Time passed and as they continued their training, the five friends grew stronger and stronger.
During their 3rd year, Hiroshi passed away from his old age which saddened Jūshirō but his friends were there for him.
They were now 3 months into their 4th year at the academy and Jūshirō had started to hear muffled voices every now and then, especially in his dreams.
He had asked the others if that had happened to them and everyone said no.
"Maybe it's your Zanpakutō, said Masaru"
"Sensei did say that they will try and communicate with us once we've imprinted enough spirit energy onto them, said Yamato"
"Yeah, I remember that, said Koji"
"Maybe you should talk with Sensei after class this afternoon, said Shunsui"
"Good idea Shunsui, said Yamato"
Not long after the others learned the truth about Jūshirō's health, they too had requested to be called by their first names so no one in their group was called by last name anymore.
Later.
After their Zanjutsu class was over, Jūshirō stayed in the dojo and once everyone had left, he walked up to his teacher.
"Sensei, may I talk to you for a moment?"
"Of course Jūshirō.
-What's on your mind?"
"I've been hearing voices in my dreams and sometimes when I meditate. But they're muffled so I can't hear them that well"
Yamamoto looked at his student, stroking his mustache.
"Sounds to me like your Zanpakutō is ready to show itself to you"
"Is there anything I can do?"
"When you hear the voice, try to focus and you will eventually hear it more clearly.
-That's what I did with my Ryūjin Jakka when he tried to speak to me"
"I understand.
-Thank you sensei"
He followed his teacher's advice and tried focusing on the voices that night when he heard them in his dreams.
"Can you hear us?"
"Yes. I hear you"
"Yay! He can hear us"
Suddenly, Jūshirō found himself in what looked like a garden with a big pond.
"Play with us"
"Yeah let's play"
Jūshirō looked around to see where the voices came from but he couldn't see anyone.
"Okay I'll play with you but could you please show yourselves first"
"Okay"
There was a splash in the water and two young boys were suddenly standing in front of him.
"So what do you want to do?"
"How about tag, said one of them"
"Okay. But go easy on me since I can't overexert myself"
"Okay, said both"
So Jūshirō started to run around after the two until he had to sit down and catch his breath.
"You okay, one of the boys asked"
"Yes. Don't worry about me"
After a while, he stood up and looked at the two.
"I should go back now but I will be back one I figure out how to get here"
"You promise?"
"Yes. I always keep my word.
-My name is Jūshirō by the way. What's yours?"
"I'm Sōgyo, said one"
"And I'm Kotowari, said the other"
"Together we are Sōgyo No Kotowari"
"Sōgyo No Kotowari"
As he said the name, the boys smiled and took each others hands before disappearing.
A sword then appeared in Jūshirō's hand. A Katana with a red hilt and bronze guard.
He smiled and suddenly, everything around him turned black.
When he opened his eyes, he was back in his room and juding by how Shunsui was still asleep and that the light from outside seemed to be that of early morning, he hadn't been with the two for as long as he had expected.
Seeing no use in going back to sleep, he got up and changed to his uniform.
As he sat back down on his bed, he noticed that rather than the Asauchi leaning against the wall, it was the sword he got after meeting the boys.
It was his true Zanpakutō.
He couldn't help but smile when he thought of the reactions the others might have when he show it to them later.
Since there was still 2 hours before class started, he grabbed the book he had been reading the previous day and continued were he left off.
An hour later, he put it down.
"Let's see how many tries it takes today"
He got up and walked over to Shunsui's bed.
"Time to wake up Shunsui, class starts in an hour"
It looked like Shunsui was going to listen for once but in the end, he kept sleeping.
"Even after 4 years he's hard to wake up.
-Guess I have no choice but to do the usual to get him up"
Jūshirō filled a glass with a very small amount of water that he dripped onto Shunsui.
"That you keep falling for the same trick after 4 years"
"Guess I never learn.
-I don't get it how you are up so early every day"
"Try living with seven younger siblings who had a habit of waking you early and you'll know why"
A slight smirk appeared on Jūshirō's face at the look Shunsui gave him.
Later.
The group had just finished lunch and gotten their sword from their room before sitting down in the garden since it was time before class.
It was then the observant Masaru noticed Jūshirō's sword.
"Jūshirō has something happened to your Asauchi?"
"Yes. Last night I followed some advice sensei gave me and I finally heard the voices in my head clearly"
"So we were right about it being a Zanpakutō, said Yamato"
"Yes. I found myself in this garden and two boys appeared before me. After I had played tag for a while with them, they revealed their name and when I woke up, I found my Asauchi in this form"
"Man, I'm jealous at you Jūshirō, said Koji.
-I wanna meet my Zanpakutō too"
"You will in time Koji, said Yamato"
"Jūshirō was just lucky being the first one of us to fully hear his spirit, said Shunsui
-I've actually heard mumbling myself last night so maybe I'll be next"
"We'll see about that, said Koji"
They then made their way to Zanjutsu and as they split up into pairs to begin their training for the day, Yamamoto also noticed Jūshirō's changed sword.
"I see your meeting with your Zanpakutō went well Jūshirō"
"Yes sensei.
-I did as you told me and focused on the voices. It helped and when I could her them clearly, they showed themselves to me and told me their name"
"There were two of them?"
"Yes Sōgyo and Kotowari.
-When I said their names, they changed into this sword and when I woke up this morning, my Asauchi had changed into it"
Yamamoto nodded understanding.
"Well done"
"Thank you sensei"
"Everyone, I hope you'll work as hard as Ukitake so you all can get your true Zanpakutō"
"Yes sir"
They then began their training for the day and Yamamoto couldn't help but notice that all students seemed to be more focused after his words.
"Seems like young Jūshirō is becoming, no... HAS become someone the other students looks up too"
While he didn't seem like it, Yamamoto was a very observant man and had noticed a couple of things regarding the white-haired student and the Kyōraku heir.
They were not like the other students in their class.
Jūshirō may have a weak constitution due to his health but he worked just as hard as the others who turned to him for advice or help about certain classes.
Shunsui had a wild behavior especially with how he chased the female students but there was no doubt that he was inteligent and his sharp mind had no equal except for Masaru.
As he watched over the students training, his eyes went to the two friends who didn't hold back against each other. The two easily blocking and doding each others strikes
"I have a feeling those two will become something great one day"