Double update just because I can't just leave you with a Prologue xx

I'm also using the new Fanfiction app along with Grammarly to see if it makes editing more convenient, so please let me know if there's any spelling mistakes. Grammarly obviously does not recognize works like Rukongai and Kisuke!

Next update will be this FRIDAY 09/19


Chapter 1

The energy that buzzed through the halls was addicting but disturbing. I passed a mumbling group of First-Years and clung to my zanpakuto, a nervous twitch I had yet to break. What was everyone's problem today? This gossiping and whispering was starting to get on my nerves.

The strange behavior hadn't improved once I reached my class out on the training fields. Silence followed my appearance and each of my classmates took a glance at me before they turned back to their respective conversations.

"Just ignore them," I glanced up at my classmate. He grinned at me, "You just freak them out because they're Six-Years and you're a Second-Year."

"I know, Kaien," I frowned at him, "We established this on the first day of the school year."

He continued to grin at me, "That's right, Kumiko! Us prodigies have to stick together!"

"Stay away from me, Shiba," I waved him off. His pep talk at the beginning of class was annoying and the constant buzzing and hushed chatter throughout my classes had not eased my ruffled patience.

"Aren't you a sunflower today," Kaien muttered and ignored the glare I shot him.

"Yeah, well I'm getting to the end of my rope with this fucking gossip," I crossed my arms, "Have you any idea what these idiots are all getting worked up about?"

He chuckled loudly, "Wow, Kumiko, for a prodigy you're really stupid."

"Shut it, you asswipe!" I growled, "How many times do I have to tell you that I am not a prodigy? I'm just taking the advanced-track Kido classes."

"And you're graduating three years early for it," He winked, "Still not as good as my two year stint in the Academy, but it can't be helped I guess."

"You little twerp," I smirked at him, "Graduating in two years or not, I can still beat your pathetic Shiba ass."

He burst out laughing and I shook my head. Kaien always pushed my buttons during class, but I had a sneaking respect for him. He was kind and duty-bound, not letting anyone prevent him from becoming a Shinigami. In many ways I identified with Kaien's desire to become a Soul Reaper, and admired his clan's acceptance of his desire to become a Shinigami. From what Kaien had told me about his family, the Shiba Clan were free-willed and unlike the rest of the noble clans.

"I heard that we're going to get a special presentation from the Stealth Force." I turned my attention to Kaien, who was fixing his uniform, "That's why everyone is so excited today. Captain Shihoin and her most talented squad members are going to be teaching us."

"What can the Stealth Force teach us?" I scoffed, not believing a word of what Kaien said, "The Stealth Force and Squad Two are an assassination squad, so they would fight hand-to-hand combat, not Kido."

"Well hell if I know, Kumiko. What do I look like to you, a psychic?" He rolled his eyes.

"I'm not saying that!" I clenched my fists and yelled at him, "I'm just asking what use does the Stealth Force have to do with Kido -"

"Attention class."

Kaien and I turned our attention away from murdering one another to our Sensei. He stood there patiently for us all to line up in formation. We ran to our spots and stood in lines. After he took attendance, Sensei cleared his throat.

"Alright, as many of you have heard, our class today will be led by Squad Two." Kaien threw me a cocky smirk and I spat at him, earning a glare from Sensei. In a moment, four figures appeared behind him. My gaze locked onto them, taken aback by how quick they were. Was that what Shunpo looked like when used by the pros? "Class, behave and listen carefully to Captain Shihoin and her squad members. They are experienced officers and you will learn invaluable information from them."

I stared at them all, my eyes lingering on the captain. Captain Shihoin...she was even more gorgeous in person. Her Shihakusho was cut out and her haori hung loosely to her frame. I could only guess that it was for mobility. Her skin rippled with every movement, her toned muscles powerful and ready. I was in awe of her. She was stunning, both in power and beauty. A noblewoman who possessed the strength of not only her own abilities, but that of the Stealth Force.

"Jeez, Kumiko, do you need a napkin or something?" Kaien teased, "You're just drooling all over yourself."

I fixed him a dirty glare, "I'm going to cut your tongue out next-"

"Yeah, yeah," He cut me off, "Keep your lesbian fantasies to yourself, Kumiko. I'm trying to pay attention."

"That's it," I turned to him, "Open your mouth, bastard. That slimy tongue of yours gone."

"Oh really?" He smirked, turning to me, "And how do you plan on getting it, Kumiko?"

"I don't fucking care, but the world doesn't need you polluting it with your vulgar talk -"

"Excuse me! You two!" We both froze and realized that the whole class was staring at us. Sensei was pinching the bridge of his nose and Captain Shihoin pointed at us, "Yeah, you idiots. Since you got better things to do then listen to my explanation, why don't you come up here and help me demonstrate?"

"What?" Kaien said dumbly.

"Did...she just call me an idiot?" I hissed.

Kaien looked at me, "Shut it before you get us in more trouble."

"Look, I'm not asking," She said a little more firmly, "Come up here, now."

I bit my tongue to keep myself from losing my temper over her. All of this because Kaien couldn't help himself from throwing a jive at me. Sighing, I grabbed his sleeve and dragged him to the front of the class. I felt everyone's eyes of me and Kaien, and it made my skin crawl with anxious irritation. As we approached Captain Shihoin, I scanned over her three companions. A small black-haired girl stood a few feet away from her captain, crouching slightly. She seemed the most on-edge out of the three. The second and third members stood together, one seeming bored out of his mind and the other looking back at me. I tensed as our eyes met.

Grey. The first thing I noticed about his eyes was the intense blue-grey color. He met my stare calmly, scanning me in a way that could only be calculating. He was sizing me up. I know that look all too well from the Rukongai. It was the same face I got from thugs trying to rob me, the same look two opponents give one another in a moment of figuring out "Can I take you on?".

"What are your names?" Captain Shihoin demanded, but I refused to look away from this man. It may have been petty to be so aggressive, but it had been so long since someone had looked at me like this. Like I was a challenge.

I startled when I was shoved from my spot, losing my footing and almost falling down. I broke my gaze from the man and bared my teeth at Kaien. Had he really just elbowed me? I hadn't realized we were still five years old.

He pointed his eyes to Captain Shihoin and then back to myself, mouthing "Name". Turning to Captain Shihoin, I bowed deeply, "Captain Shihoin, my name is Kumiko Riku, Second-Year Student."

"Riku…" She repeated and I nodded, "You wouldn't happen to be...no never mind." Her golden gaze met mine and I knew that she had figured it out. She knew who my master was. Takahashi Riku, the traitor Shinigami who had abandoned his duties to live out the rest of his years in the Rukongai. The man whose execution orders she carried out personally shortly after I had entered the academy.

"I am Kaien Shiba, Second-Year student," Kaien bowed, "It is an honor to learn from you, Captain Shihoin. Please forgive me and my friend for making a ruckus during your presentation."

We stood up when Captain Shihoin chuckled, "So I have a Shiba and I have a District Seventy-Niner. Both prodigies -"

I shook my head, "I'm not a -"

"Who would win in a battle?" She asked, raising her voice to the class. When no one answered she grinned, "My bet would be on the Shiba. But, unfortunately we won't ever know because these two are going up against my squad members!"

Kaien glanced at me, frowning. I smirked at him, "You beating me ass. That's a funny one." He laughed and we both turned to the Squad Two members, taking our stances.

"Wrong!"

"Huh?" We both froze, looking back at Captain Shihoin.

"You're doing it all wrong! See, this is why you pay attention instead of having lesbian fantasies about me."

"She heard that?" Kaien exclaimed, nervously glancing at me, "Ku...Kumiko?"

"...Run."

The class dispersed, a few students lingering around to chat with the Shinigami. I brushed the grass and dirt from my hakama, irritated when I discovered that the leg had torn at the knee. My shirt was marked up with dirt and grass stains too. It would take time out of my evening and study time to mend my uniform. I grudgingly wished that I could afford to buy a new uniform, but I couldn't and would have to work with these for now.

"You have a giant smudge on your ass," Kaien chuckled, looking worse than me. His uniform shirt had been torn up and the hems of his sleeves had a burn mark from deflecting the Kido from the Shinigami. Captain Shihoin and her officers had taught us a certain Kido techniques that the Stealth Force used to restrain prisoners and how to cut off spiritual flow with Kido spells. We barely used any of the techniques ourselves but we were taught the basics as well as how to block against them. That part of the lesson had covered the majority of the class period before Captain Shihoin had swapped over to practicing how to execute the spells in hand-to-hand combat, and naturally Kaien and I were her first dummies for demonstration.

"Have to admit," I grunted, rubbing my aching head, "We got our asses handed to us."

He nodded and grinned at me, "Yeah. Where are you off to now?"

I patted my zanpakuto, "Gonna go practice. You?"

"I'm going to hang around to talk to Captain Shihoin," He looked over his shoulder to the captain. She was talking to Sensei, the blonde Shinigami standing beside her.

"Suck up," I chaffed but winced after my headache worsened. Waving my hand, I started walking away from Kaien and to the Zanjutsu side of the training grounds. It was always empty at this time of the day, which made it the perfect time to train. The only nighttime classes at the Shino Academy were theoretical and the advanced class outings to the World of the Living.

Reaching the training grounds, I unsheathed my zanpakuto and began warming up. My arms were still sore from blocking off the attacks from the Shinigami. I had faced off with the small girl named Soi-Fon, and had learnt that her demeanor and size did not coincide with her fighting abilities. She was swift and ruthless, beating me to the punch every time.

I swung down on the dummy I aimed for, grunting as my arms jolted with the impact. Jumping back, I changed my grip and sprinted towards the straw doll to slice it. I began to execute the side-slash but stopped as my wrist cramped up. Huffing, I stabbed my zanpakuto into the ground and massaged my wrist. Only half an hour into sword training and my body was already giving in.

Shortly into my first year at the academy, I had learnt that Zanjutsu was not one of my strengths. I practiced relentlessly and while I had improved greatly, I barely placed in the top twenty in my class. My sword fighting skills were poor, ironically contrasted to my dagger skills. I was a good fighter. I had the swiftness and knew how to down someone quickly. I was strong for a woman and my endurance was consistent with my spiritual pressure, but the cumbersome length of a sword slowed me down greatly. I couldn't swing my zanpakuto fast enough, and my wrists cramped up from the weight of the sword when I held it in certain grips.

Frustrated, I grabbed my zanpakuto and charged toward the dummy, deciding to slice it up instead of practicing. Today had been a nightmare and I needed to take my temper out on something.

When the dummy was a pile of straw and string, I sheathed my zanpakuto and stormed off to the dormitories. I needed to clean my uniform and study. If I was going to graduate at the end of my third year I would have to be at the top of my class. Currently I was ranked five in my class but class rankings above twenty were competitive and changed easily.

I shared my room with three other girls; Rika, Ai, and Ren. Because we all had different schedules, we hardly interacted other than in the early mornings and late evenings. Ai and Ren were Sixth-Years and had classes in the late afternoon, Rika had an assistance position in one of the evening classes, which meant that I usually had the room to myself in the evenings. It was small like the rest of the dorm rooms, doubly cramped with four occupants but we made it work.

Stripping from my uniform, I slipped into a green komon and set the red and white clothes in our clothes tub. For all the wealth and technology the Shino Academy had, there were no clothes washers for the dormitories. The students from the richer families had their clothes sent back to their estates to be washed by the ventilators brought back from the World of the Living, while the rest of us plebs had to hand-wash our uniforms like we were back in the nineteenth century.

I found the washboard in the chest by our door and set in the bucket, grabbing the laundry basket filled with my roommates and my clothes. The laundry reservoir was next to the Kido fields and I made it there just as the sun was beginning to disappear behind the trees. Scrubbing the clothes went by tediously slow, especially when it came to erasing the grass stains in my uniform. The material was wearing down quickly and it wouldn't be long before I would have to stop by the secondhand uniform store to buy more.

Students laughed in the distant. I looked up and saw a few of my classmates walking beside the blond Shinigami from Kido class. Kaien's laugh was easy to distinguish from the rest and to my dismay I saw that they were coming my way. They were probably all going to the Kido fields. Ducking my head, I rubbed the clothes against the washboard hastily. If I was lucky they wouldn't recognize me. If I was even luckier, I would finish washing these clothes before they passed by.

As per usual, the annoying fly that was Kaien Shiba spotted me and wasted no time rushing toward me, "Kumiko! I thought you were training in the Zanjutsu fields!"

I frowned, "Yeah, well some of us don't have time to chit-chat with the special guests."

"You ended early, didn't you?" I began to protest but he just smirked, "You can't expect to get better if you just lose your temper and cut your practices short, Kumiko."

"Shut up, suck-ass," I muttered, wringing out Rika's hakama. I threw it in the basket and heaved it up into my arms.

"Suck-ass! You little-"

"Yeah, yeah -I'm busy, Kaien," I huffed, waving at him as I sauntered to the dry lines, "Have fun with your buddy Mr. Stealth Force."

"You're welcome to join us when you decide to put your attitude away!" He called after me.

Setting the basket down next to the nearest free line, I glanced at Kaien and his friends. They were all grins and laughter again, not a care in the world. I sighed and reached down for a piece of clothing to hang. Hanging it up, I reached for the pegs and realized that they weren't next to me anymore. I looked around and dug in the basket of damp clothing but I couldn't find them. I brought them with me, I know I did…

I looked up at Kaien to see if he had taken the peg bag, but his hands were empty. What the hell did I do with them?

"Did you drop these?" I whipped around and saw the Shinigami holding the bag. He smiled at me, "I found these next to the reservoir and thought they could be yours."

"They are," I said quietly, taking them from him and mumbling a thanks to him. He hadn't been this close to me during class, and now that he was I could see that he was actually quite handsome. He was a couple inches taller than me and broad-shouldered, and had messy blond hair that fell across the bridge of his nose. I cleared my throat when I realized that I was staring at him again and turned around, hanging the clothes up.

"Do you need help?" He walked up to me.

"You don't think I can hang my own laundry?" I stood on my tiptoes and clipped the clothes up.

"No- uh...yes?" I glanced at him and he chuckled awkwardly, "Just thought you could use the height."

"I'm five foot ten," I turned to look at him. He was cute but annoying. Why was he trying to help me with my laundry so badly?

He nodded, "Okay then." He began to walk away before he stopped again, ignoring my exasperated sigh, "Is that really all of your laundry?"

"No," I replied, glancing around the clothes and at him, "It's my three roommates' as well."

"That's nice of you -"

"Yeah, well since your squad members were so kind as to ruin my uniform, I figured that I might as well wash all the clothes," I frowned at him, "Thank you for that."

"You're very welcome," He said back cheerfully but snarkily done.

I sighed, "Don't mind me. I'm the sarcastic, bitchy type."

"Don't worry, I figured that one out already," I glared at him and he gave me another grin, "But that's not a bad quality to have, especially if you're entering the Thirteen Court Guard Squads earlier than the rest of your class. I'm curious as to the reason why you're graduating early."

"Kido," I said simply. He tilted his head curiously, "I'm good at concentrating high contents of spiritual pressure, so they placed me in the advanced-Kido courses. Not sure why they think it's a good idea to have me graduate early though, considering that that's really the only thing I'm good at."

He shrugged, "Kido doesn't come naturally to a lot of Shinigami." I hung up the last piece of clothing, "Come on, let's go."

"What?"

"You've got to wait for those clothes to dry so why not practice your Kido with us?" He smirked, "Heard you got final exams of the year in a couple of weeks. And if you're as bad at everything else like you say are then you should probably ace those Kido finals."

I frowned, glancing out to Kaien and my classmates. They were just target practicing and weren't talking a lot to one another. Glancing back at the Shinigami, I figured that he had a good point about practicing Kido. I couldn't afford to get anything but a perfect score on my Kido. Nodding, I set my peg bag in the basket and followed him to the training fields.

"Look who decided to join the party," Kaien called over to me as I placed myself at the target next to me, "Looks like I'm not the only suck-ass here."

"Shut it, Spikey Head," I grouched. The only reason why I was here was to practice. As soon as my laundry had dried, I was returning to the dorm to study. Raising my left hand, I held out my two fingers and charged them with energy. When they were lined up with my target, I quietly said, "Sokatsui."

A blue flash shot from my palm and up to my fingertips, charging towards the target and burning it up in an inferno of blue spiritual flames. I waited for the flames to die down, smirking when I saw that the target had been destroyed.

"Impressive," I turned to see that the Shinigami assessing my work, "Using an incantation makes it stronger unless you're well-versed with Kido. Still, it's a feat for a student to hit a target without an incantation." My smirk began to widen at his praise but dropped when he met my gaze, "But is that really all you can do?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked indignantly.

He shrugged, walking away, "I just thought that you would be able to do something better than a spell under fifty. Perhaps Captain Shihoin was right, the Shiba boy would destroy you in -"

He cut off as I shot a Hado spell at him, raising his arm and deflecting it with his own Kido. Glancing at me, I glared daggers at him as Kaien and our classmates ran to us. This man had some real nerve, goading me on.

"Kumiko, what do you think you're doing!" Kaien yelled, rushing over to me, "Did you just fire a Kido at a Shinigami?"

I jabbed my finger and Kaien ducked, and I pointed at the Shinigami, "Don't brush me aside just yet, asshole. I was just warming up." Spinning on my heel, I held my hands up and closed my eyes. A ball of heat built up inside of my chest as I breathed in and exhaled, the heat traveling through my arms and up to my hands. My palms tingled as I summoned spiritual pressure to my hands, and began incanting, "Sprinkled on the bones of the beast! Sharp tower, red crystal, steel ring. Move and become the wind, stop and become the calm. The sound of warring spears fills the empty castle! Hado number sixty-three, Raikoho!"

A large ball of light had enveloped between my palms and were released, a large lightning strike stretching across the field and hitting the three nearest targets. I gritted my teeth and fought to control the reiatsu that channeled through my body, and slowly cut it off by breathing in deeply. My hands felt icy cold and I ran a hand through my hair, a wide smirk building on my face.

I looked over at the Shinigami and was surprised to see him clapping his hands, "Well we've established two things. One, you're very easily coerced and don't like being challenged. And two; you're going to be one scary girl once your reiatsu has fully developed. You still have a long way to go before you're ready."

I rolled my eyes and stormed off to the clothesline. Ripping off the clothes and shoving them in the wash basket, glaring across the training fields at the idiot.

Who did this guy think he was? He was nearly as arrogant as his captain, swinging around that know-it-all attitude like he knew everything about everyone. I was impressed that he was able to detect that my spiritual pressure had not yet developed -I was among the younger students at the academy, which meant that my spiritual pressure was still maturing. I couldn't put my finger on it but this man unsettled me. It may have been his gaze, which was beautiful but terrifyingly vigilant. It may have been the reiatsu that I could sense emanating off of him like heat waves, or it could have been that he didn't seemed fazed at all by my attitude towards him.

He just casually chatted with Kaien. Stupid little twerp was probably from a privileged noble family. That would explain his arrogance. Whatever it was, he bugged me immensely.

Cupping my hands around my mouth, "Hey, asshole! What's your name?"

He smiled, "I am Kisuke Urahara!"

I nodded, calling to him, "You better watch yourself when I become a Shinigami, Kisuke Urahara because I'm going to become your nightmare."

"Looking forward to it, Kumiko!"