Hoshi was glad that Ishida agreed to come with her. Once the bell rang she went the others back to class. She was glad that the feeling had lessened but was still there. She worked on her homework and was able to focus better now than she had been able to during the morning.

( sorry about the email message. I was having Internet trouble and wanted to let you know. I think Thor and Loki have been fighting again. These thunderstorms are terrible today. D: had one tornado warning, that's why its taken me so long to post tonight. Watched Bad Teeth again[sweat] and seem to be at th point where I am getting more suspicious of Captain Renard. I don't want him to be a bad guy. He's one of my favorite characters. D:)

Katia headed toward the school to wait for her friends. Urahara wanted her to get used to the outside world and let her leave the shop. She could sense that Ishida was angry and wished she knew why.

Hoshi took care of her things once the bell rang and waited for Ishida. She wondered what her other friends thought about them being cousins.

(It's not a problem. Although i got all 7 of them at once but I did reply to it. You can just ignore it if it seems to be working. *teasing* get your own Lightning jokes! I agree with you on Captain Renard...it seems as if he's working with the 9 Dragon Clan or whatever that gang is)

Ishida was glad that school was out for the day and quickly packed his stuff up and headed outside the classroom. He saw that Hoshi was waiting for him and nodded to her. "You okay?" he asked, having found out about being related.

( sorry about the 7 emails. [sweat] Or it could have been a pikachu dance party going on today.[rofl] He could be. Or the Royal families. Isn't he supposed to be a prince of some kind?)


" I'm okay. Just nervous about asking Katia. " Hoshi said getting the picture out of her backpack. She had a feeling that Katia probably didn't know much about her family.


Katia was impressed with what she saw of Karakura town and was glad she didnt get lost. She had followed the spirit ribbons of her friends so she could find them, but knew she had learn where things in town were if she was going to do errands for Urahara.

(not a problem. He could be a double agent though, working for both the Royal Family and the Clan...)

"If it Katia-chan, then I think she'll be happy to know that she has some family left. If it's not, then we just need to keep searching," Ishida said before seeing Katia and what seemed to be as if she was waiting for someone. Once they were within her assumed hearing distance, Ishida called her name.

Katia waved and walked over to Hoshi and Ishida. " Hey you two. Is everything alright? " Katia asked.


" Katia-San, is this you in the picture?" Hoshi asked and handed her the picture.

Katia took the picture from Hoshi's hands, curiosity running through her mind. She looked at the picture before looking up at Hoshi and Ishida. "It's me, back when I was younger. Why do you have this picture of me Hoshi and what's going on?" she asked, confused.

" It was in my Grandma Fumi's picture album. " Hoshi said.

"Why would she have a picture of me in my youth?" Katia asked, confused. She didn't have much memories of her family before she was forced into joining the Vandenreich.

" I think we might be related. Do you remember your dad's name? "Hoshi asked. Hoshi knew her mom had an older brother and sister and that both of them had died like her own mother had.

"I remember some of it, something like Sam or Samuel I think," Katia said, hoping that she was related to both and be able to get some information about her family.

" My mom had a brother named Sam. He was named after a close friend of our Grandpa Fusao. " Hoshi said. She remembered the story that her grandma had told her. She knew that her mom's maiden name was Yamada and that her grandma's was Ota. She was ready to help Kaita learn more about her family.

Katia listened to the story with rapt attention, extremely curious about her family and their history. She knew that Hoshi wouldn't have all the answers, but was glad to find out that she still had family. The only concern she had was that since their relationship changed...would they still be friends?

" I hope we all can still be friends. "Hoshi said to both Ishida and to Katia. " My dad should be home soon. " She said after a little bit. Hoshi hoped he could answer some of her questions.

Both Ishida and Katia nodded at that, hoping they could all stay friends, especially since Hoshi's group of friends were the first people who respected her for her, and not for her skills.

Tetsu could sense both Hoshi, Katia, and Ishida heading toward the house. He could sense that something had happped and a good idea what it was.

Katia laughed lightly as Ishida told the two a story about his grandfather, a small smile on her face. It surprised her a little to find that she could still laugh and smile like that, especially she hadn't been able to do so ever since she was forced into the Vandenreich. As they got closer to Hoshi's home, she hoped that Hoshi's father would explain everything.

Hoshi laughed a little bit too. She was glad that things were going well so far. She opened the gate for both Ishida and Katia.

Tetsu greeted them at the front door with a wave. He had a smile on his face and hoped that tension in the would settle a little bit.

" Is everything alright?" Tetsu asked once they were inside. He knew about Ishida being Hoshi's cousin, but wasn't sure about Katia. He knew Sam had died in an accident with his wife Anya and had a little girl, but the child had disappeared shortly afterward.

Hoshi nodded and placed the two photos on the coffee table.

Tetsu picked up the pictures and compared them. " I recognize these photos. I remember you when you were younger Uryu-chan. You and Hoshi used to play with each other when you were children. Katia, I remember getting a picture like this from your dad. He and your mom lived in Sapporo. He was an assistant professor in mathematics. I'm sorry I kept this from you Hoshi. We all were afriad of losing both you and Uryu after Sanae died unexpectedly. " Tetsu said mentioning the name of his late wifes sister. " Hotaru and Sanae wanted both of you to grow up togeather as friends, even though you father didn't like it. " Tetsu continued.

" I don't know exactly . That could be one of the reasons. Also the death of Sam and Anya really shook everyone. Fumi had a feeling that the accident was intentional. She was worried the Vandenreich might try to use Hoshi to get to you. She feared they were the ones responsible for the death of Sam and the disappearance of Katia. She hated every moment of keeping you apart. I know it could also be that your father has never liked me very much. " Tetsu said solemnly. He had tried his best to be friends with Ryuken, but knew they were too different to get along.