A/N: Hello, hello~! I know I should be working on my other fanfictions, but this idea just came into my head and I couldn't get it to go away! Please don't hurt me! –hides behind Ichigo- Anyway, this fic is going to be kind of dark in the beginning, but it will lighten up later, I swear! Also, Masaki Kurosaki is NOT Ichigo's mother in this! Well, biologically she is, but the woman in the story is his *step-mother* Another thing, this chapter is just the introduction into the story. The next chapter will probably (Not certain) be a little bit before the events in this chapter...

Ichi: What the hell are you doing?

Anna: Explaining the fic.

Ichi: -looks over Anna's shoulder at the laptop- Do you have to torture me? Doesn't Vaerin7 do that enough?

Anna: No. She's one of my favorite authors~! And you can't honestly say that you hate her stories, can you? Think of all the sex you get~

Ichi: -coughs- Yeah, well…

Anna: -Hands him a list- Here, you read the warnings. I'm gonna take a nap.

Ichi: -sighs- Fine. Warnings: Yaoi, abuse, possible lemon, and language. This WILL be a GrimmIchi story. And the disclaimer: Annamae2243 Does NOT own "Bleach" or any of its characters. Why the hell else would she be writing fanfictions?

She sighed, her black hair covering her face as she sat down at her computer desk. It was another one of those days. Her father had come home drunk with lipstick on his collar… again. And, like always, her mother had screamed for two hours, forcing the girl and her siblings to watch. At some point in the woman's rant, the three had managed to get away, unseen by their feuding parents. However, their mother would undoubtedly come up stairs to punish them later. She just wanted it all to end, she didn't care how. She was tired of the constant fights, the unjust punishment, and their hateful mother.

"Karin?" Her brother called gently, opening the door just enough to stick his head inside. She turned around in the computer chair just as a single tear slipped through her heavily constructed defenses. She gasped quietly, roughly rubbing the tear from her cheek as she turned the computer chair back around. But it was too late, he had already seen it. Seven years of building the walls, locking her emotions down until she thought that they would never be reachable, and it was all ruined in that one moment. Surely her brother thought her weak now, just as their mother had told her so many times. Her head fell forward, letting her bangs hide her grey eyes from view as shame coursed through her body. She heard her brother close the door and she, assuming that he was gone, lifted her face. Her body went rigid with shock as she looked up, her eyes meeting her brother's mismatched pair just inches from her face. He was leaning over the chair, his hands braced on either side of her as he stared intently into her eyes. She averted her gaze, not wanting to see his eyes anymore, they brought back bad memories.

Karin and her sister, Yuzu, returned from their first day of second grade, their short hair pulled back into matching ponytails. She could hear her parents in the living room, but it seemed that they didn't hear her close the door.

"Go ahead and go upstairs Yuzu. I'll be there I a minute." She whispered, smiling softly when her sister complied. She padded silently down the short entry hall and reached for the handle on the living room door, but stopped when she heard a crash. Bracing herself, she shakily opened the door and stepped inside. The room was a mess. Her mother's favorite lamp was shattered and the bookshelves were overturned. Papers were scattered everywhere. Her mother was yelling at her father, brandishing a piece of the broken lamp like a weapon.

"Mommy, stop it!" The young girl cried, running up to the fighting couple and tugging on her mother's arm. The woman whirled around, letting her palm make contact with the girl's face. A harsh smack echoed in the room as the girl stumbled backwards, tears stinging her eyes. The woman advanced on the shocked girl, swinging the jagged shard of the lamp down to cut her. Before Karin could react, her brother rushed out from the corner of the room where he had been standing, unnoticed and forgotten in the heat of the argument. He pushed his sister behind him, but before he could defend himself the lamp shard slashed down his face. He fell, landing on one knee as he clutched at his injured eye.

"Ichigo!" Naomi cried, grasping her brother's hand. Blood seeped through the boy's fingers, dripping onto the beige carpet below them. Ichigo growled, pushing her behind him once more as he glared at the woman before them. Their father came to the rescue, pulling the jagged porcelain from the woman's grasp and rushing the children from the house. He loaded them into the car quickly and sped away, towards the hospital.

Karin shuddered as the horrible memories came rushing back to her. She opened her eyes, not realizing that she had closed them, to reveal her brother's worried gaze. His brow furrowed as he pulled his sibling into a hug. Karin stiffened, going still in his warm embrace and he sighed.

"Naomi, you don't have to hide from me." He whispered, "I promised you that I would always protect you, and I meant it. Please, stop locking this away." Karin felt the tears slip unbidden down her face at her brother's comforting words, soaking in to Ichigo's dark grey t-shirt. He stroked her hair gently, rocking her slowly back and forth. After she calmed down she leaned back to look him in the face, gently tracing the scar over his eye. He shuddered, but didn't pull away.

"I'm sorry, Ichi-Nii." She whispered, burying her face in his shoulder again. The orange haired male chuckled quietly, kissing the top of his younger sister's head.

"Don't be, it was my choice to protect you. Now cheer up!" He commanded as he pulled away, "What would Yuzu say if she saw you like this?"

Karin let a small smile grace her face at the memory of her sister. The girl had died months after Ichigo had gotten the scar in a car accident, leaving the two that loved her most behind. But, Karin and Ichigo knew that wherever she was, she was safe. They didn't have to protect her from the woman that they were forced to call mother anymore, and the girl didn't have to suffer watching her siblings take the abuse that they kept her from.

"You're right, Ichi-Nii." She sighed, a soft smile still on her face. Ichigo grinned, ruffling her hair gently and pulling a noise of protest from her. She laughed quietly, batting her older brother's hand away playfully. His grin softened and he leaned over, kissing the top of her head once more.

"Get your homework done okay?" He sighed, patting her shoulder as he passed on his way to her door. She smiled at him and nodded. His answering grin was lost as he closed her Karin's bedroom door behind him, a grim scowl taking its place. He had promised to protect his sister, and he meant it. He stood silently in front of the girl's door, waiting for his "mother" to come up the stairs. It was silent in the living room, meaning his father had either left or passed out. Neither was good for Ichigo.

Slowly the woman ascended the stairs, a venomous glare pointed in Ichigo's direction. He stood his ground, refusing to look weak in front of the woman before him. He narrowed his eyes, tensing up as the woman got closer.

"Get out of the way, she's first." The woman hissed, gripping his shoulder painfully. Ichigo growled quietly, gripping the woman's slim wrist.

"No. I won't let you hurt her." He answered, determination flaring in his eyes. The woman sneered, switching her grip to the boy's orange hair. She ran a fingernail along his scar, causing the boy to flinch. Anger flashed through his good eye, the cocoa brown turning gold for a few seconds. The other, a beautiful amber color, did the same.

"Then you'll take her punishment for her?" The woman purred. Ichigo nodded slowly, a fierce scowl on his face. The woman smirked before yanking on the teen's hair. Ichigo let out a hiss, but quickly clamped his jaws shut as she dragged him down the stairs. He refused to give the woman the satisfaction of hearing him cry out. Little did he know, his sister had heard the whole thing.

Karin pushed away from the door and pulled it open as quietly as she could. There was no way she was letting her brother get hurt for her. She crept across the hall and into Ichigo's bedroom, silently picking up his phone before returning to her own room. She quickly scrolled through her brother's contact list, searching for the one person she knew her brother trusted more than anyone. She pressed the phone to her ear, silently praying that the other would pick up. Finally, after what seemed like forever, the other picked up.

"Grimmjow!"

A/N: Ah, what a depressing beginning. Well, a dark story for dark times.

Ichi: Why do you do this to me? T^T

Anna: Aww -pets- Don't worry, Ichi. It'll get better soon :3

Grimm: Do I get to come in in the next chapter?

Anna: Yup :3

Grimm: YES! Fun with Ichi~!

Anna: Not quite yet, dear. Not quite yet.

Grimm: -Growls and points at readers- PEOPLE! Review so I get my fun time with Ichi faster