Disclaimer: Yes! At last! My superior lawyers (yes, multiple) have put together the paperwork, and now I can own Bleach! All I have to do is sign the paperwork… (stares at huge, multiple stacks of legal mumbo jumbo) …too much effort. I'm going back to sleep…

Wow…I'm writing this at one in the morning…I need a life…oh well. Bleah. I can't believe they haven't mentioned Shuuhei's zanpakuto's name yet: he's really cool! They need to at least mention it in passing… Turns out, I've been spelling Shuuhei's name wrong. I'll fix it from this chapter on, but I feel too lazy to change what I've already written—so it will stay Shyuuhei in the chapters before this. Thanks for pointing that out, Hana Ryuuzaki! Oh, and I think that I'll start accepting anonymous reviews now.

'Datenshi, if you don't stop humming right now, I'm going to throw you down the nearest well,' Kasumi informed her zanpakuto. Datenshi decided that it was in her best interest to listen, for once. Kasumi heaved a sigh of relief; she had enough of a headache as it was, even without Datenshi's help.

"Hey, Kasumi! Quit sulking and get over here!" Matsumoto called, gesturing to yet more people for the poor girl to meet.

Kasumi sighed heavily, but walked over anyway. "Rangiku, you do realize that I had something to do after lunch, right?" Matsumoto gave her a blank look. "Apparently not. I was supposed to demonstrate my ability to wield a zanpakuto, in order to be properly placed within the 9th Division."

Matsumoto brightened, which Kasumi took as a bad sign. She was not the only one, because the redhead that had been about to be introduced took a step backward once he saw the evil gleam in the blonde's eyes. "Oh, but Kasumi dear," and here the girl in question twitched, "that's why we have Renji…"

Matsumoto turned to face the poor Lieutenant, who was edging away as fast as he could. Contrary to what Ichigo might say, he wasn't stupid. Right now, he was feeling very much like prey. He gulped, and Kasumi resisted the urge to enjoy the fact that someone else was on the receiving end of her neighbor's sense of mischief.

"Come on you two, let's go outside…" Neither actually had a choice in the matter: they were forcibly hauled out by the front of their uniforms.



They ended up in a smaller training room than the one they were in before. Kasumi looked around her, curious. The room was rather much the same as the previous one, except that there was a rack of wooden swords leaning against the wall.

Figuring that this was what was expected of her, she walked over to the swords to pick one out. She scanned them, reaching out to pick a few up, only to put them back. Finally, she found one she liked the heft of. It was rather bulkier than the others, but just as light. Kasumi twirled it a couple of times in order to get a feel for it. Yup, she liked this one.

"So, you're right-handed, I assume?" the redhead—Renji, Kasumi recalled—asked, also picking out one of the wooden swords.

"Mostly." Kasumi moved out towards the middle of the room, where Rangiku stood ready to referee. She twirled the sword few more times.

"'Mostly?'" Renji repeated, finishing up his selection. He found the one he was looking for, and strode to face Kasumi on the opposite side of the room.

She shrugged. "I do some things better with my left hand, like cracking eggs one-handed. For some reason, I can't seem to do it with my right. I also can't snap my fingers with my right hand." She turned to Matsumoto. "Are you sure this is alright?"

The Lieutenant bobbed her head up and down, quickly. "Of course! This is an acceptable way to gauge strength, and is recognized by all of the Gotei Thirteen! Besides, Renji is a good opponent since he used to be a part of 11th, for a little while, at least."

"Hey, that's mean!" Matsumoto shrugged. "I would suggest you keep on your toes, Kasumi!"

The transferee gave a tiny smile, with something that looked suspiciously like mischief twinkling in her eyes. "Same to you."

"Okay!" Matsumoto called. "The rules are the same for that of a typical spar: the first hit in the designated places decides the match! No kido or hoho is allowed, but a limited amount of hakudo is! Now, on your mark! Get set! Go!" The busty woman quickly got out of the way before she got caught in the middle.

Renji wasted no time, and leapt forwards, aiming for Kasumi's shoulder. He was surprised when he found himself blocked and then forcibly pushed back through just pressure applied through the wooden sword.

Not one to be daunted, he immediately tried again, aiming for Kasumi's midsection. Again, he was blocked effortlessly. However, he made several quick attacks oriented on a couple of the designated 'kill' spots: the chest and abdomen. Blocked again.



Now, he took a closer look at his opponent, no longer underestimating her. What he saw scared him a little. She was utterly calm, and analyzing his every move. She was taking apart his very style of fighting, piece-by-piece.

'He'll try feinting, next,' Kasumi thought. She wasn't disappointed. After these first attacks, the spar would get serious, as the two tested each other's abilities.

The clashes of wood-on-wood became more frequent, and the power behind them stronger. Kasumi stopped purely defending and started a sequence of her own. It may not have seemed like it, but Renji had improved considerably since the Winter War. His strikes had force behind them.

Then, in a spur of the moment decision, instead of blocking, she viciously attacked his sword, pushing it back. Drawing her own weapon back a little she struck the length of wood again, putting a lot of power behind it.

Renji wasn't prepared for this. He almost couldn't bring his sword around to block the one that was aimed for his heart. His elbows felt like they were going to snap. If that blow had connected, it probably would have sent him flying across the room.

The two leapt apart, and then Renji swung again. Once again, Kasumi didn't block. But, she also didn't repeat what she had done earlier. Instead of holding her weapon steady against the strike, her blade skittered down the length of Renji's. Then she struck the right side of the weapon, which went flying out of Renji's hands and hit the wall.

She gently tapped his chest with her wooden sword. "I win."

Then she turned to face Matsumoto and the small crowd of spectators, who were all standing slack-jawed. Sure they had expected her to fight well. They hadn't thought that she would actually succeed in winning, however.

Kasumi stared back at them, confused. "What?"

Sorry I had to cut this short. I need food. That, and the fight scene annoyed me. I need a break.

Review! I need them to live! You have no excuse!