Sorry for the late update, winter vacation was busier than I thought it would be and then I started my classes and pretty much…WTF! I don't think I have ever had a semester with SO many papers due, and it's not just one, it's ALL of them! I am so happy this is my last semester.
Special thanks to Black Sun Upon An Icy Sky, person, Mel72000, RuByMoOn17, CalypsoHatesEveryone, moonray9, green-road, SakaSandora, Serenityhimesheppard, BeccaBaby, Tango Dancer, and Yin7 for taking the time to review and tell me your thoughts on the fic so far, it is much appreciated!
All of the new recruits entered their division bright and early. Several former classmates were gathered around and chatting excitedly. This was it; they finally made it into a division and were awaiting their captain and lieutenant to appear. None of them were more nervous than Momo who had begun pacing back and forth in a small line between Renji and Izuru.
"Oh my god, we are finally going to see Captain Aizen and he is going to talk to us! I hope he isn't disappointed by me. What if he sees me and thinks he made a mistake and sends me off to another squad? I don't know if I can take it!" Momo practically screeched in panic at the thought of being thrown to another division. She had dreamed of nothing else, but getting into the fifth squad and she had finally made it. She didn't want her dream to get squished because she was a disappointment to the captain who had rescued them years before.
"Relax; we haven't even met them yet." Izuru tried to calm down his friend with little luck. Out of the four of them, she was the most nervous. He himself felt relaxed and calm that he was going to be in this squad and knew he would learn a lot. There had been nothing but good things said about Captain Aizen and at least it was better than what happened in the eleventh where it was rumored that the Captain tested their strength on the first day and got rid of the weaklings. He knew he wasn't weak, but the eleventh squad was defiantly not a place he wanted to end up at.
Renji and Ichigo looked relaxed as well. Neither had nervousness warped on their face or going into panic like Momo. Renji looked down before he finally grabbed the girl and stopped her from the pacing, it was getting annoying and a line had etched itself into the dirt.
"You'll be fine. Stop worrying." Renji told her and she bit her lip. She didn't know what to think. What if Captain Aizen walks past and pretends she doesn't exist? All that waiting, the charming smile that made her melt at night, all for nothing.
"Who cares what he thinks anyways." Ichigo muttered leaning against the white wall behind him that separated the fifth division from the rest of the Seireitei. In his opinion, Momo was getting worked up for nothing and was expecting that Captain Aizen would notice them right away. They had just gotten out of the academy and had to work their way up to be noticed.
"And this is why the teachers didn't like you." Renji whispered to himself, but it did not go unheard to Ichigo.
"I did better than you in all of our classes, if it wasn't for me you probably wouldn't have passed half of them." Ichigo gave a smug grin when he saw Renji clenched his hands into fists and walk up to the orange haired shinigami.
"Want to say that to my face?" Renji growled getting close and trying to intimidate Ichigo. Their heated session seemed to distract Momo who was now watching the two argue and Izuru who knew he would have to break it up soon. He really missed Rukia.
"I would if I could breathe through your disgusting breath!" Ichigo shot back and the two continue to glare at one another before Izuru stepped in between. He didn't know how the two would make it through the year without killing each other and would probably be frowned upon if they kept up this batter all the time. All it took was for one little comment and the two were at each other's throats.
"Shh, guys!" Momo squeaked and turned towards the doors that began to open leading into the main area of the fifth division. She didn't know if she was breathing anymore or if her heart had stopped. Everything seemed to freeze in time as the doors swung ever so slowly open and two figures stood behind with one obviously taller than the other.
The other three behind her watched as the two figures came into the light, one wearing a captain's haori over the standard shinigami uniform and the other wore a badge on the left arm. The one wearing the captain's haori was obviously Captain Aizen. He had unruly brown hair with bangs that covered over his dark framed glasses. A pleasant smile was on his handsome face which was also obvious when all the girls around them sighed. Next to him was a young man that was slightly shorter than Ichigo by an inch or two. He seemed to open his mouth, but no one was paying any attention.
"Good evening new recruits and welcome to the fifth squad. We will be going over the rules to-" The lieutenant began to say when Captain Aizen's hand motioned for him to stop. The young man looked up at his captain in confusion.
"No need to worry about those just yet. They just arrived and probably want to be settled in before we go over boring matters such as that." Captain Aizen replied to his lieutenant before he turned back to the new arrivals and gave them a nod.
He studied over many of them, most were useless rejects that had passed their exams and had no division that wanted them. Unfortunately, they got stuck in his squad, but there was always ways of cropping out the unwanted. His eyes scanned over many who smiled back at his fake smile hoping to please him. It was one of the benefits from being captain, everyone got on their hands and knees to please him. He would be kind and polite, but like all the rest, they were fools and mere pawns that he would dispose of later.
He turned to his lieutenant again, a foolish boy who was completely arrogant. He believed himself important now that he was of higher rank, but he was only there to replace Gin until he could find someone better to replacement. "Why don't you show them around and to their quarters?" He suggested to the boy who nodded quickly.
"Everyone follow me." His lieutenant ordered the recruits and many of them scrambled to follow after him. They would smile and nod their head to Aizen as they walked by and he would honor them by acknowledging their existence with a nod of his own. His eyes scanned the area and rested on the last four that were coming closer. Not all of the maggots were useless and he would find out how useful these ones were. After all, he handpicked them from the rest.
The girl was easy. Just looking at her and she blushed. She would be an easy one to manipulate and use for later. He didn't care if she was powerful or not, all that was important was that she was disposable. The blond was very timid and like the girl, would listen to orders without question. The red and orange haired teens he did not know much about. Both were very promising, though lacking in the kido department, but that could always be fixed. The latter interested him more than the former. He wanted to know why he was brought to the Seireitei by the ex-captain. Of course, if he had just found a street rat and took pity on him he would dump the boy somewhere else. He did not have time to waste on someone who was not worth it.
"There seems to be a lot for him to handle, why don't I take you on a personal tour myself." Captain Aizen suggested to the four as they approached him. The girl's eyes seemed to shine when he spoke and he could see her knees going weak.
"T-th-tha-" Momo began to stutter with the word never forming. Renji saved her the trouble and answered for her.
"That's fine." He replied and ignored the nasty look Momo shot him for answering. They would have been there all day and night just for her to finish the sentence and he was sure Aizen would have left by then.
"Come this way." The captain ushered them and they walked down the opposite hallway that the others had taken. The walls were painted light green with no other significance to them besides the windows that showed the court yard on the left.
"I'm Momo Hinamori." Momo introduced herself as she took a few steps faster than the others so she could walk next to him rather than behind. A small blush formed on her face when he looked down at her with that charming smile.
"I'm Izuru Kira, and this is Renji Abarai and Ichigo Kurosaki." Izuru introduced himself and the other two, knowing that Momo would try to take up his whole attention and partially did. It was amazing how she went from stuttering to getting up the courage to introduce herself to their captain.
"I would introduce myself, but I have a feeling you already know who I am. Tell me about yourselves since we will be seeing more of each other." Aizen requested as they exited the building and were heading over to another one. This was where they were to stay while in the division unless they went home to their family.
"Well I am from first Rukongai district." Momo began to explain about her grandmother and about her friends there, especially 'Shiro-chan' who she adores. Aizen nodded as if he was paying attention and allowed the young girl to speak her heart out and only listened for information that could be useful, though most of went unheard.
Aizen stopped her for a few minutes to explain the dormitories that could only occupy two hundred people. All seated officers from eighth on higher have a private room and those lower have to share one and those who are unranked share a room with fifteen other people. He told them not to worry, over the weekend they would be assessing each of their ranks and be placed accordingly. He flattered them, for those who bought it, by saying he was sure all of them would make seated officers.
Ichigo looked unimpressed or was just bored by the whole thing; Renji couldn't tell as they exited the building and walked to another smaller building next door. It was then that Izuru began to explain about his history, how his parents died when he was very young and then went to the academy. The red head had heard the story before and was paying somewhat attention. His mind was mostly focused on what Ichigo would say.
Since day one, Ichigo had been friendly to Renji and Rukia and set a nice rivalry that had helped the red head exceed. They had shared and done everything together. Ichigo knew of Renji's background because he had told it openly, but it was one thing that the other would refuse to talk about.
It had been their second year at the academy and the three friends were sitting outside under a tree. Renji sat with his back pressed against the tree with his arms behind his head and his right leg crossed over the left. Rukia sat with her legs cross to the left of him and Ichigo was lying on the grass with his eyes partially closed. It was often people could fine them in this spot training, hanging out, or having their lunch.
Their chatter filled the quiet space as Rukia gave a soft chuckle at Renji's embarrassment. "You should have seen it, we were running from the guy and he" pointing to Renji, "decides he is going to be brave and yells 'Fuck you' to the guy only to find he had caught up to him and grabbed him." Rukia shook her head.
"I didn't think he could run that fast." Renji said in his defense.
"We had to gang up on the guy just so he would let Renji go, and you know what he did?" Rukia asked Ichigo, who opened his right eye knowing she would answer for him. "He was crying!" She revealed and crossed her arms and looked at Renji as if daring him to deny it.
"It did not happen like that!" Renji practically shouted and sat up, bringing his arms to his side and both feet plastered on the ground.
"I can see it happening." Ichigo replied with a small smirk on his face just to annoy Renji.
"Shut up!" Renji barked and crossed his arms over his chest and looked away.
"Tell us a story from your childhood, Ichigo." Rukia tapped her friend on the shoulder who opened both his eyes and looked away.
"Nothing." he whispered and closed his eyes again, hoping they would drop it. Although he knew how persistent Rukia could be.
"Don't give us that crap, you heard one of our stories, let's hear one of yours." Renji shot at him, thinking his friend was just being stubborn.
Ichigo stayed silent for a minute or two going over his thoughts in his head. They would never understand the pain he went through and knew if he brought it up he would probably break down, again.
"I don't want to talk about it." Ichigo told them and hoped they understood, however, they both still thought he wasn't being serious.
"Come on." Rukia pushed again, but this time it caused Ichigo to get up from his spot.
"I don't want to talk about it!" He replied in a much sterner voice that neither had heard him use before. They knew at that instant he was being serious. They did not stop him as he walked away to cool off, knowing he would need the time alone and confront him later.
They never learned about Ichigo's past since the teen refused to talk about it and would drop the conversation. It worried Renji and he knew Rukia was just as worried about their friend. They wanted to know what had happened in his life that was so terrible he refused to even acknowledge or share it with anyone. Neither of them pushed him on the topic and had hoped Ichigo would open up on the subject, but so far, nothing. He was sure his friend was going to snap at Captain Aizen and that is what worried Renji the most. He was afraid that the captain would throw Ichigo out of the squad for his attitude.
"And you, Abarai-kun?" Captain Aizen asked knocking Renji out of his train of thought. He hadn't realized that Izuru had finished and it was his turn. He rubbed the back of his head in thought.
"I grew up as an orphan in the 78th Rukongai district." Renji paused and waited for any look or sound of disgust from Captain Aizen, but none came. He was used to people looking down at him because of the poor area where he grew up. His fellow classmates and teachers always acted as if he was trash and would never be able to finish his time at the academy, but he showed them.
"I was with other orphans and we pretty much looked out for one another until I went to the academy to get a better life. I'll tell you right now, I suck at kido." Renji admitted though not knowing if this would affect Aizen's decision. After all, the man was bound to find out sooner or later and maybe would take it easier on him if he came out with the truth.
"That is why you are here to learn, Abarai-kun. Just because you have left the academy does not mean you have mastered everything. It takes time and hopefully I will be able to help each of you get stronger on your weaker points." Captain Aizen told the small group as he opened the door to his office. Momo was staring after him dreamingly, he was such a kind man while Izuru and Renji both held him with the same high regards as they did when they first met him, and Ichigo…thought he was full of shit. It seemed to the orange haired teen that the captain knew the right words to please people, but he was not buying it.
"I am usually in my office most of the day unless there is a meeting or other matters to attend to." Captain Aizen explained to all of them as they got a look around. It was a beautiful office. A dark wooden desk sat before a large open window that viewed the trees from the court yard and over looked the other buildings of the fifth division. Soft red drapes hung down from the ceiling on either side of the window. A large bookshelf with more books than any of them had ever seen was to the other side of the room with a white sofa facing before it. A long black table that sat six people was to the right of the desk with the same coloring in chairs.
"And Kurosaki-kun?" Captain Aizen asked and Renji looked out of the corner of his eye at his friend wondering what he was going to say.
"My past is none of your business." Ichigo muttered and received a kick in the shin from Momo. He yelped slightly and grabbed his leg.
"Where are your manners, don't talk to him like that. I apologize Captain Aizen!" Momo folded her hands together and brought them up to her chest.
"It is alright, if Kurosaki-kun does not wish to share his past that is up to him." Captain Aizen smiled pleasantly at the orange haired teen who wore his normal scowl, but was inwardly confused. He was expecting a little more of a reaction than that. Most of the adults had always scolded him whenever he gave any hint of an attitude.
"Thanks." Ichigo mumbled low. He still didn't trust the captain, but at least the man did not have a stick up his ass like some people.
"Now, let me show you the main area." Captain Aizen said as he led them out of his office and towards the other buildings.
13th Division
Rukia sighed as she sat by herself against the wall furthest away from the other cadets. She had never been afraid of being by herself and had learned to ignore the comments other people made about her being a Kuchiki, but it still pained her. She wished her friends were with her, but she would have to wait a few more days until she got to see them again.
Their introduction to the division was slightly different. The captain did not show up nor did the lieutenant. Instead the fifth seat was there to show them around and explain all of the rules to each of them. They were told that Captain Ukitake had been admitted to the fourth division again today and would be out for a few days while the lieutenant was on his way and had not arrived yet.
She had tried to converse with her new peers, but many of them apparently knew her and laughed in her face. It was like being back in the academy all over again with the exception that Ichigo and Renji were not there to support her. She was on her own.
She watched the others talk amongst themselves and some were sparring. She felt a slight pinch of pain in her middle back from sitting against the hard surface and stood up. They were told to stay in the training area until the lieutenant got there, but the third seat did not say how long it would take him to get there. She thought it couldn't hurt to get another look around on her own and it would get her away from the others.
As she passed she could feel the stares burning into the side of her head, but ignored them. She slid the green door open and walked through with briefly closing it behind her.
"So glad she left."
"I know, she acts like she is so much better than us because she is a Kuchiki."
"I heard her exam at the academy was overlooked because they paid for her to pass."
"I hope she isn't on any missions with me, I don't want someone who knows nothing but money watching my back."
All the comments were loud enough for her to hear as she stood outside the door. Her eyes were cast to the wooden floor beneath her feet. She couldn't win no matter what. She could be friendly or act as stupid as the others and it wouldn't be good enough because she was adopted into a noble family. She was feeling more out of place than ever before. She wanted to rip open the door and run to the fifth division and be near her friends.
"Hey, you!" She heard a male voice shout at her and looked up surprised. Standing in front of her, she swore, was a tall male with black hair that looked almost identical to Ichigo if it wasn't for his hair being longer and slightly taller. She noticed on his arm was a lieutenant's badge and gulped. He finally arrived. "Yeah, you." he said as he approached her. "I thought I had ordered for everyone to stay in the training room." He looked down at her, making her feel slightly intimidated.
Immediately her mind was racing to remember the name of her lieutenant that the third seat had told them. She bit her lip as she tried to remember, but he introduced himself. "My name is Kaien Shiba, lieutenant of the thirteenth division." He said to her when he realized she looked uncomfortable.
"It's nice to meet you, Sir." She hesitated to say the words and sighed when they came out. She now wished she had not left the training room and had put up with the others comments.
"What?" Kaien bent down to make eye level with her and placed a hand on the top of her head. Her eyes widened slightly as she thought she had done something wrong. "That greeting sucks, tell me your name!" He practically yelled at her, but she could still hear the slight bit of friendliness in it.
"My-my name is Rukia Kuchiki, and it is a pleasure to meet you, Sir!" Rukia felt the hand on the top of her head loosen as she straightened up and gave her a friendly smile.
"That's better, now come on, I got to see what other mess was left for me to clean up." Kaien told Rukia as he opened the door behind her and shouted at the rest of the new arrivals.
Rukia stared after him stunned. No one had ever approached her like that since she had been adopted and it had startled her. He had the nerve to talk down and shout at her. She dropped her hands to her side after adjusting her hair and a smile appeared on her face for the first time that day. He treated her like she was a normal person. As the lieutenant, he had to know who everyone was and who the 'Kuchiki Princess' was and it didn't matter to him. She slowly made her way back into the training area and this time, she felt normal and might be able to enjoy squad thirteen.
Renji's right eye opened as he heard a noise that sounded like a whimper from behind him. He rolled over on his bunk and faced Ichigo who looked panicked in his sleep. Sweat was dripping from his head and spilling onto the pillow under his head while his hands were clenching the sheets. He was thrashing his head back and forth and Renji could tell from where he was laying, which startled him, Ichigo was shaking.
He sat up in his bed unsure if he should wake his friend. It looked as if he was having a nasty nightmare. After a quick decision, Renji swung his legs over the side of his bed and walked over to Ichigo's. He knew the other boy would probably punch or shout at him waking everyone else up being the hot head he sometimes could be.
"Tatsuki," Ichigo whimper which surprised and confused the red head. He had never heard his friend mention that name before or remembered anyone from the academy with that name. Renji watched his friend thrash around on his bed and began to ponder if he should ask who this Tatsuki was.
Renji sighed in frustration as he remembered what Rukia had told him. It was better for Ichigo to come to them than to pry into his life and find out information that he may not be ready to give. He muttered to himself before he grabbed Ichigo by the shoulder and began to shake him. The other teen did not wake instantly and it took another three to four shakes before he finally woke up.
"Renji? It's too early." Ichigo grumbled as he glared at his friend.
"No shit, you woke me up from all the moving around you did. Now either stay still or I'll tie you up outside." Renji threatened, though Ichigo was too tired to even care.
A/N: I changed some of the things around, like the third seat in squad 13 (can't remember their names, I'll look em up later) is an unknown person for right now, but it will go back into canon soon. Aizen's lieutenant is also unknown because he is not important hence I did not give him a name. I will also be slowly adding in hints about Ichigo's past until it is revealed.
Please Read: One of my other fic is coming to an end and it is the one I usually update more often than others so there will be a spot to fill this void. I have placed a poll inside my profile and you can vote if you want this fic to be updated more often or stay the same or you can leave it in a review if you don't want to vote.