This surprised Byakuya. He then said if he was alive , then he must come to testify to the Central 46. They might drop the charges against Tetsuya if he came willingly . He wanted to know where Tetsuya might be if he was alive and what sort of life he was living now. This information would be used to help determine how to get him to testify. Byakuya didn't say this to Rukia , judging the look of recognition on her face. Tetsu would not come willingly . It would be difficult to get him to come but it had to be done.


Hoshi didn't like the look Ichigo had in his eyes. It scared her. Was it the other pressure she felt from him,
when she saw him that Friday she got her things? She tried not to show her fear. "I'm ready as I'll ever be Straw-chan." "I have to be confident in myself. Dad would want me to be . He probably went through more intense training than me. She thought as they headed to the training area . Hoshi was ready to begin a new part in her life.

Rukia looked up to see the look on her older brother's face and had a feeling she knew what was going through his head. "Nii-sama...I don't think he'll like coming back here...you may have to go to him, but let me talk to him first, please?" She said, pleading with her brother for the first time in what seemed like forever. She knew that if this wasn't handled carefully, then all hell could break lose through the four realms.

Hichigo still had the grin on his human avatar's face as he saw the two females walk inside, grinning lightly as he just had to wait patiently for her Hollow half to wake up. He didn't understand why it was taking her hollow so long to manifest, but he would wait patiently.

"What the hell are you doing to my friends, you bastard?" Ichigo asked his "horse" glaring at the representation of his hollow powers that Zangetsu clued him in about after the battle with Byakuya. If he even attempted harming his friends...

Hichigo smirked lightly as he answered his...king. "I'm just warning my queen about the dangers she is about to face. It's not my fault our little pet Seer got afraid," he said, knowing that it would piss Ichigo off, especially since he called his friends "my queen" and "our pet".

Ichigo glared at his Hollow, his eyes glowing a dangerous shade of blue. Don't you ever speak about them that way again!" Ichigo half-shouted/half-growled at him before coming back to the outside world. Noticing that Hoshi and Tatsuki already headed inside, he growled lightly to himself and headed in himself, a scowl on his face. He would have to ask Urahara about a way to train so that his Hollow side couldn't possess him and potentially hurt his allies.

Byakuya thought about Rukia's request. He agreed to talk to Tetsuya after she had the chance to. He knew it was going to be difficult to convince him to come . Especially if the reports were true that Tetsuya had a daughter in the living world. He asked Rukia if Tetsuya did have a daughter and that she might be able to convince her father to testify. It was a risk to ask her to do that but many things were at stake right now.

They headed down the ladder to the training area where Urahara was already . Hoshi was ready for this even if she was scared out of her wits because of the pressure coming from Ichigo. Hoshi hoped he was alright. Urahara noticed it too. He would have to ask Ichigo about it or Ichigo asked him. He hoped what he had in mind to help him worked , but first he had to get these girls trained. He wasn't going to let either Tatsuki or Hoshi develop a inner hollow. "Who's ready to start ? I know I am" he said .

"He does have a daugher, Nii-sama. Ichigo is friends with her," Rukia said, noticing the slight glare in her brother's eyes when she mentioned Ichigo's name, however she didn't mention it. She also didn't mention Hoshi's name, knowing that if she did then Byakuya or someone else would most likely try to contact her, not knowing that Aizen himself was already trying to do so.

"I'm ready, Urahara-sensei," Tatsuki said, feeling ready for just about anything. Her desire to actually be of help to Ichigo and the others shone in her eyes as she said it. No matter how tough the training would be, she wouldn't complain.

Ichigo noticed that bot Hoshi and Urahara noticed his irregular spike in reiatsu. He motioned for Urahara to come closer and when he did, asked him if there was any way for him to train in the use of using his Hollow, giving him a shorthand event of what happened during his conversation with what he termed Hichigo. He didn't want to worry Hoshi or Tatsuki by speaking it aloud, or worry them about his Hollow's interest in both of them.

Byakuya thought it was very interestng that the girl knew Kurosaki Ichigo. It would make things difficult if her went directly to her .Would have to bring this information up at the Captain's meeting later today. He knew Rukia was holding the girl's name back , possibly to protect her from something. He mentioned his thoughts on how to approach this. He said it might be best if Rukia was the the one to tell Tetsuya's daughter about this. Especially if the rumors about Aizen wanting her .No one in the Soul Society knew she was a Seer.

Urahara thought it was interesting in a frightening way that Ichigo's hollow wanted Tatsuki and Hoshi to develop there own.He said that both of them needed to get in touch with their zanpakuto spirits before this happened. He said that was his plan for today in the first place. That Ichigo should also preform the technique with them. Urahara explained that Jinzen was getting in touch with one's zanpakuto . Or in Ichigo's case , Inner Hollow. To him this was the best way to help Ichigo. He was surprised that Ichigo hadn't been contacted by the Vizards yet.

Hoshi was trying to calm down inside. She was terrified of something she couldn't see,but knew was there. She didn't want to be scared of one of her oldest friends.

Asami saw Hoshi and Tatsuki, and ran toward them. She was very happy to see that they both were safe. Ichigo had scared her from the start. Because he was both a Shinigami and a hollow .Those were two things she was afraid of. She had to ask him though if he had found a way for her to help.

"I'll try my best Nii-sama, but that's all I can do," she said as Byakuya nodded and allowed her to leave after she asked to do so. Getting up and bowing politely to her older brother before taking her leave. She was going to head back to Ichigo and the others. She wouldn't say it out loud, but she missed them, well except Isshin. She headed towards the gate separating the living world from soul society before heading into the gate with a hell butterfly.

Tatsuki grinned when she saw Asami running towards her and Hoshi. It had been a while since she saw the girl who attached to both herself and Hoshi. Noticing that Urahara was currently talking to Ichigo, she headed over to the redhead. "I was starting to worry about you Sami-chan," she said, keeping an eye and ear out for Urahara, noticing that Hoshi was talking to Asami as if they were sisters.

"I was actually thinking about bringing that up myself," Ichigo responded, glad that Urahara was willing to work with him to help control his Inner Hollow. He wasn't happy to hear that his hollow was interested in both Tatsuki and Hoshi, and he wasn't going to be afraid to admit that it scared him just a little.

"Sorry I worried both of you last night. Urahara-sensei said it would be safer to stay here. I just stayed invisible though. I often do in new places.
"It's okay Sami-chan. We just were worried about you."Hoshi said to her friend. She loved the little girl like a little sister."Did you notice the look in Ichigo's eyes on the way here Tatsu-chan? I'm worried something isn't right." Hoshi had to ask Tatsuki about this , she didn't want to be imagining things.

"I'm glad you did say something about it . " Urahara hoped this would prevent the girls from getting an inner hollow. He didn't know how they would handle it if they did. Now who's ready to begin today ?He said smiling. He noticed the nervous look on Hoshi's face , but he knew if she was anything like Tetsu she would do fine.

The girls were in there spirit forms sitting with their zanpakutos on their laps. Hoshi didn't see anything yet as she was trying to connect.

Ichigo was also in his spirit form, but unlike the girls who were trying to establish a link with their inner world and their zanpakutos' spirits, he was working on establishing either guidelines, rules or, if it came to it, beating the heck out of his hollow form and making him/it submit.

"Urahara-sensei was probably right for you to stay here then, I'm glad nothing happened to you," she replied to Asami, before replying to Hoshi. "I noticed the look in Ichigo's eyes, and I don't know about you, but they scared me a little. It looked as if he was looking at us like trophies or something...it's not something Ichigo would do," she said, worried about her friend. She knew Ichigo would never think of them like that, so why...she shook her head to get rid of that scary thought.

She then heard Urahara ask if they were ready in a roundabout way and nodded, before he poked both Hoshi and herself with his walking stick, poking out their shinigami forms. He then explained what he wanted them to do. I wonder...maybe my dreams? she thought to herself, as she remembered a masculine voice interrupting her dreams before doing as he asked.

Hoshi kept her focus on making a connection . She thought at times she heard a voice in the distance calling out to her. She couldn't tell if it was male or female yet. After a while things were a little lighter . It was still dark but she had made a little progress. She could hear the voice a little better. She had to continue on.

"-Suki...my voice...can you..." was all that the male's voice said, it's voice coming in like broken static or white noise. He just hoped that his wielder could hear him. It would be quite ironic when she met him for the first time afterall.

Tatsuki heard the broken voice and focused on them, trying to find out who was trying to call her. For a few seconds, all she saw was the murky darkness. However, she continued focusing on the voice that she could distantly hear and before long, she was within a dojo.This is my inner world? she asked herself as she looked around, curious.

Hoshi continued on. The voice was getting clearer.
"Hoshi? Can you hear me?"The voice faintly said. It sounded like a female to Hoshi
Her spirit was looking forward to finally meeting her wielder. She hoped Hoshi could hear her calls . Soon enough they would meet.

Hoshi could hear the voice clearer. She focused as much as she could on the voice ,while making her way in the darkness.She found herself in a forest . She looked up trying to see the sky . The sky was a lively shade of purple. This is my inner world ?I wonder where the voice is coming from?"

"Good to see that you have finally arrived hatchling." he said as he noticed Tatsuki get into a battle stance. Grinning at this, he told her to relax, which she didn't do. She did, however, lower her zanpakuto as well as get out of her battle stance. She did keep her guard up, just in case, causing him to smile lightly.

"Who are you?" She said as she glared at the man in front of her.

"My name is ____" He said. Noticing a questioning look on Tatsuki's face, he sighed. "It seems as if you have not yet earned the privilege to know my name just yet. For that, I'm sorry young one." He said, causing Tatsuki to sigh.

"Of course it couldn't be that easy" she thought out loud to herself, causing the man to chuckle in response. "Oi, you, shut up." She half growled/half ordered, which only caused the male to laugh harder.

Hoshi stood there for a few minutes looking for who was talking to her. Just then what appeared to be a young girl about 10 jumped down from a tree.
"It's you Hoshi! You were able to hear me! I'm......"Hoshi couldn't hear the name . The girl had a disappointed look on her face when she realized Hoshi didn't hear her. I guess you still need to prove yourself to hear my name. " What else do I need to do to prove myself ?" Hoshi said. "You have to fight me and then you can find out who I am."The girl said in a serous tone and then drew out a nagamaki. "You'll have to knock the weapon out of my hand , then I can tell you.
Hoshi ducked out of the way of the blade. This was going to be harder than she thought it would be.

Once he stopped laughing, he smirked at the girl. "I see now why you and I have bonded. We're both extremely stubborn and have such a firey temper. What did happen to those girls after you beat them black and blue?" He asked, getting a glare from the girl with the dragon name

"How do you know of that?" She asked, before unknowingly coming to the right conclusion. "Are you in my head?" She asked, glaring as he nodded saying that he had to be in her head, this was her world after all. "Alright...you said I had to prove myself somehow? How do I do that?" She asked.

"Simple. Since I am a fire zanpakuto, you have to handle the heat. If you can't do that, then there is no use giving you my name. To do that..." at that, he summoned a column of fire right behind the both of them. "you need to live in fire. If you can survive in here and come out without any burns, then you'll have passed my test. I'll give you one hint, you can fight fire with fire, but only if you have a bigger flame.

Tatsuki gulped lightly before steeling down and trampling on her fear. She knew she could do it and quickly summoned her reiatsu before stepping into the flame, not doubting herself for a second.

Hoshi dodged another attack from the girl. Hoshi cotinued to do this until a fog appeared . She then couldn't see anything . She focused on the reitsu that she felt . She then saw the girl but in three different areas.
"Doing good so far but can you figure out which of me is the original?" The girl giggled out.

Hoshi now had to figure out which one was real. It was difficult to see in the fog. She lunged toward the one on the left as it swung at her, but it disappeared. That left two . One was just a illusion and the other the real one. Both of them swung at her and she grabbed the one in the middle. The other copy had disappeared and she had the girl pinned to the ground.

You got me!" I'm Indigo Fog, and I'm an illusion type. Just say Open!Indigo fog and that will release your shikai. I'm looking forward to seeing you again" The girl gave Hoshi a hug and smiled.

Hoshi woke up from the sleep . She was sore all over and noticed that a part of her sleeve was torn from the fight and a gash on her arm.

((Sorry if it's lame. I hope it's alright))

((It's alright))

Tatsuki winced lightly as the flame started getting a little to hot, before her reiatsu was exhausted as she was still within the fire for two seconds before the fire disappeared. She winced lightly as her skin had a small discoloring of red, as if she had sunburn all around her body. She winced as air hit her now-sensitive skin. She looked up at the spirit

"Sorry..."

"No, no, you did fine little dragon. You actually passed what I thought you would do," He said, bowing lightly in a gentleman-like fashion, before he went towards her exhausted body, before using his powers over flame and heat to heal her.

A few minutes passed as she slowly woke up, not feeling any of the burns from after her reiatsu exhausted itself. She looked around and saw the blonde-haired man looking down at her in concern. "Gah!" she said, crawling out in surprise before slowly getting to her feet. "Just who are you? First you test me by walking through flames and then you heal me?"

"I'm your Zanpakuto, Ryuenjin. What type of person would I be if I didn't heal my mistress' wounds if it is within my powers to do so?" He asked as Tatsuki nodded, smirking just a little. "Of course I would have a zanpakuto that's related to a dragon." she said. This caused Ryuenjin to smirk. "The world is crazy like that, go figure. Now then, I believe you need an activation phrase...otherwise my name means nothing to you. Whenever you need my assistance, until I deem you ready for the next level, you need to say this: "Bask in the depths of hell, Ryuenjin"

((just to give you an idea of what Tatsuki's zanpakuto spirit looks like))

Tetsu sensed a change in Hoshi. Even if he was in Kyoto, he still knew if things were wrong. Something was different in what he felt. Had she become a shinigami? He wondered this as he made his way to the gate at the airport . He would soon find out that she had. He wondered if she did, what would her Zanpakuto be like? She was more like him than he realized at that moment.

Ichigo came back from his inner world after barely coming to an agreement with his Hollow half. Unless he was desperately needed or extremely interested in his opponent, then he wouldn't interfere. Coming out of his Inner World, he noticed both Tatsuki and Hoshi opening their eyes as well. He noticed a few frayed pieces of her shinigami garb, and the cut and bruises on her and rose an eyebrow. "What happened to you two?"

"I didn't dodge fast enough during the fight with my Zanpakto spirit. I'll be fine. Is everything alright with you Ichigo?" Hoshi hoped it was. She didn't know if she should mention what she felt from him earlier. She still sensed it , but it was back to what it had been the first time she felt it. She knew she didn't like it."I hate being so sensitive to reitstu. I knew it was a bad idea to learn that technique . But Mr Fuji said that I needed to in order to protect myself . I still wonder how he knew about me seeing ghosts.. She thought to herself .They still had a few hours before Tetsu arrived to pick up Hoshi.

"I'm fine. My zanpakuto spirit wanted to test my resolve by staying inside its element," was all that Tatsuki said, hoping that Ichigo would be okay.

"I'm alright, especially now that my powers are under order. I still need to get mastery over Hichigo though... he thought to himself as he vaguely explained his brief time as a Hollow, how his mask saved him, and the power boost that it gave him, although he wasn't in control while using it.

"Before you ask, I'm in control, not the Hollow. Now then, since you both know my abnormally large cleaver is called Zangetsu, what's the names of your zanpakutos?" He asked, hoping to change the subject.

That explained what Hoshi had felt. She was glad that Ichigo was in control now, not his hollow. " My Zanpakto's name is Indigo Fog. The shikai shape is a nagamaki. The element of her seems to be illusion based. " Hoshi said. This made her wonder if it was her who produced the fog that was in her dream Friday night. She was going to ask her dad about his Zanpakto . Maybe it would answer the questions she had ."What's your's Ryu-chan?" Hoshi was interested in what Tatsuki's was like. Today had been a big step, but they both had to learn how to use them.

"I'm not sure about my shikai, but if it's what he had holstered on his back, it looked like a European double-bladed sword, something that knights would use, I think. Anyways, my shikai is also an element type as well. I can control fire..." She said as Ichigo groaned.

"Oh great, one of my best friends is turning into a pyro," Ichigo deadpanned.

"Hey!" Tatsuki cried out indignantly, not liking the barb to her zanpakuto spirit and her shikai.

"That's amazing Tatsu-chan !" Hoshi exclaimed. " I don't think she's a pyro Ichigo. So the Zanpakto does reflect how the wielder's soul is like?" She asked . She had heard the explanation before but she just wanted a confirmation. Her's being an illusion type sort of bothered her.

"I was only teasing her Star-chan. Although I wonder how powerful she is compared to Gramps..." he thought out loud, getting confused looks. "Sorry. His real name is actually Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto and is rumored to have the most powerful flame zanpakuto," he said, causing Tatsuki to blush lightly.

"It does make a little sense. I'm hot-tempered and stubborn, while you don't like being the center of attention, rather being in the shadows or not seen. Ichigo, on the other hand, is brash, stubborn and has the tendency to be overprotective of his friends, and why his zanpakuto is mostly a melee type."

so that explains the old man avatar... Ichigo thought to himself, knowing that Tatsuki would never let him live it down if she heard that. It also explained a lot of thing about several other shinigami. "You both make a lot of sense actually..."

"We do?" she asked, getting a nod from the orange-haired male.

" Really? How so?" This was an interesting conversation to Hoshi. It did make sense to her that her's was an illusion type and Tatsuki's fire . "So it isn't a bad thing?" This made Hoshi feel better. She did tend to hide her feelings ,and not being center of attention.