"My name...give me back...my name..."

"Another one? This makes it what, the fifth one this week?" grumbled Ichigo. At fourteen (he'd be fifteen in a few months) Ichigo had developed something of a reputation. It had very little to do with the Book of Friends (created by his great-great grandmother Reiko and eventually passed to him through his mother) or even his grandfather Takashi.

Ichigo was well known among the yokai as the most powerful spiritualist of the age. He was so strong he had to have his shiki Muramasa drain him of some of the stray energy just to be able to channel it at all. He understood why his grandfather had brought the odd yokai to him, but didn't get why the others would look at him with mixtures of wariness or dark amusement once he appeared.

At least Muramasa was able to get rid of the minor hollows that harassed him. He hadn't seen any in months since he became Ichigo's shiki.

"Hold on while I get the book out."

Like Takashi before him, Ichigo had the ability to return the names from the "Book of Friends". And since he had become the self-appointed guardian of the book, ayakashi from all over would come to Karakura asking (or demanding) their names back. Generally it didn't go beyond threats, because Muramasa or Nyanko-sensei would appear and keep them in line.

Returning names was tiring, but Ichigo had so much spiritual energy in him that he could return ten times as many as his grandfather could.

It was the memories that he got which usually turned to knock him flat on his ass.

Ichigo pulled the paper out, put it between his lips and blew. A strange black mist hit the ayakashi as Ichigo returned the name.

It took him five minutes to recover from the sudden influx of memory that usually went with it.

"Grr...by the time I get that book, there will be hardly anything left of it!" complained Nyanko-sensei.

"Maybe, but isn't this more fun than simply holding onto it? I mean you'd probably get bored of harassing those who were beaten and forced to surrender their names eventually, and you'd likely have all sorts of annoying exorcists trying to get their hands on it," said Ichigo.

"I hate it when you make sense brat. I demand gyoza!" complained Nyanko. Because honestly, the boy was right.

Takashi had enough issues back when he was still the owner of the Book when the exorcists learned of it's existence, and it was only a fluke that nearly lead to the dissolution of his friendship with Natori that lead to them finally leaving him alone.

Well that and the fact that the daughter in question married a shinigami, and no one wanted to open the can of worms of the soul society learning of the Book's existence.

Squad Twelve alone would be an absolutely nightmare if they found out about it, and it was certain they'd stop at nothing to get their greedy paws on the book, even if it meant wiping out the family.

"How about some gyoza and manju buns? Though don't ruin your appetite or Yuzu will be upset," said Ichigo.

Ichigo had recently gotten his allowance, which had gone up since his grandfather was supplementing Isshin's income discreetly. By acting as their guardian while he was away, Isshin was able to market more and get more patients. It didn't hurt that Yuzu had a rare talent that allowed her to heal with her spiritual energy.

So they didn't just get human customers. Especially when the yokai learned that the Kurosaki clinic also had a neutrality clause similar to the one at the Natsu Inn.

The idea of a family that treated yokai the same way they treated humans was a novelty. The fact they didn't take advantage of the favors that they gained from them was also pretty big.

The most Takashi asked his friends to do was to scare off idiots who were trying to steal the secret of the sake spring, something they would have done anyway.

"Another one, Ichigo?" asked Chad quietly. The gentle giant was a bit of a mystery. He was strong enough to match even a larger yokai, but he never used that strength for himself. Something about a promise he made to his grandfather who raised him. So after he first met the boy, he made a deal with him.

He would keep the idiots who harassed him because of his size, his nationality, or his quiet demeanor, off his back by kicking their ass...and in return Chad would use his strength to help Ichigo when he needed it. It was a good arrangement, and one Chad had yet to regret.

"It is the family duty to return the names," said Ichigo.

Because of his overwhelming amount of spiritual power flowing out, Ichigo had unfortunately changed a select few of his friends. The more time he spent with them, the higher the chance they would develop the ability to see and interact with spirits.

Chad, upon finding out about their cat Nyanko and the fact Ichigo was tolerable at explaining the differences between Japanese writing and about the oddity of yokai, spent a rather large amount of time around Ichigo. As a result, he had become increasingly adept at seeing yokai and spirits. Fortunately his own powers were still sleeping, otherwise he'd be drawing hollows like flies to honey.

The original agreement between Nyanko (Madara) and Takashi was that when he fell trying to return the names, the Book would go to Nyanko. However, when he was sealed by Natori (who deliberately forgot where he put the "cat") that deal was altered slightly...mostly because the book was given to Masaki when Takashi realized he was having some difficulty returning the names, and it had nothing to do with Nyanko's disappearance.

He spent so much time around yokai that he was starting to become one, and only a human with Reiko's bloodline could return the names. So the duty was passed to Masaki, who was too busy trying to locate Nyanko and later being a housewife. On her death, the task passed down to her son Ichigo, who felt it was a family obligation once told the full story.

Ichigo suddenly bumped his fist into his open palm.

"That reminds me... Chad, could you hold onto Nyanko-sensei until we reach the store?"

Chad was holding the cat statue before Nyanko had any idea what happened.

"ARGH! Brat, you know how I feel about being treated like a common cat!" shouted Nyanko in outrage.

"Well maybe next time you'll know better than to wake me out of a sound sleep by nearly destroying my window while drunk off your ass!" countered Ichigo evilly.

Nyanko had disappeared for a few hours, only to return absolutely wasted to the point he forgot to go through the odd cat-flap Isshin had installed to fit his bulk. It was more of a large doggy door, but the idea was the same. And only Nyanko or other small yokai could enter that way.

So long as they kept away from the area where Isshin treated the human patients, he could care less if they decided to come for a bit of a drink with Madara.

Chad didn't mind if he was an unofficial punishment for the cat. He just liked hugging Nyanko, much like Ichigo's grandmother did.

(There were other unofficial punishments, such as being Yuzu's dress up doll for the day and having blackmail pictures taken. Or being Orihime's taste tester for new random concoctions her strange mind came up with...though that was mostly Tatsuki's idea.)

"So are you going to your grandfather's place this weekend?" asked Chad.

"He said you were welcome to come too. Seems a few yokai heard about how strong you were...and the fact you were an unofficial punishment for the cat. It's mostly a lesson on yokai customs, how to identify the more dangerous ones, and to let Muramasa have a break while I'm training."

While Ichigo trained with his grandfather, Muramasa was let 'off duty' as it were, and allowed to relax. He liked it when they visited the inn, because it felt soothing to him. Becoming tied to Ichigo as a "shiki" had stabilized him to the point that he was no longer coughing up blood or forced to hunt hollows to survive.

But he still liked the tranquility of the inn, and the way he could let his guard down and relax.

Besides, Ichigo had more than enough spiritual energy to power more than one zanpakuto, and if he had to he could probably find a way to release Muramasa's bankai form while maintaining his own bankai.

Muramasa could sense Ichigo had his own sword. It was still sleeping, waiting to awaken. It just needed the right trigger. Fortunately it seemed to have accepted his presence in Ichigo's inner world, because it hadn't tried to kick him out yet.

Ichigo stared at the wooden sword in his hand.

"Why am I learning kendo?"

"Because you seem to have trouble channeling it into your fists, and these are made from special trees that grow on lands that high abnormally high spiritual levels. Some even grow on lands that are home to many powerful and varied yokai. If you can get to the first level of mastery before your summer is out, I'll take you to visit a regular customer of mine that has to be...reminded...to pay his tab."

Nurarihyon was a yokai that had a specialty in the dine-and-dash pranks. Unfortunately for him, Takashi wasn't ashamed to cash in favors to keep him inside the grounds until he settled up.

He also had an adorable grandson about Karin and Yuzu's age. Rikuo was still in denial about his yokai heritage. Takashi guessed it had something to do with how children weren't exactly enthusiastic about yokai when they were young and he was teased for it.

Nurarihyon was at his wits end with the boy and would be bringing him to the inn later to meet Ichigo and hopefully the girls. Rikuo was the heir of a yokai yakuza. And he had to make up his mind whether to pass down that title to his children (hopefully with a yokai wife) before he was thirteen.

Takashi was human, and he worked with yokai daily. Nurarihyon hoped that he could get through to his stubborn grandson.

Back to Ichigo though.

"But why kendo?"

"You know that sword your father hung in the dining room?" asked Takashi. Ichigo nodded. "It's a special sword that can affect even spirits. The thing is that I don't want you to over rely on it's special ability too much, so I asked some of my friends to teach you how to use a sword properly."

"Okay."

Ichigo held the sword like he assumed it was supposed to be held.

"No, no, no boy. Hand here. And here," said the yokai, adjusting his grip so it was held more firmly.

For the next three hours, Ichigo learned to adjust his stance and grip. He would work on swings tomorrow, once he got the hang of how to hold a sword. Strangely, it felt perfectly natural to be holding a sword, and Ichigo found it much easier to channel his energy like that.

"So how's Chad doing?"

"Yasutora-kun is doing very well. It seems he's found his own way to connect with the yokai," said Takashi, moving with ease when one of said yokai went flying past them. Ichigo sweatdropped.

"I see."

Ichigo walked with his grandfather to where Chad was sparring with the older, stronger yokai who relied on brute force. He definitely seemed to be having fun 'playing' with them. Since he didn't have to worry about hurting them too much like he did humans, he could actually go all out.

Suddenly there was a massive wave of spiritual energy from Chad. His right arm shifted into something rather unusual.

"Ara. I had wondered when it would properly awaken," said Takashi.

"What?"

"Like you, your friend has a dormant ability that was sleeping. A normal human could not possibly hope to match a yokai the way he does...not unless they had a power that was sleeping. Allowing him to use his full strength without worry of human injuries released some of the instinctive guards he placed around that power. As you can see, even a partial awakening is rather powerful," said Takashi.

There was a reason why Takashi told Ichigo to bring his friend with him. As the 'headmaster' of a special select school of psychics, spiritualists, and the rare exorcist that didn't hate yokai, he could sense when people had a special ability.

Yasutora Sado had finally achieved the "first" of what would be many awakenings. His ability to see and sense spirits would skyrocket, as would his power if he trained it enough.

"It feels...different. No bad, but different," said Chad, slowly flexing his arm.

"Be very careful with your power, Yasutora-kun. There are many types of abilities in this world. There are those that reach a set point of power, and need to be increased by outside sources. There are those that respond to the owner's life force, draining it slowly to the point of death. There are those that are inherited."

Chad looked at Ichigo's strangely young grandfather.

"Which one is mine?"

Takashi placed his hand on Chad's arm, sensing it.

"It would appear yours is tied to your life force. Be careful, Yasutora-kun, not to overuse this gift, because it will absolutely kill you without outside interference. However... It's also incomplete. There is something missing from your power, and this feels like a mere crack was made in the barriers you instinctively used to keep it in."

With very little warning, the odd arm disappeared and Chad felt drained to exhaustion.

"Yet another drawback to initial awakenings. You two carry him to his room, will you? I'll give you a free bottle for your troubles," said Takashi, as Chad passed out.

"Is he going to be okay?" asked Ichigo.

"First awakenings are always the hardest. Give him a good night's sleep and some food, and he'll be up and at them in the morning. He can join the others once he's up to it in order to learn how to summon it at will," said Takashi. He smiled at his grandson. "You'll understand soon enough when you achieve your own awakening. Your true power is still dormant, but having Muramasa take in the excess that is pouring out is helping the process speed up considerably. Eventually you'll be able to call upon him as more than just a shiki and use his true power."

"Is that why you're having me train with a sword? So I can learn to use him like he was intended to be used?"

"Muramasa has a very special gift that should never fall into the wrong hands. Remember the story of Reiko and how the book was formed?"

"She bullied the yokai into giving their true names, forcing them to obey her."

"One day, you will awaken the true potential of Muramasa. When that day comes, I want you to remember Reiko and the importance of using someone's true name against them."

"I understand Grandpa. Using people's true names against them will only generate bad karma, and come back to get me later...often with disastrous results," said Ichigo.

Takashi smiled.

"Masaki left me with a very responsible and trustworthy grandson," he said pleasantly.