Connecting Comfort

Ichigo Kurosaki sat bored in the dark living room of his quiet house flipping through the TV channels, trying to ignore Kon's snoring as the he lied on the arm of the couch, his stuffed foot twitching every ten seconds or so, "Damn it." Ichigo tossed the remote onto the couch cushion beside him as another rumble of thunder made the windows shudder. Whenever a thunderstorm like this one came up the TV was basically a piece of useless junk. Ichigo sighed as he laid his head back and closed his eyes. His dad had gotten a call from the hospital; they told him they were in the need of an extra doctor, so his dad left before the storm hit. He had texted Ichigo not too long ago telling him that he wouldn't be able to come home until the storm broke.

Ichigo opened his eyes and lifted his head when he heard soft crying. The crying stopped, Ichigo listened for more. He got up and went upstairs when the crying continued. "Yuzu?" He opened the door to his sisters' room.

His youngest sister lied on her bed sobbing, "M-Mama, Mama." Ichigo closed the door behind him and went over to Yuzu's bed to find her asleep. "No Mama, please! Don't leave!" Yuzu cried.

Ichigo kneeled by his sister's bed, "Yuzu." Ichigo said softy as he rubbed her wet cheek with back of his hand tenderly. Yuzu whimpered then her eyes fluttered open as more tears poured down her face and onto Ichigo's fingers. "I-Ichigo?" Yuzu looked up at her big brother with sad eyes.

Ichigo smiled at her gently, "It's okay Yuzu; you just had a bad dream. Everything's okay." Ichigo wiped her tears away.

Yuzu reached up for him to hold her, "Ichigo…" Ichigo smiled tenderly at her, he stood up, and took her into his arms, "…Ichigo…" Yuzu sobbed into his pure white t-shirt.

"Shhh-shh- shh." Ichigo soothed as he sat on Yuzu's bed and sat her on his lap. He held her close and ran a fight calloused hand through her blond hair, "It's okay, it's okay; big brother's gotcha." He whispered to her as she cried into his chest. Sure Ichigo was known as a tough guy and had a reputation to uphold at school, but when it came to his sisters all that didn't matter; he would go to the ends of the earth for them, he would give his own life for them.

"M-Mama came back and then…and then she left…she left us again, Ichigo." Yuzu gripped the front of Ichigo's shirt into her fist as she cried harder. Ichigo hushed her gently.

Ichigo looked over towards the other bed across from Yuzu's when he heard light crying from that bed, "Come here, Karin." He told his other sister. Yuzu's crying reduced to sniffling as she cuddled up against her brother's chest. Karin crawled onto the bed as she continued to cry lightly, she made her way over to her siblings, and curled up beside Ichigo. Ichigo wrapped a strong arm around Karin and pulled her closer. Karin latched onto him as he kissed her on the top of her head.

"…A bad dream…" Karin wiped her eyes. Ichigo looked at her as Yuzu continued sniffling, trying not to cry anymore, "…You left us... like Mama did…" Karin began to cry harder. Ichigo looked at her a little surprised; not only because she had a dream like that about him, but because it had been forever since he saw her cry.

"Please Ichigo, don't leave us…you can't, you just can't!" Yuzu looked up at the substitute Soul Reaper.

"Shhh." He hugged both Yuzu and Karin to him, "It's okay; I'm not going anywhere, I promise." His sisters held unto him as he looked out the window to see the storm had died down to a light drizzle, Ichigo watched the rain come down softly as the girls' crying reduced back down to sniffling and whimpering.

Ichigo tried to think of a way to get them both back to sleep then an old lullaby came to the surface from the depths of his mind,
"Midnight moonlight shining through the curtain lace paints a perfect picture on your perfect face
Two sweet angels sleeping in my arms
You're the promise I knew God would keep
And you'll never know how much I love you
But I'll keep telling you my whole life through
As I sing my angel's lullaby

It wasn't just any old lullaby; it was the lullaby that his mother used to sing. Of course he changed it from one angel to two considering he was holding both of his sisters; in any case that lullaby meant a lot to him. He looked at the two that he held, they were fast asleep, both hanging onto him still. Ichigo knew he wouldn't be able to leave their room without waking them. Ichigo leaned back against the headboard and looked out the window again.

Yuzu grip tightened on Ichigo's shirt as she sighed in her sleep. Ichigo smiled at her then looked at Karin. Karin tried to act independent, like she never needed anybody to look out for her, but she was still just a little girl and she cared about her family more than she let on. Ichigo brushed Karin's hair out of her eyes as she whispered his name in her sleep. Ichigo smiled at them then leaned his head back against the headboard again and closed his eyes. He hoped that his sisters knew that he would always be with them just like he knew his mother was always with him. "Love you Mama." He whispered as he drifted off to sleep.

############

She smiled at them, all of her angels asleep together on her youngest baby's bed. She went over to the bed and pulled the sheet over them. She petted Karin's hair and kissed her cheek, then kissed the top of Yuzu's head. She looked at Ichigo with a loving smile, she brushed back his bangs and kissed his forehead, then caressed his cheek, "I love you too Ichigo." She whispered, "It wasn't your fault; it never was and never will be. Take care of them and your father. I'm so proud of you." She pulled away and went into the light were she would enter her final resting place.

A faint smile appeared on his face.

FIN

Ta-da!

I know according to the Manga/Anime that Ichigo's Mother's soul was eaten by Grand Fisher, but this is a fanfic so who cares if I change the facts a little?