Disclaimer insert here: I don't own or have ever owned Bleach or Rosario Vampire. Please buy their stuff however to support them poor bastards. Thanks.

All characters belong to their rightful owners, any OC I create are purely for entertainment use only. As usual an M rating is for future violence, dismemberments, gore, language, very foul language, and of course mature scenes will be in, but don't expect a ton of them. Again enjoy your time here.

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Japanese translations and reedited by regfurby 09-2017. A guide is provided at the bottom of each chapter.

Updated April 14, 2018.

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Response to Reviews Corner 2 has been moved to the bottom.

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"Speech"

'Thoughts'

'Memories'

"Shiro/Inner Moka when sealed/Shōgetsu"

"Zangetsu"

XXXX

"Kids these days."

Shiba Isshin aka Goat-Face

XXXX

Ichigo, Tia and Tatsuki stand outside of their new homeroom, waiting for Nekonome Shizuka-Sensei to finish with her morning announcements for the day before introducing them to their new classmates. Strangely, the Headmaster had decided to allow their status to be announced in homeroom rather than at assembly. They could see his point that if the whole school found out at once, it would cause a furor that they would rather deal with slowly, rather than all at once. Soon enough the door opens and the Neko waves them in, then follows behind until she is at her podium again.

"Now class, please welcome our three newest students."

Turning to them, she nods in their direction. "Would you please write your names on the board and introduce yourselves and if possible answer a few questions your classmates may have?"

The three begin to turn to the board when a male voice barks out. "Hell with the blonde's name, all I want to know is if she'll go out on a date with me!"

The boys are beginning to laugh when a dark energy fills the room, silencing everyone as the three begin writing on the board. As they finish writing and step away, gasps from a few Yōkai show that they understand the meaning of two of the names almost immediately.

Arisawa Tatsuki.

Kurosaki Ichigo.

Kurosaki Tia.

Hushed whispers of 'mates' and 'a bonded pair' begin circulating as Tatsuki steps forward and with a small bow, she speaks first to the room.

"My name is Arisawa Tatsuki, I have mostly lived in the Human World with both Tia and Ichigo. Please take care of me."

Tia steps forward next and just as her friend did, she bows slightly before speaking. "I am Kurosaki Tia, Ichigo's mate. Please take care of me."

However no one is fooled by the normalcy in her voice as she straightens up and her eyes bore into the loudmouthed boy who is now shaking at his desk. The last of the three new students' steps forward and after he straightens from his bow, most of the class shrinks in their seats except for the Newspaper Club. They had never seen Ichigo like this since his arrival, but seeing the oppressive gaze of his heterochromatic eyes for the first time, they now understand why he has kept that side hidden.

"I am Kurosaki Ichigo, Tia's mate and Tatsuki's oldest friend. Please take care of me."

His left eye shines bright gold on a field of black, while his right eye shines crimson with a glowing blue field surrounding it. His target is the same as his mate, glaring at the unnamed boy now shaking uncontrollably at his desk. Ichigo smirks inwardly as he remembers the Headmaster's words from that morning.

'Now Ichigo-kun, Tia-chan, Tatsuki-chan, I will impart this one important fact onto you three. Yōkai are similar to Hollows in regards to their views on strength. Show them you are stronger and deadlier than they, and they will follow the natural order of the strong ruling over the weak. It has been the way of our kind for generations; do not hesitate to use it to your advantage. You will be challenged early on, so in the immortal words of your silver-haired friend, 'show them their place'.'

Unnoticed by the others, Tatsuki begins muttering to herself about rampaging inner-Hollows on the loose when she sees the feral smiles on her two friends' faces.

Seeing that his message is received and understood, Ichigo turns towards their homeroom teacher.

"Nekonome-Sensei, I believe the Headmaster made clear our status and the fact that we are allowed to defend our bond by all means necessary?"

Their homeroom teacher stammers and looks put on the spot. "Ye…yes he did Ichigo-kun, but I'm sure no one will…would be foolish enough to…ah…"

"As long as they understand, that is enough for now. I'd hate to see someone windup like the Kendo Taichō, limping with a cane to aid him in walking." Ichigo's smirk leaves no doubt as to the meaning of his words.

Again the whispers begin as the rumors and gossip surrounding what had really happened to the Captain of the Kendo Club had only started after he had been seen walking around with a crutch and his leg in a metal brace; they now have an idea of what had caused those injuries. Stepping back, Ichigo lowers his head and when he raises it again, the classroom goes wide-eyed at seeing normal brown orbs in place of his heterochromia, the oppressive intent he was radiating earlier vanishing like the morning mist.

"What…what kind of Yōkai are you Kurosaki-kun?" A girl towards the back of the classroom whispers out in awe.

"I was under the impression that telling you would violate one of the rules of Yōkai Academy, never to reveal our true form in front of others. Who and what we are, are not up for discussion, ever." He replies firmly.

"Ah, excuse me Tia-chan, Ichigo-kun but…sorry…how long have you been mates? Did your families arrange it when you were born?" Another curious girl asks.

This time, Tia is the one who responds. "No, we are not in an arranged marriage. Our bond is that of love and respect, and acceptance of every aspect of the other. There is nothing we do not know of each other." She answers the girl with a smile.

More than a few of the Yōkai teens Awww at her declaration, some sending both Vizards looks of wanting, before a teen boy towards the front raises his hand as well. "Ah, Tatsuki-chan are you also…"

"No. My life is private and that is all I will say on that. I will say this though; I don't see myself falling for any student here, ever. None of you are my type." She states firmly.

Unfortunately, the boy doesn't seem to get the memo. "How do you know that…babe?" A few of the braver males snigger at their classmate's audacity, while a few smarter males wince at the foregone conclusion.

Glaring at the boy, Tatsuki inwardly smirks as she decides to reuse a method which has proven itself surprisingly effective. Silently whispering to herself, she casts the Kidō and is gratified to see the boy yelp as his arms twist behind his back, sending him smacking face-first into the table before toppling out of his seat, his arms still twisting behind his back and unable to help him. Taking a step forward, the female martial artist pins the trapped boy with a cold look, before directing it towards the rest of the classroom and speaking loudly enough for the entire room to hear.

"As I said, none of you interest me. I don't like repeating myself. Leave me alone, and we'll have no trouble."

That said, she turns away and the boy suddenly finds his arms free again.

There is a long moment of silence, before a timid hand goes up from a young female teen. "Ah, Kurosaki-san, your family name…it…it's the same as..."

"It may be, but they aren't related to them." Their homeroom teacher answers suddenly, gaining a strange look from the orange-headed teen and a surprised look from Tia and Tatsuki, both of whom exchange brief glances with each other. The girl accepts the answer and looks genuinely relieved, as do many of the other students in the classroom who are also wondering the same thing.

Deciding to move things along before any other dangerous questions are asked, Shizuka turns to her three newest students. "I understand that you three like to sit together?" She asks, receiving three nods in return.

Glancing towards the back of the classroom, she waves for them to take the seats that had been placed towards the back earlier that morning, deciding to ignore everything that had taken place earlier. Shizuka had been forewarned by the Headmaster's assistant that she should allow the three to flex their strength if challenged in any way. She had to hide her own shock when she felt that dark energy washing over her for the first time; although she wasn't certain which of the three released it earlier, it certainly felt feral and primordial enough to fit what Ruby had told her. Watching the three of them take up their assigned seats among the students that she is teaching, she swallows quietly as she wonders to herself.

'They're my responsibility now, but what were those two fools thinking bringing Shinigami of all beings here?'

XXXX

Ichigo can only sigh in relief as he and the other members of the Newspaper Club find out that all of their classes had been rearranged so that the three new students would be taking all their classes together. He does find his current predicament amusing however, when he finds himself partnered with Tatsuki for his first ever cooking class. Looking over at the station next to him, his other amusing thought came to fruition as he sees both Tia and an un-sealed Moka looking over the instructions on how to make Dorian Pie. Both he and Tatsuki had blanched when they were told exactly what the strange fruit actually was and how it was obtained, though Tia had been fairly ambivalent about it.

Nudging his friend, he whispers to her softly. "Be ready to run."

"Why?" She leans back over and whispers to him just as lowly.

"Do you remember curry night?"

The look of horror gracing the face of his friend lets him know that she remembers the blackened mess that had come out of the pot that night, where even the rice had been burnt beyond edibility. The look on Yuzu's face had made it all that much more horrible as she tried to console the older teen that night, but not even Isshin could sway the former Arrancar from her misery. Ichigo had enough sense to keep his mouth shut and did everything he could to make her feel better afterwards, but the smell had permeated the entire house for a week. Later, Yuzu had told him in private that Tia would be taking lessons from her from now on, along with Orihime, but so far it hadn't worked out too well: Tia couldn't cook, much to his surprise.

Both of them glance over and see red-slitted eyes looking down at the Dorian flesh in question, the Vampire's hand trembling as she brings the knife down with a loud thunk. The resulting explosion covers the blonde Vizard and silver-haired Daiyōkai in globs of red bits and juices. Tatsuki quickly turns before her carefully hidden laughter can be seen or heard, while Ichigo schools his face to his usual scowl, pretending to ignore the glares the two females are sending to the other stations.

"Not a word Suki, Berry or else." Tia growls lowly at them, knowing perfectly well what they're thinking.

Holding up her hands in faked innocence, the addressed young woman replies back. "Didn't see a thing, nope, nothing Tia, Moka. Honest."

"Better." The Vizard looks at her mate and sees him looking at anywhere but towards her. "Ichigo, do you have something to say?"

"Nope, same as Suki. Didn't see a thang." He drawls while grinning at his love.

"Hmph." Staring at the two extremely fake faces of innocence, Tia huffs out before turning back to the un-sealed Vampire. Picking up the knife, she starts to remember the lessons her youngest sister had painstakingly imparted to her. Carefully, she skins the fruit before using her hand to guide the sharp blade into cutting thin slices from the pulsating red flesh. As she begins to cut the next piece, she directs her partner to begin mixing the dry ingredients with the moist flour for the crust.

"Slow Moka, just go slow." She cautions the Vampire who seems to be raising her hands for battle.

The silver-haired Vampire lowers her hands hesitantly. "You do understand, I've never done this. 'She' has always been the one…to cook." Pink bleeds into her cheeks then.

Tia shakes her head at the Vampire. It had come as a surprise when the personality known as Omote had approached her before class, asking her to un-seal her other self so she could take part in the class. Omote knew her 'inner' self had wanted to attend some of their classes, something she had soon found out after their bond had grown to the point that Ura could remain awake during the time that Omote was. One of those classes had been their cooking class, the memory of the smells driving Ura into wanting to learn how to make a meal for once. Ura had confessed she had wanted to impress Tsukune in the future by making him dinner if she had the chance in order to grow closer to him. Even though that wouldn't come to pass any longer, she still wanted to try her hand at making something, if only to prove to herself that she could have done so if she was given the chance.

Working with far more care than was strictly necessary, the two teens eventually laid out their crust and filled it with their wet Dorian mixture before placing into the oven to cook. Heaving a sigh of relief and exchanging pleased looks, the two of them begin to put away their equipment and clean up their mess, only to stop when smoke starts billowing out from the oven next to them. Vampire and Arrancar turn to see the look of surprise and worry on their friend's faces as they start to step away from their now violently shaking oven. Tia looks down at their appliance to see a slow bulge forming from the side; instantly realizing something is wrong, she immediately grabs Moka and pulls her away from Tatsuki's and Ichigo's station.

"WWHHOOMMMPPP!"

The classroom erupts in screams and shouts as smoke and flames burst out of her mate's oven; thankfully Ichigo had gotten some warning from seeing her grabbing Moka, prompting him to push Tatsuki out of the way moments before the oven exploded. Waving her hands frantically to clear the smoke away, Tatsuki begins calling out to him.

"ICHIGO! ICHIGO! ARE YOU OKAY!?"

Moka also coughs as she stands back up, calling out to the others in the classroom. "Mizore! Kurumu! Yukari! Tatsuki! Anyone!"

"Over here." Ichigo's voice solemnly calls out through the cloud of smoke.

A small burst of Reiatsu pushes the smoke out through the now destroyed windows, revealing Ichigo standing in front of his destroyed work station and looking at the ruins. They see him kneel down for a brief moment and rummage through the twisted remains, before standing back up holding a now blackened and crumpled pie pan. Turning it upside down, something equally black and sooty falls out and hits the floor with a loud thud.

"Well, that went well Tatsuki." He comments nonchalantly.

Moka and the others walk over to the soot-covered male as he stares at the black chunk at his feet, Tatsuki giving him a glare that she doesn't really feel. Neither she nor Tia miss the fact that Tia's and Moka's oven is still in good condition, which can only mean that he had stayed behind in the explosion just to protect the rest of the class with a Kidō barrier.

Looking up, Ichigo sheepishly rubs the back of his head as he takes note of their expressions, then he hears the ding of Tia's and Moka's oven as their pie is done baking.

"Anyone want a piece?"

XXXX

No one at lunch knows that the Vizard who is leaning back against the wall with his eyes closed after his meal is actually inside his soul at the moment, save for his two friends who had told him what it looked like when he stared vacantly at nothing for long periods of time. Inside his soul, Ichigo stands next to his inner-Hollow and his mate's Zanpakutō spirit, old man Zangetsu standing as usual on a nearby pole, with all of them watching the newest and most powerful inhabitant of his soul pacing back and forth irritably. None of them can miss the agitation rolling off her body in waves as she mutters to herself while cursing under her breath, an act which shows just how upset she is with this latest incident. She stops suddenly and turns to face her new host.

"This was an attempt to kill you and maybe Tatsuki-chan as well Ichigo. I know you felt the spike of Yōki before the explosion."

Ichigo nods, his arms folded across his chest. "Yeah, but I couldn't tell who did it, neither could any of the others. Whoever it is, I don't think they expected the explosion to be so anti-climactic."

"Hmph." Although Shōgetsu still isn't happy that Ichigo had risked himself to protect the classroom, both she and Tia had chewed him out for that already. The five of them are now trying to figure out whether any clues were left behind by their mystery assassin. "Crafty to use your first cooking class as a place for an assassination. No one would think twice at looking past a faulty gas line and valve. But how did they know which station to sabotage?"

The Hollowfied version of Ichigo answers, sounding bored. "Someone not on our side informed them obviously; they probably even spotted for them and covered up the assassination attempt afterwards somehow. We were all too busy cleaning up or getting out of the maintenance crew's way to think of looking for anything back then."

Nodding at his words, Zangetsu speaks up with a deep frown. "He's right Shōgetsu, someone is playing for the other side. Someone close to us. Probably someone right beside us in that classroom."

"Then I suggest we keep a closer eye on them from now on." The former Hōgyoku declares. "Maybe have the Headmaster move them closer, or find a way to keep a discrete eye on all of them."

"I'll let him know after school today then." Ichigo moves to leave his inner-world, when Shōgetsu stops him with a single phrase.

"Ichigo, be safe."

Pausing, he nods to the former Hōgyoku before leaving them behind as he fades back to the real world. With a sigh, the powerful spirit turns to the other three spirits who are waiting for her instructions.

"It seems I'll have to give him a reserve for emergencies, Zangetsu, Shiro. Use it wisely if you have to, but only when there is no other option."

"Sure thing Sho. / Of Course Shōgetsu." Both Zanpakutō spirits respond to her. Tiburón nods her head as well: her wielder will want to know if Ichigo is ever forced to use those reserves.

Looking off into the distance, Shōgetsu scrunches her eyebrows as she continues to entertain dark thoughts. 'Fools, I will destroy them soon enough if they continue to attack Ichigo.'

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Tia senses Ichigo's return as he yawns and begins to stretch himself, knowing that even though it was only a minute in the real world, his spirits and especially Shōgetsu could stretch the time in his inner-world into hours, or even days if needed. She notices a dark frown cross his face for a second before he looks at her and gives her a nod. Knowing that whatever was discussed would have to wait until they are alone to talk, she resumes her attention on the others as they continue talking about the incident.

"Nice first day." Kurumu hums out loud to herself.

"Ahhh." Mizore injects, but doesn't say anything else.

"Not every day a Dorian Pie explodes like that, desu!" Yukari says cheerfully as she looks down at her own successful creation.

Moka cuts a slice out of hers and Tia's pie and places it in front of Tatsuki. "It's okay Tatsuki-chan. Once it's cooked it is very sweet."

The new Witch pokes at it, then gingerly places a piece in her mouth, red juices streaming out like blood as she bites down on a chunk of pie. "Hmm. Not bad. Not bad at all. Although I have to admit, it has a slight…coppery taste. Oh well, at least its edible unlike mine and Ichigo's."

Said male rolls his eyes as he tries a piece of pie given to him by Kurumu and Mizore, Yukari trading with the Snow Maiden for a piece of theirs, while her own is being divvied up between the rest with some left for the Werewolf. Gin will be late as usual according to the others, something about him always having a prior engagement to attend to. Code that Tatsuki and Tia has learned was for him to try and sweet talk unsuspecting First Years into doing photo shoots for him, much to their annoyance. As lunch comes to a close however, a group of upperclassmen males show up and make their way to their table. Ichigo stands up first, with Tia and Tatsuki right behind him.

"Can we help you?" He asks them calmly.

"You Kurosaki?" The lead upperclassman asks rudely.

Ichigo looks up at the slightly taller male, and nods his head once. The man grins at the four others behind him then sticks him in the chest with a finger.

"We heard you have a mate. If that's true, you won't mind if we decide to make those others ours then, will ya?"

No one sees it, but in less than a second the teen gets sent flying across the room, violently crashing into the wall opposite of where he was standing a moment before. All anyone does see is Ichigo's leg slowly descending back to the floor. Tia and Tatsuki both begin releasing their Reiatsu, smothering the other four males before they can even think to move away. Walking up to the nearest one, Tia grips his chin with a tight grip and drags him downwards to stare him in the eyes. In a voice that carries throughout the room, she leans forward and speaks lowly into his ear.

"Does that answer your query?"

"Yes! Yes!" His panicked voice comes out almost like a sob.

Tia releases him and waves him off. Stumbling back, the male takes off like he's being chased by them; with the other three following suit as soon as they are released from Tia's and Tatsuki's Reiatsu. Running and nearly tripping on their way out, one of them looks behind him to make sure they aren't being followed and ends up crashing straight into the shoulder of the tall Newspaper Club president. With an angry growl, Gin is about to tear into the hapless male, but sees the terrified expression on the male's face. Somewhat bemusedly, he steps aside and watches the male scramble away with what appears to be a wet splotch appearing on the front of his trousers. Wrinkling his nose in disgust, Gin checks that none of the fluids have touched him, then turns back and notices the three newest members looking in the direction of the fleeing males with rather sour expressions on their faces. He also hears the rest of the room buzzing in hushed tones as he walks towards his club-mates and takes a seat at their table.

"Miss something?" He asks, receiving incredulous looks from almost everyone else within earshot.

Ichigo shrugs his shoulders, Tatsuki scowls, while Tia looks him square in his eyes. "Just clearing up a misunderstanding Gin-Senpai."

Gin deadpans at her, but knows better than to push his luck with the Vizards. "Okay then. Well since you are all here, our first meeting will be after school in our usual room guys. So I'll be seeing ya'll there. Oh, I also found us a story to work on as well."

"Really! What!?" The youngest Witch asks him excitedly.

"We are to research the mysterious going-ons in Kyoto this coming break, so we have a lot of research to do before we leave at the end of the semester. Get your thinking caps on kiddies and I'll see you then." The Werewolf gives them a wave as he gets up and leaves them again.

"Come on guys, our next class is World Lit." Ichigo begins smiling, his favorite subject is next, and he can't wait to see what this class will be like.

XXXX

The class is filled with excited whispering, while Ichigo and Tia sit stunned as the woman at the front of the class pushes her glasses back up her nose. She smirks at both the Vizards with an amused grin then she writes her name and the syllabus on the board. The male Vizard's mind is crashing, while his mate just sits there with her mouth slightly agape as the woman, one Yadōmaru Lisa, continues to speak as she writes.

"Alright you slackers, I've seen what passes as assignments from your previous Sensei, and I have to say, it's shit. Utter bullshit is what she thought World Literature should be. So, out with her crap and in with mine. From now on, you will read the classics that I assign and you will give me thought provoking essays on what you thought the authors were trying to convey in their works. Less than a hundred percent effort from you and I will fail your asses. Now any questions? None? Good, open your books to page two hundred and fifteen and let's see…Kurosaki. Read the opening four paragraphs."

"Which one?" A voice asks hesitantly.

"Which one what?" She asks back.

"Ah, which Kurosaki. There's two of 'em." The same voice explains.

The Vizard teacher looks at the only Kurosaki she knows with a look of bafflement on her face. Seeing her confusion, the blonde Kurosaki of the pair stands to her feet.

"I am Kurosaki Tia, Yadōmaru-Sensei." The look on Lisa's face schools itself into a mask of indifference, but those aware of Reiatsu can feel the surprise in her aura.

"Ah, you'll do then…Ter…sorry, Kurosaki Tia."

Tia inwardly smirks at the near slip. Why the Vizard is here is anyone's guess, but it seems most likely that Kisuke and Yoruichi are responsible, and she feels amused that they didn't tell Lisa the whole story as to Ichigo's and her new official status. Grinning to herself, she sits back down and begins to read out loud from Mark Twain's collection of Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer. As Tia begins to read however, she is unaware of the class slowly turning to face her as her voice carries the feelings she gets from the different characters of the story in her mind. Her attention is caught by the brief wave of awe coming to her through her bond from her mate, and a quick glance shows both him and Tatsuki sitting captivated by her rendition of the first part of the chapter, and a side glance shows the rest of the class being similarly captivated. As she comes to end of her recital, she feels her cheeks turning bright red as the class enthusiastically begins to clap in appreciation of her effort.

"Wow. I must say Tia-chan, you are quite the orator. Have you thought of speech writing sometime in your future?" Lisa asks her without a hint of anything but truthfulness.

"No Sensei, my path lies down a different road. I'm…I'm his…Tsuma." Tia involuntarily smiles as she says the word out loud, darting a quick glance at Ichigo and blushing again at his happy smile.

Lisa raises one eyebrow as she looks at the teen before her and compares her to the woman she had seen fighting over Karakura during the War. Even though Kisuke and Yoruichi had already briefed her on the former Tercera, she still finds it hard to believe that the girl before her is the same Espada she had seen fighting back then. When she first saw the blonde walking hand in hand with Ichigo down the hallways, she stayed hidden in a doorway to observe them, and she couldn't believe what she was seeing. The amusement in the Tercera's eyes, the smile on her face every time she looked at her fellow Vizard made Lisa wonder if this was what Kisuke meant by 'expect a few surprises' when he offered them part-time work at this school.

The other surprise was the power they had felt coming from both that strange bus driver and the Headmaster of this Academy. Each of them easily matched a Captain in strength, but she had a feeling, as did Hiyori, that both of them were hiding even more power. And now standing before her was the last person she thought she would ever see. Harribel Tia, Tercera Espada, and now - according to her - Ichigo's wife. What!? She was definitely going to help that spit-fire Hiyori kick Kisuke and Isshin's asses when they got home for springing this shit on them. Standing at the podium with none of her inner thoughts being reflected on her face, she studies the other children in the classroom. Most are below seated officers in strength, some are barely even Academy level, but a few are close to Third or even Second Seat in potential, if not strength. Head and shoulders above them, however, is the silver-haired teen, the one who clearly holds the most potential among them. After seeing her in person, she can understand the hidden interest that the green-hatted man and Yoruichi both have in her.

'Vampires, who would of thought?' She thinks to herself, fully aware of the irony of a mythical Shinigami having such thoughts while infiltrating a school meant for Yōkai.

As the class finally comes to a close, she decides to speak to her favorite Berry, so as the students rise to leave, she calls out to them.

"Kurosaki, both of you as well as Arisawa. I'd like to speak to you three for a moment."

Moka and the others pause, waiting for the older teens to give them direction, which Ichigo provides after a moment of thought.

"Ah Sensei, they're with us." He points to Moka, Kurumu, Yukari and Mizore, the four girls turning around to look at their teacher.

Lisa cocks an eyebrow and shrugs. "Fine. The four of you stay as well."

Soon the classroom is empty save the eight of them, the students returning to their seats. Based on the looks the departing students are giving them, rumors are certain to start, but Lisa doesn't care about the childish behavior of teenaged monsters. Frankly, she feels too old for all this cloak and dagger nonsense, she just wants to know what that Urahara bastard is keeping from her and Hiyori. When the last student leaves and closes the door behind him, the former Squad Eight Lieutenant rounds on the group with a serious expression on her face.

"What the hell didn't Kisuke tell us Ichigo!?"

Ichigo, Tia and Tatsuki look at her blankly for a second, before the orange-headed Vizard ventures. "Ah, maybe you can tell us what you know, and then we will tell you what we know to help fill in the blanks?"

Lisa huffed out before leaning against her podium. "All Kisuke said was come to this school and teach for a semester or two. Nothing else. He did tell us you had changed, and she was on our side now, but he didn't mention about you or her being here. Is she really your Oku-san?" The last was asked with genuine curiosity.

"Yes she is." Ichigo exchanges a quick smile with Tia.

Looking between the two clearly in love teens with a raised eyebrow, Lisa is about to ask her next question when she feels it. She pauses as she almost can't believe it, but now that she knows what to look for she can feel it clearly, and she looks at them with some shock.

"You soul-bonded didn't you?"

"Yes. / Yes." Both answer with no hesitation whatsoever.

"OH! MY! GOD!" She squeals happily, catching them all by surprise as she jumps and kisses Ichigo first, then before a pissed and surprised Tia can react, jumps and kisses her as well.

"I am so happy, but Ichigo, wow! You really know how to pick 'em don't you? Oh, Shinji is gonna be so jealous that you not only have a girl, but holy shit is he gonna faint when he sees who it is!" The formerly cool and composed Vizard is suddenly babbling like an excited schoolgirl, her glasses seeming to sparkle with excitement.

Tia can only stare at the woman hugging her to death, her sizeable breasts wrapping around her head and cutting off her supply of air. Soon she feels the lack of oxygen and for the first time ever, understands what Ichigo goes through whenever he mentioned that little tidbit about Rangiku and Nelliel's glomping habits. Tapping Lisa's shoulder in a desperate measure for air, she breathes in deeply as the former Lieutenant finally lets her go.

"We are so going to talk tonight Tercera. I can't wait to hear how you two got together. Kisuke and Isshin have been tightlipped about Ichigo for some reason, and now I know why." Her previously stern expression is back again, but her eyes now hold considerable warmth in them.

Moka and the other Yōkai are staring at the antics of their new Sensei; they all get the same feeling that Ichigo and Tia already knew who this woman was from before they came to Yōkai Academy. Moka is suppressing a smirk as she watches the blonde go through a variety of emotions from annoyance to shock and finally dread when their teacher mentions what sounds like a girl's night to interrogate her on her new marriage. Kurumu and Mizore are both wondering who their new teacher is and what the hell she has to do with the married couple, especially considering they are both Shinigami hybrids. Not only does it sound to them like the knowledge of Ichigo's and Tia's marriage isn't as well-known as it should be back at their home, they also have some suspicions as to what kind of Yōkai their new teacher is... Yukari, however, is showing no emotion whatsoever as she watches the interactions of the two Vizards with their new teacher, and anyone who knows Yukari would know that something is very wrong with her reaction.

Unfortunately, no one is paying her any attention at all.

Leaning back with a smile, Lisa can't help but indulge in the sadistic streak she has with the surprise she is about to hand them now. "Ichigo, I should let you know that your class has a new P.E. teacher as well. One that you should know oh so well."

"Who..who might that be?" Ichigo has a sinking suspicion who it could be, but until he hears her name, he can try to deny it all he wants.

"Hiyori."

"FUCK ME!"

XXXX

No one dares to speak to Ichigo or Tia at the moment; the two of them are sitting at their chairs with looks of horrified resignation written all over their faces. As it turns out, the new physical education teacher was also someone else from the Kurosaki couple's past. The short blonde haired woman had taken one look at Ichigo and Tia and immediately blew up on them for some odd reason. In the resulting scuffle, both Ichigo and Tia had dragged her away and the rest of the class didn't see any of them again until the end of the period. When they did finally come back however, the teacher was uttering strings of curses and threats about someone called Urahara Kisuke, and the Kurosaki's looked as if they were planning to murder the same person; the Newspaper Club knew full well that Urahara Kisuke was the name of Ichigo's mentor, and he was also the one that Tatsuki called both a first rate genius and top tier hentai.

Now they are all sitting in their club room for official club activities and nothing is really going on at first, until the Succubus suddenly groans out and slumps dejectedly on the table.

"Kyoto. I hate Kyoto." Kurumu says with defeat. Her roommate looks surprised by her proclamation.

"Why?" Mizore asks her curiously.

Kurumu sighs. "It's where our Queen is rumored to be looking for her 'Destined One'."

She doesn't tell her friends that she had caught small bits of gossips of what the Queen had done to her mother during her coronation.

"There is a Succubus Queen?" Tatsuki questions the lone Succubus in their midst.

Nodding her head, the teen Succubus answers her. "Yeah, she rules over all of Succubus-kind and supposedly made Kyoto the center of her power recently. If it's true I wonder what she did to the Yōkai that claimed Kyoto as their territory. Seeing how my Kazoku speaks of how she rules our kind, I wouldn't be surprised if she Charmed them all and had them commit suicide in order to keep her hands clean of the crime."

The last part catches Ichigo's attention, and he finally glances at the Succubus. "Kurumu, how does one break your magic?"

She turns her head to look at him. "It is said that the truly powerful ones can't be denied; to break mine takes someone at least just below S rank. Why?"

Ichigo looks at his mate and friend, both of whom nod in agreement. "If your earlier adventures and ours hold true, we might just run into this Queen on our Kyoto trip. I'd like you to practice your Charm on the three of us, so we can find a way to defend against it. You okay with that Kurumu?"

To his surprise, Kurumu gets a sad expression on her face. Shaking her head, she looks at him. "I don't know Ichigo, I…I promised…I promised Tsukune I wouldn't use it on people anymore..."

Ichigo recalls the details of how Kurumu met Tsukune, how the Succubus had attempted to charm Tsukune into becoming her servant, and how Tsukune had protected her from Moka even after he had broken the charm. It had cemented the Succubus' growing feelings for him, and she had proclaimed him as her Destined One and swore to win his love without resorting to her charms ever again.

"I understand…" He says quietly.

Moka huffs out at his easy acceptance. Tossing the silver hair of her unsealed form back over her shoulders, she looks at the blue-haired Yōkai. "Kurumu, I think Tsukune would understand if you helped Ichigo and the others build an immunity to Succubus charms by practicing it on them. In fact, it would probably help us find out what is going on in Kyoto without having to worry about other Succubi trying to charm them. You know as well as I do, if they feel Ichigo's and Tia's power by mistake or otherwise, they will want to try and add them to their harems."

Tatsuki sits up straight at hearing that. "Harems? As in more than one boyfriend or girlfriend harems?" She asks incredulously.

Tia sees a mischievous glint in her raven-haired friend's eyes as she looks at her expectantly from the corner of her eye. Ichigo bangs his head on the table as he groans out loud.

"What is wrong with them?" Mizore asks as she pokes Ichigo in the head with an ice-sharpened finger.

"Nothing Mizore, just nothing." He sighs deeply as he hears Tatsuki openly laughing at him then.

"Oh, I can't wait to tell Hime about this Ichigo. Better yet, wait until your Imouto finds out…argh…Tia!" She squeals out as the blond Vizard suddenly tackles her and starts to tickle her short ribs.

"I suggest you forget that threat Tatsuki, or else I will let Yoruichi know you'd like to take a bath with her once again." Tia growls out playfully before letting up on her tickles and putting Tatsuki into a headlock.

"NO! Keep that damned perverted cat-woman away from me Tia! I still haven't gotten over the groping she did…" She turns slightly and freezes when she sees Ichigo looking at her with wide eyes with his head lying on the table. "Oh, shit."

Ichigo begins to grin as he looks at her, but he surprises her with his next words when he speaks. "She got you in the hot springs too, didn't she?" He asks her knowingly.

"How…how did you know?" She asks him, baffled.

Ichigo shakes his head morosely. "You weren't the first, and you certainly won't be the last Suki. If she is training Karin…well let's just say it will be an interesting homecoming when we get back."

The hybrid Witch gapes at him incredulously. "She wouldn't!?"

Ichigo sits up then. "Who knows what goes on in her head some days. Yoruichi loves to tease people, so if she can get a reaction from Karin, I'm sure she will."

Seeing that the conversation is back to safer ground, Tia finally lets go of Tatsuki after giving her a smirk and a whispered promise. The black-haired hybrid Witch groans and rolls her eyes in acceptance before turning back to the other Yōkai.

"So what's this story the Werewolf has us researching?" She asks with vague interest as she looks over at the scattered newspaper clippings.

Yukari picks up one and points towards the title at the top. "It talks about young men and women disappearing from a four block area around an old shrine. Not one of those taken have been found yet, nothing at all. Police have tried staking out the place, but so far they haven't been able to stop the abductor or abductors, or even found out who they are."

Ichigo and Tia begin scanning the articles, passing those they think are Hollows to a separate pile. Others are placed in their own piles for various reasons: runaways, cults and other unexplainable occurrences. Ichigo pulls out his laptop and begins to search for the history of the shrine on the web. Tia, Kurumu and Mizore begin formulating plans on how to circumvent any human surveillance if they spot any in the area. Tatsuki and Yukari take notes on interesting details from the articles and any information that Ichigo manages to find. Soon they begin building a clearer picture of the cycle of disappearances, mostly occurring between three and four A.M., and always just before and after a full moon.

Gin walks in and sees the group busy researching, and decides to quietly take his spot at the empty desk at the front of the room. Looking over his own notes, he watches the concentration of the younger members of his club with a smile. Unlike last time, they aren't arguing or fighting over silly things, and it hits him then, the reason why they aren't doing so rearing its ugly head.

'...Kid is missing out.'

Frowning, Gin looks at a photo hanging on the wall, the one that shows the club shortly before their trip to Witch's Knoll. The only ones not in that picture are Mizore and Ruby, as they each only came afterwards, but it was also the only picture of that year's club members before Tsukune's death. The Werewolf shivers as he remembers the rage of the Vampire, something he had witnessed first-hand. When he found out what was happening, Gin had ran there at his full speed but it still took him almost five minutes to reach them; by the time he found Tsukune and Moka, it was too late. Seeing the fist-sized hole in Tsukune's chest, hearing the inarticulate scream of rage and grief as Moka tore into her kidnappers in full Vampiric blood-fury... Not even he could fault the punishment that was dealt out to the Monstrels on that bloody day.

After the fight was over and everyone had cleared out from the area, he alone had gone over the site with great care, finding notes and other items pointing to some form of outside communications, but not even he could decipher the code being used despite everything he tried. Giving up, he finally gave the items to Ruby and told her what he had found. At first she was angry with him, the older Witch arguing that he should have brought the evidence to the Headmaster's attention as soon as he found them, but he argued back that he and the Club should have had the first shot at finding out who it was that ordered Moka's kidnapping and caused Tsukune's death to begin with. Ruby had then reluctantly admitted that she might have been tempted to do the same thing, and she didn't press him on that point any further. Since then however, he hasn't heard of anything from the Headmaster's own investigations.

'Not like she would tell us, maybe.' The Werewolf inwardly grouses. Despite her attachment to the members of the Newspaper Club, Ruby took her duties as the Headmaster's assistant very seriously.

Looking up at the clock, he sees that it's time to call the first day to an end. Getting up and making some noise, he notices everyone turning to look at him.

"Look, it's getting late and I know we don't have much in the way of homework today, but I think you guys should get some dinner and take it easy. Looks like you got a lot done today, so we'll pick it up again tomorrow, okay?"

No one voices any objections, so as a group they leave the room as it is. Tatsuki and Yukari place their notes under a layer of magic, after being told of an incident from last semester, and Ichigo and Tia ward the room itself with a Kidō barrier. The wolf walks out last, shutting off the lights as he looks back at the group photograph one last time.

"See ya around Aono-san."

XXXX

The woman paces nervously between two boulders, her hand gripping the dagger at her waist as she waits for the newest member of Fairy Tale to show up. Why she has been called to meet here in such secrecy is beyond her, but when the new Captain of her division tells her to be somewhere at a specific time, she knows better than to argue. Soon her thoughts are interrupted by a stick snapping under the weight of someone walking into the clearing, and she whirls around with her knife raised, her entire body prepared to flee. The figure approaching through the shadows is completely covered up by a hooded cloak, and she warily pulses her Yōki in a pre-determined pattern, only relaxing when the cloaked figure pulses back the correct code. Lowering her knife, she slowly approaches the individual until she is less than a meter away.

"So what was so important that you had to meet me out here?" She asks other Yōkai, eyes darting around the clearing in search of hidden enemies while her hand continues resting on the hilt of her dagger.

"Nothing, but I'm here to deliver a message to you. I quote 'failure is not an option' end quote." Before the words even finish speaking, she is already leaping backwards, her body reacting on instinct, but it is too late. A faint stinging sensation hits her neck, followed by a dizzying burst of nausea that sends her crashing into the dirt ground. Vision swimming horribly, the assassin claps her hand to her neck and finds the needle-tipped dart she expects to find, but the spreading numbness and lack of sensation tells her all she needs to know: that the dart is poisoned.

Struggling to remain conscious, she forces herself to look at her treacherous Captain and sees the other Yōkai lowering a blowpipe from their lips, a gleeful, almost insane look staring back at her from the depths of the hood for just a brief moment before her vision steadily darkens.

In one last act of defiance, she hurls her dagger at the form of her betrayer, who sidesteps it with contemptuous ease. Coughing blood as her organs start to fail her, she manages to wheeze out a threat with her dying breath. "Next time it will be you…" The female assassin's body collapses to the ground, eyes slowly glazing over in death.

The cloaked figure looks down at the rapidly decaying body and scoffs in a vindictive voice. "As long as she dies for taking away my dream, I couldn't care less."

XXXX

Ichigo stands opposite of his Hollow and his Hollow's Zanpakutō mate, both of them panting just as hard as he is and they had only been going at it for half an hour.

"Damnit Ichi-kun, when you said you wanted to spar, I didn't think you were this serious." Tiburón pants as she wipes the sweat from her brow. Her mate isn't faring much better than her, the monochrome spirit looking the most battered he's ever been in recent times.

"Oi, what's got your panties in a twist King?" Shiro complains. "Spit it out already."

Huffing and panting just as badly as Shiro and Tiburón, Ichigo looks at the two of them before giving up the fight and settling down. He stares at the two Zanpakutō spirits, both of whom stare right back at him, then irritably motions for them to settle down as well. Exchanging a look, both Shiro and Tiburón sit down together, waiting to see what Ichigo has to say.

Once both Zanpakutō spirits are seated, Ichigo speaks up. "I…I just got this bad vibe is all. First Lisa, and then Hiyori shows up. I think they are both holding something back, holding it from me, Kisuke, Goat-Face and the Headmaster, something really important. Got any ideas?"

The two Hollows look at each other and then cast a glance at the solemn looking Zangetsu who is shamelessly eavesdropping and…the absent Shōgetsu who they remember seeing beside Zangetsu earlier. Both of them frown then their frown deepens when Zangetsu also leaves suddenly. Turning back to his wielder, the Hollowfied Zanpakutō spirit rubs his head awkwardly and grimaces as he answers.

"They have both been acting strange King, but Zangetsu more so. I don't know; it's like he has a problem with the Yōkai you're hanging out with or something."

Ichigo nods, having come to the same conclusion himself. "Any clue as to why? I mean the Yōkai aren't that bad for the most part, just like teenagers in a human school but with a bit of power to back it up. So why is he so…distant about this? I thought he would be happy I am doing everything I can to get my powers back and bring them home."

Shiro shrugs carelessly and rolls his eyes. "Don't know King, but whatever it is, we're going to find out the hard way and at the worst possible time, I guarantee it."

Ichigo and Tiburón both groan out as they get the feeling that Shiro is right again. Getting up, Ichigo straps his blade to his back and waves to the two of them.

"Nice spar Shiro, Tiburón. I'll see you tomorrow before bed and after I spar with Moka."

The mention of that name immediately causes Tiburón to perk up and look at him. "Speaking of your little Vampire friend Ichi-kun, are you feeding her still?" She smiles innocently, inwardly jumping with glee as she sees a dusting of pink on his cheeks.

"Ah, Tia is letting her drink from her mostly for now Tiburón. I'll see ya." Ichigo hurriedly evades her question before fleeing from his inner world.

Both Hollows wait until he is truly gone before breaking out into a fit of loud laughter. Not saying anything, the woman representing Tia's Zanpakutō grabs her white counter-part and disappears back to her own world, dragging a very compliant Hollow spirit with her. Once they are both gone, Shōgetsu fades back into being and looks in the direction the Quincy Zanpakutō, feeling the agitation that is rising from him. With a faint sigh, she goes to him.

Reappearing beside the stoic spirit, Shōgetsu silently looks up at Zangetsu as he stands of the top of his pole, looking into the distance but not seeing anything, not even the view of the town below him. Looking in the direction he is gazing at, Shōgetsu begins speaking to him.

"You know he is going to find out one day Zangetsu. Are you…sure you can handle it when the truth comes out?"

Lifting his eyes skywards, the Zanpakutō spirit lets out a soft sigh. "I will not hide the truth from him if he comes to me and wants the truth of his Okaa-san and her Kazoku's history, Shōgetsu..."

"Are you prepared to tell him that his Okaa-san's Kazoku are nothing more than cold-blooded murderers then?" Shōgetsu asks him quietly.

The stoic spirit lowers his head for a long moment as he visibly contemplates her words. Finally, he raises his head to look at her, his gaze burning into hers from behind the dark shades he is wearing. "If he is to bridge the divide between Yōkai and humans as that person wishes, he will have to accept that part of him, just as he has accepted his Hollow self. If not, then I will have to beat it into him just as Shiro had beat into him that he is part Hollow regardless of how he really became this way."

"And if what we believe is happening, happens?" Shōgetsu counters.

Zangetsu's eyes narrow behind his shades and he turns away from her to look out at the town once more. His expression is grim as he finally comes to a decision.

"Then...I will support them both."

XXXX

The white haired youth sits on the edge of his bed, one foot down, one foot up, as he flips through the latest book he is reading. Smiling when he hears the door to his shared room open, he doesn't bother to look up at the young man striding in. He does pause however when a slip of paper lands on the page he is reading. Curious, he picks it up and reads it swiftly, then snorts and crumples it up before tossing it into a small trashcan.

"What is so special about a freshman girl?" He asks, settling back down casually. "I seen her and she is quite the looker, but really? I have better things to do than force some girl into becoming one of us right now."

"It's not really up to us to say yes or no Kiria. The order comes from the Masked King himself, he wants her and I don't think it's just for her power. Rumor has it that Gyokuro has been questioning his orders as of late." The other male suggests.

Kiria flips another page with a look of boredom on his face. "Again, rumors Hokuto. But if they want her, I'll get her. When do they need her delivered by?"

"Before the end of the term. Use any means necessary." The ominous glint of Hokuto's glasses give his words more weight.

"Any means..?" A small smirk now crosses Kiria's face. "Should be fun then. And what of her 'mate'?" Having seen the two, he doesn't believe that the weakling Kurosaki can possibly claim the strong blonde female as his mate, and he knows he's not the only one who thinks this way. Hokuto seems to share his disdain for the Kurosaki male, and his next set of orders only cement this.

"Kill him, he's only human."

XXXX

Moka sneers in contempt as she sends a round-house kick to Ichigo's mid-section once again. Smirking as it connects and he grunts at the hit, she celebrates inside knowing that she is steadily getting stronger, and so is he.

Ever since she began feeding off the two Vizards, she has found her body's strength and senses growing exponentially in every way. Even with the seal active on her now, an experiment that Tia wanted to try after a week of sparring. Ura and Omote had practiced switching places while Tia's Kidō held their seal open, allowing them take each other's places while sparring, and sometimes Omote sparred by herself against Ichigo while Ura watched them. Omote in the beginning was slow and weak, hesitant to make use of her powers, but after drinking several times from both Tia and Ichigo, her powers grew even with her seal active and she gained more confidence as she spent more time with them. Ura was stronger and more skilled than her of course, her body being far more defined than Omote's, but Ichigo was easily her match or better in his physical body. It always takes all of her skill and effort to win against the orange-haired Vizard, and she knows that his learning rate is so swift that she is forced to constantly keep on her toes around him.

Snapping her head and upper-body back to dodge the latest jab thrown at her face, she grins in exhilaration; yet another reason for her happiness is that Ichigo fights her not as a woman but as a warrior, going all out to attack her in any way he can rather than hold back due to some misplaced sense of chivalry. Completing her flip backwards, she launches herself forward with a sudden burst of speed but narrowly misses his chin, the Vizard swaying out of her way before moving to hit her with a lightning-fast follow-up left hook, one that she barely evades by twisting at the last second.

"Not bad Akashiya, not bad at all." He gets out just before his other fist shoots out and collides with her ribs, sending her skidding back to where she had initially landed from her flip.

Dropping into a roll to bleed off the momentum, she pops back up and sprints towards him before he can recover from his heavy punch; catching his outstretched arm as he tries to pull it back, she yanks him forward and drives her knee into his solar plexus, a second kick immediately following it that sends him flat on his back.

"Getting slower Ichi-kun, you sure I didn't take too much this morning?" She taunts him with her fangs showing as she lowers her foot with exaggerated slowness.

"Not…pant…at…cough…all…Moka…chan." He suddenly jolts forward and sweeps her off her feet with a low kick, spinning in place and driving his heel towards the space that her head is supposed to be had she not immediately caught herself with one hand and pushed herself aside with an impromptu cartwheel.

Rolling away from each other, both combatants get to their feet slowly; Moka is in better shape thanks to her Vampiric powers, while Ichigo winces from the serious bruising that he has gotten over the hour of sparring. Fortunately, both fighters are easily capable of recovering from such injuries within an hour or two; otherwise they would have to restrict their strength a bit more. Before the two wannabe gladiators can continue however, a third voice calls out to them.

"Time! Break it up you two." Tatsuki says as she meanders in-between the two disappointed pugilists with drinks and towels ready in her hands.

Tossing Ichigo a bottle of some flavored Yōkai energy drink, Tatsuki turns to Moka and passes her a chilled transfusion bag, courtesy of Tia. Moka quickly devours the contents, her hair flickering between pink and silver as a look of bliss crosses her face, while Ichigo rolls his eyes at her reaction and finishes off his own drink with a long slurp. Tatsuki then begins healing Ichigo with the little bit of Kaidō she has learned from Shōgetsu and Tia, with Ichigo's own accelerated healing making up for the remainder. Finally, the two recovered warriors take the offered towels from Tatsuki and begin to wipe away the sweat and grime that marks the end of their long, intense sparring session.

Watching the two of them with a faint smile, the young hybrid Witch looks back over the events of the week and can only shake her head as she recounts the numerous encounters the Kurosaki's have had with various students wanting to test their strengths. The latest encounter however sealed their place at the top of the proverbial food chain, when the rest of the Kendo Club showed up trying to exact revenge on the three of them after lunch yesterday.

XXXX Flashback Start XXXX

Tia and Ichigo had been walking at the front of the group when a group of muscular males wearing traditional Gi and wielding Bokkens stepped in front of their path, blocking them from crossing the courtyard and forcing them all to stop. A majority of the students had been outside changing classes as well, and they all stopped to gawk and whisper about the confrontation to anyone within range, which was exactly what the Club had been planning on.

"You the guy that beat up Tetsuya?" The largest of the teen males asks as he taps his bokken meaningfully against his hand.

Ichigo simply gives him a bored look. "I thought I made it clear to everyone what would happen if anyone challenges me again?"

The kendoka spits to one side of the corridor. "So you are the punk that got lucky then. We didn't believe him, still don't, which is why we're gonna kick your ass and prove it was all a flu…"

That is as far as he gets when a suffocating presence makes itself known, crushing everyone beneath the weight of an ocean as Ichigo's head rears back and white liquid flows out from his orifices, covering his face and his hands with the strange liquid. Tatsuki and the others are waved back by Tia as she stands unaffected next to Ichigo, smiling as she knows who is about to come out.

The transformation complete, two eyes snap open beneath the bone-white skull mask. "So King decided to let me play so soon?" The double echo of his voice is filled with mirth as two black and gold orbs sweep the scene before him. Seeing the looks of terror and awe on the faces of the students in front of him, Shiro scoffs and turns to look at Tia.

"So Empress, what can't I do to them?" He asks, almost mockingly.

Tia gives him a look of amusement, hidden fire burning in her aquamarine eyes. "No killing Shiro, no permanent damage if you can avoid it as well." The Vizard considers her words, then adds with a faint smile. "Humiliation and terrorizing is perfectly fine."

"W-What is that!?" Kurumu finally shouts out loud, voicing out the question that everyone has at seeing the red-tattooed skull mask covering Ichigo's head and the terrifying difference in his aura.

"Part of his powers Kurumu-chan." Tia answers her vaguely. "Please stay back with the others, Kurumu; Shiro…can get messy at times."

That ominous statement causes the entire Kendo club to pale wordlessly. The twin horns framing Shiro's mask dip towards his wielder's mate as he snorts at her with amusement. "Can't help it Tia. You know how I get when I smell fear, like I do now." Unfolding his arms, he flexes his talons as he turns to the Kendo Club members who are shaking in barely concealed terror. "So I'll tell you what, I'll let each of you get one good crack at me and then it'll be my turn, how about it?"

Unfortunately for the cowards, not a single one of them dares take up his challenge. As the entire Kendo Club begins to back away, the Hollowfied version of Ichigo scoffs, then suddenly disappears from their sights and senses.

"W-Where did he go!?" One of the bokken wielding members screams out loud as he waves his sword wildly while looking around. Suddenly he freezes, remembering from movies that there is only one place where the monster could be. Slowly, robotically, his head turns to see the skull mask leering from barely an inch behind him.

"Boo."

"GYAAAHH!" The sudden appearance of Shiro behind them causes more than a few of the Kendo Club members to scream in terror as they fall on their rears and scramble to get away, one or two even defecating themselves as their fear overrides their other senses. Shiro wrinkles his nose at the putrid smell, his black and gold eyes narrowing at the pathetic sight before him. Sighing in disgust, he decides to end this quickly.

"The King wants me to deliver his message one more time, so here…I…GO!"

The Vasto Lorde vanishes again, the only thing visible now is a blur of tan, green, and orange as Shiro moves at a speed barely less than Sonído, slow enough for the weaker students to catch glimpses of him, but fast enough that the stronger students can only see him as a blur as he strikes into the heart of the thirteen members of the Kendo Club in an instant. With his clawed hands, he shatters the wooden swords faster than their wielders can release them, open palm strikes and feet lashing out and decimating the Kendo Club members in less than a minute. When he comes to a stop next to Tia, the sounds of shattered wood and falling bodies echo off the walls of the courtyard, punctuated by the pained groans of the incapacitated Yōkai on the ground, many of them slipping involuntarily into their true forms as their bowels loosen around them. The sheer brutality of the scene, even if no real damage was actually done, astonishes the watching students.

"This is our last warning. Next time…" Shiro walks up to the male Yōkai who had threatened them in the beginning, the helpless male whimpering in terror as the Vasto Lorde bends down and grips him by the collar, lifting him bodily into the air with bone-covered talons.

Tia's eyes widen when a small glow of red begins forming between the two horns adorning her mate's head, a palpable sense of danger radiating from that tiny bead of energy. All the students in their vicinity instinctively shrink back in fear, and she quickly reaches over and touches his arm softly, sending him a stern look when she sees the mask turn towards her. Fortunately, Shiro isn't actually planning on murder, and she sees him nod briefly despite the sadistic smirk hidden behind the razor sharp teeth. The head turns back to his now nearly comatose victim who seems to have nearly passed out from terror at the bead of deadly energy hovering just inches from their head.

"Next time, I will do this." Abruptly turning so his head has a clear path at the woods bordering the school, Shiro lets loose a small, underpowered Cero, nearly a Bala, that blasts into the nearest trees and detonates in a violent and fiery explosion.

As the smoke clears and the building stops shaking, an indentation of about ten feet can be seen into the woods, the trees there completely vaporized by the energy of the small Cero and the surrounding trees falling into the gap with toppling crashes.

Smirking beneath his mask, the Hollow turns back to the Kendo Club member in his hands and shakes him awake. "Imagine your body in the way of that. Make sure this is the last time, got it?" The teenager's eyes roll back into his head and he passes out completely, the yellow stain of piss spreading on his pants. Shiro drops the now unconscious Yōkai and steps away as his bone mask begins to crumble and dissolve. "'Til next time, Tia-san."

Shortly after that, the mask completely flaked away to reveal Ichigo's face, his eyes reverted back to their usual chocolate color and a smile on his face. Wordlessly, the trio continued on their way, the Newspaper Club hesitantly following after them while carefully stepping around the puddles of filth and unconscious Kendo Club members on the floor. The watching students also quickly dispersed, eager to spread the news of this confrontation to anyone who would listen.

As a result of that encounter, no one dared to look or speak in a manner that could even be vaguely conceived as threatening, not only towards the Kurosaki's and Arisawa Tatsuki, but also towards the Newspaper Club that the trio had officially joined. It didn't help that the scary new teachers for World History and P.E. were also seen interacting frequently with the club members, Mizore and Kurumu having taken up training with weapons after their usual club activities were complete with both Lisa and Hiyori as their teachers. Tatsuki spent most of her time with Yukari and Ruby cross-training with their magic and her martial arts, trying to work out a way to combine both abilities, but it was still a work in progress. Finally, Shōgetsu pointed out something that they had forgotten: that they were getting stronger simply by being exposed to the combined Reiatsu releases of Ichigo and Tia every day. Moka was having the biggest leaps in power among them because of her ingesting of both Tia and Ichigo's blood twice a day now. The black-haired hybrid could feel the increase in power every time Ura was released from her seal to spar with, or dine on either Vizard.

XXXX Flashback End XXXX

Pulling herself from her memories, Tatsuki watches both her orange-haired and silver-haired friends lie on their backs, chuckling and teasing the other over how easy it was to get a particular hit on this or the other during their spar. Seeing the silver-haired Vampire smile as genuinely as Ichigo brings back those feelings she used to get every time she watched Masaki-sama pick up Ichigo, seeing the young boy run out to meet his Mother with a delighted smile on his face. Blinking away the sudden nostalgia, she glances at her watch and notices that it's close to dinner, as well as the time they are all planning to meet to study and do homework.

"Let's go you two brainless twits, dinner is in forty and you both stink." She calls out to the two lounging warriors.

Sniffing at his underarms and scrunching up his nose, the male teen leans over towards the Vampire at his side and sniffs again. "Ah, I see what she smells now. Cockiness with a bit of arrogance. Ehmm, maybe Tia needs to scrub it with a hint of humility." He snickers.

Gaping at him in outrage, Moka narrows her eyes and takes a careful sniff in his direction as well, snorting when she catches the scent of his male musk. "No, you're wrong. Tatsuki smells overabundance of male ego with a dash of orange assholeishness." She ripostes smugly.

Grinning at the comeback, Ichigo stands first and extends his hand out, easily lifting the silver-haired teen when she takes his hand. Seeing them not moving from each other after that, Tatsuki fakes wanting to vomit as she sees the hunger and want in Moka's now dilated red-slitted eyes, her cheeks pink with lust; Ichigo dips his head to one side slowly, allowing Moka to lean forward and her fangs to sink into his neck. Both teens moan out at the same time as she begins to sip from his body, the sole witness to this act watching her oldest friend's hands shake as he fights the urge to keep them wrapping firmly around the body latched onto his. Quirking an eyebrow, Tatsuki wonders if Tia has this same reaction whenever Moka drinks from her, or if this is only because Ichigo is a guy.

After what feels like an awkwardly long period of time to her, she hears a murmur of thanks come from Moka and looks at them, just in time to see the Vampire brushing her tongue along Ichigo's neck to seal the wound. She then steps back looking as fresh as she did this morning after she had fed from her blonde source of food, while Ichigo just smiles and rubs his neck ruefully. Walking over to Tatsuki, the true version of Moka looks at the silver cross on her rosary and hesitates for a moment, before reaching up sadly to reactivate the seal. However, a hand closes around it before she can activate it, and she looks at the owner of the hand with a startled expression.

"I don't think she'll mind if you do the homework tonight Moka." Ichigo's face is looking away from her, but she hears the sincerity in his voice easily enough.

Shaking her head with a small smile, the Yōkai teen finally nods in agreement. "She would like it if I did some for once." She admits quietly. Still looking elsewhere, Ichigo nods and releases her rosary, then the two continue standing there in silence.

Their brief moment is broken by a deliberate cough from Tatsuki. "Well if we're going to shower in time, we need to move now you two." The hybrid Witch moves to lead them towards the gym showers, but blinks in surprise when she sees Tia leaning against the corner of the gym door while watching their approach.

Walking up to the blonde haired teen, she stops next to her and glances back over her shoulder to see Ichigo and Moka both hip checking each other as they walk into the gym, small smiles on each of their faces. She turns back to the blonde Vizard who is also watching them go with a smile.

"Someone is fitting in real quick, ne Tia?"

Nodding, Tia turns her sea-green eyes to the raven black eyes of Tatsuki. "Until this past year, Ura has only seen the world occasionally from inside of that prison that she wears. Now however, she and Omote have come to an understanding, an arrangement that gives her greater freedom and a taste of the world that has been denied to her for so long. If I were her, I would be happy and taking advantage of every moment of freedom I get a taste of. Wouldn't you Suki?"

Tatsuki glances back again at Ichigo and Moka, the two of them still chatting happily as they head towards the gym showers. As the other two teenagers disappears from view, she turns away and leaves Tia with a smile. "Every chance I got, Tia."

XXXX

Hiyori stands over the battered blue and purple headed duo, their fallen bodies lying under her raised sandal. "Is that all you two really got? You two suck as bad as Baldy did when he first came to us."

"You…trained…Ichigo…and…Tia?" Kurumu huffs out in-between deep breaths.

Stepping away from the two teens, Hiyori grimaces while looking down into a set of blue eyes. "No, we only trained Ichigo; that…Tia received her training from somebody else."

Panting just as tiredly as Kurumu is, Mizore pops out her lollipop and wheezes out her question. "Then... how..?"

Hiyori grunts and looks away. "I'd rather they tell you that story themselves."

Stiffly forcing herself to sit up, Kurumu helps Mizore to sit up beside her. "T-They did, but I get the feeling they are hiding something from us. You are...Vizards, just like him and her, right? But not one of you will tell us about who or what you really are. You ain't normal Yōkai, and your Yōki isn't like ours. So what are you really? And why are you pushing us so hard?" The blue-haired succubus nearly demands her for answers.

Lightly smacking the Succubus's forehead with her sandal, Hiyori glares down at the wincing bluenette. "You know about the upcoming possibilities, so why ask dumbshit questions?"

"If you are there why are we needed?" Kurumu asks petulantly. Mizore says nothing, but from her expression Hiyori can tell that the Snow Maiden is wondering the same thing too.

Lisa steps up then, shutting her book and kneeling down to look at the duet. "We will not interfere unless the balance is in danger of collapsing. The only ones of our kind to fight will be Ichigo, Tia and Tatsuki, because they are directly involved in this conflict. Maybe a few others from Karakura will show up if need be, but the Headmaster has made it his decision to only use certain choices. You are two of those choices, and a lot rests on both you getting stronger and being able to protect both yourselves and the others. Now, let's get those wounds healed, and then you are free to go for the rest of the night. Tomorrow, we will work on your speed again. You two can do it, but you're lacking in concentration, so I will be instructing you."

Mizore and Kurumu both flop back tiredly as the green light of Kaidō envelops them, healing deep bruises and numerous cuts left on their body by Hiyori's Spartan training. Hiyori watches as they heal up, then nods as the two thank them once again for agreeing to train them. When the Yōkai teens are gone, the short blonde Vizard turns to her taller companion with a small frown on her face.

"You think we should be doing this Lisa?"

The glasses-wearing beauty nods at her. "Ichigo and Tia can't do it alone, regardless of what Urahara and the Headmaster think. We know those two can handle themselves fine, but the others, only time and training will tell if they'll make it."

Two pigtails swing violently as Hiyori shakes her head in exasperation. "Well I'm not letting them go unless I'm sure they'll come back alive. Damn brats."

Looking over at the smaller Vizard, Lisa develops a sudden smirk as she teases her friend. "Oh, do I sense the beginning of a friendship with the Succubus? Hoping for some pointers perhaps? Need a little help in landing Shinji-kun?"

Laughing as she ducks the two flying sandals thrown at her, the former Squad Eight Lieutenant skips away as Hiyori yells out angrily. "No you bitch! I just don't want them getting hurt and someone blaming us for their lack of power and training!"

"So you do like them!" She calls back over her shoulder, only to hear an angry scream from behind her.

"Arggg, I hate you Lisa! That's not what I mean and you know it!"

XXXX

Kiria stands on the rooftop watching his target as she and her friends make their way to the cafeteria, his eyes boring in on the orange-haired top of her mate.

'How the hell did they screw it up so badly? He is most definitely not human!'

Looking over at the still-blackened ground where not only had the trees been vaporized, but the boulders and rocks also crystallized from the intense heat of Ichigo's…attack? Kiria doesn't even know what to call that dangerous red beam of energy that Kurosaki Ichigo had fired and unleashed its hellish energy onto the woods across from the school building. It was only luck that he was near enough to catch sight of the beam's destruction; hurrying over to the source, he had witnessed the tail end of that conflict: that mask, bleached white bone tattooed with red tribal markings, and two razor-tipped horns that turned dismissively from the group of fallen Kendo Club members, before flaking away and shattering to reveal the face of Kurosaki Ichigo. Listening to the students talking about what had happened, he had built up a fairly accurate image of the confrontation between the Kendo Club and Ichigo, one which had ended in single-sided slaughter.

'Maybe he…but when was he…no, no…I refuse to believe that he is stronger than me.'

The witnesses had described Ichigo's movement as 'a blur', while his own top speed was close to being invisible to the untrained eye. Although Ichigo's released aura was somewhat intimidating, the Kurosaki male is far from the strongest monster he has encountered to date. Given the opportunity, he has full confidence in killing him.

'But why bother with that Kurosaki when my target is the other one?'

Walking along the edge of the roof, he sees the group enter the side entrance of the cafeteria and disappear from view. Waiting several heartbeats, Kiria finally drops down and heads for their rooms. If their new silent partner had done their part, it should prove easy to enter and poke around the Kurosaki's rooms before they return. However, as he approaches the building, he senses something in the air around the two rooms. Walking by the doors, he glances over them but sees nothing unusual. Carefully, he reaches out and runs his hand over the doorknob, only for him to retract his hand immediately with a hiss of pain when a small electrical shock jumps from the doorknob to his hand in response to his investigation.

'Seems like they failed. Or they can't overcome the magic they are using. Strange though, I don't ever recall Yōki feeling like this.' Inspecting his slightly singed hand, he smirks at the realization that his new game is becoming slightly more interesting.

Humming to himself, the Yōkai continues down the hallway, thus missing and barely escaping the notice of the blonde Kurosaki who enters the hallway from the other side and inspects the door to her room. Frowning, she looks around then leaves without either of them seeing the other.

XXXX

"Shiten Kōshun!" The dark-orange-haired healer screams out as a fully charged Cero flies in her direction.

Apacci immediately Sonídos to the side as the energy attack hits Orihime's shield and rebounds back at her with even greater speed and power. As her own Cero roars past her, she looks over at her grinning partners with a matching grin; the three of them have been waiting for their Mistress's sister to finally react to the weeks of taunting, cajoling and finally threats to her person if she didn't learn to use her powers fully. Hovering in the air, the Tres Bestias gaze down at the panting form of Orihime as she stares up at them with anger on her features. Sung-Sun raises her hand to forestall her anger.

"Enough Orihime. Do you understand now why we have been so tough on you? Why we have pushed you each and every day? We know you are not one to start a fight like us or the others, but you DO have the skill and power to completely defend yourself and others while defeating your opponents. There will come a time where simply being on the side-lines will not be an option, you will have to attack your enemy to protect us, Tia or even Tatsuki in the future. We are not sorry for what we did Hime, but one way or another, we had to make you see that sometimes fighting is the only option on the table."

The eyes of the three Fracción widen as Orihime's body starts to collapse, her mind finally catching up to what she has done. Racing to her side, the three older women gather their younger sister into a tight embrace as Mila Rose hushes her sobs.

"It's okay Hime, shhh, you did good. Nothing to be ashamed of now. You're gonna be fine now. Shhh."

The silent sobs only increase as the teen grips Apacci tightly with trembling arms.

"I…I…hiccup…I know I'm…weakest…of…out of everyone…but…I…I don't…want…to be…a failure…anymore..."

While the Tres Bestias helplessly try to comfort Orihime, Kisuke sits on a nearby outcrop, watching the training going on around him. Having heard Orihime's words, he glances in her direction. "A failure Orihime-chan, ehmm? …I don't think using your powers for anything less than you have can be counted as a failure my dear." He mutters quietly to himself.

Twisting to look over his shoulder, he sees the black-haired Kurosaki twin fighting hand to hand with the Goddess of Flash, the purple-haired woman provoking her while casually dodging her blows and making her try to hit even harder and faster. Yuzu on the other hand sits with Tessai in Jinzen, trying to discover exactly what her dormant power may be. Turning back to the huddled mass of frantic Arrancar and crying human, he sighs and tips his hat down before jumping down next to them. Hearing him approach, the Tres Bestia turn to look at him, but he ignores them and focuses on Orihime instead.

"No Orihime, we have never seen you as a failure. None of us want you to be on the front lines because we know you are not a violent person, you are like Ichigo in wanting to protect everyone, but unlike him, you don't want to raise a fist in violence. However, that is almost impossible to do in the life we lead now, even for you Orihime-chan, which is why I had your sisters push you so hard these past few days. I wanted you to see that you do have what it takes to go on the offensive; that the only thing holding you back is yourself. One day, you will be placed in the unique position of being able to end a fight, battle or even a war immediately, but only if you choose to strike first and with deadly force. I pray that if such a day comes to pass, you will be able to make the decision to do whatever it takes to protect those dear to you."

Kneeling down in front of her red-eyed gaze, he takes off his hat and looks her fully in the eyes. "You have a power no one else but maybe Hachi can come close to duplicating, Orihime. That is why it is important for you to learn how to defend yourself to the utmost until one of us can come to your aid. The few minutes you provide us could mean the difference between us losing you or us reaching you in time."

"Am I that weak Urahara-san?" Orihime sniffles out depressedly.

The former Captain sighs. "No my dear, you're not weak. You and Yuzu are the pure hearted ones of our dysfunctional little Kazoku. You aren't like the rest of us, and we don't want you to be."

"Huh?" The young woman doesn't seem to understand, but the three Fracción around her nod unison with his words. Kisuke gestures to the people around them.

"Orihime, if you haven't noticed by now, you are not alone anymore. You have a former Espada for an Onee-san, Ichigo as your Onii-san and five others that see you as either their Onee-san or Imouto-chan. You also have me, Tessai, Yoruichi, Jinta, Ururu, the Vizards, a few Shinigami, and don't forget your best friend Tatsuki who would die willingly to keep you safe. You, Orihime are surrounded by those who love you as only Kazoku can. You are the light that helps many of us find the way home through the darkness when we are lost and alone. We fight so that you don't have to, but knowing that you can protect yourself makes us all feel better. Plus, no one wants to see Ichigo or Tia in a particularly bad mood if something should ever happen to you or the twins. We don't need a transcendent being and his mate going on the war path." The Tres Bestias snort in amusement at the image, and they are happy to see Orihime cracking a weak smile as well.

Before Kisuke can continue however, a tremendous Reiatsu suddenly explodes from the center of the room, and Yoruichi begins screaming his name.

"Kisuke! Get your ass over here now! Something is happening to Karin!"

Grabbing his bucket hat, Kisuke Shunpos over to Karin at speeds that nearly match those of the Goddess of Flash. Dropping to his knees beside Karin, he quickly examines the dark-haired twin, seeing her suffering from what appears to be a violent seizure. Once he turns her over carefully however, his eyes grow wide as he instantly figures out what is wrong.

"Oh no. Tessai, get the shaft ready, we need it now!"

Yoruichi grabs his arm with a death grip. "What the fuck are you doing Kisuke!?" She hisses at him. "Are you insane!?"

She releases his arm however when Kisuke's head whips around and he glares at her. The only time she ever remembers seeing those eyes on her former Third Seat is when he is on a time-sensitive critical mission and refuses to be denied in his mission's objective, no matter the obstacles in his way.

Nodding sharply at Yoruichi, Kisuke stands up while cradling Karin tight to his chest, then Shunpos over to the Shattered Shaft still buried in the ground: the same shaft where Karin's brother had regained the power to storm Soul Society and save the woman he loves from her execution. Placing Karin's body into Tessai's outstretched arms, he pokes her soul out of her body using his sword cane and catches her before she falls onto the ground. The Reiatsu that Karin is releasing jumps several orders in magnitude, now that her soul is no longer being constrained by her body.

"What's wrong with Karin!?" Yuzu screams out in horror as she sees her sister's two bodies, one of them writhing visibly in Kisuke's arms.

Kisuke ignores her, his mind running through multiple calculations in the time it would take most people to finish reading the question. The answer he comes to is not good at all. "Tessai, we have no time. Do it."

"Yes boss." Placing Karin's body on the ground, Tessai waits until Kisuke places Karin's soul a short distance away from her body, leaving her Chain of Fate stretched out between them. The former Kidō Commander pulls out the special ax that Kisuke had crafted for him, an ax that would cleanly sever the bond between body and spirit. Raising the bladed weapon, he slowly approaches the chain that binds Karin to her body.

"Wait, what are you doing!? Why are you...Are you going to cut that chain!?" Sensing that her twin is in danger, Yuzu tries to run towards her, only for Yoruichi to catch her before she can even take a single step.

"Don't Yuzu, there's nothing you can do for her." Seeing the terrified expression on Yuzu's face, Yoruichi hastens to explain. "This is something that Karin needs to go through; I didn't think it would be so soon, but if Kisuke believes she needs the Shattered Shaft now, then she's really surpassed all my expectations..."

Hearing Yoruichi's words, Kisuke glances back towards them and sees that Orihime and the Tres Bestias have caught up to them, the three Arrancar having kept pace with Orihime rather than Sonído on ahead. Turning around to face the group of hysterical humans and Arrancar, Kisuke holds his hands up to grab their attention before he begins to explain the situation. "Karin's training has caused her to experience an unusual jump in her Reiryoku, and the sheer amount of Reiryoku she is generating is causing her body to break down slowly. Unless she gains her Zanpakutō spirit and her Shinigami powers, her body will die and she will pass on to Soul Society as a plus soul with no memory. Now stand back and let us save her!"

Orihime immediately steps forward, trying to put on a brave expression. "W-Wait, maybe I can-"

"No." Kisuke cuts off her offer immediately. "This is something that Karin will have to go through at some point; reverting the changes will not stop it from happening in the future. It is better to deal with it now when we are all around to help, rather than at a time when we may not be around for her."

Seeing the crushed look on Orihime's face however, as well as the glares coming from the female Arrancar, Kisuke counters with a different offer. "I could still use your help, Hime. Ichigo proved that Tessai alone may not be enough to maintain these barriers, and if Karin does somehow succumb to the Shaft, you are the only person who can pull her back from the brink safely. You wanted to be strong, and here is your chance. Are you willing to do whatever it takes?"

Blinking back her tears, Orihime vigorously wipes away the tears from her face and gives him a determined nod. Her Fracción-sisters sigh, then stand around her in a show of support. Struggling within Yoruichi's grip, Yuzu breaks free and throws herself tearfully at Orihime, the older girl instinctively catching her and holding her in her arms.

"Please, Orihime-nee..." Yuzu begs her adopted older sister. "Please don't let Karin-nee die..."

Nodding to her, Orihime holds the sobbing Yuzu close as Tessai's ax comes down with a heavy thud, separating Karin's soul from her body. The same fervent wish being repeated in her heart.

'Please, Kami... please let her live.'

XXXX

Ichigo relaxes as he keeps his eyes closed and his arms snaked around the waist of the woman on his lap, the voices of everyone else dull noises to him as he soaks out a week's worth of aches and pains in the hot water. All around him are the other members of the Newspaper Club, from Moka to his left and Tatsuki to his right, to Kurumu and Mizore opposite of them, Ruby and Yukari between them, and finally sitting a bit by his lonesome is their club president. A few twitches of killing intent float in the air every time someone feels the Werewolf's eyes roaming their bikini clad bodies but everyone feels too comfortable to make a scene right now.

Smirking internally, Ichigo grins when he remembers the Werewolf seeing Shiro in his Vasto Lorde form warning him to keep his eyes and hands to himself, although Shiro had also strangely said something about a promise of adding to a 'future talk' that Ichigo himself had no clue about, one that not even his inner-spirits would elaborate on. A shifting on his lap tells him to open his mouth, and he opens his mouth automatically as a saucer is put to his lips for him to sip the sweet sake. Ever since the party with his Shinigami friends before the 'disappearance of his powers', he has found that the taste of sake no longer bothers him as it did before. Not that they drank everyday of course, but once in a while ever since that day, Tia would somehow manage to procure a bottle for them to have a few drinks from. Today, she had gotten her hands on a whole case, and since the others were letting loose after their first full week of hard training and long hours of studying, he decided to reward them as well.

"So any of ya found out anything useful for our trip at the end of the year?" Gin asks as he sips from his own saucer of sake. While he is slightly annoyed at having to sit on the outskirts, he doesn't mind that much if he gets to drink such top-grade sake.

Kurumu holds up her hand. "Haha-ue says she has not learned of who has taken over the city. The only rumor she could verify for me is that there is only one constant similarity: no bodies have been discovered yet of the missing humans."

Ruby leans forward and waves her staff, causing a waterproof map of Kyoto to unfurl before them. "So far they have been taken from the area where the river runs alongside the shrine. No water spirits or Yōkai have vested those waters for a number of decades, not since…"

She feels a chill in the air and immediately stops speaking, keeping her eyes from darting towards the blonde Vizard and her fellow Witch hybrid. Feeling the silence, Ichigo opens his eyes and looks over at the older Witch, seeing her looking at the map while apparently lost in thought.

"Tōjō-Sensei?"

"Ah, sorry Ichigo. Ever since they were forced to leave the area because of another species forcing them out. Even with the rumored arrival of the Succubus Queen in Kyoto, the balance back to Yōkai control has been slow going."

Tia slides her blue bikini-clad body off of Ichigo's body until she is sitting next to him. Patting his leg, she looks at the only other male in the room.

"How about you Gin-Senpai? Did you find anything interesting?"

Shaking his head, the Werewolf sips from his saucer before answering. "Rumors, that's it. Something about white-clad figures and white-masked creatures fighting one another occasionally but nothing solid. Maybe it's something or maybe it's not, so until we actually get there, we are still no closer to figuring out who or what we are dealing with."

Tia flicks her eyes at Ichigo and sees him deep in thought. Hollows they both recognize from the description, but only she and Tatsuki know that there are humans who are descendants of the original Quincies still alive besides Uryū; how are they fighting Hollows if they have no spiritual powers or Reiryoku though? Resolving to talk to Yoruichi as soon as she can, she also knows she needs to get Ichigo's mind away from thinking too hard about that fact, otherwise he might end up making that connection.

"We may have an option to help us. Our Sensei in Karakura could scout out the areas where the highest numbers of disappearances have taken place. If she finds out anything, we will have a lead to follow up when we arrive there." She suggests.

"Is she any good?" The club president asks without looking up at her.

Three snickers answer his question before Tia replies with a bit of admiration in her voice. "Ask Ichigo, she helped train him to achieve the highest level of power his people can achieve in only three days. Something that…well, it normally takes years to even come close to achieving the first step. So I'd say she can handle herself easily while looking for clues."

The Yōkai all look curiously at Ichigo, but he holds up his free hand to stop them. "Can't show you right now, because if I did, it would draw the wrong kind of attention to me and to all of you. I'd rather only have to call upon it in an extreme emergency."

"Must be powerful if you don't like using it then?" Kurumu asks curiously.

Shaking his head, Ichigo smirks as he corrects the Succubus. "I thought so too, but a certain battle showed me how much I depended on it. Since then I've trained myself to use my other skills a lot more than I used to. My Kidō is much better as is my Hakuda, just ask Moka how much better I am at hand-to-hand than she is now."

The pinkette winces as Ura immediately goes on an angry rant from inside the Rosary. Pinching the bridge of her nose, she frowns at the smirking Ichigo. "I really wish you wouldn't antagonize Ura that way Ichigo-kun. You know how prideful she gets, and now she wants me to let her out so she can 'show you your place', in her own words."

"Well tough shit for her, she's gotta wait until Monday. This weekend is for resting and healing, she'll get her chance but not now. Today we relax and forget our troubles." The Shinigami hybrid replies as he sips from Tia's saucer that is held up for him again.

Kurumu speaks up once more. "Sorry for getting off topic guys, but Ichigo-san, can…can you tell us what was that earlier this week? The mask that formed on your head?"

The Yōkai immediately see him go distant in his eyes for a few seconds, briefly glazing over before they become animated once again.

"That was Shiro, an aspect of my soul. He represents my basic, primal instincts to an extremely amplified degree. Unlike Tia, my power was born with my soul; hers was…forced on her unwillingly. Anyway, for the longest time I denied what he was and what he represented. Now though, I know and accept Shiro for what he is. I wouldn't give him up for anything; not that I have any choice either way, since he is a part of my soul."

"Don't you ever forget it King." Shiro agrees wholeheartedly.

"So are you saying that he is…a demon that possesses you then?" Mizore asks while staring at him intently. The Snow Maiden had been quietly conserving her energy and cooling down her surrounding temperature, but this latest discovery seems to peaked her interest enough for her to question him directly.

Ichigo automatically cringes as Shiro howls in his head in laughter. "Oh shit! She thinks you're possessed! If only it was that easy, you could get that creepy old guy to exorcise me like in that movie! Hahaha, oh gods she's killing me here!"

"No Mizore, Shiro's not a demon." He explains. "Shiro is a part of my soul, just a separate part of me. I…actually have three separate beings in me, each of them making up some part of my powers. Shiro, Zangetsu and Shōgetsu, whom you all have met."

Gin looks at him askance. "So you have three voices in your head all of the time?"

Ichigo rolls his eyes, obviously getting the jab. "For now yes, but occasionally I get four or five and…" He stops as his gazes softens and grows distant, confusing the Yōkai teens who are listening to him.

They are even more confused when Tia puts her hand on his then and whispers something into his ear, something that none of them understand even though their enhanced hearing allows them to hear it. "As soon as she is done, we will reclaim what is ours."

They do see the instant smile that lights up Ichigo's face though, as he kisses his mate lightly on her cheek.

"Come on you two, not in here." Kurumu pouts out as she looks briefly at her secret lover, seeing Mizore glance her way as well. Hopefully they can enjoy tonight without any interruptions.

"Sorry, sorry." Ichigo apologizes, though his expression is anything but repentant. "Anyways, have you guys thought about our offer of staying with us in Karakura for the summer break?"

Moka speaks first. "I don't have anywhere to go, so if you are sure…"

"Yeah same for me." Gin pipes up. "It would be interesting visiting your hometown anyways."

Kurumu looks at Mizore who nods her head at the unspoken question. "Mizore and I would like to go, but we have to see her family first before we can come visit. If the invitations still stand by then, we wouldn't mind spending a few weeks with you guys if your Kazoku don't mind the intrusion."

"Don't worry, they won't." Tatsuki assures them. She then looks at her fellow Witches. "Ruby? Yukari?"

"I'd love to go Tatsuki, but since I'm the Headmaster's assistant, I'll have to get his permission first." Ruby apologizes sincerely.

"I have plans with my Kazoku this summer." The smallest Witch says dejectedly. "Otherwise I would want to go too..."

"Well if you find yourself in Karakura, do stop by Yukari-chan." Tia speaks with a friendly nod towards the youngest girl.

"Now that we know who is going..." Gin speaks up again. "Can you tell us what to expect in Karakura when we go Tia, Ichigo?"

Tatsuki, Ichigo and Tia exchange looks and grins, before they turn to the bemused Werewolf. "Well Gin, first off you are going to need quick reflexes, my nut-job Oyaji likes to attack you without any warning…"

XXXX

Tan skin and red-slitted eyes scan the report lying on her desk as the three Yōkai standing in front of her look nervously between themselves. The gold bracelets on her wrist jingle slightly as she moves a few of the pages around for her to scan the words once again. Seeing no change in the words being written, the woman shifts until her chin rests on top of her folded hands before she sets her gaze upon her subordinates.

Watching as they immediately straighten to attention, she flicks her eyes toward the photo of a town taken from high overhead, then speaks with a bit of amusement. "This place is a hunting ground you say?"

"Ye…yes Shuzen-sama. Every operative we have sent so far to gather information has failed to return. We…we dare not risk anymore of our resources or else we will be spread too thin in that part of the country."

SLAM!

Dark, heavy Yōki begins to suffocate the three lizard-like Yōkai standing fearfully before her. "I don't want excuses! The Masked King wants information on the two people that Mikogami got to replace that foolish human boy! I don't care what you have to do to get it! Get me that information, or else start thinking of the consequences if you should fail again!"

"Y-Yes Gyokuro-sama!" The lizard-like Yōkai leave with hurried promises and bows as they all but flee the enraged First Division Head's presence. The tan Vampire finally settles down once more, then looks to the shadows of her office and beckons imperiously towards them so that the person standing there knows to come forward. Stepping out of the shadows, the Chinese Vampire looks at the photo herself and clicks her tongue in frustration as she too remembers the reports she has read.

"I will go myself Gyokuro. Whatever or whoever controls this little town could prove to be a hindrance to our future plans. I don't want any surprises when I go to retrieve my dear little Moka."

The older woman stares at the satellite photo one last time before tsking in agreement. "Take a few of our men, fodder for you if they need to be. Find out why the Masked King is so intent on finding and capturing this child."

Aqua's eyes drift over to the picture that Gyokuro is glaring at, a photo of a tall blonde haired teen wearing a grey school uniform whose arm is linked with a taller well-built teen male with bright orange hair and brown eyes. Surrounding the pair, the Triad's head assassin notices that the group is quite large. Two females in uniform are laughing as they follow the lead pair, followed by three other teens in the same uniform, one of them a smaller Asian she thinks might be Chinese as well. Next to them is a tall dark-skinned male and another female of unknown ethnicity, and the last two members of the group are two smaller males that she doubts hold any power considering they are at the back of the pack. It is the only image they have of the group; shortly after the photo was taken, their agents had started disappearing whenever they got too close to the town.

Frowning at the reminder of why she has to visit this backwater town in person, the Chinese Vampire focuses back on the first pair, especially the blonde female; experienced eyes assess the threat level of the female and pays close attention to the signs of training she can see from the female's musculature and posture. That, along with the clear dominance the female has over the other members of the group, lets her guess why the Masked King would possibly be interested in taking her as his own, but the look on the blonde female's face as she smiles at the orange-haired male in the picture makes it highly doubtful she would willingly leave that male. She has seen that look before…from 'her' actually; a brief flash of memory confirms her opinion and her eyes narrow in disgust when she recognizes the same look in both sets of eyes. Her eyes shift over to the orange-haired male who is the focus of the blonde female. He is rather attractive for a human, with defined outward musculature and a posture that also indicates dominance. The unusual coloring of his hair would likely draw attention from other members of his species, making it easier for him to assert his influence over them. Objectively, she can see why any Yōkai would want to mate with him; he does look strong, much stronger than the Aono boy.

"I will leave for Karakura at once Gyokuro. I think I'll take the Siren with me from the Seventh Branch as well, he might prove useful if I run into trouble." Her face betrays none of her innermost thoughts.

The Shuzen Matriarch just gives her a frosty look. "Make sure you come back with results Aqua, or else I'll reconsider your request."

The younger Vampire freezes as she stands at the doorway of the office, having started to leave without waiting for a response. Her back going completely stiff and refusing to look back at the older Vampire, Aqua snarls. "Moka is my Imouto Gyokuro; make sure you understand that I suffer no attacks on her. She…Is…Mine."

Gyokuro smirks, knowing that Aqua is still tied by this leash. "She belongs to him above all others Aqua, not even you can stand against him. Remember your place, child."

Her smirk widens as the door slams shut behind a furious Aqua.

'So easy to manipulate as long as that brat is involved.'

XXXX

Monday finally comes around as promised, and the entire Newspaper Club are now sitting in the bleachers watching as their two club mates pound, kick, punch, drop and throw each other into the mats they are fighting on. Silver hair clashes with orange throughout the room, trying to keep the promises of pain she had uttered over the weekend. Her reward is the continuing laughter of her opponents as he mocks her efforts, laughter which is sometimes cut off when she lands a successful strike.

"Are you sure Ichigo isn't a sadomasochist?" Their Yuki-Onna asks as she watches the two brawlers in fascination.

"Sometimes I wonder that myself Mizore. It's almost as if he gets off from hitting her, or when she hits him." The former Tercera Espada responds back without looking up from the notes she is perusing. She is tracking the two of them through their auras rather than her eyes, an exercise which she has recently developed to train her Pesquisa in preparation for their still-unknown enemies.

Shaking her head as she hands the hybrid Witch a copy of her History notes, the blue-haired Succubus winces as Moka lands a particularly painful-looking kick on Ichigo's face, one that he powers through to land a solid punch on her gut. "Both of them are junkies for pain, I think letting them fight like this will only prove my point that Moka has always liked lashing out at us for not just for 'his' sake, but also because she just got off on kicking the hell out of us back then."

Yukari giggles, the genius girl having completed all her homework before them and turning her full attention to watching the match. "Well, you and Mizore always did ruin her private moments with Tsukune." She comments suggestively.

Tia and Tatsuki glance up, expecting a feeling of sadness and loss to be evoked by that name, but instead to their surprise they hear giggles from the other teens. Mizore has a somewhat wistful smile on her lips as she looks at the youngest Witch, her lollipop twirling idly in her mouth.

"Well, it wasn't exactly fair that she should get out in front of us when we loved him just as much, Yuki-chan. He was…special to each of us." She counters blandly.

"You're thinking of how many Kodomo you would've gotten to pop out if you and he did get together, aren'tcha?" Kurumu remarks, nudging Mizore suggestively with her own blushing smirk.

"You would have done the same as would any of us, Moka included. He may have been human, but he was 'our' human." The ice princess replies primly despite her flushed appearance, then sends a wink to the blushing Succubus who grins unrepentantly at her accusation.

"Would you guys give it a rest, it's bad enough that I have to hear the rabbits go at it in their rooms, I don't need to hear any of your fantasies out loud." Tatsuki grumbles as she double-checks her set of notes with Kurumu's.

Tia glances up amusedly at the serious face of her friend, only to be greeted by a glare as Tatsuki meets her gaze with her own scowl. "You know…."

"Yes I know, but I told ya before Tia, you and Ichigo aren't my type." The martial artist immediately drawls.

Curious, Kurumu looks at the raven-haired teen. "So what is your type Tatsuki, if you don't mind telling us?"

"Hell if I know." The hybrid Witch shrugs carelessly. "All I do know is when I meet him, I'll know."

More than a few stares are directed their way when Kurumu immediately proclaims her support of Tatsuki's 'Love At First Sight' plan, but they soon shake their heads and resume writing their homework or watching the Daiyōkai and Vizard crash into one another in yet another series of kicks and punches, the two fighters seeking to overcome each other this time by reversing each other's attacks back on themselves. No one doubts that the matches are entertaining, but the main thought going through the minds is how much stronger the Vampire is going to get with all this training.

Since the arrival of the three new members and her subsequential feeding from the two Vizards, Moka's energy has become more and more potent and dense with each passing day, with no signs of stopping or slowing down. Kurumu and Mizore both shiver at the thought of challenging her now like they used to, back when they were all vying for Tsukune's affections. The only one not really affected by the change seems to be the youngest of the group; Yukari has not once brought up her old dreams of being in the middle of a Tsukune and Moka sandwich, and has in fact stopped clinging to Moka like she used to do.

Mizore was the first to notice her change when they met the three new students in the Headmaster's office that day: Yukari's normal curiosity and cheerfulness just wasn't there, and neither were her normal antics when it came to Moka. The Yuki-Onna hoped that she was merely growing out of that phase, or else simply knew to give the Vampire the privacy she needed to grieve and come to terms with her role in Tsukune's death. Kurumu's own opinion when she mentioned it to her was that Yukari herself hadn't come to terms completely with Tsukune's loss, and this was her way of coping by denying that he even existed by refraining from her normal actions. Sooner or later, she believed Yukari would come to terms with Tsukune's death, and then they cringed at the idea of how the Vampire would deal with Yukari's antics when they did start up again.

"MOKA!" Everyone looks up at the scream that Ichigo lets loose, and they all start laughing at him.

As has become the norm for the end of these matches, Moka's final attack at Ichigo consisted of a bodily lunge at him when her hunger grew too much for her to handle. Straddling him fully this time, they see her fangs sunk deeply into his neck and a look of bliss on her face as she drinks from him, Ichigo slowly sitting up with his arms around Moka and keeping them there. Shaking her head, Tia begins to chuckle as she gets up and joins the two teens on the sparring mats, no one else is allowed to approach during Moka's feeding time for a reason the blonde refuses to state. After each feeding, Tia would use a small Kidō on her mate and the Vampire before they rejoined the rest of them.

With a contented sigh, Moka pulls her fangs from Ichigo's neck, running her tongue almost gently over the bite marks to seal them up. Getting up from her seat with a slight grinding of her crotch, the Vampire sticks her hand out and pulls Ichigo to his feet.

"Thanks for the meal Ichi-kun." The sarcastic voice teases him as she lifts him up, though the faint flush on her face and the amused smirk on his tells a different story.

"I would say bite me, but you already did bloodsucker." The grinning Vizard retorts as he rubs his now-healed neck. Tia rolls her eyes at their post-meal banter as her Kidō easily heals the minor bruises they had suffered from their sparring session.

"Come on you two, we're hungry and dinner is in forty five minutes so let's get cleaned up." She says after she has finished healing them. The two of them agree with her words, and so do the others when they realize how late it is getting.

Soon the entirety of the group packs up and makes their way to their dorms, with the Vizards, Tatsuki and Moka splitting off to make their way to their rooms at the staff housing. Along the way they are joined by Hiyori and Lisa who step out when they pass by the main school building and start walking behind them almost naturally. Although Tia and the two older Vizards had initially bonded over Tia's relationship with Ichigo, they had also bonded later over the subject of Ichigo and his new sparring partner at work.

XXXX Flashback Start XXXX

Lisa had broken the subject first when she commented to Tia on how strong Ichigo had become since the end of the War. Tia had explained his new training method, and Hiyori wasn't convinced it would work until Tia brought them both to watch and she saw Ichigo take a flurry of the Vampire's unsealed kicks and punches, each of them causing small shockwaves to form in the air.

"How is he doing that without using his Reiatsu?" The pigtailed Vizard had wondered out loud.

"Did Urahara not tell you yet?" Tia asked her curiously as she glanced down at the shorter woman.

"No. All that fruity bastard said to us was watch over you three and give you guys a hand if needed. Didn't tell us anything other than that, not even that you guys were here to help out this Headmaster fellow with something." Hiyori had replied before wincing as Ichigo took a particularly nasty kick to the head.

Pinching the bridge of her nose, Tia quickly recounted the events and the truth of Ichigo's current situation, not fearing to tell them as she knew Ichigo considered the Vizards his closest friends and allies. The two women stared at her when she finished her story before Lisa broke out in a perverted smile.

"So you and Ichigo are bumping uglies then? I always thought he had a thing for older women, but now I know." Lisa said laughing as she received both a glare and a look of shock from the two other women.

After saying a few choice words and making a promise to speak to both Ichigo and Kisuke in private about their insistence on secrecy, Hiyori then turned to the blonde and gave her a stern look. "So you and him are really bonded?"

Tia had seen the serious expression on Hiyori's face and answered her just as seriously. "Yes we are Sarugaki-san."

The petite Vizard had snorted. "Hiyori, call me Hiyori Tia-chan. If you and Baldy are…well, if you two are bonded, it goes without saying that you're one of us now, considering that you aren't a true Hollow anymore."

Understanding the alliance that Hiyori was offering, Tia had bowed to the short but violent Vizard, thanking her.

Lisa had waited for them to finish before sticking her hand out then. "Well I guess it means we're comrades Tia. So do you want to fill us in on why she feels like your Reiatsu and Ichigo's then?" She nods towards the Vampire who is still sparring with Ichigo.

That is when Tia shocked the two Vizards by telling them that she and Ichigo fed the Vampire after their spars to help her keep her strength up, and she also mentioned the side effect that she began to notice shortly afterwards.

"So she is assimilating your Reiatsu into her Yōki? That's an interesting theory Tia. You have any idea of what the end result will be?" The glasses wearing woman asked her curiously.

"Her power is incomplete Lisa. There is something more there, but until Kisuke looks her over we won't know until it fully emerges." Tia had confessed.

The sandal wearing Vizard groaned out from beside them. "You mean to tell me she could become even stronger than what she already is now?"

Nodding her head in agreement, Tia had added her final thoughts. "The rosary acts as a buffer of some kind and there is also one other element to it. We believe that someone else's consciousness was used to create the personality of the one called Omote. In fact, I believe it to be…"

XXXX Flashback End XXXX

"Tia, hey Tia you okay?" Ichigo asks, breaking her out of her reverie when they arrive in the front of their building. She smiles at him in response.

"Sorry Ichigo, just thinking."

Sitting in the shadows outside their building as he reads his book, Kiria can't keep the grin off his face as he watches the two new students enter the building.

'Well this will be fun.'

XXXX

"Ichigo where is Tia?" Kurumu asks when the others arrive.

"She went back to our room to get her phone. Doesn't like leaving it lying around unattended ever since that first break-in, even if we now live in staff housing."

"Oh, did you ever find out who it was by-the-way?" The Ice Maiden asks him.

Shaking his head as he places his and Tia's trays on the table, Ichigo answers. "No, I thought it would be easy to find out, but so far no one has been identified as the guy who stabbed me. It's like he or she disappeared in a puff of smoke."

"Maybe they had to flee once they failed in…well, when they didn't finish." Yukari volunteers.

"I hope not, I'd like to repay him or her for their efforts." Ichigo's hand ghosts over the scar that now lies under his shirt on his human body. Tatsuki immediately swats his hand away.

"Would you stop that Ichigo? As soon as we get home, you know what kinda of fuss she's gonna raise the minute she finds out that you have a scar on you."

Ichigo grimaces. "Don't tell her Tatsuki, I hate seeing her get so worried over me…"

He barely dodges her slap. "Dammit Ichigo, when are you going to get it in your head that she is always going to worry about you and Tia! You're her Kazoku now, both you and Tia. So deal with it when she worries over you like a mother-hen."

"Fine, fine but I'm not telling her, neither are you."

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

"Oh would you both shut it." Kurumu growls out. "And what's taking Tia so long?"

XXXX

Kiria had almost finished reading his chapter when the blonde female suddenly reappeared again from the path leading towards the school's dining hall. Watching as she walks back alone into the staff building, he gains a grin and closes his book, shifting into a sitting position as he waits for her to come back out before making his move.

'Oh, this will be so simple.' He can almost picture the look on her face when she realizes she is cornered and at his mercy.

For ten whole minutes he waits, before his curiosity finally gets the better of him. Standing up, he walks over to the door of their building and peers in carefully. Seeing no one inside, he is about to move to a different viewing spot when he feels a cold line against his neck and stops moving immediately. Knowing that someone is resting a blade against his throat, Kiria casts a glance at the hand holding it, then scrunches his eyes in confusion as he realizes the hand is covered by a strange blue bonelike material that he cannot identify. It's only when that blonde female's voice speaks up from behind him that he knows that his ambush has gone very wrong.

"Do you wish to tell me why you are waiting outside our rooms, Yōkai, or do I need to force it out of you?"

Despite his unfavorable position, he's still confident in his chances of escaping. "Not a nice way to introduce yourself to your upperclassman now is it?" He replies, seemingly without a care in the world.

In reply, her blade digs into his skin, causing blood to slowly seep out. A chill goes down his spine when he realizes that Kurosaki Tia didn't hesitate at all, which can only mean that unlike the other weak students, she is well-versed in killing other people, just like he does too.

"I'll ask one more time and one more time only. Who are you and what do you want?" She asks again.

Driving a Yōki-infused elbow into her stomach while simultaneously pushing her blade aside and sprinting forward, he thinks he is free until a sudden force slams into his back and he finds himself eating dirt. Confusion reigns in his head as he chokes on dust and blood from his mouth, his chest constricting as he struggles to breath, then he realizes a foot is on his back keeping him from getting up. Soon enough the same blade he pushed aside makes its way into his peripheral vision as it descends towards his face, a soft orange glow emitting from the blade as the blonde female's voice speaks up calmly.

"That was rather foolish of you. It seems you wish to do this the hard way then."

As the blade moves closer and closer to his eye, he can only think to himself. 'What the fuck is she!?'

XXXX

AN: Well next chapter will be for Destiny's Path sometime in the next few weeks. I'll be slowing down due to a recent medical scare this past week again, a really bad one this time. I won't abandon my stories, but like I said I do have to slow down for the next month or so. So enjoy the rest of your summer and we should be back in a few weeks with Destiny's next chapter, it will be quite a long one if all goes right. So 'til then.

Liam and Okami.

Response to Reviews Corner 2: Not many to respond to because I PM those that had questions given to me via PM themselves. For the rest of you guys and gals thanks for sticking with it despite the slow chapters. I like to try and build a world for you to immerse yourselves in like I found much to my liking from our late Robert Jordan series, an inspiration to me. So Enjoy your time here and special thanks to Kiwifan7 for his late night chats and ideas in helping me write and always a huge hand to Okami for all the work she puts into her Beta and her own ideas she adds as well.

Translations List

Honorifics

-san (さん) : Used to address people with a generic level of respect (equivalent to Mr/Mrs/Ms)

-sama (様) : Used to address people with a higher level of respect (equivalent to Master/Madam)

-chan (ちゃん) : Used to address people with familiarity (usually females)

-kun (君) : Used to address people with familiarity (usually males)

-dono (どの): Used to address people with great respect (equivalent to Lord/Lady)

-ue (上) : Used to address one's parents with great respect

Addressing people by their family name without honorifics can be seen as disrespectful.

Addressing people by their given name without honorifics implies a high degree of familiarity.

People may not always use the same honorific when addressing the same person; it depends on the situation and what they are feeling at the moment.

Special

-tachi (たち) : Used as a suffix to refer to a group

Family Titles

Chichi (父) / Otō (お父) : Father, usually addressed as Chichi-ue or Otō-san/sama (also written as Otou)

Haha (母) / Okā (お母) : Mother, usually addressed as Haha-ue or Okā-san/sama (also written as Okaa)

Ani (兄) / Onī (お兄) : Older Brother, usually addressed as Aniki or Onī-san/sama (also written as Onii)

Ane (姉) / Onē (お姉) : Older Sister, usually addressed as Aneki or Onē-san/sama (also written as Onee)

Otōto (弟) : Younger Brother, usually addressed as Otōto-san/chan (also written as Otouto)

Imōto (妹) : Younger Sister, usually addressed as Imōto-chan (also written as Imouto)

Sofu (祖父) / Ojī (お爺) : Grandfather, usually addressed as Ojī-san/sama (also written as Ojii)

Sobo (祖母) / Obā (お婆) : Grandmother, usually addressed as Obā-san/sama (also written as Obaa)

Oji (叔父) : Uncle, usually addressed as Oji-san (not to be mistaken with Grandfather/Ojī-san)

Oba (叔母): Aunt, usually addressed as Oba-san (not to be mistaken with Grandmother/Obā-san)

Itoko (いとこ) : Cousin (can be written with different Kanji depending on age, gender and which side of the family they come from)

Oi (甥) : Nephew

Mei (姪) : Niece

Kyōfu (教父) : Godfather, usually addressed as Kyōfu-san/sama

Kyōbo (教母) : Godmother, usually addressed as Kyōbo-san/sama

Ōoji (大叔父) : Great-Uncle, usually addressed as Ōoji-san

Ōoba (大叔母) : Great-Aunt, usually addressed as Ōoba-san

Sōsofu (曽祖父) : Great-Grandfather, usually addressed as Sōsofu-sama

Sōsobo (曽祖母) : Great-Grandmother, usually addressed as Sōsobo-sama

Relations

Otto (夫) / Goshujin (ご主人) : Husband, usually addressed as Goshujin-san/sama

Tsuma (妻) / Oku (奥) : Wife, usually addressed as Oku-san

Musuko (息子) : Son, usually addressed as Musuko-san

Musume (娘) : Daughter, usually addressed as Musume-san

Magomusuko (孫息子) : Grandson

Magomusume (孫娘) : Granddaughter

Sofubo (祖父母) : Grandparents

Ryōshin (両親) : Parents (also written as Ryoushin)

Fūfu (夫婦) : Married Couple

Kyōdai (兄弟) : Brothers (can also refer to Siblings in general)

Shimai (姉妹) : Sisters

Itoko (いとこ) : Cousins

Kodomo (子供) : Children

Mago (孫) : Grandchildren

Kazoku (家族) : Family

Shinseki (親戚) : Relatives

Nakama (仲間) : Comrades

Tomodachi (友達) : Friends

Senpai (先輩) : Senior (also written as Sempai, can be used as a suffix '-senpai')

Kōhai (後輩) : Junior (also written as Kouhai, can be used as a suffix '-kouhai')

Sensei (先生) : Teacher, Doctor, Respected Person

Deshi (弟子) : Student, Apprentice

Informal

Tō-chan (父ちゃん) : Dad (also written as Tou-chan)

Kā-chan (父ちゃん) : Mom (also written as Kaa-chan)

Nī-chan (父ちゃん) : Big Bro (also written as Nii-chan)

Nē-chan (父ちゃん) : Big Sis (also written as Nee-chan)

Jī-chan (父ちゃん) : Gramps (also written as Jii-chan)

Bā-chan (父ちゃん) : Granny (also written as Baa-chan)

Disrespectful

Oyaji (親父) : Old Man

Jiji (爺) : Old Geezer

Baba (婆) : Old Crone

Bō (ぼう) / Bōzu (ぼうず) : Boy (also written as 'bou/bouzu', can be used as a suffix '-bou/bouzu')

Boya (ボヤ) : Boy (literal translation, used as a suffix '-boya')

Insulting

Teme (てめ) : Jerk, Bastard etc. (can be used as a suffix '-teme')

Dobe (どべ) : Dumbass, Moron etc. (lit. Dead Last)

Baka (バカ) : Stupid

Hentai (変態) : Pervert

Chibi (チビ) : Midget, Runt

Gaki (ガキ) : Brat (can be used as a suffix '-gaki')

Speech

Yare Yare (やれやれ) : My my (exasperation)

Ara Ara (あらあら) : My my (surprise)

Maa Maa (まあまあ) : There there (comforting / calming down)

Moshi Moshi (もしもし) : Hello (greeting over a phone)

Hai (はい) : Yes

Ano (あの) : Umm...

Are (あれ) : Huh?

Yosh (よし) : Alright! (excited)

Yosh yosh (よしよし) : Good good (approval)

Itadakimasu (いただきます) : Let's eat (appreciative)

Gochisousama deshita (御馳走様でした) : Thank you for the feast (appreciative)

Arigatō Gozaimasu (ありがとうございます) : Thank you very much

Dōitashimashite (どういたしまして) : You're welcome

Ohayō (お早う) : Good morning

Konnichiwa (今日は) : Hello/Good day

Konbanwa (こんばんは) : Good evening

Nicknames

Geta-Bōshi (ゲタ帽子) : Hat-and-Clogs (refers to Kisuke's choice of clothing)

Yagi-Ago (山羊顎) : Goat-chin (refers to Isshin's scruffy beard)

Ichigo (苺) : Strawberry (a play on Ichigo's given name)

Ichi (一) : Shortform for Ichigo (一護)

Tats (竜) : Shortform for Tatsuki (also written as Tatsu)

Suki (好き) : Shortform for Tatsuki (also means to Like)

Hime (姫) : Shortform for Orihime (also means Princess)

Yori (ヨリ) : Shortform for Yoruichi

Nicknames

Bōgu (防具) / Kendōgu (剣道具) : Kendo Armor/Equipment

Men (面) : Face Mask and Shoulder Protectors

Kote (小手) : Hand and Forearm Protectors

Do (胴) : Torso Protector

Tare (垂れ) : Groin and Leg Protectors

Sune-ate (脛当て) : Shin Protectors

Bokken (木剣) / Bokutō (木刀) : Wooden Sword

Shinai (竹刀) : Bamboo Sword

Keikogi (稽古着) : Upper garments

Hakama (袴) : Lower garments

Soul Society

Sōtaichō (総隊長) : Head Captain (also written as Soutaichou)

Taichō (隊長) : Captain (also written as Taichou)

Fuku-Taichō (副隊長) : Vice-Captain / Lieutenant (also written as Fukutaichou)

Kidō (鬼道) : Way of the Demon, the Shinigami Spiritual Arts (also written as Kidou)

Hadō (破道) : Way of Destruction, Spiritual Arts focusing on attack (also written as Hadou)

Bakudō (縛道) : Way of Binding, Spiritual Arts focusing on capture (also written as Bakudou)

Kaidō (回道) : Way of Returning, Spiritual Arts focusing on healing (also written as Kaidou)

Locations

Seireitei (瀞霊廷) : Court of Pure Souls, the Inner District of Soul Society

Rukongai (流魂街) : Wandering Soul City, the Outer Districts of Soul Society

Dangai (断界) : Precipice World, a Dimensional Corridor linking Soul Society to the Human World

Daireishokairō (大霊書回廊) : Great Spirit Book Gallery, the Repository containing all the Knowledge and History of Soul Society

Shinōreijutsuin (真央霊術院) : Spiritual Arts Academy

Urahara Shouten (蒲原商店) : Urahara's Shop, owned by Urahara Kisuke

Rosario Vampire

Yōkai (妖怪) : Monsters (also written as Youkai)

Daiyōkai (大妖怪) : Greater Monsters (also written as Daiyoukai)

Yōki (妖気) : Demonic Energy (also written as Youki)

Yōkai Gakuen (妖怪学園) / (陽海学園) : Monster Academy (also written under the fake name of Living Sea Academy)