Daybreak was still far off as Yamaru laid in bed, and he had no intention of waking.

"Yamaru-sama." A gentle female voice called. "Yamaru-sama, there is a messenger here for you Yamaru-sama."

"Messenger?" Yamaru thought, though still unwilling to awake up.

"Where did this one come from?" He heard himself ask as his eyes involuntarily opened.

"Great, another dream." Yamaru thought as the image of a woman in clothes he didn't recognized, yet looked familiar, came into focus. In the background he noticed the walls of the room were made of twigs and branches.

"Kokai, Yamaru-sama." The woman replied. She wore clothes of white and blue, with yellow trim, which seemed to be made of strange fabrics and materials. Yamaru also noticed a crest over the right side of her chest which looked identical to Rei's sword guard.

"Kokai? That's a small village, very ordinary and boring if memory serves." Yamaru said, sitting up. He turned to a clothes rack holding clothes similar to the woman, but more ornate.

"He claims mysterious disappearances in the village." She said as she crossed the room to help him get dressed.

"And let me guess, 'It's our duty to protect those villagers.'"

"The village is within our territory."

"Were any of the villagers hearing strange sounds?"

"He mentioned rumors of weird animalistic growls, howls, and roars."

"And our men stationed there?"

"First to go, Yamaru-sama."

Yamaru let out a long sigh. "This one could be tough. Get my horse ready, if you will." He said, as he opened a wardrobe to reveal some armor.

"As you wish, Yamaru-sama." She said, crossing the room again and leaving.

Yamaru let out a slight sigh. "Well, guess I can't slack off today." He said, strapping on the armor.

"When was this day?" Yamaru wondered to himself. "Rei? Are you there?" He asked as the room faded and he found himself on the edge his inner world's forest.

Of course, though this is your dream. I was allowing you to your privacy. Rei answered, still from within his mind. Those dreams are you're memories.

"Why have I forgotten all of this?" He asked, lying back on a tree.

There was an incident when you were crossing over.

"Was Gabriel involved?"

It wasn't his fault.

"All I know is that he was trying to make it so I wouldn't forget my life. What happened?"

I can't tell you that.

"Why can't you tell me about my past?"

You're not ready, if you learned of what you were able to do, you'd most likely hospitalize yourself to regain those skills.

"Can't argue that point."

And I can't have you messing up your new training schedule.

Her last phase had a pseudo twisted cackle to it, which sent shivers up Yamaru's spine. Hesitantly, Yamaru asked. "What training schedule?"

Now why would I ruin the surprise? She said, giggling. We will commence you're training one week after you join a Squad. Rest well while you can.

Yamaru let out a tried sigh as he lay back against the tree, there was no use in arguing with her and he knew it.

Still as quick as ever.

"I thought you were going to let my thoughts be my own." He said, with slight annoyance.

But I thought you would have thought up some fun training exercises I could use. She replied.

"Okay, I'm still tired, so I'm going to try and sleep some more." Yamaru yawned tiredly, pressing into the tree.

But it's already morning.

Yamaru opened his eyes to find himself in the room Sara had prepared for him.

"That was mean." Yamaru said as he heard Rei laughing at him.

It's not my fault. Besides, I get to be mean to you. She replied. Locking me away.

"You keep saying that, yet you refuse to tell me what actually happened." Yamaru commented as he got out of the bed and began getting ready for the day.

Well you did.

"Why would I?"

To protect me.

"Then why are you mad at me?"

Because you forgot about me.

"But it wasn't intentional."

Which is why I am being lenient. Want to see 'tough'?

Her last statement stopped Yamaru from responding, he felt that a dark connection could draw from how she treated him to the intensity of the training regimen.

"We'll talk later." He promised as he exited the room, fully clothed and ready for the day.

"Good morning, Ya-chan." Sara greeted as he entered the hallway. "How was your night?"

"Good morning Sara-san. Very restful, thank you for having us for the night." He replied. "Is Tansuko up yet?"

"Tan-kun is still sleeping, I believe." She replied. "I wasn't about to peek into either of your rooms."

Yamaru chuckled slightly at the notion, and walked over to Tansuko's door. "Hey, Tansuko, wake up." He said, knocking on the door. The rustling of sheets could be heard from beyond the door, though the lack of response or any footsteps suggested the noise merely made him turn over in his sleep. Yamaru let out a sigh, as he opened the door, revealing an awkwardly lying Tansuko wrapped up in his sheets in what looked like one of the most uncomfortable positions Yamaru had even witnessed.

Your best friend. Rei stated, and a somewhat disapproving, motherly voice.

"Don't remind me." Yamaru replied, grabbing a part of the sheets wrapped around Tansuko's back, "Wakey, wakey." He said, yanking the sheets, flipping Tansuko around a couple times.

"Oww." Tansuko said flatly, his face buried in his pillow.

"Come on, we have to get back soon," Yamaru said, leaving the room with a smile. "Wouldn't want to be late for you graduation."

"You're a jerk." Came the muffled response as Yamaru slid the door closed.

"Do you have to leave so soon?" Sara asked, as Yamaru entered the hallway again, with a slight frown on her face.

"I promise I'll come to visit more often, Sara-san." Yamaru said.

You have a scheduled life now. Rei interjected.

"I know," Sara said, walking over to him. "You're getting strong to protect souls and hollows alike. No small feat. I just worry about you is all." She said, wrapping her arms around him.

Hey! Rei protested in vain.

"Don't worry, Sara-san." Yamaru said, embracing her in return. "As long as I have Rei by my side, there's nothing I won't be able to achieve."

"Well, know that I support you as well." She said, releasing Yamaru and heading down the stairs.

What was that about? Rei demanded.

"Jealous?" Yamaru teased.

Hardly.

"Okay, I'm up." Tansuko announced as Yamaru turned to see his friend standing in his underwear, wearing the bed sheet like a toga.

"You may want to try again." Yamaru snickered.

Sara made breakfast for them all while Tansuko re-dressed himself and after enjoying her delicious cooking, it was time for them to return. They promised to visit often, and set out back to the Academy.

NRawk's Notes:

Just a nice short chapter for you all this time. So I hope you enjoyed, and please review. Next chapter probably won't be up until after Christmas. So Happy Holidays, whichever one you celebrate.