Honesty

When it rains, it truly pours. The unconscious bodies of Kuroi and Ichigo lay on the ruined ground. Before the rain can continue falling on the two soul reapers, Kisuke Urahara and Aoi Hono walk down the broken steps, observing the battle that had taken place thirty minutes ago.

"This sure was a battle," said Kisuke.

"There's no time to joke. We have to bring Ichigo and Kuroi back to your shop to heal them," said Aoi.

"You sensed him didn't you?" asked Kisuke.

"Yes. Aizen was here," said Aoi.

"He usually doesn't do his dirty work with his own hands. What made him come?" said Kisuke.

"I also sensed Byakuya and Renji's spiritual pressure. They must have been on a mission," said Aoi.

"Or Aizen could have used his Zanpakuto to trick them into capturing Rukia," said Kisuke.

"Why would he want Rukia? She doesn't seem that strong," said Aoi.

"I don't know, but he always has his ways," said Kisuke.

Aoi looks at Kisuke's face, suspicious of his obvious farce.

"Let's just grab them. It's getting cold out here," said Kisuke.

Kisuke and Aoi walk over to the unconscious boys and pick them up.

"I wonder what they're dreaming about right now," said Aoi.

"It should be nothing good. They just got their butt kicked by a snake," said Kisuke.

"Hopefully, they're prepared to get stronger. If Aizen is planning something, they have to be prepared," said Aoi.

"They will be ready. I'm sure of it," said Kisuke.

Back in Kuroi's inner world, Kuroi stands before his supposed inner Hollow. A shocked expression lays on his face.

"Inner Hollow? What's that?" asked Kuroi.

"Well, it's kind of complicated, but I'll explain it. Your father was Hollowfied by Sosuke Aizen," said Seishin.

"My dad's a Hollow?" asked Kuroi.

"He's not a Hollow. He has a Hollow inside of him," said Seishin.

"How is that possible?" asked Kuroi.

"I don't understand the process myself, but I do know this. Around a hundred years ago, many people in the Rukon District started to go missing. It's like their souls had been sucking out of their clothes. Aizen was using their souls for experiments. I guess the experiments didn't work, so he decided to implant the Hollows into soul reapers," said Seishin.

"Why would he want to do this?" asked Kuroi.

"I don't know. I guess he was trying to make something powerful. The soul reapers who were Hollowfied were banished from the Soul Society. Kisuke Urahara tried to help them, but he was framed for the experiments and banished as well," said Seishin.

"How do you know all of this?" asked Kuroi.

"I've been around for a long time," said Seishin.

"How? You just got eaten by a Hollow like a month ago," said Kuroi.

"Yes, I was eaten by a Hollow a month ago, but something miraculous happened. You absorbed my soul," said Seishin.

"Absorbed your soul? What does that even mean?" asked Kuroi.

"Soul absorption is a very rare occurrence. As you already know, Hollows consume souls by eating them, but it's also possible for humans or other types of people to absorb souls as well. You can absorb someone's soul by digesting a part of the soul. If soul absorption occurs, the two souls become one," said Seishin.

"I didn't digest any part of you," said Kuroi.

"But, you did. When you found my blood in the street, you touched it and put it up to your nose. A small drop of it fell into your mouth. That's how you absorbed my soul," said Seishin.

"That just sounds disgusting," said Kuroi.

"It is, but you saved me. I was reborn and sent to your inner world. Inside your inner world, I saw a monster. I saw the Hollow inside of you. Just like any regular Hollow, it tried to consume me. I thought that I was dead once again, but something weird happened. Instead of consuming me, we kind of started fusing," said Seishin.

"Fusing? How can Hollows fuse with spirits?" asked Kuroi.

"Well, your inner Hollow isn't a regular Hollow. It was passed down to you from your father, so it's a part of you. Because soul absorption occurred, our souls combined, so it makes sense why your inner Hollow fused with me," said Seishin.

"So, you're telling me that somehow I absorbed your soul and stopped you from being killed by the Hollow. You were reborn into my inner world and came in contact with my actual inner Hollow. My original inner Hollow tried to consume you, but you guys ended up fusing because you guys were connected to the same soul. Now, you guys are the same being," said Kuroi.

"That's it," said Seishin.

"I have one more question," said Kuroi.

"What is it?" asked Seishin.

"Why was I able to see you the night that Orihime's brother tried to kill her and the night that Ichigo became a soul reaper?" asked Kuroi.

"I was messing with your head," said Seishin.

"You what!" exclaimed Kuroi.

"Relax. It's not permanent. I was just manipulating your brain to project an image of me and stuff that I wanted you to see. I'm sorry. I should have asked first," said Seishin.

"It's alright. You kind of saved me back there, so you're no longer in debt to me," said Kuroi.

"I'll save your ass anytime," said Seishin.

"Is it possible to be able to use this power voluntarily?" asked Kuroi.

"Yes, but you will have to learn how to use our power," said Seishin.

"Why can't you just give me the power?" asked Kuroi.

"I could, but your Hollow won't allow me to just give up our power so easily, so you will have to earn it," said Seishin.

"Earn it? I thought we were already friends," said Kuroi.

"We are, but we love the chase. See you later," said Seishin.

Seishin walks away. Kuroi tries to run after Seishin, but his inner world goes dark. He starts to open his eyes and sees one of Kisuke's assistants staring at him from inside of the same sleeping bag.

"Get off me!" exclaimed Kuroi.

"Kisuke, Kuroi's awake!" exclaimed Tessai.

"I said get off!" exclaimed Kuroi.

Kuroi pushes the big man off of him. He looks around and notices that he's in Kisuke's shop. A door slides open and Kisuke walks through it.

"Please don't move around. You could die," said Kisuke.

"Why am I here?" asked Kuroi.

"You and Ichigo were unconscious by the riverbed after your fight with Byakuya and Renji. Your father and I found you and brought you here," said Kisuke.

"Dad's here? I need to speak to him," said Kuroi.

"Don't move. I'll bring him in here in a few minutes," said Kisuke.

"Where's Ichigo?" asked Kuroi.

"He's fine. He's sitting in there," said Kisuke.

"Where's Rukia?" asked Kuroi.

"She was taken back to the Soul Society by Sosuke Aizen," said Kisuke.

"Why didn't you go after her! You should already know that Aizen is pure evil! He could do anything with her and there would be no one to stop him!" exclaimed Kuroi.

"Relax. Your father and I know how dangerous and evil Aizen is. We just-," said Kisuke.

"If you know how dangerous Aizen is, why don't you go straight to head captain Yamamoto! I don't care if you're banished! We can't let Aizen win!" exclaimed Kuroi.

"Calm down. We'll save Rukia and stop Aizen, but you need to rest up and train," said Kisuke.

"I don't have time to train! Rukia will get executed before we get to the Soul Society!" exclaimed Kuroi.

"You want to beat Aizen and save Rukia right?" asked Kisuke.

"Of course," said Kuroi.

"At this point, you only have Shikai and kido attacks. You won't stand a chance against Aizen at this point. He easily nearly killed both of you with no difficulty at all. If you were to go to the Soul Society today, you would get killed in seconds," said Kisuke.

"How will I get strong enough to face him?" asked Kuroi.

"We have ten days until I can get Ichigo and you to the Soul Society. That should be enough time for you and him to achieve Bankai," said Kisuke.

"Bankai? How am I supposed to achieve that in ten days? I still have school," said Kuroi.

"With my help, you can achieve it in only three days, but it will be intense. Prepare to be near the brink of death the entire time," said Kisuke.

"When can we start?" asked Kuroi.

"Tomorrow. Just rest for now. Do you want to die before you save your friend?" said Kisuke.

"No," said Kuroi.

"Cool. Have a good day," said Kisuke.

Kisuke opens the door and walks out of the shop. Kuroi starts to slowly get up and makes his way to the door. He opens it and sees his father sitting at the table.

"Good morning," said Aoi.

"We need to talk," said Kuroi.

"About what?" asked Aoi.

"Don't play stupid. Seishin told me everything. Now, I want to hear it from your mouth," said Kuroi angrily.

"Who's Seishin?" asked Aoi.

"She's my inner Hollow. The same thing that you have in you, so tell me what I want to hear," said Kuroi.

Kuroi walks towards the table and sits next to it.

"What do you want to know?" asked Aoi.

"What happened one hundred years ago from your perspective? How did you get an inner Hollow?" asked Kuroi.

"Well, it was a normal day. Practically nothing happened that day until night. I was in head captain Yamamoto's office, drinking tea. We were talking about Kisuke because he was one of the newer captains at the time. The conversation was normal until some white stuff started to come out of my mouth. It covered my face and my body. I was practically fully Hollowfied and I started to go on a rampage. The other captains teamed up and dealt with me. Captain Unohana was able to help me revert to my normal self. Because the Soul Society didn't know anything about my condition, I was forced to leave and I couldn't return until I mastered my Hollow powers. It took me around six years, but I was able to master my Hollow powers and I was able to return to my soul reaper duties. If you acquired these same abilities, my Hollow must have been passed down. My bad," said Aoi.

"Why didn't you tell me this?" asked Kuroi.

Kuroi slams his fist on the table.

"Do you believe that I don't deserve to know this stuff! I'm supposed to be your son! I'm your only family and I know less about you than Kisuke!" exclaimed Kuroi.

"I wanted to tell you, but it just wasn't the time," said Aoi.

"If Seishin didn't save me from death, you wouldn't have told me anything! What other secrets are you keeping from me!" exclaimed Kuroi.

"I don't want to keep secrets from you. It's just that I can't tell you everything. If I could, I would. You should know that," said Aoi.

"Stop it with the damn excuses! I'm practically a grown man! I can deal with things better than a child!" exclaimed Kuroi.

"Relax. I'll tell you-," said Aoi.

"Don't tell me to relax! You hid these secrets from mom too didn't you!" interrupted Kuroi.

"Yeah, but-," said Aoi.

"I'm sick of your crap! I'm out of here!" exclaimed Kuroi.

"You can't leave. You're-," said Aoi.

"Shut up!" exclaimed Kuroi.

Kuroi stands up and storms out of the shop.

"Kuroi, are you-," said Ichigo.

"Leave me alone," said Kuroi.

Kuroi continues to walk away from the shop. He walks for a few minutes until he reaches a park. He walks towards a bench and sits on it. He puts his head down to cool off.

"Why won't he tell me stuff? Does he not trust me?" thought Kuroi.

"I didn't know that you go to this park as well," said Orihime.

Kuroi looks up and sees Orihime standing in front of him.

"Oh. Hey Orihime," said Kuroi.

"Can I sit here?" asked Orihime.

"Sure," said Kuroi.

Orihime takes a seat next to her friend. Orihime analyzes the sad expression on Kuroi's face.

"What's wrong?" asked Orihime.

"Nothing," said Kuroi.

"You don't have to lie to me. I know when you're happy and when you're pretending," said Orihime.

"You know me pretty well," said Kuroi.

"So, what's getting you down?" asked Orihime.

"My father keeps secrets from me and sometimes I don't know who he is," said Kuroi.

"Well, I have never been in that situation before. My father was abusive and didn't hide anything from me and my brother. There has to be a reason why he hides things from you," said Orihime.

"He said that I didn't need to know everything about him," said Kuroi.

"Parents hide stuff from their children to protect them. If he's hiding stuff, he's doing it for a reason. He probably trusts you, but there are some things that you can't just reveal. Everyone has their secrets big or small. Are you hiding any secrets from me?" said Orihime.

"No," said Kuroi.

"That's good. Don't hate your father. He's just doing his best to take care of you," said Orihime.

Kuroi starts to smile.

"Thanks, Orihime. I'm going to apologize right now," said Kuroi.

"No problem," said Orihime.

Kuroi stands up and runs towards the Urahara Shop.

"Rukia, wait for us. We're going to come save you," thought Kuroi.