Chapter 2:

Arrival

A warm feeling enveloped Sakura's body as Ichigo lifted his sword from her forehead. Her body glowed bright with a blue aura as she slowly sunk into the earth. As the last of Sakura's body faded away, a small, black, swallow-tail butterfly appeared and floated away towards the radiant moon. A contented smile spread across Ichigo's face. He took one last look at the butterfly and then, with a satisfied sigh, took off in the direction of his home.

The butterfly glided over Karakura, still flying straight for the moon. As the butterfly got closer, a circular door appeared in front of it and slowly opened with ease. The butterfly fluttered through the door. A blinding light washed over the butterfly.

"I wonder what this 'Soul Society' is like. I hope it's a pleasant place."

The bewildering light cleared and the massive Soul Society could finally be seen in full view. The butterfly began to descend toward the ground. As it landed it slowly changed back into a human form. Sakura rubbed her eyes and glanced around. A sign stood next to a series of houses. Clearly printed on the sign were the words:

"Rukongai's 78th District of South Rukongai:

Inuzuri or "Hanging Dog""

Sakura frowned. "That doesn't sound very inviting, but since I have nowhere else to go, this will have to do."

She walked through the heavily populated streets of this district. She was catching a few looks from other people who apparently lived here as well. Sakura suddenly heard a commotion coming from a nearby shop.

"Come back here with that you rotten little brat!"

"Not a chance, old man!"

Sakura pushed her way through the crowd. She noticed a girl, about the same age as Sakura, running away with a medium-sized barrel of food from an obviously angry old man. The man was easily being outrun by this much younger child. That's when the girl tripped and fell. The man slowly caught up to her. Sakura had to help. She leapt from the crowd and tackled the old man, knocking him to the ground.

Sakura turned to the girl. "Hey! Hurry up and get going! Run!"

The girl struggled to her feet and took off running. The old man smacked Sakura off him. She got up and ran after the girl. She caught up with the girl after a few seconds. The old man was charging after the two, determined to get those stolen goods back.

"You rotten kids! You will pay for that!"

The girl ducked into an abandoned house. "In here! Hurry!"

Sakura jumped through the door and quietly shut it back. The footsteps of the old man could be heard as he passed by their hiding place. The two breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thanks for your help. I would've gotten caught if you hadn't helped."

"No problem, but why were you stealing it in the first place?"

The girl let out a heavy sigh. "I'm hungry and have no money for food or drink. Most children who live in this district don't, so we steal food to survive. Well, either that or we catch our own."

"Oh wow. It sounds tough to live in this district."

"It is. I have been here for about three years. This little abandoned house is my home."

"It is? Well it's better than nowhere I suppose. I just arrived here, so I don't know much."

"Well then, I better teach ya the ropes! The name's Mizuki Sayomi. Nice to meet you! What's your name?"

Sakura was a little bewildered. "My name is Sakura Akagi."

"You don't have to act so polite around me you know? Around a captain is a different story, but you can say whatever you want around me."

"A captain? What's that?"

Mizuki was surprised. "Wow, you really are a newbie!"

Mizuki leaned back against the wall of her home and began explaining to Sakura all about captains, soul reapers, zanpakutos, the Seireitei, and everything else she had learned over three years of living in the Soul Society.

"Wow. It sounds very complex."

"It sure is! Once you learn it all, though, it is really hard to forget. You never know, maybe one day you and I will become Soul Reapers too!"

"Maybe we could go to school for it? Didn't you say they had an academy so that you could train to become a Soul Reaper?"

"Yep. I know! Why don't we make a promise right here and now? Promise that we will both go to that academy and become Soul Reapers, no matter what!"

"Sure. It sounds like a lot of hard work, but I'm sure we could do it!"

"Of course we could! Now let's promise to do it! I promise that I will become a Soul Reaper, no matter what! Now it's your turn."

Sakura smiled. "I promise that I will become a Soul Reaper, no matter what!"

The rest of that day, the two girls both talked about the Soul Society and familiarized themselves with all the captains and lieutenants of each of the squads while eating some of the food they had stolen from earlier. Mizuki explained about the different types of fighting styles and any other basic information that Sakura would need to know when she entered the Soul Reaper Academy. After a very long conversation, Mizuki made a bed for each of them and they both went to sleep.

Sakura fell asleep with a smile on her face. "I promise to become a Soul Reaper." She whispered those words to herself right before she fell asleep.

Hope you enjoyed the second chapter! Please leave a review and let me know how I may improve.

Thanks for reading!