After a long while, Toshiro released Karin from his arms and said helplessly, "We should go, Karin. It's still snowing. If we don't leave soon, we'll turn into snowmen."
The comment about turning into snowmen was, of course, a joke. Although they were in a snowy landscape, whenever a snowflake landed on them, an invisible force would cause it to slide off.
So, despite having spent a fair amount of time in the snow, both of them remained clean and tidy, not wet from the snow at all.
"Leaving already?"
Karin's tone held a hint of disappointment, as if she was reluctant to leave Toshiro's warm embrace.
"Good grief. If we don't leave, are we going to stay and celebrate the New Year here?"
Toshiro said irritably.
With that, Toshiro turned and walked away first.
"Hey! Toshiro, wait for me!"
Seeing this, Karin quickly chased after him and linked her arm with his, walking beside him.
At a spot one street away from the Kurosaki house, Toshiro stopped.
"Alright, I'll leave you here. Your house isn't far ahead, so you can go back the rest of the way yourself."
Toshiro said to Karin.
"Eh? Why? Since we're almost there, why don't you come over for a bit?"
Karin asked, puzzled.
"No, I have some things to do. I'll be heading back now."
Toshiro said.
In truth, Toshiro didn't have any pressing matters. He simply didn't want Isshin to see him with Karin.
Just a few days ago, he had confidently assured Isshin that he wouldn't make a move on his precious daughter. Yet today, he had been holding Karin. Even though there was a reason for it, Toshiro still felt a bit guilty.
"Alright, I'm leaving."
Toshiro freed his arm from Karin's grasp. "And be more careful in the future. I know you're a bit of a tomboy, but you're still a girl. Don't be so physically intimate with just any boy."
"What do you mean? I only did that because it was you, Toshiro. I wouldn't do that with other boys."
Karin said, sounding a bit hurt.
"Sigh..."
Toshiro took a deep breath, then said seriously, "Even with me, you shouldn't do that, Karin. I want you to understand, we are friends, and only friends. No matter how good our relationship is, there are some things we just can't do."
Toshiro felt it was better to make things clear in advance. Otherwise, the deeper Karin fell, the more she would get hurt.
"Just friends...?"
Karin's expression fell.
"Yes, just friends."
Toshiro hardened his heart and spoke coldly, like a man who seduces and abandons women.
Hearing Toshiro's words, Karin's expression dimmed, and crystal tears rolled down her cheeks.
Seeing this, Toshiro's heart ached. He turned away, as if unable to bear seeing Karin so sad.
"No! I won't be satisfied with just being friends!"
Karin suddenly hugged Toshiro from behind.
"Hey, Toshiro... I think I've fallen for you. From the very first moment I saw you. So, become my lover, Toshiro. Then, being this intimate would be perfectly natural."
Karin whispered in Toshiro's ear.
'Good grief... Are all kids in Japan this precocious? They're only in elementary school and already want to date...' Toshiro thought to himself, exasperated.
"I'm sorry, Karin. The truth is, I already have a girlfriend. She's my childhood friend. She's also a Shinigami, and we're very close. So, let's just be friends."
Toshiro still heartlessly rejected Karin's confession. Better to endure a short pain than a long one. It was better to make things clear early on with matters of the heart. Otherwise, the wounds would only deepen in the end.
"Is that so... You already have a girlfriend...?"
Karin's voice was a bit choked. "But I won't give up that easily, you know."
"Sigh... Why do you have to do this? I'm a Shinigami, you're a human. In the end, we can never be together."
Toshiro sighed.
It wasn't that Toshiro had no feelings for Karin. But as he said, it was very difficult for a Shinigami and a human to have a good outcome.
Humans are born, age, get sick, and die. Shinigami have long lifespans and eternal youth.
If Toshiro and Karin got together, by the time Karin died of old age, Toshiro would still be a young man.
Of course, there were solutions. If Karin were to die now, becoming a spirit and going to live in the Soul Society, that would solve the problem.
But then Karin would have to abandon her family and friends and live quietly in the Soul Society.
Similarly, if Toshiro gave up his identity as a Shinigami and chose to live with Karin in the Living World, that would also solve the problem.
But that was obviously impossible. Toshiro carried too many responsibilities on his shoulders. He couldn't abandon his duties as a Shinigami to live with Karin in the Living World.
So, setting aside whether their feelings were mutual, the practical difficulties alone made it very hard for Toshiro and Karin to be together.
Ideals are perfect... reality is harsh. Sometimes, when races and identities differ, it's truly difficult to be together.
Although there were precedents like Isshin and Masaki, a Shinigami and a human coming together, that happened because Isshin had given up his identity as a Shinigami, abandoned his duties as a Captain, and left his comrades and family.
And Toshiro obviously couldn't go that far.
So, it was better to end things sooner.
"I'm leaving. If there's no reason to see me... don't come looking for me anymore."
Toshiro hardened his heart, broke free from Karin's embrace, and walked away resolutely.
"Idiot! Idiot! Toshiro, you big idiot!!"
Seeing Toshiro leave without a backward glance, Karin ran off crying.
…
Urahara Shop.
"Oh my, oh my. Summer snowfall. What a magnificent and beautiful sight."
Kisuke walked outside, looking at the vast, white landscape and sighed.
"Yeah. This is probably Captain Hitsugaya's doing. After all, only he could perform such a miracle."
"Come to think of it, this isn't the first time Captain Hitsugaya has done this. Back in the Soul Society, whenever it was his birthday, everyone would ask him to make it snow to liven things up."
Renji also walked out of the shop.
Recently, Renji had been training at the Urahara Shop to improve his strength. After many consecutive days of training, Renji was feeling somewhat exhausted, both physically and mentally.
So, when he heard about the strange summer snowfall, he decided to come out and take a look, to relax a bit.
"Urahara-san, thank you for guiding me all this time. Thanks to your instruction, I feel I've improved a lot!"
Renji bowed solemnly to Kisuke.
"Don't be so formal. In a way, we're comrades. Helping you is also helping myself."
Kisuke waved his hand dismissively.
"Um... Urahara-san, I have some business to attend to. I won't be back for dinner."
Renji suddenly said, looking a bit uncomfortable.
"Oh my. Blushing. Judging by that look, you're going to see Kuchiki-san, aren't you?"
Kisuke teased.
"N-no, that's not it... Don't misunderstand, Urahara-san. I have something important to discuss with Rukia. That's all. Well, I'm off!"
Renji hurriedly ran away.
After Renji left, Kisuke didn't go back inside. Instead, he looked towards a wall nearby.
"Are you going to come out now, young lady?"
Kisuke covered the lower half of his face with his fan and tilted his head.
Tap, tap, tap...
Hearing Urahara's words, a figure emerged from behind the wall.
Looking closely, it was Karin!
"So, young lady, when did you get here? And how much did you hear?"
Kisuke asked.
Because he had been talking with Renji, Kisuke hadn't noticed Karin's arrival at first.
Only after Renji left, when Kisuke was about to go back inside, did he subconsciously sense his surroundings and discover someone hiding behind the nearby wall.
"I've been here from the start. I heard everything you just said!"
Karin said.
Earlier, after Toshiro had heartlessly rejected her confession, Karin had run off crying.
But in her sadness, she hadn't been paying attention to where she was going. So, she ran further and further from home, eventually, unknowingly, ending up near the Urahara Shop.
Then, Karin had seen Renji and Kisuke walk out of the shop and start talking. She had listened in and ended up hearing something surprising.
"That red-haired man in the black kimono who just left... he's a Shinigami, isn't he!"
Although it was a question, Karin's expression was completely certain.
"Good grief. You seem to know quite a bit, young lady. Yes, that man was a Shinigami."
Kisuke admitted directly.
Kisuke actually knew who Karin was. After all, he knew both Isshin and Ichigo, so naturally, he knew the entire Kurosaki Family.
"I heard that Shinigami say he knows Toshiro..."
Karin asked again.
"Ah, yes. His name is Abarai Renji. He's currently serving under Captain Hitsugaya."
Urahara answered every question.
"From your conversation, it sounds like you were guiding that Abarai Renji in his training. That makes you seem very strong..."
Karin looked Kisuke up and down.
"Oh ho ho. I'm not being modest, but aside from those on Captain Hitsugaya's level, there are very few Shinigami stronger than me."
Kisuke laughed in a strange, high-pitched tone.
"Then, can you help me become a Shinigami?"
Karin suddenly requested loudly.
"Oh? Why?"
Kisuke's expression turned serious.
'I am a Shinigami, you are a human. In the end, we can never be together.' Toshiro's words echoed in Karin's heart once more.
"Because if I become a Shinigami... then I can be with Toshiro, right?"