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Pre-Hollow
The first time Karin met Chad was in her father’s clinic. The giant was sitting next to her idiot brother when she arrived in the doorway with ice packs and clean bandages. Ichigo had gotten into a fight (again) and seemingly dragged the poor boy along with him.
Apparently, neither Ichigo nor their father thought it was worth introducing Chad to Karin or vice versa, so the nurse-in-training took it upon herself to start cleaning her brother’s smaller scratches while a heavy silence lingered in the room.
Isshin was rarely so quiet. Karin worried that Ichigo must have really done it this time if their father wouldn’t even pretend to be his cheery self while a guest was in the room. She tried to tip-toe around the room to avoid aggravating the non-verbal argument that was surely taking place between the two Kurosaki men.
Once she was finished dressing Ichigo’s wounds, Karin looked over at the stranger. She’d never seen anyone else with her brother (a regular patient at the clinic) after his usual fights. The unfamiliar boy was imposingly large and muscular, but his face seemed youthful enough that she assumed he was a teenager too.
That said, Karin refused to be intimated. Her eye was critical as she looked him over, and she arched one eyebrow under the guise that she was examining him for injuries. He looked pretty pathetic with his arm in a sling and gravel-induced scratches on his forehead and cheekbone as far as she was concerned.
He was also… sort of handsome?
To her surprise, the large teen seemed bashful in response to her scrutiny. He tried to wipe the blood off his face inconspicuously as if there was any chance she hadn’t already seen it.
He shifted uncomfortably on the examination table. Was he feeling awkward too?
“Hi.”
Karin realized she must have been projecting her own awkward feelings because, when he spoke, it was in a perfectly clear voice.
He had a nice voice. It was surprisingly deep.
Karin’s cheeks flushed immediately at her mind’s inappropriate betrayal and she covered her misstep by scowling instead. She had an image to maintain. It was easier to play her embarrassment off as anger.
Karin glared at him with determination to let him know that he was the intruder here. She used more antiseptic than necessary to disinfect his face and picked the small pieces of gravel from his skin without her customary nurse-like gentleness.
Her attitude telegraphed that she should be the one taking care of Ichigo, not a stranger. Karin Kurosaki should be protecting him, getting in fights with him, and sitting next to him in the aftermath. While part of her was annoyed at her brother for being so stupid as to get into another scuffle, another part was outraged at the boy sitting next to him for taking a place that should have been hers.
Why’d Ichigo have to go and get someone else involved in his bad habits? Why didn’t he let Karin walk home with him from school instead?
They could have taken a couple losers, no problem.
They didn’t need anyone else.
Karin didn’t realize how rough she was being with Chad’s split eyebrow until he pulled away from her touch and blinked rapidly in pain and surprise.
“Hold still,” she hissed, as if he were the one causing his own pain. A few drops of blood had appeared on her white clothes, but there’s no way that was her fault.
Chad watched her warily as he obediently sat still like a stone. Karin assumed this meant that he received the message loud and clear not to get on her bad side.
He didn’t say another word as she bandaged his skinned brow bone. The only insight she had into his thoughts was his long eyelashes fluttering dreamily over his deep brown eyes when he winced in pain. Karin was eager to cover the offensively expressive eyebrows up with clean gauze and then step away when she was finished to put an appropriate amount of space back between them.
She didn’t look at his handsome face again except to hand him a bag of supplies her father had prepared.
Dr. Kurosaki explained the basic care for wounds that Karin had heard a million times before and then they sent the tall boy on his way.
When all was said and done, Chad walked out of the clinic with a bag of clean bandages and antibiotic ointments and a healthy concern that Ichigo Kurosaki’s little sister somehow despised him for reasons he didn’t fully understand.
Karin watched him leave through the window, ignoring the shouting match that had erupted behind her in the house. Ichigo was trying to disappear to his room while their father chased after him to emphasize the dangers of street fights.
“Especially,” Isshin accused, “when there are other people around! What if Yuzu decided to catch up to her older brother after sewing club!? Did you even think about that?”
Their father’s words echoed through the house.
“Are you crazy, old man!? I would never let the girls get involved!” Ichigo yelled back.
Her older brother’s words stung. Did he really think she couldn’t be helpful?
At least the giant isn’t here to hear this, Karin thought to herself. Good riddance.
.
Post-Hollow
“You’re watching the ball too much.”
That was the first thing Chad said to her after months of not saying anything. After they fought a hollow together. After she had been practicing in this specific park every day since her official soccer season ended.
He just randomly decided today was the day to speak up. Of course it was something bothersome.
Karin scowled. “Let’s see you do better then, you giant oaf.”
He smiled at her snark but didn’t move. “I don’t want to interrupt your practice. I just wanted to let you know. You’d be quicker if you didn’t look at the ball so much.”
She was at a loss for words. Part of her had hoped he’d see her practicing every night when she chose this park right below the cafe where he worked. The other part told herself that he clearly didn’t care if he hadn’t said anything after all this time, so she shouldn’t care either.
If he really couldn’t be bothered to reach out after the hollow, after they fought and almost died together, why should she?
Karin told herself that it was a coincidence that the best place to practice outside school was this park. It was a coincidence that the giant also worked at the cafe on the overlook.
“I’m plenty quick,” she finally snapped back. “I have the record for the most goals on the team.”
Chad nodded patiently. “I know. I’m just saying you could be faster.”
He looked silly in his apron, still wet from washing dishes, standing out here in the fading light.
When he moved to retreat inside, Karin stepped forward automatically. This had gone on for weeks: she would practice for hours after school until dark, and he would occasionally stand in the window and watch. Then, when she would finally look up at the window on her way home, he would be gone, busy closing up for the night. And she would leave. And they still wouldn’t talk.
She couldn’t stand it anymore.
“Show me, then,” she called, trying to keep the plea out of her voice.
Chad glanced back in surprise at the invitation. He had always assumed this was a personal, meditative time for her. Honestly, he felt like he was intruding just by witnessing it and commenting, but she had so much potential and worked so hard that he couldn’t restrain himself any longer.
“You sure?” he asked uncertainly.
Karin rolled her eyes theatrically before kicking the ball to him. He stopped it with the inside of his foot, quietly noting the unnecessary force behind the pass.
She was good. He had always been impressed with her. Even when they first met. Even when they fought a hollow together.
She was scrappy and determined, if not a bit reckless. He couldn’t help but want to rise to meet her.
“All right,” he complied. Taking his apron off, he folded it up and set it down on a bench.
“Don’t you have to close up first?” Karin asked as he walked onto the practice field.
He shook his head, sending his shaggy curls flying.
“The manager is staying late to do inventory. He said I could leave early.”
The younger girl made an awkward noise of acknowledgment to show that she had heard. Now that he was actually here, she didn’t really know what to say.
Fortunately, Chad spoke without prompting.
“You’ve got to practice without looking at the ball,” he explained. “Then you can trust that it will be there when you’re playing for real.”
He demonstrated by maintaining eye contact with her as he passed the ball between his feet before spinning it up and over the top of his foot.
Karin hated that he could just stare at her so casually. As if she hadn’t wanted an excuse to talk to him for weeks. Months, even.
“Give it a shot,” he offered, passing the ball back to her.
Karin took a moment to roll the ball around with her right foot before looking up. She looked pointedly into the distance instead of at the boy in front of her.
She pushed and pulled the ball around her feet with success. Feeling braver, she tried dribbling it between the insides of her feet. After a few passes though, she lost it. The ball rolled sadly off to the side.
“Not bad,” Chad encouraged. “Just keep practicing.”
He retrieved the ball for her and nudged it back in her direction.
Refusing to give up or be embarrassed in front of the older boy, Karin set her jaw and tried again.
“Try not to think about it so much,” he suggested as she started passing the ball slowly between her feet.
Like it’s so easy, Karin huffed to herself.
“How can I think about anything besides what I’m doing?”
Chad looked her up and down in consideration.
“Normally you’d think about what’s going to happen next, or where the other people are on the field. I guess you can focus on me.”
Karin almost laughed out loud. That’s exactly what she was trying not to do.
“Ok,” she said sarcastically. “What do you want to talk about?”
“Have you had any more trouble with hollows?” he asked.
Karin almost missed the ball, he said it so nonchalantly.
Had it been so easy for him this whole time?
“No,” she forced out. “You?”
Chad’s mouth formed a tight line and his jaw clenched in a way that highlighted all the angles of his face. Karin averted her eyes.
When had her crush gotten this bad? She had reluctantly accepted the existence of these feelings as she had gotten older, but they had always been under control. They were manageable. At least, she thought they were.
“Nothing serious,” he tried reassuring her.
Karin frowned. She planted her foot on top of the ball to stop it.
“You can ask me for help you know. You don’t have to fight something like that on your own.”
Chad smiled softly. He had no doubt she would come running for anyone who needed help, just like her older brother.
Unlike her brother though, he could at least protect her from the spirit world and the dangers of hollows. The fiery gleam in her dark eyes gave him energy when she looked up at him insistently. His heart swelled. If Karin was ok, he could be happy with that.
“Did you notice how well you were doing?” He pointed to draw attention to her feet instead of the sentimental smile that was pulling at his lips. “You didn’t look down once.”
The dark-haired girl paused and flushed at the big brown eyes looking at her admiringly. What was she supposed to do when he kept staring like that?
“Yeah, well, it’s not that hard,” she dismissed.
Karin began passing the ball between her feet again, mixing in forward and backward movements like they always did in practice. The pattern was familiar. Comforting.
“How come you don’t play on the boys’ team?” she asked to distract from her pink cheeks and fill the awkward silence. “You’re clearly good enough.”
Chad shrugged. “I work after school most days. I wouldn’t have time.”
Karin immediately regretted bringing it up. Ichigo had told her that he worked to support himself since he didn’t have any other family. She shouldn’t have said anything.
“Maybe that’s a good thing,” she offered as a weak joke. “The other guys wouldn’t have a chance if you were on the field. It wouldn’t be fair.”
Chad grinned. “Maybe so.”
“You’re no match for me though.”
The boastful challenge made him burst out laughing, loud and genuine. She simultaneously cursed and relished the thrill that shot through her stomach at the sound.
“Give it a try,” he encouraged when he caught his breath. “Get around me to score without looking at the ball.”
He leaned forward in a defensive stance.
“Keep your eyes on me instead of the ball. Then, you can see where I’m going and get by easier,” he said.
Karin was always ready for a competition. She tested her connection with the ball by twisting it around her foot before faking right, then left.
Chad watched her carefully. He stuck a foot out to try to gain control of the ball, but the younger girl pulled it back too fast.
He nodded, seemingly pleased with her new response time.
Then, they locked eyes as Karin jerked to the right again without looking at the ball. She tried to stay confident that the ball was under her feet and moved quick to dodge whatever her opponent had planned.
His eyes darted to her right foot, giving him away instantly.
She tried to pull the ball to the left again, but just missed the top of the ball in her efforts to keep her gaze up. The ball kept rolling to the side, and Chad quickly capitalized on her mistake.
They both went to re-claim the ball at the same time, but the older boy was faster. His foot replaced the ball as he took control of it, and her foot connected with his shin in the same spot just a fraction of a second later.
All of the force that she had intended to use to keep the ball out of his reach went into slamming the toe of her cleat into his shin instead.
“Ah,” Chad gasped as he doubled over in pain and surprise.
Karin froze as she watched in horror.
“I’m so sorry,” she blurted out. “Are you ok? Let me see it.”
She fell to her knees and tried to pull up his pant leg worriedly. A small crimson spot had already started bleeding through the denim.
“Karin. Karin, it’s fine.” Chad pulled his leg back and tried to grab her arm to lift her up off the ground.
She twisted out of his grip.
“It’s not fine! We need to put ice on it and stop the bleeding.” She grabbed him stubbornly and marched him up the hill to the café at the top.
“The café is closed, Karin. I’m sure the manager has locked the doors,” Chad tried to reason with her.
If she was in her rational mind, maybe she could have been convinced that the scratch wasn’t that bad. Certainly, Chad wasn’t even limping. He would likely be fully recovered in a couple days’ time without even a scar.
However, Karin was not in her rational mind. Her mind was full of guilt and embarrassment for kicking her crush straight on and she wanted to do her best to remedy the situation.
Fortunately for her, when she pulled on the back door of the café that the older boy had left from, it opened easily. Apparently, the manager had not yet locked the door after all.
Once inside, Karin realized they were in a combination storage room and break room. She started looking around for supplies, much to her companion’s dismay.
“Why don’t you wait here? I’ll go get some ice,” Chad offered. Surely the manager wouldn’t be pleased if he let a random girl root around the café supplies.
However, she scoffed at the idea and refused to be deterred. “You’re the one that’s hurt. How about you wait here and I’ll get some ice?”
Chad let out a long exhale, but seemed to realize he would lose any further argument. “There’s ice in the freezer under the blenders up front.”
“Sit,” she instructed. She pulled out a chair for him before disappearing out the door to the front of the café.
He did as he was told. The Karin he had met for the first time at her father’s clinic had been just as bossy in her bedside manner. He remembered it fondly.
.
Over a year ago, Chad first met Karin while sitting next to her brother on an examination table at the Kurosaki clinic. He had inadvertently gotten into a fight alongside Ichigo and been on the wrong end of a couple serious blows.
The worst part though was knowing that the orange-haired boy was going to get in trouble for getting him involved. Chad made a mental note at the time not to go to the clinic anymore in the future. Ichigo was a new friend, so he didn’t want to cause any extra hassle for him. Maybe it was naïve, but he was quietly hopeful that the bullies would lay off now that there were two of them.
A moment later, disrupting his train of thought, Ichigo’s little sister showed up. Unlike her brother, she had dark hair. Her intense eyes, however, proved she was a Kurosaki through and through.
He remembered being impressed with how efficient the young girl was. She seemed very no-nonsense in her preparation of the various medical supplies she needed while her father worked on getting his sprained wrist in a sling.
She tended to Ichigo first, naturally, but he was surprised that no one bothered introducing them while she did so. He did already know her name was Karin. He remembered that much from listening to Ichigo talk about his family. He also had another sister named Yuzu, but she had stayed late at the school that day for some reason.
The young nurse occasionally shot him glares while she worked.
He hated the idea that Ichigo’s little sister thought he was just a thug trying to get her brother involved in the wrong crowd. He tried to brush the dirt and dried blood off his face discreetly, but he doubted he had been successful.
Finally, he attempted to bridge the gap between them.
“Hi,” he said with effort to sound kind and respectable.
Karin’s eyes widened for just a moment and her cheeks turned pink. She seemed insulted that he would even try to talk to her. Still, she was generous enough to thoroughly clean his wounds and bandage him up. Her hands even worked delicately to pick out small pieces of dirt and rock from the roughed-up skin of his face.
He felt embarrassed by the way she looked at him when a drop of blood abruptly fell from his eyebrow onto her clean apron.
Chad averted his eyes. He was clearly a nuisance here. The least he could do was to stay quiet and be an agreeable patient.
After what felt like an eternity of Karin touching his face and leaning against his leg, she finally seemed satisfied. Her father had gotten together a bag of supplies for him to take home, which he took silently.
He almost said good-bye, but Ichigo and his father were glaring daggers at each other like they might erupt at any minute. He glanced at Karin again but she refused to meet his gaze.
He made a note not to bother her in the future. She clearly didn’t approve of Ichigo and him getting into fights or even hanging out together. He’d just steer clear as best he could
With that thought in mind, he left the Kurosaki residence and didn’t see Karin again for almost a year.
.
And what a year it had been! Chad thought to himself. He desperately wished that he hadn’t needed to expose Karin to that hollow fight. If she didn’t like him spending time with Ichigo at first, she surely hated him even more now…
While he was lost in thought, an older man came walking down the hallway and poked his head into the back room.
“Chad? Did I hear you come back in?” the manager called.
“Yes, sir!” the teen responded automatically. He shook his head to get rid of any lingering thoughts of the past. “We’re just getting some ice. Apologies for the disruption.”
“Ice?” the man asked in confusion.
Then, Karin appeared at the same doorway, bag of ice cubes and a towel in hand.
“Excuse me, sir,” Karin nodded her head in greeting before squeezing past him through the door.
“Oh my,” the older man said. “Are you all right?”
He nodded quickly. “Yes, just a small scratch. We’ll be out soon.”
“No, no, no need to rush,” he responded. “I’ll leave you two alone. Just lock up when you’re done, will you?”
“Of course,” Chad promised.
Karin was already crouching down and rolling his jeans up so she could press the wet towel to his skin. The cool cloth did feel nice against the tender area.
“And, uh, make sure you clean up if there’s any funny business, you hear?” the manager added as he watched the pair for another moment.
Karin and Chad both looked up in alarm. Karin’s cheeks were bright red, and Chad was waving his hands in a panic.
“Of course not! I would never,” he said hurriedly.
“Don’t think I don’t remember what it was like being a teenager!” was the response before they heard the man walk away laughing to himself.
Karin refused to look at Chad once the manager was gone. She kept her gaze down at the wound like she would do with any patient in her dad’s clinic.
“I would never” played in her head on repeat as she worked.
Fortunately, the bleeding had stopped a while ago. The wound was only a few centimeters long on the front of his shin. She pressed the ice pack against it and made a makeshift bandage by securing a clean dish rag around his lower leg.
When she was done, Chad cleared his throat awkwardly.
“Thanks,” he said quietly. “You’re a good nurse.”
Just like last time, he thought to himself, but didn’t say.
“I would hope so after all these years,” Karin said dryly. She couldn’t help pouting, but didn’t want to let Chad see her hurt feelings.
“You still work at your dad’s clinic?” he asked, even though he knew for a fact she did because Ichigo mentioned it every once in a while.
In response, Karin met his gaze with an intensity he hadn’t been expecting. Her eyes were hard, like he had insulted her.
“Of course. And I’ve patched Ichigo up more times than I can count when he doesn’t want our dad to know about it.”
His perfect eyebrows raised slightly at her harsh tone.
“I’m just saying maybe I’m a little more capable than you think,” she added pointedly.
“Right.” Chad nodded agreeably.
Karin stood up and crossed her arms. She hated that he apparently thought of her as so far beneath him. Why? Was she really that much younger? Or did he think she was just useless?
“Why didn’t you ever reach out before?” she asked abruptly.
The older boy opened and closed his mouth in confusion before finding a response. “About what?”
“After the hollow attack,” she responded.
Chad looked at her with concern still on his face. “There was never anything to say.”
She frowned. This had not been an answer she was expecting, nor one she wanted to hear.
“Nothing? Really? Am I just bothering you then?” Her voice was cold.
“What are you talking about?” He asked with exasperation just barely coloring his tone. “Karin, you don’t bother me at all. I actually enjoy you very much. I thought you were bothered by me.”
The younger girl looked confused. “Why would I be bothered by you?”
Chad ran his fingers through his curls as he thought about her question, but Karin purposefully didn’t let herself be swayed by his looks. Now was not the time to let her crush get the better of her.
“You seem to think I’m a bad influence on Ichigo,” he finally explained. “The hollow attack was the first time we’ve ever really talked, and you’ve avoided me since. You don’t tag along with Ichigo anymore and you always stop practicing before I get off work.”
Karin considered this. Was it possible that in her efforts to hide her feelings, she had actually pushed him away?
“I… didn’t realize.”
“I don’t mind,” Chad added sincerely. “I just don’t understand why you’re upset now.”
Her mind was now racing. She re-played all of their previous encounters with this new information.
“I thought you thought I was a bother,” she tried to explain.
Chad laughed, which made Karin’s cheeks flush again. She hated how handsome he was.
“I don’t think you’re a bother at all. I think you’re resourceful and determined, and you’re pretty good at soccer. It’s fun to watch.”
This made her blush even deeper.
“You know, you’re also welcome to come into the café sometimes. I thought maybe you would last week when it started raining,” he offered.
“Maybe I will,” she promised quickly, even though she tried to keep her tone casual. “You know, you never bothered me either. I’m sorry I made you think that.”
Chad nodded slowly. “You don’t need to apologize. Do you want me to walk you home since it’s dark?”
Karin was incredibly tempted by the idea of continuing their conversation, but she decided she didn’t want to inconvenience him even more after everything that had happened tonight.
“No, I’ll be fine!” she insisted. “Thank you, though.”
She let herself take in the goofy smile on his face for a moment longer before finally turning away to head back outside.
“All right, Karin. See you around,” Chad said as she walked out into the dark.
“See ya!” She called back with a giant grin. She didn’t even feel the cold air around her as she walked down the hill to retrieve her ball.
Soccer ball in hand, she passed by the bench with the folded apron Chad had left earlier. When she looked back up the hill, the lights in the café were all turned off and there was no sign of the older teen.
Karin guessed he was already on his way home for the night as well. She took the apron under her arm and realized she was pleased to have an excuse to visit Chad again tomorrow.
This may have only been the third time they met, but at least now she could guarantee a fourth.