Hope you all enjoy this. Just have a few things to let you know. For those awaiting an update to Messenger of Shamballa and Tiger's Sun, sorry for the wait but this story and I Never Forgot you have more of my interest at the moment. After this I will update I Never Forgot You and then Messenger of Shamballa, and after that Tiger's Sun.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach nor am I getting any money out of this. I also do not own the Bleach characters. Rose and her monkey Hiko are of my own creation, as is Rose's parents. Oh, and while I own Hiko, his appearance is pretty much almost identical to Lau Shimin from D Gray Man. Hiko just has goldish brown eyes and is a bit bigger than an uninvoked Lau Shimin. Takehiko looks nearly identical to Lau Shimin invoked but his eyes are red with a pupil. They're not like Lau Shimin's eyes.


Chapter 11

It felt…odd to be going to school after what had happened the previous day. If it hadn't been for the pain of her wounds Rose might have half thought she'd dreamt the fight yesterday. Ichigo hadn't wanted to but Kisuke had forced him to attend the final day before school let out for the summer.

No one remembered Rukia beside Rose, Ichigo, and Hiko. It was as if she had never even existed which unnerved the young teen more than a little. It felt unnatural for everything of her new friend to be snuffed out of the minds and hearts of everyone. It was as if Rukia hadn't mattered and if Rose was honest with herself that was what bothered her the most about all of her amnesic classmates.

Uryu, the only person who might have remembered Rukia had decided to skip the last day of school.

As they prepared to leave Rose heard Keigo start on his antics though Ichigo hit the boy with something in annoyance, not in the mood for his games. Keigo's attitude got worse when everyone but Mizuiro stated they had other plans. Then Keigo reacted even worse when Mizuiro revealed he was flying to Hawaii with his girlfriend and nine of her friends who he implied were also girls. As he was chased by Keigo who was angry with him for not being invited Ichigo and Rose took their leave.

Ichigo was deep in thought, not saying anything. Rose didn't pressure her brother to talk, instead noting how Orihime had just started to follow them. Deciding to let the girl show herself when she wanted to Rose ignored her for the most part. She had just tickled Hiko under his chin absently as she reflected on her incoming birthday when Orihime spoke up.

She asked them in a very serious tone why everyone had forgotten about Rukia. The girl made it clear that she also wanted answers.

'Huh, well that explained all the confusion I was getting from her in class.' Rose thought. Ichigo was surprised as well but readily explained things to Orihime after they had all taken a seat on some public steps. After getting her explanation Orihime revealed she had been able to see Ichigo ever since Sora attacked her.

Rose, who had let Ichigo do the talking, simply cradled Hiko in her hands as she noted Chad's spiritual pressure very close by. No doubt existed in the girl's mind that the student was eavesdropping.

Orihime gave Ichigo a pep talk of sorts which did help the former Substitute Soul Reaper who thanked her and raced to Kisuke's. Rose hurried after her brother.

xxx

The training started immediately. Kisuke took the two to a huge underground training room. Rose knew it was big without being told, just by the echo of everyone's voices.

Kisuke's employees had come too and stood by as Kisuke and Ichigo talked. The shop order pushed Ichigo's soul out of its body so he could fight Ururu and restore his spiritual power. Ururu told him to put on the protective gear, saying that she didn't want to kill him.

That last remark didn't not help Rose's growing apprehension.

Ichigo resisted the order at first, not wanting to fight a little girl . . .

. . . Until said little girl aimed a punch that sent him and nearby rocks flying.

Rose's mouth fell open as she heard the rubble fly and felt the ground shake under her feet. Just how strong was that child?!

"We tried to warn him, didn't we?" Kisuke said. He sounded like he was smiling.

Ichigo quickly started to run for his life.

'I forgot how…insane life can get having Kisuke for an uncle.' Rose thought wearily. She had faith Ichigo would be okay but being his sister she still worried.

As Ichigo ran he shouted for Kisuke to tell him how to put the headgear on. Kisuke played a trick on him, telling him to say, as loud as he could. "Amazing headband of justice in place, amazing armor of justice protect me now!"

The teen refused to say it at first, but after narrowly dodging another fatal punch he caved and said the command words.

"Well what do you know? He actually said it!" Kisuke said, grinning.

"You're cruel, Uncle." Rose deadpanned.

"UNCLE?!" Jinta shouted.

"Oh right, we never told you, did we? Rose is my goddaughter!" Kisuke said cheerfully. Ichigo's cursing as he tried to pick up speed faded away into the background.

Rose blinked, and turned her head in the direction of Kisuke's voice. "I've thought of you as a uncle since I was a kid but I didn't know Mama and Papa named you my godfather."

"I guess it never came up." Kisuke shrugged his shoulders even though Rose couldn't see the gesture.

"Do I have a godmother?" Rose asked curiously. Hiko had perched himself on her head to get a better view of Ichigo and Ururu's 'fight'.

"Yes, it's Yoruichi."

Rose smiled. "Well, I'm not surprised."

At that moment she felt Ururu's emotional state change dramatically, pure instinct of self-preservation taking over the younger girl's mind. This spelled bad news for Ichigo.

"Kisuke, Ururu is -!"

But the man was already gone, along with Tessai.

"Safe!" Kisuke called out. He had grabbed a hold of Ururu's leg to keep her from kicking Ichigo with full force while Tessai had grabbed the teen before he crashed into the rock behind him, taking most of the impact.

As Rose caught up to them Ichigo asked for another shot at Ururu, even adding 'please' at the end of the sentence.

Kisuke merely congratulated Ichigo, saying he had cleared lesson one and, in response to Ichigo's confusion, stated that he had never said Ichigo had to beat Ururu to pass the lesson. He added that Ururu had the abilities to fight against full-fledged Soul Reapers, and that being so, a mere human could never defeat her outright. Kisuke also asked Ichigo about his breathing and the teen said that it was better, surprise clear in his voice.

Kisuke revealed that the purpose of the test had been to raise Ichigo's spirit energy.

"Now, let's celebrate the return of your spirit energy, shall we?" The shop keeper said. A moment later Tessai broke Ichigo's Chain of Faith cleanly with an axe, much to both Ichigo and Rose's shock.

"What do you think you are doing!?" She shouted. Hiko, picking up on his mistress' distress, started to become agitated.

"Continuing with the second lesson." Kisuke replied calmly.

"I'm, dying." Ichigo gasped out, he had collapsed on the floor thanks to Tessai who was sitting on him to ensure he stood put.

"That's because you are. Once the Chain of Fate has been severed you can no longer return to your physical body, death comes quickly." Kisuke said. By the time he finished Rose had already rushed to her brother's side.

"Do you have to be so causal about it?" Ichigo growled.

Kisuke said that wasn't the worse of it for once the Chain had completed the Encroachment Process from where it had been cut Ichigo would become a hollow. And he would have to be killed. The only way for Ichigo to avoid this fate was to become a Soul Reaper before he became a hollow.

"Kisuke!" Rose shouted angrily.

"It's alright Rose, I knew this was going to be tough. I'll pass this stupid test and as soon as I come out I'll kick Urahara's ass!" Ichigo said.

Rose frowned, but did not question his obvious determination and dedication.

"You're going to need to step back Rose!" Kisuke called out. The girl reluctantly did as he said.

"Now let's get this party started. Go!" Kisuke said.

And a moment later Ichigo and Tessai fell into a very wide and deep hole that had suddenly appeared beneath them.

Rose couldn't see the hole but heard the fall and furrowed her brows in slight confusion.

Kisuke introduced the second lesson as the Shattered Shaft and told Ichigo that he had to get out of the hole (which Ururu had dug) to clear the lesson. This was made difficult by the fact that Tessai had used kido to bind Ichigo's arms behind his back, rendering them unusable.

With that Kisuke turned his attention to Rose who tensed, a bit wary of what he might have in store for her as part of her training.

"Why don't we sit down?" He asked.

Shocked for a moment, Rose could only say "Huh?"

Kisuke smiled. "I need you to tell me what you're capable of so far so I can determine the type of training you'll need."

"Oh, well, I can use Kido. Most of them I have to say the incantation but there are some I can do pretty well without saying it. Then there's Releasing Hiko into Takehiko, and that Chan'neru you gave me. So far I've only used it as a whip. And there's this other thing I was working on with Rukia." Rose said.

"Oh, and what is that?"

Wordlessly Rose walked over to a huge slab of rock lying on the ground. It was considerably big, twice Tessai's height in length and just as thick.

'Huh, it's so much easier to sense inanimate objects here.' She mused. Hiko got off her head and climbed just behind her left shoulder, peeking over it as he clung to the fabric of her shirt.

Rose calmly concentrated spirit energy into her index finger and gently tabbed the rock. A short silence followed and when nothing happened, Jinta snorted.

"You're such a loser - tapping things? How is that gonna-?" He cut himself off when the rock started to tremble and an instant later burst into thousands of tiny rock shards. As Jinata stared at the space where the slab had been, opened mouthed, Kisuke applauded Rose.

"Wonderful show. You amplified your strength in human form with spirit energy." He said.

Rose nodded. "It's useful in my soul form too. I can increase my strength further than it already is as a soul."

"Soul Reapers use it in a similar method too, but since they're already so remarkably strong on their own that they don't have much need for that kind of advantage." Kisuke said. He looked at Rose thoughtfully and then added. "Rukia once mentioned to me that you're sensitive to the emotions of others when she came by my shop. That empathy can be a blessing and a curse. On one hand you can guess the enemy's intentions easier, on the other hand if it is great enough you'll feel their pain as well."

Rose visibly winced as at that very moment Ichigo's screams became momentarily audible, like it was taking Kisuke's words as a cue, and said. "Yes, I can block it to a certain extent but there are cracks that some of emotions sneak in through. I've started to mediate sometimes to try and keep my walls up."

"That was a good decision, you should do that daily if you can. Now, why don't you invoke your partner?"

Rose nodded and stepped back, she could feel Ururu and Jinta watching her, and said. "Run rampant, Takehiko!"

Kisuke watched as Hiko's eyes turned red and he let out a primal screech before his spirit energy poured out of his body and swirled around him. The next moment the monkey was towering behind Rose as Takehiko. The girl had shed her human skin and was standing as a spirit, the Chan'neru tucked into her obi.

"Well done!" Kisuke cheered. "Now…"

Lightning fast Takehiko snatched Rose from the ground a moment before the naked blade of Kisuke's sword dug itself into the place where she had just been standing.

"Idiot! You could have killed her!" Takehiko snapped. Rose was cradled in one of his massive arms, a bit dazed by the sudden change.

"Nonsense, I held back so you would have enough time to get her out of the way. However that is over." Kisuke said calmly.

"What do you mean?" Rose asked cautiously, she had come to and her hand was hovering over the part of the Chan'neru that was sticking out of her obi.

"We're going to spar and find out the abilities you two possess."

For some reason Rose felt scared when he said that.

"Let us begin." The shop owner said.

The next moment Rose was clinging Takehiko's fur for dear life as the beast repeatedly dodged Kisuke's jabs and swipes narrowly.

"We can't keep dodging, we have to attack!" Rose said to Takehiko as he made a huge leap to get some distance between them and Kisuke.

"I know that! If he wasn't such a small and fast target I would have landed a hit by now!" Takehiko muttered.

"I see you've already started to realize your weaknesses." Kisuke said, appearing in front of them. "But that weakness is something that can easily be corrected, you've just got to figure out how." There was a pause and then he said. "Awaken, Benihime!"

Takehiko cursed.

As he was speaking, Rose, who had ducked behind Takehiko's back to avoid her plan being seen, mentally chanted an incantation.

'Carriage of thunder, bridge of a spinning wheel. With light divide this into six!'

Rose, with as much speed as she could muster, propped herself on Takehiko's back. This made her visible to Kisuke, knowing this she launched the kido as soon as she had it aimed on him.

"Bakudo #61. Rikujokoro!"

Six thin, wide beams of light raced toward Kisuke.

"Scream, Benihime!" Kisuke shouted.

Rose felt a huge surge of energy that overwhelmed and destroyed the beams of light before they could get to the Soul Reaper.

"Crap!" She groaned. Takehiko lunged forward as soon as the attack dissipated, intending to use the small window of time to land a punch.

Kisuke leaped backward and Takehiko's fist dug into the ground, creating a huge hole where the shop owner had just been.

Rose mentally started another incantation.

'Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Inferno and pandemonium, the sea barrier surges, march on to the south!'

Takehiko growled in frustration, none of his punches were landing! He was starting to realize that the problem wasn't that he didn't have enough speed to keep up, nor his size, but that Kisuke seemed to be able to predict his moves perfectly.

Kisuke took advantage of the monkey's distracting thoughts and caught the next fist aimed at him before yanking it forward, much to the latter's shock.

As this was happening, Rose had turned and was about to shout out the spell when Takehiko was yanked forward and she lost her balance. Her hands landed palm first on his back.

What happened next surprised everyone, even Kisuke.

Takehiko's eyes widened and his eyes lit up crimson while his body was outlined in the color as well. The kido spell shot out of the hand Kisuke had pulled forward, much more powerful than Rose had intended, plowing a hole in the ground with the aftershock sending the shop owner flying.

There was a pause as the smoke cleared and Takehiko's eyes and body ceased to glow.

Jinta and Ururu watched the scene in awe.

". . . What just happened?" Takehiko asked slowly.

"I was hoping you'd be able to tell me that." Rose whispered. Another moment passed and the girl began to worry about her godfather, she was about to call out when she felt him walk toward them.

"That was unexpected." Kisuke said. He was dusting off his bucket hat which had been blown off by the aftershock and looked at the two with interest. Takehiko blinked, it was strange to see the man's face, unobscured by his hat.

'He's talking like nothing happened.' Rose thought and said. "You're not hurt Uncle Kisuke?"

"Just a bit sore. I'm more interested in that technique Takehiko just performed a moment ago." Kisukie said.

He put his somewhat battered hat back on. The headwear had held up pretty well.

"I'm not sure…" Rose said, trailing off, she slid off Takehiko's back and the monkey promptly lied down on the ground. She explained about how she had lost her balance and her hands, already preparing to fire, fell against Takehiko and suddenly it was as if the kido was going through him.

"It felt like, as the kido was passing through his body, it was getting stronger, even after it was shot out through Takehiko's hand I could feel remnants of it." Rose admitted.

"I felt as if I was being charged up, like some battery." Takehiko added his two cents.

"It seems that when Rose's kido was fired into you, instead of taking damage your body absorbed it and amplified it. I suppose you could have kept it inside you as a sort of energy boost but since you didn't know what was going on you fired the kido for Rose . . . giving a bit more power than she had wanted to in the process." Kisuke said.

"So you're basically saying I can absorb energy attacks?" Takehiko asked.

"I don't have the information to confirm it but it's likely that as long as your body is strong enough you can absorb the energy in a blast. You could even fire a Soul Reaper's kido attack right back at them. Quite the advantage, eh?" The shop owner said with a grin.

"I suppose it is." The Beast Spirit said thoughtfully. Rose sat down on the ground beside him, leaning against his arm.

"So, what are we going to do now? Do we keep sparring or develop this new ability?" She asked.

"I'd prefer to go with the latter. Oh and by that way…how is your wound?" Kisuke asked.

Rose blinked and then said, with surprise in her voice. "I completely forgot about it, but it's better! Practically all of the pain is gone."

"The beauty of healing kido. You'll find though that you'll have another scar on your back." Kisuke warned.

Rose smiled, she had felt a strange tightness in the shape and length of the wound on her back.

"It's no big deal. It's just an addition to my collection." She said, one hand gesturing to her scarred face.

There was a short silence following her words before Kisuke spoke again.

"Why don't you try to do that technique on purpose, but with a different kido spell?" He asked.

"Sure, let me think for a moment." Rose said. It didn't take long to decide. Takehiko sat up and allowed Rose to climb onto back. She started to chant as soon as she had her balance.

"Ye lord! Mask of flesh and bone, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Truth and temperance, upon this sinless wall of dreams unleash but slightly the wrath of your claws! Hado #33. Sokatsui!"

A moment before the spell was fired Rose placed her glowing hands on Takehiko's back.

The effect was much like the last time, and since Takehiko knew what to expect, much more accurate in aim.

He had aimed it at a huge rock cliff after amplifying the spell, his efforts resulted in the destruction of two thirds of the rock cliff.

Rose listened to the rubble and rocks fall, putting her chin in her hands as Kisuke spoke again.

"Better, but the timing could be improved, and you'll need to learn how to control how much power you'll put into the spell." The shop owner told Takehiko.

"Understood." The Beast Spirit muttered tiredly.

xxx

That day, the next, and the day after that was spent training with Kisuke, listening to his advice, and learning more about Soul Society. As the third day started to end Rose was confident she was getting as prepared as she could be.

During her breaks Rose would go to the Shattered Shaft and talk to Ichigo, telling him bits about her day. It was during one such visit, just before she was going to turn in for a nap, that her brother started to turn into a hollow.

Jinta had gone down to bring Ichigo and Tessai food, the former of the three talked a bit, with Jinta ominously warning the teen that the final encroachment was nothing like the others. As he started to climb back up the last of Ichigo's Chain of Fate underwent the Encroachment process and was completely destroyed.

Rose screamed for her brother, feeling his pain and hearing his screams, she had to be forcibly pulled back from the Shaft by Kisuke.

The girl was a wreck, biting her lip, fidgeting and wringing her hands. Hiko was no better, even the children and Kisuke were a bit affected by it. It took the shop owner's words of reassurance to calm her down somewhat.

As Ichigo fought the Hollowfication Rose sensed two things happening – the consciousness of two beings becoming active, one felt like a zanpakuto and hollow, while the other reminded her of a zanpakuto too but of Uryu's powers as well. It was confusing.

As the hollow-zanpakuto being strengthened the quincy-zanpakuto weakened before suddenly overcoming and forcing the former into submission. Rose shuttered, she wasn't sure what that had been but she was sure it wasn't normal.

Nevertheless, the quincy-like zanpakuto was definitely less hostile than the hollow one so Rose decided to just be grateful her brother was going to be alright. He narrowly escaped Tessai's kido spell, which would have killed him and appeared a few feet away from her, Kisuke, and the kids.

Rose quickly got to her feet, having been shoved to the ground alongside Ururu and Jinta by Kisuke to protect them from the kido's excess power. She felt something hollow like on her brother but knew by his spirit energy that he hadn't been taken over so she rushed over to him, Hiko firmly clinging to her shoulder.

"Hey, wait! You can't just-!" Jinta started to shout but was cut off by Kisuke's hand on his shoulder.

When she was close enough, Rose flung her arms around her brother.

"It's about time you came out! I was getting worried." She said. A bit of the kido Tessai had used on Ichigo was still present, especially on his shoulder.

One of Ichigo's hands raised to rest on her shoulder while the other took a hold of his sword handle, with its broken blade. Hiko watched from his new perch on Rose's head as Ichigo used the blunt end of the handle to smash the bottom of his hollow mask before pulling the mask back from his face to the side of his head.

"Yeah, well it was harder than I thought it would be." The orange haired teen confessed.

Kisuke walked up to them, clapping.

"Congratulations! It seems you went and became a Soul Reaper again! Well done, lesson two, completed!" He said happily.

Fully annoyed Ichigo remove his hand from Rose's shoulder and walked up to the shop owner, hitting him in the face with the butt of his sword handle as he ordered Kisuke to shut up.

Kisuke faked sobbed as Ichigo continued.

"Well, well, well, I bet you weren't expecting me to come back alive, were you?! I swore to myself that if I made it out of that hole I would kill you that first chance that I got!" The Substitute Soul Reaper growled.

"Oh dear." Rose sighed. Hiko just enjoyed the show.

Kisuke quit the act and said that Ichigo's timing was 'perfect' and they could now move on to lesson three. He said there was no time limit and all Ichigo had to do was knock off his hat with his zanpakuto to pass the lesson.

In response to this Ichigo swiped at Kisuke, his attack dealing a small cut in the front of Kisuke's hat. The teen said to forget Kisuke's concept of no time limits and that he could clear lesson three in five minutes.

Kisuke agreed to the time limit, his tone serious, and pulled the handle of his cane from its body, revealing the long blade that had been hidden in the cane to Ichigo.

Tessai climbed out of the hole and gathered the children and Rose behind a huge rock so they could remain out of the way and be less likely to be caught in the middle of the fight.

In the beginning Ichigo was easily overpowered, especially after Kisuke invoked his zanpakuto, Benihime. This difference in power made running away Ichigo's only option.

Suddenly Ichigo stopped running, it was silent for a few minutes, and then Kisuke advanced on the teen, his zanpakuto at the ready.

Rose gasped as she felt her brother's spirit energy rise. It poured out of him as he shouted out his zanpakuto's name.

"ZANGETSU!" Ichigo shouted.

Kisuke side stepped the spirit energy that would have plowed and also possibly maim him with ease.

"Whoa, what's going on out there?!" Jinta shouted.

A moment later the group peeked out from the rock to see what had happened, Rose listening closely to hear what Ichigo's invoked zanpakuto looked like.

"What kind of zanpakuto is that? It doesn't even have a hilt or a guard on it, it's not even shaped like a normal sword! If you ask me his old one was better." Jinta commented.

Tessai and Ururu were silent, but Rose felt the older man's uneasiness.

"Well it's about time, now that you've managed to draw your zanpakuto time for lesson number three. Are you ready for that?" Kisuke said.

"Don't take this the wrong way Mr. Urahara, but I hope you dodge this!" Ichigo said.

"What?" Was Kisuke's confused reply.

". . . Because I can't control it yet!" Ichigo cried out. Rose felt the little bit of Tessai's kido still clinging to her brother shatter and felt Kisuke's urgency as he called on Benihime. Ichigo swung his sword. There was loud roar of destruction.

It was silent for a minute before Kisuke spoke.

"It's a good thing I protected myself with my Blood Mist Shield, without it I probably would have lost an arm just now." The shop owner remarked, then added. "That wasn't very nice, I do believe you killed my hat."

As the others walked toward them Kisuke continued to speak.

"Impressive, I didn't expect you could do that with a single swing of your sword. Ichigo, you're one frightening kid you know that? Lesson three, cleared."

Behind the shop owner was a huge and lengthy gouge in the earth, easily tearing through rocks and boulders.

xxx

After finishing up their training with Kisuke Rose and Ichigo's summer vacation was pretty normal. On the first of August they accompanied their family and friends to the fireworks festival. Among the friends were Keigo, Mizuiro, Chad, Tatsuki, and Orihime.

Rose was mostly silent reflecting internally on how today was her fourteenth birthday and the eighth anniversary of her parents' deaths. No one knew today was her birthday however, except Isshin who, at her request, had never told his children.

Even before she had regained her full memory the fact that her parents had died on her birthday made her too depressed to celebrate it…along with the horrible nightmares she'd have of that night. It was just too painful.

Yuzu had been the one to ask her about her birthday and Rose had honestly replied that she never celebrated it since her parents died. Nothing Yuzu had said could convince Rose to tell her when she had been born. Karin had tried to get it out of her too but to no avail.

Ichigo had been the final to try but gave up pretty quickly and never asked her again. Isshin, had kept his word and had refused to tell his daughters when they asked him about it, thus her birthday had remained secret.

Still, Rose was determined to remain cheerful on her birthday, especially today. After all, this may be her last day on earth with her adoptive family and friends. So she smiled and enjoyed herself as best as she could.

On the seventh day after they had completed Kisuke's training Rose waited with Ichigo in his room, cradling the sleeping Hiko in her hands, for the signal to come to the shop.

As she sat on the bed Rose winced. The scar she had gotten from Byakuya Kuchiki pained her where it cut through the raised skin on her back.

There was also some stiffness in her back that never seemed to go away entirely. She may have survived Byakuya's strike but, like the one that took her sight, Rose would forever feel the aftermath of the blow.

Her depressing thoughts were interrupted when Ichigo pulled her away from the window as something sailed through it to land on his closet with a splat.

"What the hell?" Ichigo said. There was a pause that Rose assumed was him checking out his closet.

"Who the hell contacts people like that?! This is like some T.V crime message written in the victim's own blood and it better not stain my wall!" He ranted.

'Well, that answered a lot of questions.' Rose thought. Hiko had woken up due to Ichigo's yelling and watched the scene with interest.

"What the – P.S? What now?" Ichigo growled." There was another pause as he read the message.

"Oh shut up!" Ichigo shouted, throwing his pillow at his closet door. Rose wisely chose not to ask him about the message.

Knowing Kisuke it was probably something amusing and annoying.

After checking up on the twins the two walked outside, lingering outside the clinic. As Ichigo muttered a goodbye to their family Rose sensed a certain someone on the roof.

"Ichigo –. " Rose started to say but was interrupted by Isshin who had jumped off the roof, yelling good morning (it was 1:00 am), as he fell toward the two teens.

Both easily side stepped out of the way and Isshin landed face first on the hard pavement.

"Way to dodge the attack, my children." He croaked.

"This is how you say goodbye? What's wrong with you?!" Ichigo demanded angrily.

"Before you left Ichigo I wanted to give this to you." Isshin said. Rose cocked her head, whatever it was it felt strange.

"What am I supposed to do with some dirty old charm?" Ichigo asked.

"Watch your mouth; that charm was given to me by your mother long ago. It's precious." Isshin retorted.

"Then what are you giving it to me for? I can't keep this thing!" Ichigo snapped after getting over his shock.

"Of course you can't! Who said I was giving it to you permanently?! You have to give it back to me as soon as you come home! Sheesh!" Isshin snapped back before adding more calmly. "It should bring you luck, it always has for me. Think of it as a gift from your mother. Well, what do you say?"

When Ichigo stood silent Isshin started to act up, saying that he was giving his son a magic talisman and that if Ichigo didn't give it back he'd shave his bread off – before he could continue Ichigo said he'd take it.

Rose smiled as Hiko produced a purr like sound.

"We're going now, goodbye Dad." Ichigo said.

"Goodbye Isshin!" Rose called out.

"Bye! And remember to look out for your sister Ichigo!" Isshin called out,

"Yeah I know!" The teen called out.

Rose's smile widened.

Upon arrival Rose was not surprised to feel Chad, Uryu, and Orihime waiting for them, having been told by Kisuke that they were coming along, and was delighted to sense Yoruichi among the teens. Hiko yawned loudly in her arms.

"Would someone please tell me what's going on here?!" Ichigo demanded upon seeing them all reveal themselves.

"You're a little slow on the uptake, aren't you?" Yoruichi's male cat voice said.

"Yoruichi!" Orihime said happily.

"Kid, don't tell me you didn't feel the increase of power in these friends of yours. There have been so many clues. You need to be more observant than that if you want to survive. While you were training, trying to regain your Soul Reaper powers the three of them were also training in their own way like your sister. Instead of asking stupid meaningless questions you ought to be thanking them." Yoruichi said.

Hiko perked up at the cat's voice and he sat up for a better view of the feline.

"A FREAKING CAT JUST SPOKE TO ME!" Ichigo shouted. Yoruichi had somehow ended up in Orihime arms right before his outburst and the girl spoke.

"His name is Yoruichi and he's not just a cat." She said.

Rose smirked to herself when Orihime referred to Yoruichi as male. She hoped she would be around to hear everyone's reactions to the feline's true gender.

"It is hard to get used to." Uryu said.

"I'm still adjusting to it myself." Chad admitted.

Kisuke urged everyone inside. When Ichigo called out to Orihime the girl unexpectedly handed Yoruichi to Rose. Hiko had thankfully moved to her shoulder by then.

No wanting to intrude in a private conversation Rose went inside the shop, adjusting her grip on the pseudo-cat.

Smiling, she whispered to her godmother. "I'm happy we've met up again, Aunt Yoruichi."

The cat chuckled. "So am I. Do me a favor though, drop the aunt part until this is all over and done. For one thing the others will want to know my relation to you of they hear it, and second, I don't want them to realize I'm a female until the time is right."

Rose smiled. "Understood."

The girl had already decided to wait until Rukia was rescued to tell her brother about her past. She would have told him earlier except she didn't want him to attack Aizen on his own on the chance the two would cross paths. Ichigo tended to get carried away with his emotions at times.

Once they were all in the underground training area Rose set Yoruichi on the floor. Orihime complimented the training area and Tessai tearfully thanked her for it.

Kisuke gained their attention and introduced them to the Senkaimon, the way the rescue team would get to Soul Society.

He added that he would tell them how to get through it, but first he ejected Ichigo's soul out of its body, much to the teen's annoyance and the others' (besides Rose) surprise.

Rose smiled and shed her human skin, making the others gap as she suddenly became a spirit. Hiko, who as a Beast Spirit was a physical being and a spirit at the same time, had no need to change. As the girl made sure her Chan'neru was tucked securely into her obi Orihime started to ask the Ichigo and Rose questions.

Kisuke laughed as the scene before him, then got down to business. He explained that since the Soul Society was a spirit world only Ichigo, as a Soul Reaper, and Rose as a Beast Tamer, would be able to pass since they both possessed the ability to change into their respective spirit forms. However the Senkaimon had a device that would allow the others to enter Soul Society as spirits.

"Beast Tamer? What do you mean?" Ichigo asked.

Rose grimaced. "Sorry Ichigo, with everything going on I forgot to tell you. Takehiko told me about myself in my Inner World during our training with Kisuke."

Kisuke fanned himself. "I'll give you a brief summary. A Beast Tamer is a being a cross between a Soul Reaper and a Quincy. To put it simply, if Soul Reapers were the black side, Yin, and Quinces were the white side, Yang, then a Beast Tamer would be a gray area – the line were the two meet. They are simultaneously a part of the Living World, and a part of the Spirit World at birth. This is why Rose is able to generate a human skin that she can also easily destroy to house and release her soul form, respectively. They also have partners, similar to the relationship of a Soul Reaper and their zanpakuto called Beast Spirits, except that the Beast isn't really born from their soul." Kisuke explained, He was warming up to the subject as he continued. "Instead an animal is strongly attracted to their spiritual pressure and a bond is formed between their souls. Through this connection the animal's Beast power is born, influenced by its Tamer and they are given higher intelligence, power and longevity. They will live far past the usual life span of their respective species. Their Released forms have a true name, similar to a zanpakuto, and represent the physical manifestation of the Tamer's soul power. In this form –"

"Kisuke, while this is very interesting we have more important things to do." Yoruichi cut in, knowing this already.

"Huh? Oh, right. Sorry, I got carried away." The shop owner said sheepishly.

"Aw, I wanted to know more. It sounds really interesting." Orihime said.

"Agreed." Uryu said.

"I can answer your questions once we have the time." Rose assured her friends as Hiko sneezed.

Kisuke went on to explain about the machine that would allow the humans of the group to get into Soul Society, and jabbed Ichigo with his cane when the teen impatiently tried to get pass him. Kisuke explained that the catch was this; they'd only have four minutes to pass through the gate.

"Four minutes?" Rose echoed doubtfully.

"But, is that enough time?" Ichigo asked.

"Ordinarily, no." Kisuke said bluntly. "In fact the whole scheme is a little shaky. Four minutes with the gate is all I can give you. After that it will close and anyone who hasn't made it through will be trapped forever in the Dangai. The Precipice World between this world and the Soul Society."

"How will we ever make it?" Orihime whispered.

"Go forward." Yourichi said. "Remember what I told you about the connection between heart and soul. You must have no doubt, have no fear. Do not think of those you are leaving behind, the will to go forward will be your guide, and don't look back. Only those who can do these things can follow me through the gate and survive."

"We all know this already or we wouldn't still be here. Quit with all this preaching and let's do this thing now." Ichigo interjected.

"And you understand that of you lose you can never return to this life again, right?" Yoruichi said.

"Then all I have to do is win, huh?" Ichigo said.

"Exactly." Yoruichi said.

Kisuke and Tessai prepared the Senkaimon.

"Alright, everybody ready? As soon as it opens run in as fast as you can." Kisuke said.

"Right." Ichigo said.

"Good luck." Kisuke said.

"Thanks for your help." Rose said as the gate opened. Hiko made sure he had a tight grip on her clothing. He crouched down on her shoulder.

The gate fully opened and everyone leaped inside as light shone down on them. When the light was gone so were they. Kisuke walked up to the gate and touched it, in response his hand was repelled.

"We're all counting on you, Ichigo." Kisuke said. He wasn't just talking about the rescue mission.

Tessai go to his feet. "She'll be fine boss. Yoruichi is with her."

Kisuke stood silent, remembering the past.


I hope you all enjoyed that!

Sign

Snowlily246