Sorry for any and all grammatical and spelling mistakes. I found writing this very challenging because I couldn't quite express the pain the characters felt in words as well as I hoped. Please Review!

She stared out the window of her bedroom. Rain poured, wind blew and lightning crashed. Thunder echoed around the house and she closed her eyes. Memories filled her head. Memories of her annoying father, loving sister, stoic-faced brother and laughing mother. Memories full of laughter and smiles, of soccer matches and candied beans, of him.

Downstairs she heard the front door shut, shuffling of shoes, grocery bags being placed on the kitchen counter. Ichigo was home, hopefully the groceries didn't get soaked from the rain. He didn't call out to announce his arrival, there was no need. There was no more hyperactive father to greet him with a punch, no smiling sister wearing an apron to offer him a snack. And no tomboy sister to welcome him back.

Karin drifted out the door of her old bedroom and down the steps. She watched as her orange-haired brother opened up the fridge, putting away food. He walked right past her to close the umbrella. She closed her eyes as tears appeared.

She was dead. She was a ghost. And he was no longer a Shinigami.

The battle with Aizen had not only taken away his reistsu, it had also taken away the little family he had left. This was the true torment, the worst thing Aizen had ever done to the Kurosaki family. Ichigo had nothing.

Orihime was gone. Caught in the battle between him and Grimmjow. She had saved his life, throwing herself between him and the Cero at the last minute.

Chad and Ishida were gone. They had sacrificed themselves to finish off Ulquoirra as Aizen's palace crumbled. Ichigo had barely made it out, but a part of him wished he hadn't.

Then he had watched as Aizen slit his father's throat in front of him, a smirk on his face. Afterwards he had defeated the traitor, sacrificing his life as a Shinigami for it.

He had returned to living normally, spending the last few days he had with his reistsu taking out Hollows alongside Rukia, slowly healing. And then one day Rukia had been called back to Soul Society. There was no need for her in Karakura town after all. He had watched as she disappeared into the Senkai gate. A single tear slid down her cheek as she did so. She hated it as much as he did. The wound reopened.

As if that was not horrible enough, life decided to claim Yuzu's life as well. A hit-and-run accident. Neither Karin nor Ichigo ever forgave themselves for letting her do the groceries alone that day. Ichigo could not find her ghost.

Then a day had come when he had so little reistsu left he could barely see the Hollow's silhouette. It stood over him, baring its sharp teeth. He closed his eyes, waiting for death. Then a soccer ball had come from nowhere and hit the monster on the head, saving him. Sadly, Karin was no match for it. Of all the horrible things life had done to him, watching his sister get tossed like a doll into the air, landing with a sickening crunch. That was truly the worst.

For some reason, the Hollow had then walked away. Perhaps it had decided it had caused enough grief or maybe it sensed a stronger spiritual pressure. Whatever the reason, it had left enough time for Ichigo to take his dying sister into his arms and watch as the life left her.

That was two weeks ago.

Now, Ichigo runs the clinic alone. He doesn't talk to Tatsuki or any of the others anymore. He avoids going near Urahara's shop. He just lives like a zombie. A soulless human living a mundane life, the spark is gone from his eyes. The sprit crushed by cruel incidents.

Karin had done everything she could. But nothing worked. He could not see her. He could not hear her. She heads out the door and drifts up to the roof. As expected finds a dark-haired girl there in Shinigami robes there. She isn't surprised. It wasn't the first time she'd come to visit.

Rukia turns to her with sad eyes. "Hello Karin." The ghost nods and says, "Hey...Don't send me there yet. I think I'll stick around for a while and say good bye to a few places." "Alright, just be wary of Hollows."

Karin drifts around town, she passes by a familiar house. Grandma Haru died just after the defeat of Aizen, old age got to her before the ambulance did.

She walks around school, the soccer field, along the river and to her family's grave. Finally she finds herself walking up a hill to a spot she would once spend time with someone she considered her best friend. The Sun begins to set as she leans against the railing. She feels a presence, his presence but she holds her silence. He approaches her and stands behind the railing.

There is no awkwardness in the silence, just sadness-plain and pure sadness.

"Kurosaki…" "Do it." "What?"

Finally she turns to face him and a pang of guilt hits her. She knows what she is about to do is cruel and heartless but they both know it would be more practical than the drama which comes with what they both truly want. "The soul burial, hurry up Hitsugaya," she says.

For a moment, he stares at her in surprise. Never before had she addressed him in the proper way. Despite always berating her for not doing it, he found himself hating it. Not just that, but the clarity and decisive tone in her voice. As well as her expressionless face. And the lack of happiness in her voice-it was overwhelming to him. It broke his heart.

"Karin I'm sorry I didn't come to you sooner. There was just so much chaos and I thought it was better for you if I…" "Hurry up, before a Hollow arrives and eats me."

Anything would have been better than that.

He wanted her to come at him, kicking and screaming. Perhaps even loving and forgiving. But the plain voice and expression…void of any emotion. It was killing him inside, slowly and painfully.

Inside, this was killing her too. She saw his heart crack and break into tiny pieces through his eyes. But this was how it had to go. No matter how heartbreaking it was.

So she stepped in front of him and watched as he drew his sword. The Sun sets behind her as she disappears. The last memory of her life as Kurosaki Karin-Hitsugaya was Toshiro bringing down the sword's hilt on her head with the words, "Good-Bye Karin. You were my best friend."

She saw a blinding light and her own last words brought the Tenth Division Captain to his knees.

"Good-Bye Toshiro. You were more than a best friend to me."

Thanks for reading:)