So sorry this is late! It is all my fault for missing the deadline Sety and I have set up! The next chapters will be on time!

By the way we don't own Bleach. If we did it would be a lot different and probably not as good as it could be!

Katsumi's POV

Akane will not survive the next time we fight! I vowed to myself as I walked towards the reiatsu I had match as Kurosaki-taicho's. We had waited to be picked up by our fukutaichos for maybe 2 minutes before we had decided to find our own way to our divisions. Akane had flash stepped me to my division, then away before I could kill her.

I arrived at the office, and waited outside for someone to notice I was there. I could feel two separate reiatsus in the building, both large, so I decided not to intrude. It was only a couple minutes before a Shinigami exited, a girl with black hair I immediately recognized as Kuchiki Rukia. I gave a short bow, and she returned it, looking at me in interest as I entered the office.

It was neat, I guess. Stacks of paperwork lay completed on a desk, and the captain was filling out another form, his face flushed. I stood there for a moment then he stood up and I got a look at his face. He was tall, that was the first thing I noticed, with brown hair and light skin. His hair was bright orange, and stuck out all over his head. He said nothing, but looked me over, taking in my dark blue hair and the Zanpakutou on my back. Then he motioned for me to follow him outside.

I was a bit surprised. I knew of Kurosaki Ichigo from the war, and the fact that he was captain of the 9th division while still acting as the Shinigami in charge of Karakura town, and the fact that he was still alive. But I didn't know he would be so informal. He was a captain! He was wearing the haori right now!

"You're Katsumi right?"

I jumped slightly, then nodded. "Yes taicho."

"I was thinking we could test you as soon as you got here, find out where you should go. Shuhei says you could be set as a seated officer." He looked at me again.

"Whatever you think is fine taicho."

We arrived at the training grounds, which cleared at the captain's word. I waited for him to assign someone for me to fight, and was surprised to see him pull out his Zanpakutou. I heard someone mutter "Shorty's going down." and my reiatsu flared. I could feel Akane's reiatsu fluctuating right now too. I wasn't surprised, considering she was the first mature girl in the 11th. I was preparing to draw when Hisagi flash stepped in front of Kurosaki.

"Captain we have a problem in Karakura town. Large batch of Hollows, all adjuchas and higher."

Ichigo sighed. "I guess I'll help you take care of it. Hisagi find some volunteers to help out, and Katsumi, you and I will fight later." He disappeared through the waiting Senkaimon, followed by Hisagi and 4 other Shinigami. I stood on the training grounds and watched as the gate closed, then after a beat, flash stepped towards the 11th where I could feel Akane.

I arrived to see Akane pummel Baldy into the ground.

"Akane-san. Spar with me. And leave the third seat alone."

She stopped beating him into the ground and nodded, tossing a warning into the air as she followed me to the fourth division training grounds. We were granted special permission by Onuhana-taicho to use the neglected training grounds sometime during our 3rd year training time, after I had gotten stabbed again by Akane. She couldn't heal me with people watching, so we had come here. Hanatarou had taken care of me, and after Unohana and Akane had shared their evil smile, we had our own training grounds.

Hanatarou was there when we passed. He and Akane shared some conversation I ignored, eager to pummel her into the floor for earlier. Finally I pulled her to the empty grounds, casting a kidou barrier around the area like Unohana had showed me, and drew my sword. I wasn't going to hold back today. The temperature lowered as I prepared to give Akane a sound beating, before she could beat me.

Sadly that's how our fights usually work. I would try hard to beat her quickly, to the point we had decided I would have won if she didn't have annoying regeneration powers. Sometimes I was able to. Most times I wouldn't be able to 'kill' her, we would fight forever, and I would end up with the blade of her Zanpakutou hilt deep in my stomach, or a deep slash from shoulder to hip. It was amazing how many times that had happened. If it weren't for her powers working on me, I would be dead maybe a billion times over. I was currently a medical miracle. I should be held together by scar tissue and kidou. But only the first cut I had received from Chihana had scarred, leaving a pink line about 2 inches wide on my stomach.

I shifted my weight slightly, then flash stepped to right in front of Akane, rather than behind. I had gone behind the last time we fought. The sudden change worked as she hesitated and I brought Kage no Kori down on her, expecting her to move to one side. Instead she blocked, her Zanpakutou almost blurred with the speed she moved it up to intercept. I blinked then was thrown backwards as Akane let out a massive burst of reiatsu the excess flaring up around her, a deep red. The pressure was beginning to give me a head ache, so I loosened the control I had on my own icy reiatsu. The temperature dove to where we could see our breath, and I grinned. It was always too hot in the Seireitei. This was more like the conditions I trained in with Kage no Kori, when we worked in bankai.

We slammed our katanas against each other for what seemed like eternity, and all the while I could feel the pressure of Akane's reiatsu pressing down on me. The kidou barrier I had put up kept both debris and spiritual pressure in, reflecting them back on us. I finally was forced to release, and for a moment I could see Akane grimace. Her regenerations worked slowly on frost bitten appendages. I could tell the temperature was dropping lower, though I never felt a thing. The moisture in the air was freezing where it hung, and miniscule ice droplets were shattering against the frozen ground. Kage No Kori WAS the coldest ice-type Zanpakutou. I reigned in my powers, and the air warmed again.

Akane smirked, and glanced at her hands. The fingers on her right were blue and locked around her Zanpakutou, and they were all I could see after she hit me so hard that I flew to the floor, and stabbed her Zanpakutou down into my right shoulder, then the ground, effectively pinning me down.

"I think I win."

I considered, then nodded. "Only because I was fighting while angry."

"Yep. Who got you so mad?"

I glared and she laughed, pulling Chihana from my shoulder.

I stood and removed the barrier by waving a hand, then looked around at the empty fourth. There was no one there to see Akane's powers, but I still felt apprehensive. Someone had been watching. I was sure of it.

"I'm going to go check something out. Can you clean up here?" I asked still glancing around, searching for the faintest scent of reiatsu.

Akane grinned. "Yeah. Sure you can find your way back?"

I scowled at her, seriously debating attacking her again. But I would just get more beat up if I tried now. Blood was dripping down my hand, and ice had formed over my wound, temporarily numbing the pain. I glanced down at it. It would need medical treatment. I couldn't move it right now.

"On second thought, maybe we should go see Unohana. You know how it is."

Akane scowled. We had agreed that she wouldn't heal me in any training that we would do. Which meant we couldn't go as hard as we could.

"Can't I just continue beating you? Then we could go to your room and I could-"

"Baka! We can't here!" I was mad now. She liked fighting a lot. It was annoying sometimes.

"Fine." A pout covered her face, then she broke into her signature evil smile.

"Let's go see Retsu then."

"Okay." We walked out of the trashed training grounds and towards Unohana taicho's office.

"Retsu! Can you look over Sumi-chan?"

Unohana-taicho emerged from a room 20 feet away at the call and smiled at Akane.

"Of course Akane-kun. As long you continue to keep your voice down. We currently have Ukitake-taicho visiting us. Katsumi-kun, if you'd follow me."

Akane's smile dimmed slightly, as I followed Unohana-taicho into the closest empty room. She told me to lie down on the table, which I did – who could deny her? Even Zaraki-taicho couldn't defy her – and she cast a kido and started to heal my shoulder.

"What's wrong this time?" Akane was leaning against the door, her face troubled.

"His lungs are troubling him again. This winter was particularly cold, and he's still a bit frail from the war. Katsumi-kun I will need to wrap this shoulder. Akane-kun could you pass me those bandages?"

Akane handed her the wrap and went back to her post by the wall.

"Anything I could do to help?"

"I'm done here." Unohana taped the last wrap in place on my back, and I pulled a new Shihakusho on over my bloodstained shitagi. "Try not to train for the next few days." I nodded, although I had no plan whatsoever of heeding her advice. I healed faster than she would think.

"Can we see Ukitake-taicho?" Akane sounded weird, thoughtful.

Unohana shook her head. "He had fallen asleep when I left. He needs the rest."

Akane's reiatsu pulsed slightly then calmed, and she left without a word to me, nodded her thanks to Unohana. I raised one eyebrow, then followed her. She was up to something.

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