They were finally alone, Kisuke occupied with the man who'd examined Kagome. Ulquiorra hadn't been on board with separating the two for the examinations, especially upon learning it was a Kurosaki who would be looking at her, but hadn't voiced his displeasure. She'd assured him nothing happened outside of the check up when she was done, but he couldn't completely relax. He still wasn't happy that she'd chosen to stay with him rather than going home, though deep down he was also relieved that she hadn't left him.

Now they were in the room provided to them for sleeping, Kagome currently unpacking her belongings. He paced the walls, scanning for any traps and bugs. Kisuke had promised no tricks, but Ulquiorra was still wary.

"Something wrong?" Kagome asked.

He didn't see nor sense anything out of the ordinary, but this was Kisuke. The man who had a huge hand in defeating Aizen. He couldn't be completely sure. "I don't sense any types of bugs in the room."

She paused, suddenly looking nervous. Kirara stuck her nose to the air and sniffed, then mewed as if to agree with him.

"You think they'd go that far?" she questioned.

He preferred to steer on the side of caution.

Ulquiorra could sense that Kisuke was still engaged with that black-haired Kurosaki, so he decided this was as good a time as ever. He regarded Kagome. "Now that we are once more alone, let us continue our earlier conversation."

He was referring to the one in the well house, she was quick to realize.

"You're not gonna let that go, are you."

"No."

Kagome sighed and pushed aside her backpack, sitting against the wall and patting the spot beside her. He didn't move, perfectly fine standing where he was.

"I don't like being looked down at when talking. If you don't sit then I'm not talking," she warned.

She was firm with her wording, allowing no arguments. The thought to pressure her to just speak crossed his mind, but he felt that would only invoke her anger and she'd become difficult. He obliged, if only to get her talking.

"How much do you know about the Shikon no Tama?" she asked.

"Only that it's a relic of the past with empowering and wish-granting abilities," he replied.

Kagome nodded. So just the legend. This would be an interesting conversation. "It did use to exist centuries ago and the stories about it being able to grant powers and a wish are true. Five hundred years ago, it was wished out of existence. I was the one who did that."

That didn't make sense. His expression darkened, his eyes taking in her form. She was human, definitely. Different from the others, but still human. Her statement contradicted her nature. "Explain."

So she did. Kagome lifted the bottom left side of her shirt to reveal the scar on her side. "It used to be inside me, right where the scar is. Remember the well I was in this morning? A youkai ripped it out of me after dragging me back 500 years into the past through it. I was in the well house at the time looking for Buyo, my cat and I guess that was close enough to revive her. That was also when I found out I had powers, because I managed to use them to rip a few arms off her before she could kill me for the jewel. It happened a year ago."

"Time traveling powers..."

So that was why she was in the well. Still, it was hard to wrap his head around. The only person he knew with time altering powers was Barragan, who'd been the former king of Hueco Mundo before Aizen. Even then, he had limits. Nothing like traveling between time, just accelerating the aging process of that which came into contact with him.

It was one thing to accelerate or decelerate time within a limited space, but straight up traveling through different points in time didn't seem possible.

"Well... I wouldn't really say that. The time traveling comes from the well, not me. The jewel is what allowed me to pass through at the time, but I can't do it anymore. You saw for yourself," she corrected.

The dots were slowly connecting.

Ulquiorra recalled the Goshinboku's other name as the Tree of Ages and connector of time, which the well's wood was made from. The Shikon no Tama granted power and wishes, which in turn granted Kagome the ability to travel back. She'd mentioned being able to heal him with the tree's assistance. If that was all true, then it had reversed his time to the point before his death. That was his hypothesis, based on the new information.

Still logic defying, but it was something.

There was an issue though. Kagome said she'd wished the jewel out of existence five centuries ago. "If the jewel is what granted you the power to pass through time and you destroyed it in the past, how did you manage to come back to this time?" he finally asked.

"Right after I made the wish for it to disappear, I was forced back to the present. Probably because I don't belong in that time," she explained.

It was hard to verify her words without seeing it for himself. He'd always been one to only believe in what he saw. If not, then it simply did not exist. She didn't sound like she was lying, though.

If only he could see it himself…

Kagome yawned, stirring him from his thoughts. Her head fell against his shoulder and she sighed, brushing a hand through Kirara's fur. Her eyes were drooping, he noted. She hadn't slept last night in favor of letting him rest instead, and it was starting to affect her. He couldn't help but be reminded of how weak humans were, and of how peculiar this woman was. She was so openly vulnerable with him, someone who could easily kill her with little effort. It would only take a single stab to her chest, yet she trusted him not to.

A stupid choice.

So idiotically trusting she was, it should have gotten her killed.

Yet here he was, tolerating her presence. Enjoying it, even. It was surreal. He'd spent the majority of his lifetime rejected by others, having no meaning to his existence. Simply wandering aimlessly, desiring something he could not have. Then Aizen came and gave him a purpose, only for it to be stripped away at his defeat by Ichigo. He was a meaningless being, his existence so pitifully void. What benefits did she gain from staying with him?

Even more bizarre, she referred to him as a friend.

He couldn't comprehend it.

"I miss everyone," she muttered, so quietly he barely heard her. She was half-asleep at this point. "I don't know what to do with myself. I started that journey just wanting my normal life back and now that I have it, I hate it. I'm so pathetic. What do I do now? I don't have any purpose anymore…"

He had no words of comfort. To think they shared a commonality, how laughable.

A knock sounded, stirring Kagome back awake. A little girl with blue hair opened the door and bowed, and he recalled she was one of Kisuke's workers. "Dinner's ready… P-please come and eat," she said.

"Thank you, we'll be right there," Kagome replied.

The girl nodded and immediately left.

Kagome got up and stretched, Kirara jumping from her lap to settle on his shoulder. He had no appetite to join them, but Kagome wasn't comfortable without him. So he agreed to her request, following her out of the room.

The room was rather awkward, to say the least. Kisuke greeted them with a smile and Tessai welcomed them in, but the two kids couldn't help staring at Ulquiorra. It was obvious they were on guard, questioning why the Arrancar was staying with them. The two sat together and Tessai handed Kagome a bowl of chopped fish for Kirara, which she thanked him for.

While Kirara ate, Kagome noticed Ulquiorra's food seemed seasoned slightly differently from everyone else's. She furrowed her brows, taking a closer look in confusion.

"Don't worry, it's not poison or anything," Kisuke assured. She had a hard time trusting him. "I'm sure you've noticed already but as a Hollow, Ulquiorra-san here doesn't possess a physical body. While he may be able to interact with the Material World to a degree, human food is not as easily digestible to spiritual beings or as nourishing. So we've prepared more reishi-rich food just for him."

"Oh, that makes sense…" Kagome frowned. Was that why he wouldn't eat anything that her mom prepared for him? There was only that one time he'd joined them for dinner, but afterwards anything she brought to him was left untouched. Now she felt guilty. She should've asked him earlier about it. "I'm sorry, I didn't know. You haven't been eating all this time…"

"It's fine, I do not require much feeding to survive," he said.

That didn't make her feel better. Food was necessary for survival, so she felt he was just saying that for her sake.

"By the way, I uh… I've been meaning to ask, Higurashi-san–"

"Kagome is fine."

Ururu paused, then hesitantly nodded. "About your cat… What kind of cat is she? I've uh, I've never seen one with two tails before."

"Oh yeah, I was gonna ask that, too. Was she born deformed or something?" Ginta questioned.

The glare Kagome shot him had the boy shrinking back. "No, she's a nekomata. I'd appreciate it if you watched how you talked about her."

"Oh? So she is a youkai, then. I thought they were all extinct by now," Tessai said.

There was no ill-will in his words, but Kagome still didn't like them. It was a fact she couldn't quite accept yet. "Maybe, but she is one."

He nodded. "Pardon my asking, but does she eat cat food?"

"Not really," Kagome replied. She'd given Kirara some in the past to see if she'd like it, but that had resulted in an upset stomach. It was too processed down for her. "Kibble hurts her stomach and normal wet food isn't much better. She needs actual meat, whether cooked or raw."

"I thought so," Tessai muttered. He nodded to himself, as if making up his mind about something. "You still need to get your school supplies and uniform, correct? I can accompany you tomorrow to get everything and stock up on food for Kirara-san. If that's alright with you, Boss?"

Kagome's face lit up.

"Actually… How about I go with Higurashi-san, instead."

And then dulled. Ulquiorra paused mid-chew.

Kisuke noticed. "Come now, I'm hurt~ Why the sour expression? I've got some things to do in town, so it would be easier for us to go together."

Kagome didn't look convinced. "Really? Like what?"

The blonde's eyes took an uncharacteristically somber look. "To visit a fallen war hero."

He didn't explain further, but the room grew tense. Tessai and the kids knew who he was referring to, but Kagome had no idea. Still, she didn't ask any more. It wasn't her place to.

The rest of dinner from then on was mostly silent.

Ulquiorra was not allowed to accompany them, so he was left in their room brooding. It was funny how she had such a hard time telling what the man was thinking or feeling when they first met, but now she was able to pick up on his emotions here and there. Still difficult, but it was progress. That, or he was slipping. He wasn't happy with her leaving him, but as always he didn't voice any complaints or even said a word. Just resigned to the situation.

Maybe it was just because she was so used to Inuyasha always throwing tantrums when things didn't go his way, but Ulquiorra was a little too compliant with everything. Even things he didn't like or was against.

This might just be her worry talking, but that kind of attitude could get him used.

It also reinforced to her that her decision to stay with him was right.

Their first order of business was getting Kagome her school stuff, much to her surprise. She half-expected Kisuke to take the lead and get his own things out of the way first, but perhaps he wanted to keep the atmosphere light for as long as possible. He asked about her home and school life, which she responded with a mix of truths and half-truths. She didn't outright lie, as she wasn't the best at it, but she wasn't ready to tell him anything important about herself.

He was fine with it for the most part, not challenging her answers. That was, until the topic of her powers came up.

"Higurashi-san, would I be correct to assume you have some sort of powers?" he asked.

She didn't like where this was going. "What makes you think that?"

"You are able to see spiritual beings like Hollows and other ghosts. That in itself, while not ordinary, isn't a cause for concern. However, do you recall what I said back at your house about the dangers of beings as powerful as Ulquiorra-san?"

She nodded, recalling his words. It was his winning argument to get her checked.

"Even spiritually aware humans would be crushed under his reiatsu alone. Especially someone like you who holds no reiatsu to combat his own. Yet you appear completely unfazed," he explained. "What's even more puzzling is that your reiryoku seems completely suppressed to a point that even I struggle to pick up on it. Would this be the power you're hiding away?"

"Isn't that because the Goshinboku was suppressing him and now you are, too? Maybe that's why I'm not affected," she argued.

He laughed, finding her answer amusing. "Good point. However, that incident at the park with the Hollows over a week ago would beg to differ. You even defeated one yourself."

She gawked. "You've been stalking us?!"

"Whaaaaat? This handsome but humble man stalking a pretty young girl like you? I could never," he said in an obnoxious tone. She wanted to hit him. "Why I just happened on the scene after being alerted to a Hollow appearance and, as a Shinigami, was duty-bound to stick around and ensure the Hollow was dealt with."

Right, totally. That's why he didn't lift a finger or show himself at all.

That meant he'd seen her use her powers. She cursed to herself. There was no way of hiding it from him, he'd already known before even asking her. She'd played right into his trap, and he only wanted to see how forthcoming she'd be when asked.

"Fine, you got me. I do have powers, but I'm not all that powerful, if that's what you wanna know. Ulquiorra did mention the same thing though, but I really don't know what you guys mean about the whole 'suppressing' thing. At least, if I am suppressing them, it's not consciously," Kagome said.

Kisuke hummed thoughtfully. "When did your powers first appear?"

"About a year ago," she answered honestly. "A youkai suddenly appeared and attacked me, and I kinda just instinctively used them back then. I learned how to use a bow since then in case I got attacked again, but outside of channeling my power into arrows I don't really know how else to use them."

"You don't have a teacher?"

"Nope."

He paused, making her stop as well. "Then what if I taught you?"

The offer shocked her, leaving her speechless. She didn't see how that would work, though. "Aren't you just a Shinigami?"

He nodded. "That I am, but the way we Shinigami use our powers isn't too different from how mikos do. I can at least teach you how to properly use your reiryoku. As for miko techniques, I can look into them for you. It shouldn't be too hard."

Kagome was unsure.

"It's fine, you don't have to give me an answer right now. We still have more things to take care of today, so you can get back to me later," he said.

She was grateful for that.

Kagome still couldn't bring herself to completely trust him, considering Ulquiorra's situation and her not knowing the blonde personally. However, the thought of finally getting a teacher was extremely tempting. Her biggest frustration had always been that she didn't know how to use her powers. Neither did she ever have a teacher, as she was always either too busy looking for jewel shards and fighting Naraku or just had no one there to help her. Kaede was the only one who'd offered, but she was too old to travel with them and the group could never afford to stay in her village long enough for anything to come out of it. If she could finally train properly, maybe then she'd actually be able to help Ulquiorra.

…Or get the well working again.

That last part was wishful thinking, but she couldn't help it. Kagome still hadn't completely accepted the reality, desperately holding on to what little hope she had left in her.

Their next stop was to the grocery store. Tessai had given them a small list of things to buy, but outside of that the only other instructions were for Kagome to get whatever she needed for Kirara. She was thankful for the money her mother gave her to keep her afloat for the time being while in Karakura Town, however Kisuke surprised her by paying for everything. He assured her that it was no big deal, dismissing her objections and concerns.

As they exited the market district to enter the residential ones, Kagome wondered if perhaps it would have been better to do the shopping last. It wasn't too much, but they were walking on foot and it was annoying lugging it around. Kisuke had planned to visit a fallen hero, as he'd said, and she wasn't sure if it was all that appropriate to go to a cemetery with all the bags.

They stopped in front of a clinic, one Kagome immediately noticed had Kurosaki in the name. Same as the guy from yesterday who'd given her a medical check up.

Why were they here?

Connected to the clinic was a home, which Kisuke guided her to. The actual clinic was closed, but a girl with light brown hair opened the front door and greeted them. She recognized Kisuke and called out for her dad, before leading them inside to the living room.

Another girl with black hair, about the same age as the first one, popped into the room. "Dad'll be down in a moment. He's tending to Ichi-nii," she said.

Kisuke thanked her. The first girl excused herself, promising to come back with tea and snacks while they waited.

It was awkward, especially since Kagome didn't know why they'd come here. Was there something wrong with the check up yesterday? Sure, she hadn't been as forthcoming with her history, but the guy hadn't said anything against her. In fact, he happily noted she was perfectly healthy, even if at some points he seemed a little unsure during the examination.

No, maybe she was just overthinking it.

"By the way, I've been wondering for a while now but how are you hiding Ulquiorra? He said something about how the Shinigami gets alerted to his presence whenever he leaves the shrine grounds, but he seems perfectly fine now," she asked. "Is it that cloak you gave him?"

"That's exactly right! It hides his reiatsu from being detected. Neat, isn't it? I invented it myself~" He was bragging, Kagome could see. "Though I can't take all the credit. That Goshinboku tree really is amazing. With some reinforcing spells, even a small chip of its bark can hide his presence for the time being."

He didn't.

No way did he chip off a part of the bark of the tree.

The sacred tree.

She stared, completely speechless. To do something so sacrilegious… "You… wha… huh?!" If she wasn't so shocked, she'd clobber him.

"Come now, don't look at me like that. Completely suppressing and disguising one's self is near impossible. I was limited on time and options," Kisuke defended.

"There wasn't anything else you could have done?!" she questioned.

He was too amused, but there was something in his eyes that told her he still was taking it seriously. A glint in them that made her just a bit too nervous. "Not all of us are able to so easily conceal our presence like you, Higurashi-san."

"Wait, what do you mean?"

"You haven't noticed?" he questioned. She really hated how he loved to dance around the point. "I told you earlier, didn't I? Your reiryoku is suppressed to the point even I have difficulty detecting it, even as I'm sitting right next to you. Not to mention your lack of reiatsu means you're basically undetectable. Unless someone is really really looking into it, it's hard to sense you."

Was that actually true? Inuyasha never seemed to have troubles finding her, though.

But he has a really good sense of smell, she reminded herself.

"You don't look convinced, Higurashi-san. And you'd be right to question it, as it's not a normal phenomenon. Even highly skilled individuals in the art of disguise can't completely erase their presence like yourself. At least, not for long. However, I do have a hypothesis. Would you like to hear it?" he asked.

Kagome nodded.

"I can't prove it without properly examining you, but I believe that the Goshinboku's power has influenced your own due to the years of constant exposure to it. It's likely that upon your powers awakening, your body subconsciously began suppressing it in response to the attack from the youkai a year ago," he explained. "Think of it as an automatic defense mechanism to keep yourself from becoming targeted again."

Okay, that made a bit of sense.

Kinda.

Kikyo also had ways of concealing her presence from others, though it was hard to gauge how good her abilities were since Kagome barely knew her. Even Inuyasha and arguably Naraku had trouble detecting her when she didn't want to be found.

So then, Kagome's suppression may have been caused in mix by her own priestess powers and the Goshinboku's.

"You said 'for the time being'. Will you have to keep chipping away at the Goshinboku to hide Ulquiorra?" Kagome finally asked.

"Ideally, no. I'm already working on a solution to the problem. However, his existence as a Hollow is hard to work around," Kisuke replied. There was that glint in his eyes again, one that made her nervous. "The only true solution would be to alter his soul's constitution, which will take some experimenting."

"Experimenting?!" There was no way she could ever agree to that. He was a person, not a lab rat for them to mess with. "Wouldn't that hurt his body and soul?"

"It might," Kisuke said.

Kagome didn't like it one bit. Did Ulquiorra already know the plan? Had he agreed to it? The obvious answer should have been no. No one in their right mind would say yes to that. But this was Ulquiorra. She still had yet to hear a single protest to his treatment. He may question things here and there, but he was compliant. Her stomach turned unpleasantly as she realized that regardless of if he knew or not, he'd likely still go along with it.

He may be a criminal in their eyes, but wasn't this too much?

"Isn't there anything else you can do?" she questioned.

"Unfortunately not. Soul Society won't sit back and leave him be if they find him, even if I'm the one vouching," Kisuke said. "Unless you can somehow lend your ability to conceal…"

"Okay," she said.

He blinked, raising an eyebrow. "Hmm?"

"If you can figure out how I do it, then you'll be able to do the same for Ulquiorra, right? I'll take your training if it means helping him," she stated firmly.

Deep down inside, Kagome had a feeling that it may be a mistake to let him use her like that, but that was fine. Ulquiorra was her friend. He may not help himself, but she sure as hell wasn't gonna sit around and let him be treated like this.

"He'll kill me, you know," Kisuke said.

"I don't care. He can take it up with me. I offered, so he can't be mad at you," she retorted.

Kisuke opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted by the man who'd examined her yesterday. Kurosaki Isshin, if she remembered that right. He obviously wasn't expecting her there.

"Higurashi-san, what a lovely surprise! How have you been?" he greeted with a smile.

"I've been well, thank you. How about you, Kurosaki-san?" she replied.

They exchanged pleasantries, but no mentions of her check up yesterday. She was confused, though decided against bringing it up. Isshin asked what they were here for, to which Kisuke responded to see his son. That sombered up the man and he nodded, leading them out of the room and up the stairs to a room with a sign that read '15'. There was some whispering exchanged, though nothing that she could make out. Kagome's curiosity battled her to speak up.

"Umm, is it okay for me to follow? I can wait downstairs," she said.

Kisuke dismissed her concern with a wave of his fan. "No, no. Don't worry about it. It's fine. You'll be meeting him eventually, anyway."

Isshin nodded. "Don't worry, I'm sure my son wouldn't mind too much having a new friendly face to see him."

She wasn't so sure. Still, she followed them into the room. Kagome wasn't sure what she was expecting honestly, but an orange-haired teen who looked about her age passed out on a bed wasn't it. She really didn't think that she, a stranger who's never met the guy, should be in here when he was sleeping. It felt inappropriate. An invasion of privacy.

"His hair has gotten shorter," Kisuke noted.

"Yeah, he's over halfway it seems. At this rate, it should only be another few days to a week before he stabilizes and wakes up," Isshin agreed.

Kagome was confused. "Umm, not to interrupt. But what's going on here?"

Kisuke smiled and gestured to the boy on the bed. The usual smile on his face was more laxed, his eyes softer. "This is Kurosaki Ichigo, the hero of the war against Aizen Sousuke. He'll be your classmate starting the school year."

Isshin perked up at that. "Oh, you're going to the same school as him? Don't let his peaceful face now deceive you, he's always scowling when awake. Try not to be intimidated by him, he's pretty soft underneath it. But if he does give you trouble, just let me know. I'll rough him up for you."

Kagome chuckled, despite herself. She appreciated that, not that she could promise they'd be friends. "Thanks, I'll keep that in mind." She regarded Kisuke, who was back to eyeing Ichigo. "Why did you really bring me up here?"

"Perceptive as always," Kisuke muttered. His usual smile was back on. "I've heard that mikos are good healers. Though I doubt you can do anything for him given his current state, I'm curious as to your thoughts on the matter. Would you mind taking a look at him?"

Oh.

Isshin moved over to let her access to Ichigo. Kagome maybe wasn't the best at reading people, but she could spot that he wasn't completely sure about letting her do anything to his son. She was with him on that.

"I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but I'm not really all that great at healing. I can try, but can't promise anything," she said.

They were fine with that.

She moved to the bed and placed a hand over the boy's covered chest, eyes closing in concentration as she let her energy peak out of the palm of her hand. There was resistance, as well as fluctuations in his own energy. Kagome didn't dare to force more into him, nor encourage any healing. She had a feeling it would only disrupt his own even more. What was causing it?

They explained the situation, though most of it went over her head. She'd never met someone with a case like his, so she could only speculate on the matter. It wasn't too hard to realize they had hoped for a way to reverse the power loss. This wasn't anything like the sealing on her powers, where it could be undone with the elimination of the suppressor, though. It was beyond her.

"I'm sorry, I can't do anything for him. He's too unstable right now. If I tried, I think I'll only hurt him and disrupt his healing process," she apologized.

They didn't look surprised. Still, she hated to disappoint them.

The door to the room opened and the black-haired girl appeared. She pointed somewhere behind her. "Dad, Ichi-nii's friends are here to visit. They're coming up to see him."

"Oh? You can let them in," Isshin replied.

Kagome was greeted with the sight of a handful of teenagers her age, who paused in surprise upon noticing her and Kisuke. One of the two girls in the room, Kagome noticed, wore the same outfit as that annoying Shinigami in her home district. Kisuke greeted them, but Kagome retreated to the wall with a closed closet. Thankfully, she didn't have to stick around. Once introductions were out of the way, she was allowed to leave. Kisuke stayed behind to talk with the group, but Isshin walked with her back downstairs.

He was kind enough to entertain her while she waited for the blonde.

"About our earlier conversation, Higurashi-san," Kisuke began.

The two were alone in one of the few rooms in the clinic, Isshin giving them privacy upon Kisuke's request. The family's guests were still around, but he promised to come if they needed him. She sat on one of the chairs in the room, with Kisuke sitting across from her.

"I wanna be sure before we start training that you're really set on it, because I'm not the best at holding back, and I get the feeling Ulquiorra-san won't tolerate you getting hurt," he said. "I'll also need to examine and test you myself to see where you stand and what you need working on."

"Yes, I'm sure. It's not just for him. I wanna get stronger for myself too," she said.

Kisuke nodded. He held out a hand for her, to which she quickly got the hint and gave him hers. "I'd like to check something, first. If you don't mind?"

She didn't, or so she told him. Kagome was still a bit apprehensive.

Kisuke placed his index and middle finger over her wrist, his energy tickling the skin. Kagome could feel him prodding at hers and she resisted the urge to fidget as she felt it stir within her. He hummed thoughtfully, his hand slowly trailing up her arm, past her shoulder, and then over her heart where he hovered over. She wasn't sure what he was doing, but her own energy was responding, trying to protest.

Kagome caught his eyes momentarily narrowing. "Is something wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing definitive," he replied. She didn't know what that meant. "Your soul appears to be a little unstable."

Well that wasn't comforting to know.

He caught her look and gave a reassuring smile. "I didn't mean to alarm you, Higurashi-san. I'll have to look more into it later, but it may be due to your suppressed reiryoku."

"What do you mean?"

"How should I explain it…" He thought for a moment, then reached into his shirt and pulled out a balloon. "To use an analogy, imagine your body is this balloon and your reiryoku is the air within." He inflated the balloon until it was full. "There aren't any holes or exit points, as the only one is sealed. However, reiryoku is constantly being generated, putting pressure on the body if it's left to build up. Suppose this balloon was constantly being inflated, what would happen to it?"

"It'll pop."

He nodded. "Exactly."

Okay, so far she was getting it.

Because she wasn't naturally releasing any excess energy her body produced, it was putting pressure on her body and soul. Meaning, it was hurting her. "So I need to release it?"

He nodded again. "Normally, a person's excess reiryoku naturally flows out of their body. We refer to this as a person's reiatsu - or the pressure of one's reiryoku when released out of the body. It's fine for short periods of time to have it completely suppressed, but soon enough it'll start tearing at the body. Eventually, it can even lead to death."

Right, she was keeping up.

Since awakening her powers, Kagome tended to have something to release her energy on. Usually against demons, but there was also healing and passive purifying. Here however, there was little for her to use her powers on. Perhaps a Hollow or two, if she encountered them. But it had been a while since she did so.

If Kagome couldn't get her body to naturally release the excess energy, she'd have to force it out of herself.

"No need to fret. I believe I just got a great idea to combat the problem that I'm sure you'll like," Kisuke said.

Kagome raised an eyebrow. "And what's that."

"It's a surprise~" he declared, grinning.

She really hated him sometimes.

"Anyway, it's about time we get going. I'll explain it once we're back at the shop," he said. "Once we're there, I'll have you do an exercise before we get anything set up."

Kagome sighed, but accepted. She'd just have to be a little more patient, even if she was starting to question if she wouldn't soon regret agreeing to everything.

Author's Note

This note here is to the lovely readers who say they enjoy my story and offered to collab or something with me. While I am honored you think this story is worthy of art, I am in no position to commission artists to draw for me. Nor do I have any interest in it, even if I was financially stable to do so. I am also an artist. In fact, I doodled the very cover image on this story of Ulquiorra and Kagome, so I am not in need of an artist. I kindly ask that you do not DM me requesting I commission you, as I've already had a few do so and it is honestly not as heartening to receive them as you might think. I always feel bad rejecting people, so please keep this in mind as again: I am in no financial position to be commissioning people, nor am I interested for that matter even if I did have the money.

If anyone wants to draw something inspired by this fic like a scene or something, you're free to do so on your own. I'll even be really happy if you shared it with me.

But again, I am an artist myself. I will not be accepting any requests asking I commission you.

If you really wanna do something to show love and/or support for this fic and myself, reviews are always 100% welcome, as I love hearing your thoughts on my writing. That is it.

Thank you.