The hesitant knock on their front door on Sunday afternoon made Karin and Yuzu run towards it in excitement. The pair arrived at the door at the same time and swung it open so wide that the two men on the doorstep that were leaning against the door almost fell inside.

"Uncle Shu!" Karin screamed as Yuzu laughed,

"Uncle Jū!" She said with infinite glee the pair of men that was stood on the doorstep looked between the girls both of them beaming with pride. Shunsui was the first one over the threshold and he enveloped Karin and Yuzu in a warm embrace kissing each girl softly on the crowns of their heads. Jūshirō followed in close behind his lover and kissed each of them on the cheek holding their hands in his.

"It's so lovely to see you both," Jūshirō said in his soft velvet like tone; he was about to say something else, but from the living room there was a booming voice that called out to them all,

"Would that be our pervert guests arriving?" Shunsui laughed at the insult while Jūshirō looked a charming mix of baffled and hurt.

"The only pervert I can see is you dad." Karin said grinning.

"There is no pulling the wool over her eyes," Shunsui said laughing as the group entered the living room to see Isshin stood in a loud red and yellow Hawaiian shirt and bright blue jeans. "Couldn't you tone it down a little bit?" Shunsui asked and Isshin grabbed his old mentor in a large bear hug.

"Now why would I want to do that?" Isshin asked, "I left the company so I could wear all the most horrific shirts I could find and not have Yamma-gi give me that look of disgust." Shunsui laughed again as he patted Isshin on the back,

"That my friend is a look I know all too well, Ol'Yamma prerfected that look on me long before you arrived." Isshin laughed at that and let Shunsui go before he wrapped his arms around Jūshirō,

"It's been too long," the older man said in to Isshin's collar.

"I know what you mean Shirō," Isshin said and stiffened for a moment glancing at Karin hoping that she didn't catch his slip. Thankfully she didn't seemed phased by him calling Jūshirō, Shirō but he knew better than anyone that his children may not be the best liars, but they were the best actors when it came to covering up their own pain.

When everyone had embraced and caught up on all the little details that had changed like the differences in height since they had last seen each other, hair length and style, clothes and auras they all sat down at the table to eat.

"You said the other week that you had something important to tell us, so what is it Uncle Shu?" Karin asked pulling her hair in to a ponytail behind her head. She watched as her godfather took his lovers hand in his own and squeezed it.

"We are retiring," he said with a tender smile, "and we are moving away." Yuzu, Karin and Isshin's jaws dropped at the news. The two of them had been pillars at SSD for so long that no one could ever see them leaving.

"When?" Yuzu asked her eyes round with wonder.

"The end of the week," Jūshirō replied with a gentle blush over his cheeks. "We've been planning it for the last six months or so, but finally we have everything in order and we can go."

"Where are you two going?" Isshin asked and Karin could see the look of wanderlust in her father's eyes. It wasn't something she saw often, but she knew that just like her and her brother every so often her father just wanted to leave Karakura behind. She also knew that just like her and Ichigo, the three of them would never get far from where they were raised. It was as integral to them as their genetic code and as much as she wanted to see the world, she knew that she wouldn't be able to survive outside of the little suburb for too long.

"I bought an island before the crash and have been trying to get things sorted there for the last ten years or so. It's a place off the coast. So we'll never be too far away." Isshin nodded a huge grin on his face as he ate some of the noodles Yuzu had cooked for them.

"I wish the pair of you happiness, you deserve the rest." He said all of his joking and idiocy aside and it made Karin happy to see the sincere and level headed man she knew lived under all the bravado.

After the shock of the seemingly sudden move of two of the people they counted as family the dinner fell in to companionable silence, which was an odd occurrence in the Kurosaki household. When the plates were finally clear though the chatter started again and every member of the party became more animated.

"We have other good news of sorts," Jūshirō said as he took a sip of the tea Yuzu had passed around being the stellar hostess that she was. "Rangiku and Gin got married in a private ceremony a while ago now, in secret of all things and they are expecting their first child soon." Karin felt herself flinch as she thought of Gin... there was something about him that she didn't like, but unlike other people she didn't overtly hate him. It was as if there was an evil in him just waiting to be unleashed, but at the same time she remembered the way he had been at the hospital with Rangiku and she could understand why there were together. The pair were hypnotic and magnetic and no matter how evil he outwardly and sometimes inwardly appeared she knew without even really knowing that he would kill for his wife.

"How long have they been married?" Karin found herself asking. Jūshirō's brow furrowed for a second while he thought about it.

"I would say... almost nine months now... give or take." Karin nodded as she thought over something that Tōshirō had said after they had first started dating,

"Rangiku is acting strange; well stranger than normal she gets all twitchy when Gin's name comes up in conversation. Also I could swear that her boobs are now gigantic... not that I've been looking. She also keeps eating the strangest of things and ducking out to the bathroom a lot. I've asked her about the possibility that she might be pregnant, but she just shrugs it off as if I have lost my mind." It made her chuckle. To think about it now she realised what Rangiku had done, she didn't want to have Tōshirō worry about her as well as Momo; she after all had Gin who was more that capable of looking after her, she didn't need her young boss doing the same.

"On the note of Rangiku, she's left the company as well." Shunsui said and Karin felt her stomach knot, Tōshirō's all alone she thought, but pushed it to the back of her mind as her godfather continued. "Since Gin can't give up his job... for what are apparently obvious reasons." He shrugged at all their confused looks, "We don't get it either... anyway she has decided that since she has enough money and will need the extra time for the baby that she is going to actually open up a florist." Karin felt her eyebrows rise in confusion. "It's been her dream to do so and now she has decided to follow it." Yuzu clapped her hands together as Karin leaned back in her chair digesting all the information she had be given.

"That is so romantic!" He twin gushed her long honey blonde hair swaying from side to side as she spoke. Karin shook her head at her sister's naive view on love and relationships. There was another reason why Rangiku was moving and Karin suspected it was because her husband was trying to protect her from something, she just couldn't figure out what, not that it was really any of her concern. "I have news for the pair of you..." she pushed her hair out of her eyes and then looked at Karin and their father, "Well all of you actually." She sighed heavily, "I wanted Ichi-nii to be here too, but I'll tell him when he comes to visit mom... I think." She twisted her hair around her finger and Karin saw their father's knuckles go white as he grasped the edge of the table in the firmest of grips.

"What is your news?" Jūshirō asked glancing side long at Isshin.

"Well... you see... I'm engaged." Karin almost fell off her chair at the news and her father almost exploded in anger.

"Who to?" He asked running a manic hand through his hair as Jūshirō and Shunsui tried to calm him down.

"Jinta..." Yuzu said her face colouring deeply.

"Oh Yuzu not that office boy?!" her father asked his eyes pained and Karin smiled; how like him to act like no one in the world would be good enough for his girls.

"I love him daddy," she said with her hands on her hips and Karin knew in an instant that their father would give in. If she was happy, there was nothing he would do to get in the way of it.

"It would have been nice to be asked first," he said pouting turning to the picture of their mother, "Masaki, look at it one of our little girls is growing up and starting a family of her own," at that he broke down in tears and they all congratulated her while Shunsui and Jūshirō tried to comfort Isshin. Karin hugged her sister, but no matter how happy she felt for her; deep down inside it hurt that her twin could have the happiness that had always eluded her.

"Good luck on telling Ichi-nii," she said with a grin, "He'll be worse than dad," Yuzu paled instantly and turned her wide brown eyes to her looking haunted,

"I totally forgot about that," she said her voice barely a whisper,

"You never know, maybe he's mellowed..." Karin told her on a shrug.

"I wouldn't bet on it." Yuzu muttered,

"Well one can only hope," she finished as she hugged her sister again. "I get to be the maid of honour right?" Yuzu turned to her with tears of gratitude in her eyes and hugged Karin hard,

"Of course you do." She said firmly. They both then turned to the heap of men on the floor at their feet, their father was reaching up to the photo of their mother muttering and sobbing indecipherable words while Jūshiro cradled him and Shunsui rubbed his back as if burping their father like a baby it was a rather odd, yet strangely amusing sight.

"I don't want to be a part of this disaster." Karin said laughing at the mess on the living room floor.

"I second that," Yuzu replied laughing alongside her and for the first time in a long while Karin felt truly whole. Finally she had come home.

It wasn't until her brother came to visit with his new boyfriend that his name was brought up in conversation again and it was done so completely by accident. Not that it being an accident made the pain hurt any less.

"Tōshirō says he's an ass." She stated plainly at the dinner table when Grimmjow had come up in conversation. She had also wanted to add that she thought the property lawyer and her brother's badly chosen ex-boyfriend was a sadistic bastard that needed to be neutered. Not that is would matter since there was very little likelihood that Grimmjow would ever have children of his own. Which she would admit was one small blessing.

"You still talk to Hitsugaya Karin?" her older brother asked looking more than a little confused as well he should she admitted to herself since he knew what had happened. She couldn't believe after all this time she had let that slip as if she had just seen him yesterday. She furrowed her brow and diverted her attention from Ichigo to their guest: the stunningly handsome Cloud Strife, bar tender, bar owner and her brother's most recent significant other. This man was the complete opposite of the man she knew her brother had been dating. Cloud was so gentle and laid back that she could understand what had attracted her brother. It wasn't just that though in his intelligent blue eyes she could see that he was a fighter, but as of yet she didn't know what he fought for. After staring at Cloud for a long moment she answered her brother's question,

"I did, as far as I know he's married to Momo now." Her voice sounded like that of some sort of harpy even to her ears and by the slight furrow on Cloud's alabaster brow she knew he had heard it too, but to his credit he didn't ask her to clarify. She watched as Cloud looked lovingly at her brother and saw as the cogs behind her brother's chocolate eyes whirred before he asked his next question.

"I thought she was the one who was stabbed and went in to a coma and was never going to wake up." Karin noticed Cloud stiffen and it warmed her that he was concerned enough about her brother that the thought of him being on thin ice with even his family members got his back up. As always her brother was blunt, but not to hurt her. It was just the way he was brutally honest. Which to be fair was always one of his more refreshing qualities.

She sat for a while looking at her collected family and not for the first time was surprised at the love and warmth that surrounded her. No matter how much they fought or pissed each other off at the end of the day they were all they had and blood really was thicker than water, but as she looked at Cloud again and saw her brother grinning in an almost goofy fashion she realised that Yuzu had been right. Sometimes the family you chose for yourself was the most important of all.

She cleared her throat and plastered on a fake smile that she knew everyone could see right through, but none made a comment to as she told her brother briefly what had happened in the past few months; from the wedding to Rangiku being pregnant and married. His comment about Gin being a fox face sorta freaky ass clown was not lost on her, although for her brother it was the least thought out insult she could think of. Finally she told him about Shunsui and Jūshirō and although her brother seemed sad to have missed them she could see without a doubt the pride and happiness in his eyes about the news. As she looked at him she saw that deep down he thought that if they could find happiness then maybe, just maybe he could too.

Not that it stopped her from cornering Cloud a little later to tell him exactly how she felt should he ever step over the line.

"If you break his face, I will break yours," she whispered to him with all the malice she could muster and Cloud looked puzzled if not a little offended by the comment. Karin however was not going to back down, she couldn't stop her brother being hurt by Grimmjow as he was the evil she had never seen, but she knew who Cloud was and if he hurt her brother she would find a way to take him down. "I won't let anyone else hurt Ichi-nii the way the last one did." At that comment Cloud's eyes shone with understanding and tightly leashed in anger as he told her in the sincerest of tones,

"You have nothing to worry about on that account," her brothers lanky boyfriend then looked over his shoulder at her brother's stupid orange hair and the love and longing in his face, stole her breath. There was no way on earth that Cloud would ever hurt her brother, she could feel it in the way he held himself and the small smile that curved his lips. He would cut off his own arms before he ever hurt Ichigo. In that moment she knew that the bartender couldn't live without her idiot brother. He would rather die than try to.

As she watched them leave hand in hand she wondered what a love that deep and all encompassing would feel like and she wondered if she would ever be able to make that sacrifice for herself and another; because when all was said and done and it was taken away the price you paid seemed to be too high.