So I made a big oopsie, I accidentally uploaded chapter 4 early and had to take it down. As a way of saying I'm sorry, I'll be uploading this chapter, with it being complete and all, back to back with chapter 4. I hope you all enjoy it and I'll be responding to chapter 4 and 5 comments in chapter 6. Once again I hope you all enjoy this chapter as well as the last.

Ichigo Kurosaki

Staring at the ceiling of his room, Ichigo's mind was plagued by the words of both his zanpakuto spirit and Tomohiro. Only a few days ago he had a path, a clear goal but now everything was muddled. Turning onto his side and staring at his zanpakuto that was propped against a wall, he let his mind wander.

'So she sent her dog to do her dirty work…' Ichigo played the memory back. He wasn't anybody's dog, she was helping him get his memories back, wasn't she? The more he thought about it the more his head hurt. Why didn't anything make sense?

'Why not do nothing?' He couldn't just sit back and watch this happen. He felt compelled to resolve this conflict between Tomohiro and his mentor. No, mentor wasn't the word he wanted to use.

Frowning Ichigo flipped onto his back as he sprawled out. He had so many questions and not enough answers. Resolving to confront Tomohiro about his words tomorrow, Ichigo let the mental stress of the day take him as he slowly slipped into unconsciousness.

Waking up the next day and getting ready, Ichigo stepped outside. The clear sky and the calling of birds harrolding a day that would hopefully get him some answers. He just had to find Tomohiro. With that thought, he stepped off and vanished in shunpo and sped towards the last place that he remembered seeing the blunette, the clearing.

"You're confronting him again?" The sudden appearance of Kyoka's voice made Ichigo lose step for a split second before recovering his footing. He took a second to slightly change his course before responding.

"I need answers." Her frown caused him to sigh internally.

"Considering his words?"

"No, just curious as to how he got to his conclusions." He felt a weight settle on his back as he continued onward through the forest, dodging branches and loose foliage.

"The answers you'll get won't be the ones you want to hear." He pretended to ignore her last comment. He refused to believe her if she meant what he thought she meant. He wasn't ready to give up on his beliefs just yet.

Arriving at the field where he had almost died at the hand of Tomohiro, Ichigo slowly walked around, testing the surrounding area for any sign of the vengeful blunette. Figuring that the only way to find the guy was to lure him out, he released a massive amount of spiritual pressure while trying to contain it to the field that he was standing in.

Kyoka had long since left his back but he could still feel the weight of her words on his soul as he searched the area, now rich with his reiatsu, for the soul that had been at the forefront of his thoughts the previous night.

"I heard you were looking for me." Stepping from behind one of the many boulders was Tomohiro. Looking rather sure of himself as he jumped to sit on the boulder that he was concealing himself behind. Ichigo let his hand idly grip the hilt of his zanpakuto as he stared unimpressed up at his target.

He could see Tomohiro casually watching his every move, noticing that while he was relaxed, he was still dangerous.

"I'm here for answers." Tomohiro slowly exhaled as Ichigo held his gaze for a few seconds.

"She's using you."

"We went over this." It was now Ichigo's turn to use the phrase. "I want to know why you think that." It wasn't a question in the slightest.

Turning his head to the sky, Tomohiro ran a hand through his unkempt hair.

"Personal experience kid." Bristling at the comment, Ichigo nodded for him to continue. "When she killed my wife, she also killed the rest of my village, she didn't kill me. Why? I'd like to say that she forgot about me." He gave a half-hearted chuckle at the thought. "If I would be so lucky. She had me within an inch of my life. For a second I thought I was going to die and then she smiled. That fucking smile."

Ichigo knew exactly what he was talking about. He had seen that smile, almost a reflection of his words had happened when he fought her the first time, a year ago, when he activated his shikai for the first time. She had almost left him to bleed out.

"She watched me try to rise to my feet and then she spoke. Her words like ice running down my spine; 'You have potential…'" Pausing for a moment before he continued. "She said that she wanted me to grow stronger and to use this to do it. She killed my wife, burned down my home and slaughtered my village. All for some sick game so she could kill me later and have a better fight. That's all she cares about. That's all she ever cared about." He paused once more for a moment in thought.

Ichigo looked down at the ground and thought back to their first fight once more. So many parallels. It had to be a coincidence though right? She told him that she was helping him get his memory back and she wouldn't lie to him, would she? Would she? It all seemed to make so much sense, Tomohiro's words. He couldn't believe it though. He wouldn't.

"What's your name kid?" Bristling at the comment again Ichigo shifted his gaze to Tomohiro.

"It's Ichigo."

"No last name?" Tomohiro tilted his head, arching an eyebrow. Ichigo shook his head in response.

"Can't remember." Eyes softening, the blunette frowned.

"I'm sorry." Why was someone that almost killed him apologizing? It wasn't his fault. Voicing his thoughts to Tomohiro, the man in question simply gave a weak smile.

"Then you barely know do you? You couldn't know." Before Ichigo could voice his question, the blunette continued. "She could be the very reason for your memory loss. My village wasn't the first, nor last, attacked by her." He never really thought about it like that. The silence of his zanpakuto on top of the man's words unnerved him.

'He's wrong right? Right?' Eerie silence being his only response. Ichigo was beginning to panic before a wave of calm washed over him. Coming to his senses quickly he looked to Tomohiro, only to find a sympathetic smile waiting for him. He had to talk to Unohana. He had to get her to tell him that it was all lies. That Tomohiro was wrong. She had to, she had to.

"I'm going to talk to her about this." With a wave, Tomohiro averted his gaze.

"Go for it. Let her tell you herself. Just know that you're not going to like what you find." Ichigo didn't care. He needed answers. More than ever now. He needed to prove Tomohiro wrong.

Without another word, Ichigo vanished into shunpo.

It was a lot harder than he thought.

It had been over two hours since his return. Since then, Ichigo and Unohana have been 'training'. They stood in a muddy field, the dirt just starting to dry after the rain from the day before. Every now and then, the two would trade a generic combination of strike, dodge, strike, parry with Ichigo putting just enough effort in to not get hurt. At the moment, they were in a lull.

"Something's bothering you." He knew that he wasn't going to be able to wait all day but he needed more time. It didn't feel right asking something like that when she still had a blade in her hand.

"Why would you say that?" barely dodging a swipe at his head with her sealed zanpakuto, Ichigo stared accusingly at the offending blade.

"You're not a good liar Ichigo." If only that wasn't ironic.

"It's nothing serious. Nothing you should have to worry about, not till later at least." Watching the twitch at the corner of her lips as they turn downward into a frown visibly pained Ichigo.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He really wasn't wanting to deal with this right now. Sheathing Kyoka, he turned around.

"I'm done for today, I'll be back before nightfall." Without a second word he vanished leaving a very confused Unohana in his wake.

"What was that all about?" Without anyone around to answer her question, she moved back inside, thinking of all the things that could be bothering her student.

Struggling to control his breathing, Ichigo leaned against a tree. Sliding down the course, uneven bark, he shifted into a seated position.

"How the fuck did I get here?" He questioned the trees around him. Feeling a comforting weight to his side he acknowledged Kyoka's presence by leaning his head against hers.

"You did this to yourself." Silently nodding he took a moment to collect his thoughts before speaking.

"I know, but why does this have to be so hard?! I just have to…"

"You're afraid of her response." Kyoka interrupted. He groaned in reluctance.

"Yeah. Kyoka, what if she validates that asshole? What then?" He could feel her head turn to look up at him, he hesitated to reciprocate the action.

"What does it matter?"

"'What does it matter' she says. Why wouldn't it matter? If he's right then she's been lying to me for a year now?! What am I supposed to do with that?" He could feel his face heating up as panic set in. What was he supposed to do? What could he do?

"Nothing." Now he looked down incredulously.

"What do you mean; 'nothing'? What am I supposed to do? Just pretend like it never happened? 'Oh don't worry, I forgive you for lying to me about your reason for giving a damn!' Give me a break." Kyoka shifted her weight and maneuvered herself to face her wielder fully.

"All I offer is advice. It's your choice, whether you take it or not. Just something to think about." With that she slowly vanished into spiritual particles, leaving one very confused Ichigo as he violently sighed into the darkening forest.

Yachiru Unohana

Unohana leaned over the wooden railing that separated her and the field that her student and her conducted training. Quietly absorbing the feeling of the cool evening breeze wash over her. Rain was coming, it wouldn't be long, she thought, as clouds of charcoal gray rolled and roiled in the skies above.

Ichigo had yet to return but something inside of her told her that he would be back.

Pushing the feelings of concern, that she was still learning to understand, to the back of her mind as she felt for her students reiatsu. He was being bothered by something, she felt it could be a number of things ranging from her past with Tomohiro to the impending conflict that tomorrow would bring to them.

No matter what was bothering her student, Unohana had already made up her mind. She was going to tell Ichigo why she had trained him, she would tell him everything once he had achieved his shikai once more.

She had to. She was tired of lying to him.

As night fell upon the forest, Unohana found herself unable to sleep. Ichigo had not returned in several hours and was debating going out to find him. A short burst of reiatsu halted that train of thought.

Moving to the sliding door, separating her from her charge. Hand pausing at the handle and stealing her resolve she opened the door and moved to where she could feel Ichigo's turbulent reiatsu.

Rain had started to fall as she stepped outside and joined Ichigo at the railing that she had been standing at, just the night before. As a tense silence settled between the two, Unohana frowned.

It was raining and cold outside. What could he be doing just standing out here? She thought about going back in to bring Ichigo a dry yukata and she was about to turn when she was pulled from her thoughts.

"Why are you training me?" She could practically feel the uncertainty in his voice. A shiver ran up her spine as a sinking feeling settled in her stomach, suddenly the rain and howling wind seemed a fitting environment for the conversation. At least if it was leading where she thought it was.

"I told you before. I'm training you so that you can get your memories back, it worked before, why not now?" It was a half truth but something about his tone of voice told Unohana that Ichigo was filled with enough doubts. He didn't need to hear her original reason.

Letting his head fall, Ichigo shook it as hurt entered his features.

"If that was the case then you would've adapted your training to what worked. After a year of nothing, some point in that time you should've changed something. It wasn't working so that reason doesn't make sense." A weary sigh escaped his throat.

"I'm going to ask again. Why are you training me?" Her response caught in her throat as she tried to think of a way to deflect the subject. If only he would give her more time, there was never enough time!

"Listen, Ichigo…" He swiftly cut her off with a sharp increase of his spiritual pressure. She could feel his anger as it wafted off of him like some kind of twisted aura. Green reiatsu coalesced around his body as he turned to fully face Unohana. His eyes. His dichromatic eyes were now fully gold with onyx black sclera.

"No, you listen, Yachiru." He never used her first name. "I have had enough of the lies, enough of the hiding things. I'm done. Now either tell me the truth or I'll make you tell me." His spiritual energy fluctuated wildly as Unohana started to feel something creep into the back of her mind. Fear. Raw fear.

Now starting to get a little irked herself, she started to raise her spiritual pressure to match Ichigo's.

"Don't assume to have any control here, boy! You want to know the truth?! Then fine, have it." A massive wave of reiatsu was focused on the much younger soul as she let her own frustrations boil over. "I trained you to make you strong, when I felt your power for the first time, I felt fear for the first time! I wanted, no, craved that feeling once more. So I trained you, so that I could fight you and feel my skin crawl with the fear that I haven't been able to forget for a YEAR! You wanted the truth! Now you have the truth, you audacious child."

Taking a slow deep breath she took notice of Ichigo, who had backed into the wall of their home, his own breathing as heavy as hers after her adrenaline rush. Shifting her gaze to his eyes, Unohana sobered up fast. Pain, it wasn't the fear that she expected, reflected in his eyes. No, they only showed a sad, pain filled realization that his greatest fears were realized. Quickly realizing her mistake, she took a step forward.

"Ichigo, I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me…I…" Shaking his head and averting his gaze, Ichigo attempted to slow his raging heart.

"So that's all I am to you?" Unohana felt something that she couldn't fully process as the words circulated through her mind.

"That's not what I meant. You have to understand…"

"Understand what?" He cut her off again! If only he would let her talk! "That for over a year, you've been feeding me this lie that you're trying to help me?! That the one person I could trust was just using me for her own sick pleasure? No, Unohana, you don't understand! You don't understand that I…I…trusted you."

She could see it, the dam holding back all of his emotion was cracking, reflected in the wild thrashing of his reiatsu. Like an angry animal fighting its captives, it lashed out and small chunks of the ground evaporated into spiritual particles.

She reached out to him, no longer caring for appearances, she needed him to understand that it was different now. That she was different. He was not having it though as he pushed her away.

"Get away from me." She knew it would hurt but she didn't expect his comment to sting like a backhand from a shikai Yamamoto.

"Ichigo…" His reiatsu flared once more as their home slowly was torn apart by the winds kicked up by the release of her students' spiritual pressure. Chunks of their home circling overhead.

"No, you don't get to call me that any more. Stay away from me." His cold eyes pierced hers as he vanished in a sonic boom, an emptiness slowly forming in her heart. The sound of thunder filled the skies as the heavens wept.

Unohana stood in the wreckage of her home. Ichigo was gone and she was now alone. For the first time since meeting Ichigo, she felt truly alone.

Thank you all for reading this chapter and I will have chapter 6 uploaded next Saturday. Hope you all can forgive the false upload. Please leave a review with your thoughts and I'll see you all next week. :)