Just something I thought of while listening to Safe and Sound by Taylor Swift (ft. The Civil Wars). It's actually a great song and I suggest you listen to it if you have already :)

Enjoy!

...

Screams were heard from the upstairs bedroom. Yuzu had yet another nightmare. They had become more frequent since Ichigo left to fight in the war. He was all Karin and Yuzu had since their father died at the start of the first battle: That was almost ten years ago.

Karin sat next to her little sister, comforting her as best she could in the situation. Yuzu whimpered in Karin's arm and she slowed her crying. Soft hushes and hummed lullabies soothed the grieving girl back to sleep. Karin never knew what she saw, but every night, she said the same thing before dozing back to sleep.

"Don't leave me alone..."

Karin always replied with a smile on her face.

"Never, not as long as I'm alive."

Yet tonight seemed different. Yuzu, wouldn't sleep and not once let go of Karin. At first, Karin thought is was because Ichigo had not written to them in a long while. Almost a month. He had to still be alive. Nobody had come knocking and delivered the news like they did with their father.

A knock was heard from the front door. Yuzu clung tightly to Karin and pleaded for her to stay, but she left to answer the door anyways. Relief consumed Karin when he saw it was Toushiro, but his face was clouded with nerve and fear.

"What's going on?" Karin said, shakily.

"Everyone who-" Toushiro stopped to gather himself. "Any and every able-bodied person over 16 is to prepare for battle... The war is coming here."

Katie froze when Yuzu ran up behind her and clung for dear life.

"Don't let my dreams come true. Please, don't Gi! I don't want to be all alone... Don't go!" Yuzu burst into tears and repeated herself.

"Yu..." Karin hugged her sister tightly. "I'll be alright. I will come back in no time. Everything will be okay."

Yuzu shook her head.

"It's not you. All of my dreams are of me... Alone in the cellar and the bad people find me... I don't want them to find me!"

"She can stay with gramps in his attic. There's a lol so nobody can get in to them."

Karin liked the idea but Yuzu protested. Toushiro had to carry her away to make things easier, but it was heart wrenching seeing Yuzu so distraught. It had to be done non the less.

...

By daybreak, the village was a blood bath. More than half the fighting villagers were dead or I hired while waves of enemies poured into the village. There was no hope left.

Karin was perched on top of her jk e, shooting her late mothers now at every intruder she saw with great accuracy. Toushiro was on the front lines, fighting with the katana his father had made for him before he himself left for the war.

"Set every house on fire! Leave nobody alive!" Karin heard one man command.

She used her last bow to kill him, but it was seconds to late. I trousers started lighting even building in fire and her home was no exception. She ran into Ichigo's room and took his dagger from under his bed. With no other choice, she jumped out the window and onto an intruder, stabbing him in the eye, twisting, and pulled out before sprinting down the road to Toushiro's home.

It was already engulfed in flames

"No..." Karin fought tears and turned it into blind rage. "NO~!"

She sprinted and attacked any and every intruder she encountered. Karin was so distraught, she thought Ichigo had ck e riding in on a black stallion, announcing the end I the war. That the rebellion had been won. In fact he was no hallucination. Ichigo had in fact come home with wonderful news of their victory. The enemies became to distracted and the villagers finally finished them off quickly.

Karin collapsed and broke down in Freud oh her sister. Ichigo jumped off his horse and picked up his little sister.

"It's all over now. We can rejoice-"

"NO!" Karin bawled, "Yuzu i-is... She d-didn't... She's dead! They took h-her from u-us!"

Wake up

Karin froze and everything went black.

Wake up. Please! Karin, can you hear me?

'Yuzu?'

Karin shot up in her bed covered in sweat and years pouring down her face. Yuzu hugged her sister and gave a sigh of relief.

"You scared me half to death! You wouldn't wake up and you just kept on screaming and crying... Are you alright?"

Karin nodded her head and smiled, embracing Yuzu back

'I won't let anything bad ever happen to you. Never.'