Thanks to everyone who reviewed, you are well loved! Now, without firther ado, let our story unfold...
A/N: For simplicity's sake, this fanfic will hereby disregard everything that happens after Bleach chapter 395. Thank you.
The Catalyst
As a rule, the first day at a new school is usually an interesting (to say the least) event for most people. The strange mixture of fear and excitement that comes with moving to an unfamiliar location is a common feeling for the vast majority of people, and Sosuke Aizen was no exception.
Sosuke had never seen the Shinigami Academy before. Sure, he'd heard of it, from gossiping ladies and the occasional traveler or two, but he never imagined he'd get the chance to set foot on its campus, much less actually be enrolled there. He could hardly believe his luck- if one could call it that.
The campus was much larger than he had imagined. Blissfully unaware of how stupid he must have looked, he gawked at the enormous Japanese style buildings through his square-rimmed spectacles, taking in the grassy courtyards and thousand of people milling about in their uniforms. It was a peculiar sight to Sosuke, who hadn't seen much outside of Juniran, where he had grown up. Hell, he'd never even seen so many people in one place before. Maintaining a tight grip on his battered, second-hand suitcase, he wandered about the campus, taking in its sights. Half of him felt happy and excited to be leaving Juniran behind, but the other half felt apprehensive and slightly nauseated at the thought of living in such an unfamiliar place.
As he roamed around the many buildings and courtyards, Sosuke took note of several details of the academy and its various inhabitants. Many of the students, new ones in particular, were staring his way, whispering amongst themselves, giving him a wide berth as he walked past. Sosuke was accustomed to such behavior, and didn't give it much thought. He had been born with an unnaturally high reiatsu, and people in Juniran were often apprehensive around him. Mothers would escort their children away when he entered a room and shopkeepers wouldn't meet his gaze when he paid for his purchases. He had hoped things would be different at the academy, but… it seemed he was still the black sheep in the flock.
Sosuke shrugged it off. 'It's not a big deal,' He assured himself. 'I can put up with it,'
Sosuke noticed that many students was formed their own little circles- 'Cliques,' He thought. They were all discussing similar things- classes, grades, schedules, professors, and the like. Many of the older students were lending a hand to the incoming freshmen.
As he studied the older students, Sosuke noticed that most of them carried zanpakuto. He cocked his head to the side, wondering vaguely if the others didn't possess one, or just didn't like carrying it. Sosuke himself possessed a zanpakuto; the green-handled blade was currently slung across his back. He had a natural knack for swordsmanship, and practiced as often as possible when he was alone. He enjoyed training with his blade, but had yet to learn its name. He had often had dreams of a watery, misty landscape and a voice calling to him, but had always found himself incapable of responding to the voice's calls. The blade itself had materialized in his room after one such dream, upright and perfectly balanced on the tip of the blade. Sosuke was eager to unlock his blade's potential, as the idea of each shinigami possessing their own unique power appealed to him greatly.
Sosuke also noted that the blades differed from person to person. Some of them had long-bladed nodachi, others dagger-like wakizashi, but most (like Sosuke) possessed regular katana. He also took note of the differing colors of the handle wrappings, and different designs on the crossguard. Some people carried their blades at their waist, others on their back.
A sudden, piercing sound jerked Sosuke out of his thoughts. He looked around wildly for the source of the sound, covering his ears with his hands. Other students were doing the same, wincing and covering their ears.
"Attention,"
A cool, feminine voice cut through the crisp air. Everyone continued to stare wildly around, as the voice seemed to be coming from all directions at once.
"May I have your attention, please,"
Again, the voice seemed to come from all directions, resounding in everyone's ears.
"It's a kido!" Shrieked a young freshman girl, looking as if Christmas had come early.
And older student chuckled. "That's Akurei-sensei, the kido professor," He told her. "She's using Bakudo #77 to project her voice,"
"All first year students will report to the Eastern courtyard immediately, I repeat-"
Sosuke didn't hear the rest. All the students in the vicinity began to shuffle simultaneously, pulling Sosuke along with them. Feeling slightly claustrophobic, he made his way to the eastern courtyard, trying not to trip over his hakama and cause a domino affect. 'What a great way to make a first impression,' he thought dryly.
As the mob of students made their way into the Eastern courtyard, they passed under an Asian-style archway, serving as the main entrance to the courtyard. As they entered, two older students handed each freshman a folded slip of paper from a basket. As one of them shoved a slip of paper into Sosuke's hand, he muttered systematically, "Don't look at it until you are instructed to do so,"
With that, Sosuke was pushed into the courtyard by the crowd. As he reached the center of the courtyard, the crowd thinned, allowing Sosuke free range of movement. Everyone seemed to drift off back into their little cliques, chatting away happily, and giving the whole place an air of nervous excitement.
Making certain nobody was looking in his direction, Sosuke unfolded the slip of paper he had been given and read it, hiding it behind his sleeve. It read: 6, 17.
Sosuke frowned. "That makes no sense," he thought. Somewhat disappointed and wondering vaguely what the numbers meant, he shoved the paper into his pocket.
"Attention please,"
A voice, the same crisp, female voice he had heard earlier, sliced through the air; only this time it came from a definite spot some meters in front of him, instead of issuing from all directions.
The hubbub ceased suddenly, and everyone's head turned toward the direction of the voice. Sosuke craned his neck, trying to see over the heads of taller students standing in front of him.
A middle-aged woman stood on a slightly raised platform. She had silvery-blonde hair that hung in waves to her shoulders, and a slender physique that was somewhat hidden by an overlarge white coat she wore. She cast an icy blue gaze out over the congregation of students, silently commanding everyone's undivided attention.
Satisfied that she had everyone's eyes focused on her, she spoke again. "My name is Matoko Akurei, kido professor," Her voice was still magnified by the kido spell. "It is my duty to see that all you new freshmen are properly assigned to a dormitory. As such, you will each share your living quarters with another student,"
There was a brief moment in which whispers flitted about the courtyard. Sosuke cast his gaze over his shoulder. "I have to share a room with someone…?" He shifted uncomfortably.
"Each of you was given a slip of paper upon your arrival. Please open it," Akurei instructed.
There was a sudden rustling as everyone reached into their pockets and opened their slips of paper. Glancing around, Sosuke noticed that everyone had different numbers on their paper.
"You will notice that there are two numbers on your paper. The first number corresponds to the dormitory building in which you will be residing. The second corresponds to the room number you have been assigned. There is one person here whose slip of paper is identical to your own. That person will be your roommate. Find them."
The hubbub immediately resumed, as everyone clamored about, searching for the person whose slip of paper matched their own. Sosuke stood back, observing the crowd. How was he supposed to pick out one person form this crowd? There must be hundreds of people here!
Already feeling exasperated, he wandered around the crowd of people, looking over shoulders and reading slips of paper upside down. No luck. As he searched, he began to wonder what his future roommate might be like. "I hope it's nobody obnoxious." he thought. "Or stupid."
He continued searching, craning his neck to get a better view of some slips of paper. Occasionally, someone would shout, "Who has 4, 23?" In hopes of saving themselves some time and effort. Needless to say, their efforts were fruitless.
Sosuke sighed as he watched some people who had already found their roommates take off in pairs. "Maybe I'll just stand here until everyone else is gone," he thought. "And then the only person who will be left will be my roommate." He studied the faces of the people nearest him, vaguely wondering which one his roommate could be. He decided to ask the nearest people if they had the same number as him, (it was worth a shot) but before he could take a step-
"MOVE, DORK!"
Sosuke found himself flung aside as if he were a rag doll, and almost losing his balance. The force that crashed into him was enough to knock the wind out of him though, and he cursed under his breath. He felt pangs of provocation as he gazed around through narrowed eyes, looking for the one responsible for said onslaught.
The perpetrator of the ill-conceived 'attack' was a fellow student, a young man with black hair that stood on end and high cheekbones. He wore the typical blue-and-white men's uniform, with a zanpakuto slung across his back. He had a five o' clock shadow and a wide, cheeky grin. He was about the same height as Sosuke, maybe a little taller, but had an air of arrogance about him that Sosuke found revolting.
The young man ran straight up to a cute, black-haired girl with pigtails and tickled her from behind, childishly taunting, "Machiko-chaaaan! I got you!" The girl, Machiko, squealed and slapped him playfully, but for all the good it did, she might as well have done nothing. "Ku- Kurosaki!" She wailed, laughing. "Stop it!"
The man stopped tickling her for a moment and asked, "Kurosaki? Since when do you call me by my last name?"
Machiko opened her mouth to reply, but before she could say a word Kurosaki promptly slapped her across the ass.
Sosuke felt his left eye twitch involuntarily. He turned away from the couple, disgusted. "What an idiot!" He thought angrily, secretly suppressing an urge to vomit and straightening his askew spectacles.
He glanced over his shoulder at the couple again, peering through his glasses. 'Kurosaki', as Sosuke guessed he was called, was still draped over the girl like a wet towel, their arms so entwined it was difficult to tell whose hands belonged to whom.
He gazed at them with such scorn that Sosuke failed to notice that Kurosaki was staring right back at him.
"What are you lookin' at, four-eyes?"
Sosuke froze, his mouth slightly agape. Did that guy just call him-?
"Four-eyes! Ha!" Machiko laughed shrilly and repeated Kurosaki's taunt.
Sosuke felt as if a fuse had been lit inside him. He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, a vain attempt to control the fury that was welling up. He was used to taunts, from his father and unkind residents of Juniran, but this was different. This… imbecile! Was provoking him with no reason at all! The very thought was enough to make his blood boil.
A white aura of Sosuke's reiatsu surrounded him, a violent wind swirling around him. A torrent of his fury began to slip out of control and spin more and more violently. This sudden, wild storm of reiatsu made most everyone in the courtyard turn their heads and stare.
Sosuke could hear the shrieking of girls over the roar of the raging energy, and distinctly heard Kurosaki holler, "Calm down, man! I didn't mean it!" Under the immense pressure of Sosuke's reiatsu, several windows in the adjacent buildings shattered.
"Damn!" Sosuke thought, desperately seeking for a way to control his unruly reiatsu, but having no success. "Not this again!" He tried to stop the surge of energy, but it was like a dam had burst inside him, and he was trying to hold the water back with his hands.
There was a sudden BANG, like the sound of a shotgun going off. The torrent of Sosuke's uncontrollable reiatsu dissolved, leaving him standing slumped over in the middle of the courtyard, sweat pouring down his brow. His heavy breathing was the only sound in the courtyard. As he looked up he saw Matoko Akurei, the professor from before, standing several meters from him with her arms held aloft before her.
Matoko Akurei began to walk slowly towards Sosuke, an unreadable expression on her face. As she did so, nervous whispers began to flit about the courtyard.
"How did he do that?
"Are you kidding? What did SHE do?"
"His reiatsu just exploded!"
"Did she use a kido or something to stop it?"
"What IS he?"
Sosuke stood with his shoulders hunched and head down, painfully aware of the stares and comments he was attracting. He wiped the sweat from his brow with a shaking hand, refusing to meet anyone's gaze. "Not again!" He mentally kicked himself, cursing his insane amount of reiatsu.
"Young man."
Sosuke raised his gaze slightly, focusing on the unreadable face of professor from earlier. Her voice was stern and cold, like steely flint. He mentally cursed again. Were they going to kick him out on his first day?
"Would you care to explain what just happened?"
Sosuke swallowed; his mouth uncharacteristically dry. "I-I just-" His tongue seemed to flop around uselessly in his mouth as he tried to form words. "Something just comes over me sometimes, and I… If I get angry or upset I just… I can't really explain it. But I will try to control it, um… I'm sorry, really, I-"
"What?" Matoko Akurei asked bluntly, instantly silencing Sosuke. She wagged her finger at him like she would a naughty child. "You must never apologize for talent, young man!"
Sosuke blinked in surprise, his face assuming a perfectly blank expression. Talent…?
Akurei smiled suddenly, her expression softened somewhat. Sosuke noticed that she was almost a foot shorter than him, and had no air of physical strength about her. Despite think, Sosuke had a sneaking suspicion that she was more powerful than she let on.
"Forgive me," she said, her icy blue eyes glinting. "I am Matoko Akurei, kido professor. You may address me as Akurei-sensei, or ma'am."
Sosuke nodded dumbly, not having the slightest inkling of where this conversation was going or why it was taking place. He was so taken aback that he momentarily forgot that they were being watched by the entire freshman class.
"And what do you call yourself, young man?"
"A-Aizen." He stuttered, feeling more foolish by the second. "Sosuke Aizen."
"Aizen…Aizen…" She muttered to herself. "I don't recognize that surname. Am I correct in assuming that you don't come from a line of shinigami, or nobility?"
Sosuke shook his head.
"No matter, no matter!" She said cheerfully, sounding absolutely delighted. "My dear boy-" She stopped suddenly, having just become aware of the hundreds of people listening in on their conversation.
"Well, what are you waiting for?" She barked sharply. "Get to your dorms!"
There was an immediate sound of muttering and the shuffling of hundreds of feet as everyone filed out of the courtyard, leaving Sosuke and Akurei quite alone.
As the last of the students cleared away, Akurei turned back to Sosuke, beaming."My dear, my dear…" she said. "In all my years of teaching, I don't believe I've ever seen a student with such raw potential as you've just demonstrated! And when we consider that you are a first-year with no shinigami background…" She trailed off, shaking her head.
She placed her hand on his shoulder, fixing him with her icy gaze. "I expect great things for you, dear. Great things."
Sosuke felt a mite uncomfortable at the sudden praise. A moment ago he was afraid of being kicked out, now this? Maybe he was dreaming.
"I don't mean to pry, but…" Akurei eyed the hilt of the zanpakuto that was strapped across Sosuke's back. "That is your zanpakuto, yes? Do you know it's name yet?"
"Ah, no." Sosuke said; glad to finally have something of interest to say. "I mean, I can hear a voice sometimes, but that's it. I can't even make out what its saying." He shrugged.
Akurei seemed, if possible, more delighted. She grinned and said, "Do not be discouraged, dear boy! Most people don't make contact with the zanpakuto until after they've graduated, so you need not be disheartened."
Sosuke felt slightly inclined to argue that he hadn't really made contact with the zanpakuto, just heard it speak. But he reasoned that that wouldn't be a good thing to say, and kept his mouth shut.
Akurei continued to prattle. "I daresay your biggest hurdle will be learning to control your powers, but I will privately tutor you to help you with that. I imagine you will be quite the formable foe once you've learned to control that reiatsu of yours!" She gave a forced kind of laugh.
"In fact, I would not be surprised if you were to become a high-ranking officer one day! Who knows, maybe one day your powers will attract the attention of the Shinigami King-"
She stopped suddenly, as if she had let slip something she ought naught have said. Sosuke narrowed his eyes, curious.
"Shinigami King?" He echoed. "What do you mean? I thought Central 46 was the highest judiciary power in Soul Society-"
"Shh!" Akurei held a finger to her lips, causing Sosuke to fall silent. She glanced over her shoulder, despite that fact that the courtyard was quite deserted.
"That is what most people believe, isn't it?" She said mysteriously, her voice lowered so that Sosuke had to lean in to hear her correctly. "I probably shouldn't tell you this…" She paused, and then said loftily, "Ah, you probably would have found out anyway. You see, Central 46 is under the direct jurisdiction of the Soul Society's Royal Family.
"Royal Fam-?"
"The Royal Family is the ultimate power in Soul Society, even Central 46 answers to them. And at their head is the Shinigami King."
Sosuke's mind whirred frantically at this tidbit of information. "There's… a King?"
"Yes." Akurei said, nodding. "No shinigami has ever seen him, nor does anyone know exactly what he does, with the possible exception of the Head Captain. But maybe, with your abilities-" She stopped suddenly. "Well, that's a long time from now, my boy. You'll have to hone your skills if you want to even think about working for the Shinigami King!"
Sosuke wasn't quite sure what to think of this. "Me?" He asked, pointing to himself. "A subordinate of this… Shinigami King?"
"I'll admit it's… unlikely." Akurei said thoughtfully. "But not impossible. But I don't want to fill your head with far-fetched fantasies! Nobody ever got anywhere without hard work." She pulled a silver watch on a chain out of her pocket and glanced at it. "My, look at the time! Enough chit-chat, it's been a long day for you, I'm sure. Off to the dormitory with you now!"
She fixed him with a smile and said warmly, "Mark my words, Sosuke Aizen. You'll be someone great someday."
With these parting words, she shunpoed away with a slight whoosh, leavingSosuke standing in her wake. He wasn't quite certain what to make of her, or of himself for that matter. Everything she had just told him, everything that had happened today… it seemed like more information that one person could consume in a day.
Royal Family… Shinigami King… It was all a huge blow, an enormous amount of information that Sosuke wasn't sure what to do with. And she thought he, he of all people, had what it took to be affiliated with someone like that? He shook his head, "Surely she overestimates my abilities."He thought reasonably. "I am just a new student after all."
Sosuke glanced at the all-but-forgotten slip of paper in his hand. It occurred vaguely to him that he still didn't know who his roommate was, but it seemed to be a matter of little importance right now. He was too preoccupied with all that Akurei had just told him.
Although he was slightly skeptical of his ability to impress any such royalty, he was rather pleased that he had made a good impression on one of his professors. At least Akurei-sensei thought he was worth something, which was more than he could say for the residents of Juniran.
Feeling rather proud of himself, he made his way through the campus, hardly seeing where he was going, or noticing the whispers from some students mingling around the campus.
"Is that the kid we heard about?"
"The one with the crazy reiatsu?"
"He seems pretty normal now…"
Sosuke was blissfully unaware of the attention he was attracting, his head filled with thoughts of Royalty. "Akurei-sensei said she would tutor me herself," he thought as he found the dorm building he had been assigned. As he entered the building, he glanced down at the slip of paper with the numbers on it. Room 17, it said.
"Room 17." He thought absently. "That's on the first floor."
He almost immediately located the room with a '17' on the front. Still pondering the possibilities that lay before him, or as Akurei-sensei said, he slid open the door, entering the dorm room. But before he could so much a cast his gaze over the room-
"Hey, roomie."
Sosuke immediately dropped the slip of paper in his hands, feeling as if someone had dropped a large weight in his stomach.
Reclining easily on a chair was the young man from before, the one who had nearly molested that girl! Sosuke's mind, which had been whirring frantically mere moments before, went perfectly blank. No way… there was no way! He wouldn't survive a day in the same room as this guy!
There was no doubt about it, it was the same guy. The cheeky grin, the messy hair, the air of arrogance about him…
The young man stood up, and swaggered toward Sosuke, who had a good mind to request a room switch.
"Kurosaki." The young man introduced himself. "Isshin Kurosaki." Without warning, he slapped Sosuke on the shoulder- hard, making his knees buckle. "So, word on the campus says you're some kinda crazy mad genius or somethin'. He grinned cheekily and ruffled Sosuke's hair. Sosuke suppressed a sudden urge to strangle him. "But by the look of you," Isshin continued, "I'd say one good kido spell would finish you off."
Forget a day. Sosuke doubted he would last five minutes.
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