Hey guys, I'm starting this new story because of the unexplained cause of Ichigo's power loss. Did they burn out, were they used up, did his soul retract in on itself, what? Also I always thought that the maturity Tubo allows Ichigo to often display is underdisplayed here so i am trying to do my part to help with that.

ALLLL REVIEWS ARE APRECIATED. EVEN FLAMES. They are not always as helpful, but all criticism and praise help in their own way. Hope you enjoy :)

Thanks,

Kvothe_Arliden

Darkness.

It seemed to consume him these days. Springing forth from the depths of his soul, he struggled, even now, to contain it. Of course, he wasn't exactly uncomfortable in it either. The dark, the absence of light, the purity found within those hidden shadows, that was where he was most at home, and most dangerous.

Chuckling at what his friends might think about the content of his musings, and their subsequent misunderstanding of this darkness of his, he snapped his eyes open and gazed out across his beloved city, their beloved city. All of his friends, his family, his hopes...

No, their hopes and dreams. Not his, never his.

He had found his own dreams, and had abandoned them without hesitation in favor of theirs, at least temporarily. Chuckling once more, he looked down and to his left to take in the puzzled look adorning his sister's face. Holding in another chuckle at her puzzlement, (hey, it was a beautiful day!) he gestured in a general motion, taking in... everything. Them, the road and hill, the guard railing they leaned on, the city laid out before them, and the picture it painted with the sun setting behind it, all of it was contained within that one gesture, and his eyes never left her face as he made it and queried,

"Sooo, it's a beautiful vista and all, but is there any particular purpose for us to come up here?"

His sister was nearly as much of a master actress as he was an actor, so even he had difficulty picking up the pain that flashed across his younger sibling's face. Of course, she immediately settled into a comfortable smile, and he understood.

She was happy, there was no doubt of that, but there would always be that hidden seed of discomfort, of isolation from the one whom she had modeled herself after. Karin had taken the loss of his powers harder than just about anyone, and taking up her brother's legacy as a substitute shinigami of Karakura, while no doubt fulfilling and good for her, had only exacerbated her own darkness. In fact, even with the smile brightening her visage at the moment, he would probably have strong doubts as to her contentedness if it weren't for their... companion.

A smirk adorned his face, seemingly in response to her own grin, as she responded,

"It's just, this place holds a lot of memories, eh, Ichi-nii? A lot of strong feelings, for both of us, are rooted in this street."

Street light. Red hair. A name cried out. Blood and a white haori. The flash of movement and pain... so much pain

Looking down quickly before flashing her brother another rueful grin at his raised eyebrow, she continued,

"OK, so probably not so much for me, but still, it brings to mind some strong emotions, powerful... feelings right Ich-nii?"

She tried her best not to let him notice her watching him carefully as she turned to gaze out over the magnificent view and lean against the railing, but while she might be able to hide from nearly everyone, she could never hide the darting eyes which continued to peer at him from around her now much longer black hair from her brother, or from the white haired captain currently standing with his arms around her and staring avidly, intensely, at the orange haired "human".

Schooling his gaze away from the young leader whom he already considered a brother, the former substitute turned away from his siblings and gazed out over the multitude of lives under his protection. And it was under his protection. No need for secrecy would keep him from ending any foolish enough to present a threat to his town that couldn't be handled by Karin or the local shinigami.

"Ichi-nii?"

Breaking his thoughts away from his shadowy guardianship, Ichigo Kurosaki turned back to his sister and broke his trademark scowl in exchange for another smirk in answer to her, and her compatriot's, questioning glances.

"Ya, I suppose it does Karin. There are a lot of good memories I associate with this view in particular, but places hold little meaning without the people who made them memorable."

Smiling in full at her now, he threw his arm around her, startling the heck out of the captain who leaped away and completely missed the slightly gleeful glint in the protective brother's eyes, and led his sister away into the lengthening shadows of his...their domain.

Intrigued? lol, yes there will be Tosh/Karin, but it will be light and often doubted. There will also be hints of Ichiruki and UraYoru, but that is all they will be unless I continue MUCH farther than i expect, and even then I will give warning to those who ship others. R&R and thanks so much for reading :)