A/N: Trying out some different character perspectives, so this one is from Yuzu's POV

Sharing:

As a fraternal twin, Yuzu was more used to sharing than most people. After all, she had shared a womb! Growing up, Yuzu and Karin shared everything, including attention from their family. Sometimes, Yuzu wished she didn't have to share so much, but overall she wouldn't change a thing. Yuzu loved her twin, and her brother, and her parents. And everything was right with the world.

Then, her mom had died and everything was turned upside down. The new family of four had to find a new equilibrium, one that did not revolve around the kind and beautiful woman they had all cherished.

Yuzu became more motherly, Karin became more independent, her dad became sillier, and Ichigo became more guarded. Losing a family member either tears a family apart or brings it together. For the Kurosakis, Masaki's death resulted in a stronger bond between all surviving family members.

It was hard not having a mother, but Yuzu was dealing. She still had her dad, who did his best to fulfill the role of both parents. And Ichigo became very protective of his little sisters. If they were only going to have one parent, then he would become another paternal figure. With his mother gone, they became the most important females in his life. And he would protect them above all others.

Yuzu liked having all her brother's attention. After several years, she had become accustomed to it. But then, suddenly, everything changed.

He started high school, and he became colder. Karin had explained it was just part of being a teenage boy and she needed to get over it. But it wasn't just normal teenage boy stuff. He disappeared for days and weeks at a time. He wouldn't talk to her. It hurt.

During his senior year, Ichigo disappeared again, for his longest absence yet. Eventually, she had demanded the truth out of Karin. Karin had reluctantly told her what she knew about Shinigami and the Quincy War and Ichigo. At first, Yuzu had been upset with her family for keeping this information from her, but in the end she was more relieved than mad. This made sense. Her brother wasn't just disappearing from her life, he was protecting people. He was doing something important. She didn't mind sharing her brother with the world.

But for some reason Yuzu herself didn't even completely understand, she really didn't like sharing him with his girlfriend.

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Isshin jumped over the couch, occupying the spot between his two daughters. He miraculously did not spill any of the popcorn that was overflowing in the bowl he carried. "Are my precious girls ready for another Kurosaki family horror movie night?!" Isshin exclaimed giddily.

Karin tried to shove him further away from her on the couch. "Why do these have to start at midnight? I'm already tired."

Isshin stubbornly refused to give his dark haired daughter some personal space. "Because nothing is truly scary unless you are watching it past midnight!"

Yuzu sighed, resting her chin in her hands. "I wish onii-chan was here."

Karin munched on some popcorn and spoke through a full mouth. "You know Ichi-nii. Always busy saving the world."

Although Ichigo knew that they all knew he was a Shinigami, he was still rather tightlipped about exactly what he was doing and where he was going. Yuzu suspected her dad knew more than he was letting on, but she was unable to get any info out of him.

Ichigo had left four weeks ago for some battle. Whatever he was doing was rather dangerous, which was why he had opted to go with just Ishida-kun and Sado-kun, leaving Orihime-nee here in Karakura. From what Yuzu had picked up by nosily listening to the couple argue through Ichigo's door, Orihime and Ichigo hadn't left things on good terms. Orihime wanted to go as well, but Ichigo wouldn't let her. Yuzu was unsure of exactly how he had stopped her, but after he had left she still saw Orihime around Karakura so he had definitely gotten his way.

Ichigo and Orihime hadn't been together long, Yuzu estimated it had probably only been around three months. Ichigo didn't really talk to his sisters about his relationship, but from what Yuzu could tell they had gotten together a few days before Ichigo had returned from what Karin had called 'The Quincy War'. Once, when Orihime was over for dinner and later volunteered to help Yuzu with the dishes, Yuzu had asked her how she and Ichigo had become an item. The pretty healer had revealed that during the battle, she had thought that she would have to sacrifice herself to save the others. She didn't want to die with secrets, so she had told Ichigo how she felt about him.

Orihime smiled wistfully as she thought back on the moment. "Your brother seemed pretty shell shocked! But I always thought my feelings were so obvious!"

Orihime's feelings were pretty obvious. Once Ichigo had gotten his powers back and the nakama were all hanging around the Kurosaki house a lot, Yuzu had definitely noticed. And although she liked Orihime, she had started to feel jealous and possessive. She had told herself she was being ridiculous, they weren't even together at the time. Yuzu was surprised Ichigo hadn't picked up on the girl's feelings, but onii-chan could be pretty dense.

"But then I didn't die! And I was mortified that I had told him and made this big scene in front of everyone." Orihime admitted.

"But it worked out in the end?" Yuzu asked, still confused about what exactly transpired.

"Yeah, he didn't say anything to me for a while, mind you we were in the middle of a battle, but then eventually he told me that if we survived, he would like to take me out for dinner."

Isshin threw a piece of popcorn at Yuzu when he noticed she was lost in her own world. "We don't need Ichigo. I'll protect my darling daughters!"

Karin rolled her eyes. "From what? The fictional movie monsters? We're not scared. Just start the movie."

An hour later, the movie was reaching the climax.

"No! Don't go in there you fool!" Isshin yelled out as the movie heroine entered the dark basement where the killer monster was obviously hiding.

Just then, the front door swung open. "Aah!" They all screamed.

Ichigo flipped the light on, surprised to see his entire family up at 1:00 in the morning staring at him. "What are you guys doing?"

Yuzu smiled and launched herself at her brother. "Onii-chan!"

Karin joined in on the group hug. "You're still alive Ichi-nii!"

Ichigo smirked. "Yeah. Barely." He muttered.

"Son! You have returned triumphant once again! You have grown into a fine Substitute Shinigami! No doubt, because of my superior genes."

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah." He pulled away from his sisters and adjusted the duffle bag he was carrying, full of things he had brought with him to Urahara's before he left. "Well, I'm going up to my room."

Yuzu frowned. He was gone for four weeks and now he was already on his way away from her? He never spent time with them anymore. "Do you want to watch the movie with us? It's Kurosaki family horror movie night."

Ichigo looked at his watch impatiently, but then he saw the hopeful look in Yuzu's eyes. He sighed and allowed his duffle bag to fall to the floor. "Fine." He plopped down on the couch and his sisters sat on either side of him. "So what did I miss so far?"

Yuzu snuggled into her brother's side as Karin explained the movie plot.

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Yuzu unrolled her sleeping back onto the floor. Karin did the same with her own sleeping bag beside her begrudgingly. "You do realize this is ridiculous, right?" Karin asked her twin.

Yuzu puffed out her cheeks in annoyance. "Why is this ridiculous? We haven't had a sibling sleepover in a long time!"

"Yeah, because we're not five anymore. We're all in high school now." Karin countered.

"Do you realize Ichi-nii is going to graduate next month? He'll probably be gone all summer doing Shinigami stuff and then he'll go to college and we'll never see him! Is it so wrong for me to want us all to spend quality family time together before that?" Yuzu asked.

"Geez. No need to get so emotional. I'll do your stupid sibling sleepover." Karin mumbled.

Ichigo's door swung open, he had taken a shower and changed into a plain white t shirt and pajama pants. He was drying his hair with a towel as he entered the room. He paused when he noticed his sisters. "Uhh…what are you guys doing?"

"Yuzu wants to have a sleepover." Karin said, rolling her eyes.

Yuzu glared at her sister. With Karin stating it so plainly it sounded super lame! She nervously looked at Ichigo, who had an eyebrow raised curiously.

She avoided eye contact with him when she finally responded, nervously shuffling her slipper into his carpet. "I just thought it would be fun. We miss you when you're gone you know."

"How about we all do something tomorrow instead? Maybe shopping?" Ichigo suggested.

Yuzu frowned. "What are you doing now?"

He tossed the towel onto his dresser, his hair now dry. "I was going to head over to Orihime's." He admitted.

Yuzu's frown became deeper. Ever since they started dated, he was spending a lot of time at Orihime's. Why did he care more about his girlfriend than his own sisters? She carefully thought over her next words. "Onii-chan, please? I feel like I never see you anymore."

There were several moments of silence. "Fine." Ichigo relented. Yuzu smiled, looking at Karin victoriously. "I'll just go grab her real quick and bring her back here." Before she could respond to Ichigo's declaration, he had already dumped his physical body on his bed and was out the window in his soul form.

Yuzu frowned. She had wanted quality sibling time, and now they would have to share his attention with Orihime. Karin looked at her curiously. "What's with you?" She finally asked.

"Nothing!" Yuzu insisted, sulkily sitting down on her sleeping bag.

Karin sat on her own sleeping bag, keeping an eye on her twin. "Sure doesn't seem like nothing." She muttered.

Yuzu sighed, "It's just, don't you feel like we already didn't get enough time with him? And now that he has a girlfriend we see him even less!"

Karin shrugged. "I like Inoue. I think she's good for him."

"I like her too! That's not the point. It's just, don't you think it's weird they waited all this time and now they suddenly decide to make it official? Right before they leave for different colleges? I mean, how serious are they?"

Karin scrunched her eyebrows, a face most normally seen on Ichigo. "What do you mean by serious?"

Yuzu lowered her voice to a whisper. "Do you think they've…you know…"

Karin shook her head. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Yuzu blushed. "Do you think they're having sex?" She finally asked, stumbling over the words and rushing them all together.

"First off, gross. Secondly, that's not a question I've ever asked myself or something I'm going to go out of my way to find out."

Despite the fact that Karin was clearly over this conversation, Yuzu couldn't stop. "It's just, I worry about him. And I'm not sure a relationship is what he really needs right now."

"Yuzu, I know mom's gone but that doesn't mean you now get to act like you're his mother."

Before Yuzu could counter, Ichigo returned with Orihime sleeping soundly in his arms. He slipped back into his body, still keeping a tight grip on his cargo.

She was wearing pink Don Kanonji pajama pants, the entertainer's trademark Bahaha! written all over them in sparkly letters. They looked like they were part of a set, but instead of the matching top she was wearing Ichigo's 'Nice Vibe' t-shirt. Yuzu mentally noted that Ichigo must have left clothes at Orihime's place, making her believe they must be pretty serious.

"Did you break into her house?" Karin asked curiously.

Ichigo scowled, "No. She leaves the window wide open. Anyone can get in there." He glanced down at his sleeping girlfriend irritably. "That's something we can talk about tomorrow."

"Well, in her defense she lives on the third floor. So not just anyone could get in. Most people can't flash step, you know." Karin replied.

"Shh!" Yuzu hushed her siblings. "You're going to wake her up."

Ichigo scoffed. "Unlikely. She sleeps like a log. Watch this." He rather unceremoniously tossed Orihime onto his bed. She stirred slightly when she hit the mattress, but simply rolled onto her side and continued to sleep.

"That's so bizarre. The feeling of falling should wake her up. It always kicks in for me when I'm falling asleep in class and about to fall out of my desk." Karin remarked.

Ichigo frowned. "Why are you falling asleep in class? Freshmen year is really important, you know? You don't want to start any bad habits."

Karin rolled her eyes at the lecture. "And how much school have you missed?"

"Not by choice!" Ichigo countered. Despite how loud the two were being, Orihime slept on blissfully unaware.

Yuzu yawned, unable to stifle it.

"Well, I guess it's bed time." Karin replied before laying down in her sleeping bag. Yuzu did the same and Ichigo got comfortable in his bed, wrapping an arm around Orihime and pulling the covers over the two.

Yuzu adjusted her pillow, trying to get comfortable on the floor. "Ichigo?" She queried.

"Yeah?" He replied.

"What was it like? Where you were?"

He was silent for several moments, and she began to think he wasn't going to answer. "It was pretty terrible. A lot of people died. I don't really want to talk about it."

"We're glad you're back." Karin admitted.

"Glad to be back. Now go to sleep." Ichigo commanded, turning out the lights.

…

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Yuzu woke up before dawn. The floor wasn't super comfortable, and she arched her back to stretch out the ache she could feel forming. She turned her head to her right, where Karin was sleeping soundly, drooling slightly. She sat up and looked over at Ichigo, who was snoring lightly in bed. Since it was only a twin bed, he and Orihime did not have a lot of space, but the couple didn't seem to mind since they were currently comfortably snuggled up together.

Huh. Yuzu wouldn't have thought her brother would be the snuggling type. But then again, she didn't know a lot of things about him.

Yuzu considered getting up and returning to her own room where she could sleep comfortably in her own bed, but she was enjoying being in Ichigo's company. More than anyone else in the family, she missed him when he was gone. Ever since she was very little, she had looked up to her onii-chan, basically idolized him. She liked spending time with him, even if she had to sleep on his floor to do so.

Mind made up, Yuzu laid back down. She fell into a light sleep, waking up again an hour later when sunlight began to stream into the room. She was about to open her eyes, when she heard a feminine yawn come from Orihime.

"Ichigo-kun?" The pretty older girl asked sleepily.

"Hey." He replied, whispering in order to not wake his sisters.

"You're home." Orihime sounded relieved. This soft declaration was followed by the sounds of soft, lazy, kisses.

Yuzy blushed slightly. She realized she probably shouldn't be eavesdropping on their conversation while they thought she was asleep, but she was extremely curious about their relationship. Ichigo was not the kind of person to willingly divulge information about his personal life, and she was only able to hear bits and pieces through the door, so this was an opportunity she couldn't pass up

Yuzu resolutely kept her eyes closed, feigning sleep.

The kissing sounds stopped. Yuzu caught a whiff of Orihime's shampoo (it smelled fruity, strawberry maybe?) and felt the soft ends of Orihime's hair brush her face slightly as the healer peered down at the twins from the bed. The hair retracted as Orihime returned to her previous position.

When Orihime spoke again, she was whispering, no doubt for her and Karin's benefit. "How cute. Yuzu-chan and Karin-chan want to be near you. They must have really missed you."

"I was gone a long time. I missed you." He responded. More kissing commenced, and Yuzu started to feel uncomfortable. She was about to yawn loudly and 'wake up' when things suddenly started to get interesting.

The kissing stopped suddenly.

"What?" Ichigo asked.

"I just remembered. I'm mad at you." Orihime replied.

"I'm mad at you too."

This seemed to catch her off guard. "For what?"

"I told you to close your window at night. And are you still leaving your spare key under the mat? That's the most obvious place. I picked you up, brought you back here, and you never woke up. You have zero sense of self-preservation."

"I do too have a sense of self-preservation! It's called women's intuition, and mine is fine tuned. Subconsciously, I must have known it was you. If someone dangerous came through the window, I would definitely wake up. In Hueco Mundo, Ulquiorra-san used to come into my room and watch me sleep sometimes-"

"What the fuck?! That pervert!" Ichigo exclaimed, definitely forgetting that he was supposed to be whispering.

"Shh!" Orihime whispered frantically. Yuzu heard Karin stir beside her, but her twin did not wake up. After a few silent moments to ensure they hadn't woken the twins, Orihime continued. "And it wasn't like that Ichigo-kun. It was just his curiosity about 'human rejuvenating techniques'. But the point is as soon as Ulquiorra entered the room I would always wake up immediately! Because it gave me the creeps. So I do have a sense of self-preservation."

Yuzu wondered who this Ulquiorra was. And why didn't he sleep?

"Right. My bad then. But start closing your window!"

Yuzu heard the sound of a shoulder swat. "Ow." Ichigo complained softly, probably just to complain since Yuzu couldn't imagine something that light hurting him.

"Don't change the subject! I'm mad at you!" She reiterated.

"You must still love me a little bit. You are sleeping in my t-shirt." He teased. Orihime was silent so Yuzu assumed she was unamused. "Why are you mad?" He finally asked

"Because you, Ishida-kun, Sado-kun, Kuchiki-chan, and Abarai-kun went off to fight Aizen without me. And you made the decision that I couldn't come!"

Huh. So that was where he had been and who he had been with. Yuzu had no idea who Aizen was though. Or Abarai-kun.

"I didn't make that decision. The whole team did."

"You gave them an ultimatum! You come or I come."

"And facing that ultimatum they made the best decision."

"I'm part of the team too. I have powers too and I could have helped." Orihime paused. "Is it over? Is he gone?"

"Never even saw him. Just a bunch of his lackies. They're almost all gone though. So I'm assuming he'll need some time to rebuild before he tries to get those binds undone again." Ichigo growled, sounding more frustrated than Yuzu had ever heard him.

"Well, when he does I'm coming to Soul Society with you. I need for you to trust me. I can take care of myself."

"I do trust you. I don't trust him. Aizen knows how to manipulate people. That's how he tricked you into going to Hueco Mundo, and tricked Soul Society into thinking you betrayed them, and tricked me into leaving Karakura undefended to come after you. If he knows how I feel about you, you'll be a target."

"I'm already a target. I'm involved now and keeping me out of things doesn't change that. You could have gotten seriously hurt. Sado-kun came back two weeks ago missing an arm."

"And as soon as that happened Urahara opened the gate and Chad came back to find you."

"He almost bled out before he got to Urahara-san's shop. And then he had to wait for Jinta-kun to come get me. And once I healed him he couldn't go back since Urahara stayed in Soul Society to take Sado-kun's spot. If I had been there-." Ichigo interrupted before she could finish her thought.

"If you had been there, the arrancar probably would have gone for you instead of Chad."

There were several moments of silence, the only sound in the room Karin's soft snores.

"When you try to keep me out of things, it makes me feel like you don't think I can help you. That I'm too weak to help you."

"I'm sorry you feel like that, because that's not it at all. You're a healer, not a fighter. And I understand that you being there makes it safer for everyone else, but I'm mainly concerned with you. You being there doesn't make you safe. And I know that's selfish and I should be worried about everyone else too, but that's how I feel."

Orihime sighed, seemingly becoming exasperated with this conversation. "Next time, I'm coming. Even if you give that same ultimatum. Because I think you were bluffing. You wouldn't ever let me go without you. Because nothing is worse than being here and waiting. Not knowing if everyone is okay." She paused. "Four weeks with no word. I didn't even know if you were alive or dead. I don't know how your family can handle that time and time again. I can't do that again Ichigo-kun."

He sighed, being stubborn as usual. Yuzu felt his stubbornness was one of his worst traits.

"Let's cross that bridge when we get to it." He eventually responded. "Damn. The old me wouldn't even consider letting you come. You've really got me whipped."

Orihime giggled lightly. "I love you." She responded, followed by a light kiss.

"I love you too." He responded.

Yuzu almost gasped, but managed to hold it in. She had never even considered that the two could be in love. This relationship was more serious than she thought. Yuzu pondered who Ichigo loved more, her or his girlfriend. She immediately hated herself for being so ridiculous.

There was a pause. "Wait. Did you just say you love me? For the first time?" Orihime sounded surprised.

"Yeah, I did." He confirmed. "I only realized it a few days ago. You know, I never wanted to say it just because you had already said it. But when I was gone, I missed you so much it hurt. And only love could be that painful."

Sniffles. "Oi, don't cry!" Ichigo frantically whispered.

"They're happy tears Ichigo-kun." Rustling sounds, and then more kissing. Yuzu cracked open an eye and swiftly closed it again when she was met with Orihime straddling Ichigo as they made out on his bed. She had learned a lot from this fake sleeping act, but she really wished she could 'wake up' now and get out of here.

Eventually, the kissing stopped.

"What are you doing today?" He asked.

"I have a 12:00 to 8:00 shift at the bakery. What are your plans for today?"

"Shopping with Yuzu and Karin. Technically, I only promised to take them if I didn't have to participate in this sibling sleepover, but I really should spend more time with them."

"You should." Oriihme agreed.

Yuzu realized she shouldn't be jealous of the time Ichigo spent with Orihime. It was a completely different relationship than a sibling bond. And they seemed really good together. And Orhime was so nice! If anything, maybe they could all hang out together! Possibly a double date, considering there was a boy in her class Yuzu had her eye on. The old Ichigo probably would have had a fit, but this new 'in love' Ichigo seemed a lot softer.

"We should head back to your place before you have to go work." Ichigo suggested.

"For what?" The healer asked naively.

"To play checkers." Ichigo responded sarcastically.

Yuzu blushed, fully understanding what he was getting at.

Orihime, on the other hand, was clueless as ever. "I'm not very good at checkers."

Ichigo sighed, whispering quieter than before. "We should go back to your place and have sex." Orihime made some kind of embarrassed strangled sound. Ichigo continued. "Sex so good that it makes up for the month of sex we missed out on while I was gone."

"Oh." Oriihme responded. "Do you want to go now?" She asked.

"Yeah."

"Can we wait for Yuzu-chan to make breakfast? She is the best cook I know!"

Yuzu couldn't help but smile. Nothing made her happier than someone enjoying her cooking.

"…Are you kidding? You're killing me." Ichigo complained.

"Patience is a virtue Ichigo-kun. She'll probably wake up soon."

"No. She'll wake up now." A pillow suddenly hit her in the face. She heard another one soar through the air and probably hit Karin according to the muffled "Oof." beside her.

"Rise and shine!" Ichigo yelled, opening his blinds fully so sunlight streamed into the room.

"Ughh. Too much sun." Karin complained, rolling over so she wasn't facing the window.

"That was so mean Ichigo-kun." Orihime chided, getting up from the bed.

"You're the one who wanted breakfast." He reminded her.

"Well, only if Yuzu-chan doesn't mind." Orihime added hopefully.

"I definitely don't mind! Do you want to help me in the kitchen Orihime-nee?"

Orihime beamed at being addressed as 'Orihime-nee'. "I do!"

The two girls headed down to the kitchen, chatting merrily along the way.

There were some perks of sharing her brother, like getting a new sister.

….

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A/N: The End! I think there will be one more of these, since ten seems like a good number. Does anyone want a continuation of a previous one-shot? Let me know!

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