The bang repeated one more time, then Rukia burst through the door, looking totally annoyed.

"So much for our normal day." Ichigo muttered, his mood instantly turned sour.

Rukia just glared at Ichigo. "Oh shut up. Your lives aren't normal." She huffed in annoyance, then her gaze drifted to me. "Urahara suggested Ban Kai training today."

I went stiff. "He wants to get into that now?"

"There's not exactly a lot of time left before Ulquiorra strikes again." Rukia sounded a little frantic.

"Can't we just have the day to ourselves?" Ichigo looked like he was going to throw her out of the room.

"Someday, but today is not that day. And it will probably have to wait until we have absolute assurance that she's safe." Rukia suddenly knocks me and Ichigo out of our bodies without warning. "Your dad already knows I came by to get you so we can just go out the window."

I sighed in irritation and got to my feet. "Alright."

Rukia went out the window first, and I followed suit. Once Ichigo came out we all started towards Urahara's shop, but I refused to run and Ichigo had no objections to that, although Rukia appeared to be getting impatient. She walked at a faster pace and kept shouting at us to hurry up but neither one of us felt inclined to listen to her. I was in no rush to get there, I didn't feel ready for Ban Kai training. Ichigo expressed a few times on the way too that he didn't feel I was ready either, but Rukia just snapped back at him with her same argument that we didn't have any time to wait for me to feel ready. This only agitated Ichigo but he didn't argue back. We both knew I couldn't sit around idly.

When we finally reached Urahara's shop, I froze and wouldn't go inside. I didn't know what to expect from Ban Kai training; I was actually scared. I couldn't even make myself move. Rukia gave me a look of absolute irritation, but a look from Ichigo stopped her short from saying anything to me. He continued glaring at her until she seemed to get the point and went inside. He turned me to face him and waited to say anything until I finally met his eyes.

"I wouldn't make you do this if we had a choice. You know that right?" He said this gently.

"I know." I sighed.

"I know you're not ready. But we have to go in there and get it done." Ichigo squeezed my shoulders in reassurance. "Let's go inside okay?"

I just nodded and he let go of my shoulders and we walked inside. Renji was there, go figure, and he gave me an agitated look.

"Took you long enough." He growled at me.

"Shut up." I snapped back.

Ichigo glared hard at Renji and just gestured at me to go downstairs, which I obliged because I didn't want to be anywhere near Renji right now. When I dropped downstairs, Urahara stood next to a weird figure, Ichigo seemed to recognize it.

"Isn't that Yoruichi's?" He asked.

"I borrowed it because she was busy." Urahara responded.

It looked like a misshapen mannequin to me, or like a giant deformed spider. I didn't know what it was, but clearly it was to be used for my training. My nerves were on fire and I was shaking pretty badly. I didn't know why this freaked me out so badly, it just did.

"Are you ready?" Urahara asked me.

"No." I spat at him. "But I don't have much of a choice."

Urahara just blinked, unfazed by my anger at him. "This will bring out your zanpakuto spirit." He patted the weird figure thing, already diving into his explanation. "And you'll have to make her teach you your Ban Kai."

I looked confused. "How does she materialize?"

"You just stab your zanpakuto into the figure."

I slowly unsheathed Yoso, hesitant to even going through with this. But after a moment of just standing there, I moved forward and drove the blade through the thing and there was a bright light, and she was suddenly standing there, looking fairly agitated.

She looked at Urahara. "Idiot." She was pissed.

He threw his hands up defensively. "We don't have a choice."

She simply kicked him away from her, sending him flying backwards. "You moron! She's definitely not ready yet! There could be serious consequences starting her training too early."

Urahara got up, rubbing his stomach where she kicked him. "Like what?"

"I don't exactly know." She glowered at him.

"Well we just have to risk it."

"How does this work?" I asked Yoso before she could take another jab at Urahara.

She looked at me. "You just have to beat me."

"With what?"

"The way I'm doing it is direct combact. No swords." She half smiled.

Oh great. I was screwed. "Okay then."

I noticed Ichigo and Urahara had backed up and there appeared to be a shield between us and them. Fantastic.

"First rule, don't turn your back on me." I was suddenly sent flying backwards and tumbling. I tumbled into a rock. I quickly got back on my feet and noticed she wasn't where I could see her. However, at the last minute I sensed her behind me and I jumped out of the way right before she could plant a hit to the back of my head. Without really thinking about it, I charged her but she moved just right, she clotheslined me and I landed flat on my back wheezing. Ow.

I got up when I could actually breathe and then got knocked into the air again, then kicked into the ground, creating a small crater I hit the ground so hard. I got up to my feet faster that time and blocked one of her punches, swinging for a kick, but she was much faster than me and grabbed my ankle and flipped me over onto my stomach on the ground.

"Piece of advice." She whispered into my ear as I lay on the ground. "You gotta be faster than that to hit me."

I got up and she was gone again and I looked around warily. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted her charging me from the side and I jumped out of the way. She was able to stop before her momentum carried her too far and turned around. I braced myself for another attack, but she moved so fast I couldn't dodge and I ended up flat on my back again, her hand around my throat.

"It's like you're not even trying." She hissed at me.

"I am trying. You're just too fast." I choked out. "I'm not going to win."

"Not with that attitude you're not." She released me, lifted me by the collar of my shirt and threw me into the wall across the room lengthwise. I fell to my knees and tried to stand up, but my legs buckled and I fell forward on my hands and knees.

"Let me give it a shot." The hollow was suddenly very there.

My vision started to go dark and I could feel my control slipping. "NO DON'T!" I screamed and suddenly my head exploded into pain as I fought to keep control and I put my hands on the side of my head. I couldn't lose control, not now!

"Saru?" Yoso sounded confused and I felt her get closer.

"DON'T TOUCH ME! DON'T EVEN COME NEAR ME!" My voice was so distorted I was sure if that was me screaming it or the hollow.

"Saru!" That time it was Ichigo.

"DON'T!" I screamed at him. "DON'T COME NEAR ME!"

My vision was still slipping further. I COULDN'T LOSE CONTROL….I couldn't….

Before I knew it, I blacked out.