"Seriously, how bad are we with directions that we can get lost even with a map in hand?" Kurui said in annoyance as she brushed off some stray leaves that had caught themselves in her hair. "We didn't even spot a single dummy hollow. Are we even in the designated training area? Maybe we had walked out of it without realising?"
"Pretty sure we would have bumped into the barrier put up by the Kido corps if that were the case." Shuhei reassured the shortest member of their group as he cleared the way in front of them with a few swings of his sword. There are just too many branches blocking their way.
"I'm sure that it is this way." Aoga insisted as he scrutinised the map for the umpteenth time, prompting everyone to glare at him.
"You have been saying this for the last forty minutes. You suck at directions, Aoga." Kanisawa said as she snatched the map away from the tall guy with no sense of direction. "Let the pros do it."
With Kanisawa now leading the way, the group of four who had grouped up to practice tracking and fighting dummy hollows for the field lesson changed course.
"Stop sulking, Aoga."
"I'm not sulking, Kurui."
"Keep telling yourself that." Kanisawa said without turning to look at Aoga. "See, we just found our first target. Got anything to say?"
The four of them silently peered through the large bush that they had found themselves hidden behind. Following Kanisawa's outstretched finger, they can see a dummy hollow pacing about in a small clearing about ten meters downwards from their elevation.
"She got you there." Shuhei gave Aoga a comforting pat on the back as he finally came to terms with the fact that he sucks in navigation. "How are we doing this?"
"Two of us act as decoys and the other two finish it off?" Kurui suggested as she tied her long hair up in a ponytail so that it will not get in her way later.
"Agree." Kanisawa voiced her agreement and slung an arm around Kurui. "Kurui and I will be the decoys, you boys can go for the kill."
"Fine by me." Aoga said as he withdrew the blade on his back without a single sound.
"Let's go then."
Without further ado, Kanisawa and Kurui jumped down into the clearing to face the dummy hollow and get its attention. None of them had seen a real hollow before but seeing even a dummy hollow up close gives them the chill running through their bones.
This particular dummy hollow has four legs and the large shell on its back gives it an insectoid look. The dummy hollow noticed Kanisawa and Kurui's presence immediately and turned to face them before giving out an ear-splitting screech.
"Bakudo #4: Hainawa!"
Kurui fired the first shot as she generated a yellow rope made of energy and threw it at the hollow, which wrapped around it immediately in an attempt to immobilize its target just as Kanisawa dashed forward to slash at the dummy with her Zanpakuto. Shuhei and Aoga took this chance and appeared at the hollow's back. A swing of their swords later, a bloody limb was sent flying in the air before dropping back down onto the ground.
"Uh… guys? Are dummy hollows supposed to have blood?"
Aoga's question made them take a brief pause in their actions as they quickly glanced at the dismembered limb and back at the hollow, which is now screeching furiously in pain.
"Uh, I don't think so?"
"Shit! This is a real hollow, run!"
Shuhei's words instantly got everyone to jumped back just as the hollow broke free of its constraints and roared at them in fury.
"Carriage of thunder, bridge of a spinning wheel. With light, divide this into six!" Kurui started her incantation for her next Kido spell as she ran beside her friends with the enraged hollow chasing after them. Upon completing her incantation, she spun around and fired her spell at the hollow.
"Bakudo #61: Rikujokoro!"
Six wide, thin beams of yellow energy shot from the tip of Kurui's index finger and slammed into the hollow at its midsection, holding it in place.
"Run! I am not yet good enough in this spell to hold it for long!"
The group of four continue to make their escape, only to find their escape route cut off by another hollow. They changed directions immediately, only to be met with the same results.
"That screech earlier! The first hollow must have called for reinforcements!"
"Damn it!"
The four Shinigami-in-training stood with their swords drawn and their backs pressed to each other when more of these hollows swarmed out from every nook and cranny. How did they go unnoticed earlier?
Kurui whipped out a small bamboo container, raised it into the air, and pulled on a string attached to it. A red flare of light shot to the sky which got everyone's brief attention to it, including the hollows.
"Kurui?"
"Just calling for reinforcements. We need to hold out until then." Kurui stated with grim determination as she held her Zanpakuto with both hands. "This is really bad. Either we ventured really far out from the designated training area, or there is a security leak somehow. We are not supposed to encounter real hollows."
"You don't say?" Kanisawa shot back.
"Save the snark for later!" Aoga shouted as one of the hollows started to charge at them.
"Let me."
Kurui sucked in a breath before disappearing right in front of their eyes with a shunpo. A second later, the hollow was bisected into two with Kurui behind it.
"Nice!" Shuhei can't help but let out a happy shout at the sight.
"Incoming!"
More and more of the hollows jumped in and the four of them have no choice but to try their best to survive, slashing at any hollows they can see that is within the reach of their blades.
"Shuhei! Behind you!"
Kanisawa's shout got Shuhei spinning around. It was just in time too, as a large claw-like appendage slammed into the area that he was at. However, Shuhei is now separated from his friends and is left to fight alone.
"Shuhei!"
"Go! I will hold them back! Go get the instructors! Run! Get out of here while you still can!"
"Like hell I will! Hado #31: Shakkaho!"
A huge orb of crimson red energy blasted some of these hollow backwards as Kurui charged in. Even in a real combat, Kurui's movements makes her look as if she is doing an elegant dance instead of fighting for her life. The katas of the various Zanjutsu styles that had become so ingrained in her took form as she expertly slashed, parried, and blocked in one fluid motion, allowing her to reach Shuhei's side in a short amount of time.
"What are you doing here?! Get away!"
"Hey! I risked my life trying to save you and this is what I get?! Shuhei, you big meanie!"
"You know this is not what I meant!"
"Can you two stop arguing?! More fighting, less talking!"
Aoga and Kanisawa had also somehow managed to reach them in this short amount of time as the four of them regrouped and defend themselves from the hollows.
"Kurui, when is the reinforcements that you called for going to arrive?!"
"Soon!" Kurui dodged a slash from a hollow's scythe-like limbs before gutting it with her blade. "I hope!"
"You HOPE?!"
"Hey! We are in the outer districts of the Rukongai! There is no guarantee that the signal flare will be spotted!"
"And where are the instructors?!"
"Eaten up by these hollows, maybe?" Kurui's motormouth kept on running even with the circumstances she found herself in as she somersaulted over a hollow before cutting it down. "Or maybe they quit their jobs halfway into our field lesson and decide to leave us here to fend for ourselves? Or maybe-"
"Not now, Kurui!"
Just then, beams of light rained down from the sky and the hollows fell one by one the moment they are struck.
"That's Hado #4: Byakurai!" Kanisawa said in excitement as she recognised the Kido spell used to save them. "Reinforcements are here!"
Groups of individuals dressed in purple ninja-like outfits and wearing headbands with the Kuchiki name written on it in Kanji appeared from within the dense foliage. The first group immediately surround themselves protectively around the four of them. More of them appeared and moved to combat the hollows, who are now being pushed back by the sudden appearance of these people.
"Forgive our tardiness, Lady Kurui." One of the purple ninjas, obviously the leader of the group, got down onto a knee with a respectful bow in Kurui's direction. "We will accept any punishment given to us."
"And why would I punish you, Gonzo-san?" Kurui asked as her playful demeanour returned. "You arrived just in time. Now, judging by the time of your arrival, Nii-sama would be arriving in about three, two-"
"Scatter, Senbonzakura."
"One." Kurui finished lamely as waves of pink petals flew in from within the dense foliage and ripped the remaining hollows into shreds, much to the amazement of her friends. Kurui didn't seem to share the same sentiments as she turned to where the petals had flown from and shouted at a group of trees.
"Nii-sama! You are late! L-A-T-E late!"
"Gonzo isn't late and yet I am?"
A cold looking man with slate gray eyes and long hair as black as Kurui's walked out of the group of trees. He stopped the moment he is in front of Kurui, who has her hands on her hips and looked up at her brother with a pout.
"I don't care, you are late. Do you know how scared I was?"
Shuhei, Aoga, and Kanisawa nearly did a spit-take at Kurui's words. Kurui was scared? She was the most fearless among them when their situation suddenly took a turn for the worst, slashing at every hollow she can reach with no hints of fear on her face.
Judging by the look the elder Kuchiki is giving Kurui, he shares the same view as them.
"If you can still be so lively after your first encounter with a hollow, then you are alright." Kurui's older brother stated blandly and looked at the battle ahead. Most of the hollows had already been taken care of in the short amount of time the two Kuchikis are bantering with each other.
"Oh, I haven't introduced you to my friends yet, right?" Kurui dragged her older brother by his arm to where the three of them are. "This is Shuhei, the tall one is Aoga, and she is Kanisawa. Guys, this is my older brother Byakuya. Say hi!"
"Thank you for tolerating my sister." Byakuya said to the three of them in his emotionless voice and ignored the harsh glare Kurui is sending his way. "I know how hard it can be to endure her incessant chattering."
"I-It's nice to meet you, Kuchiki-sama." Kanisawa stuttered out on their behalf. Byakuya is the current vice-captain of the 6th Division, which is led by Captain Kuchiki Ginrei, the current Captain of said division and Kurui's and Byakuya's grandfather. There are talks that Byakuya will soon succeed his grandfather to be the next Head of the Kuchiki clan and also the Captain of the Sixth Division. Usually, Academy students like them would never have the chance to meet such a high-ranking officer, let alone converse with them.
"Lord Byakuya, Lady Kurui. The hollows have been dealt with."
The group of purple ninjas which Shuhei realised must be the Kuchiki clan personal guards all knelt down in front of the Kuchiki siblings, awaiting their next command.
"In that case, let's return. I still have work to do back at the barracks."
"You need to get a life and stop working all day long, Nii-sama." Kurui chided her older brother. "You are still young and yet you act like an old man. Who will want to marry you?"
"I am a vice-captain, Rui. There are many things for me to do and handle."
Kurui childishly stuck her tongue out at her brother as the group started to head back.
"Nii-sama, why are there hollows here?"
"That's what I want to know too. You guys may be at the very edge of the designated training area, but the barrier the Kido Corps had put up should have prevented any hollows from making their way in. They shouldn't be here in the first place."
"Is this… intentional?"
Kurui's question quickly changed the atmosphere into a tense one. Shuhei can see Byakuya discretely clenching his fist before relaxing again.
"If it is, then I will make sure that they will never do it again."
In the end, no one managed to find out why and how the hollows appeared. The incident also somehow made the four of them famous among their peers in the Academy, since they are the first freshmen to encounter a group of real hollows and lived to tell the tale.
"Never thought we would become celebrities." Kanisawa muttered as the four of them cooped themselves up in Shuhei's and Aoga's shared room to complete their written assignment. The only one relaxing and not doing anything is Kurui, who is humming a merry tune as she polishes her Zanpakuto.
"Kurui, you finished your assignment?"
"Nope!"
"Onabara sensei will be mad at you if you don't complete your assignment." Shuhei said tiredly. This isn't the first time Kurui had decided to skip out on completing her assignments. However, she still somehow manages to maintain an overall passing grade for every subject by acing all her tests despite the number of 'F's she scored for her assignments, one of the important components that contributes to their overall grade at the end of the year.
"Assignments are boring, Shuhei. Grades are useless once you get out of the Academy anyway. It is just a steppingstone that you can do with or without. If you are truly good, people will still want you in their division even if you failed every single curriculum in the Academy. Just look at the Kenpachis. How many of them did well in their time at the Academy?"
"That's actually a valid point." Aoga scratched his chin in thought. "Maybe I should just skip out on this assignment as well?"
"You don't have the ability to score full marks for all of your tests, Aoga." Kanisawa brought him back down to reality with that harsh remark. "So just shut up and continue to do your assignments."
"Anyone of you interested to stay over at my house during the summer break after our exams?" Kurui asked out loud. "I mean, if you guys want to, that is."
The three Rukongai-born friends gave each other a brief look.
"Kurui." Shuhei spoke slowly, afraid of offending Kurui or somehow cause her to misunderstand his words. "You are a noble, and we are just-"
"You guys are my friends." Kurui stated with a tilt of her head, as if she cannot understand why the difference in the circumstances of their birth will mean anything. "Sofu and Nii-sama are also interested in meeting the three of you ever since I told them that you are my friends. If our status is your main concern, then don't worry about it. Sofu and Nii-sama are really uptight when it comes to rules, but they don't discriminate others because of their status. In fact, sofu just wrote to me saying that Nii-sama is seeing a woman from the Rukongai."
Kurui had an amused look on her face as she looked up and stroked her chin in thought.
"Huh, to think that Nii-sama is actually seeing a woman and I don't know a thing about it. The world must be ending."
"No offence, Kurui. But won't your clan elders oppose to your brother seeing a woman of commoner birth?"
"Of course they do." Kurui huffed out with her arms crossed. "Those crickety old-timers who should have kicked the bucket a long time ago are always ranting on and on about the purity of blood and tradition. But sofu is still the head of the clan and Nii-sama is slated to take over his position, so they cannot do anything about it."
Kurui jumped down from the bed and pointed to each of them in turn.
"That settles it. You guys will be coming over to stay at my house at least for a short while during the summer break. No backing out."
"Kurui!"
Said Kuchiki raised an eyebrow, daring them to oppose. The three of them can only give a resigned sigh after that. Kurui has the ability to sweep anyone up with her own momentum and they cannot do anything to resist. She doesn't follow the rules; the rules follow her. Even the instructors are at a loss in trying to get her to follow the rules set by the Academy. She never hands in her assignment on time unless she wants to, or even hand them in at all. She freely trespasses the prohibited grounds, something that everyone knew she does regularly but somehow no one has any evidence to prove it. She fell asleep during classes when it gets too boring for her but nothing the instructors did made her stop her behaviour. Some of them had grown to accept it when they saw Kurui's seat empty, signalling to them that she had decided to skip their classes. These are only the start of the long list of rules that she had broke just less than a year into the Academy.
"Er, is there anything we need to take note when we are there?" Kanisawa asked nervously. "Is there any rules or stuffs that we need to know when visiting a noble family?"
"There are." Kurui nodded exaggeratedly. "But even I don't follow them, so there's no need for you to do it too. These things are stupid anyway."
"It's time for our next lesson." Aoga stated as he started to pack up. "Let's move."
"Nah, you guys move." Kurui waved a dismissive hand in their direction. "I will skip out on class today. Today's weather is a good weather to have a nice nap."
The trio facepalmed. Not again.
"Kurui!"