Byakuya San had again come to her rescue, forcing his spiritual pressure on her till the flames died off her hands. Rukia, who was still healing from her loss of powers, had almost collapsed from the density of the two reiatsus combined. R apologized to her when the situation had calmed. Having never been introduced, the two had their first conversation, while Byakuya san reluctantly left to speak with his squad about the hollow attack.

"So you mean to say that you stepped through a mirror into Seiretei, and in your world, we are nothing but manga?" Rukia asked her with her typical frown.

"Yes. I cannot explain it either, so—"

"So you cannot tell the future, but you can tell us how the story gets played out in your world, right, R?"

R looked at her in gratitude. To think they were going to execute one of their wisest and calmest. Rukia had immediately grasped what R wanted to tell the Gotei 13. She could not tell the future, just what was already written.

"Exactly, Rukia. And I kept arguing back with the Gotei 13 on this, because I cannot upset the flow of things. If I tell them what happens in the story, and they react, what if the story gets changed? What if Aizen does…. What if the outcome becomes much worse?"

"What did Aizen do?" Rukia asked her in a smaller voice. She must still be slightly shaken by the whole event.

"Rest assured, he is going to keep his promise. But, you know how Aizen prides himself on being a crazy genius right? So he likes to beat around bushes from miles away, before getting back on target. We can thank his wearisome approach as we prepare ourselves swifter."

Rukia smiled. "And what will you do about your own growing reiatsu?"

It was R's turn to frown. "I don't know, Rukia. I have never felt this before. I didn't even know I had such powers. I could only sense energies and see spirits in the real world. I once had lightning strike on my head, but quite miraculously, I survived. That accident brought with it extra sight and sensitivity."

"If so, you must already have a little bit of power in you. It is possible that your reiatsu is growing at an accelerated rate in Soul Society because you have to constantly keep up with the strong reiatsu of the captains. Particularly nii-sama, who has a well of power," Rukia trailed off, half in thought.

"Yes. And I feel slightly weird. I feel as if whatever 'powers' I may have, which were dormant in my world, are aggressive in Soul Society. Because this is how reiatsu works in this world, my abilities may have adapted to this style," R confessed.

"I'm afraid you're almost 100% right, R san, Kuchiki san."

Jumping at the sudden intrusion, Both Rukia and R looked at the door to see Urahara san tipping his hat, and Byakuya san behind him.

"Urahara! Nii-sama!" Rukia called out by way of acknowledgement.

"I caught him lurking outside like the shady person that he is." Byakuya, with his nose up in the air, announced.

"That was mean! I was lurking, but I'm not shady—"

"And? Would you like a cookie for catching him, Byakuya san?" R teased, eliciting that red colour from Byakuya's cheeks.

"If you insist on being rude, I can toss you out this very moment," Byakuya threatened.

"I would love to see you try," R snapped right back, eyes gleaming with half amusement and half annoyance.

"Challenge accep—"

Rukia slapped her own forehead. "Why does everyone need to be constantly reminded to stay on point?" She sighed. "Nii sama, Urahara, please tell us what is going on. Let's start with how the Gotei 13 is going to deal when they find out that R managed to kill a hollow with powers she claimed she never had. Have they gotten wind of this?"

Byakuya let out a sigh of his own. "Urahara and Yoruichi have been keeping the Sou-taichou aware of R's development. As such, there will be no sudden confrontations with the Gotei 13. They've entrusted her entrapment, or so to speak, with me." R opened her mouth to comment, but he continued. "However, there is still the matter of hollows attacking within Seiretei, which is where Urahara comes in."

Urahara lowered his head. "It seems to be that this second hollow was not attacking a reiatsu dense area by accident," Urahara revealed. "It came through orders, a garganta opened specifically for landing in Squad 6 grounds." He paused. "R san. It would seem that Aizen is aware of your existence."

Ichigo lay wide awake on his bed, while Kon rambled on about some wet dream he'd had. Ichigo did not pay him mind: he himself had been dreaming, of a strange voice weaving in and out of his consciousness, telling him that it was ready to take over, because he was such a weakling. In a deep part of himself that he denied, he knew that this voice was the hollow that had come bursting out of him, when Byakuya had almost killed him.

The night before, he had been lured out by heavy reiatsu in the vicinity, where he'd been promptly confronted by Hirako Shinji. Who, frighteningly, had a mask of his own that he was able to put on and remove without hindrance. Shinji had told Ichigo that he no longer belonged to the Shinigamis: a visored he was, like them, and that he had to accept the hollow in him.

Unfortunately, there was only one thing that Ichigo felt he could agree with Byakuya about: his pride in being a Shinigami. And he would not let that pride be sullied by a hollow he was housing. Although his talk with Shinji had been interrupted, it did not seem like Shinji cared to give Ichigo any more information, than to threaten and intimidate him into joining their group. Ichigo hated this about spiritual beings in common. Starting with Urahara and Yoruichi, no one seemed to care to give him information that would help him out of his dilemma. They withheld things till the last minute. If Rukia had done that, he might have never become a Shinigami. But she had taken the time to explain things to him, so that whatever he did as a Shinigami had meaning. She had given him the power to cut that wretched hollow that killed his mum. If only you were here, Rukia, he thought. He could still protect people, mountains of people, but without the knowledge of who he was, he was just a lost man, hiding behind duty. Without her who made his rain stop, he would never find meaning in this fight.