Cloud knew he was there. He could hear that deep voice echoing in his mind. But it was hard to concentrate within when he was too busy dodging the lightning fast noble without. Byakuya showed no mercy even if he had yet to release his zanpaktou. His skill with Flash Step alone was enough to keep the destroyer of Sephiroth on the run. He didn't like this at all. And getting shot at with Kido wasn't fun either.

'Why can't I hear you?!' Cloud growled inward at the hidden voice. It made to reply but the voice was still muffled.

In his peripheral the swordsman saw Shelke gain her zanpaktou, blades similar to her former sabers she used under the Tsviets. Tifa was at least having luck fighting off Rangiku since she used only her fists to begin with, but that probably meant her zanpaktou wouldn't see a need to help her. The others were all having difficulties against their opponents. If they couldn't block a Captain who wasn't even using Shikai…then they were in really bad shape.

'I can't let this happen. I have to get this power, to make sure none of my friends ever die again.'

'That's better…' The deep voice sighed, startling Cloud enough to falter his step where Byakuya nearly cut his arm off. 'Keep this up and you may just be able to hear my name.'

Cloud nodded, catching a glimpse of Yuffie falling to her opponent's blows and being carried out. While the assassin seemed to have gone easy on her, he couldn't expect Byakuya to do the same. He had just tried to cut his arm off.

In a similar situation as the blonde swordsman, Kadaj could not get his zanpaktou spirit to give his name. He was starting to get frustrated; he was tired of running away from the smiling moron Captain attacking him.

"What, that it?" Shinji teased, going in for a blow to the neck that was ducked under. The Remnant was quick, Shinji had to give him that, and his reflexes were supernatural.

'This idiot's got you on the run!' That sneering voice in his head laughed once more.

'He wouldn't if you would give me your damn name!'

'Ha! Because I want to give my name to you! You don't have a reason to fight, not a good one. You haven't looked hard enough.'

'I want to kill the bastard that left me for dead after using me.' Kadaj flitted around a combo of strikes from Shinji before trying to at least get a good punch in on the Captain's stomach. Shinji moved aside just as easily as the Remnant had.

'Warmer…' The voice teased.

'I don't have any other reason for fighting!'

'Liar.'

'You're annoying!' Kadaj outwardly scowled and Shinji smirked; obviously this zanpaktou of his was causing the boy trouble. He wondered what kind of spirit it was.

'Since you seem to be in such a bind and I'm such a nice spirit, I'll give you a hint.' The spirit sneered again. 'Why are you even alive at the moment?'

'Aerith brought me back…She saved me.'

'Don't want to waste your second chance, do ya?' The teasing had left the spirit's voice, even if he was still acting playful.

Shinji paused as the Remnant's Spiritual Pressure began to rise. Further away, Byakuya paused as well. Something was up with his opponent; he had stopped dead in his tracks.

"You're leaving yourself open." Byakuya told the man, lifting up Senbonzakura to deliver a killing strike. He would change the direction of the strike at the last second to avoid killing him but to show he was not afraid to kill him.

'Don't stand there, Cloud, call my name!'

"Rise above, Morinauro." The blonde spoke in a normal tone and the aqua color of his Spiritual Pressure did the same thing Shelke's had, rising off of him and stirring up a harsh wind around him, forcing the noble back.

At the same time, Kadaj's emerald green energy made itself visible as well.

"Devour, Mordofea!" Shadows converged around his left hand, forming a shape. It twisted into a double-bladed katana, the metal black and giving off wisps of darkness. As Kadaj didn't quite have control of it yet, the blade kept morphing at points, showing that it had the ability to change shape.

As for Cloud, an enormous blade was forming into his right hand. It's shape was similar to that of his Fusion Swords, and even looked like it had the ability to separate the same way they did, but there was a black chain hanging off the hilt with a wolf head on the end and it was wrapped around the blade as well. Rising his Spiritual Pressure even higher, the chains lit up with aqua light and dispersed.

"Goodness, this is quite the progress they're making!" Kisuke exclaimed on the sidelines as Byakuya and Shinji assisted their exhausted opponents off the field where the others still fought. He then turned to the sky, noticing the dark tint to the above as the oranges and pinks began to recede with the sun below the horizon. The moon was also beginning to show itself in the fading light. "Perhaps we should let them rest for now, they've been going at this for three hours and it's already getting dark. I'll make sure to start them early tomorrow."

Using a whistle, which startled most of the people around him and several of the fighters, Kisuke got their attention and waved them over, signaling that this training was over. Exhausted Gaians were supported over by their Soul Reaper opponents until they were all gathered around with the others.

"Fantastic work! Three of you already have you zanpaktou manifested!" The shop keeper grinned widely. "But as you can see it's getting dark and since none of you can Flash Step its best we get you on your way to wherever you'll be staying before night falls for good."

No one argued to that and some of the Soul Reapers quickly left, the fighting over with.

"Before you all go, I wish to speak to the three of you who gained their Shikai." Kisuke hid behind his fan again and looked between Shelke, Cloud and Kadaj.

Shalua glared at Kisuke but reluctantly left her tired sister's side and went with Reeve and the Turks to leave for Gaia. Tseng was to stay and watch what happened for reports to Rufus, but the others had no reason to stay since they weren't going to become Soul Reapers. Cloud watched the rest of his fellow Jenova War Heroes leave, apparently going to the Squad Ten barracks for now where Rangiku had managed to set up some sleeping space. The other Soul Reapers left all Flash Stepped away while Rangiku, Rukia and Retsu helped the tired Gaians along.

"If we're done, shouldn't Vincent be coming back?" Cloud turned away and back towards Kisuke.

"His training is a little more complicated than yours and is a constant thing. I assure you, though, you will see him either tomorrow or the next day." Urahara replied, snapping his fan closed and pointing it at the blonde. "Now, I first want to speak to Kadaj."

The Remnant sat up a little straighter, wondering what the man wanted. His eye twitched due to something Mordofea said but he didn't reply to it.

"This may seem rather shocking at first but hear me out." A serious expression took over Kisuke's face and the three of them tensed. "Your power holds darkness not unlike that of a Hollow. I wouldn't be surprised if a second spirit shows up with Hollow abilities."

"You're saying I'm a Hollow?"

"Heavens, no! I'm saying you might have an Inner Hollow due to the dark potency of your Spiritual Pressure. It's not uncommon, as Shinji has one too."

"That Captain I was fighting?"

Kisuke nodded and Cloud actually shared a glance with Kadaj.

"What…does an Inner Hollow do?" He asked nervously.

"Well, normally with Soul Reapers, the Inner Hollow attempts to consume you. However, since your power stems from darkness, so it seems, it may be more willing to be your ally. We'll just have to wait and see what happens; you may not develop an Inner Hollow at all. I simply wanted to warn you."

"Right…" Kadaj looked rather uncomfortable with the information. Mordofea was crazy enough by the sound of it, or at least, as crazy as he had been under Jenova's influence. He had no idea what an Inner Hollow would be like.

"Now on to the topic for all three of you." Kisuke let his smile snap back onto his face and he snapped his fan open, fanning himself. "Now that you have established communication with your zanpaktou and have even learned their names, the best thing for you now is to learn how to travel to your Inner World and speak with them face to face by using a method called Blade Zen. It establishes the trust factor and lets the zanpaktou know you're willing to listen to them if they have something important for you."

"I once saw Captain Hitsugaya meditate and when I asked, he said he had been speaking with Hyorinmaru." Shelke commented.

"That's exactly how Blade Zen is done. Even Captains need to keep communication with their zanpaktou, Toshiro especially since his power is still a little underdeveloped as he's young. I'm sure he talks to Hyorinmaru even more after he learned that the dragon was a Weapon."

"And if we're no good at meditating?" Kadaj huffed, looking at his zanpaktou. When the three of them had nearly collapsed from exhaustion, their blades had reverted to that of normal katanas, though the hilts and guards were different for each of them. Cloud's had a red clothed hilt and a guard similar to the swords used by SOLDIER members of the lower class. Kadaj's wasn't any different than Souba, the white ribbon dangling at the hilt's base. Shelke's was bare of any cloth, the black metal clearly seen, though there was a neon orange streak running down the middle and the guard was fairly geometric with thin lines that made her think of a computer chip.

"Well, your zanpaktou might give you a little push." Kisuke smirked at Kadaj's comment. "I know Ichigo once told me that Zangetsu occasionally pulls him into a sort of in-between realm to talk to him, yours may do so as well."

"Weird."

"I've realized that the names of our zanpaktou don't seem to be in Japanese like everyone else." Cloud spoke up.

"To be expected, seeing as you're from another world." Kisuke shrugged. "To be honest, I would be surprised if they were in Japanese.

"But it's getting late and that's all I wanted to say. I should probably see how Mr. Valentine is doing with Shiro and Ichigo. Good night!" And then he was gone.

For a moment, the three Gaians sat together in the darkness in silence.

"So…who knows the way to Toshiro's place?" Kadaj broke the silence.

Shelke and Cloud sighed. They needed to find another Soul Reaper, and soon.

Sorry this took so long, father's day got me all off schedule and I got a new game ^^ Here it is! Cloud and Kadaj get their zanpaktou. Cloud's stands for Black Werewolf and Kadaj's stands for Shadow Soul. Enjoy!