"Yoruichi-san, um, where exactly are we going?" Rukia asked, feeling slightly anxious about her surroundings. They haven't been walking for long, but the path they took was full of steep hills and had a rocky road. Even Masaki felt a little worn from the trip despite her energy for finding her son.

"Don't worry, you'll see when you'll get there. But I was warn by Kisuke that you shouldn't overact once you see the house," the black cat answered and continued walking with its back to the group. The petite soul reaper looked over towards Ichigo's dad to see that he was dreading the moment he sees whoever they were going to meet.

"Really Yoruichi, do we really have to see that beast? Isn't there another way?" the father complained and trudged along, following his faithful wife.

"No," answered Yoruichi.

Isshin grunted and continued to follow their animal guide. Rukia wondered what kind of person they were going to see. By the way Ichigo's father talked of him or her, she sounded horrifying, but Yoruichi talked of her as if they were very close friends.

It was herself and Ichigo's mother that were left in the dark who this mysterious person was. It was either because they were worried about their reactions, or that they would turn around right that moment.

"Isshin, really. This person can't be all that bad," Masaki said, annoyed by her husband's constant whining.

"Oh why world! Why have you let my faithful wife go against me. If only my two daughters were here! Then they'll comfort me!" the father began to yell, but was silenced by the mother.

"Really Isshin? Now?" she threatened and walked further away from him. He cried silently and walked a distance away from her.

"Hush you two. We're already here," Yoruichi announced and stood on a high hill and observed the house in front of them.

By the time Rukia had gotten a glimpse, he face got white and her legs were about to fail her. "Kukaku Shiba," she read. A flag was held by two human hands carved from grey stone. Behind the small house was a giant chimney that was covered at the top. It was different from the last time she saw it, but there was no doubt that this was the house of her

tutor years ago.

As the group of four walked closer to the house, Rukia felt her strength leave her and her courage along with it. It was Masaki who noticed it first.

"Rukia, is something wrong?" she asked, stopping to talk to her son's friend. The raven haired shinigami looked at the mother's eyes for a second and looked away.

"No, it's nothing. Let's keep going," the unseated officer lied and walked at a faster pace, despite the sick feeling in her stomach becoming increasingly more painful.

A sudden hand reached her shoulder.

"Rukia. You're like a third daughter to me ever since Ichigo brought you here. He's actually told me about your family situation. So please, don't be afraid to open up and talk to me. And call me "Mom" if you don't mind," the parent smiled and walked on leaving the Rukia to her thoughts.

The small officer looked at her with her violet eyes in new light. And suddenly, everything cleared. She felt no pain or sick feelings in her gut. A small smile appeared on her lips as she caught up with the group.

"And don't forget Rukia-chan! You can call me daddy, my third daughter!" Isshin cried out, earning a small punch from his seemingly pacifist wife.

"Really Isshin? This is the second time now!"

"But why can she call you 'Mom', but she can't call me 'Daddy'?"

"Because I don't want to ruin her by having you as a father. Our three children already want to move out of the house because of you," Maskai explained and left her husband in fake tears.

The cat sighed in annoyance after seeing the two parents quarrel with each other. It honestly questioned how it was going to live through the rest of this adventure.

"Halt! Who dares enter the grounds of the Shiba clan?" two voice roared simultaneously. Up on two pillars were two men, one on each pillar, watching the "intruders" approaching the embarrassing looking house. Then men both jumped to the ground, almost crushing Rukia in the process.

"Two shingami? What business do you have with Master Shiba? The master is a very busy person!" one guard yelled and stared down.

Isshin stepped up and said, "Look, we're just here to see an old friend. We'll be going now and-" before he could finish, a large spear had threatened to attack.

"The Shiba are enemy of the Gotei Thirteen. There is no reason for," the guards looked down, "Master Yoruichi!" they both said and bowed down to the cat who was staring up to them in the cutest way possible.

After many apologies later, they were finally guided to see this mysterious Kukaku Shiba. Masaki was very curious who this person was and why her husband felt so scared just being in this woman's house. Rukia began to dread the moment she stood inside the house. She was amazed why the guards didn't notice her. The sick feeling came back again and she knew talking it out wouldn't make it leave.

"Master, we have visitors," the guard said while the opening the door to the so-called master for a slight peek.

As soon as he closed it, he bowed down again and opened the door widely so they all could see.

Masaki was the first to see the master. And the first observations she made was that she was a women. At first, the fact passed through her mind without a single care. Then she remembered her husband's attitude towards the woman, as if he was scared to know her... own... reaction.

Before anyone could say anything about anything, Masaki rushed forward, grabbing Isshin by the ear and dropping him down roughly onto the floor in front of the Shiba leader.

"And who are you?" the leader asked. She laid spread across pillows and seemed like she was relaxing before they showed up.

"I'm Masaki Kurosaki, Isshin's Kurosaki's wife. My question is how you know my husband and why he seems so scared to meet you?!" she yelled, ignoring her husband's pleas to quiet down and wait for an explanation. The result was a very heated argument which everyone else already had their fill of.

Except Kukaku who on the other hand found this very amusing. After seeing the couple argue for a few minuets, she spoke up.

"Isshin apparently hadn't told you about us then. Back when he was a shinigami, we were friends. That's all. Nothing more or less," she explained and watched as the the auburn haired woman looked at her husband in embarrassment. Isshin turned away, not wanting to be mad at his wife or show that he was mad in any way.

"Well, now that's over. Shall we go along with business, Kukaku?" Yoruichi said while walking with silent paw steps.

"I don't suppose this 'business' you have is going to be a walk in the park, is it?" she asked the cat.

"Nope. In fact, it's going to be quite hard even with someone with your skills."

"It's been a long time since we talked like this," she joked, "Okay, let's hear it."

'Hundred-one, hundred-two, hundred-three, hundred-four, hun-'

"Hey King, whatcha counting for?"

A sigh escaped Ichigo's lips. He was counting the silence before his Hollow showed up. Even though he was annoyed that his Hollow had want to show himself now of all times and not when he was fighting Aizen, he was happy that he showed anyway. Without his help and Zangetsu's, he'll probably never escape the cell before his execution.

Ichigo checked to make sure none of the guards were visible around his cell. After seeing the coast was clear, he entered his inner world, leaving his soul body in a comatose condition.

When Ichigo opened his eyes, he found himself in his distorted blue city. Buildings ran sideways and the sky moved upwards. Ichigo himself had wondered if the rain fell sideways rather than vertically. Zangetsu and his Hollow would never tell him and still won't to this day. Speaking of his Hollow, shouldn't he be-

"Yo," an albino welcomed.

Ichigo still hitched his breath after hearing his voice even though he had heard it for at least four years now. He turned around to see his partner in a nonthreatening stance with an middle-aged man beside him.

"Ichigo, what is happening in the outside world?" his sword asked. The lieutenant sat down on the distorted building they were standing on. The clone of Ichigo did also, wanting to her the story his partner had to tell.

"We've been caught by Aizen. He took me to Soul Society and somehow convinced everyone that I had killed a human. They say I am to be executed in a month. I already tried to warn Renji, but chances are, Aizen had already tried to confuse him. So the only chance out is to break ourselves out of here," the red head explained. Zangetsu nodded in agreement, but the Hollow was still thinking. To him, there was always at least two choices.

"What about that girl? Won't she try and save you?" he asked.

"Who? Rukia? She's in the World of the Living with Mom. I don't think they'll be a big help anyway. Mom and Goatface are humans. They can't attack Soul Society," Ichigo answered, but saw that his Hollow thought otherwise.

"Do you really think that Rukia-chan is going to sit back and wait for you to come back, with the possibility that you probably won't?" the white twin asked. The carrot top huffed in realization. He was right. Rukia was probably coming and was probably already labeled as a rouge shinigami to save him along with anyone else she brought into this mess.

"So now that we have a story, what's the plan?" the hollow suddenly asked, wanting to get his King to think of another subject. He knew Ichigo was never good at thinking, especially if his friends could be in danger at that very moment.

Ichigo, momentarily fogetting about his friends, looked at his two other parts of his souls. If he was going to make this plan work, he was going to have to use them to their full extent, and even becoming creative in a few ways.

The first stage will be to examine the guard patterns. One that is accomplished, they can take advantage of whenever the most guards are and escape the cell and cause as much commotion as possible.

The second stage will involve Ichigo and Zangetsu to get into as many unnecessary fights as possible and still be able to have enough energy to get to the next stage. This will avoid all attention towards Rukia and whoever she brings into her plans and to signal where he is.

The final stage will consist of Ichigo and his Hollow to find Aizen and trap him in a tight corner, making him surrender his plans before they go any further.

It was the last stage that made the plan seem impossible without getting into more trouble. Ichigo has to make it look like he's fighting on the good side, not on a rouge side. If he kills a captain before he revels his plans, then it will get him into more trouble then necessary. But if he's too late, then Soul Society will be heading into a war later.

"Any questions? Zangetsu? Shiro?" Ichigo asked.

"Can I have a name change?" his Hollow asked. The question threw Ichigo off for a second, but he quickly recovered after seeing his Hollow was serious.

"Why?"

"You were eleven when you gave me that name. Not that I don't want a name, it's only that 'Shiro' is so demeaning. I want something with an actually history behind it. Not just a color," Shiro complained.

"Why did you pick now to ask?"

"Because you asked if we had any questions, and I'm wasn't sure that I'll get another chance," he answered blandly, making the answer seem like it was common sense.

"I'll think about," Ichigo answered, leaving his Hollow slightly happier.

"What about Aizen's lieutenant? Wouldn't she get in the way in killing him?" Zangetsu asked.

"We'll deal with her if we have too," he replied. The sword nodded at the answer and stared up into the sky. Something was amiss in this plan, but he couldn't pick what it was.

Once everything was cleared, Ichigo disappeared from his inner world. Leaving his Shiro and Zangetsu alone.

"He came a long way, hasn't he, Zangetsu-san," Shiro commented.

"Yes he has. Already he had accomplished Bankai, but I'm afraid that will not be enough to stop Aizen and his plans. Soon, he will need to use you as well," the sword said.

Shiro sighed. He knew Zangetsu was right, and he was happy that Ichigo will finally be able to use his powers, but what would happen to him? He thought of many theories, and the one that made the most sense scared him the most. A inner Hollow was not supposed to exist in the soul of a Shinigami. If he was suppressed, would that mean he would disappear?

The Hollow looked up and wondered about the future.

A/N So Chapter 3 is out. How do you like it? And any suggestions for Shiro's name? Nothing like Hichigo or Ogihci. And please review!