A/N: I do not own BLEACH
Soul Society
Rukongai
Junrinan District
2100 years ago
The marketplace was bustling with people and shinigami with shopkeepers trying to sell their wares to whoever would come over to their booths. One shinigami was leaning next
to a door with a cloth hanging in the door frame. He had short black hair and dark plum colored eyes with his zanpaktou tucked into his obi. four other people were standing behind
him, waiting for something. The sign over the door read 'Fortunes told here'. The purple eyed shinigami looked at the doorway as the cloth was pushed aside and a young couple
came out of the small shop. Once they were gone, the shinigami moved to stand in front of the door and brushed the cloth aside as he stuck his head in. The single room was
small and dark with candles lining shelves on the walls to give some light. In the center of the room was a table and on the other side of the table was a young woman of about
eighteen. She wore a dark red yukata and her jaw length hair was a mixture of dark auburn, light brown, and golden blonde. Her dark plum eyes seemed tired as they looked up at
the man.
"How are you holding up, Akiko?" he asked.
"I'm tired otou-san." said Akiko "I've been reading fortunes all morning."
"Alright then, you can take a break." he said before dropping the cloth and turning to those who were waiting "I'm sorry but you'll have to come back later, the fortune teller is
tired." The people slowly dispersed until they had all cleared out. The shinigami felt someone approaching behind him but he didn't react until he heard a familiar voice.
"I didn't know you dabbled in fortunetelling, Raiden Shin." said the voice. Shin's eyes widened and he quickly turned around.
"Yamamoto-sama!" said Shin "It's a pleasure to see you, sir. What brings you out into the Junrinan District, sir?"
"I've come to see the fortune teller." said Yamamoto "But not to get my fortune told. I have more important business to discuss."
"Of course Yamamoto-sama!" said Shin "My daughter and I would be honored to have you in our humble home." Shin pulled back the cloth and let Yamamoto enter the building
before following in after him.
"Akiko!" said Shin, making the half-asleep girl jump slightly "We have a guest. This is the Captain of the First Division, Captain-Commander of the Gotei Thirteen, and my
commanding officer, Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni."
"It's an honor to meet you sir." said Akiko "I am Raiden Akiko."
"Like wise." said Yamamoto as he and Shin sat down "Akiko-san, I've come here to discuss a proposition with you and your father. You see, I'm going to be starting up a school to
train future generations of Shinigami in a consistent way. My problem is finding students to attend the school. Your father mentioned that you possess spiritual energy and I can
tell that you possess quite a bit of it. I won't force you to join but I ask you consider my offer. I would like you to be a member of the first class of the Spiritual Arts Academy.
Classes start in exactly one week, so you have that long to consider the offer. I would understand if you refuse, you seem comfortable here but if you wish to be apart of
something more, the Orientation will take place in exactly seven days at eight a.m."
"I will think hard about your offer Yamamoto-sama." said Akiko.
"Thank you Akiko-san." said Yamamoto before standing up "Thank you for your time, both of you."
"Of course, Yamamoto-sama." said Shin.
"I will see you back at the Division, Raiden." said Yamamoto. Shin nodded but just before Yamamoto walked out of the door, Akiko spoke up.
"Yamamoto-sama." said Akiko.
"Yes?" said Yamamoto as he looked back at the young woman.
"Your school." said Akiko "It's going to be a great success and it's going to put out the next generation of great shinigami. Including some who will change our world for good and
some who will put everything we know and believe to the test." Yamamoto nodded before leaving father and daughter to discuss things.
----one week later----
----The Spiritual Arts Academy----
Kyōraku Shunsui was a rather odd young man. Born into a lesser noble clan, he was the second oldest son of the clan head and he acted nothing like a noble's son. He was a lazy,
drunken, womanizer who had a knack for getting into trouble. Yet at the same time he had a lot of charisma and quite a charming personality. He could probably charm his way
out of jail if he needed too. To add to that, he was a rather fine looking young man with short brown hair that had a slight wave to it, a small goatee, and grey eyes. His father had
had enough of him and his troublemaking, so he had sent him away to attend the newly constructed Spiritual Arts Academy just to get rid of him. Yawning, Shunsui looked around
at the other people who were going to attend the Academy as well. Quite a few were nobles like himself, some of higher rank and some of lower rank, and there were many from
the numerous districts of Rukongai as well. Then he looked down at the paper in his hand that had two names written on it. One was his own while the other two were people he
didn't know. Apparently, the head of the Academy thought that it was a good idea to put students into groups of three in order to make all of this easier for everyone. The three
students would share a three room dorm suit, have class together, train together, and basically become a team. In Shunsui's opinion, the whole thing was pointless but he didn't
have a choice in the matter, so he just went with it. Looking around the room, his eyes landed on another young man who was roughly the same age as him. He was dressed in
clothing that signified that he was a lesser noble like himself but what really caught Shunsui's attention was that his short hair was white. Not a pale blonde or anything like that
but honest to goodness, pure white! That was what made Shunsui walk up to him and as he approached him, he noticed that his eyebrows were black, unlike his hair. He also had
very warm brown eyes and a smile on his face.
"Ohayou." said Shunsui as he approached the white haired youth. The stranger looked at him and smiled.
"Ohayou!" he said "I'm Ukitake Juushiro. It's nice to meet you."
"Ukitake Juushiro?" said Shunsui before looking at his paper "Looks like we're in the same group, Juushiro-san. I'm Kyōraku Shunsui but just call me Shunsui."
"Alright, Shunsui-san." said Juushiro "So have you been able to find the other member of our group?"
"Nah." said Shunsui "But I think it might be girl, judging by the name. I hope she's hot." Juushiro just gave him a curious look before looking around. Most of the other groups had
already gotten together but Juushiro spotted a young woman, who was roughly the same age as both himself and Shunsui, looking around for her group. The young woman
happened to look in his direction and Juushiro smiled before motioning her to come over. She gave him a curious look but approached him anyways. Her hair was a mixture of dark
auburn, light brown, and golden blonde and it was jaw length with oddly arranged spikes and uneven bangs. She wore a dark blue yukata with a plum colored sash and her feet
were bare. When she stopped in front of him, he saw that she had dark plum colored eyes and she had a bag slung over her shoulder but what was most remarkable was that she
stood even to him in height. It was incredibly rare to find a woman who stood over five foot eight, but he had never met a woman who stood at six foot one.
"Ohayou." she said in a confident voice "I'm Raiden Akiko. Who are you?" The tone of her voice was as if she was speaking to someone she'd known her whole life and there
wasn't a drop of formalness in it. That took Juushiro aback for a moment before he composed himself and smiled.
"Hello." said Juushiro "I am Ukitake Juushiro." Akiko looked at the paper in her hand before smiling.
"Looks like were in the same group, Juushiro." said Akiko before Shunsui decided to join in on the conversation.
"So who's this Juushiro-san?" asked Shunsui as he joined them.
"Shunsui-san." said Juushiro "This is Raiden Akiko, the third member of our group. Raiden-san, this is Kyōraku Shunsui."
"It's nice to meet you, Akiko-chan." said Shunsui.
"You too, Shunsui." said Akiko "And please, just call me Akiko."
"Of course Akiko-san." said Juushiro with a smile.
"So where are you from Akiko-chan?" asked Shunsui.
"I'm from the Junrinan District." said Akiko "My father is a Shinigami, an unseated officer of the First Division under Yamamoto-sama and well, I do a bit of fortune telling on the
side to earn some extra money." Shunsui laughed.
"Fortune telling?" he said "It's just a bunch of nonsense designed to con people out of their money." Shunsui yelped when Akiko stomped on his foot, hard.
"I do not con people out of their money!" she snapped as she glared at the slightly taller man "Unlike most fortune tellers, everything I predict comes true! So shut up about it
being a load of nonsense or I'll kick your ass from her to the Zaraki District and back and I ain't afraid to do so!"
"You're a rather violent young lady, Akiko-chan." said Shunsui as he nursed his nearly broken foot.
"Well, I've been told I have a temper." said Akiko as she glared at Shunsui in a scary manner.
"Now, now." said Juushiro as he attempted to calm the tension "No need to get off on the wrong foot on the first day."
"A little late for that Juushiro-san." said Shunsui before standing up "We've already gotten off on the wrong foot."
"I agree." said Akiko as she crossed her arms. Juushiro sighed before looking towards the front steps of the Academy as everyone was called into order. The Captain of the First
Division was standing there and after he called everyone to order, he gave his welcoming speech before sending them off to their dorms to get settled in. Akiko took the lead
through the mass of people and Shunsui and Juushiro followed after her.
"Let's see." said Akiko as she walked "We have dorm six."
"She certainly takes charge." said Juushiro.
"Makes you wonder if she's even female." said Shunsui.
"What was that?!" said Akiko, her eyes flashing angrily as she looked at Shunsui.
"Nothing!" said Shunsui "Nothing at all!"
"That's what I thought." said Akiko before walking over to the door labeled six "Which one of you two has the key?"
"I do." said Shunsui as he held up the key to the door "But you have to give me a kiss before I give it to you." Akiko narrowed her eyes before walking over to Shunsui. The slightly
taller male looked at her expectantly before Akiko deliver a swift kick to his shin. As he reeled in pain, Akiko snatched the key out of his hand and went back over to the door before
unlocking it.
"Next time just give me the key." said Akiko before going into the room.
"Are you alright Shunsui-san?" asked Juushiro.
"Yep," said Shunsui "Just fine! Let's go inside before she decides to lock us out."
"Alright." said Juushiro before walking into the room. Shunsui went to follow him, only to have the door slammed in his face.
"Oi!" yelled Shunsui as he pounded his fist on the door "Open the door! Akiko-chan! Juushiro-san! Someone please open the door!"
Juushiro sweat dropped as Akiko made faces at the door while Shunsui pounded against the door.
"Um, Akiko-chan?" said Juushiro as he rubbed the back of his head nervously "I think we should let Shunsui-san in."
"You can do that, Juushiro." said Akiko "I'm going to get settled into my room!" Akiko walked through the door directly across from the entry way. Juushiro sighed before opening
the door and letting Shunsui in.
"Sorry about that Shunsui-san." said Juushiro.
"It's alright, Juushiro." said Shunsui "Let's just get settled in." Juushiro nodded and the two of them went into the two remaining rooms to get settled in.
The room Akiko had walked into was quite larger than the room she had back home and this one had a large window that gave her a wonderful view of the beautiful school
grounds. On the right side of the room was a comfortable looking futon and a nightstand with a lamp and a clock on it and on the left side of the room was a desk, a book case, and
a closet with a built in dresser. Akiko set her bag down on the desk before noticing that there was a package sitting on the desk with a folded piece of paper on top that had her
name on it. Picking up the paper, Akiko opened it. Inside was a schedule on a separate piece of paper and a note saying that she was to wear the provided uniform. Opening the
package, Akiko found a red shitagi, a white kosode with red stripes on the sleeves, red hakama, white tabi, and sandals. Looking away from the uniform, Akiko started to examine
the schedule she had been given.
"Let's see," said Akiko "Mathematics, grammar, history, hakuda, hohō, kido, zanjutsu, and some other things. Class starts at ten which gives me," she looked at the clock "Twenty
minutes to get to class." She looked at the uniform "And put on my uniform." She sighed and set the schedule down before pulling the curtains closed and changing. Once she was
done, she opened up her bag and pulled out a deck of card, which she hid in her kosode before picking up her schedule and going into the common area. Juushiro was already in
the common area and he was wearing a uniform similar to Akiko's except his was blue instead of red.
"Where's Shunsui?" asked Akiko as she walked over to Juushiro.
"Still in his room." said Juushiro.
"We're going to be late." said Akiko "And I don't want to be late on our first day."
"I'll go check on him." said Juushiro as he walked over to Shunsui's door before knocking on it "Shunsui-san? Are you ready to go yet? We're going to be late." Akiko could hear
faint snoring from inside the room as she joined Juushiro at the door. Her eye twitched before she threw the door open. Inside was Shunsui, dressed in his uniform and asleep! Her
eyebrow started to twitch with her eye as Akiko walked up to Shunsui before giving him a powerful kick in the gut. Shunsui jerked awake before glaring at Akiko.
"Get yer lazy ass up." said Akiko "We're gonna to be late." With that said she turned and left the room.
"Charming, isn't she?" said Shunsui sarcastically before getting up.
"Maybe you shouldn't have fallen asleep Shunsui-san." said Juushiro as they exited the room.
"Maybe." said Shunsui "But I did."
"Let's just get going before Akiko-san comes back and kicks you around some more." said Juushiro before running after Akiko.
"Hey!" yelled Shunsui as he ran after him "Wait for me!"
I've been working on this fanfic for a while, so I hope you enjoy it!
I'm really excited about finally being able to post it!
I will accept comments, reviews, and flames.
Until next time this is LegendarywriterZephyrStar signing out!