YAYY! MY FIRST EVER FANFIC!!! Hope you guys like my story, and remember to R&R! -smiles- Oh and there will be new characters being introduced here. All this stuff takes place just after the arrancar war.

Warning: Bleach characters are only going to be introduced in the 2nd or 3rd chapters. And I don't think this story is going to be very funny because I don't think I'm much good at humor. But I'll try my best and this chapter is pretty boring but bear with it alright? Cos it's pretty important to the rest of the story.

Disclaimer: All I own here in this story are the characters I create and the plot. The rest all belong to Kubo-sama. –jealous-

Twin Seasons

Chapter One: Squads and Such

Kazeaki was very, very worried.

Well, she had every right to be. After all, the results of the graduating exam and what squads they would get into were nearly upon them. Whether they can get into the Gotei 13 or SMC would soon be revealed. In fact, it wasn't just Kazeaki who was worried – just about everyone was.

Which perfectly explained why kazeaki was sitting on a branch of her favorite tree, in a world of her own.

It was so.. peaceful there. A great place to come and collect her thoughts. To calm her worry. So quiet..

"HEY WASSUP?" Kenta yelled in Kazeaki's ear. She had been so caught up in her worry that she had not even noticed her best friend jumping onto the branch beside her.

"Shut up, Ken-chan."

"Why? Are you that worried about the results? The results that came out while you were staring into nothingness and stuck to the staff room door right this second? The results that everyone, except the two of us, are currently ogling at right now? The results that.."

"Shut up, Ken-chan. For your information, I wasn't staring into nothingness. I was worrying. It's perfectly normal. Everyone's worrying. Everyone except you. You.." Kazeaki replied. Suddenly what Kenta said it her. "..wait a minute, did you say that the results were..OUT??"

"Yep. About 11 seconds ago." Kenta answered with a slight smirk. "Oh, and by the way, Aki-chan, here's a spoiler: I BEAT YOU. AGAIN. Proves that I AM smarter than you after all, don't you think? You should stop trying to prove that you're smarter- I tell you, it doesn't work." He stated, matter-of-factly.

Kazeaki gave him one look of utter disbelief, shook her head in horror, and then leaped off the tree and shunpo-ed off to see for herself.

Kenta tried jumping down the branch to follow her, but.. well, he didn't quite manage it. Landing on his bottom, he hurriedly pulled himself up, tried his best to look as if he had fallen on purpose, and ran after Kazeaki.

"No way."

Kazeaki had seen the results at last. And what she saw didn't please her at all.

Nope. Not in the least.

She was third. She hadn't even made it second, just below Kenta. Some studious wart had beat her to that position. Kazeaki was usually second, not third. Definitely not third. But the worst bit was..

Kenta had been right. Damn him. He was first, like always. Kazeaki had always wondered hhow a seemingly dumb and idiotic, egoistic, good-for–nothing guy like him could be top. My parents would have been disappointed that I couldn't beat an idiot like him. If I had parents, she thought.

Speak of the devil. Kenta finally reached Kazeaki. He stole a glance, wondering if the look of utter disbelief was still on her face.

YuppStill there.

"It wasn't all that surprising, really." He thought to himself. "After all, I've always beat her in tests. It's probably just she wasn't right after me. She must be losing her touch." He gave himself a little chuckle, before realizing that Kazeaki's emerald eyes were burning intensely into his own deep brown ones.

She whacked him.

Uh-oh. Did I say that aloud?

"Ow, Aki-chan. That hurt. You don't really have to care about the positions, anyway. Don't be so competitive! Besides, you got into to 6th squad. That's plenty good. Me? I got shoved into this super elite, super strong, super important, super clever.." he got interrupted by a fury of whacks. ".. that, being the first squad, is sure to be immensely boring?" he finished somewhat lamely.

The whacks stopped. Miracle Kenta thought. Then he realized that Kazeaki was still looking at the notice, now with a hint of sadness etched on her face.

--

RESULTS OF GRADUATIING EXAMS
1) Sastoshi Kenta ----- 1st squad
2) Shizuki Aden ----- 3rd squad
3) Kazeaki ----- 6th squad
4) Zito Chika -----SMC

--

The list continued. Nearly one-tenth of the students had been allocated to the SMC, while those allocated to the Gotei 13 squads consisted mainly of the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 11th and 13th squads. In fact, Kenta was only one of the two pupils allocated to the 1st squad, while Kazeaki was one of three.

It's because we won't be together so much anymore. He suddenly realized. None of their friends would be together so much anymore. Kenta, at least, was easy-going and able to make new friends easily. But Kazeaki did not trust others that easily. It would be difficult for her to make new friends. Kenta suddenly thought of his first encounter with Kazeaki, and how their friendship had unfolded..

--

(start of flashback- at the start of their schooling)

Lesson had just ended. Kazeaki hated this part of the day the most. This is where the taunting starts. It had happened so many times in just these first few weeks that it had already become a habit for Kazeaki to pack her books as fast as she can and scoot off. But unfortunately for her, this was one of the days where she wasn't fast enough…

"Hey you! Orphan girl!" A shrill voice sliced through the air like a zanpukto. Kazeaki ignored the foul greeting and continued to pack up.

"I said, HEY YOU. You're supposed to respond, orphan. Didn't your parents teach you manners? Oh wait, I forgot- you don't have parents. Not even a friend or relative, am I right? Of course, no one here would want to make friends with a lowlife like you." Sayuri, one of the upper-caste students, sneered. Her friends behind her laughed. Kazeaki gritted her teeth, but ignored them.

"Hey, are you deaf or something? You seemed to hear perfectly well at the lesson just now. Kept waving your hand madly in the air. So eager. Like to show off, don't you?"

The back of Kazeaki's neck turned crimson.

" Well, how was it living in the worst district of Rukongai? I bet you loved it there, didn't you? That place suits you so much, you should just pack your bags and return home, instead of dirtying our eyes with your distasteful sight. If you even have a home, that is. You should know your place, you dirt-poor orphan. You should.."

"Are you sure you want to finish up that sentence?"

A voice had joined hers. Kazeaki looked towards the door to see who had said the exact same words as herself, and got a shock. It was Satoshi Kenta, heir to one of the richest and most powerful families in all of Serietei. It's ironic, she mused, that the person who wanted to rescue her was the person that should have taunted her the most.

"Oh, it's you, Satoshi-kun," Sayuri greeted sweetly. Her tone had immediately changed to a sickly-sweet one. Satoshi Kenta pretended to puke, making Kazeaki laugh for the first time in years.

It was now Sayuri's turn to blush crimson with rage. She seemed to decide against offending the most respected pupil in the level, but instead, satisfied herself with a last, angry glare at the pair, and stalked off haughtily.

Kazeaki eyed Satoshi warily. True, he might have saved her from further humiliation, but he was still someone from the upper-caste. He might have had something up his sleeve. Kazeaki had learned from enough experience to know that one should never trust another that easily.

"Hey, stop looking at me like that! I'm really trustable. Trust me."

Despite herself, Kazeaki gave another reluctant chuckle. It had to be a new record. Kazeaki laughing was not something you would see every few days. Every few decades, maybe, but that's about it.

"Want me to help you finish up your packing?"

"No, thanks. I'm perfectly capable of packing by myself."

".. Well then, I'll wait for you."

They ended up on a tree.

"Do you get that all the time? Aren't you angry at them?"

"Well, duh."

Silence. The leaves rustled.

"Well, that girl got it right, anyway," Kazeaki said, finally deciding to trust Kenta. "I am an orphan. Never even knew my surname, or had and friends or relatives."

"You loner!" Kenta exclaimed in mock horror.

There was another silence.

".. I guess. Most people in the 78th district were alone, anyway. That place is a dump."

"Well, at least you're out of it now."

"True."

Kenta didn't think that he ever had such a serious, monotonous conversation in his life.

"Say, let's become friends! Then you wouldn't be so alone anymore!" He said with much excitement, trying to un-monotonise the mood.

"..Okay."

--

The reply had been a bit disappointing, Kenta reflected, but their friendship had started ever since. They were very close friends. Kazeaki, over the 2 years they spent together, had grown much more cheerful and trusted others more. Kenta would have liked to have something more than friendship with her, but had been rejected. It had been the wrong time.

Maybe next time she'll change her mind, he thought. Then aloud he spoke, "Hey, don't look so sad. It's not the end of the world or something. We'll still get to see each other. I'll come and visit you and bug you to death!"

Kazeaki smiled in spite of herself. The two of them were two of the smartest in school, so much so that they had kept jumping grades. Instead of the five years a normal shinigami-in-training needs to study, the pair of them only needed two. This also explained why they were closer friends to each other than to the other students.

She stared back at the list again before noticing something else. Going to the 6th division with her were two other students. And one of them was an arrogant, smart, rich, upper-class person going by the name of Sayuri. She had jumped some grades too.

Kazeaki suddenly felt extremely pissed off.

A world away, Captain Hitsugaya of the 10th division shared her emotion.

OKAY! DONE:D but looking back, I think it isn't very good, compared to some of those other uber fanfics that I read.. oh well.. hope u guys will still continue to read my later chapters when I post them.. I'll type them asap, but it's kinda hard when you got a truckload of homework and is getting ready for a camp and an overseas trip.. please review, but no flamers thanks;)