Hello!

I haven't written anything in a while…mainly due to Writer's block, but in the last few months I've really gotten into the Manga Bleach! I absolutely love it…and after seeing Episode 132 on youtube, I've wanted to write a story about Karin, and HERE IT IS!

This story centers on Karin Kurosaki, but expect a LOT of the Bleach people to come in! I hope you like it. This chapter and the next are connected, so expect the next chapter to come out SOON. I hope you like this story…if you have any suggestions let me have them! I'd love to read any comments or thoughts on the tale…I have a pretty good idea where I'm going with the story though…and I think you're going to like it.

Bwhahaha, anyway, enjoy the story! And THANK YOU for reading!

Sincerely,

Romania Black

Chapter One

The Bonds of Family

Are Unbreakable

Despite our best wishes.

My name is Karin Kurosaki…and I can't sleep.

It had been three nights in a row, and Karin Kurosaki couldn't fall asleep. She blamed it mostly on the fact that there was so much stress around the house. This was due to four events occurring at the Kurosaki household.

For one thing, Karin and Yuzu were starting Junior High tomorrow. Elementary School was over for them; not that Karin was complaining she was happy to leave behind her childhood school and move another step towards adulthood. This one step was just another towards her adult life she found her heart craving more and more each day.

Karin leaned her body to the side in her bed, her dark hair pressed against her cheek. She felt that even though she was thirteen, she was still treated like a child—

"KARRRRRIIIIIIINNNNN, SWWEEEEETHEEEARRRRTT!"

Karin pressed her eyes shut in frustration. The second thing that was causing stress for her was Isshin Kurosaki, her father. Usually, she could put up with her father's idiotic ranting, but now that she was entering Junior High School, her father had made a transformation into even more of possessive moron.

The door to Yuzu and Karin's bedroom crashed open, with Isshin bounding in, his body a flash of yellow and red zigzagged stripes. He landed promptly in front of Karin's bed.

"Sweetheart! Time to wake up!" Isshin was leaning over Karin, his dark eyes closed as his face burst into a wide grin, a smile that sickened Karin even as she glanced up at him momentarily.

"Bite me," Karin grunted, slowly retreating under her comforter.

Isshin stared at her as a small sweat drop fell on his head. Suddenly his grin grew even wider,

"I can't bite you now, sweetheart! It's time for SCHOOOOOOOOOL!!!!!" With that, Isshin grabbed the green soccer-ball-covered comforter with his hands and threw it off, exposing Karin, who immediately shriveled into the fetal position due to the cold air now shocking her skin. Her eyes flashed red as she shakily stared up at her father, whose arms were now raised high above his head, the comforter flying above his head like a parachute.

"Y-y-y-you…." Karin ground her teeth.

"No Daughter of mine," Isshin eyes were practically invisible, his smile so huge. Karin felt her blood pressure rise, the smile sickening her stomach. Isshin laughed, his deep voice resonating throughout the house, "Is going to lie in bed the day before Junior High in her Polka-Dot Underwe—"

Karin had had enough.

"VANISH TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH, IDIOT!" Flying out of bed, Karin landed a hard kick straight to her dad's neck, sending him flying out the window, glass shattering outside and landing on Isshin, who was lying face down below her on the ground.

Isshin shuddered and looked up at Karin, his face covered in scratches and small cuts. "T-t-that's my girl!" He said, to Karin's horror unaffected by her. "I knew I'd trained you well!"

"DADDY!" Yuzu screamed her brown eyes misty as she ran out the front door, her pink apron flapping in the wind. "Are you okay?"

Isshin hopped up, clasping Yuzu's shoulders with his hands, a smile permanently stuck to his face. "Of course, Dearest!" He laughed boisterously, and looked up towards Karin and Yuzu's smashed window. "NO WORRIES! Now we can just put in a new window to match the Clinic's!" He triumphantly placed his hands on his hips as Yuzu tried to coax him into the house.

"You're food's going to get cold, daddy," She frowned, looking up at Karin with a very disapproving face. Karin shrugged bluntly, what's she expect of me?

Karin retreated slowly from the window, walking towards her sister and her closet. Nothing had changed too much in the last two years…especially the Kurosaki family and Clinic.

The third thing was stressing Karin was the updates they were making on the house. Isshin had decided that the Clinic needed a makeover, and the clinic happened to include the entire house, which looked ransacked and battered after the battles with the Arrancar that had occurred two years ago. Karin sighed as she looked at the broken window, sliding a black T-shirt over her slim athletic figure.

As if we didn't have enough to worry about…now dad's going to be in our room fixing this stupid window. Great…

"Karin," Yuzu placed the plate in front of her at the table, "About time you got down here. Your food's getting cold." She frowned and scowled at her twin, Karin taking no notice as she sat down. Karin's eyes glanced to her left, and for the first time this morning she felt a small smile cross her lips.

Kon was strapped with ductape to the chair beside her, a small child's plate of food placed in front of him. Kon usually annoyed Karin to death, his careless childishness a direct contrast to Karin's take-no-prisoners mature nature, but she couldn't help but admire her twin's utter devotion to the small mod-soul, as her brother called him.

"Eat up!" Yuzu smiled, placing another spoonful of egg on Kon's plate.

The mod-soul yelled angrily at Yuzu, "I CAN'T EAT, YOU BRAT!"

Isshin silenced Kon with a smack of ductape to his mouth, "HAHAHA, WHAT AN AMAZING TALKING DOLL YOU HAVE YUZU!" Yuzu smiled in return and gave her father another plate of food.

Karin sank her cheek into her hand, her elbow resting exhaustingly on the table. She couldn't believe her twin fell for her father's "playing dumb" routine. Her father was stupid, to be sure, but she'd heard from Kon himself that her father was a Soul Reaper. She'd never actually seen this transformation in her dad, but her brother had. He didn't talk about it much; Karin figured he was disturbed by it or something. In any case, after the Arrancar incident two years ago, she was sure her dad played the role of "idiot" just to protect her and Yuzu…and it drove her nuts.

"Hey," Yuzu suddenly looked up from the table, breaking Karin's train of thought. "Where's Ichigo?"

I figured this was a good place to quit at the moment, but stay tuned…the next chapter is coming right up!

We'll see Ichigo, and what's he up to? The final thing Stressing Karin Kurosaki is up next!

Thanks for reading,

Romania Black