AN: Hello everyone! The new chapter is finally up! My schedule is an absolute mess hahaha but thank you so much for your patience!

Thank you MikeRyder16, Chii Yoshi and the mysterious guest for your reviews! As promised updated before the weekend heheh!

Happy Readings!

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Chapter IX

Thicker than water

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Summer was beginning to fade, but the lingering haze and still air still provided warm mornings in Karakura town. A steady collum of steam coming out from a window of the Kurosaki household was the loudest sound on the quiet street.

Yuzu masterfully flipped the rice on the steel wok. The smell of rich herbs and spices would have declared it was dinner time, except, it had already been served. Ichigo was sitting on the couch, glancing back at his younger sister. She looked thinner than usual, and although she never once lost her cheerful disposition or denied a smile to anyone, she was weaker. At first, the substitute shinigami thought she missed her twin, he couldn't remember a time when they remained apart for that long, but he knew now he was just not paying close attention. Or perhaps he had just wished to ignore the energy that emanated from Yuzu, now he could not anymore.

Yuzu placed the fried rice and molded it with her hands into character shapes of bunnies and bears before placing it gently on a nice bento box. She hummed happily…she seemed happy.

"Daaad!" She called out looking around for Isshin.

"Yes sweetie?" He answered by frolicking into the kitchen.

"You are going to visit Karin-chan tomorrow right? Can you bring her this? I don't know what kind of food they are serving her at that soccer camp, but I bet she misses my cooking!"

"Aawwwn my sweet little daughter! Of course, I will! Only you could be so thoughtful!" Isshin hugged her like a giant whiny bear. Yuzu, unlike her other two siblings, giggled in appreciation for her father's care.

"Alright, alright! Now let me get this cleaned!" She stepped back, putting the dirty wok into the sink and lightly dusting off grains of rice from the counter with long and lanky fingers. Ichigo narrowed his eyes.

Isshin took the wrapping under his arm.

"Oi Ichigo, it's time to go! I will drop you off on my way." Ichigo got up from his seat and walked towards the exit.

"Have a safe trip you two." Yuzu bid them goodbye.

Once they were far from the house Ichigo spoke up.

"So you've always been aware Yuzu leaks reiatsu into her food?"

Isshin glanced at his eldest son.

"You finally noticed?"

Ichigo nodded.

"I wasn't aware it was possible until I trained with squad 0. They had someone there that did the same thing."

"The ruler of grain, Kirio Hikifune." Isshin completed.

"Yeah. So is Yuzu doing the same? Is she infusing her food with her own reiatsu for our sakes?"

Isshin nodded in response.

"She always has been doing that Ichigo, always unconsciously. It has gotten worse since Karin left. But have you never wondered why Yuzu was the only one in our family not able to see Hollows or detect other spiritual presence? She always spent all her energy on making food for us. I think it might have been part of the reason why Karin was able to manifest her reiatsu at a younger age than you."

Ichigo frowned.

"Why haven't you said anything? Why pretend nothing is happening?"

Isshin stopped walking and looked towards the clear sky as he let out a sigh.

"Because I would not take this away from her."

Ichigo looked confused. "Take what away? Old man, you are speaking in riddles again." The orange-haired man groaned.

"Is not a riddle, it's exactly that. Ichigo, why have you never told your sisters that you are shinigami?"

Ichigo stopped to look at his father.

"Because they don't need to worry themselves about that."

Isshin nodded.

"Yes. You don't want to burden them. You have always called the responsibility to yourself, I suppose it's what all big brothers do. You wanted to protect this family alone because you wanted to spare them from carrying that weight, so you carry it all yourself."

The old man smiled sympathetically for a moment before his lips straightened and his face hardened.

"And by doing that, you put a brand new burden on their shoulders."

Ichigo's eyes widened. HIM? Put a burden on his sisters' shoulders?! How could he?! Isshin who seemed to know what was going on inside his son's head continued.

"We have turned them into victims, who can do nothing but suffer and wait for salvation. Like a fairytale where the princess is locked in a tower, and giving her a single window to the world. Through a window, they watched all that you've gone through, and they were not able to help. Just like you were not able to help Misaki."

Ichigo lowered his head at the mention of his mother.

"You know what it feels like to sit on the first row of something you cannot change or avoid. Both of them will not have it anymore, they are leaving the fairytale tower. And I will not close the door on them. Yuzu wants to help, and so she will, this is what she can do. Transform her love into something she deems useful. To help her sister do the same."

There was nothing Ichigo could say to retort, his father, as silly as he could act most of the time, knew his son well. Ichigo felt a wave of guilt sweep through him, he had done all he could to let Yuzu and Karin live happy lives, but he knew he chose to ignore the truth, it was easier to pretend his sisters had been clueless or that they were happy being protected while he took the punches.

"What if they get hurt?"

When Ichigo asked, his father saw a little boy again, and Isshin smiled. He reached out to place a comforting hand on Ichigo's shoulder.

"Then we will be by their side. Together."

Ichigo looked up at his father and sighed.

"Now, let your sisters do what they think they should do, and just be there for them." Isshin handed the wrapped bento to his eldest son. "How about you take a look at Karin's progress yourself?"

"What?"

"Go on. Take it. And don't forget to have fun." Isshin grinned and ruffled Ichigo's hair, much to his displeasure.

As Isshin left Ichigo in the middle of the street, Ichigo was left wondering about the suggestion. He had never done anything close to training with his sister, but he knew Karin was the tougher one. He wondered what it would be like to see his sister parading with a zanpakuto. Perhaps it might not be such a bad idea afterward.

*.·:·. ✧ ۞ ✧ .·:·.*

Meanwhile at The Shinigami Research and Development Institute…

The face of Mayuri Kurotsuchi was illuminated by the multiple screens in the undergrounds of Soul Society. His sickly yellow eyes were fixated on the image of the human girl who developed a zanpakuto, seemingly out of nowhere as she practiced basic sword fighting forms.

"Sir, the latest report on Karin Kurosaki came in." Akon approached his captain with a handful of papers in his hand.

"And…? How are we doing?"

"Captain Hitsugaya performed Jinzen with her, and during the act, we registered variations of reishi leakage and dimensional wrapping. Similar readings of a garganta and synchronized pulses of reiatsu were also detected."

Mayuri tilted his head.

"Had either of them released Shikai or Bankai?"

"No, sir. Both zanpakuto remained in their sealed state."

Mayuri's lips stretched in a terrifying grin.

"I think is time we invite Kurosaki-san for a tour of our division." He looked back at the screens. " 5 unseated should be enough to pass on this invitation."

"Yes sir. I will make the arrangements right away."
Akon nodded, placing the files on the table next to the captain, and walked away to fulfill his orders.

*.·:·. ✧ ۞ ✧ .·:·.*

Karin practiced alone at that moment, she expected her father to arrive later, and for some reason unknown to her, she visited the place Toshiro had taken her when they performed Jinzen. He was right, it was a good area for being alone and training without worries. Form after form, she trained diligently in the privacy of this hideout, the weight of her sword would not bother her anymore and she could feel herself becoming stronger. The sensation was encouraging, but she wasn't generous enough to herself to train lightly because of it.

She paused for a moment, taking a deep breath. It was a hot day in Soul Society, and she wondered if time here passed any differently than in the human world.

"I wonder how the guys are doing…I bet they must be slacking off." She chuckled in sweet remembrance of her friends. She missed them, yes…but when she thought about going back she couldn't help but feel disappointed. Her eyes scanned the terrain, the scorched grass from where she had been sitting, but the frost that had covered the opposite side had long melted.

The thought made her a little wistful. Would *he* also melt away like ice in the summer? Leaving no trace of ever being in her life, once she returned?

Suddenly she felt something strange. Narrowed blue eyes scanned the area but no one was there. Karin expanded her spiritual pressure and felt their presence.

She wasn't alone there.

*.·:·. ✧ ۞ ✧ .·:·.*

Back at the Shiba manor, Kuukaku had a visitor of her own. The cat-like flash step goddess sat across the room as Kuukaku smoked.

"So, did you come here to just chat or …"

Yoruichi grinned.

"It has been a while since I came over. Even with Karin-chan's training here I didn't even drop by when everything was blowing up in everyone's faces."

"Convenient huh." Kuukaku smirked back and Yoruichi didn't protest.

"If you say so. I hear her training is going well."

"Well you taught her well. But she's got the Shiba spine that's for sure."

"A worthy member for the untamable Shiba clan then." Both women laughed. "You do know Kuukaku…"

Yoruichi began with a slightly more serious tone. "Is not news to anyone that we are still keeping an eye on her, even if she is here with her family."

"What is that man planning now?" Kuukaku asked with narrowed eyes.

"I don't mean that, but are you aware of Karin's latest achievement?" Kuukaku stopped and frowned slightly before Yoruichi continued. "Apparently, she has performed a synchronized Jinzen with captain Hitsugaya. We are unsure how deep that connection was, but…"

Kuukaku's eyes widened slightly.

"Considering what we witnessed before she came to Soul Society, it's clear that her zanpakuto is connected somehow to Hitsugaya's Hyorinmaru and…w..where are you going?" Yoruichi asked confused as Kuukaku sprang to her feet and left the room. Yoruichi followed close by, rather used to Kuukaku's impetuosity.

"Synchronized jinzen…where did I hear this before?" Kuukaku muttered and went inside the archives of the Shiba clan. She began tossing around files and files from the shelves.

"What are you looking for?"

"I know I saw this somewhere! Ugh, Kaien was the bookworm one I always forget where that crap is! DANGIT WHERE IS IT!" She huffed and puffed as her short-fused burned out all her leftover patience…which wasn't much to start with.

"AH HERE! I knew I had read this recently!" She victoriously grabbed a blue cover tome.

"What is it?" Yoruichi asked tilting her head.

"Everything around Karin was a little suspicious to begin with, but ever since Ichigo faced the Soul King, I had been reading ancient files and registers of the clan, just for good measure in case I missed something that could be useful for him back then. At first, when I found this, I didn't think much of it and just brushed it off as a unique ability of an ancestor, but…now that you say Karin did the same thing…"

"What? Jinzen?"

"Yes! Here, look!" She opened the book and after going frenetically through the pages she stops and points. "This is a register from over 12 thousand years ago. The head of the clan wrote that he began to experience strange episodes of mental connection with another shinigami, and his zanpakuto Kuroihebi, instructed him to perform a synchronized jinzen meditation with this other shinigami! He said he believed it was not the first time this had happened but I couldn't find anyone else reporting something similar."

"What? Wait, let me see!" Yoruichi took the book from Kuukaku and read up exactly as her friend had said. "This is…what doesn't this mean even? Who was the other shinigami?"

Kuukaku shook her head. "We don't know."

Yoruichi flipped the pages of the book to find a couple had been torn out.

"The pages are missing…"

*.·:·. ✧ ۞ ✧ .·:·.*

Five individuals, surrounded Karin, she wasn't sure how they were concealing their presence, but it didn't matter, it was unlikely these strangers meant no harm.

Her sole rubbed against the dirt as she steadied herself, sheathing her sword, attentive and prepared.

"I may be a newbie, but isn't it a little basic to learn how to detect spiritual pressure? Come out!"

She demanded annoyed.

The five strangers seemed to have accepted her argument as they revealed themselves. They all were shinigami garments, their zanpakuto didn't seem to be more than simple asauchi. Karin's scowl remained unchanged.

"What do you people want with me?"

"What a brat. Are you sure this is the one?" One of them asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure. The lieutenant was very specific in his description."

"OI! Don't ignore me! Who are you?!" Karin demanded to know.

"Come with us quietly, little girl. And you won't get hurt."

Karin's eyebrow twitched.

"You punks. Do you think you can scare anyone with that lame talk? I'm not going anywhere with you so buzz off."

"We were ordered to bring you along if you won't come willingly we will have to drag you."

Karin took a stance, speaking in a confident tone.

"Come and drag me then. See if you can."

The shinigami stepped towards her, and they staggered, something was off. They began to feel heavy, and the earth under their feet rumbled.

"What is going on?!" One of them cried in confusion.

"I…This…this spirit pressure…the girl!" The others shouted astonished as they felt the heat around them as if they had been tossed into a sauna.

"Too bad I can't stop people from breathing like my old man said. Lucky for you I guess."

Karin smirked.

"This is your last warning. Go back."

Embarrassed by the demonstration of power and authority coming from a human girl, the shinigami gritted their teeth, unsure, but now with hurt pride refused to retreat.

"LIKE WE WOULD LISTEN TO A LITTLE BRAT LIKE YOU!"

One of them shouted and all five lunged themselves at her.

"Ignite the blistering earth, Nichirinmaru!" Karin drew out her sword while calling forth her Shikai, releasing a fiery slash like how her father did during their training, but her motion also created a shockwave in the earth following the strike, fire and rocks burst towards her adversaries.

They were pushed back, groaning. Karin held her released zanpakuto steadily and twirled the chain that hung from the hilt with a smug look.

"Are you still going to insist? I don't want to hurt you, but if you keep forcing me, there is little I can do to help you guys out."

"You little punk!"

"I guess that's a no." She shrugged.

"GET HER!" they shouted and lunged again.

"Too slow!" Karin immediately used flash step, to cut through an opening in their advance, the first two that would take the hit first, had their swords knocked from his hands from the impact, Karin kicked one under his jaw like she would one of her powered up soccerballs of her 'karakura rangers' play days, and stepped on the face of the second to propel herself up in a high jump above her attackers. Using the chain attached to the hilt, Karin fired the cross-shaped blade that hung from the chain to hook into a nearby tree behind the third shinigami, and with the momentum of the jump she dove down again, slashing down into the ground with a flaming blade, the earth rumbled again with the impact as if it reacted to her reiatsu. The foe barely had the time to dodge, receiving a nasty cut on his arm.

Karin stood up and stared down at the men.

"What the hell! They didn't tell us she was like this! They should have sent seated officers for this job!" One of them complained.

"Ouch. Now I'm wounded. I would expect a liiiittle more courtesy from whoever thinks this is a good way to invite people over, at least send someone with decent skills, am I right?"

Karin joined in the complaints playfully.

"Yeah yeah ye- WAIT A MINUTE! YOU CALLING US WEAK?"

Karin tilted her head backward.

"Ah, yes. That's exactly what I'm calling you." She stepped towards the one who protested, he seemed scared, but stood his ground with his sword in hand, trying to keep some kind of stance. Karin crossed her own zanpakuto against his blade. "Your boss should have known better than to piss off a Kurosaki." Nichirinmaru began to heat up so much that the shinigami could not withstand his own sword burning his hand, dropping it.

"Argh!"

She pointed her blade at the remaining 5th shinigami. "I am getting pretty fed up with you guys. But I'm not a bully. Go away."

He didn't seem too keen on backing down, but they heard steps approaching in a rush, if that was reinforcement for the girl they would definitely get in trouble.

"This is not over!" He said knowing they were outmatched. The others tried to pick each other up from the ground and support each other as they wobbled away.

"Whatever, jerk. Learn some manners next time." She taunted them one more time before they left her in a hurry.

The steps they had heard were Shiroganehiko, how odd to see him without his twin, Karin thought.

"Little miss! We were looking for you!" Karin tilted her head curiously.

"Oh? Ah right! Dad's training, I almost forgot! I'm coming!"

*.·:·. ✧ ۞ ✧ .·:·.*

"The information was stolen." Kuukaku finished frowning. "I don't know who, perhaps it was someone from the clan, I think it would be highly unlikely someone managed to sneak in here."

Yoruichi frowned handing Kuukaku the book once again.

"The question is, why would someone rip these pages and not all of the pages regarding this synchronized Jinzen? Perhaps they are trying to keep the identity of this other shinigami a secret."

Kuukaku nodded.

"I do some digging, see if we can find anything," Yoruichi added but Kuukaku cut her off.

"Yoruichi. I hope you know what I'm entrusting to you."

The yellow-eyed woman stopped and looked silently at Kuukaku.

"I don't want Karin to become a second Kaien. We have suffered enough losses playing pawn at the hands of others. You have to promise me you will keep her safe, even from Urahara."

Yoruichi nodded.

"I would never let any harm come to her. She is a good kid, and I am fond of her. I promise you, I will not let anything happen to her if I can help it." Kuukaku seemed satisfied with her answer and both of them exited the archives.

Their timing was excellent because Karin had just arrived.

"Yoruichi-sensei!" Karin was surprised to see her there, she quickly bowed her head respectfully, which made the older woman laugh.

"Kid what's this formality for? Heh? I came to check on ya! How are you doing?"

"Oh I'm fine! Training a lot, but I like it here very much!"

Kuukaku grinned. "You went to the festival the other night didn't ya?"

"Yeah I did, it was very fun!"

"How did you like the fireworks? Of course, they were made by the greatest firework maker that ever lived! Yours truly!" Kuukaku boasted proudly.

"The…fireworks?" Karin immediately recalled the multicolored flashes of light on Toshiro's handsome face, and the glittery dust of fireworks reflected in his teal eyes, so cold and so sharp freezing her in the moment, yet she only remembered the warmth of his arms around her. WHAT WAS SHE THINKING? HANDSOME? WARMTH? She must really be going crazy!

She immediately turned red and smacked her cheeks continuously.

"Eh? Karin-chan?" Yoruichi waved a hand in front of the young Kurosaki's face before she snapped out of it.

"A-AH! Y-YES! THE FIREWORKS BANG BANG YEAH VERY VERY NICE YEAH! HAHAHAHAHHA"

Karin's nervousness was absolutely incriminating and the two very experienced women exchanged a knowing look before their lips curved into capricious smiles.

"Oh so you diiiiid have a good time huh? Weren't you there with someone?" Yoruichi snapped her fingers pretending not to know.

"S-someone?" Karin knew she was about to get busted.

"Oh yeah she was, he actually came to pick her up before the festival, captain Hitsugaya, right Kaaaarin?"

"I mean yeah but…but like it was for talking about the the …the zanpakuto thingie you know the training!"

The two women laughed.

"Hey kiddo, as far as I'm concerned you can have all the fun you want…I would just question if captain Hitsugaya is the best company for fun…didn't you two know each other from years ago?"

Karin was in hell, this had to be hell.

"Yeah but…is not like we are close or anything…I don't…think he sees me as a friend…"

"Maybe that's not a bad thing," Kuukaku smirked. "No chances of getting friend zoned then."

Karin was too embarrassed to even look at the two now.

"Relax, girls your age should have dates with cute boys! You should meet up with him more often, it will do you good."

The women then heard a male voice on the other side of the room.

"Who…is dating?"

Ichigo really did have the worst timing.

"Ichi-nii? What are you doing here?"

"FORGET ABOUT WHAT 'I'M DOING, WHAT ARE YOU THREE TALKING ABOUT? IS KARIN DATING TOSHIRO IS THAT IT?! I MEAN I REMEMBER THERE WAS A DAY WHERE HE CAME OVER BACK HOME BUT I DIDN'T THINK IT WAS ANYTHING SERIOUS! KARIN WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!"

"I'm NOT DATING ANYONE, STUPID!"

She protested when Ichigo stopped to catch his breath.

Yoruichi had already snuck out leaving Kuukaku to deal with this sibling drama.

"Gee thanks you sly cat." Kuukaku thought as she watched the duo shout at each other.

"Oi Ichigo! Stopped screaming already. Why are you here?"

"Ah, Yuzu asked us to bring you this and dad had some errands to do today so he thought it would be a good idea that I came in his place."

He plopped the lunch box into Karin's hands and rubbed the back of his neck. He seemed a little awkward, but Karin didn't mind, she was more relieved he had dropped the whole Toshiro subject.

"Awesome. Thanks a lot. Oh! Does that mean you are going to train me today?" She looked up with childish excitement. Yes, in the end, she was still the younger sister that looked up to her older brother. Even if she played it off most of the time, her admiration was undeniable.

"Ah…if you want. I'm not the best at these formal training sessions though…not at teaching them at least."

Karin's glitter gaze quickly turned as her lips stretched into a line.

"What are you the best at then?"

"Field experience?" He thought out loud.

"Alright. Then let's do it."

"Hm? Do what?"

"FIELD EXPERIENCE YOU AIRHEADED DORK!"

"HEY! I'M YOUR OLDER BROTHER, DONT' CALL ME AIRHEADED!"

"FINE, THEN I WILL JUST CALL YOU DORK! CMON!"

Ichigo groaned, his sister's temper was much like his, except she was usually more controlled…and her snapbacks were for sure sharper than his.

"Fine!

"So where are we headed?"

Karin asked excitedly, almost like a puppy going for a walk.

"Hm..how about Hueco Mundo?"

Kuukaku choked on the smoke from her pipe.

"Ichigo, are you sure that's safe?"

Ichigo grinned.

"As safe as anywhere else. It's just a tour, is not like we are actively going to look for trouble…right Karin?"

The younger Kurosaki grinned.

"Of course not."

"Aiiish you two do whatever you want, but don't come whining when Isshin beats you two to a pulp for sneaking out."

The two siblings grinned. It was just a harmless tour…

AN: Thank you so much for reading this chapter! It was getting a little too long so I decided to divide it in half for the next one, which shall have a little more excitement!

I hope you are all enjoying this! Don't forget to drop a review, I would love to hear about your theories now that we are starting to explore the mysteries of the Shiba clan dundundun!

I will see you soon!