Tatsuki brought Ryuenjin out into it's shikai state, getting ready for whatever they had to face. Sure she didn't know her partner's abilities, but that's why they were doing this training exercise. It was just like fighting someone for the first time...just without the fighting part.
~~~

Saya focused her energy into the pinnacle that was always around her wrist, as the spiritual crossbow formed on her dormant hand, waiting for just about anything. Even though she knew nothing about Hoshi's shinigami abilities, she was willing to trust the female shinigami with her back.
~~~

Ishida readied his weapon of choice, wondering how the ex-captain would fight. He had heard rumors from Ichigo that she liked to tease him with a version that was between her human form and her cat form. Even though he expected that only Kisuke would see that from her anymore, he decided to be ready for anything...from his partner, and from his opponents.

Naomi formed an ice arrow and let it go at the first appearance of a hollow. Her ice arrows looked almost like icelcles and a whiteish color. Her poison arrows looked like daggers and were a whitish pink. She wondered is Tatsuki's Shinigami abilities were fire based she had sensed the fiery reaitsu of Ichigo's best friend.

-----
Hoshi was surprised at the form of Saya's cross bow and hoped her friend wouldn't be too bothered by the fog her Shikai could produce. "When things start to get busy, I'll warn you. I don't want you to get confused by the fog. " Hoshi warned, not sure what would happen to Saya once she released the fog. Hoshi dodged a claw strike and brought her blade down on the mask, making sure Saya wasn't going to be attacked by one.

------

Yoruichi promised herself she wouldn't embarrass Ishida like she did Ichigo in the past. She dodged a tail swing and gave a punch to the mask of that hollow. She was using the special kido armor Kisuke had been working on for the last few years. She had used something similar when she had helped fight Aizen, but this was improved from that version of the invention.

Tatsuki was surprised when she saw both types of arrows, but quickly put it to the back of her mind, knowing that she was going to have to ask about it later. Transforming her blade soundlessly into it's shikai state, she let her element wrap around the blade before making quick work of one of the Hollows that were trying to attack her. Feeling an attack of some sort coming from her left, she ducked and watched the tail swing above her. 'Too close...' she thought to herself as her spirit agreed with her.
~~~

"Fog?" Saya asked, wondering just what Hoshi meant by that. Seeing Hoshi starting, she quickly shook her head before getting her head back into the right mindset. Seeing one of the Hollows trying to attack Hoshi, Saya quickly formed an arrow and let it fly, hitting the Hollow in the mask that was behind the shinigami. She just hoped that her arrow didn't hurt her.
~~~

Ishida silently whistled to himself as he watched Yoruichi attack the Hollows while bringing his hand back before shooting. Even though he could fire several arrows of Reishi at once, he was trying to fire small bursts of arrows at once, or single arrows, like he did with his previous spiritual quiver.

Naomi took two hollows out that were trying to get to both her and Tatsuki." To your right!" Naomi said as she was having a hard time with a high level hollow. She hated hollows that were smart enough to block her arrows.
-----

Hoshi struck a hollow that was headed toward Saya and got knocked over by a tail or another. She quickly got up and dodged a claw strike from the one that had knocked her over.
-----

Yoruichi noticed that the hollows were getting stronger and was glad , since it was a good sign that the cubes were working right. She hit another hollow on the mask and was glad this was going so well.

Tatsuki heard Naomi and quickly turned to her right and shot off a blade of fire at the Hollow, quickly taking out the Hollow. The only reason she was able to take it out was due to her quick actions. She had noticed that the hollows were starting to get stronger.
~~~

Saya grinned lightly, glad that Hoshi helped her. She aimed three arrows at the Hollow she was facing, one in the center and to the and right, not knowing which way it was going to turn. Seeing the hollow crumble, she grinned lightly before rolling underneath a tail swipe. 'They're getting faster...' she thought to herself.
~~~

[COLOR="Gray]Ishida hit a Hollow that was about to attack Yoruichi from behind before turning around and using a Steele Schnider to cut off a claw that was about to attack him.[/COLOR]

Naomi was having a difficult time with some of the higher level hollows. Mostly because she wasn't familiar with hollows this strong. She fired an arrow the size of a katana at two hollows that were next to each other. She was using Blut at a small level since she knew using it too much caused strange side effects.

----
Hoshi went in to clone mode and was able to take out a few more hollows. She had a feeling this training was alomst over since the hollows were decreasing in number.

------

"Yoruichi noticed that the hollows her decreasing in number and smiled. She was quite impressed with what Ishida could do and knew he had talent as a Quincy. She hit another hollow with her foot and hit the one next to it with her hand. At that moment a buzzed sounded and the hollows disappeared.

Tatsuki heard a buzzing sound and saw the Hollows start disappearing, silently glad that the training was over. She was starting to get tired and knew that if it wasn't for Ryu, then she would have dropped from exhaustion a while ago. Hoping to ask Naomi what was with the different colored arrows, she waited for the others.
~~~

Saya shot two bolts quickly at one of the higher leveled Hollows, taking a few breaths after hearing a buzzing sound. It had been a while since she fought that high of a level.
~~~

Ishida slashed a few more Hollows with his sword-like arrow before shooting it through two Hollows. He set another arrow in his bow before hearing a buzzing sound.

" So what did you all learn from your partner?" Yoruichi asked everyone when they gathered together.

" I learned that Tatsuki has a fire based Zanpaktou and is quick on her feet when things get dicey. " Naomi said in an impressed tone.

" I learned Saya uses a crossbow to fire her arrows and can fire them in clusters. " Hoshi said. She had wondered what her friend's powers were.

"I learned that Naomi can use Ice and Poison based arrows, but I thought that only Shinigami could have elemental properties," Tatsuki said confused, although she was glad as to what Naomi said about her abilities.

Saya blushed lightly in embarrassment as her skills were praised, especially since it was one of the few times that it was done. "I learned that Hoshi-san is confident in her abilities as a shinigami and able to quickly react to the situation at hand. I wasn't able to see her Shikai's abilities so I cannot comment on those," she said.

" All probably want to know why I can use those arrows. I'm what's known as an elemental Quincy. We can use the elements of fire, lighting , ice and poison. I am able to use both poison arrows and ice arrows. There aren't many elemental Quincies in existence, and have always been few in number. I still can do the standard techniques of a Quincy, but using my elemental abilities. " Naomi explained.


" I'm still not sure when to use my fog abilities in battle and want to work on that. I'm glad I had the chance to be partnered up with Saya. " Hoshi said.

Yoruichi listened to what everyone said and made notes on the next rounds pairings. "I was quite impressed with Ishida-san's techniques. I know you are strong enough to be able to learn many more techniques if you choose to in the future. " She said.

"Dad told me about elemental quincies, but I didn't realize that they actually existed," Ishida said, hoping that he hadn't offended Naomi by accident. He was also glad about Yoruichi's assessment of his skills in battle and was planning on learning Blut for defensive purposes. Taking a few seconds to think about what to say about Yoruichi's skills in battle, before speaking, "Yoruichi-san seems to be quite powerful, but sometimes forgets to keep her senses open. She would have been hit several times in the back."
~~~

"Then I'm sure we can work on it. What do they do?" Saya asked out of curiosity.
~~~

Tatsuki nodded her head as she listened to Naomi tell the others about being an elemental Quincy, actually finding it quite interesting.

" I apologize for that. I got distracted a bit by my close mindedness. That's one of the draw backs of the armor I have on, it takes much focus to make it work correctly. " Yoruichi said.
------------

" I'm not offended Ishida-San.In some groups ,Elementals aren't concidered true Quincies, but I'm not sure why that is. My dad had trouble when he was younger trying to convice others that he was a true Quincy. He even tried to challenge a Shinigami who said he wasn't really a Quincy." Naomi said. " Ice arrows freeze a hollow and soon after words they shatter. Poison arrows are extremely lethal to hollows, but can make a person very sick. Mostly throwing up a few times. She explained. " Traditional Quincies can learn to use elemental abilities but they will also have a dominate element. My grandpa is good at using fire and shock arrows , but he's more of a traditional fighter. " She added.

------
Hoshi was impressed by what Naomi could do and hoped Katia was as interested as she was.

( glad once is back on. Now I need to each Blood and Chrome. Miss anything BSG related. Maybe that's why I like Grimm. The actor who plays Renard, was on Caprica. )

(um...besides Once and Grimm, I have no idea what you're talking about *insert anime sweatdrop here*)

Isshin heard the doorbell ring and wondered who it was, especially since he had the closed sign up. He figured that it would take a long amount of time to clear out the underground training area since it had been a few years since it was last used, but was glad to see that it wasn't. As such, he quickly made some small cleaning of it before going back upstairs and into his office where he was currently doing paperwork. "I'm coming," he said as he got close to the door. Opening it up, he was surprised to see Ren and Eiko standing in front of him.

( Blood and Chrome is the Battlestar Galactia prequel. Caprica is a prequel to both. It's been a while since Syfy has shown either series sadly.I'd even be happy with Stargate SG-1 reruns.I use to watch a lot of Syfy back in the day. )

" Sorry to surprise you like this, but we both were very eager to see all of you again. " Eiko said knowing how much her son in law disliked surprises. " I hope that cookies are enough to buy your forgiveness. "Eiko added. She knew Ren wanted to talk about a few things before he started training Ichigo tomorrow. She smiled and was glad to be back here in Karakura, knowing her husband was too, even if he did have the usual calm expression on his face.

(ah. I didn't get into the Stargate or Battlestar! series all that much.)

"Usually it takes more than just cookies Eiko-chan, but since they're coming from your kitchen, I guess I can make an exception," Isshin replied with a small grin on his face, letting them know that he was just teasing. "Seriously though, it's good to see you both, but I thought you were coming tomorrow with my nephew," he added. He had a feeling that Ren wanted to stop by earlier so that he could discuss things about Ichigo's training.

" We were, but I wanted to be sure things were ready for tomorrow. I have agreed to discuss a few things with the Shinigami about the Vandenreich leader. I feel the sooner they know the better advantage we all will have. I also sense that the Vandenreich will send out hollows to attempt to get what they want. If they don't get it tonight then they all will be here later to get it. I feel it will be best to have them all someplace outside their sanctuary since only the leader can allow passage in and out of the shadows. The reason I and others were able to go out , was because the Leader has no control of those who know the truth about the Vandenreich. " Ren said sitting down.

Isshin nodded as he listened to his father-in-law. "So that's why you were able to escape all those years ago? Because you knew the leader's true identity?" Isshin asked. He knew that Ren didn't like bringing this subject up and hope he didn't mind about the question. "Also, I'm not sure if you're aware of this or not, but Tetsu's daughter and niece are both Seers. Hoshi-chan saw that there was going to be an attack during Naomi's graduation, but she wasn't sure when exactly," he added.

"It is, and the reason they left me to die. Very few know the name of the leader, mostly his inner circle. Kisuke-San told me that about Tetsu-san's daughter and niece.I don't doubt that there will be an attack when Naomi-chan graduates. That's why I'm here early. I want Ichigo and Karin to have a chance to have their pendants a little while. I'm hoping to start Ichigo's training tomorrow after I get back from Urahara's. " Ren said solemnly. He hoped that this future battle was the end of the Vandenreich, but he had a feeling that someone else would soon show their intentions.

"Alright. Knowing my son, he's already told the others about him being a Quincy and I have a feeling that they have no ill feeling to him or to Naomi. I also have a feeling that they won't have any ill will to Karin-chan when she awakens her abilities as well, though Naomi thinks she's going to be an elemental Quincy also," Isshin said, a little surprised that Ren already knew everything.

" I wouldn't be surprised if she was an elemental Quincy. She was a fiery one even as a young child. " Eiko said with a sad smile. Her young grand daughters were now teenagers and had always wished she had been here to help them adjust after Misaki's death.
" Do you know when the girls and Ichigo will be back?" She asked.

Isshin chuckled lightly at that, knowing it was true. Karin was, and still is, a tomboy at heart. It wouldn't surprise him either if Karin was a fire elemental to be honest. "To answer your question...Ichigo should be back in a few minutes, if their training goes like it usually does. Karin is helping Yuzu with the shopping, so I'm not entirely sure when they're getting back," Isshin replied.

Naomi thought she sensed her grandparents once they exited Urahara's and said goodbye to the others. She smiled , knowing they probably couldn't wait to see everyone." I thought your fighting skills were quite impressive Ichigo." Naomi said to her cousin as they walked.

"Thanks. And I'm glad to see that your powers and Tatsuki's powers were able to mesh the way they did," Ichigo said teasing his cousin before he sensed a new form of reiatsu at his home. "Nam-chan, is that who I think it is?" He asked after Tatsuki had split up from the two.

" Yep it is. I guess they couldn't wait till tomorrow." Naomi said with a smile on her face. She was looking forward to seeing her grandparents, since she hadn't been home in a while.

"I guess so," Ichigo said with a small smile knowing that his sisters would like the surprise.