Welcome back to Learning in the Afterlife. I got this update done early, and editing it went quickly enough, so I hope you enjoy, and that I didn't miss any glaring mistakes while editing. Anyway, this chapter was very fun to write, so I hope you all enjoy thick quick update. On to the votes.
So I have noticed a drop in votes, which is a bummer, we are almost there, so please vote on the poll on my profile if you haven't, and feel free to tell me why you want Ichigo to go to whatever squad in a review or a private message, I read them all and I enjoy your input. That being said, to the numbers.
Squad 8: 9 votes
Squad 10: 7 votes
Squad 2: 6 votes
Squad 13: 4 votes
Squad 4: 1 vote
The other squads: 0
I suppose I should not complain, the people who have voted usually give a reason now, so you all have my thanks, you know who you are. There weren't any questions I think I need to answer from last chapter, but I encourage you to ask if something doesn't make sense.
Also, if you could keep on sending in your ideas for a pairing with Ichigo, I would be thankful. Each time you do you make me think about something new, so keep them coming. Shout out to, KazumaKaname, artfrogy, TitansLegion, and hornet07. A special shout out to hornet07, he has been commenting since back at chapter 2 I believe, so thank you very much for your continued input.
Two more thing, then you can get to the good stuff. First, I am going to get rid of some of the unused squad choices tomorrow, so anything that hasn't been mentioned before, not necessarily the ones with no votes (someone talked about squad 11), will be gone then, so you have until tomorrow to vote for them, they are: Squad 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, and 12. to be honest I should have just taken off squad 12, I never would have written that one. Hoenstly, the only one there I am surprised that has no votes is Squad 6, but hey, that is just me.
Second is concerning one of the pairings that I have been told to not do, which is Rukia and Ichigo. Because of the way I have written this so far, they are like siblings, so people who don't want to see them together are telling me it would be weird for them to start dating because of how close they are. To those people, I agree, so it is unlikely Ichigo will end up with her, but in case I can't figure out how to get in another romance, there are going to be a few moments (I believe there is one this chapter too) that look like they are going to be a pair, just so if the pairing happens it doesn't come out of no where. Fear not, it is just to show how close they are for now. I don't know if any of you have siblings, but they will touch you without warning whenever they want, for whatever reason they want. My sister will pull pieces of hair off my face without warning, and I spaz out when she does it. So there, I am planning on doing a more unusual pairing for this story, I just have to figure out how to do it.
So that is everything that is everything, I think. Please enjoy this chapter, and as always, follow, favorite, or review if you think the story deserves any of them.
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach
Ichigo sighed. It had been half an hour since he finished his test, and Rukia hadn't come out of the testing room yet. He was beginning to worry about her. He knew she would do well, but her nerves may have hindered her. However, he knew there was nothing he could do about it now.
Sighing again, he tuned back to whatever Renji was talking about now.
"…Yeah, my test went well, so well I am sure I am getting into the advanced class. Don't worry if you don't my friend, I will tell you all about it. And even if you do, I will help you out, I know things will be difficult for someone like you to understand,"
Renji rattled on, laughing at his own jokes along the way.
He had been talking almost non-stop since Ichigo sat down in the assembly hall next to him. For the most part Ichigo ignored him, not that Renji either noticed or stopped talking.
One good thing that came from Renji's loud rambling was that everyone was avoiding them. So Ichigo sat alone next to Renji, not that he minded, though he could do without he loud talking to his side, ignoring him while waiting on Rukia.
He was switching between listening to his friend continue to brag on about something, worrying about Rukia doing well on her test, and thinking about his future as a soul reaper.
Concerning his last thought, he was pretty sure he did well, the aptitude test was fairy easy, it was hard for him to tell though, and he knew he impressed at least three of the for examiners with his reiatsu, so he was good there. So he wondered how far he could go. Seated officer? Maybe, but he wouldn't get his hopes up yet.
The door from the test opened again, and another random kid walked out. Ichigo sighed in disappointment, catching Renji's attention.
"What are you sighing about now, we both know Rukia is going to be fine. There were a lot of people in there, so she probably hasn't taken hers yet," Renji said.
Ichigo had to admit he was right.
"Or maybe you were worried about not doing as good as me. Not uncommon, I know you have been envious of me ever…" Renji started once again.
Closing his eyes as he once again ignored his friend, Ichigo tried waiting in silence for Rukia. Whether if it was for her to get there because she passed the test or to shut Renji up he couldn't quite tell.
Ichigo sat in the near meditative state for another ten minutes before he felt someone gently tap his shoulder. Then someone else not so gently punch his arm.
"Renji, you knew I was about to open my eyes, right?" Ichigo asked, keeping his eye closed.
"You haven't yet, so I may try again," Renji replied, and Ichigo could hear the smirk in his voice.
Finally opening his eyes, he saw Rukia standing there, staring back at him. No one said anything for about twenty seconds.
Renji couldn't stand the quiet. "Well?" he asked.
"Well what?" She returned, her face devoid of any emotion.
"How'd it go?"
"Fine."
"Fine?"
"Yes."
"Well my test went fantastic, as I said it would. Did you know the examiners said I was amazing, not that I expected any less, and another thing-"
Ichigo hit him the arm, silencing him, saying, "Yes Renji, I do know, you have been telling me for almost an hour."
Ignoring Renji's indignant look, Ichigo turned to face Rukia. "Define fine."
"I got through to here," She responded after stifling her laughter from her two friend's interaction.
"Could you be anymore specific?"
"I could."
"Well, don't leave us hanging Midget, spill it."
She frowned at the jab at her height that Renji's nickname for her held. Then, she smiled, and said, "I think it went well. After Ichigo reminded me of our first time showing off our reiatsu, I think I managed to calm down enough to get in the top class. Do you remember that day Renji?" she asked, a devious smile on her face.
"I don't know what you are talking about," He said, looking away from her.
"Oh really, I can remind you if you want." Her smile was just about to turn sadistic at this point.
"No, that is alright, no need to bring up those memories."
Rukia and Ichigo laughed, while Renji sulked. Ichigo had known Rukia would be able to stop Renji from talking, if only for a little while.
Using the newly created silence, Ichigo congratulated Rukia, saying, "Good job, I told you that you could do it."
Smiling, she turned to him, "I know, and at the time you were the only one who believed in me. Thank you for believing in me when I couldn't. You can thank me later for shutting Renji up later."
"Can't we just call it even there?" Ichigo asked, ignoring the rain cloud forming over Renji.
"Are you kidding, do you know how hard it is to keep him quiet like that, I should be asking for a thanks right now, and a favor too," she returned in jest.
"True, I guess I will have to settle for your first offer."
"I thought you would see it my way."
"You know I am right here, and I can hear you guys, right?" Renji asked, a look of hurt written across his face.
"You say something Renji? I forgot about you down there," Rukia said looking down at her nails, trying to not laugh.
"I hate you two." Renji said, going back to quietly sulking in his seat.
Rukia and Ichigo laughed and sat down, with Ichigo sitting between Rukia and Renji.
"Now it looks like we just have to wait for the test to be finished." Ichigo said after a moment of silence.
"Yeah, though I was one of the last people to go, so it shouldn't be too much longer," Rukia stated.
"Good, I don't know how much more I could stand to be around you two," Renji whined, getting the other two to laugh.
They talked for a few more minutes, and waited for whatever came next.
Rukia's prediction cam true, and about twenty minutes later the bald man came out and walked onto the stage. The room quieted, and waited for the man to speak, the tension in the room building with every moment.
"Alright, listen up. I only want to say this once," his gruff voice rang out.
Whatever noise was left was instantly silenced.
"My name is Ōnabara Gengorō, the chief instructor of class one. I will first congratulate those of you here for making it this far, since all of you who are here have made it into the Academy. Now before you start cheering, there are some things we need to go over, so keep quiet and we will get this over with."
"First, there are uniforms in each of your dormitories, the guys' dorm is on the east the girls' is on the other side of the academy. You will be required to wear them for your entire stay an this establishment, so get used to them."
A few people groaned at this, though Ichigo had no idea why, he hadn't seen what they looked like.
"Speaking of dorms, you all will stay to your dorms, guys will stay at theirs, and the same for the girls. If you want to hang out with your friends, do so outside. I don't want to hear about any guy sneaking into the girls' dorm, are we clear?"
Despite their initial protesting, the rowdier guys could only nod at the not so subtle threat his question held.
"Good. The less important rules and expectations will be discussed later, and then you will be given a brief tour of the academy. Tomorrow you will begin your classes. I will call out your name now, and when called you are to head through the door, and down the hallway, you will find your class assignment there."
And so he began calling out the names, and the new students that were called went down to the door, then disappearing down the hallway. There didn't seem to be any order to it, the names jumping around the alphabet.
Soon enough the room was empty, except for thirty or so people left over, with Ichigo, Renji and Rukia still sitting together, waiting to be called.
Gengorō spoke up once again, "Now you all still here are in my class, Class one, congratulations. We have a high standard in this class, so you are the best this exam has to offer. I expect all of you to excel, and then join the Gotei 13 as seated officers at least. If you can't handle that, the door is there, and we can move you to an easier class."
No one moved, though when Ichigo looked at Renji he had to cover his mouth so he didn't laugh; the look of sheer terror that Renji was sporting almost caused him to lose it.
"I didn't think so," Gengorō continued. "We had one of the highest exam scores ever this year, so I am making sure you all do well, whether you think you can or not. We will meet up tomorrow when class starts, so be on time if you want to hold your place in the advanced class."
"You have the rest of the day to yourself, to celebrate you admittance to my class, or prepare for your worst nightmare, which ever you feel most appropriate. Do not forget the tour later today; you will want to know where to go for class. I will see you tomorrow."
With that, the man walked off the stage and out of sight, with a smile hidden from his now terrified students.
Nobody moved from their seats for a moment, trying to understand what all had just happened. Then Renji broke the silence.
"I think I just pissed myself a little."
Ichigo couldn't help himself this time, and started to laugh, followed quickly by Rukia.
With tension now lifted, the other students started to laugh too. They all laughed for a moment, then start to leave to room, to figure out where they were going to live, or to find where to eat, or to find their friends that didn't make the cut for the advanced class.
Ichigo, Rukia, and Renji were the last ones out, since Renji was embarrassed. He would have to watch he said from now on. Rukia and Ichigo were skeptical he could do it.
Walking together they headed towards were they hoped was food. Arriving, they got something to eat and sat down together.
Renji was, as always, the first to strike up a conversation.
"I told you I would get in the top class."
Rukia sighed, "Great, now we will never hear the end of it. Just when we had him quiet too."
Ichigo just smiled. They both decided to ignore Renji for now; they knew he could talk about himself for a while, without noticing any body was or was not paying attention.
"See," Ichigo started, "You really were worrying for nothing. Now we are all together in the advanced class. Happy?"
"I am, though our teacher is a little intimidating."
"True, but he does look like he knows how to teach us, so I am not worried about it."
"I wonder what out class will be like," Rukia said louder, trying to get Renji in the conversation now.
"I am sure I will do well in it, so you two can ask me for help when you need it," Renji said confidently.
"Yeah, if you can resist the urge to, what was it?" Rukia started.
"I believe it was pissing himself," Ichigo finished.
Renji blushed and looked away embarrassed, knowing he couldn't when this one.
"Whatever. To be honest I do think we are ready for this. Unlike most of the people here, we already know how to fight. I really want to know when we get to use a sword."
"You are such a man," Rukia sighed, as she shook her head.
"And don't you forget it."
"As if you could ever let us," Ichigo responded.
"Anyway," Rukia said as she rubbed her temples. "I doubt we will be doing anything with swords for a while. For now I think we should be concerned with the class itself."
"I agree," Ichigo backed her up. "Gengorō seems like a hard ass, I think we should get there early."
"Right," Renji said. "Maybe we should look for that tour now, I wouldn't want to make a bad first impression."
"Then I suggest you keeping your mouth shut at first," Rukia told him.
"Hey!" Renji shouted indignantly.
"Well, I am going to find that tour, you two can fight like an old married couple when I am gone," Ichigo said as he was leaving.
"Who would want to marry him?" Rukia asked hotly, getting up after Ichigo.
"I could do better," Renji said, though he was blushing.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Rukia demanded of him.
"Oh nothing Midget. Let's go, Ichigo isn't waiting for us."
Rukia and Renji jogged to catch up with Ichigo, and the three walked together to the tour.
The tour wasn't much to talk about, a brief walk around the academy with an older student. The student would point things out as they walked, nothing too important, but helpful nonetheless. They did find out where the classes were held, and then they were sent away to spend the rest of the day relaxing, because soon they would have no real free time.
The afternoon came and went, and after walking around for an hour or two, night came. The three friends where standing outside the girls' dorm about to part company.
"Goodnight you two, and wake up on time tomorrow, I won't be able to get you up this time," Rukia said to them.
"Finally," Renji grumbled.
"Don't worry about us, we will manage. I am not above leaving Renji behind if he doesn't wake up," Ichigo told her, earning a smile from Rukia and a frown from Renji.
"Yeah, well same to you. Some friend you are," Renji sulked, turning away from the other two.
Ichigo turned to follow, but felt Rukia's hand grab his sleeve.
"I wanted to thank you again. If it wasn't for your encouragement earlier, I don't think I would have made it into the advanced class. I am glad you stayed with us," Rukia quietly said, just loud enough for Ichigo to hear.
Turning his head to she could she his smile, he told her, "So am I. Goodnight Rukia, I will make sure Renji makes it on time tomorrow."
Releasing his arm, she smiled back at him, saying, "Good, he is the one I am most worried about oversleeping."
"I heard that Midget!" Renji yelled at her.
"Goodnight Renji," she chirped back at him.
Shaking his head at them, Ichigo turned back to his own dorm.
"Goodnight Ichigo," Rukia called out behind him.
Waving his hand, Ichigo caught up with Renji, matching pace with him. They walked in silence back to their rooms.
The rooms were fairly Spartan, like most new rooms. The first year dorms were fairly nice, though no one got a single room. Renji and Ichigo found their room filled with several bunk beds, some occupied, some not.
Turning to each other, they both said, "I call top."
They stared at each other for a moment before racing to the closest bed. Ichigo managed to push Renji out of the way to get to the bed first, jumping onto the top.
"I win," Ichigo said, his back facing Renji.
"Whatever, I will just get onto another one."
"The loser one."
"Shut up Strawberry."
Chuckling a little, Ichigo closed his eyes. He was surprised to feel as tired as he did, but reflecting on the day it should not have surprised him as much as it did. They had done a lot today, and tomorrow promised even more. Drifting off to the most comfortable sleep he could remember, Ichigo began to dream.
Ichigo's Dream
Ichigo blinked his eyes, trying to adjust to the bright light he was now seeing.
"Where am I?" He asked out loud, not expecting anyone to respond.
"A fair question," a voice spoke out.
Alarmed, Ichigo looked around, but he couldn't see anyone, just white.
"Who said that? Where are you?"
"Who am I? That I can answer, but the real question is if you can understand it," The voice spoke out again, seemingly from everywhere around Ichigo.
"What do you mean?" Ichigo didn't understand what was going on, but he was going to get some answers.
"We shall see," the voice said ignoring him. "My name is-"
Ichigo couldn't understand what he said.
"I didn't catch that, can you say it again?"
"So you didn't hear me. Very well, it is for another time. Now I have a question for you Ichigo."
Ichigo stayed quiet despite the building questions he had.
"Why do you fight?"
"What?" Ichigo asked, surprised by the question.
"For what purpose do you fight? Why did you come here to the Shinigami academy?"
"I am confused. Does that matter?" Ichigo tried asking the voice, trying to get an understanding of what he wanted.
"It does matter. Reflect upon that question Ichigo, and maybe you will meet me next time you come here. Hopefully then the rain will be completely gone."
"Rain? What are you talking about? It isn't raining here."
The only response he got was silence.
Ichigo then felt himself pushed by an invisible force. Then he woke up.
The time he spent in his dream, or whatever it was, had taken up the entire night, and he woke up just when he had planned to. Shaking his head to clear his mind as he stretched, he began to get ready for the day, putting on his uniform, and getting some water to drink from the bathroom.
Looking in the mirror, he sighed, he though the uniform looked silly. Grumbling, he walked out of the bathroom, water in hand, and began to attempt to wake up Renji.
"Renji, get up," He said, quietly, so he didn't wake up anyone else.
Renji rolled over, trying to get away from the irritating noise.
"Don't make me get Rukia in here."
His threat went ignored by Renji, still blissfully asleep.
Looking around, Ichigo saw that most of the people in the room were up by now. Then he looked down at the cup half full of water, then up at Renji. Silently apologizing to the people still trying to sleep, Ichigo threw the water onto Renji's head. The reaction was immediate.
"What the hell!?" Renji shouted, shooting out of the bed. Unfortunately for him, he forgot he was on top of a bunk bed, and he fell to the floor with a loud thud.
Unsurprisingly, almost everyone that was asleep was also woken up, though one guy was somehow still asleep.
Glaring up at the culprit of his sudden departure from his bed, Renji slowly got up on his feet.
"Good morning Renji," Ichigo calmly said, as if he didn't cause the commotion.
"I hate you right now."
"Yeah, yeah, I will keep that in mind. Now get dressed, we have a class to get to early. I would rather not face Rukia's wrath for being late either."
Grumbling, Renji listened to his friend and got dressed, and like Ichigo, he also sighed at the attire he would be wearing for the foreseeable future.
"Ready?" Ichigo called out to him.
"Yeah, let's go. Do you think we will get there before Rukia?"
"I would be surprised if we did, she normally wakes up before either of us. I am surprised I woke up when I did though."
"Oh? Why did you wake up so early then?"
"I had a weird dream."
"That really clears things up for me," Renji replied sarcastically.
"If there was a way I could, I would try it, but that is what happened."
"What about the dream was weird?"
"I don't know how to explain it well. I was somewhere, but the place was covered in fog. Then some voice talked to me, asked me some questions that I couldn't answer, and then I think he may have kicked me out of the dream."
Renji thought about it for a minute in silence.
"Well? What do you think?" Ichigo asked him.
"I think you have weird dreams."
"I don't know what I expected from you."
"Whatever. Look we made it here early," Renji said as they entered the classroom. Then he noticed someone missing. "Hey, where is the midget?"
Looking around, Ichigo noticed the she was not there. Shrugging to Renji, the two of them sat down next to each other, with a spot for Rukia open next to Ichigo. He had noticed he always had to sit in-between the two of them, because if he didn't, they would argue over everything.
The minutes ticked by, and the class filled up, but no Rukia yet.
With one minute left, Ichigo was very concerned. Everyone else had shown up, with Rukia's chair being the only one left in the classroom.
Then, with thirty seconds to spare Rukia walked in. To put it simple, she looked like she had just woken up. Her eyes were half lidded, her hair was messy, and there was a perfectly straight line of dried drool from her mouth down her cheek.
Renji couldn't help himself. He broke out into a loud laughter, which got everyone's attention to focus on what he was laughing at. Rukia blushed slightly as she sat down in her seat.
"Rough morning?" Ichigo innocently asked.
Rukia just turned and glared at him.
"You got something right there," He said, as he pointed to the drool on her face.
She tried to rub it off, but she left the back half of the line untouched. Though he was tempted to not tell her, he feared the consequences.
Scooting his chair over, her grabbed her sleeve, and then gently rubbed it on her cheek. Rukia glared back at him at first before realizing he was helping.
"You missed a spot," he said quietly.
"Thanks," she mumbled back.
The entire class witnessed the exchange, with most of the girls hoping they would find someone like Ichigo, bumping up his popularity. He didn't even know, to him the act was normal, Rukia was a close friend, and so he could do that.
Rukia, however, was a little more aware what the rumor mill works, and was dreading dealing with the girls later tonight, she already had to deal with questions from girls about Ichigo and Renji keeping her up at night, it was why she couldn't get any sleep and then almost oversplept.
"Alright everyone, the show is over, let's begin," Gengorō said, getting ever to look back to the front.
"I want to remind you all of where we are. This is the advanced class, so we are going to be moving at a faster pace. I expect you all to do well in what comes after this, like Ichimaru Gin, who graduated in one year and entered as a seated officer, and is now the lieutenant of squad five. That is what we want from all of you. Whether you do or not is up to you and your abilities."
The class listened intently to the man.
"Now if you are capable, you will be advanced into a higher level class. We will place you where your skills are, not by your year, so the better you do, the faster you get out. Any questions?"
The room stayed quiet.
"Good, let us begin."
The class began, and everyone was paying attention, so more so then others, but the fear and high expectations kept them listening.
There three kids from the outskirts of the Rukongai, were all listening intently, and hoping to get out of there early. Ichigo would occasionally think about his dream, and the question he was asked. He hoped he would get an answer soon; maybe something in his class would help him out.
Shaking his head, he listened to Gengorō again. He knew his future was in his hands at this point, and he was going to do the best he could to shape his future well. He wanted to get out early, to be one of the best, and he was going to do it, one way or another.
His goal set, Ichigo began to prepare for the trails that awaited both him, and his friends.
There we go, the end of the chapter. I hope you all liked it, and that you want to see more.
So important stuff this time was that Rukia is in the advanced class, which I wanted for two reasons. The better reason is that she is powerful now, and if I remember she was nervous the first time she took the test, so messed up. I mean she did take out the 9th espada, who are supposed to be captain class, so I think she could have made it into the advanced class. If you don't like it, do not worry, she won't be there for long. The not so good reason is because I am lazy, and writing Rukia is easier this way, but like I said, she won't be sticking around.
The other important thing was the dream, I am sure you people know who that is. He will be making a more formal appearance soon.
Next time there will be an introduction of some new friends, our Ichigo's group is going to expand. I think I will get to the world of the living trip next time too, but that may be pushing it. Oh, and Rukia meets someone inportant.
So I think that is everything, so I will catch you next chapter
-Jimba