s from Tokyo!”
     Then the afro-kid spoke up.  “Yeah, and apparently he’s from a rich family, so he’ll probably be a snob.”
     Karin frowned.  “Just because someone’s rich doesn’t mean they’re snobs.  I mean, look at the Sohma family.  They’re reclusive, yeah, but they’re actually kind people.”  That fact was common knowledge.  Everyone had heard of the Sohma family.
     Her friend with the glasses added, “Plus, he’s apparently good-looking.  I wonder who he is?”
     At that point, her teacher walked in.  “All right class, settle down.  Is everyone here?  Okay, good.  Today we’ve got a new student, so be nice.  You can come in now,” she called to the door.
     Karin looked out the window.  She knew who it was, what he looked like, even that he ate as much as three men.  There was no point in trying to get a good look at him now.  She’d seen him in his uniform this morning already, and even though she’d never admit to anyone else, she thought he looked good with it on.  Though she was telling herself not to look, she turned her head and stared just like everyone else in the class.
     His eyes were locked on her, and soon enough everyone noticed.  Without lifting his eyes from her, he addressed the class.  “My name is Toshiro Hitsugaya.  I would appreciate it if everyone would only call me Hitsugaya.”  He did not smile, but at least he didn’t frown.  That had to be a small improvement at least.
     The teacher coughed.  “Oh, well, why don’t you sit next to Yuzu Kurosaki?  Kurosaki, raise your hand.”
     Toshiro was about to tell her that he already knew Yuzu, but he was quite sure that questions would be asked and that in the end it would be discovered that he was living with the Kurosakis.  Not a good idea.  Yuzu raised her hand, and he made his way to sit next to her.  As he passed by, he heard several girls squeal and some moans of jealousy.  Unfortunately, she was on the other end of the room, closer to the back by the wall.  Karin was towards the front by the window.  
     At last, it was lunch time.  Karin opened her bento and started eating without truly paying attention to what she was doing.  “Oh my, Toshiro-kun is soooooo incredibly handsome!” Ami, a girl on Karin’s soccer team, squealed with delight.
     “I know!  And he’s really smart too,” Hana, another soccer teammate, sighed dreamily.
     “So?” Karin asked, bored.
     “You make it seem like you see that sort of stuff everyday Karin.  Come on, is no guy good enough for you?” Ami asked, sounding hurt.
     “Sure.  He has to be good at soccer for starters.”  Which, by the way, Toshiro is.  “And I’m pretty sure that he requested we call him Hitsugaya.”
     “I did.”  His voice startled them.
     “To-Hitsugaya-kun!” Ami and Hana cried in surprise and delight.
     “Hey Toshiro,” Karin commented, popping more rice into her mouth.  “What’s up?”
     “I have no interest eating lunch with those idiots.”  He pointed back towards the boys in their class.  Karin rolled her eyes and nodded.
     “Yeah, I get what you mean.  They’re really annoying at times, but I’ve played soccer with a few of them for ages.”
     “If you want Hitsugaya-kun, you can eat with us,” Yuzu offered.  She may have no idea why on earth Toshiro insisted to be called by his last name, but she did understand that she and Karin were to pretend that today was the first time they had ever met him.
     “I think I’ll take you up on your offer.”  With that he sat down between Karin and Yuzu and opened his bento.
     “Hitsugaya-kun, you have a healthy appetite, don’t you?” Hana asked, awed.  He had eaten his lunch in two minutes flat.
     “Hmmm… I’m actually used to eating a lot more, but that was good.”  It was an inconspicuous compliment for Yuzu, who had painstakingly made three lunch boxes instead of two.
     “You want mine?” Karin offered, holding out her box.  “I’m not going to eat much more anyway.”
     “Karin, you know perfectly well I will inhale it and therefore you won’t get anymore.”
     “Uh, that’s why I’m offering it to you?” she made it to sound like she was questioning his sanity.
     Ami and Hana looked on with jealousy as Toshiro then proceeded to finish off her and Yuzu’s lunchboxes.
     “Are you full now?” Karin asked, laughing.  Without warning, she stopped and straightened her back.  “This feeling,” she whispered.  She looked over at Toshiro.
     “Here,” he said, and handed her a small green ball.  “Swallow this.  It’ll make you feel better.”  He leaned closer and whispered into her ear, “That is a soul candy.  It will replace your body while you defeat a Hollow.  No one will be able to tell the difference.”
     Deciding to trust him, she popped it into her mouth.  Suddenly, she was out of her body.  “Should I head over to the Hollow then?” she asked.
     “Absolutely not,” he hissed under his breath.  Louder, he said, “I’m going to the restroom.”  With that, he bolted away, Karin’s spirit following him.
     When they were a safe distance from the school, Karin panted, “So what do I do when I get there?”
     “Take out your zanpakto and cut it through the mask.  It is advisable to do so from the back, otherwise if you break the mask you might recognize the soul the Hollow once was.”
     She nodded in understanding and sped up towards the park.  Once they arrived, she yanked out her zanpakto.  “What now Toshiro?” she asked.
     “Finding the Hollow would be a good idea.”  Instead, the Hollow found them.  It howled and started to lumber towards the pair.
     “All right, make sure you have a firm grip on your zanpakto.”  Karin gripped it harder.  “Jump into the air and make a decisive slicing motion through the mask.  Go all the way through.”  She did as she was told and killed it mid-howl.
     “Is it always going to be that easy?” she asked, sheathing her sword.
     “No.  If that were true, we wouldn’t be having a war right now.”  He looked around as if he was looking for something.
     “Whatcha looking for?” Karin asked, following his line of gaze.
     “A soul.  Usually, a Hollow shows up because it has found a meal of a soul.”  At last he spotted it.  “Come on.  You’re going to get your first lesson in soul burials.”  Carefully, he and Karin walked up to the shivering soul.
     “I’m scared,” the little girl whimpered, clutching onto what seemed to be a doll.
     “Don’t be.  You’re going to a good place,” Toshiro said assuringly.  “There are no monsters in the Soul Society.”  To Karin he whispered, “Take the end of your zanpakto and press it into her forehead.  Pour a little of your spiritual pressure into it.”
     He watched Karin smile at the girl and gently press her forehead.  As the soul departed, she turned to him.  “Come on!  Lunch is almost over.”  She ran off back towards the school.
     They skidded into the classroom just in time (after Karin had climbed into her body).  As soon as they sat down, the bell rang.  Their classmates piled in, jumbled conversations bouncing around the room.  “All right everyone, today we’re starting our English unit,” the teacher announced.  At this, the class groaned.  “Now, now, let’s not have that.  Get into pairs and try to carry on a conversation in English.  When I call time, you’ll all come up here and give us this conversation.  The pair making the most sense and giving at least three sentences per person wins a prize.  Now, pair up!”
     The class burst into a frenzy as people began to partner up and begin speaking.  Toshiro was surrounded by girls and a couple guys too, all begging to be his partner.  He stood up and pushed his way through them without a word.  “Hey,” he said to Karin.  “Be my partner.”  She stared up at him, expectant.  “Please,” he amended.
     At this, she smiled and nodded.  “Sure Toshiro.”  She pulled out the chair in front of her with her foot.  “Sit, and we’ll begin.”
     He sat, and crossed his arms over the back.  “So, what do you want to say?” he asked.
     “How’s this?” she offered, showing him a written conversation in her notebook.  “I figured that you’d ask me to be your partner.”
     He looked up.  “How?”
     “You’ve stuck by me all day silly.  Of course I’d know.”  She patted his hair teasingly.  “Anyway, do you know any English?”
     “A little.  Sometimes I’ve come across English-speaking souls here.  You tend to pick it up after a while.”  I also found the language interesting, but you’d find that nerdy, wouldn’t you?
     “Good!  Because Yuzu and I are the best English-speakers here.  We sometimes get English-speaking patients at our family clinic.”
     “All right then.  Let’s form a conversation.”  They, like everyone else, began to speak to each other in English.  But unlike everyone else, their conversation was kept to themselves.  After ten minutes, the teacher called time.
     “I hope you’ve all set up a good conversation!  Let’s put it to the test!  Who wants to go first?”  There was an upheaval of groups wanting to go first, so eventually she pointed her finger at Yuzu.  “Since Yuzu Kurosaki is being quiet, she and her partner will go first.”  Then came the moans of disappointment.  “Now, now, be polite.”
     Yuzu and her partner pulled off a passable conversation about food.  There were a few Japanese words sprinkled in, but it was to be expected.  The rest of the class was the exact opposite.  They desperately threw words together, hoping to form a sentence or two.  “All right, lastly, Hitsugaya and Karin Kurosaki.  Maybe they’ll do better than the rest of you.”
     “Is it just me, or did that sound hopeful?” Toshiro asked Karin in her ear.
     “It did.  Now just talk.”
     He rolled his eyes, but began. “How are you Karin?”
     She answered easily with, “I’m great, you?”
     “Just fine.  Do you want to go to the arcade?”
     “That’d be great, but I think the weather won’t permit it.”
     “Oh.  Well, we can find something else to do.”  At this, the two of them blushed inwardly.  That sentence could mean so many things to the high school mind.  As they continued their conversation, it turned more and more spontaneous and less and less of the class could understand even a word of what they were saying.
     “I like peaches.  I wish we could eat some.”
     “Peaches?  Seriously?”  Toshiro laughed.  “I prefer watermelons myself.  And I’m sure this isn’t the season for peaches.”
     Karin stuck her tongue out at him.  “Thanks for crushing my spirit.  I hate you.”
     “I love you too Karin,” Toshiro joked.
     A blush dusted her cheeks.  “Do you have any pets where you live?”
     “No.”
     “Oh.”
     “What a very intelligent reply.”
     At this, the teacher cut in.  “Uh, you guys can stop now.”  The two looked up.  They had obviously forgotten they were talking in front of a class.
     “Hey, sensei, I couldn’t follow half of what they were saying,” a classmate piped up.  “Were they really speaking good English?”
     “That will be enough,” she said back to him.  “You two can sit down.  Drop by after class for your prizes.”  The two of them returned to their seats.  “One day you guys can be like them and carry on a conversation easily.  Now, let’s get started with these workbooks.  Work in your original pairs and do the first two sections together.”
     The class grumbled, but got to work.  Toshiro and Karin began working together quietly, occasionally asking one another if what they wrote was correct.  Around them Karin could hear others’ conversations.
     They were about her and Toshiro now.  Closest and loudest was Ami and Hana’s conversation.  “I can’t believe that Karin got paired with Hitsugaya-kun.  It simply isn’t fair!” Hana muttered to Ami.
     “I know how you feel.  Did you see them this morning?  He looked at her for a full three minutes! “
     “Ugh, yes, I saw that.  He lets her call him Toshiro, so why not us?  Plus, I swear I heard him say I love you to her.  Honestly!  What did she say that could possibly make him say that?”
     “I don’t know Hana.  Karin and her family have always been a bit weird.  Just look at her brother.  Apparently he tends to disappear for weeks on end.”
     There were many things Karin could handle.  She could handle jealousy, pain, backstabbers, and a variety of other things.  But one thing she couldn’t handle was bad-mouthing her family.  Her brother was the reason (probably) that those two could even talk like that!  “Hey,” she hissed to them.  They looked up in surprise.  “You can badmouth me all you want.  But you can’t badmouth my brother!”  Having finished her statement, she went back to her work.
     A minute or two of silence, and then the two began again.  “Telling us what to do, typical of Karin.  She has such a fiery temper,” muttered Ami.
     “She’s always talking about soccer.  She makes it seem like that’s all she thinks about.  Plus, she’s not even that pretty.”
     At that, Toshiro swiftly stood up and walked over to them.   “Listen to me,” he commanded in the iciest tone he could muster.  “You will not badmouth Karin or her family.  Be grateful that Ichigo is alive.  Just because I find more interest in Karin than in either of you does not mean that it is all right for you to spew whatever hateful things you feel like.  Karin is beautiful and intelligent and caring.  Unlike you.”  With that, he sat back down, quickly finishing his work.
     Inside, Karin was doing somersaults.  Toshiro had defended her!  “Hey, Toshiro?”
     “Yes?”
     “Thanks.”
     He was silent for a minute.  “No problem.”