A/N: yeah, I know I've been starting new stories and not really updating them. But my ideas usually run short time after time lol. I'll try to update them as soon as I get a spark in the story. This is a Karin centric. A lot of characters will have a special moment or bond with Karin throughout the chapters. No incest. ALSO, in this story Toushirou and Karin haven't met yet.

Disclaimer: I do not own bleach, because if I did. Ichigo and Rukia would have been together and I would have killed Inoue off. Seriously, her character annoys me, her powers are pretty BA though.

"..." talking
'...' thinking

Red Strings of Fate

"An invisible red thread..."

The summer's breeze blew through the town, causing the leaves to dance with the wind. Walking home from school were three siblings. The orange hair teenager had his hands in his pockets, earphones in each ear blasting music. He was in the traditional Karakura high school student uniform, which consisted of a white button up shirt, the sleeves reaching only an inch above his elbows. Blue shirt underneath, gray pants, and black shoes. His peach skin absorbed the sun as he walked, his brown eyes half shut, as if he didn't really care about anything or anyone in the world. His abnormal spiky orange hair bounced as he walked. Everyone in town knew who he was, he was Kurosaki Ichigo. The son of the crazy Clinic owner.

On Ichigo's right was a strawberry blonde hair girl who scrunched her eyebrows together as she read her book, her brown eyes followed the words on the page. Her eyes somewhat squinting from the sun that hit her eyes, her peach skin absorbed the sun gratefully. She was in the traditional Mashiba Middle School uniform. It was a white shirt with a dark blue collar and sleeve cups, with a red bow ribbon tied around the collar. The skirt was also dark blue that reached an inch about her knee, her white socks reached up to her ankles, on her feet were brown school shoes. Her hair was styled in two pig tails with pink balls at the tie. This was no other than Kurosaki Yuzu. The sweetest twin.

On Ichigo's left was a dark ebony hair girl who carried a soccer ball to her hip. Like her older brother, she had an earphone glued to her ear. Her sun-kissed skin absorbed the sun's bright glow. Her eyes half open, her face was emotionless, but her dark gray eyes spoke differently. Her ebony hair was tied into a high pony tail as two strands of hair fell to her face, parting in the middle. Unlike her twin, she wore her uniform a little differently. She wore the traditional white shirt with dark blue collar and cups, but instead her collar was a little more lose, the cups have been folded until it reached her elbows. The 'traditional' red bow ribbon was hanging loosely around her neck. She did maintain to wear a the dark blue skirt and shoes. It was not hard to determine that this was Kurosaki Karin. The Tomboy twin.

The three walked through the ghost town streets, making their way towards the Kurosaki Clinic. Yuzu stepping in front of her siblings, opened the door. They all slipped off their shoes and went own directions. Yuzu went straight to the kitchen while Ichigo and Karin made their ways upstairs to their respected rooms.

As they went upstairs, they past a picture that hung right beside the staircase. A family picture framed on a wall revealed a family that was happy. The orange hair boy was nine, smiling happily. Clutching onto the strawberry blonde women. The dark ebony hair girl was four, smilingly happily as she pointed towards her sandcastle. The strawberry blonde girl was hugging her sister happily at their creation while the dark ebony hair father smiled, looking at his wife. The happiness in that family was long gone by now.

The family was content. They were living contently, but they never managed to find that happiness that had been lost for so long. The closest thing that the orange hair teen had got to that happiness, slipped through his fingers, leaving him in the slumps. Putting on a brave face for his two little sisters.

Ichigo and Karin went to their rooms, crashing on their bed, releasing a big sigh as they stared up at their ceilings. The small shuffling from downstairs indicated that Yuzu was already preparing supper.

Unlike Ichigo, Karin could feel the pluses and shinigamis that were running around the town. She closed her eyes, feeling a migraine coming along. Her head throbbed in pain; she sat up, keeping her eyes shut, she pulled out tube from under her bed. Earlier that week, she had gone to Urahara shoten to refill the medicine to help her through these migraines. She had gotten these pills to help her whenever a strong hollow was by a month after she discovered her brother's lost of powers. Popping a small pill into her mouth, she gulped down some water from her nightstand. Placing the tube and the water bottle in the right places, she fell back onto her bed. Her eyes shut, waiting for the pain to cease.

Karin didn't understand why her family was the way it was. Maybe it was her mother? She didn't know much about her mother, which got her to think that's where they got this ability. Another thing she didn't understand was why in the world did Yuzu wish to see ghost. In truth, it wasn't so great. Having them following them around, being called weird for talking to 'thin air', seeing hollows. That was not great at all. Actually, there was a lot of things Kurosaki Karin did not understand. In retrospect, it wasn't her fault. Her brother refused to tell her anything, let her know about anything. As the years went on, in Karin's head she wasn't sure if she even knew who her real brother was anymore.

Sighing from the thoughts that appear in her head, she rolled over onto her stomach. Burying her face into her pillow.

Meanwhile, Ichigo looked up at his ceiling. He knew shinigamis were roaming around Karakura, but he didn't know which ones. He didn't know who. Shutting his eyes in frustration, he already came to closure on his powers disappearing. He accepted it, but he didn't particular like it. He wondered a lot for the past few months. He wondered what Rukia was doing. He wondered if Inoue, Ishida, or Sado ever saw Rukia or any of the other shinigamis. His mind wondered to the last time he saw Rukia. It broken him each time she saw her face. He hasn't felt anywhere close to this feeling except for the time his mother had passed away.

The orange hair soon to be adult sighed frustratingly as he rolled onto his stomach. Burying his face into his pillow.

After an hour or so, Yuzu called everyone down for dinner. Dinner was the same as it has ever been. Isshin would attack Ichigo, which would cause a fight between the two men in the household. Yuzu would tearfully try to break up the fighting while holding a serving spoon in her hand. Karin would continue to eat as if the chaos behind her wasn't even happening.

Even when he lost his powers, that was the only thing that seemed to remain the same. Karin picked up some rice with her chopstick before shoving it into her mouth. Isshin ran and cried to the poster of their mother. "Masaki our son has become so mean!" he whimpered as he hugged the poster.

Ichigo cursed at him, which cause Yuzu to hit him with her serving spoon on the head. She apologized quickly as she sat down in front of Karin. Ichigo rubbed his head and sat beside Karin. The three of them starting to eat in silence. Slowly Isshin stood up and walked over. Taking a bite, he squealed with joy about how his 'precious daughter' has created another amazing dish. Yuzu would blush while Karin and Ichigo rolled their eyes as they shoved more food into their mouth.

This was a routine that the Kurosaki family had been adapted to for ages. None of them broke it, when a family member was missing from dinner. That routine was not played out, instead something different would be done.

The family ate the rest of their supper in silence, a few small conversations held place, as well as Ichigo and Isshin fighting. Which was quickly dispute by Karin who outsmarted the both of them causing them to sit down quietly and continue their meal.

Karin looked towards the door, hanging a chopstick in her mouth. She waited, feeling a pressure coming from outside the door. It was strong, but it wasn't a hollow. Her eyes began to throb, she had the urge to throw up. She held it down by shoving more food into her mouth then gulping it down with water. She waited for the feeling to pass but it didn't. As time went on, the pills slowly began to not work.

"Karin-chan are you alright?" Yuzu asked worried. She managed to pull a smile with a nod.

Ichigo looked towards the door, he knew that either a hollow or a shinigami was outside. Blinking, his brown eyes stared with hope. Looking back down at his half eaten meal, a sad smile appeared on his lips at the thought of Rukia looking up at him before their final goodbye.

Karin managed to know that smile on his face and fought through her headpains. "Oi, Ichi-nii if you're done eating I'll take it" she reached over to his bowl. Ichigo slapped her chopsticks with his own.

"Oi get your own. I'm not done" he began to eat more rapidly. Karin held in a grin. That's what she had to do for now. Her brother was done protecting. It was her turn to protect. Not just that, it was her turn to help her Onii-chan get his mind off the past.

After dinner, each Kurosaki went to their usual spot. Yuzu went to clean up, Isshin went back to the clinic, Karin stayed in the living room flipping through the channels, while Ichigo went straight to his room. On his way up, he looked over his shoulder. Watching his ebony hair sister flip through the channels with a bored expression on her face. He gave her a slight smile, knowing what she was doing before dinner ended. He was grateful. Looking at the stairs as he made his up, he couldn't help but remember the food he brought upstairs to feed the hungry shinigami.

It was Friday the middle school had been dismissed early. Kurosaki Karin walked through the busy streets of Karakura. They were always busy during the middle of a day, Friday nonetheless. She was in her uniform, just as before, disoriented but she didn't really care. A soccer ball was in a netted bag, which was tied to her right wrist. She kicked it through the bag, letting it bounce on her knee then foot. Her left hand carried a school briefcase. Earphones were plugged into her ear, blasting a tune to block out the people surrounding her.

Karin found herself on a familiar path, removing one earphone, she turned a corner. Walking closer and closer to the small shop. She found a familiar girl sweeping the front, looking up. "Urahara-san has been expecting you" she said with a shy tone. The girl sweeping was a girl Karin had known well for the past few years. She worked at Urahara's shoten and was a grade higher than her, they didn't attend the same school though. She stopped wearing her hair in pig tails. Her black hair midway down her back, her dark blue eyes held sincerity, the deep blush on her cheeks had fainted throughout the years.

Karin nodded. "Arigatuo Ururu" she made her way inside the shop.

Her eyes caught a pale man, sitting on the side with a cup of tea in his hands. His green and white stripped bucket hat, which covered his eyes. A small grin was on his face as he took a sip of his tea. "Welcome, Kurosaki-chan"

"Urahara-san" Karin knelt in front of the man, only because she was in a skirt. "The medications aren't working that well anymore"

"Kurosaki-san" the man pouted as he put his tea down. "I just made a new batch!" Karin rolled her eyes at the childish behavior which always reminded her of her father. "Maybe you're the problem. Not the pills"

Karin glared at the man in front of her. "Urahara-san, we've been dealing with this for a while now. The pills always last six months top before I need a new and advanced one. I got this one this week, something's wrong with this one" Karin took out the tube and placed it in front of him.

Urahara grabbed the tube, raising an eyebrow. "Kurosaki-chan, these are the strongest ones we have. These should have lasted you about a year"

"Nani?!" Karin's eyes widen in shock. "Are you sure?" It was a stupid question, of course he was sure. Urahara Kisuke was always sure.

Karin stared at the man in disbelief. "Tch. This is gonna be a problem" He lowered his gaze, hiding his eyes with a smirk on his face. "Which makes this even more fun" Karin blinked. "Kurosaki Karin" Suddenly he stood up, one hand on his hat. The other hand holding his cane, pointing directly at Karin who remained un-phased. "You must become a shinigami"

"No thanks" Karin was already halfway towards the door, her hands waving it off as if it was nothing. Urahara froze, his eyebrow twitching. "I don't believe in ghost in the first place. The only reason I get stuff from here, is to get hollows and them away from me and my family." Karin explained as she looked over at Urahara. He stood there, watching the Kurosaki deny the chance of becoming a shinigami. "Ichi-nii's the shinigami Urahara-san, not me" Urahara blinked as he watched her leave the shop.

"Oi, I'm off" Karin announced. "Sayounara." she waved off as she walked her way home. Wrapping the net on her right wrist, she began kicking her soccer ball. The earphones plugged back into her ear. Making her way home.

She kicked the ball to the beat of the music blasting in her ears. She stopped dead in her tracks. The ball falling to the floor, still in it's net. Did her eyes deceive her? Was she hallucinating? Then again, if what she saw was true she should have been passing out. Then again, she never really passed out before when she was around. Blinking, she just stood there.

Karin walked closer and closer. She watched as the figure looked out into the horizon, watching the sun set with a glimpse of something familiar. The way the figure looked out into the distance, 'it was the exact same way Ich-nii looks when he thinks no one is looking.' She thought to herself.

"Rukia-chan" Karin called out to the figure, but with a blink of an eye. She vanished. Karin sighed as she shook her head. She began to walk again.

"Karin-chan" her feet paused. Turning around, she saw a girl who was about two inches taller than she was. Her hair was now cropped into a bob hair style, which hangs on her face. Her grey eyes didn't reveal much. She was dressed in what shinigami's usually wore, except she wore white fingerless tekkou and had some sort of badge on her arm.

Karin blinked in disbelief. She was in shinigami form, not in a body that she was used to seeing. "Rukia-chan. What. What are you doing back?" Rukia didn't answer she just sighed. "Does Ichi-nii know..." the words fell out of her mouth as she remembered. He couldn't see her. "Why don't you visit?"

"I-I can't Karin. I'm not even suppose to be here." Rukia answered simply as she slowly approached the ebony hair girl. "You've grown" she said with a small smile. Karin remained still. "Humans and Shinigamis. It doesn't work"

"It worked before" Karin answered. Rukia raised an eyebrow. "I know there's a lot I don't know. Ichi-nii refuses even now to say he was a shinigami. I don't know much about what happened throughout these years, but Rukia-chan if you're breaking the rules already by coming here. Why can't you just see Ichi-nii"

"Doesn't work like that" both heads shot towards a group of people. Karin backed away, scrunching her eyebrows together in confusion. Her stomach began to churn as she felt the urge to hurl her empty stomach. Her head began to throb but she fought through it.

"Kurosaki is your brother correct?" Karin nodded slowly as she stared at the man in front of her. The man was beyond tall and was beyond buff. He wore the shinigami attire, but had a white haori that had a high collar with light gold edges and tassels on the corner. His hair was somewhat long, having hairpieces at the back of his head.

"Karin, you cannot under any circumstances tell Ichigo we're here" Rukia said, shaking Karin's shoulders. Grey eyes met. Karin could see the pain in her eyes, slowly nodded. In a blink of an eye, Karin saw everything. Karin quickly backed away nodding.

"I won't say a thing" when she looked up, they were gone. The wind blew, going south. Her eyes followed towards the direction. Knowing it was them. The pain went away as she began making her way home.

'You must become a Shinigami.' Urahara's voice echoed through her head as she stepped inside the house, the smell of food hit her nostrils. She took of her shoes and made her way further into the house, discovering that Ichigo was on the couch flipping through the channels.

"Where'd you go?" his eyes never left the screen as Karin past him.

"I had things to do" Ichigo turned around to watch his sister go upstairs. A sense of deja vu and had hit him. He shrugged it off and absentmindedly flip through the channels.

Karin went to her room, falling back onto her bed she stared at the ceiling. Her eyes slowly began to drop as Urahara's words echoed in her ear. 'You must become a shinigami...'

Karin opened her eyes, and found herself in a place that was unfamiliar. Looking around, she didn't recognize a thing. Tilting her head, she saw a smaller version of Rukia and Renji. Approaching the two, she saw them standing where small mounds were. From the sweat and dirt on their faces as well as the shovel in both of their hands, Karin realized that they had just buried a body. Karin could feel the pain that Rukia had went through. A tear slipped down the Kurosaki's face, she blinked and the scenery changed. Karin now watched as the man from before, the tall dark hair man who had weird pins in his hair, talking to Rukia. She felt the confusion and a small joy fill inside her own body, her eyes shot up and saw that Rukia's eyes manage to feel the same thing. With another blink of an eye, the setting changed to another incident. She was talking to a man who rather looked similar to her brother but had dark blue hair instead. Another blink and she witness Rukia step into her brother's room.

Karin shot up in a sweat. Her breathing became unstable. Looking around the room she found Yuzu sound asleep. Her eyes quickly looked towards the clock, discovering that it was almost five. Knowing she couldn't go back to sleep. Karin stood up and grabbed a clean pair of her uniform before heading towards the shower. Walking out of her room, she continued down the hall. She paused as she heard the tossing and turning of Ichigo. With a sigh she continued her way to the bathroom.

Karin entered the bathroom, locking it as she placed her clothes on the counter. She turned on the shower then walked to the sink. Looking up at the mirror. She had bags under her eyes, her grey eyes showed exhaustion. Slowly shutting them, her thoughts were filled with small flashes of Rukia's life. From the day she realized why she was adopted, to the day she had to say goodbye to Ichigo. Karin felt every emotion as each glimpse of her past appeared in her head.

Karin opened her eyes, seeing the steam flow over the curtains, she realized the water was hot enough for her to shower.

A/N: This story has kind of always been on my mind, but inspiration shot up like a freaking rocket from this one video youtube. Trust me when I say, I freaking fell in love with this video. If that doesn't work, the video is called Ichigo/Rukia; You're my soulmate, Rukia
[link]: youtube . watch?v=jRAhQE6kEfs
I'm also trying to make these chapters much longer.

Quickrant: Why is it called HitsuKarin. Shouldn't it be TouRin? mhmm, just a thought. lol.