As if it Never Happened Chp. 8

Chapter 8; Shiro-Chan II


Karin was in pain. Again. Only this was a pain she had been anticipating for 9 months.

‘Ok breathe Karin, breathe’ Isane said, her hand on Karin’s forehead.

‘I AM BREATHING!’ Karin screamed very frustrated that everyone around her was acting as though she was slowly dying in a panic. ‘I’M GIVING BIRTH TO SOME BASTARDS SON, FOR CHRIST SAKE!’

Bastard was not some random person who had got drunk and managed to get her pregnant. No. It was someone who neglected to turn up to see the birth of his own child. Toshiro.

‘ARGH!’ Karin through back her head, screwing up her eyes and gritted her teeth. After a while her head fell forward again and she exhaled. ‘No, seriously, where is he?!’

She directed this comment at Ichigo, who had plastered himself to the wall sometime ago due to the amount of reiatsu Karin was releasing.

‘Eh …’ Ichigo stared wide-eyed at his sister before legging it from the room to find her fiancé.

--

‘Son of a-’ Toshiro struck down yet another hollow. His soon-to-be-wife was about to go into labour and he had been called out to dispatch a sudden outburst of hollows.

Although, to be honest, he had to agree that this sudden outburst of hollows was much more than any regular seated officer could take on. This was Aizen’s version of a tantrum; apparently he hadn’t relinquished his grasp on his hollow army just yet, and preferred to slog it out. It was a lost battle in Toshiro’s mind, but at the moment he was just very pissed off.

‘God … Freakin’ … DAMNIT!’ Toshiro screamed as he lunged at the final hollow, it disintegrated as he landed on the floor again.

Immediately, he was pinned to the ground by a very angry orange haired Kurosaki.

‘Where the bloody-hell have you been!’ Ichigo shouted into his face.

‘Having tea and crumpets, what the hell do you think I’ve been doing?! LOOK AROUND!’ Toshiro screamed back, ‘no get off! I need to get to Karin!’

‘It’s a bit late for that!’ Ichigo released Toshiro as his face went from angry to sad confusion.

‘What do you mean? She hasn’t …’ Toshiro’s eyes widened with horror.

He was gone before Ichigo could open his mouth.

--

Toshiro crashed into Karin’s ward gasping for breath. He saw Karin looking out of the window, away from him, lying in a bed with white sheets reflecting the light from outside onto Karin’s face. At that moment he was reminded for the millionth time of just one of the reasons why he loved this woman, damn, she’s beautiful. He walked up to Karin and tapped her on the shoulder. A fist came round and caught him squarely in the face.

‘So you finally decided to come did you?!’ Karin shouted.

Isane ran for her life out of the room, as Toshiro got back up from the floor. I take back my previous statement.

‘I was fighting hollows! I couldn’t help it if Aizen was having a fritz!’ Toshiro said ruefully.

Karin frowned at him and looked away.

‘Karin? … I thought you were having the baby?’ Toshiro pointed at Karin’s stomach, because you couldn’t tell if she had given birth to it or not.

The pregnancy hadn’t created a baby bump at all, just as Unohana had predicted. Karin scoffed and looked back at him, the killing intent she sent at him made him quake.

‘I was, and I have’ Karin sneered.

Toshiro felt his heart breaking. He had missed his own child’s birth, how could he do something like that? He silent for a moment staring at her fuming, before hanging his head.

‘I’m sorry, Karin, I forgot that you’re more important, I should have just asked for another Taicho to clear it up.’ Toshiro shuffled his feet uncomfortably.

Karin sighed, ‘No, I’m sorry. You are a Taicho after all, you have duties and I have to come to terms with that... I guess.’

She sighed again and smiled, she looked exhausted but extremely pleased with herself. She jerked her head over to the window; underneath it was a small cot.

Toshiro hesitated for a while. He had been waiting for this moment for so long, but now that it was actually here, he wasn’t sure if he could actually confront himself with his child.

‘Go on, he doesn’t bite’ Karin smirked.

‘He?’ Toshiro choked.

‘Hmm, it’s a boy; sorry did I forget to mention that?’

Toshiro just rolled his eyes and walked over to the cot and looked down inside.

‘Err, Karin, hunny. There’s nothing in here’

‘Hmm? Oh no, he’s just gone invisible again because no-ones paying him any attention.’

Toshiro wheeled round to face his to-be wife ‘Excuse me?’

‘Oh yeah, right’ Karin hit herself on the forehead ‘you weren’t here’

Toshiro just scowled ‘please don’t rub it in’

Karin stuck out her tongue ‘Lesson learned, but yes he can turn invisible, he first did it after he sneezed, he’s a right little cutie.’

Toshiro looked down and jumped away from the cot, Karin burst out laughing. In the cot was a tiny baby boy, with a tuft of white hair sticking out of the bundle of blankets, falling in front of his face between his eyes. He gurgled and his eyes opened to reveal small violet orbs behind his eyelids. Toshiro bent down and picked up his baby, his baby!

He walked back to Karin and climbed in next to her, with her resting her head on his shoulder.

‘So what do you want to call him?’ Karin said, hovering her hand in front of the baby in Toshiro’s arms. The baby worked an arm free and grabbed her finger with a small hand.

‘…’ Toshiro hadn’t really thought of what he would do after the baby was born. ‘Umm…’

‘Le Gasp, something Toshiro doesn’t know?! Great powers, what is the world coming to?’ Karin said sarcastically.

‘Well I don’t know! I don’t want to be the cause for any hard ships later in life because I gave him a shit name’ Karin whacked Toshiro around the head.

The baby began to cry.

‘Oh I’m sorry, I just didn’t think it was right for your father to swear around you’ Karin cooed.

Toshiro scowled as Karin took the baby away from him. Just then, Toshiro hadn’t a clue why he did it, but he suddenly poked to tip of the baby’s nose. As if his nose was on ‘Off’ button the baby stopped crying, he gazed up at his father and began to giggle reaching out for him with his tiny hands.

‘Oh that’s right’ Karin said disgusted as she passed the baby back to Toshiro, ‘favour a guy who wasn’t there for your birth, than the woman who just gave birth to you, which is as painful as opening an umbrella up your ass!’

‘Tut tut tut, language’ Toshiro shook his head with mock disapproval, ‘besides how would know what opening up an umbrella up your backside is like’

‘I don’t, but you can imagine it right,’ Karin smirked into his ear.

Toshiro paled.

‘Exactly, my point proven.’ She sighed, ‘so … a name?’

‘Hmm, I think I have one…’ Toshiro had taken the blankets away from the babies head.

The tuft of white hair stayed in front of his eyes, but he had two more tufts on his head, that Toshiro though looked like horns. A devil, huh?

‘How’s Ryuu …’

Karin eyed Toshiro carefully, and then grinned, she kissed him and nestled her face into his shoulder.

‘It’s perfect’

Toshiro and Karin snuggled back under the blankets, resting their heads on the pillow, and placing the baby between them, where he soon fell asleep.

Karin looked at Toshiro who had closed his eyes, and then he suddenly smiled.

‘What?’

‘Oh nothing, I was just thinking’

‘Thinking … what?’

‘Well, think about all that we’ve been through; breaking the Law, your death, first pregnancy, the Ichigo Threat, kidnapping, torture, your supposed death, our babies actual death, then second pregnancy, my near castration by Ichigo,’ he winced ‘and then the birth of Ryuu … and we just had an entire conversation like a normal couple.’

‘Hmm, you’re right we have been though a lot.’

‘Yeah, and do you know what the best thing is?’

‘What?’

‘It was because of you that I managed to keep on going, as if…’

‘As if what?’ Karin said stroking his cheek with her thumb.

‘As if it Never Happened.’