The three of us wrapped ourselves in the blanket of misery and warmth. Kisuke had attempted to sully the mood more than once with a few jokes, but my own words didn't want us to forget. I had one night to relive everything in the arms of my brethren, and I wasn't missing the opportunity for anything. It felt like I was pushing out slugs of swine with each passing word; wanting to vomit out the history that had been left behind in the cell I had been left to rot in. When the mood finally settled to my victory, Kisuke breathed in the memories I sent him and cradled my hands in his own not for pleading but for companionship.

"I don't think there's much I can do, Yuko-dono."

I had laid bare even my skin for this cause, having unwrapped my top leaving me in only my wrappings. Kisuke sucked in the bones and the ragged scars and skin that were left as covers for the protruding menace of my body. There was not the lean coating of muscle I had used to adorn with fresh plump skin, but it would take another few months to get even a smidge closer to my previous glory. I wasn't just shaved at the top of my head, but shaved across all my body of the remnants of who I had been.

I slipped the garments back on, tightening the fabric back. "It's too much?"

"It can only be undone by the head captain and Unohana."

"Unohana?" I peered over my shoulder, catching the way his glasses flared whilst he nodded his head. "I hadn't expected that."

"I would have loved to have assisted you in this." The large man stared longingly at the floor, his head bowed over to serve in the most polite and sincerest apologies. I merely patted his shoulder, to which he rose again. "I can weaken the seal slightly but it won't be enough to -"

"Do it."

The firmness of my own words were met with the firmness of his nod and the unbridled motions of the two gathering the equipment they would need. Kisuke and Tessai ushered me down to the pit of the training ground that I had speculated was down there. It looked identical to the ones back in soul society, with the same textures and colors. Why Kisuke always wanted it to be daytime was beyond me, but I could at least pretend to have optimism when I saw the painted sun.

There is no need to pretend, Ayake-sama. They will not forsake you.

I know, Kumo. I just wanted the damn limiter completely off.

There's not much else they can completely do.

Leave it to the Sou-taicho to keep screwing me over after all this time. A hundred years isn't enough for him, is it?

I stripped my top off again, and settled onto the ground where Kisuke had directed me to. Tessai sat behind me, off by about two meters, whilst the blonde-boyo took his seat in front two meters ahead so that we were all in a line. They mimicked each other, with their right arms stretched out and their left arms giving them the balance they needed to perform the kido. Kisuke and I locked eyes, and the words of the enchanted spell fell through the air and swarmed up on the floor so that they could begin to snake around me. The pressure grew tighter and tighter, and the iron bolt that had been rammed through my reiatsu slowly creaked and the suddenly popped towards the left.

The very first thing I noticed, was that upon my chest was the suddenly present black cat. She had curled up into a tight ball, head in paws, and her long body circled around where my heart lay. Sighing, I maneuvered slowly so that I could rummage my hairs through the fur of her back. As I slowly pet, her soft purrs met my ears. Within five seconds of seeing her again, she was already begging me to pamper her. Her eyes probably weren't even open yet, as she lazily let me do all the work.

"Kisuke told me everything."

I shifted my head to look over at the window in the room. Light was already streaming in, which meant it was beyond noon already. "How long have I been out?"

"Only the night." She shifted around, coming so that her small paws massaged my chest as she came to face me. "The seal has been loosened a bit, but even still it caused some problems to your body. You passed out from exhaustion."

I followed the long black whiskers, straight to the tip of her nose and then followed the arch back up to the gold eyes which hungrily watched every movement. "It's been a long three months."

She popped off from my chest, made her way to the back of the room where I could hear the hissing sounds of her transformation happening. When she came back to me, she was in her human form; her long tan legs, her large bust, and then the form of that mischievous smirk. She had already pulled on long knit sweater that covered her to just below her bottom, and pair of underwear. I had gotten used to various stages of undress from her, but at least she was remembering to actually put on clothes this time.

Her hands collected me into a strong hug, before she broke apart and helped to fix up my appearance. It appears that after the kido was done, Kisuke had taken the time to lead me into the healing pool that he had set up. Since my uniform had soaked through, he had wrapped me into a white shitagi, but now that everything was dry I could dress properly again.

I knew more than anything the reason that Yoruichi stood before me as I changed was so that she too could see the body that Kisuke had described to her. She watched with parallel eyes, as I moved around; my body twisting and lifting the fabrics. It was like having a medical examiner around to make sure that I wouldn't fall over, so there was no use in being ashamed in what she saw. I could move in the peace that she and her tactical vision gave me.

"You've been working hard then."

"I'm also participating in this war, Yoruichi." Her eyes glistened as I latched to them. Something in the normally liquid gold shimmered. "It's been a long time coming."

The two of us swayed as we held on to one another. Since she was slightly shorter than me, we had often switched off who got to lay their head on whose chest. This time it was her, so I was able to rake my hands through the newly elongated hair that she adorned. Each strand slithered through my fingers as I tugged my hand through. Yoruichi and I had flip-flopped again it seems.

Her breathe hit my neck as she whispered, "I'm glad you're alright."

"I will be fine."

"Kisuke told me you had a few errands to run."

I collected the reiatsu cloak and distributed it around my shoulders. Enough had been unlocked that I was now traceable and if what Kisuke had told me was correct, I would have to be even more careful now. Abarai-fukutaicho's snores seemed to shake the whole house as he slept in from his late-night patrol. The others, however, would probably be on alert since the information was out that I was no longer anywhere to be found.

"Your brother misses you."

"That brat can wait." Yoruichi and I made our way down through the hallway and into the main rooms. Tessai and Kisuke seemed to be munching on their lunches as we entered. "You don't have long."

I settled in for my own small meal. "Now it's your turn to tell me everything."

My stomach still couldn't take much, so it was still more than enough for Kisuke to hand over a few energy supplements and Tessai to give me tea. I stole a few amused glances at Yoruichi who seemed to want to run Kisuke out of house and home with the amount she was eating, which she only seemed to be rolling her eyes at.

The three contributed to the conversation. The words from last night lingered over, but did not seep into today. Surely they plagued at the back of our minds, all four of us, but with the sun high above us we moved onto the more important matters. The war was just around the corner, and Kisuke had a lot to mention of the past one hundred years of his exile. There was no comparison of the battle scars, but laying bare of them.

"I'll run my errands, as you call them, and then head back to soul society." The two couldn't even protest that much as that's how the game was played, but they did give me rather chilled glances. "You know it's not by choice."

Kisuke slid over a piece of paper with two sets of directions on it, before nodding. "We know."

I figured coming this way was a little more important than going to the warehouse. Now that the seal had been lifted a little bit, I could make out reiatsu's much more easily. The ribbons floated by me, dancing around my very body as I waved through them. While Kisuke had been kind enough to give me a map and directions, I needed to continue practicing. Every little bit eroded a little bit at the lock on my powers, so until that was gone I'd have to continue to do everything bit by bit.

There was a small bustle going around inside. I could make out the stampede of someone moving around inside, and if the reiatsu that floated around was anything to tell by it was exactly who I was looking for. Ichigo's reiatsu had died off, having it been a while now that he had disappeared. It left very little to my imagination.

Although, I had been very surprised with the name change, there had been that glint in the orange-boyo's eyes that was not mistakable at all. I had seen that determined glint angled towards me more than several hundred times; having it burned into my memory. Having it cast at me through a stranger's eye I should have been taken more off guard, but now that I knew the connection it wasn't hard to place the scowl nor the stupidly stubborn attitude either.

I peered up and over the windowsill, watching as the man was ushering out a client. My eyes swinging around, I found what I was looking in through the back of a room. Clinic was right. I saw only small-time medical equipment stored away and a bed that had a role of parchment paper still slathered out. There was a desk with a computer towards the left of her that was for patient information, so I assumed.

The door clicked and I quickly flung myself out from the window. From what Kisuke had told me, he should have his powers back by now. With the cloak on he still shouldn't be able to tell, but he always had had keen eyesight. Ducking beneath the sill, I maneuvered over to the next window that placed me in what looked like a living room.

The room was connected straight to a kitchen and a dining room via a doorway. I rolled my eyes through the whole place gathering as much information as I could, but it seemed it was a rather simple living style. The man obviously hadn't picked up some of the more garish living arrangements of his other side of the family.

Seeing that the lock was on the side, and not on the top of the window, I began to gently edge the glass up and down. My assumption about the lock being old, seemed to hold true. As I quickened the pace, the lock began to shift upwards. With one final movement, the lock came undone and I crawled in through the sill, locked it, and settled into a chair at the table.

By this time the man, who was whistling to himself, had come back in through the other door way. Baring a towel in his hands, he wiped whatever residue he could find and didn't bother to look up. I watched, a slow smile gifting my face, as he meandered towards the sink. With a small snap, I let the cloak pilfer off of my shoulders and my reiatsu leak out through the house. He continued to wash away, his whistling growing louder and louder. The hunches of his shoulders grew stiffer, and he angled his head downwards like a turtle trying to escape into its shell.

"Boyo."

Flinging himself with his sodden hands, the man collapsed into the chair I had occupied and smacked himself with the wood of the seat. Rubbing at the spot, not bothered by the water that was now leaking down his face, he captured my visage with his own two eyes as I squatted on the top of the chair. I loomed over him again, peering with my bright eyes and that smile slinking across my face.

"Sensei."

The man stood to his full height. He had fully expanded into an adult, I noted; no longer the Shiba I had once known. Though his hair had remained in that permanent spiked up-do, undoubtedly from gel, it had grown some and had become more course and bushy. He, too, was maintaining his own type of shadowy beard instead of what used to be non-existent. His torso had filled out tremendously, swiping away any images of his as that late-teenager I remembered. In front of me stood, the imposing figure of a shadow of the student I had once.

"Finding you human was a surprise."

I slipped down into the bed of the chair, whilst he took the one next to me. The corner cut an invisible line through our conversation. We eyed each other for a long time, letting the clock be the only movement in the room. Finally, I took a hand into my own and shook it.

"Kurosaki Isshin."

"Ayake Ichiyuko."