So……….second chappy……………..remember to read & review!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Same old, same old, of course. And by the way……….yeah, this story was quite depressing…but believe me, karin's not 'running away' from anything…in fact…she's doing the opposite……I mean she's doing this to 'prevent harm to anymore innocent bystanders', remember??? Yeah. Just to clarify. Well…Hope you like it!

I answered, "My dearest, my darling,

Mine too. I will die with you."

Ichigo's POV

"What's going on?"

"I don't know, but it seems to be something really big!"

"I heard from Tsukasa that someone from the Tenth Squad was found in the forest. Dead!" Whispered another shinigami, "And it was a seated officer!"

I froze. No…

"Yeah, they say it was the Kurosaki girl. The Kurosaki Karin! You know, that prodigy girl with the wind Zanpakutou?"

I could feel my heart stop. Literally.

No. I don't believe it.

I spun around and grabbed the one who had spoken by the collar and yanked him up.

"Where did you hear this?!" I snarled menacingly.

He recoiled, looking afraid.

"…K-kurosaki – Taicho, I-I…."

"Tell me!"

"I…I don't really know…it's just what everyone else says…"

"Why you little-"

"ICHIGO!!! What in Kami's name are you doing strangling your own subordinates?!!!!!!!!"

I looked around again. This time finding Rukia with her hands on her hips, looking bemused. I released the man immediately.

"Rukia…where's Karin?" I rasped, my voice suddenly hoarse.

She stopped staring at me immediately, and her eyes dropped to the ground. And I knew, just from her expression, what had happened. What everyone else already knows. And then it hit me, squarely in the chest. But I still tried to laugh it off, even then.

"Oh, no, of course not…! How can that happen to Karin? She can take care of herself…right, yeah. I mean, I hate to say this, but she's probably even stronger than I am! Besides, even I can feel her reiatsu a whole mile away when she's not suppressing it…"

Rukia stares into me some more, and I could feel her getting even more somber.

"And do you feel her reiatsu now? No, Ichigo. I tried to forget what I saw…but I was there…I saw with my very own eyes! So how can I lie to you? I want to lie, but I can't! Not anymore…Ichigo, Karin's not here anymore!" Her voice was shaking.

"And Ichigo, I really don't know how to say this, but your sister...has been missing ever since you and the other taichos left for Hueco Mundo. We looked everywhere…and we also hoped that maybe she had sneaked off with you and Hitsugaya-taicho or something…but then, just yesterday….we found her in the forest."

That finally stopped me. I stumbled a little towards her, and place my hand on her arm. "Rukia..."

My fingers trembled, and I felt strange. "Can I…I need to see for myself, Rukia."

Rukia slowly looked up into my eyes, and I could see the tears of anger and helplessness on the tips of her lashes.

"Rukia…where is she?!"

She frowned, crinkling her eyebrows thinking hard.

"All right then…Ichigo…please. Just...come with me."

All right I admit it…..this chapter was a bit rushed. Yeah….well, when I'm typing, you're probably going to find a lot of typos cuz I try to post as quickly as I can. Especially since my chapters are so short, as I'm sure you've noticed. Normally I'm supposed to post about four chapters a day if I have time, but nowadays I've been quite busy with finals…………….*sigh* well I know this is like the hundredth time I've said this, but PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thx!!!!!!!! Just let me know people are actually reading this……………