Chapter 11

"Where would you like to be dropped off at?" Hoshi asked the man in traditional Japanese clothing.

"A little ways from where Ichigo is would be nice."

Hoshi nodded and relayed the message to Seiryu. The dragon gave a low growl before taking off to where he felt Ichigo's spiritual pressure. Hoshi noticed that Uryu's own spiritual pressure was coming from the same area. I hope those two aren't fighting with each other right now. Unknown to Hoshi though, the two teenage boys were in fact arguing with each other while trying to fight off the large amount of hollows.

Hoshi turned her heard to look at the group behind her. "I never introduced myself. I am Hoshi Namikaze. I wish we could have met under better circumstances."

"It's nice to meet you Hoshi. I'm Kisuke Urahara," the man with the fan answered.

The much larger man began to introduce himself as well. "I am Tessai Tsukabishi. A pleasure to meet you, Miss Namikaze."

Hoshi giggled and smiled, "You may call me Hoshi, Mr. Tsukabishi."

Tessai nodded as he crossed his large arms over his chest. "As long as you call me by my name as well."

"It's a deal then!" Hoshi agreed.

With Ichigo and Uryu

Ichigo and Uryu stood back to back as more hollows began to surround the two of them. Uryu noticed something strange about the hollows. They were all looking up towards the sky. "Wait. Ichigo!"

Ichigo looked over his shoulder for a second. "What is it, Uryu?"

"The hollows are acting strange...They're all looking up at the sky... As if they're praying..." Uryu concluded as soon as another large crack appeared in the sky. The crack was bigger than the previous one. Two large white hands appeared in the crack and pulled, pushing a large white face through the large hole.

The two high school boys stared disbelievingly at the new appearance. "Whoa. What is that?! It's bigger than big! Is it a hollow, too?!" Ichigo asked as he stared up at the large creature.

"How should I know?!" Uryu snapped back. "What are we going to do?! We can't fight that thing and this multitude of hollows!"

"Shut up!" Ichigo shouted, "We have no choice!"

"Well you were the one who said to think before you attack! You should take your own advice! That was then, this is now!"

Ichigo twitched while he replied, "We don't have time to think!" The hollows gathered around the two growled, drawing the teens attention towards them. The boys glared at the hollows with bared teeth. "Shoot..." As if on command a loud explosion errupted, killing several hollows. Ichigo and Uryu turned around to see a small girl with a cannon.

Ururu bowed in greeting. "H-Hello..."

"Mr. Kurosaki!" Kisuke greeted while placing a hand on Ururu's head. Jinata and Tessai were also there with their own weapons, ready to fight at any given moment. "We've come to help you!"

Ichigo looked at Kisuke in shock. "You're...Rukia's friend, Hat-and-Clogs?!"

Jinta, Tessai, and Ururu jumped into action immediatly, destroying as many hollows as they could. Uryu watched in amazement as Tessai killed a hollow bare handed.

Ichigo, however, kept his gaze on Kisuke. "Why do you always show up wherever I go?!"

Kisuke just smiled as he waved his fan in front of his face. "Didn't I just tell you? I'm like, soooo here to help you~! Like I said. We'll take care of the hollows around here! So you, Mr. Kurosaki can concentrate on fighting that guy." Kisuke pointed a finger at the large hollow that was still trying to rip its way into the World of the Living. "Go on...There's no time to talk!"

With Hoshi

Hoshi watched from the rooftop of an abandoned building as the large hollow started to make its way further into the Karakura Town. Her dog, Kiba, sat nervously by her side. "Seiry..."

The azure dragon shifted his eyes to his mistress. "Yes, Lady Hoshi?"

"What kind of hollow is that thing?" Hoshi asked, not taking her eyes off the unknown hollow.

"It is know as a Menos Grande. They are far beyond what a normal soul reaper can kill," Seiryu answered honestly. Hoshi turned her gaze to Seiryu in worry. Seiryu felt Hoshi's worry and thought it best to try and comfort her in hopes that her illness would not begin to act up. "Do not fret, my Lady. I believe that your friends will be able to win against such a creature. Especially, young Ichigo."

Hoshi smiled breifly before turing her gaze back to the Menos. She took notice of Ichigo and Uryu charging towards the massive hollow. Well, more like Ichigo was charging and Uryu was chasing after him. "Yes, I think you're right, Seiryu. If anyone can defeat that thing, it would be him." Hoshi smiled once again. "Of course, we can't forget about Uryu either. After all, he is helping."

Hoshi and Seiryu continued to watch closely as Ichigo and Uryu attacked the Menos. Sadly, their attacks did nothing against the hollow. When Uryu's bow suddenly grew several times bigger, Hoshi raised her eyebrows in wonder. 'How did that happen?' Hoshi thought, though she knew she would never recieve an answer. Hoshi sighed and turned away from the railing with Kiba following close beside her.

Seiryu noticed Hoshi's actions. "Is something the matter, Lady Hoshi?"

Hoshi looked over her shoulder. "I'm going to go down and see how Chad and Orihime are holding up. I'm sure all of this must rather overwhelming for them."

Seiryu nodded, "Will you be dismissing me now?"

Hoshi pursed her lips together, unsure of what she should do. After a moment, Hoshi answered, "Yes, you can rest now Seiryu. Thank you for your help today."

Seiryu bowed his head. "It was my pleasure." Seiryu's body changed back into it's spiritual pressure state. The blue spiritual pressure slow returned to Hoshi's body. Hoshi sighed as she felt Seiryu return to her body. It had been a while since she had summoned any of the Guardians. Hoshi had a feeling she would pay hefty price for using so much power for so long after a few months of doing nothing.

Hoshi shook her head and went down stairs to the floor Chad and Orihime were watching the fight from. When she entered, she noticed both her friends standing beside a large window. "Can you see...Ishida and Ichigo?"Chad asked Orihime.

"Uh-huh."

"Clearly?"

"Uh-huh," Orihime repeated.

"Oh. They're blurry to me," Chad revealed.

Hoshi stayed silent as she watched her two friends. She felt bad for them. The two of them were so suddenly flung into a world they never knew existed. Well, perhaps, not too suddenly, after all, both had experiences with hollows before. They just didn't realize it. Though Hoshi had her suspitions that Orihime may have remembered that night at her apartment.

"We watch from here...We look...and choose...the path we'll take..." Orihime muttered. Chad stayed silent. Orihime looked down at the floor as she remembered the night at her apartment. "Chad..." she began, catching the much taller boy's attention. "...What...are we supposed to do?"

Chad watched Orihime from the corner of his eye. After a moment, he answered, "I don't know..."

Hoshi took that as her chance to speak. "You should do," Hoshi started, startling both her friends. Chad and Orihime turned to face her. "What you feel is right." Hoshi steadily gazed at her two friends. "It's okay to be frightned. No one will blame either of you for not wanting to get involved with this supernatural world that has opened up to you. If I was in your shoes, I would be reluctant to step into it as well."

"Hoshi? How long have you known about all of this?" Orihime asked the white haired girl.

Hoshi took a deep breather before exhaling. "Which part? About hollows and soul reapers, or about Ichigo?"

"Both..."

"I've known about hollows and soul reapers since I was just a little girl. When my parents were still alive. They were the ones that taught me most of what I know." Hoshi paused as she walked over the window Orhime and Chad were staring at. "They were also the ones that helped me discover my own powers, which you had seen earlier with Seiryu. For as long as I can remember, I've been able to see ghost, soul reapers, and hollows, alike. I knew about Ichigo being a soul reaper the day he came to school talking about a hole in his house. I could feel that his spiritual pressure had gone out the roof. It was quite strong. I believe it may have effected the two of you, which is why you can now see hollows and such. Ichigo doesn't know that I know. In fact, he's forgotten that I can even see ghosts in the first place."

No one said anything for a while. Orihime and Chad were thinking about everything that Hoshi explained while Hoshi herself was simply staring at the window while running a hand through Kiba's fur. "Why didn't you ever tell Tatsuki or me about you being able to see ghosts? We wouldn't have judged you for it..."

Hoshi smiled slightly. "I know you wouldn't have. It's just something I got used to keeping quite about. I never really thought about telling anyone about it. I honestly didn't see the need too." Hoshi turned her head to look at Orihime. "I hope you can forgive me for not saying anything."

Orihime wrapped her arms around Hoshi's shoulders. "Of course I forgive you! I know you didn't mean any harm by not telling us!"

"I'm glad." Hoshi hugged the burnt orange haired girl back.

"Look," Chad said, bringing the two girls attention back out the window. They all saw the Menos Grande retreating back into the ripped sky. "It's leaving..."

"It looks like they did it," Hoshi breatherd out in relief. She shifted her gaze momentarly to her two friends. "You know...You don't have to decide right away what you want to do. Take what time you need in order to make the right choice for you." Hoshi turned to leave.

"Were are you going, Hoshi?" Orihime questioned.

Hoshi paused at the top of the stair case leading down to the next floor. "I'm going home. I think I may have used too much energy earlier. Come one Kiba, let's go. I'll see you two at school. Bye!" With that, Hoshi and Kiba disappeared from the other teenagers sight.