Author's Note:

I'm going to say this bluntly to keep from seeing it in reviews later; this is a filler chapter. I wanted to do another slower chapter before things picked up again. It's also going to help me set up a couple things for the future.

On with the story;

Demon.

xxxxxxx

Ichigo woke up with a familiar weight on his arm; the smell of Orihime's shampoo filled his nostrils with each breath he took. Deciding against moving and possibly waking his girlfriend up he just laid in the bed with her body gently pressed against his. The night before lingered in his mind; it had gone far better than he was expecting it to, but when he was worried about royally screwing it up it wasn't hard to get better than expected.

-Flashback-

After talking with the creepy guy that had given him a credit card and making sure that the locker room he destroyed would be rebuilt he told Renji about who Ginnei was. The red haired fuku-taichou was a little surprised and agreed that it was a better idea for Ichigo to talk to the guy before Toshiro tried. That was something that probably wouldn't go over so well since Toshiro was the youngest of the taichou and still looked like an elementary school kid. Renji shunpo away to do a patrol; with how much reiatsu Ichigo's hollow had released it was bound to draw in a few hollows.

"Rangiku invited Orihime and I to go along with you guys to The Retreat;" Ichigo said.

"It's alright with me;" Ginnei said "thanks for letting me know."

"You know Rangiku doesn't have any family right?"

Ginnei's ears perked a little when he heard this; he knew what was about to come. He never would've thought he'd actually get this talk while in high school still. He was expecting to not hear it until he graduated after this year.

"Yea;" as he looked in the distance "she told me that the closest thing she had to a father died about twenty years ago and her current taichou is like a little brother to her."

"Since you know the first part that saves me the trouble;" as he rubbed his shoulder and popped his neck "Rangiku is one of Orihime's closest friends; hell they might as well be sisters at this point. I'm not sure if you know everything that's happened to her in the past year but that's between you two. All I'm going to say about it is," as he turned serious "she's been through enough in the past year and doesn't need any more crap like that happening to her again. Break her heart and you'll have to survive me before her taichou gets to you; he's not exactly someone that's willing to forgive something like that either."

Ginnei nodded; he figured pointing out that he sounded like an actual brother would probably piss the half breed off. It felt weird to be hearing this already, his father said that he hadn't heard it until he had met Ginnei's mother.

"I guess we should just hang out till the girls get done with their shopping spree," Ginnei said as he scratched his head "Rangiku said you've invaded this 'Seireitei' place with only a group of seven people."

"Yea;" with a shrug "it happened over summer break last year."

Ichigo gave the werewolf an overview of what all had happened. Of course he had to start from the beginning; what good was hearing a story if you didn't know how it started? Deciding to start with when he met Rukia, he told him about how the small shinigami introduced him to a completely different world than what he knew. He fought hollows off on a daily basis and improved at a slow rate; then he met Renji and Byakuya which ended in him losing his powers.

After struggling to regain his powers, which is when his own hollow manifested, he gained Shikai and trained for a week to improve his sword skills and learn how to fight against something other than a hollow. Once they were in the Soul Society they had a small misadventure where they had an addition to the group. They had used a canon of sorts to blast into the Seireitei because of the barrier around the military like institution. Once inside it was battle after battle, eventually he obtained bankai and fought against Byakuya again and won; only to have the mastermind of the coup reveal himself.

A few months after that he first met Grimmjow, who had tried to kill him and nearly succeeded. He mentioned that during the fight his hollow had nearly taken over; which caused him to seek out the Visoreds and battle his hollow to control that power. Having gained control of his hollow powers, he trained for a month before he saw the Espada again; that fight was different, Ichigo had the upper hand and would've won if he could've kept his mask on longer.

Eventually he found out that the large scale battle that Grimmjow had been included in was just a cover to get to Orihime. The healer had been kidnapped and labeled a traitor before they even knew was had happened. This led him and a couple friends to go to the hollow home world and invade their capital, Las Noches, to save her. Again, it was battle after battle as they searched for her; when she was finally within grasp, an impossibly strong opponent appeared and nearly killed him. Ichigo skipped what he was still missing from that memory and picked up where the Espada turned to ash and blew away with the wind.

When he returned to Karakura Town, it was actually a fake made by the Seireitei to act as a battle field. Several had been cut down and even his father and mentors laid defeated in the rubble. He spent what was equal to three months time in a type of portal called a Dangai training, when in reality only fifteen minutes had passed. When he emerged from the Dangai, he proceeded to battle the mastermind and nearly lost his shinigami power because of his final attack.

"Damn;" the werewolf said "that was just an overview and it took about an hour. To think, all that in only what ten months?" Ichigo nodded "you're a crazy guy. You and Tsukune must get along pretty well; I know I'm not supposed to know, Rangiku already told me. Originally he was here by mistake, and, from what I've heard, was scared shitless. He tried to leave but he stayed for Moka, everyone kept thinking they were a couple, to be honest they acted a lot like one; both Mokas."

"Both?"

"Moka used to have two personalities;" he explained "the silver haired one you know was the one that was sealed away and only Tsukune seemed to be able to free her. There was once an 'Outer Moka'; she was pretty much the exact opposite of the battle ready one. Gentle, kind, caring, and a bit of a pacifist. After Tsukune's death the outer one just disappeared without a trace; even when the 'Inner Moka' put the rosary back on."

Ichigo scratched his head; it sounded like Moka wasn't too much different than him, two personalities in one body. Luckily they were able to exist without fighting for control like he did most of the time; for now.

"Anyway you want to spin it," Ginnei continued "he overcame his fear of Yokai and became friends with some of the most powerful species. An S-class vampire, a succubus, a yuki-ona, two witches, and me, a werewolf. In only one semester he became the embodiment of what the academy stands for; peace between Yokai and humans. Even when he was going to be executed, several people were against killing him because he was a nice guy despite being surrounded by several that hated what he was. It caused several to rethink what they thought about humans; others just believed he was a vampire because he got credit for defeating Kuyo, even though it was Moka.

After that we had an entirely new adventure dealing with the Outcasts. They nearly killed both Moka and Tsukune in their attempts to 'destroy the academy'; it was just an attempt to show those that weren't of mixed heritage that they were strong. Which led us to discovering someone that actually wanted to destroy the academy as an act of revenge for what happened to him. We managed to stop him after he nearly destroyed the barrier protecting the school; that's when Tsukune died. He gave his life protecting the secret of the existence of Yokai in the world.

I had figured that was the last of the shit we would have had to put up with, but ever since Mizore was kidnapped I'm thinking it was just the tip of the iceberg. That Arrancar woman working with Moka's sisters and that other girl on something that seemed so important means they've probably been working together for a while. Makes me wonder" as he looked at the clouds over head "is what we've been through and what you've been through connected somehow?"

"I hope not;" with a sigh.

-End Flashback-

Ichigo felt Orihime snuggle closer to him as she let a soft snore out; the healer had a great time last night. He had found something out about her too; she was a bit of a risk taker in the realm of public affection. She had often pulled him to the side hallway that led to the bathrooms to make out with him. He didn't complain at all; it was just very unexpected of the usually shy, timid girl that used to stutter a little every time she'd talk to him.

One thing he was thankful for was the fact that his hollow had been quiet all night. It allowed him to really enjoy the double date without needing to have an argument with himself every few minutes because Orihime did something unexpected. First there was her pulling him aside, then there was when she grabbed his butt while they were making out, after that was her downing a large swig of sake, and finally was her making him grab her backside. It was a side of her he wasn't used to seeing, but liked it; a lot.

He felt Orihime roll completely around, pushing him onto his back while doing so. Turns out she had been awake for a little while, there was almost no sleep in the corner of her eyes and she had a smile on her face. She squirmed a little as she readjusted to lean in and then kissed him.

"Good morning;" he said as they finally broke away from each other.

"Morning;" as she slid to his side and rubbed her head against his shoulder "last night was fun."

"I'm just glad you didn't let Rangiku talk you into drinking that entire bottle with her;" with a small chuckle "supposedly only two people can keep up with her drinking."

Orihime didn't respond, but knew that it was the truth; only the flirtatious Eight Division taichou Shunsui Kyoraku and the battle ready Eleventh Division taichou Kenpachi Zaraki are said to have been known to keep up with the busty fuku-taichou. Her arms found their way around Ichigo's midsection; in response Ichigo used an arm to snuggle the healer closer to him. They knew they had to get up, but they both wanted to stay like this for a while longer.

The previous night had gone rather well considering. Ginnei had listened to the full story of what happened last year and didn't look bothered by it; he simply pulled the fuku-taichou close to him and told her 'her pace'. Both she and Ichigo knew what the werewolf meant by that, he was going to be there for her and if something developed to her he'd be ready. Orihime was happy for her friend to find someone like that; of course Ichigo and her were already going at a comfortable pace for themselves.

-Moka-

The silver haired vampire's eyes drifted open to the usual sight of her nearly empty room. The night before she hadn't been alone; Tensa had kept his promise of having a talk later. The two had tea as they became acquainted with one another; she had learned several things starting with how the powerful half breed had met her mother.

-Flashback-

"That is not a short story;" Tensa had warned her.

"We have nothing better to do" Moka retorted.

"Very well;" with a smile "it was nearly seven hundred years ago, I had just finished hunting for food to last the next week or so and it had started raining. I was lucky to have not been cursed with a vampire's weakness to water and was only in a rush to get to my hutch to dry off. On my way, I discovered a pink haired woman in armor feeling the full affects of the rain. Sparks were clearly visible coming from her and she twisted in pain in an attempt to dull it. I never got her name; as I picked her up she passed out as a result of the pain.

After I got to my hutch I dried her off the best I could and hung her armor and clothes up near the fire. When she awoke she tried to strangle me" with a chuckle "I never would have believed that such beautiful eyes could hold such anger and raw fury. Once I managed to convince her I meant no ill will, she let go of my throat. She was still weary of me for the next few days as I tried to treat what looked to be battle wounds and she recovered. It was on the fourth day that she finally told me her name; Akasha Bloodriver.

The following days I had learned much about the vampire culture that had shunned me. The most important part was how many vampires get their surnames. In the older days of vampiric culture, a vampire's surname was a reflection of their first all out battle…"

"How did my mother get the last name 'Bloodriver' then?" Moka interrupted.

"From what she told me," as he looked up at the dyed sky from the setting sun "she took on an army and a river of blood flowed from the battlefield for three days."

"That's… that's not possible…"

"In those days one had to be ruthless in battle;" with a heavy look "I was lucky to meet her while she was transitioning to a less violent personality. Many times we spoke on the matter and every time your mother looked like she deeply regretted what she had done. She was once much like you; very proud of her linage, refused to back away from any challenger, and wouldn't hold back against anyone. Her father and grandfather often told me that I had turned her away from that and they were thankful. Even her great grandfather seemed to be thankful for the transition; even though he never said so verbally."

Moka never would've guessed that her mother had once been so violent. She had only ever known her mother as a peaceful person that didn't want any violence in the house that wasn't training; that was only because a vampire's young years are when there were the greatest leaps in their strength and they needed to learn how to control it. Even then, she would often be ready to treat any injuries that happened; a simple scrape, a bruise, or a deep cut, it didn't matter she was there with a gentle smile and first aid kit.

"How did you get your last name?"

This visibly caught Tensa off guard; that wasn't a story he had told many people.

"It is a story I wish to not reflect on, but since it made me who I am today I often must;" as he took a deep breath "for the first fifty years I knew your mother I was without a surname; I was simply Tensa. I knew my mother's but since I am half vampire my parents never gave me one in order to keep true to the culture; my father was uneasy about it though. It was the night of the full moon; I often enjoyed walks through the woods during such nights.

I came upon a pack of alpha werewolves that were in their heat cycle and preparing to attack a village of witches; unfortunately I had no choice but to slay them. I had lost a lot of blood and passed out; when I woke I was in the care of the villagers I had saved. I had them send a message to Akasha and we spent the next four days there while I recovered. On the second day she had jokingly said 'You slayed the moon, Zangetsu'; at the time I was confused but the witches told me that the pack of alphas had called themselves the ancient werewolf word for moon, I had given up attempting to pronounce it not long after I heard it. The name Zangetsu stuck since every witch and wizard in the village called me by that name."

"So my mother named you?" she blinked with disbelief.

"In a manner of speaking" as he set his tea cup down.

"What can you tell me about the Hollows and spiritual world?" not completely believing what she heard.

"Hollows are creatures born out of grief, anger, or some other negative emotion that prevented a soul from crossing over to the Soul Society. A hole forms in their torso commonly, but Ichigo has come across an Arrancar whom had the hole where an eye should have been. A mask takes shape on their once human like faces, it is believed that the shape of the mask is a reflection of the emotions that caused them to become hollows to begin with. Their physical shape also changes; no one is sure how their physical appearance is determined.

They can only be harmed by a zanpakuto, a Bake-bake bat, a sacred blade, pure Energy of Nature, or condensed spirit particles. Should they be slain by a zanpakuto, a Bake-bake bat, or pure Energy of Nature they will be purified and move on to the Soul Society in their human forms. I do not know much about the Soul Society since I spent five centuries in a form of Limbo waiting for Ichigo's shinigami powers to be awakened. What I do know is that there are a total of three hundred and sixty districts surrounding the Seireitei, the base of the shinigami, split into four regions; North, East, South, and West. Within the Seireitei are thirteen divisions of a military-like institution. Aside from that, there's little I can tell."

"Is my mother in one of the districts?"

"Yes," he lied "and she is happy where she is. She wants to be able to see you some time, but knows that it will be near impossible because only shinigami can travel to and from the world of the living with ease."

Moka looked away from Tensa; a part of her wanted to start crying but the other side was screaming not to. She wanted to cry because if it was really so hard to get to and from the world of the living, then why did her mother come for Eiyu and not her? It didn't make sense to her; then again, little did recently which is why she was talking to Tensa.

"What else can you tell me about hollows?"

"They are separated into three classes;" he explained "Demi-hollows, normal hollows, and Menos. A Demi-hollow is a soul that is attached to a specific place and refuses to move on. Should the soul linger for more than a couple months, their chain of fate will corrode and eventually turn them into a hollow. I am not certain if there is a strength difference between a soul that's demi-hollow and a normal hollow.

Once a soul becomes a hollow, they are overcome with hunger that they can never truly sate. They will devour the souls of nearly anything in sight but often are attracted to those with a higher spiritual awareness. After they consume enough souls, they grow into what is called a Gillian, or Menos Grande; these hollows are considered to be, literally, without personality and also the first level of the Menos class. They stand as tall as skyscrapers and their masks are all the same, but every now and then one hollow will have such a powerful will that it will retain its unique personality and have a different mask.

Should this happen, that individual will continue to eat and grow. They will gain more power with hopes of evolving into an Adjuchas class, the second level of Menos. These hollows shrink in size and become slightly more humanoid and their masks change shape again. Every Adjuchas is still faced with the hunger they had before; so they set out to feast on others.

The final level of Menos is the Vasto Lorde class; these hollow alone hold more power than even a shinigami taichou. They are near perfectly humanoid in shape, and aren't faced with the constant hunger in previous stages, but they still must feed to prevent from regressing to the previous forms. So few exist that they are often just stories of legend. Your mother and I faced one once and I only survived because your mother took many of the hits for me, and she managed survived thanks to her healing ability; we were finally saved by a powerful shinigami, who later became a friend."

Moka took a deep breath as she processed what she had just learned. These hollow creatures that had been attacking were once living people that couldn't move on because of something. They also varied in strength and even had their own classification within their species; much like every race on Earth. They were potentially more powerful than even her mother was when she was alive; that thought was scary. Even more so after what Tensa had just told her; if her mother was given the name Bloodriver because she caused a river of blood to flow from a battlefield for three days and still had trouble fighting against a hollow then how much damage could a group of hollows cause?

"It seems that time has gotten away from us;" Zangetsu said as he finished his tea "is there anything else that you wish to know right away?"

"When Ichigo lost control to his hollow," she said "its form was different than the ones that have been attacking the campus; it looked like it could pass as human in shape. Is his hollow a Vasto Lorde class?"

"Yes; however both he and Ichigo are still greatly weakened because of my final attack. It would have left Ichigo in a completely human state had his hollow not poured more of his reiatsu into the attack. Your father is lucky Ichigo's hollow stopped when he did, even in a weakened state, he would have been blown away by that cero."

Moka subconsciously gulped; a Vasto Lorde that was in a weakened state had manhandled her father, one of the oldest and most powerful vampires alive, with ease. The thought of what that same hollow could do when at full power forced her to redirect her thoughts elsewhere. She knew that Tsukune wasn't amongst the hollows that had been attacking the school; he wasn't even a hollow at all, but the ghoul she had created in him was still there. Based off of what she just learned, a ghoul was essentially the living equivalent of a hollow; the primal need to feast on flesh always constant in one's mind. She knew that Tsukune was among the shinigami, but how long could Tsukune fight off that inner evil that is Ghoul?

"Is it possible that someone who was a ghoul while alive to pass over without possibly becoming a hollow?"

"I have never bothered to look into it;" as he looked into her red eyes "I do not believe anyone has even thought to do such since creating a ghoul is a taboo in every Yokai culture."

The young vampire looked down in shame. Even when she knew what could've happened to Tsukune she preformed the ultimate taboo by giving him her blood. That blood had been slowly killing him since the first injection; it also gave birth to an evil that she never should've forced on him. That kind of power flowing through a human body was not something that many could adapt to even if it was in small doses since birth. She is the daughter of a Shinso vampire who knew almost no equal, and had that blood flowing through her own veins since before she was born; of course her body could handle it.

Tsukune though, a fragile human that was already approaching his prime physical abilities, just the thought of putting that power in him was a laughable idea to a vampire. Looking back at it now, she knew that no matter how she felt about him she shouldn't have put that curse on him. She should have let him just pass on as a human and lived in guilt for the rest of her long, immortal life instead of turning him into a ghoul.

"We should retire for the night;" Tensa said as he stood up "would you like an escort back to your dormitory?"

"No thank you. I…" as she took a deep breath "I want to be alone for a while."

The half breed gave a bow and dematerialized back to Ichigo's inner world.

-End Flashback-

The young Shinso buried her head in her pillow in shame. She had thought learning about hollows and the 'Soul Society', as Tensa called it, would put her mind at ease from what she had done to Tsukune but it only made her feel worse. The once human had pretty much been a hollow since she first injected him with her blood; all because she didn't want to be alone again.

"I'm such a selfish bitch;" she groaned into the pillow.

-Tsukune and Soifon; Visored hideout-

Tsukune opened his eyes and felt a slight weight on his side. His eyes widened as he remembered what had happened before he went to sleep; he had sex with Soifon. The teen knew that it had been completely consensual and there should be no reason to have any fear, but a small part of him was worried about what might happen. He knew she had a temper that tended to be short with some people; Grimmjow, her former fuku-taichou, and even himself on rare occasions.

The weight shifted more to his chest. When he looked at the small taichou he could see she had a little bit of sleep in her eyes but looked well rested. Her usual hardened gray eyes had a softer look to them now and she was sporting a smile as she twisted her body and straddled him before giving him a kiss. He could feel the salt crystals that had formed on her skin as he placed his hands on her shoulders. The petite taichou pulled away from him with a worried look.

"You regret it;" she asked as she looked away from him "don't you?"

"What?"

"You regret having sex with me."

"No;" without hesitation "why would you think that?"

"You didn't kiss back" as she sat up.

"The only think I regret about last night is not telling you how beautiful you are before it happened;" as he sat up and wrapped his arms around her.

"But I'm not;" as she turned her head further away from him.

A vein pulsed on Tsukune's forehead; he hooked one arm under her butt and pulled her snuggly close with the other. An 'eep' escaped from the woman as he got up and walked her into the bathroom. Soifon attempted to protest but Tsukune ignored her as he let go of her bottom and turned on the light, which nearly blinded the both of them. Before Soifon managed to recover from the near blinding, he turned her around to face the mirror and placed his hands gently on her shoulders to keep her in place.

"What do you see?" he asked softly.

After the last blinks to allow her eyes to adjust to the light, she could see clearly see in the mirror. Her hair was a complete mess, her hips were slightly bruised from Tsukune grabbing her, a nipple was starting to show the signs that it might be bruised as well, there was a bite mark on her collar bone thanks to Tsukune, the inside of her thighs were still red, and a bit of Tsukune's fluids had dried to the upper part of her thigh as well.

"I look like a slut" she said bluntly.

"No you don't;" in a firm voice "you look nothing like a slut."

She saw his one arm move to wrap around her waist, effectively covering the bruising and dried fluids, while the other wrapped around her breast covering her cherry sized nipples. While her hair was still a bit of a mess, without the visual of the bruising and dried fluids she didn't look like a slut; she looked like a normal person that had just woken up from sleeping. Tsukune rested his chin on her head as she let the imagine sink in.

"Do you see it yet?" Tsukune asked as he gently pulled her closer "you're real beauty?"

"I'm not beautiful;" as she leaned against his body "I've never even known how to attempt to look beautiful."

Tsukune let go of her torso and used his fingers to straighten her hair out.

"You've never felt a need to;" while wrapping his arm back in place "you don't need to keep wearing the cold mask. While you might be a member of the Onmitsukido and a shinigami taichou, you're a woman too. I want you to remember that;" as he tightly hugged her "at least try to see what I see."

Soifon blushed wildly at what she had just heard. She didn't realize that she had opened up so much to Tsukune in the short time she's known him. He was right though; she had never really had a need to get 'dolled-up' for anything and with the lifestyle that the Onmitsukido lived there was no true need to focus on physical beauty. Even when Yoruichi had tried to get her in-touch with her feminine side, she didn't really try because of her lifestyle.

"There it is;" she heard Tsukune say, snapping her out of her thoughts "no mask. Just you" with a smile as he kissed her neck.

Soifon's sight turned to the mirror and she caught a glimpse of what Tsukune saw before subconsciously putting the 'mask' back on. It was something she needed to work on, for Tsukune, but it was most likely going to be well worth it. She used her hand to turn Tsukune's face towards her and without a word, captured his lips with watery eyes; a smile grew in the kiss as Tsukune hungrily kissed her back. Soifon didn't let the kiss last long and decided to break away.

"We need to clean up;" her cheeks still revealing a blush "the less time we spend away from Yokai Academy the better."

Tsukune nodded before looking at the shower.

"Do you want to shower first?"

"No thanks," as she started to unwrap her braids "I need a little time to undo my braids."

"We should probably decide where we're going to go from here;" as he stepped into the shower.

Soifon looked at her reflection and knew he was right; the only problem was that she didn't think she would be capable of having an actual relationship. Then again she's never bothered to attempt having one. This whole thing was new to her and she was clueless on how to handle the situation. While she could ask Yoruichi for advice, her former mentor had made a point about her needing to become independent from the heiress; using how strong Soifon had become in her hundred year absence as an example every time they had that talk. Tsukune stepped out of the shower just as she finished undoing her braids.

"I'll see you at breakfast;" he said as he walked out of the bathroom.

-Fifteen minutes later-

Soifon walked in and saw each visored was jaw dropped at the sight in front of them; Tsukune had devoured nearly a week's worth of food for a single person in one sitting. Given it wasn't specially fortified food like in the Seireitei, but still a week's worth of food in only a little more than ten minutes.

"Where did he put it all?" Kensei asked.

"Considering how much reiatsu he used yesterday" Hacchi said as he placed another plate in front of the boy "I'm not too surprised."

"Thanks Hacchi-san" Tsukune said as he scratched his head "I haven't eaten much in the past couple days."

"Ya should be sayin' sorry;" Hiyori snorted "that's a shit-load of food ya just ate."

"You have no room to talk Hiyori-san;" Kisuke yawned as he entered the room "You try to steal candy from my shop after a training session. Pardon me Soifon" as he carefully moved around her.

Before the shop owner knew what hit him, he was on the ground in a chokehold by Hiyori.

"I just cleaned my sheets yesterday" she growled "and you and bazooka tits decide to use my room ta fuck? Not only that, I had to sleep on the piece a shit couch" as she started giving the former taichou kidney shots.

"This is amusing" the bus driver said as he let out a stream of smoke.

Everyone jumped at the sight of the bus driver; everyone but Hiyori, Hacchi, Tsukune, Kisuke, and Soifon had their blades drawn and pointed at the man. Said man showed no signs of being bothered by the situation either; he merely looked at Tsukune.

"So are you ready to head back?"

"So creepy" Mashiro said as everyone lowered their weapons and stepped away from the man.

"Young missy," as he took a puff of his cigar "until you meet the Head Master of Yokai Academy; you have no idea what creepy is. I've seen and been in enough bad situations to not be shaken at the thought of having blades from a group of fuku-taichou and taichou level former shinigami."

"Yes sir;" Tsukune replied as he swallowed the last of his food.

"Tsuki, what about yer other zanpakuto?" Yachiru asked as she hopped onto his shoulder.

"'Other zanpakuto'?" with a confused look.

"The scythe that was on the dresser;" Shinji said "did you think that was for decoration?"

Tsukune scratched the back of his head as he looked away from the group; he honestly had thought it was a decorative piece. Several of the visoreds face palmed when they realized that he did. They spent the better part of an hour trying to figure out how to move the damn thing without getting hurt and he thought it was there because it looked cool; Hiyori thought he was a complete idiot.

"Yes, it's yours;" Kensei said "damn thing seems to be picky about who holds it."

"I'll go get it so we can head back to Yokai Academy;" as he stood up and left the room.

Moments later, the teen returned with the scythe in hand; the bone-like material didn't attempt to spike him like it had everyone else. It was his zanpakuto though so it made sense that it wouldn't try to hurt him.

"Did it come with a holster or something?" with a confused look receiving a negative head shake from everyone.

He tapped it on his empty shoulder with a sigh and let out a startled yell as the bone-like staff wrapped around his torso from waist to shoulder and the blade folded against the stinger-like end. After a couple blinks he rolled his shoulder, twisted his torso, and discovered his mobility hadn't become limited as a result of the weapon.

"I guess we should get going;" as he made his way to the exit but stopped and turned around "thank you for your help" with a bow.

"If ya want extra training just come on back or send a message and one of us will be out there" Shinji said with a smile and wave.

Tsukune nodded as he left the building with Soifon, Yachiru, Urahara, and Yoruichi in her cat form. As they loaded the bus, Tsukune sat next to a window and Yachiru immediately claimed his lap, Urahara and Yoruichi went to the back, and Soifon sat in the seat across from him. He closed his eyes feeling a little sad that Soifon didn't sit next to him, but he had said that they needed to decide where they would go from here and maybe a little space was needed. When he opened his eyes he saw Yokai Academy, and Akasha standing in the middle of the court yard; he walked over to her not sure of how things were going to go.

"I'm sorry;" he said flat out "I didn't have faith in you and… I almost lost myself because of it. Please" with a deep bow "forgive me."

He was suddenly pulled into a hug.

"I do;" in her usual soft, motherly voice "but you must believe in yourself and me. A shinigami's strength isn't truly just their own; it is a reflection of the bond between a shinigami and their zanpakuto. If they have no faith in their zanpakuto, then they are weak; if they only believe in their own power, the zanpakuto spirit is hurt. Please remember this."

"I will" as he hugged her back.

"I know there are things you wish to ask me" as she broke from the hug "things you wish to know and understand."

Tsukune wiped the tears that had started forming from his eyes and became serious. In his inner world time moved differently, he knew that, so he had all the time they needed to talk.

-Ruby; Yokai Academy-

The young witch started to panic as she looked through the storage room trying to find the item that had disappeared. This item had nearly destroyed the campus in the previous year and was now missing. It had been in its usual place just two days ago when she last did inventory of all the items the Head Master had in his possession; so it hadn't been gone long. The room required an access number to enter; each one was unique to each person that had one. She checked the logs and saw that since two days ago only four others had entered the room; the Head Master, two others that also do inventory/custodial work, and the head of the Safety Committee. Her eyes were glued to the monitor as she watched the security footage during each person's visit.

"Oh no;" as her eyes shook "I need to warn the Head Master."

After making sure everything was turned off and secured, she did an all out sprint to the Head Master's office.

…Shinigami Cup: Golden…

Hiyori let out a loud yawn as she scratched her side; she was already bored out of her mind and was wishing she had gone back to Yokai Academy. The vampire that looked like her was fun to hang out with and was a decent sparring partner considering the versatility of the Bake-bake bat. While she knew the vampire would lose every time, it would've been something to do instead of waiting around to go do a few laps around town. She was confused about why her look alike had been obsessed with chasing that weak shinigami around; the vampire was still young and probably had a crush on him without realizing it.

"Bored already?" Mashiro asked in a child like manner.

"No shit."

"You could've gone with Tsukune;" Shinji said as he put his feet on the table as he decided to mess with her "it would've given you a chance to see your lesbian lover."

"I AIN'T A LESBIAN!" she shouted as she smacked him with a flip-flop.

Everyone in the room just ignored her comments as she continued to beat the shit out of the former taichou that tried to start a round of acquisitions towards the violent blonde. There for a time some of them had wondered if the girl swayed that way, but after Lisa had girl talk with her they had their answer.

"I'm just sayin', I never see you out ogling at guys like Lisa and even Mashiro;" Shinji said "I seriously think you need to get laid. It could help you calm the hell down; virgin."

A tick mark could be seen on Hiyori's forehead from space before she started wailing on Shinji for his comment. She's told him time and again that she wasn't gonna let just anyone have it; she was saving that for after she was married. The rest of the visoreds ignored the former taichou's cries for help as Hiyori bent his leg unnaturally and started cutting his hair with scissors.

"Seriously though;" Lisa asked without looking up from her manga "why not go see that vampire you seemed to have made friends with?"

Hiyori temporarily stopped punching Shinji and looked at her fellow former fuku-taichou.

"I thought there'd be more ta do here."

"She's denying her true lesbian self;" Shinji moaned from the ground; earning him a stomping on the nuts.

"I AIN'T A LESBIAN FER THE LAST TIME!" as she continued to stomp on him "I think Bean might have it for a member of the Fourth though."

"A wise choice;" Lisa said bluntly "they know where to touch for the best orgasms."

"ALL OF YA ARE FRICKIN PREVERTS!" Hiyori shouted as she stormed out of the room.