" There is Yuzu-chan. " Naomi said solemnly. She knew it would be best if it was Ichigo and Isshin who explained who Gin was and how dangerous he was.

"nee-chans, you remember when I left on Summer Vacation?"Ichigo asked, know that was a good place to start with.

" We do. " Karin and Yuzu said at the same time. Karin hadn't believed Ichigo and had wondered if it had to do with Rukia leaving so suddenly a few days before Ichigo did leave. She didn't like the tension in the air and knew Yuzu didn't like it either.

"Alright then," Ichigo said as he started explaining everything that happened during that time and who Gin was.

Yuzu felt hurt that Ichigo had kept so much from her and Karin, but had a feeling it was for their safety. She shuddered at the mention of Aizen and Gin. She had a feeling she had seen a man matching Gin's description looking at the house earlier , but didn't think much of it at the time. She was afraid to admit she could see ghosts much clearer than she had in the past and was beginning to sense strange things around her.

"Currently...we know that Gin had faked his death and had taken Aizen's blade. We don't know exactly what his plans are but..."

"both of you may be targets," Ichigo said, finishing up for his father. "But I'm not going to let that happen. I swear on it Yuzu-Imouto, Karin-Imouto," Ichigo finished.

Karin nodded and was angry that she and her sister were targets of this man. She saw Yuzu tense up at different points and was getting concerned. " You okay Yuzu-chan?"

" I think I might have seen Gin looking at our house earlier. I saw a strange man on the roof of Fujimima's house and got a strange feeling. " Yuzu said. She knew she had admited she could now see Shinigami but knew it was the best thing to do. She hated keeping secrets from her family , especially Karin, since there were few secrets between then.

"When did you feel them Yuzu-chan?" Naomi asked. She wasn't surprised that Yuzu could see Shinigami, but was curious if she sensed Gin the same time that she did. If that was the case, then she knew that they would have to be extra careful.

" When I was cooking supper. I don't know how long he had been there. " Yuzu said and was feeling upset. She didn't know why after so long she was beginning to see these things, having been use to not seeing them at all.

"Naomi, didn't you sense him around the same time?" Ichigo asked.

" I did. I have a feeling he wants to gather as much information about his enemies as he can. What surprises me is, that he didn't do anything to conceal himself while he was watching us. I have a feeling that was intentional , to get us worked up. " Naomi said doing her best to analyze the situation.

"That is a good question. Then again, with his ability to pierce anything at a moments notice, I don't blame him for not wanting to hide himself," Ichigo said.

"I have a feeling that he'll make himself known soon. Though I fear he's here looking for Nel-san. " Naomi said concerned.


Nel was nervous. She could sense Ichimaru's presence in the air and was tense. She hoped he wasn't here to take her back to Heuco Mundo for her to witness the deaths of Pesche and Dondochacka, then be killed herself. She wanted to fight and free Heuco Mundo from another unforgiving king.

"If he is, he's gonna have to kill me first. He'd also have to go through," he stopped there for a few seconds as he thought of how many captains Gin would have to fight off in order to capture Nel. "five captain classed shinigami. A Vizard/Quincy hybrid and 2 Elemental Quincy, if not more."

"He won't stand a chance. I have a feeling that there are more elementals here, but I don't know that for sure." Naomi said . She hoped there were, since it would be nice to meet others like her.


Setsuna Iwamoto was feeling nervous. She had sensed something different about this town the moment she had arrived from Kyoto. She was 24 and had inherited her aunt's antique shop here in Karakura town, but wasn't sure she should stay here long. She was an Elemental Quincy and she was uncomfortable sensing Shinigami. She could also sense other Quincy in the town and wondered how they managed to keep calm. She saw a strange man in the air and could feel an evil vibe to him, and hoped he wasn't one of the men her Aunt Minako had told her about.

"Not if he's alone he won't. We don't know if he's working alone or not though," Ichigo stated.

" Lets hope he is. But I fear theres many things we don't know yet. " Naomi said. " I better get going. I'll see you all early tomorrow " Naomi said a little while later. She hated to go so soon, but she didn't want to miss Satoshi's call. They were going to choose a date for the wedding tonight and on the weekend get the details sorted out. They had decided to have the service here in Karakura since Satoshi's parents had never visited before. She hoped all this madness was over by that time.

"Thank you for coming over here Naomi-chan. Do you want someone to walk you home?" Isshin asked, knowing that Ichigo would volunteer in a heartbeat if she asked for assistance.

" I would like that please. " Naomi said. She was feeling uneasy after sensing Gin and hoped that she wouldn't be watched by him. She would sleep with her pendent on her wrist , just in case she needed to fight.

"Let me go get my jacket," Ichigo said as he left the dinner table, having an idea just who his father wanted her to escort Naomi back home, not that he minded. A few minutes later, he was back downstairs and ready to go.

"I'm glad the girls took that news alright. I'm glad that Yuzu said something about seeing Gin too. Now I wonder if she will manifest any powers. " Naomi said in a low voice as they walked to her apartment.

"Agreed. Hopefully she'll come into powers but I dunno. I just recently found out that either one of them had powers...Hopefully we'll find more elemental quincy though. I think they'll be able to help us the most against Gin-teme," Ichigo said as he walked with Naomi.

" Hopefully she will too.I hope we find more too.The only Elemental Quincy I know of are in our family. Our cousins on Grandma's side of the family are also Elementals and are looking for the two unknown types. I'm convinced there are water and wind based Elementals, but no one has met one yet." Naomi said, mentioning the Ito side of the family. She wondered if any of them would visit Karakura, but assumed they wouldn't , since they were content staying in Nagano.

(Is that what you planned for the new Elemental Quincy?)

"Oh?" Ichigo asked, curious. He was still learning about the various elemental quincies and found everything about this interesting.

( Setsuna is one of the unknown types. She'll appear again during a major hollow invasion. Sorry about taking so long went skiing today.sadly I won't be able to go skiing again until December. :( )

" Our cousins in Nagano run a big apple orchard. I'm sure they still send you guys a bushel every year when it's harvest time. Dad isn't a big fan of apples , but he knows how much they mean to grandma. There was an orchard here in Karakura , but the trees all died one year. Grandpa says it was the Vandenreich, but grandma's brothers say a blight was the cause. They were able to sell the land to the city and buy a bigger place in Nagano. The high school is on part of the land that the city bought from them. The rest of it is stores and houses. Sorry I get distracted sometimes when I'm thinking about family. The Elementals may have scattered once they were formed , to help keep our numbers secret. Dad said that he worries our family may be the last branch of Elementals left, since he has been looking since he was your age. " Naomi said.