I dropped into a squat, ducking under the punch hurtling towards my face and sweeping my leg out to kick my opponent's feet out from under him. He grunted as the back of his skull slammed into ground, but didn't bother to try to get up from the blue training mat once I had him pinned with my knee against the base of his neck.
"Forfeit," he choked, struggling to regain his breath.
The dojo was full of Shino Academy students sitting along the walls, each one waiting to take their hakuda final exam. I turned to the panel of examiners and waited patiently for them to finish writing their reports.
"Ren Hatanaka, you're dismissed," one of the proctors said after a few moments. I bowed and jogged towards the corner of the dojo where i had left my zanpakuto. Grabbing it, I exited through the closest shinjo and flash stepped towards the dorms. I was all too eager to rid myself of the dust and sweat that had accumulated all over my body throughout the day of training and testing. As soon as I entered my apartment, I started peeling off the layers of my soiled uniform, leaving a trail of clothes from the entrance to the bathroom. I turned the tap to the hottest setting and the soothing sounds of rushing water filled the room. Catching a glimpse of myself in the mirror, I noticed how tired I looked. My olive skin looked greasy and pale, my usually shiny brown hair was tangled and unkempt. I sighed and turned away, trying put my superficial woes out of my head. When the bath was almost full I shut off the water and sunk in, too tired to care that there was water overflowing onto the wooden floor. For the first time today, I made myself stop worrying about my exams. I felt myself start to untense muscles that seemed to have been tight for the last week and all I allowed myself to focus on was the heat of the water that consumed me.
...
I tensed as I heard soft footsteps approaching and reluctantly opened a single brown eye to decipher the identity of the person walking towards me. After realizing who it was I closed my eye and returned to my previous state of relaxation.
"What kinda rank do you think you'll get." Renji asked, effectively preventing me from returning to my nap under my favorite persimmon tree.
"I dunno, who knows if I'll even be seated," I shrugged
"Hah" he snorted, sitting next to me and elbowing me in the ribs. "Fake humility doesn't suit ya kid, we both know you'll be in the single digits"
"As long as I'm not under Kuchiki." I made a face. "Kyoraku seems more my speed, you know? He needs a sixth, right?"
Renji replied with a grunt.
We descended into a comfortable silence. Each of us silently enjoying each others company until Renji needed to return to his lieutenant duties. I once again slipped into my peaceful nap and dreamt of full moons and incense smoke drifting in the wind.