• 1-Love is a Triangle
• 2-Hello Beautiful
• 3-Misery Date
• 4-Toshiro Says the Dumbest Things
• 5-First Day of School, and a Second Date
• 6-The Panther and His Tamer
• 7-Little War, Lovely Peace Maker
• 8-A Bad Dream and Not So Cold Comfort
• 9-A Gnawing Sensation
• 10-My Mate!
• 11-Instinctual Addiction
• 12-Awakened—New Power, New Feelings
• 13-Hit by a Bus of Love
• 14-Upset and Vulnerable
• 15-New Connections

You Bent My Triangle!

Chapter 7: Little War, Lovely Peace Maker

Toshiro stood ready for a fight. Karin tried to go around.

"What are you doing Karin?" He screamed.

"I'm sorry Captain Hitsugaya, I made a promise, and I must keep it," Karin tried to run to the one who needed her. Toshiro grabbed her arm and pulled her back. Karin felt her arm jerked. She screamed in frustration. Neither she nor the boy noticed the lifeless gigai lying just outside the school gates. But it finally dawned on them that an extremely pissed off blue haired arrancar was descending upon them.

"Get your filthy hands off my woman, shinigami!" The soul-reaper was forced to oblige-pushing her away and narrowly avoiding a beheading.

Karin was pushed aside as two angry men fought over her. She watched unbelieving, as the fight intensified. All she could see were blurs.

Renji and Hanataro joined her on the sidelines. A hand tapped her shoulder, "We should go, it’s not safe here."

"No," she wrenched her shoulder away.

"What?" Renji grabbed her arm and tried to make her move.

"No!" Karin's spirit energy engulfed the three of them. Hanataro could not stand against it. Renji was standing without very much trouble, but he couldn't budge the girl.

"I have to stop them. This fight is meaningless!" Karin was studying the two of them. ‘How am I gonna' do this?’ She thought anxiously. She feared for both of them. Also she was ticked at Toshiro for not listening.

She watched intently, as her irritation grew, she noticed there were breaks in the fight. She needed to predict where they would stop then beat them there. It was a very bad idea, but she had no other recourse. She waited. Their moves did seem predictable.

"Why?" Renji asked, his eyes pleaded with her to allow him to take her a safe distance away.

"The fact is that I made that arrancar a promise," She looked stubbornly over her shoulder, "A Kurosaki never goes back on her word."

"But he's dangerous," Renji almost whined.

"He would not have attacked if Hitsugaya hadn't put himself between us."

"So?"

"So, Grimm felt threatened. He kind of thinks of me as his mate," The familiarity she used when referring to this 'man' she barely knew was fairly disturbing. Renji looked disgusted, Karin rolled her eyes, "What happens when someone gets between a predator and his mate? Epically if it is another male?" Renji looked into her eyes wondering where she was going with this. Hanataro whimpered. "They are trying to protect me from each other, don't you see how stupid it is!"

‘Seems they are fighting over you rather then for your safety.’ Renji nodded still disturbed by the thought of a delicate beauty like her 'mating' with that monster, ‘Is it true? And if it is, why would she choose him? Besides being a monster, he's a friggin' nut case! ‘

The 'delicate beauty,' as Renji had begun to think of her, was about to do something very, very stupid. (Did I mention very?) She saw her opening before it appeared. Then Karin was gone, Renji had no time to stop her. He turned his head from where she had been standing and looked back to the fight, ‘How the hell did she do that?’ (That's what I'd like to know.)

There she was a zanpaktou at her neck on each side. Karin didn't flinch, she stood perfectly still. A small cut on her neck was indicated with a trickle of blood. Toshiro was less than a centimeter from severing her femoral artery. Grimm was just a hair's breadth from her delicate jaw. Neither sword was retracted. The fighters froze, unwittingly holding their dream girl hostage.

"Stop!" she was facing Toshiro, "Both of you!" Neither backed down though their swords moved away from her vulnerable flesh. Karin turned sideways. She placed a hand on each man's chest. She pushed them none to gently. Both stumbled backward in surprise, "IDIOTS!"

Everybody gawked as the fair maiden turned a new breed of ugly. She snarled, "You two could have hurt someone," Ignoring the light flesh wounds each had acquired. Her scowl put Grimmjow's most maniacal grin to shame, "Grimm! Go get your damned gigai. Someone could pass by any minute and think you had a heart attack!"

‘Yes! Damn she's so hot,’ Grimm thought gleefully to himself as he went obediently to retrieve his false body, ‘I love it when she gets all bossy like that!’

Toshiro made a move toward him. There was Karin, holding her arms out impatiently, "Where do you think you're going, Captain?"

He tried to go around, "Toshiro! I SAID STAY PUT!" His jaw dropped in disbelief.

‘Surely she can't be protecting him,’ Toshiro glared at the espada, carrying his own gigai.

Karin turned and saw this. She pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration, "Please put it back on before someone walks by. They'll think they've gone crazy, and started seeing floating corpses." Grimmjow gave a sheepish smile that was very un-grimm-like. He slipped back into the body.

"We are going to have a talk after school." The scowl did not quite leave her face, but only evidence of the ugliness was an expression of irritation, "I already told Yuzu I was not feeling well so I'm leaving. You three better go back to class. I'll meet you at my house, bring those other two with you we will be discussing business."

Grimmjow wrapped an arm around her shoulder, "Don't worry I'll keep her in line."

‘Bastard!’ Two of the three thought, Hanataro just whimpered.

"Captain, that girl is scarier than the strongest espada, I would have had a heart attack If I weren't already dead," Renji was not meaning to be funny, but he got a few uncomfortable chuckles out of them.

Toshiro spent the next two hours on the edge of his seat, though his mask of coldness never wavered. The bell finally rang. He called Ikkaku and Yumichika, told them to meet up at Kurosaki's house.

‘Why did we listen to her she's probably dead.’ All seemed to think this, it showed on their worried faces.

Five soul-reapers showed up at Karin's place.

"Hey!"

They looked up to see a swath of silky black hair cascading over the facade of the house. Karin's face appeared above them, "Come on up, were waiting,"

On the roof the shinigami were surprised to find three people waiting. On Karin's right with shocking blue hair and eyes, on her left a strawberry blond with brown eyes.

"Ichigo?" Ikkaku exclaimed. The rest of them were surprised since he was supposed to be at the university and it was at least a two and a half hour drive.

"Kurosaki?" Both said yes, Toshiro mentally smacked himself, it was just too damn funny and everybody else laughed, ‘We are sitting in the presence of a very dangerous hollow and they are laughing?’

"I meant Ichigo Kurosaki. So what are you doing here, shouldn't you be at school?"

"Karin called me, we talked for a little bit and I decided she needed her big brother," Ichigo did not look at all comfortable with the situation. He had his arm protectively wrapped around his sister, and he sent an icy glance Grimmjow's way.

Grimm smirked and moved closer to Karin. Ichigo drew her away from Grimm and closer to himself. Grimm scooted closer, it was an interesting dance which resulted in a very much squished Karin. She was sandwiched between the two men, facing each other shooting daggers from their eyes in the other's direction. The only one who seemed aware of the awkwardness of the situation was the one caught in the middle.

"Down boys, no fighting on the roof! Besides I can't breathe! For goodness sake Ichigo would it kill you to apply some deodorant," Ichigo blushed violently and sniffed himself. Everybody, but Ichigo and Hitsugaya thought this hilarious. He smelled fine but he found his sister now being cradled in the lap of his worst enemy.

"This sucks," Ichigo growled at them. You mind not molesting my sister right in front of me. Karin moved off his lap and sat neutrally between them, though Grimmjow still had her hand in his.

Karin started their little meeting, "I knew this would not be pleasant for you, but I respect your feelings too much, brother , not to include you in our discussion. You can act as the peace keeper. And I am well aware that you have your hand on your sword Toshiro. And Ikkaku, and Ymichika? This is not a battle. This is a discussion." Karin took control of the situation, "Let's call it peace negations. Anyone gets out of line Ichigo can beat the crap out of him, or her," the 'her' she allowed for fairness sake, "If Ichigo gets out of line I'll have Yuzu take care of him," She cracked a grin and only a few of them could appreciate the joke implied.

"Anyway let's get down to business, Grimmjow?" Karin looked at him all mirth falling off her face, she was calm and collected, "You want to say your piece first?"

More than one shinigami saw the leadership potential in this pretty young girl.

‘That girl is really Captain Material,’ Toshiro admired her to himself.

Grimmjow started, he sounded flustered, "Well-um, I don't know where I should begin," he rubbed the back of his head self-consciously. It was a weird experience to see a hollow being bashful.

‘That arrancar acts so human, it is very strange, he had his guard down, he is smiling and blushing.’ Toshiro was analyzing the situation.

"Come on Grimmjow tell them some of the things you told me, and Ichigo. If you can win enough trust out of him to let you sit on his roof then I am sure we can convince the rest of them that you don't mean any harm to me, or anybody else.

‘Fat Chance!’ It was thought in unison by every male, but Grimmjow, and surprisingly Ichigo.

"Uh, well, My intent was to hurt you when I first met you," Grimm said quietly, but loud enough for everyone to hear. "Um, well, uhh, when I saw you, there was something special about you. First I really wanted to hurt you. I wanted to taste your blood," There was lust lingering in the words that made everybody nervous, "When I felt your aura it was different it was nice. I wanted you, just you. I didn’t know what it was so I left you. I couldn't stop thinkin' about you. I came back to see you again, but I still did not understand this need just to be near you. Like the emptiness that is always there, it's gone, or almost gone. Then Ulquiorra threatened you and I knew I had to come back and protect you. And I'm so sorry that I had ever hurt you," His voice was harsh. It was sincere, could anyone act that well?

Karin felt in her very soul that he was stating the truth. Ichigo trusted his sister. This situation was so much more then problematic. To Ichigo it all felt like some kind of surreal dream, he mumbled irately, "I can't believe I missed class for this."

{To be continued…}