Disclaim: belongs to Tito Kubo

chapter 2

Ruy woke up by the sound of sword fight out side his window. Leaning over to see clearer, he needed to brush the sleep out of his eyes many times before realizing it was indeed his mother that was currently fighting with her uncle. And not with random bokkens, no they used real sword, very like the one he got yesterday.

Eyes wide, he hurried outside the fastest he could. When he came down into the kitchen, food was already there but no one else. Wait, what time was it? Watching the clock, it was already 11 o'clock. Oh no, this wasn't good. He could be late, but not this late, he would miss history, something he actually appreciated.

Taking the sandwich on the table and his lunch, he was out the door faster than lightning. Running up the hill toward the school, he remember he forgot his shoes. How on earth did he managed to run so far without noticing he was missing his shoes? Deciding he already made it this far, he continued on his way.

As his luck, he arrived at lunch. Those damn stares following his every move. He made his way to the main office and tried to put on his usual emotionless face.

"Kurosaki, what a pleasure to see you joined us." He cringed under the sarcastic voice of the headmaster.

"My deepest apologies, sir. I did not hear the alarm this morning," he said bowing in sign of respect.

"What about your mother, didn't she wake you up?" He zoomed out on that. That's true, his mother didn't wake him, and what in the world was she doing this morning. In his speed, he forgot to ask her about that.

"She was gone long before," he improvised. His mother was know for letting her children sleep inn, forgetting they even existed.

"Ah well," said the old man behind the desk," I suppose it can't be helped. Now, as your punishment I would like you to show the new student around."

He was surprised when a girl turned toward him. He didn't notice her presence before just now. He though he was good at capturing the energies of every living thing, but this girl didn't have one. Or wait, it was there, just very faint, like she was about to die.

She was actually higher than him, this made him grunt. Why was a girl higher than him? Sure the boys were all one or two heads higher than him, but he never noticed the girls were too. She smiled oddly friendly back at him.

"Kosakura Ishida, please take good care of me." He bowed back before throwing a questioning look at the headmaster.

"She just moved here," he said continuing on with whatever he was doing. "Well go one, show her around." He bowed again before leaving the office. He stopped for a second regaining his calm. What was that all about?

"Hum? Excuse me, are you alright?" Asked the innocent voice of the girl. Right, he was supposed to show her around. She had odd orange hair he noticed then and black eyes. He started walking off before remember he never introduced himself.

"Kurosaki Ryuu, nice to meet you?" Then he walked of not caring if she followed or not.

"So, have you always been smart? I mean, we are apparently in the same class so you must be really smart to have jumped so many classes." His eyebrow twitched. "Oh how do you make it to this class so fast? I nearly dumped when I was your age, he he."

She walked without noticing the dark aura that started turning around him. "Are you all right?" She asked finally seeing his pissed face.

"I'm 16," he said barley in a whisper.

"Oh, so your 6, really? I don't remember being so old when I was so young." She kept on talking not bothering about the laugh that was following her every words, nor did she see all the looks of appreciation she got as she walked by. When they were in a deserted area, because the bell would ring soon, he turned toward her irritated.

"Are you trying to humiliate me? Are you that annoyed that the headmaster didn't appoint any one else to show you around is that it? Hein?" He lost it.

She looked at him questioning, what was he talking about? Humiliate? "No, I was just surprised to see that a 6 years old was in my class." She said as a matter of fact.

"Don't you have a brain? I'm 16, just like you, or are you perhaps that stupide that you are actually older than me?" Understanding he had passed the limit and this was absolutely not a way to grant a new student he was about to apologize when her character just changed 180 degree.

"As a matter of fact I've had the best score in my year since middle school and I intend to be the best here too. So if you are the smartest in the class, be prepared to be surpassed. My father nor I accept anything different than the best." She pushed up her glasses.

"Now I apologize for believing this school was any different from the one I was in before. Please excuse me, I have to get to class and avoided all distractions. I though I could get friends if I acted like my mother here, but seems like I was wrong." She turned to leave.,

"Wait," he said slowly, "you're walking the wrong way. Our class is this way. And I apologize for what I said, I just have a lot on my mind lately. Please exempt my excuse." She looked at him from above, not convinced. "And by the way, you should act like you did, maybe you'll get friends that way. Don't be like you are or you would just be looked down upon like me."

She walked away with the head held high. Looking out the window, he really didn't want to go to school today, so he left. Walking out he didn't really mind where to go. Since he didn't take his round this morning, he might as well take it now. Strolling off, he past by the old lady still waiting for her husband to come home from war. He waved like he usually did.

He stopped however in front of one of the usual spot. It was a little boy that used to be there. The flowers were gone and the spirit too. Scanning the surroundings, he searched for someone that might have seen the event before coming to the conclusion that he might have past on.

Coming near the river the atmosphere changed. After a long time staring at the empty spot on the water, the sudden movement made him react. There, not so far away, stood the water woman on her knees smiling. In front of her was a black clad person. Though he didn't know who it was, he felt an urge to back away.

A small blue light started eating up the spirits body and out of no where flew a butterfly as dark as the night. He felt petrified as much as interested. Who was this person killing the spirits? What did it want? But at the same time he was captured by its elegance. He only observed the back that was straight and imposing, but he still felt like he knew the person. In one move, it was gone.

Panic overflowing him, he felt the urgency to run somewhere, anywhere but here. The images flashed before his eyes again and stopped at one thing: the sword. The person had a sword thing he got the other day. Of course it wasn't the same but no far away. The hilt was black and the rest was fire red.

Not noticing where he ran he was soon in front of the Urahara shop. Breathing heavily, he made his way to the front door.

"Ah, young Kurosaki, what brings you here?" Said the smiling shopkeeper. Ryuu send him a glare before closing the door behind him. "I meant so early," presided the man.

"I skipped school," he said in a monotone voice after sitting down beside the first one.

"Ara, ara, that's no good boy," he said waving his fan in front of his face. "School is important you know."

Kisuke Urahara, or as his mother called him, mister hat and cloth, was an odd man. He never bother talking about himself but knew apparently everything about Ryuu and the rest of his family. He could even come with odd commentary like: 'just like his uncle' or ' aren't you much like your dad'. Those statement always made him wonder who exactly this man was.

He never knew wish uncle he talked about, but each time he asked, mister hat and cloth would just answer with a sly smile. As for his dad, he would ask over and over again if he knew something about his father his mother hadn't told him. The answer to that was always the same: 'you're both small', and a small laugh.

Hat and cloth was his kind of uncle/trainer person. Honestly, he never bothered think about what exactly this odd man was, he was just always there. No matter what, he would bug you. If it was parties, school events and so on. He even came to his school parent meeting once making people wonder if he was Ryuu's dad. Hat and cloth laughed it off saying he wasn't that small.

No, most time than not Ryuu didn't like mister hat and cloth. The good thing was that some times he could fight with the man trying his utterly best to punch the guy in the face. Not that he ever managed, but he wouldn't stop trying.

Most time, he fought with Ururu, the strange daughter employ that lived with him. He did start in school activities, but soon surpassed many of them. After a lot of convincing from his mother and family, mister hat and cloth had agreed to teach him how to fight and train him in everything. Strangely, that also included math and science.

In his family, Mayumi was the one that got the most attention. He was always around her. She even called him uncle, actually she is the only one in the entire world he knows that call him that. Ururu keep calling him Mister Urahara. Yeah he never understood mister hat and cloth's world.

"So it's here you're hiding, is it?" Asked the ruff voice bringing him back to the world of the living. Out of reflex, he was on his feet and ready to attack on the spot. His uncle just laugh it off. "I was searching for you kid," he said ruffling his hair like he knew he hated. His red haired uncle with his bias tattoos looked down at him with a smirk. "Skipping school are we?"

"It was boring," he answered sitting down again. "How did you know I was here?"

"Urahara called, said you were daydreaming about a girl." He looked around surprised, only to notice Kisuke was nowhere in sight. Had he really been that much in his own world? "So who's the girl?" Asked his uncle mockingly.

"None of your business," said an annoyed teen preparing to leave, while his mind still replayed the strange scene from earlier that day. Remembering the new girl he suddenly turned to his uncle. "You can sense spiritual power and the life energy of thing right?"

"Of course idiot, I tough you." Said uncle was currently trying to make them walk faster toward his home.

"If someone has a near death energy but is acting normal, what is wrong with that person then?" Renji stopped in his track trying to recall what exactly he was talking about. He searched for any soul reaper present but none that he didn't know of was there. Had Ruy seen one of them? In plain day?

"It's not normal right? I was right on that one wasn't I?" Said the teen.

"yeah, it's not normal. Who is it?" He asked finally.

"The new kid in class. She act as if nothing is wrong, but I can't feel her life. It's like she's about to die."

They started walking again in silence to let Renji think through what he just told him. A girl, meaning it wasn't a soul reaper he had seen but something else. Could it be that there where any Quincy left? But Uryu wasn't exactly here any more and he was the only one he knew of that was a Quincy.

"Do you have a name?"

"I think she said something like kukake Ishia or something." His uncle looked amused back.

"You mean Kosikura Ishida?" So it was him after all. Seems like he taught her well too.

"How did you know that?" The teen looked shocked. "You know who it is? Wait, is she some kind of strange spiritual freak like me?" The last sentence was said with a sour face.

"As a matter of fact, yes." The answered made him cringe. Looks like Karakura will have two freaks now. "But not exactly the same as you. She is more of a, euh, I don't really know how to explain."

The to male past the family clinic in hope of seeing his mother, but looks like there had been an accident not far away and the clinic was busy as ever. Sometimes he would pass by and they weren't doing a thing.

"Let's go and train," said the uncle instead. "I want to teach you how to use that zanpakuto I offered you. Did you like it?"

Ryuu didn't know what to answer. He had liked the gift just didn't get what exactly he was supposed to do with it. And now the image of that strange person kept on popping up every time he though of sword. That blade with an ash like hilt and red shelter. Was it the same type?

"Yeah , I liked the colors. Thanks for the present uncle." The sad and reflected look Ryuu bore would make everyone aware that something was of.

"It wasn't Ishida you were thinking about, was it?" Making there way into the house, the teen pick of his shoes and came back in training cloth soon after. He was also holding his zanpakuto in his hand.

"No it wasn't," he said sitting beside his uncle on the porch. "It was something else. I don't know what it was but it's as if I known about it my entire life but in the same time don't."

His uncle didn't push him, just let him tell every thing that was bothering him. Renji always liked to spend times like this. Sure he loved the fighting, but knowing his nephew trusted him with all his secrets made him happy.

"I had this dream coming to me often, day dream and normal. It's ice melting at my feats and when I look up, there's this serpent like person looking back at me. And inside the serpent is a person. Somehow there is a dragon in the ice, if you look closely. Do you believe in dreams uncle?"

Renji had a hard time hiding his surprise. Dragon of ice could only be one thing, there were no mistake. The serpent on the other hand he had no idea. Could it be...?

"Ryuu, how long have you had these dream?"

"As long as I can remember. Or not that dream, it came little after little, changes every time." Renji looked at him questionably.

"As long as I can remember, the ice like dragon has always been there with me. Not bothering me I suppose, but just been there in the back of my mind. When I was younger and got into fight, he would tell me what to do. I suppose he was always there when I needed him most."

Seeing the strange face Renji was giving him, he quickly added: "But of course this is stupid, sorry about that."

"Ryuu, look at me, has the dragon always been there? Has he ever helped you in a fight? Like more than just speak?" The honesty in his uncle eyes surprised him. He thought his uncle was going to laugh at him, but he seem to take it seriously.

"No, Hyorinmaru never helped in a battle, but he was always there afterward."

"What did you say? What did you just call him?"

"Hyorinmaru. Why?"

"How did you know that was his name?" Yeah no doubt who we were talking about here. That was indeed Hitsugaya's zanpakuto.

"Well he told me once when I asked for it of course." Ruy looked at the stunned face of his uncle wandering what exactly he had told himself to do. But this only made his suspicion grow, there where things his mother hadn't told him.

"Does he still speak to you?"

"No," he said feeling the pit again, like losing the ones that are closed to you. "He stopped talking to me altogether know. He used to talk to me until two or three days ago. But not often. Over the years his been more distance leaving me behind."

"Wait, he really was talking to you for all that time? But what happened to him know?"

"He is still there, but it's only the ice that is left behind, like an empty shell that is melting. I think he left me with the other one. He said I didn't need him to protect me any more." This made Renji's brow scrunch.

"The other one?"

"Yeah, the serpent like creature. He's still here."

"So you can talk to him right know?"

"Yeah, and he thinks you are really slow at this and that if it was someone else talking he would have moved on already. Well that is what he says, I have no idea what were talking about." The confusion on Ryuu's face was understandable, but was he really communication to a serpent or was it simply someone else.

"Actually," Ryuu added, "he have never talked to me before. He always was there since, I don't know, since I was 10 maybe. But he seems to be talking know strangely. Never talked once before. By the way he tells you to hurry up because he's impatiens to get out? Wait you can get him out?"

Renji tried to find the connection. The only possible explanation was that this serpent thing must be his zanpakuto. If that's the case, Ryuu had gained the possibility to speak to him through the zanpakuto shell he gave him yesterday. Seems like time was up after all. But first:

"Have you ever told your mother about this, Ryuu?"

"No, she wouldn't get it. I thought it has something to do with the spiritual energy and since mom doesn't have any she wouldn't know."

"But why wait so long to tell anyone about this?"

"Because up until now Hyorinmaru told me not to. He said that I needed to wait. But you see the serpent don't act that way and it is honestly getting on my nerves right now." And then out of nowhere, Renji took the zanpakutou that he had been clutching till now, and then the serpent was gone.

"I tell you everything if you can beat me at getting to Urahara shop." Eyes like sausages, Ryuu saw Renji starting running back the way they came. And of course, Ryuu was the one that needed to close the door. Cursing his luck and stupidity, he soon manage to catch up to his uncle that had stopped outside the clinic.

"Something's wrong kid, you seem tired. Should we say I win."

"You would, wouldn't ya?" Said the teen sprinting past Renji, not seeing the sad look in his mother's eyes.

"I better catch up with him before he actually wins," told Renji before getting the approval for what he was about to do.

Ruy didn't win, but that wasn't because Renji cached him. No, he just fell down a twenty meter deep pit. A pit that resolved into a trampoline. When he had finally stopped bouncing he could see where he had landed. From this point on he didn't think he was ever going to believe a single word hat and cloth would say.

What is he? And why was there a huge room under his shop. And by huge he meant this place was bigger than his entire school combined with the park outside. Someone had even painted the sealing: really? He knew hat and cloth had a training hall under his house, he had been to it three times a week, but that one was tiny compared to this one.

"A, young Kurosaki ready for your daily training?" The man hadn't changed and seemed to think that this was totally normal.

"Urahara," said a voice he knew too well, "why did you bring him down here first? He needs to hear the truth first."

"Ara, ara, if it isn't mister freeloader, I'm sorry to say that I don't believe in talking, especially when we're talking about a Kurosaki." Ryuu could see the vein on the side of his uncle's head. "I believe in doing it," said the joyful man waving his fan.

"Now, come here Kurosaki." Ryuu couldn't believe what he was seeing. Did his uncle know about this place?

"What is going on?" Snapped the black haired finally. "Where am I and what is this all about?"

"Oh so he wants to talk, is that it? Come here. I said I didn't like talking."

"What? afraid I couldn't handle your words?" Asked Ryuu threatening.

"As a matter of fact I now you can't handle them. I would let you mother tell you the rest of the story." This time hat and cloth dragged him with him toward the center of the room and dumped him in a pit. Ruy managed not fall too hard on his back. Suddenly he felt a burning pain in his body.

"What's going on?" He panicked.

"Oh, you're already feeling it are you not? This is the way I used with your grandfather to regain his ability. You see," he said leaning over to look down on him, " your body isn't really your real body, it's a gi-gai I created for you many years ago. So your work would be to take your true form again before your body and soul gets eaten up by the acid down there. Don't worry, you can do this. Oh and I nearly forgot," disappearing he soon came back throwing something at him, "you need your zanpakutou to do this."

"Wait, what's going on?" Screamed Ruy truly and utterly terrified.

"We're starting you Shinigami training of course," said the smiling Urahare.

Hey, thanks for reading :D