No, your eyes do not deceive you! Down the Rabbit Hole is officially updated! Just so you know, this is the last of the 'introduction' chapters. After this the plot will start to develop (two thumps are heard. Twilight turns round to see Hikari and Blazing Aurora having fainted) Yes, that's right. There IS a plot! Not much of one, to be honest… In fact, I even have a sequel planned! Anyways, you're probably sick of be rambling on (or you skipped this paragraph anyways (pouts)) so I will leave you to the story!

Just before I do, I want to say, this chapter is dedicated to xHINODEx, whom I met on the Isle of Man, has become an instant friend, and is so incredibly awesome that she bought me an Ichimaru Gin plushie! (which should be arriving any day now!) WUV YOU!!

Chapter 3

Ten minutes later, even Hikari's eyes were bulging as Hoshi pulled two steel, razor sharp needles, disguised as hair chopsticks, from her hair, causing the careful bun to come undone and cascade down her back, and placed them on top of the pile. She whispered to her sister.

"Most of that stuff isn't even legal to possess in England!" Hoshi looked at her, and raised an eyebrow. Hikari looked amused.

"…'Ow's tha' even possible?" Gin had even lost his smile in his shock. Hikari shrugged, and said delicately

"I've never asked." Hoshi looked at Aizen challengingly

"Well, Aizen-sama?"

"Impressive. Can you use all of it?" The girl smirked slightly

"Of course I can. I would never carry a weapon with me that I can't use… unlike some people" She carried on muttering, and the ex-Shinigami occasionally caught a word or two; "Kurosaki…idiot…die…" Hikari whispered to the other three

"She is a connoisseur of weapons, and resents those who make no effort to master their own." Whilst the other looked on, still in shock, although Gin was becoming more amused by the second, Hoshi proceeded to rehide the pile of shiny, pointy weapons that came up to her neck from the table, not noticing Tousen's strong interest whilst she was doing so. Two long daggers were slid into sheathes concealed in her boots. There were three throwing knives and three needles on each forearm, concealed by the long and loose sleeves of her coat. Two sai were crossed on her back, below her coat. A blowpipe was at the top of her right arm, with its darts in a pouch concealed in her belt. The belt also contained seven thin throwing knives. Her necklace contained a small, poisoned needle; the buttons on her coat, miniature throwing stars, and the back of her watch opened up to reveal a small vial of poison for the needles. That was just the ones that they could figure out. None of the onlookers could figure out where the scythe and chain went; or the miniature crossbow and quiver.

"…That must make airports interesting" Hikari muttered

"Why do you think I dislike flying and aeroplanes so much?" Hoshi asked. Hikari shrugged.

"Always figured they scared…" She trailed off "never mind, Shi-chan." Hoshi looked at her quizzically, and then turned to Aizen.

"Soooo, can we stay?" The illusion master thought for a moment.

"For now, yes. We will have to assess what part you can play in the plan, but until then… welcome to Las Noches, Hoshi-kun, Hikari-kun" He smiled benevolently at the pair, and although neither girl really trusted him, they could not see the true evil machinations his mind was currently involved in inwardly. Inwardly, the self-styled Lord of Hueco Mundo sighed in relief. One of the two might make a very good replacement for Hinamori, and then he wouldn't have to deal with his silver-haired subordinate's scrawl any more! Excellent!

Gin smirked as his devious brain went to work plotting on how to persuade Hoshi to become his accomplice.

Tousen frowned as he left, unnoticed by the others. Not bound to the sense of sight as the others were, he was relying on others to try and unravel the mystery of Hoshi, and he felt like he had almost figured it out. If so… she would be a great asset to Aizen-sama…

Later

The two girls had been given permission to wander around Las Noches. Hikari was surprised that they hadn't been locked up and only allowed out with an armed guard. She glanced surreptitiously at her sister. Okay, make that several armed guards. Seriously! Who was stupid enough to trust anyone with that number of weapons on them at any one time, let alone Hoshi! She did love her sister, but she would be the first to admit Hoshi's repressed psychotic tendencies. Okay, the second. Although Hoshi blamed them on having to put up with, and deal civilly with, a bunch of brainless, mindless clone-like aliens for seven years. Remembering their school, Hikari was inclined to agree with that sentiment.

She stopped walking suddenly. Actually, why had they been allowed to roam the fortress? After the meal, Aizen had drawn Hoshi to one side and they had spoken for a couple of minutes. The self-styled Lord of Hueco Mundo had apparently realised that amongst all the banter, and the misleading first impression, it was Hoshi that was the leader of the pair, and therefore the one to negotiate with. She bit her lip. Hoshi had noticed her halt, and had stopped too, turning to the younger of the pair.

"Everything alright, Kari?" The blonde nodded slowly

"Yeah, I guess." She realised Hoshi wasn't convinced. "Look, it's just…why are we being allowed free reign here?" Hoshi smirked

"What? Did you think we'd be locked up and only let out accompanied by an armed guard?" She paused and reconsidered "Well, several armed guards" Hikari's embarrassed blush at being read so easily was the only response Hoshi needed. "Foolish little sister. How can Aizen learn more about us if we are confined to one small area?" Hikari frowned in confusion. Hoshi sighed. "Look, it's not as if they have no idea of what we are doing! We are being watched at all times, except when we are in our own rooms. Aizen-sama wishes to know more about us. I think he's planning to train us to join him." She shook her head at her sister who looked like she was about to protest the very idea. Hikari got the message immediately. Right. Constant surveillance.

"Was that all, little sister?"

"Yeah. No, wait. I know I've never asked before. I never really wanted to know but… how did you hide all those weapons? I mean, especially the scythe and chain, and the crossbow?" She looked up at Hoshi. Hoshi frowned slightly and looked away.

"I… do not recall actually buying a crossbow." Hikari's eye's widened. "And I only ever had a wooden scythe, although the chain was metal. I didn't know how to get hold of a metal copy."

"You mean…" Hoshi shrugged and rubbed the top of her right ear

"I don't know what I mean. All I know is that it was all I could do to not act as surprised as you when I pulled them out of nowhere. If I can control that, then I can see why Aizen-sama would want me on his side" She muttered, so low that Hikari almost couldn't catch it.

Hope you liked it. Yes, it is NOT realistic. It's not meant to be. Basically, the attributes of Hoshi and Hikari are enhanced by the fact that they are in an anime world. I also wanted t give them some sort of special ability that fits with their characters and isn't too 'super power'. Yes, I can use virtually all of the weapons I mentioned. The scythe and chain not so much, as I don't have an actual one to practice with. And I haven't used a crossbow for a while. It's called 'artistic license', my dear readers!

Oh, and if you liked this, PLEASE go check out my other fics! Fatal Flaw is a one shot, Loss is my first angst, a three part fic, of which two parts are posted and the other is almost finished (no waiting ages for updates!) Crossroads I will shamelessly plug again and reassure you that it WILL be updated soon! And I have a couple of other one shots that will be posted soon. All of them are Bleach, except for Chaos, which is Naruto. Don't read Chaos. It's rubbish, and I just haven't got round to taking it down/reworking it.