AUTHOR'S RAMBLINGS

Okay people, I'm really glad that at least three people have reviewed this story! Thank you daydreamer1008, Kaiser969, and Revolation. These three people are the only ones who have reviewed so far, so I'm sending a great big thank you to those three specifically!

Ichigo: Just get on with the story already Dammit!

Dashita: *holds up wrench*

Ichigo: On second thought... *feels spot where skull cracked from last chapter* Never mind...

Ritsu: Dashita Tichou does not in anyway own Bleach and so far, I'm her only OC in this madness here.

When Ritsu woke up, it was to set off in search of Rukia.

"Kuchiki-san!" she called over and over to the empty streets. "Kuchiki-san!" When Ritsu finally found the raven haired shinigami, it was to discover Rukia and her brother walking away from Orihime.

"Kuchiki-san!" Ritsu waved to get her attention.

"Ritsu?" Rukia answered, "What happen-" She was cut off by Ichigo's hand. He stepped forward and glared at Ritsu.

"Idiot." Ritsu hung her head. "Are you okay?" She nodded and turned back to Rukia.

"Ummm..." she started hesitantly, "I feel bad about earlier and... I really want to help protect souls but I had a really shitty day today!" Ritsu almost shouted the last part. "I was wondering... could you... train me?" Her voice broke on the last word. Rukia was visibly shocked.

"No." she said shortly.

"But I-"

"I said that I wouldn't train you, not that you couldn't be trained. There's an old college of mine that can help you. I'll introduce you if you want."

"Thank you!"

Rukia turned to Ichigo.

"Stay here. I'll be back soon." Rukia took off with Ritsu close after. They ran through the nice part of town and quickly got into the shadier part. Rukia shot a questioning look at Ritsu.

"What happened to you? Why'd you leave after lunch time?" She was deeply troubled by Ritsu's emotional switch-up.

"I..." Ritsu hesitated , "Every now and then I have really terrible days and when somebody really pisses me off on one of those days I could probably kill them. I remember once, a couple years ago..." Ritsu's voice got shaky, "Someone ended up in the hospital..."

Rukia's eyes grew wide as she turned back to where they were going.

"We're here." Rukia said as she slowed to a walk in front of a crappy store. "Come on." she said to a reluctant Ritsu. In front of the store was a red-headed kid sweeping the stairs. He was vehemently cursing someone named 'Tessai'. Next to him was a frail dark haired girl.

"Jinta!" the girl said quietly, "You shouldn't be talking about Tessai-san like that!"

"Yeah?" said Jinta meanly, "So what if I am? I can talk about Tessai however I want to Ururu!" He then proceeded to take the girl's long bangs and pull on them.

"Ow!" Ururu cried out, "Jinta, you're hurting me! Ow!" Just then, a large man with braided black hair came out of the shop.

"Jinta! Ururu! Can't you see that we have customers?"

"Yeah?" Jinta said again, "So what if we do?" The large man loomed closer and Jinta let go of Ururu's bangs quickly and backed away. "I mean..." he turned to Rukia and Ritsu. "Hello ma'ams. Welcome to Urahara's candy shop! How may I help you?" Jinta bowed low with the large man standing behind him. When Jinta stood back up, he pointed an accusing finger at Rukia.

"You're that Shinigami!"

"Yeah," said Rukia "and I'm here to see Kisuke." The large man in the doorway pushed Jinta out of the way and bowed.

"Of course Miss Kuchiki-san! Urahara-san will see you right away. May I ask," he gestured toward Ritsu, "Who your friend is?"

"Just a friend Tessai."

"But... is she a shinigami?" Tessai asked.

"No!" said Ritsu forcefully, then, looking ashamed she said, "N-no, I'm only human..." Tessai looked at her in shock.

"But... such reatisu..."

"Tessai-san, we need to speak to Kisuke."

"Of course Miss Kuchiki-san! Right away!" Tessai turned around and walked into the shop. "Follow me!" He called to them. After giving Jinta an uneasy look, Ritsu followed Rukia after Tessai into the dark entrance.

At first, there was an ordinary shop. Then Tessai walked into a doorway behind the counter. He led them through a regular hallway and opened the sliding door at the end.

"Urahara-san!" Tessai said into the doorway, "We have customers!"

"Well then Tessai," came a lazy voice from in the room, "Why don't you show them in?" Tessai moved aside and gestured for the two girls to enter the room. Ritsu was shocked at the sight that met her eyes.

Laying on the floor was a blonde-haired man with a green and white vertical stripped hat and green trousers. On his feet was traditional Japanese wooden sandals. He sat up slightly and propped himself up on an elbow.

"So ladies," he said, a hint of gleaming eyes peering out from under his hat, "just how may I be of service?"

"I need your help with her." Rukia said, jerking a thumb toward Ritsu.

"How so?"

"Don't play stupid. I know you can feel her reatisu."

"Oh," he said as he leaned up farther, "I can feel it alright. It's the reason I'm not standing."

"It's not that bad and you know it."

"Oh my friend, but it is that bad. Or at least," he grinned and lifted a cane with a skull on the tip, "it will be when I'm through with her."

"Good." Rukia turned to Ritsu.

"Make sure you do what he tells you, no matter how ridiculous it is. It might just mean the difference between a soul's after life or becoming a hollow."

Ritsu nodded as Rukia turned and left the shop. As she turned back to look at Ritsu, she was hit in the center of the forehead with Urahara's cane. She popped out of her body without a problem and only looked at her lifeless form on the floor for a moment before turning to Urahara.

"So what do we do know?"

"Good question Kurosaki-san."

"How'd you know-" Ritsu stopped and just shook her head. "Never mind. So what's first on your agenda?" Urahara stood up and lifted the brim of his hat just a touch.

"First things first," he started, "We find out how long you can withstand attack."

"Eh?" Ritsu said, confused.

"If you're going to fight for a long period of time or even against a stronger opponent, you're going to have to have great stamina and strength. To find out how much you have already have, we're going to have to subject you to a constant barrage of blows of various strength and speed. In other words-"

"-You'll have me going until I can go no more."

"Exactly." He turned towards the door and stood up all the way. "Let's go."

Hours later revealed Ritsu finally slowing down as she dodged kido after kido shot from Tessai in an underground training area under Urahara's shop. After a few minutes, a timer beeped and Urahara closely followed one of Tessai's kidos and proceeded to start swinging blow after blow at Ritsu's sword. One blow came particularly close to her face and Ritsu, finally fed up with dodging and guarding the constant barrage of attacks, swung her sword at Urahara. He smiled wickedly and lifted his sword higher than before.

"Awaken Benihime!" Ritsu stiffened and immediately flitted away as fast as she could. Urahara easily kept up with her and swung down his sword. "Nake, Benihime." As he swung down his sword, a crimson blast of light hit Ritsu square in the chest. She had partially lifted her zanpactou, but it was knocked out of the way. She was blown backwards until she slammed into a mountain like formation. Coughing, she decided to try something that Tessai had done.

"It can't anymore than another one of those swings can..." she muttered as she coughed up blood.

She held out her hands in front of her and folded all but her first and middle fingers on each hand. Shakily, she pulled herself to her feet even as Kisuke came closer with his sword raised again. She pointed her fingers at Urahara and started to speak

"Hakudo four..." she coughed again, "Byakurai..." A pale strip of lightening burst out of her fingers and blew Urahara away from Ritsu. Unfortunately for Ritsu, she was blown backwards again through the mountain formation. She coughed and then started to spasm. Her frail form had landed on a sharp stalactite and it had punctured through her chest and into her lung.

Ritsu's unconscious body jerked and spasmed as blood filled up her lungs. She began to choke as her blood filled her airways. Tessai quickly ran over to her and stated the process of a healing kido. He cleared Ritsu lungs and then proceeded to remove her top so he could get a good look at the puncture. Luckily for her, it was a clean stab and had no jagged edges. This was good, because scarred tissue would be minimal and her lungs would heal fully.

"Well now," came Urahara's voice from behind Tessai, "That was definitely more powerful than I thought it would be. She was actually able to blow me away. Too bad she hurt herself in the process. We'll work on that when she can continue." An evil glint appeared in his eyes. "That means there'll be something to contend with when they come.

When Ritsu finally woke up, she had been unconscious for quite a few days. For five days would be exact. She sat bolt upright only to cringe in pain. Such a severe injury took at least a week to recover from; even with a kido's full abilities.

A gentle but firm hand pushed Ritsu back down.

"Kurosaki-san! You shouldn't be up yet! You're still injured!" Ritsu fell back down on the bed and saw the giant man from before that lead her into the shop.

"You're... Tessai-san... right?" she asked hesitantly.

"Mhm." Tessai nodded.

"What... happened?" she asked, feeling the pain in her back.

"You fell on a stalactite during your training."

"Was I... out for long?"

"Four days."

"Wha...? What the heck? Four days? I was out for four days?" Tessai nodded. Outside, Ritsu could hear Jinta and Ururu arguing.

"Shut up, Ururu!" shouted Jinta, "I'll start when I'm ready! Tessai doesn't scare me!

"But," said Ururu, "You were scared enough to sweep in the first place!"

"I don't get scared! Who do you think you are? You're not the boss of me!"

"Ah!" yelled Ururu.

"I'm in charge cause I'm bigger than you!" Jinta shouted meanly.

"You're the same size!" cried Ururu, "Besides, Jinta, I'm three years older than you are!"

"So!" Jinta yelled at Ururu, "Who cares about age? I'm a higher rank than you!"

"You're a bigger brat than her, that's for sure." muttered Ritsu under her breath.

"Who're you?" Jinta yelled, "Wait a sec, you're that shinigami again!"

"You just never change, do you little one? So is your manager in yet?" a voice asked as Jinta told them to come in. Ritsu recognized the voice. It was...

"Rukia!" Ritsu shouted, only to groan and collapse again.

"Ritsu?" Rukia asked.

"In here!" Ritsu answered. Rukia ran into the room Ritsu was laying in.

"What happened?" she asked, shocked at Ritsu's state.

"She was injured during the training." said Tessai from behind Rukia, "She'll be up and training again in about two days. In the meantime, she is to resume normal activities. Please wait here for a moment, I'll go see if the boss is up and moving yet."

Behind Tessai, Ritsu could see Urahara coming down the hallway yawning.

"Eh," he muttered, "don't bother. I'm already awake for once..." he let out a huge yawn. "Morning Tessai, Kurosaki-san," he raised his voice, "Morning Jinta, Ururu! ...Welcome back to my shop Kuchiki-san. You're timing couldn't be more perfect. I just got a new shipment the other day. How can I help you this afternoon-"

"It's morning!" Ritsu yelled as she tried to push herself up a little. She cringed again at the weird angle and fell back down on her pallet. Urahara turned and looked at her as if he'd only just seen her for the first time.

"Go to school." he turned back to Rukia. "One kikonshiki..." his voice trailed off as he led Rukia to another room.

"Can I go to school?" Ritsu asked Tessai as he adjusted his glasses.

"Well, as long as you avoid any hard physical activity, I don't see why not." Ritsu nodded at his sensible words.

The accident had, after all, occurred when she was in her body. Urahara had wanted to know what her physical body's limits were first. After he had separated her, he watched her re-insert herself into her body and then handed her a katana as they'd gone down to his underground training area to start training.

:Can I go home and get my uniform first?" she asked.

"Yes. If Kuchiki-san accompanies you."

"Okay." A moment later, Rukia re-entered the room.

"You coming?" she asked Ritsu.

"We have to get my uni-" Rukia cut her off.

"No need." Rukia held up a plastic bag. "I brought it with me."

"Tanks," said Ritsu, "Could you... could you help me up?" Rukia walked over to her and helped hoist Ritsu to her feet. Once she was standing, her back didn't hurt as much. She changed into her uniform and Rukia began the long walk to school with her.

AUTHOR'S RAMBLINGS
Yeah,yeah,yeah! I know I shouldn't have had Ritsu injured to that degree but big load of whoop. If you fall on a stalactite that pierces your lung, regular humans would die so hah! I win on that front! (Maybe...) PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK! I KNOW MORE THAN THREE PEOPLE ARE READING THIS STORY BECAUSE IN THE LAST FOUR DAYS AND ONLY ON CHAPTER THREE, 103 PEOPLE HAVE LOOKED AT MY THAT CHAPTER! If your keyboard is being screwy or something, I don't care, but I know that 100 people who looked at chapter three don't all have broken keyb-boards. Seriously, leave something! It could just be an 'O' for all I care!