XxXx I decided to try a story in the first person POV. This is the first one I've ever attempted so please be gentle and if you have any helpful tips please feel free to let me know. I hope you all enjoy this story and as always please review. XxXx

Chapter 1

Today was my last day in the academy and it was full of finals. I was finishing in the top fifteen in my class. It wasn't the greatest; but it wasn't the worst either. I specialized in kido and became the top student in that department quickly. The decision on what squad I would like to be placed in was now in front of me and I just couldn't decide, simply because I didn't know much about the squad's except for squads four and twelve. Squad Four was for healing and Squad Twelve was research and development. I've heard that Squad Eleven was for the strongest of all melee type zanpakuto's. My zanpakuto wasn't melee so it wouldn't do any good to be placed there.

I stared at the paper in front of me and I had to place my top 3 squad's starting with the one I wanted most. I tapped my pencil on the back of my hand, thinking of what to put down. "Reina, have you decided yet?" my neighbor asked me. I lifted my head up and looked at her with my bright green eyes that could easily pass for sage in color. "No, I just don't know much about the squad's. Do you know anything?" I asked quietly so as not the alert the instructor in front of us.

"I know a few things" she stated and I looked at her pleadingly for answers.

"Please tell me what you know"

She looked at me and gave me a sweet smile. I didn't know her name; but for some reason she knew mine. "Obviously you know of the Head Captain; because we've talked about him in class on multiple occasions" I nodded. Yeah, we've talked about him. He was the Captain of Squad One and the leader of all the other Squad Captains. "Squad Two has the stealth force and I believe the Captain's name is Sui-Fēng. Squad three I really don't know much about them unfortunately" she said starting to write something on her paper.

I knew that I didn't want to be part of the stealth force so Squad Two was out of the question. Maybe Squad Three would be an option since neither of us knew anything about it. She skipped Squad Four since I already knew about it and its Captain. "Squad Five is led by Sosuke Aizen. He visited a couple years ago when we were in our first year in the academy" she continued.

"Oh yeah, he's the guy that had dark brown hair and glasses, right?" I asked.

"Yup, he's so dreamy if I do say so myself"

I mentally rolled by eyes. I didn't feel the need to drool over the Captains or any other Soul Reaper for that matter. I was a Soul Reaper for a reason and it wasn't to drool over men. "Squad Six is led by the current head of the Kuchiki clan, Byakuya Kuchiki; and I don't know anything about Squad Seven". I listened carefully to her knowledge of the rest of the Squads. Picking up my pencil, I started to fill in the paper. The instructor stood up and rang a bell indicating that we were out of time. The other students started to pack into the walkway making their way to the desk. Each one placed their paper in a neat fashion. I sat mine down and exited the room.

"The ceremony for the graduates will be held in three hours, please change into your uniforms" a voice announced over a loudspeaker.

I was beginning to feel nervous. The butterflies were already starting to flutter in my stomach, giving me a slight nauseous feeling. Slowly, I made it to my dorm room and changed into my graduating uniform. The mirror across the room caught my attention and I stood in front of it for a few moments, studying myself. My eyes were sage and they just had a scared look about them. My red hair shimmered against the sunlight that was radiating from my open window. Before long, the three hours passed and I was making my way to the assembly hall for our graduating ceremony.

Hundreds of people were packed into the room and it almost seemed too small to fit them all. I had no family, so there was no one there to support me. I could see all the students in front of me forming a line, so I got into the line in front of all the instructors we've had over the years. I really couldn't hear what they were staying over all the clapping and cheering the crowd was making.

"Reina Sachiko" a woman called.

When I heard my name, I instantly walked forward. They shook my hand and congratulated me. The paper in my hand was my proof that I had become a Soul Reaper and I was on my way to fulfilling my dream. After the ceremony was over, I didn't go to the party after with the other graduates. I tended to be kind of a loner and I just preferred it to be that way. No one could hurt me, if I didn't let any into my heart.

Inside my dorm room, I started to pack my things into the empty boxes that were stacked into the left corner of the room. I didn't pack everything, since there was a one week waiting period to be placed into one of the thirteen squads of the seireitei. I decided sleep was the best thing at that time. Crawling into my bed, my mind raced with thoughts on what it would be like to be finally a part of a squad in the Thirteen Court Guard Squads.

One Week Later

I arrived in the Seireitei and everything was just so beautiful. Several of the graduates were with me, also excited to be placed in a squad. I held my bag tightly in my hand, again feeling nervous about this new transition. We finally arrived at out destination. We all knew that the Head Captain wouldn't be making an appearance in person; but his Lieutenant was standing outside the door with a handful of papers in his hand. Once we all stopped walking, he took a step towards us. He had short gray hair and brown eyes. He also had a thin mustache that came down to his lips. He reminded me of a rich man from around 1900's. Despite how he looked, he had a soft voice that was gentle and I relaxed for the first time all morning. The Lieutenant started to call out names and handed them a paper. My guess it had the squad we were being placed in and other information that we were going to need on it.

"Reina Sachiko" he called.

I stepped forward and he handed me my paper. I opened it and scanned its contents. "Squad Nine" I whispered to myself as I made it back into the line. "Welcome to the Thirteen Court Guard Squads" was all he said before turning back inside the doors he must have come through. I let out a sigh of relief, until I heard my name being called. The girl that was neighbor for most of my classes in the academy was running up to me.

"Reina, so what squad did you get placed in?" she asked.

"Squad Nine" I answered.

"Oh, I heard your Captain is super nice"

"What about you?" I really didn't want to know; but I thought it was rude not to ask anyhow.

"Squad Five, just like I wanted"

I remembered her saying that the Captain was dreamy. It figured she would choose that squad simply for a Captain's good looks, instead of anything that was really important. "I'm happy for you" I told her, even though it was a blatant lie. She gave me a heartfelt smile. "Good luck, Reina. I hope to see you around". Her sincerity made me smile and I gave her a quick hug before walking away in search of the Squad Nine barracks.

Honestly, I felt like I was walking around in circles. Everything looked the same and I could feel my frustration settling in. I tried looking at the signs at the tops of the buildings; but everything said Squad 5 on them. A young woman approached me; she kind of looked more childlike up close. She had black hair pulled into a bun held in a tied white cloth and brown eyes. My eyes caught sight of the armband on her right arm. She was the Lieutenant of Squad Five.

"Are you lost?" she asked. Her voice was sweet and definitely childish.

"Yes, mam" I answered trying to be formal with her.

"Which squad are you trying to find?"

"Nine"

"Oh a new member for Captain Tōsen that's great. They haven't had a new member in so long"

She started to walk away and I quickly followed her. "So what is your name?" she asked obviously trying to make small talk with me. "Reina Sachiko" I answered quietly. She stopped and turned to face me with a smile.

"I'm Lieutenant Momo Hinamori of Squad Five. It's very nice to meet you Reina" she introduced.

I admired her ability to be so friendly with a new comer. I shook her hand and continued to follow her. The walk seemed endless; but eventually we made to the Squad Nine barracks. I figured she'd leave me here and continue on with her own work; but I was seriously wrong. She led me straight to the Captain's office. Her tiny hand formed a fist and knocked loudly.

"Captain Tōsen, it's Lieutenant Hinamori; I've brought you your new member from the academy" she announced.

The door opened and a tall young man stood in the doorway. He had dark gray eyes, short black hair and three scars straight over his eyes that lead down to his right cheek. I couldn't help but stare. He was a gorgeous man. "This can't be my Captain" I thought to myself; but as soon as I thought it, I saw the Lieutenant's badge on his right arm and the number'69' tattooed on his left cheek. I snapped out of my zone when he spoke. "Thanks Momo, I'll take it from here" he stated and she bowed her head before leaving me alone with him.

"Come inside, the Captain isn't here at the moment; but I'll get you started" he said allowing me inside before him, which was very gentlemanly.

"Okay" I replied unable to form a single coherent thought. This whole admiring someone's good looks was a totally new concept to me and I had absolutely no clue how to act.

He led me into the office. There was a large wooden desk with stacks of paper on each corner in the center of the room. To the left was another desk, not as big as that one but still pretty nice sized. There were also papers stacked pretty high upon it as well. I assumed it was my new Lieutenant's desk. To the right was another desk, it was completely empty and I didn't have a clue as to why it was there in the first place.

"What's your name?" he asked searching the Captain's desk for something.

"Reina Sachiko" I replied.

"There is your file"

He pulled a manila folder out from under a large stack of folders. He flipped it open and scanned the contents. "Looks like you were ranked ninth overall in your class. That's pretty good." I felt my cheeks start to burn with a blush starting. "Thank you sir" I replied formally. He looked up from the folder as soon as I said 'sir'.

"I'm sorry, I didn't introduce myself. My name is Shūhei Hisagi and I'm the Lieutenant of this Squad"

Before I could open my mouth to say anything else, the door behind us opened and a man walked in. He had dark skin with dark brown braided hair that was pulled back into a ponytail but touched his mid-back. I couldn't see the color of his eye, because he wore darkened glassed over them. That's when I remembered that he had been blind since birth. Shūhei greeted him. "This is the new academy graduate assigned to the squad sir" he said stepping aside so I was right in front of my new Captain.

Captain Tosen took a step closer to me and it made me fell slightly uncomfortable and nervous at the same time. "You seem pure of heart, judging from your spiritual pressure" he said softly. His voice was gently and serene. I knew that I was going to like him right away. Shūhei formed a small smile on his face that really sent the butterflies in my stomach to do a tumble.

"Where should she be placed?" he asked.

"Where was she ranked overall in her class?"

"Ninth"

"Hmm"

The Captain took another look at me, without really looking since he couldn't see me. I felt my zanpakuto stir at my side. "Reina, stay calm" her voice echoed inside my mind. I instinctively moved my right foot backward. Shūhei must have noticed how uncomfortable I was; because I could fell his fingers touch the middle of my back. His touch only seemed to ignite something I never knew that I could feel. It was something I didn't even know how to describe and it was barely a touch. I felt almost pathetic.

"You've got hidden potential. You don't even know how strong you really could be, if you were trained properly"

I was completely stunned by his words; but I was overjoyed by the compliment. "Place her as fifth seat for now" he said again and then moved around me to get to his desk. Once he sat down, he immediately started to work on the large amounts of papers in front of him. Shūhei looked at me and moved his hand away from my back. "I'll show you to your room" he said and started for the door.

Outside the office, the sun was shining brightly and it was warm on my face. I loved summer the most, even though I really should like spring since I was born in the spring. Summer was just the best time of year for me, I loved to swim and the only time you can swim was in the summer. I followed my Lieutenant down the pathway towards a few condos attached to each other. I had forgotten that I was holding my bag, until I felt the burning of the rope digging into the palm of my hand.

"Lieutenant?" I said ignoring the pain in my hand. I was just so curious as to what the Captain had meant about me being trained properly.

"Yes" he replied.

"What did the Captain mean by me being trained properly?"

"I'm not entirely sure. I'll let you know when I find out"

"Thank you"

"Here is your place"

I memorized the number on the outside and looked at him. He handed me a small key. I took it from his fingers and unlocked the door. Sliding it open, I looked around curiously. There was a small living room with a futon against the wall; the island separated the living room from the kitchen. I finally sat my bag down on the floor next to the door. My palm was beat red and it stung a little.

"Tomorrow, be at the office at 8:30 a.m. There will be a fairly decent amount of paper work for you to do each day on top of a few other duties. If you need anything, I'll be in the office until 11:00 p.m. tonight"

"Thank you sir"

He walked away and I closed the door, taking in this new place. I roamed around the rooms getting a feel for them. My new bedroom was pretty nice sized and I unloaded my bag onto my bed, slowly putting my belonging away.

Shūhei's POV

As I walked back to the office, my mind went back to Kaname's words. He thought she had hidden potential. I wondered if he was going to train her like he had done for me. I open the office door and saw him still working on the paper stacks. He lifted his head, knowing it was me.

"Is she settled?" he asked.

"I believe so"

"I want you to start training her tomorrow"

"You want me to train her?"

"Is that a problem?"

"No, not at all"

"I leave her in your hands"

"Yes, sir"

I walked over to my desk and sat down. Instinctively, I pulled a few paper down from the stack beside me. I had no idea how I was going to train her. "I guess I'll make it up as I go along" I thought before diving into the large amounts of paperwork I had to get done before the day was over.

XxXx Okay, I'm really curious what you all thought about this so far. XxXx