Chapter One: New School

Firedude: Alright! Here's my crack at a Bleach story! Please review the story, even if you didn't like it review, feel free to flame.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters.

Firedude: Alright, let's have at it then. Ready? Set? On with the show!

The moon shone brightly in the skies above West Rukongai. The night was completely silent throughout the entire first district as a lone man walked through the streets. He hummed a tune to himself as he made his way towards the entrance of a large temple that stood near the center of district. As he approached the large set of double doors leading into the temple, he grabbed a torch from one of the holders near the front door. He used his free hand to push the door open and peered into the dark hallway. He held out the torch to help illuminate his path as he made his way toward a dim light at the end of the hall. When he made it to the light, he placed the torch in an empty holder in the wall.

He moved closer to the dim light that was shining out of a thin crack in a door way. The man pushed it open and walked inside and saw a single candle in the middle of the room. At the other end of the room, a priest sat in front of a gigantic golden statue of a man sitting with his legs crossed and a seven pronged sword in his lap. The man walked towards the priest and stopped near the candle. He then kneeled down and waited for a few minutes before speaking. "Master Kagetsuna Uesugi, I'm here to see you…" The priest remained silent for another minute before replying, "Is that you Kazuya…?" The man simply nodded and did not utter a word.

Without even seeing his nod, the priest knew his answer. "Hmm, if you're here… that means you haven't changed your mind." Kazuya remained silent as Kagetsuna spoke. He laughed a little and waved his hand back at him. "It looks like you do not listen to reason after all I've taught you." Kazuya bent over and bowed to the priest. He looked over his shoulder and saw Kazuya bowing. "Begging me is not going to change my opinion." He stood up and began walking towards Kazuya. "…Are you going to stop me master?" Kagetsuna stopped in front of him and grunted. "You already know my opinion on the situation."

Kazuya did not get up from his bowing position. "I will give you my approval on going if you complete a test." Kazuya looked up at Kagetsuna who was walking back towards the statue. "Wait, that's it? What's the catch master?" Kagetsuna stopped in front of the statue. "There is no catch. If you pass this test, you will get my approval for going." Kagetsuna whispered something under his breath and suddenly thousands of candles, lining the walls of the room suddenly ignited. The room was now bright enough for them to see each other clearly.

Kazuya had spiked black hair with a scar across his nose. He wore the typical outfit those in Rukongai wear. Kagetsuna wore a small black turban on his head with his priest robe and had a sword tied to his waist. He looked at Kazuya and grinned. "You haven't even heard my test yet and you assume it's easy. Fool, the test that I speak is a duel." Kazuya's eyes widened as he quickly rose from his bow back into a kneeling position. "That's not fair master! We've practiced duels before and I can't stand up to you!" Kagetsuna laughed a little under his breath as he drew a straight sword from the scabbard on his waist. "We will have five rounds here under the eyes of Bishamonten. The first one to land a hit on the other wins. All you need to do is win one round."

Kazuya stood up and waited a little longer for anymore rules. "…That's it? One round and I win?" Kagetsuna grabbed another straight sword that was leaning against the golden statue. He turned and threw it across the room to Kazuya. He caught it and immediately drew it out. "Yes, it sounds easy, but you've never won a single round against before. Also…" Kagetsuna quickly slashed his sword to the side and split a nearby candle in half. "…These are real swords." Kazuya began to sweat and shake a little as he realized the impending danger. "There's a first time for everything right?" Kagetsuna's expression became stern as he got into his stance. "Not today Kazuya… begin!"

Kazuya began sprinting across the room towards Kagetsuna. When he was only a few feet away from him, Kazuya slashed the sword at Kagetsuna's torso. Kagetsuna side stepped around Kazuya and pushed him face first into the leg of the golden statue. Before Kazuya could recover, he felt Kagetsuna's sword resting on his back. "One…" He took a few steps back and allowed Kazuya to stand up. "That was a dirty trick, Master!" Kagetsuna did not change his stern expression as he got back into stance. "In a real fight, there's no such thing as a dirty trick." Kazuya gritted his teeth and jumped into the air. He swung down on Kagetsuna who simply back stepped to avoid the blow.

Kazuya then lunged forward with a stab to the gut, but Kagetsuna effortlessly parried it. Kagetsuna then was close enough to grab Kazuya's wrist. He twisted it so that he released the sword from his grip and fell to the floor. He held his sword close to Kazuya's neck and said, "Two…" He took a few more steps back as Kazuya picked up his sword. This time, Kauzya stood there in a stance and waited, hoping Kagetsuna would make the first move. Kagetsuna realized what Kazuya wanted him to do and began to inch towards him.

Kazuya tightened his grip on his sword as he waited for Kagetsuna to get in range. For a whole minute, he continued to inch forward and never broke eye contact with Kazuya. Just when he was about to enter Kazuya's range, he stopped. Kazuya waited and waited for him to move the last inch. A minute passed and finally he did. Kazuya stabbed his sword out at his master, but he disappeared. Before he knew it, he saw Kagetsuna standing on the tip of his sword. He was about to pull his sword back to get him off, but Kagetsuna gave him a swift kick to the face.

"Three…" Kazuya rubbed his cheek and stood back up. "Only two more rounds boy…" Kazuya was now very frustrated. He dived forward and began to wildly slash at Kagetsuna. He kept parrying his blows, but Kazuya was slowly pushing him back. He began to smile when he realized that he was winning, but Kagetsuna just let out a small laugh under his breath and disappeared. Kazuya looked around for him, but he was no where in sight. He nervously began to look in all directions in an attempt to find him, but no avail. Wait, I'm losing my cool... I just need to calm down and- before he could finish thinking to himself, Kagetsuna appeared behind him. Kazuya realized he was there and whipped a slash at him.

Kagetsuna guarded against it and the two were caught in a deadlock. Kazuya struggled to push Kagetsuna back, but made no progress. Kagetsuna just grinned and easily pushed Kazuya's sword back until it was against his neck. "Four…" Kazuya stumbled back a few steps and felt a little bit of blood dripping down his neck. "Damn double edged swords." He looked up at Kagetsuna who was once again wearing a stern expression. "The last round…" Kazuya got into his stance as Kagetsuna pointed his blade at him. "How do you expect to survive a day in the Shinigami academy when you can't even scratch me…?" Kazuya silently sunk into his stance and gave him a piercing glare. Kagetsuna then also followed suite and sunk into his stance.

They starred each other down for a couple minutes as it began to rain. The sound of the rain drops hitting the ceiling of the temple echoed throughout the building. Thunder began to crackle outside as the two continued their staring match. Suddenly, another bolt crackled and the two charged. They both slashed out their swords at each other as one more bolt crack, as though to call the end of the match. The two stood there for a minute as the rain continued to fall. Kagetsuna sighed and stood up. He wiped the blood from the cut on his cheek and turned towards Kazuya who just uttered, "Five…"

Kazuya sheathed his sword and tossed it to Kagetsuna. As he began to walk out, Kagetsuna called after him, "Kazuya!" He looked back at Kagetsuna and listened. "…Good luck boy, the next time I hear from you, you better be a captain." Kazuya smiled and walked out of the room. Kagetsuna felt the cut on his cheek one more time before returning to his praying in front of the statue. Kazuya walked out of the temple and into the rain. He stood there for a minute and couldn't contain himself anymore. "Yeah! I'm going to be a shinigami!" He jumped out of joy, but suddenly a sandal hit him in the side of the head. "Shut up you brat! Do you know what time it is!?" Kazuya mumbled to himself and began walking home.

Rukongai District One: The next morning

Kazuya's eyes slowly opened as a beam of morning sunlight struck his face. He sat up from his mat and rubbed his eyes as his vision adjusted to the light. He sighed and stood up. He looked out the window of his small shack and shielded his face from the bright sun. Man, why is it so bright this early? I don't remember it ever being this bright at 6:30. He blinked for a minute and thought about it. Wait a minute... he ran over to a dresser on the other side of the room and looked at a small pocket watch. "9:30!? Shoot! I'm late!" Kazuya ripped open his dresser drawer and threw on some clothes. He shoved the pocket watch into his pocket and grabbed a bag off the ground to the side of the dresser. He then sprinted out the door and down the street towards the West gate to Seireitei. He almost knocked over 20 other people in his desperate attempt to make it to the gate.

He was 100 yards away from the gate and spotted Jidanbo resting against it. "Jidanbo! Wake up!" He opened one of his eyes and spotted Kazuya. "Kazuya! I was worried when I didn't see you this morning when the new students came in. Where were you?" Kazuya frantically called out in reply as he got closer, "I'll tell you later! Just open the gate!" Jidanbo quickly rose to his feet and began to lift the gate. He lifted it just high enough for Kazuya to go through when he made it. "Thank you Jidanbo!" He then dropped the gate back down with a thud and went back to resting.

Kazuya began sprinting through the streets of Seireitei, in an attempt to find the shinigami academy. He looked around frantically, looking for signs of anything that looked like an academy. Come on, where is it? Where is it? Where-? Before he knew it, he collided with someone. He fell forward on top of the person and was stunned. When he recovered his vision cleared up. He looked down on the person he was on top of. It was a young woman about his age with long dark green hair tied into a pony tail. Her face was bright red and she was trying to speak. Eventually she just clenched her teeth and shouted, "You pervert!" She slapped his so hard across the face he flew into the nearby wall.

Kazuya sat up and yelled back, "It was an accident you bitch! I didn't mean it! I'm not like that!" She stood up and dusted herself off. "Yeah, I bet you aren't." A woman a few years younger than her with long black hair, braided into a single braid. "Please lady Ryoko, I really don't think he meant it." She gave the young girl an angry look and almost yelled, "Why are you taking his side Chao!?" She waved her hands in defense, but Kazuya spoke before she could. "Man, your period must be extra bad." Ryoko's face turned bright red and she threw one of her shoes at him. She then stomped off down the street as Chao quickly ran up to Kazuya. "I'm sorry sir, lady Ryoko doesn't usually act that way." Kazuya rubbed his head where he got hit with a shoe. "No it's alright, it was partly my fault."

Just then, he realized that the two were wearing shinigami academy uniforms. "Hey, you two are academy students. Can you please tell me where it is?" Chao pointed down the road and stated, "Just head down this road and turn left and you'll find it." Kazuya smiled and stood up. "Thank you very much." Chao smiled bowed slightly. "No problem at all." She then picked up the shoe and ran after Ryoko. "My lady! Please wait for me!" Kazuya brushed himself off and followed the road like Chao had told him. He turned the corner and spotted the gates to the large training academy. As he approached the gate, the two shinigami guards on either side of the gate stuck their swords out to the side to block the gate.

"Walk away peasant, return to Rukongai where you belong!" Kazuya reached into his bag and pulled out a form with his picture and information on it. "No, no I'm a new student here. I overslept and missed the sign in time, but please I need to go see the officials." The guards looked at each other and one pointed his sword at Kazuya. "How dare you, lie to our faces you mongrel!?" Kazuya gave them a puzzled look. "What do you mean?" The other guard also pointed his sword at Kazuya. "Don't be a fool. No student is so irresponsible to miss the sign in time. If you were trying to infiltrate the academy, you made a horrible attempt at it."

"We're going to have to bring you in for questioning." The two began to close in on Kazuya and he took a few steps back. "Whoa! Guys, I'm not an enemy! I seriously just overslept!" One of the guards grabbed one of Kazuya's arms and laughed. "Of course you're not. Let's go punk!" He tried to pull Kazuya, but he resisted. "Don't make this worse for yourself knave, let's go!" Kazuya gave him a stern look. "I told you, I'm not lying! And you better let go of my arm before you regret it." The other shinigami walked over and punched Kazuya in the face. "Shut up!" Kazuya then looked up at the two and glared at him. "May Bishamonten have mercy on your souls, because I will not!"

Before the guards could react, Kazuya slipped his hand through the guard's grip and grabbed his forearm. He then used his arm to leverage as he pushed off the ground and kicked the other guard in the face. He then turned back and punched the other in the gut. The shinigami guard who was kicked in the face stood up and raised his sword above his head. "I'm going to kill you!" The guard slashed down on him, but Kazuya back stepped and let the sword busy itself in the ground. He then stepped on the sword to keep it in the ground and kicked him in the chest. He flew back ward and smashed against the gate.

The other shinigami snuck up from behind and took a stab at Kazuya. He side stepped just in time so that the sword only stabbed through his shirt. Kazuya then elbowed him in the jaw and shouted, "That was my favorite shirt!" both the shinigami were on the ground aching and moaning. "I guess this means I can go see them now?" As he began walking toward the gate, the shinigami against the gate stood up. "Not so fast you bastard!" He lifted his zanpakuto and smiled. "We're not letting you in! Even if it means that we must release our zanpakuto!" The other shinigami stood up and panted, "That's…right…" The two held up their zanpakutos and started to say something, when a voice around the corner said, "What are you two doing?"

The two lowered their zanpakutos as someone stepped out from around the corner. The guards shot up at attention and saluted. "C-Captain Ukitake!" Jushiro walked out around the corner with Kiyone and Sentaro at his sides. "We were subduing this spy that was trying to sneak into the academy!" Ukitake laughed at the two and pointed out, "Really? It looks as though he subdued you two." The two were scrambling for words. Kiyone then called over at the two, "And did we here right? That you two were going to release your zanpakutos!?" The two were still stammering for words as Sentaro continued.

"Don't you know that you two are not allowed to do that!?" Kiyone turned towards Sentaro and shouted, "I was just about to say that!" Sentaro yelled back, "Yeah, but I said it first!" As the two officers argued and the guards stammered, Jushiro sighed and shouted, "Silence!" They all went silent and he coughed a few times. "What is your name?" He said pointing at Kazuya. "My name is Kazuya sir." He made a motion with his hand to have him continue. "Your full name I mean." Kazuya just shrugged. "Just Kazuya sir, I don't have a family name." Ukitake frowned and motioned to the two guards. "Go to the 4th division's head quarters and get fixed up." The two then scrambled off in the direction of the 4th division.

Ukitake looked back at Kiyone and Sentaro. "I want you two to take over their positions at the gate until they return." The two then saluted and said simultaneously "Yes sir!" The two then ran off and argued about which side of the gate each of them would take. Jushiro walked up to Kazuya and said, "Come, I'll take you to see the school heads." He began walking towards the gate and Kazuya followed behind him. Kiyone and Sentaro pulled levers on either side of the gate and it opened up. Ukitake and Kazuya walked through the gate and into the academy. "This is embarrassing to ask, but what is your name sir?"

He looked over his shoulder at Kazuya and smiled. "I'm Jushiro Ukitake, The captain of the thirteenth division." Kazuya then walked up next to Jinshiro and continued. "Captain Ukitake, not that I'm not thankful sir, but why are you helping me?" He looked over at Kazuya and laughed a little. "Well, I too overslept the first day I was to join the academy." Kazuya laughed a little bit before Jushiro continued. "Also, you defeated to guards armed with zanpakutos. That's an impressive feat for someone who has not even begun his training. We'd be foolish to turn away a cadet like you." Kazuya blushed and rubbed the back of his head. "Well, I'm not that great."

"Well, besides that I have heard a lot about you from Uesugi." Kazuya blinked out of shock. "You know master Uesugi?" Ukitake nodded and smiled. "We've been very good friends for a long time. He speaks of you often." Kazuya smiled in delight. "Really? What has he said about me?" Ukitake thought about it for a minute. "Well he has said good things, but the comments that stick to mind are that you're a dumb ass." Kazuya hung his head in disappointment. "Yeah, that sounds like something he'd say." The two stopped in front of a moderate sized building in the middle of the campus. "Here we are, the administration office." The two walked inside and desks were situated throughout the room, but there was only one person in the whole room.

The man looked up from his desk and rushed over. He was wearing a shinigami outfit and had glasses and a black flat top. "Captain Ukitake! What brings you to our academy!?" He smiled and shook the man's hand. "Hello professor Mogami." Jushiro then motioned over towards Kazuya. "This student over slept and missed his sign up. Would you mind helping us out?" The man adjusted his glasses and smiled. "Yes of course! I owe you a lot Captain, the least I can do is sign in a late arrival." He looked over at Kazuya and motioned towards him desk. "Come with me and we'll fill out your form and get you your uniform." Kazuya nodded and followed him to his desk. Ukitake took one more look and called over, "I'll see you two later, I must go." The two waved to him as he walked out of the building.

When he walked outside he heard a familiar voice speak to him from around the corner of the building. "Is that the kid Uesugi was talking about?" Ukitake looked around the corner and saw Shunsui leaning against the wall drinking a shot of sake. Ukitake smiled and walked over to his long time friend. "Yes, that's Kazuya alright." Shunsui smiled and finished his shot. "According to Kagetsuna, that kid is pretty amazing. When he graduates, I get first rights to recruit him to my division." Ukitake frowned and gave him a stern look. "I found him, I should." Shunsui laughed and looked over at his friend. "We'll settle this later, but first we need to make sure he's all that Uesugi has promised him to be." Ukitake nodded and the two flash stepped and disappeared.

Shinigami Academy: Administration office

Kazuya finished his questioning and Mogami handed him a few pairs of uniforms. "These are the shinigami cadet uniforms that you will be wearing for your stay here." He then looked at a chart and searched for something on it. "You are staying in dormitory one, second floor, room 45." Kazuya bowed and thanked him. "Now, there's a testing event that starts later today and continues tomorrow." Kazuya gave him a puzzled look. "But, I thought I already made it into the academy!?" Mogami nodded and continued, "Yes, but we hold a few testing events to determine if you should be in the more advanced classes or not." Kazuya felt relieved and sighed.

He took out his pocket watch and looked at it. "Is that a pocket watch?" Kazuya looked up from it back at Mogami and said, "Yes, master Uesugi brought it back for me when he went to the human world when he was a shinigami." Mogami leaned over and saw that it was 10:00. "Well in accordance with that watch. The first test starts at 2:00 today. So, you've got four hours. But it's not even worth it, I mean, someone like you has no chance of making it in, even if master Ukitake recomended you." Kazuya held in his anger and just bowed. "Nice to meet you too, Professor Mogami." He then walked out of the administration office and began walking towards the dorms. He walked around until he found a dorm with a huge one on the front door. He looked inside and there was no one in the hallways. He walked up the flight of stairs to his left to the second floor.

The same as the first floor, there was no one in the hallways. He walked down the hall and he heard a little bit of activity of some of the rooms, but for the most part there was no one in the dorm. He found the room that said 45 on it and slid open the door. The room was relatively plain. There was a closet on either side of the room with a sleeping mat near them. There was a window in the center of the wall on the far side of the room that had a good view of the campus. He sighed and dropped his bag down and began to put his stuff away in the closet on the right side of the room. Suddenly he smelt something from the other side of the room. He looked over towards the closet on the other side of the room.

He looked carefully at it and saw pink smoke coming out from the closet. He walked towards it and put his ear to the closet to listen. He then grabbed the handle and pulled it open. Inside, a man with messy brown hair and a scruffy face sat inside. There was a small pot next to him with pink smoke flowing out of it. He just looked up at Kazuya and said, "Yo." Kazuya shouted and jumped a few yards back. "Who are you!?" The man laughed a little. "What do ya mean? I'm your room mate, Kojiro Sakai." He stood up and walked out of the closet. He outstretched his hand and smiled. "It's nice to meet you. What's your name?" Kazuya hesitantly shook his hand. "I'm Kazuya."

He looked over Kojiro's shoulder and saw the pot with the pink smoke flowing out of it. "Is that Amatsu Kemuri?" Kojiro looked back at the closet and laughed. "Yeah, I figured that it wouldn't be nice if I smoked in our room I did it in my closet." Kazuya laughed a little nervously. "That's…considerate of you." Kojiro looked back at it again and said, "It doesn't really matter though, you can't get high off of just the smoke." He walked back to the closet and sat back down. He stuck a straw into the pot and began to suck up liquid from the pot. When he was done, he let out a sigh and gestured towards the pot. "I'm sorry, you want a sip?" Kazuya shook his head quickly and closed the door to the closet.

He then walked over to his own closet and changed into his uniform. When he walked out, the smoke was no longer flowing out of the pot and Kojiro was lying on his mat. "I drank all of it… now I'm bored." Kazuya motioned out the window. "I'm going to walk around campus. Do you want to come?" He shrugged and stood up. "Alright, just let me find my shirt." He opened the closet and began to look around. "Uhh… Kojiro… you're wearing it." Kojiro closed the closet and felt his torso. "Oh, I must still be tripping." Kazuya laughed nervously and walked out with Kojiro right behind him.

Shinigami Academy: Campus Grounds

Kazuya and Kojiro walked around campus and saw all the other students going about their business. Many students were studying, others were eating lunch and some were playing games. "This place is so cool!" Kojiro laughed a little, still clearly high. "This is nothing. There is so much to see and do here." He motioned to one end of the campus. "There's the cafeteria, over there is the library, that's the main building and that…" He pointed to a long black building. "…That is the dueling grounds." Kazuya looked at Kojiro giving him a questioning look. "Are you still high?" Kojiro laughed a little. "Yes, but I know what I'm talking about. Students duel there to sharpen their skills."

Kazuya smiled and pointed over there. "Can we go in?" Kojiro shrugged and began walking towards it. The two walked inside and marveled at the dueling room. "Whoa, this place is amazing." Kojiro nodded and pointed over at the bin of kendo sticks. "There are the kendo sticks right there. If you ever want to duel anyone, grab one of those and challenge 'em." Kazuya smiled at Kojiro and said, "Do you want to duel?" Kojiro just laughed and then suddenly said seriously, "You realized you just challenged a high man to a fight right?" Kazuya patted him on the back and said, "Good point." Kazuya looked over Kojiro's shoulder and pointed to the corner of the room. "What's going on over there?" He looked over and smiled. "It looks like someone is really showing off their skills." The two of them walked over and gently pushed their way through the crowd to get to the front.

There in the center of the dueling ring was the green haired girl from earlier in the morning. Another student stood there on the other side, shaking and barely able to hold onto his sword. He then lunged at her and let out a battle cry. She simply side stepped and struck him in the knees. He fell over face first with a thud. Someone next to Kojiro exclaimed, "That's the 19th guy in a row! This chick is amazing!" Kojiro laughed a little. "Pretty cool, eh Kazuya?" He looked to the side and saw that Kazuya was gone. A couple seconds later, he reappeared next to Kojiro. "Sorry, I wanted to go get a kendo stick." He then stepped into the circle and called out, "Hey!" She looked over at him and he pointed the kendo stick at her. "I challenge you to a duel!"

The girl realized who he was and gripped the handle of the kendo stick tightly. "It's you! That pervert from this morning! I can't wait to pound your brains out!" Chao walked up next to Kojiro and stood next to him. "How good is your friend?" Kojiro just shrugged and murmured, "I don't know, but I think it's going to be more entertaining than getting high though…" The two squared off in the large dueling circle and got ready to fight. A student stood on the edge of the circle and raised one arm up. "Duelers, get ready…set…" There was tension between the two as he spoke. They both gripped their weapons tightly and waited for the call. "Begin!"

Firedude: Woot! Chapter 1 down! Please review even if you didn't like it, I'm going to try to get the next chapter up soon.