The decision to inform Byakuya that She and Ichigo are now officially a couple hasn't been reached by them. Though it would probably be a good idea to inform him sooner or later, god forbid that he discovers them at an intimate moment. Though at the moment her current duties bring her away from her brother, she had been ordered by her captain and the head captain to get acquainted with the vizard soul reapers as well as train Ichigo. So far, her introductions have been limited to the girls of the masked soul reapers and of the three of them she can't stand Hiyori what so ever. Lisa and Mashiro are much easier to talk to and don't physically abuse her boyfriend whenever he asks an obvious question that flies over his head. The four of them sit on tatami mats outside the kido corps training grounds. Old man Yama is personally overseeing Ichigo's training and it isn't going so well. Much to Ichigo's frustration the old captain refuses to let him change to a different spell aside from Hado number one, Sai. Even after three and a half hours of failing to cast it successfully. Each time he puts too much power into it, completely obliterating the small hollow dummy targets that are constantly set up for him. Rukia no longer finds it funny, the hilarity of Ichigo's reactions as Yama tells him to try again having worn off over an hour ago.

"So, Any advice for fighting your inner hollow?" Rukia asks, turning her attention from Ichigo's fruitless training to the visored soul reapers seated beside her. The two other women stop munching on their afternoon picnic, they set up to watch Ichigo, and turn to face her.

"Your hollow is the manifestation of your darker side, desires, impulses, pride, even lust and envy. If you know yourself as much as you think you do, gaining the upper hand won't be difficult, the problem is that she also knows everything you have ever learned or tried to learn. Even though it's a hollow, because you're a shinigami they have access to your sword's name techniques and if you have it, even your Bankai. According to Shinji, he had to fight upside down and backwards while it threw every single high level kido he knew at him." Lisa explains, "Mine tried to use Bakudo against me, even caught me with Shitotsu Sansen twice before I impaled her with my spear."

"I caught mine while she was monologuing. If yours is a talkative one, attack first, ask questions later." Mashiro said. "What's yours like?" She asks.

"Vengeful." Rukia answers. "She doesn't want to take over my body, she wants to kill Aizen for what he did to both Ichigo and I but also for taking the Hogyoku from my body which my hollow Hoakita was using to feed herself."

"Hoakita? She chose to call herself the opposite of you?" Lisa asks, giving her an inquisitive look.

"More the opposite of the white moon, she took aspects of my name and sword as well as Ichigo's sword to form her name. Hoakita Kareki, The black eclipse of the frozen night." She responds.

"What about Kurosaki?" Hiyori pipes up, just as Ichigo finally manages to cast the spell perfectly, merely knocking over the target rather than obliterating it. "What's his like?"

"From what he's told me... selfish, which is the exact opposite of Ichigo. He's always done things to go out of his way to help others. He invaded the soul society, fought his way through hundreds of shinigami and multiple captains just to save me. He even fought Kenpachi to a standstill and bested my brother. His hollow saved his life multiple times, but from what Ichi has told me. His hollow, is protective of only himself, and of me." Rukia explains, "Though the strange thing is, his name."

"What is that?" Lisa asks.

"He calls himself Zangetsu, but Ichigo told me of his sword's spirit appearance and they look nothing alike." Rukia explains, "He said that his hollow looks like Ichigo but bone white, except for his eyes which are black and gold."

"Well there's no use pondering on it because we'll only figure this out when Kurosaki does. We need to get started on your hollowfication training." Hiyori interjects. "We need you to drain as much reishi as possible before the fight."

"Wouldn't that make me weaker?" She asks.

"Not in your inner world." Hiyori answers, "It makes the fight against her in the real world easier. When every one of us did it, our bodies went berserk under the influence of the hollow. If you're at full capacity on spiritual pressure then it's likely that your hollowfied body will kill and devour a lot of people." Rukia remains silent when she says this, turning back to face Ichigo and Yamamoto.

"You now know how to control it to the point you can discharge the incantation consistently, but I want it to be proficient and consistent. Once you give me 10,000 casts we will move onto Byakurai, the fourth offensive Kido." Yamamoto declares. "Tessai, keep track of his number, if it explodes like earlier he resets. You have until sundown. Begin." He demands, flash stepping away shortly after telling Ichigo to start.

"Well he's gonna be at that for the rest of the day." Rukia groans before standing up and stretching. "How are you gonna prepare me to hollowfy exactly?"

"The patent pending Hiyori walker." Hiyori declares, showing a bit more optimism than usual. The "Hiyori Walker" is a standard run of the mill exercise machine. "It's simple, just run on it till you pass out, and we'll handle the rest."

"You're kidding right?" Rukia asks.

"It's what we use in the world of the living... but since we're in soul society there's probably better ways to do it." Hiyori relents. "We could just spar till you're tapped out."

"Might as well, I haven't gotten to use my zanpakuto since giving Ichigo my powers so I think I might be a bit rusty." Rukia replies.

"Hey before you go, the other lieutenants and vizards want to go drinking with squad 11 tonight. Celebrating the reinstatement of the vizards as well as Ichigo's promotion to substitute lieutenant of squad 5." Lisa adds, "Save the reishi draining till tomorrow or the day after depending on hangovers. Tonight we're gonna get Strawberry so drunk. He's never gone drinking before has he?" the promiscuous lieutenant asks.

"Neither have I." Rukia responds, "but I'm not gonna pass up an opportunity to see Ichigo get wasted." She grins at the though shortly before she and Hiyori set off to go spar for a while.

Arriving at Yoruichi's old playground, as she called it, the two soul reapers don't bother exchanging words. The training ground itself bears a similar resemblance to the one in Kisuke's shop in the world of the living. The mostly barren valley and gorge-like scenery is illuminated by an artificial sky created by Kisuke himself. The rocky terrain is the only reminder that the interior of this room used to be a cave. Changes in elevation with raised stones that used to be stalactites and stalagmites dot the room but the ground is bare and the air in here is hot and slightly muggy due to the hot springs on the far side of the training ground. Ichigo had told her of this room, where he had learned to achieve his bankai and evidence of that is clear around the center of the cave. Rukia could tell where he was standing when he used it for the first time in that cave. The stones around the center of the room were smooth almost gemstone-like due to the sheer pressure of his reishi that was exerted on them. The raised stones that dot the landscape of the training field are shortened, some fractured and others only mere stumps that were once dozens of feet tall pillars of solid granite. Even Hiyori takes note of the change in terrain, raising an eyebrow to Rukia who informs her this is where Ichigo trained to learn his Bankai.

While sparring with the basic zanpakuto in a sealed form was normal, Hiyori immediately releases her shikai without even speaking. Her nimble katana glows white before beginning to extend and flatten out becoming a massive six toothed serrated cleaver that's as large as the petite blonde was. Rukia herself is slightly impressed with Hiyori's mastery of the Zanpakuto, being able to conjure the shikai release without speaking was something that only higher level lieutenants and captains were capable of. In her training, her teachers and even Kaien had told her while it's possible it also makes it slightly weaker much in the same sense of performing kido without speaking the incantations. Rukia herself presses her thumb against the Tsuba (hand guard) of her katana, freeing it from its sheath. Once the blade is completely freed from its sheath, she holds it vertically with her right hand before beginning to rotate her wrist. "Dance." She says beginning the release, as she spins it to a half rotation, the sword changes. Its silver soul steel blade turning as white as new fallen snow, the silk wraps around the handle turn a pale blue like ice and a long elegant sword tail grows from an icy diamond that freezes onto the pommel of her katana. Its blade lengthens slightly, even causing the air around it to begin to condense into the wispy vapors much like a person's breath on a cold winter's night. "Sode No Shirayuki." Rukia states, her voice as cold as the frozen blade itself.

"Well, I didn't take you for an elemental zanpakuto user." Hiyori says watching Rukia place her other hand on the handle of the blade before bringing it to a defensive pose. "It's a damn pretty sword though." The blonde woman compliments.

"Thank you." Rukia responds, "Yours kind of reminds me of Ichigo's sword. What's it's name?" Rukia asks.

"Kubikiri Orochi. Or the beheading serpent." Hiyori answers, "How does my sword remind you of that idiot's weapon?" The unwarranted insult to Ichigo strikes a slight nerve with Rukia.

"It's a cleaver, and Ichi's looks like a chef's knife. Just a lot bigger." Rukia responds before suddenly flash stepping and slashing at Hiyori. The burst of reishi that she put out when she moved froze the ground under where her feet were. "And don't insult my Strawberry. That's my job." She warns.

"Why don't you make me, Ice Queen." Hiyori mocks, catching Rukia's blade between the teeth of her massive cleaver. "Or does this itty bitty snow fox not have fangs?" She continues, if she's trying to get Rukia angry, it's working. "Shinji says your hollow was strong enough to put a dent into that bastard Aizen. I want her to come out to play."

"That's not a good idea." Rukia warns, breaking the blade lock between her and Hiyori before flash stepping behind the blonde. She dips the point of her sword against the rock she's standing on four times in a semi circle before raising the weapon to shoulder level pointing the blade at Hiyori. "Tsugi no Mai. Hakuren." Rukia declares before expelling an avalanche of ice and snow from the point of the weapon.

Hiyori doesn't bother to move out of the way, instead letting the attack hit her head on. The gal of this woman to just take one of the strongest attacks Rukia can produce, the act causes Rukia to furrow her eyebrows suspect of what Hiyori is up to. The cloud of ice and snow lingers around where she was for a few moments before a dark, pink hued black reishi begins to coalesce inside the avalanche. Suddenly the avalanche explodes revealing Hiyori, slightly frostbitten but now sporting a mask over her face. The Japanese ogre like mask sports a single horn in the center of her head, a row of purple accented markings above her eyes and a skeletal visage. The woman's eyes are now black with an eerie amber colored glowing irises staring back at Rukia.

"Figured I'd be the one to give you a taste of the power that awaits you, should you beat your inner hollow." Hiyori's voice is warped, echoing and distorted behind the mask. "Don't think for a second I buy that crap about your hollow just wanting revenge on Aizen. All hollows are alike, they want dominion over your body and will lie, cheat and steal it from you the first chance they get." She warns, though the warning is preceded by her flaring her reishi. The pressure is immense and suffocating, making it hard to breath, let alone stand. Rukia has been present around other soul reapers who have released a bankai and the sheer pressure nearly crushed her. This though was suffocating, as if she was being wrapped in a straight jacket that got progressively tighter and tighter around her chest. "Are you just gonna stand there or am I going to have to beat your hollow out of you."

Rukia doesn't respond, instead she blitzes toward Hiyori who merely puts her sword behind her back and raises her fists. Seeing this brazen act of bravado from Hiyori, Rukia tightens her grip on her zanpakuto channeling as much reishi to her weapon as she can to make it as sharp as possible. The emotionless mask before her is all the expression that Hiyori shows her, but Rukia can tell that her opponent is smiling under her mask. Closing the distance, Rukia raises her blade and strikes downwards at Hiyori. The masked soul reaper grins beneath her mask before raising her hand and catching the blade in her palm. The force of the strike is enough to crush the stone pillar that Hiyori is standing on but doesn't even knick the skin of her palm. Rukia's eyes widen in horror as Hiyori clasps her fingers around the blade. Instinctively Rukia tries to drive the blade downwards and cut through her opponent's grip but she barely manages to cut Hiyori's hand making the faintest trickle of blood leak from beneath the edge of her blade. "My turn." Hiyori declares before raising her hand and punching Rukia in the stomach. The force of the punch is so hard Rukia near instantly is forced to let go of her blade as she's sent flying backwards impacting the stone wall on the far side of the training ground. Hiyori flash steps to where Rukia is stuck to the wall, floating on a platform created by her reishi.

"You're not even a seated officer. Pathetic." Hiyori gloats, still holding Rukia's sword by the blade. "Your sword is just for looks, just a dainty little glass knife." She says before snapping the blade in half letting it melt to water as it drips from her hand to the ground below.

"Let me out." Hoakita's voice echoes in Rukia's head. She snaps to attention staring at Hiyori, the influence of her hollow causing darkness to bleed into the sclera of Rukia's right eye. "That bitch insulted you, Ichigo and now she broke your sword. Let me out!"

"No." Rukia responds, prompting Hiyori to arch an eyebrow. "You can't, I don't want you to take over."

"Let her out." Hiyori demands. "Maybe she'll be worth my time."

"I ain't gonna kill her, just teach her a lesson of respect." Hoakita responds, her influence over Rukia starting to grow. "You know our agreement, I will give us the respect we deserve."

"She said you're like the others." Rukia says, completely ignoring Hiyori and now completely focused on staving off the influence of her inner hollow.

"You don't know a thing Sister." Hoakita's voice now escapes Rukia's mouth as the game for control is beginning to slip from Rukia. "I'm not going to kill that bitch, just show her who's boss." Hiyori took offense to that last part, her eyes sharpening at the word as she draws her sword and sinks one of the teeth into Rukia's shoulder. The attack causes Rukia to cry out in pain as the serrated blade hits bone and shatters her clavicle on the right side, almost even severing her arm. She tenses away from the wound, turning her head to avoid looking at the damage and making the matter worse.

"S-stop." Rukia cries, as blood pours from the wound staining the wall as well as Hiyori's blade. "She's g-gonna..." She trails off as her other eye starts to darken too. The pain is too much to handle and fight the influence of her inner hollow Rukia succumbs to Hoakita.

"I'm already sick of you, you bitch." Hoakita says before snapping her attention back to Hiyori. "How dare you," She growls, "That mouth of yours has gotten you into a lot of trouble, and I'm gonna rip it off you filthy skank." Hoakita threatens, the air in the room suddenly plummets to the negatives, her breath instantly becoming visible. The vapor she exhales condenses into that calcified bonelike pieces that magnetize to her face. The pieces of her mask begin to frame just under her cheek bone on the right side quickly amassing to a half mask that covers the top of her face. The appearance of a snow fox once again takes hold as Hoakita laughs maniacally. "You wanted me to come out to play, well here I am. Let's have some fun." Hoakita declares before freeing her left hand and punching the blade stuck in her shoulder.

The strike from Hoakita shatters the sword stuck in her arm but it also severs her right arm. The limb falling to the ground as blood continues to pulse from the wound in sequence with her heartbeats. However almost as soon as the arm is severed, the blood turns white and then coagulates over the wound. In mere moments her arm fully regenerates, this time appearing bone white like the mask, a lone bluish streak is all that stains the pigment of her new arm. Her hand bares long black claws like that of a fox as well as begins to grow a thin lining of white fur along her arm and up to her shoulder where the wound is. "I-instantaneous regeneration?" Hiyori questions in a moment of shock before she's punched in the stomach by the new hand of Hoakita. The blow forces her backwards, gaining her some ground and allowing her to recover.

"Such a shame that you broke my sword." Hoakita half whispers, her tone dancing between sadistic and seductive. "Luckily, it can be remade from my spiritual pressure and any liquid that is in the air, on the ground" She states, holding her off hand out causing the air to instantly freeze. The ice collects in the same shape of her original sword as she floats downwards towards the ground. "It also works with this..." Hoakita says as she steps to the rocky surface, crouching down she dips her fingers in her own blood.

The blood instantly freezes as her fingers touch the surface, she gently pulls her fingers across the frozen surface causing it to coalesce in her hand. The frozen blood writhing around her fingers as it begins to take shape. The ice liquifies and trickles down the rapidly forming blade recreating the weapon. However the major difference with the first version of Sode no Shirayuki is that this one is now red and white. The blade of the weapon is now a deep crimson color that is accented with a pure white tsuba. Its handle is cascaded in red silk wrapped around the white wood and sharkskin grip. The long sword tail is a mix of red and white. Staring at the red diamond at the pommel, bleeding crimson that lightens progressively to a pink and then to white down the rest of the silk. "Sode Chimamire no Fuyu" She whispers, the second blade's name meaning Winter Sleeved in Blood. Hiyori is frozen in fear watching Hoakita grip both blades, holding them out at her sides as the mask completely covers her face.