Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Bleach. T_T

Chapter 3: Training and Explanations from Kaze Ryuu

"Karin! Are you okay? Wow, that was amazing. I didn't know that you were a shinigami!" Toshiro sputtered.

Karin just looked at him and Toshiro quickly got the picture that he had a pissed off girlfriend on his hands who was still angry about him leaving without a goodbye. To prove his theory home, Karin started to walk away without even a backward glance.

"I can't believe he still has the guts to face me after leaving for THREE WHOLE MONTHS without even a simple 'see ya' or anything!" Karin mumbled to herself, seething.

She had taken two steps before she felt her legs become like lead. Her body, paralyzed with exhaustion, began to fall forward. In the blink of an eye, Toshiro shunpoed to catch Karin before she hit the ground. By the time he had her safely in his arms, she had already blacked out.

When Karin awoke, she sat up immediately... and hit her head on something hard and noisy. Blinking, everything came into focus. 

"Ouch! That hurt!" A voice said. 

Karin looked around and saw the person that the voice belonged to. Toshiro Hitsugaya. He was clutching his forehead and shot her an annoyed look. 

"Oh... sorry about that," Karin said without much emotion in her voice, not really meaning it. 

Toshiro looked at Karin and she stared back into his eyes. The two of them remained like that for a moment before Toshiro impulsively started to lean forward, his intent to kiss her displayed clearly on his face. Karin got the hint and immediately began to lean forward as well.

Karin and Toshiro were just a few inches apart, but Karin began to feel lightheaded once again. Her head fell forward and her lips comically came together with Toshiro's.

Karin would have laughed at his expression except she was just too tired. She tried to pull away but Toshiro's hand was at her waist and his lips at her ear.

"Are you feeling okay? You look a little pale. Here," Toshiro whispered as he leaned down, with his back to her, "Get on my back and I'll take you home".

Karin just nodded. Gently, she felt herself being lifted and then began moving at a very fast pace. When Karin opened her eyes, she was in front of her house.

"Okay. Thank you for the help. Do you have a place to stay for the night?" she asked softly into his ear. 

Toshiro just shook his head no as she slid off his back. 

"Well, then you are welcome to stay here at my house," And without looking at Toshiro, she spun on her heels and opened the door.

Immediately, her father came running towards her with tears down his face, "OH! MY DARLING DAUGHTER HAS COME HOME! NOW GIVE YOUR DADDY A BIG HUG!"

Since Karin was so tired, she just settled with a simple kick to the face, which sent her father flying.

After a second, he got up and ran to the poster of their mother that was hanging on the wall. "OH MY DEAR WIFE! OUR CHILDREN ARE GROWING UP!"

Karin ignored the rest of what her father was saying and started to walk towards the stairs.

"Oh, by the way, Dad, Toshiro's gonna be staying with us for a while," Karin called over her shoulder.

Karin could hear her father stop crying and start talking nonsense about her growing up and already bringing a boy home. After that nonsense, she stopped paying attention to his ramblings. Instead, she kept walking and headed straight into her room. With an exhausted sigh, she collapsed onto her bed.

"Um... Karin," a hesitant voice called out behind her, "Where do I sleep?" Toshiro asked.

To answer the question, Karin just moved over and patted a place next to her on the bed. Toshiro stood there for another moment trying to decide if it was a joke or not, but since Karin didn't say anything, he figured she was being serious.

"Hey Karin, may I take a shower before I go to bed?" Toshiro asked. Karin just motioned with her hand for him to proceed and then fell into a deep sleep. Toshiro, realizing how exhausted she was, silently walked away towards the bathroom.

So, Mistress, are you feeling any better? I meant to warn you about the extreme exhaustion after we separated, but it completely slipped my mind. For that, I truly sorry. Kaze Ryuu said.

No, it's okay. It all worked out, and yes, I feel a whole lot better. Karin replied.

Ok, that's good. Now I will leave you to your sleep and in the morning, we will have to start training. Karin just nodded and then her consciousness fell into a deep sleep, much like the one she had that previous night.

When Karin woke up, she immediately felt another presence in the room.

Karin knew it wasn't Yuzu due to the fact that her sister departed early yesterday evening to go hang out at a friend's house for the whole week, for some strange reason.

Karin turned around and came face to face with none other than... Toshiro.

Karin mentally slapped herself. She had forgotten that she invited him to stay at her house and... apparently, she gave him permission to sleep in her bed with her?! Wow, being tired really had a strange effect on her.

But then she remembered what Kaze Ryuu said to her about training. With some hesitance, Karin started to sit up, but Toshiro unconsciously wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close to him. Karin looked down at Toshiro's face and couldn't help but smile and silently laugh. Toshiro had the cutest expression on his face as he slept. Karin just sat there in bliss for about five minutes before she decided to get up and start her training for the day.

***~WAITY?~***

Okay, Karin. I 'm going to try to explain something to you before we start our training together. 

Karin nodded.

First things first. Look down at the necklace that appeared around your neck.

Karin felt shocked but did what she was told. She looked at the necklace and could see that it was in the form of a small cross held together will silver. It was made up of pure white crystals for the sides and in the middle, it consisted of stunning green emeralds.

Wow! Where did this come from? Karin asked.

That, Kaze Ryu said proudly, is what many people call your zanpaktou.

WHAT? I thought you were my zanpaktou. Karin said.

Well, that's only partially correct. As I just told you, it's a little bit confusing.

Karin nodded, but otherwise stayed silent.

As you can see, you don't wield a sword. There's a very simple reason for that; I'm not a sword, but I am close to one. For example, call me out and then look at the necklace.

Karin obeyed, "Rise and Conquer the skies, Kaze Ryuu!"

When Karin called this out, she looked down at her necklace. It had begun to shine. Then, she looked up to see her beautiful silver dragon flying above her in the sky.

"Ah, okay, so my necklace is how I summon my zanpaktou form?" Karin asked, trying to clear it all up.

Yes, that is correct. To be clear, I am probably one of the strongest... weapons, if you will, in the whole universe. The dragon claimed with a slight hint of pride, but not arrogance.

"And why is that?" Karin asked.

The dragon shot her a toothy grin. I will explain that to you later when I believe it's a good time for you to know. Now, enough talking! We are going to officially begin our training. Are you ready?

Karin nodded.

Good. Now let's begin...

***~WAITY?~***

It had been a full month of intense training with Kaze Ryuu and Karin was making amazing progress. By now she had become close to the level of a lieutenant but was well on her way to becoming on par with a captain. Toshiro knew she had been training hard and he wanted to see for himself how far along she was in her progress.

"Hey, Karin. You and Kaze Ryuu down for a sparing match today?" He asked with a smirk, knowing it was the one day a week Kaze Ryuu didn't insist they train. 

Karin, surprised by the invitation, smiled uncertainly, "Yeah, I could always test my progress! I'd like to see how far I've come!"

Toshiro smirked, "Excellent! Where should we go? It would need to be somewhere private."

"I know just the place." Karin said, and began to walk away, knowing Toshiro would follow. He did. "By the way, I should mention one thing. I don't fight with a sword."

Toshiro stopped walking, "Wait, what? How's that possible?"

Karin rolled her eyes, grabbed his hand, and began walking again, "I'll show you when we get there, but don't worry about it. It's not going to be an issue, I assure you." She grinned, knowingly. "Still down to fight?" she teased. 

Toshiro looked her up and down, seeing confidence radiating off of her. He returned the smirk, "Yeah, I suppose so."

Karin laughed. 

"So, tell me. If you don't have a sword-manifested zanpaktou, then what have you been doing for the past month?" 

Karin put her other hand up to her lips, "It's a secret." She smiled, "When we spar, you'll see."

Toshiro frowned slightly, "I don't know Karin. I don't feel good about fighting someone without a sword. You'd be at a huge disadvantage, no matter how much you've been training. Plus, its only been a month. It takes a novice that long to just learn how to properly hold a sword, let alone wield one. And you aren't even fighting with one."

Karin could see smoke start to emerge from his ears from thinking too hard.

"Hey, hey. Look at me," she pulled him to a stop. "I promise you, I'm going to be fine. Let's just spar once and you'll understand."

Toshiro opened his mouth to reply but stopped when he recognized the building.

"Ready to go in?" Karin asked but continued speaking before Toshiro could reply, "I didn't know Urahara had a secret underground facility for training until Kaze Ryuu brought me here. This has been our go-to place to train."

She walked in and looked around, expecting to see Urahara sitting on his mat. Instead, she found a note that was addressed to her. It read:

Hello Karin,

If you have come to train, then just let yourself in and the same with anyone that you have brought with you. I will be back later. Please take good care of the shop and don't let Kaze Ryuu get too mad...I would like to return to a shop, not a pile of ashes.

Thanks, Kisuke Urahara

As Karin read the letter, she let out a laugh while Toshiro just looked completely confused.

"You see, I come here almost every day to train with Kaze Ryuu and one time our power got a bit... you might say, out of control. By the time the dust cleared, the shop was almost unrecognizable." By now, Karin was in tears, but she continued, "In the letter, he is asking if we will take it easy. But, he should know by now that we never do, so I don't even know why he bothered writing this letter. Eh, oh well." Karin finished and walked towards the door that led to the downstairs training room.

When Karin and Toshiro were both in the room, Karin turned to Toshiro and smirked. "So are you ready to have the fight of your life?" Karin asked.

Toshiro hesitantly nodded and walked a few feet away, drew Hyourinmaru and got into a battle stance. "You sure about this, Karin?" 

Karin closed her eyes for a few seconds in concentration and then reopened them.

"Yeah! Whenever you are ready, we can begin," she called out, confidently. 

Toshiro didn't hesitate to attack. Within a few milliseconds, Toshiro had Hyourinmaru pointed at Karin's neck and she just smirked.

"Good job, but... wouldn't it help if you were pointing that sword at me not the air?" Karin asked, her voice coming from behind him.

Toshiro turned his head and then spun back around to look at her, but she was gone.

Toshiro, standing still, glanced around the room, trying to pin-point Karin's location. Suddenly, he felt something hit him in the back, making him jump in fright. It was a strong ball of concentrated wind. It dissipated the moment it made contact. 

"Oh, come on Toshiro! You aren't even trying! If I really were out to kill you, then you would be long dead." Karin said, reappearing behind Toshiro in a blur.

"She's fast!" Toshiro thought to himself and swung his sword out. It only made contact with air.

Karin's laughter filled the room. She was having fun teasing Toshiro, and he knew it. 

He also knew that he couldn't risk anymore mistakes. Even though the battle had just begun, he also acknowledged that what Karin had said was true: he would have been more than dead by now if they were fighting for real. The attack on his back would have obliterated him had it been thrown with actual force. 

"Bankai! Daiguren Hyourinmaru!" Toshiro shouted and immediately, wings of ice formed behind his back and Toshiro leaped into the air. Toshiro studied his surroundings and then saw a speck of light past by him on is left. It was Karin.

Then he heard her shout, "Rise and conquer the skies, Kaze Ryuu!"

One moment, Karin was on the ground and another minute, she was above him and punched him square in the face, sending him spiraling downwards towards the unforgiving sandy ground.

Toshiro spread his ice wings to slow and stop his fall. One he stopped his descent, he spread his wings as wide as they would go and pushed himself upward towards where Karin was waiting, still in the air.

Karin looked board, so Toshiro decided to try something new. He spread his wings to the fullest and the brought them down, but instead of propelling himself upward, Toshiro sent millions upon millions of sharp ice-shards toward her.

Karin just smiled and continued to stand in mid air. Right as all of the ice shards were about to hit, a pair of silver wings appeared.

With a bright light, Karin's whole body seemed to merge with something behind her. Within milliseconds there in Karin's place stood the beautiful silver dragon. The dragon took in a deep lungful of air and then exhaled.

As the dragon did this, a somewhat large tornado started to form and all of Toshiro's ice shards went and seemed to be absorbed. The roaring tornado seemed to glow blue for a moment before all of the ice shards rebounded and were sent straight towards him. Toshiro was surrounded by his own attack. As it was closing up on him, Toshiro braced himself as well as he could, yet it didn't fully prevent him from getting injured. Toshiro felt a searing pain in both of his arms, his legs and his back, by his spine.

Toshiro blacked out.

***~WAITY?~***

When Toshiro awoke, he spotted Karin talking with someone. When he opened his eyes completely, he saw that it was Kaze Ryuu.

Toshiro tried to stand and give them some privacy, but as he stood up, he felt an arm go around his neck and he leaned back. His body was pressed up against Karin's, but she didn't seem to care.

Slowly, Toshiro turned around and to look Karin in the eyes.

"You... beat me!" He admitted in disbelief, "..and I had a sword and you didn't... that was amazing..." Toshiro said quietly for two reasons. One, it was very difficult for him to admit defeat, especially since he was a captain and he lost against someone who didn't even possess a sword for Heaven's sake! Two was because he didn't want to ruin the moment that was forming.

Karin just continued to look into Toshiro's teal eyes. Toshiro saw that Karin's expression softened and he stared to lean in. Karin started to do the same and she closed her eyes. They could both feel each other's breath on their lips and they were almost touching.

"HEY! What did I tell you about ruining my shop?!" a voice yelled.

Karin and Toshiro pulled away from each other, both looking deeply disappointed.

"I'm coming Urahara! Just take a chill pill." Karin yelled.

Toshiro's eyes widened slightly as he took in the carnage of the room. It truly looked like both a blizzard and tornado tore through the room.

While Toshiro was observing, Karin saw her chance. In one graceful swoop, she captured his lips with hers in a very sweet and gentle kiss. She quickly pulled back and looked at Toshiro. He looked somewhat upset by her pulling away, but Karin just smiled at him, shook her head, and leaned down towards his ear. She kissed his neck and heard him moan softly in response.

"We can finish this later..."Karin whispered in his ear, then turned and walked away, smirking.