Two chapters in two days. Phew! Well, after this I will be take a small break. I'll be at rugby and church my whole week end, so I probably will not have a chapter up on Saturday. Sorry. I probably won't even have the chance to hop onto a computer. You'll just have to wait, I guess.

To all of my reviewers: Seriously, guys, you have no idea what it means to me when people give me a review. I like getting reviews more than follows/favs, those are good too, but reviews are best! LOVE YOU ALL!

Yo. Bleach still ain't mine.

Toshiro stood in the middle of a snowy valley. The wind and snow were whirling all around him, the lose cloth he wore dancing with it. His turquoise eyes scanned the white terrain, looking for the spirit of his zanpukuto.

"Hyourinmaru!" Toshiro cried out, looking to the left, and to the right. "Hyourinmaru, where are you?" The wind picked up as the clouds above him broke apart, a dragon of ice slowly coming down to the ground. The dragon landed without a sound in the cold, soft, puffy snow.

"I am here, Master," Hyourinmaru said to Toshiro, folding his wings as his ruby red eyes stared at the captain, "what do you need of me?" He asked.

Toshiro looked up at the magnificent beast who just happened to be the Soul Society's strongest ice/snow type zanpukuto. Hyourinmaru never ceased to amazing him. "What do I need to do in order to find Karin?" He questioned Hyourinmaru. "Is there any way that you know of that can find her location?"

Hyourinmaru shook his gigantic head. "No, I do not. I apologize." He answered, solemnly. "I am not the one you should ask that question." The dragon paused, thinking for a moment. "Perhaps, Kisuke Urahara is the one to ask. I am sure that the famous Ichigo Kurosaki will willingly bring you to Urahara."

Toshiro thought about it, watching a large snowflake find its way to the ground. "Ichigo…" He murmured to himself. He looked back up to Hyourinmaru, crossing his arms. "So, there is there nothing you know about this situation?"

"I did not say that," Hyourinmaru said, proudly, "but, I cannot give you the answers you are looking for. There are…limitations."

"Limitations? What do you mean by that?" Hyourinmaru became silent. Toshiro stared at him, expectantly. "I see…" The white haired young man murmured, turning away from the powerful spirit. Toshiro was disappointed.

"Master, if I may, I can teach you something that can prove usefully in the battles ahead. This ability will be needed if the battle involves Karin Kurosaki in any way." Hyourinmaru offered. That caught Toshiro's attention real quick.

"What is it?" Toshiro asked, looking up at Hyourinmaru, determined. There was a new light in his cold, blue eyes. Almost as if the ice in his soul was melting.

Hyourinmaru's icy scales began to fall off. Huge chunks of ice fell to the ground and dissolved into tiny snowflakes, the wind blowing the flakes away. Soon, a man with long hair that was a shade of blue stood there. His eyes were a pale, icy blue. His face had a "X" like scar, covering it. He wore an expensive looking Kimono and had a Chinese dragon's tail proceeding out from underneath the robe.

"It is time to sharpen your abilities, my Young Master."

Karin appeared in a sitting up position from her lair of ruined cushions. Here, where ever that may be, there were no beds. There were just theater seat cushions and ripped pieces of curtain for beds and blankets.

Karin didn't need a mirror to know her black hair was going in a dozen different directions. Bed head was even worse when you slept without an actually bed. She scratched the back of her head and yawned. She heard a sound coming from the left. Instinctively, she stood up, holding her fists up in a defensive position.

Fuyuka stood there, staring at her with an emotionless expression. She took a few steps forward and placed a small plastic shopping bag by Karin before turning and silently walking away. Karin just gawked at the woman as she left. Karin couldn't help it, Fuyuka just seemed so…creepy, but at the same times she was…kickass.

The girl with black, messy hair turned to the plastic bag, picking it up and looked into it. Inside of the bag, there was a hair brush and a small package of hair ties. Under that, there was a pair of clean jeans, a yellow T-shirt, and a pair of tennis shoes. Karin took out the clothes, looking up to where Fuyuka had been. She smiled quickly stripped herself of her grimy, bloody soul reaper uniform and threw on the new clothes. The pants were a bit big, but Karin didn't care. The shirt fit pretty well and the shoes were perfect. She brushed her hair quickly and tied it back in her classic pony tail. Then, she slug her sheath and zanpukuto and took a deep breath.

Karin stood up and stretched, walking out of the V.I.P. booth and went down the broken down stairway out into the main part of the theater. No one stood in the large room. Karin was alone, besides some mice, spiders, and things of that category. She heard someone giggle behind her and turned, seeing nobody there. There was another giggle from behind her, a different one. She turned again and saw no one. She couldn't sense anyone's spiritual pressure nearby or anything else of the sort. She looked around again, and then moved on, hearing someone else.

"Good morning, Karin!" Natsumi greeted as cheerfully as always. "Are you hungry?" She asked, holding up a tray with assorted sweets and snacks.

Karin sighed with relief. "Oh, it's just you, Natsumi." She muttered, recovering from her small heart attack. Not like she was scared or anything. Nope. Karin Kurosaki wasn't afraid of anything! Unless you were a woman who threw dresses and makeup at her, that would be a different story that involved needed a place to hide a 30-something-year-old female body.

Natsumi raised an eyebrow. "Eh? What do you mean, it's just me? Who else would it be?" She asked, lowering the tray a bit.

"Oh, uh,…Shinobu?" Karin said, making her answer sound more like a question. Really, she had no idea, nor did she care. She decided to change the subject. "So…you said something about training when I first woke up yesterday." She suggested, waving her hand at the tray Natsumi offered to her. Karin didn't have much of a sweet tooth.

Natsumi nodded, turning. "Oh! Yep! You do wanna train now?" Natsumi asked. Karin suddenly felt like she was in a video game.

Press "A" to accept. Press "B" to decline little Natsumi's offer.

Karin mentally pressed A. "Yeah, sure. I mean, that's the reason why you Ihokodomo people kidnapped me, right?" She asked as Natsumi walked away towards a doorway Karin didn't notice before.

Natsumi giggled, placing the tray outside the doorway. "We didn't kidnap you, Karin. We just saved you, that's all. We want to train you so you do hurt anyone else close to you." She said, turning as she smiled brightly.

Flashes of Toshiro's, Rukia's, and Ichigo's possibly dead, broken bodies danced through Karin's mind. Her eyes widened for a moment before she nodded. "Okay, so what do I need to do?"

Natsumi jumped backward, smiling, as she disappeared through the doorway. She just blinked out of existence. Karin lurched forward, hand reaching out to where Natsumi had gone.

"Don't go any farther, Karin! Just stay riiiiiiiight there!" Natsumi's voice said from all around Karin. The dark, empty theater became even darker. Suddenly, 6 figures stood on invisible platforms above Karin, 4 of them holding gleaming swords, a 5th baring its canine fangs, and a 6th sitting on the ledge of the second floor.

Natsumi giggled. "First, let's see how long you can last against the five of them! 'kay? How much stamina, speed, and power do you have, Karin?"

"Toshiro, are you sure we need to talk to Kisuke?" Ichigo asked, looking at the fuming, captain of the 10th division.

"I told you already, and I'll tell you again, Kurosaki! I am to be addressed by 'CAPTAIN HITSUGAYA'!" Toshiro said sternly, his body tense. "That is what Hyourinmaru told me. I already have arranged things with the Head Captain. Lieutenant Abarai, Lieutenant Kira, Lieutenant Matsumoto, and the 3rd seat and 5th seat of the 11th division are coming with us as reinforcements."

"What about Rukia?" Ichigo asked. "And why would we need back up if we're just visiting Kisuke? It's not like we are going into a battle with Aizen or the arrancar." He commented. Baykuya, Rukia's older adoptive brother, probably was prohibiting her from coming. She was still recovering, but she was released from the hospital when Ichigo was a few hours ago.

"Lieutenant Kuchiki, Captain Kuchiki, Captain Ukitaki, Captain Kyoraku, Captain Zaraki, Lieutenant Kusajishi and Lieutenant Hinamori have a separate mission." Toshiro explained. "Another questions?"

"Yeah," Ichigo started, making a face at Toshiro, "why am I needed on this mission to go see Kisuke? I'm going to go look for Karin."

Toshiro rolled his eyes, trying to hold his anger at Ichigo's stupid personality. "Man, you really are a piece of work!" He grumbled, closing his eyes. Brother, like sister. He thought. "We're going to Kisuke's to ask him about Karin, then we are going to look for her with the information he gives us, if any!" He said sharply, a vein pulsing in his forehead.

Ichigo blinked. "Then why didn't you say that first?" He asked, turning towards the Soul Society's senkaimon, not realizing that the two parties where already there waiting for Ichigo's slow mind to catch up.

"Hey, Ichigo! Just get over!" Rukia shouted from over by the senkaimon, her hands cupping around her lips. "Just hurry up so both groups can leave! Karin is not getting any younger, you know!"

"Actually, Rukia, I don't think she's getting any older either." Ikkaku commented. His arms were crossed and Yumichika was smiling to himself. "She's dead now. And, I guess she's one of us, you know, besides the part about her changing her mind and almost killing you."

"Shut up, Ikkaku." Ichigo said dangerously, now completely focused. "That wasn't Karin, it wasn't her fault. If it was anyone's, it was mine." Shunsui and Jushiro sighed. Typical Ichigo. Ichigo made a strange noise as Rukia kicked him in the back. Ichigo turned, trying to ignore the pain. "HEY! What the hell, Rukia?"

"Stop crying, Ichigo, and blaming yourself. Your 'it's all my fault' routine is getting old." Rukia said her hand resting on her zanpukuto's hilt. "Just relax and focused on getting Karin back safely, okay?" She asked, her voice becoming warm and soft.

Ikkaku snickered as he mocked the couple, making faces at Yumichika, who was continuing to smile at the thought of his own beauty. Ikkaku only stopped when Baykuya gave him a very, very, very cold glare. Momo was talking quietly to Renji, who was secretly watching Rukia and Ichigo, and Izuru. Rangiku was patting Izuru for some strange reason. Shunsui and Jushiro were talking about their battle plan, and Kenpachi was grumbling to Yachiru about how everyone was wasting his time that he could use elsewhere. Toshiro stared at the scene, utterly confused by the fact no one was rushing to get on with their missions. How could these people be some of the most powerful soul reapers in the soul society?

Again, a longer chapter. I hope you enjoyed it. Send me a review or fav/follow! Do what you want, xD *flies away into the setting run*