Chapter 8 – Begin: Day One

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Training Camp

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It was an hour before seven when the flap of the Captain's tent was lifted up. Toshiro walked out into the crisp air, wearing a loose, unbuttoned short-sleeved shirt. He did not even flinch when early morning winds buffeted him, sending ripples through his clothes and hair. He scanned the area; not one blade of grass out of place. It seemed the new recruits weren't completely useless after all. He shifted the towel in his hands and slung it over his shoulder.

Silently, he walked out into the bamboo forest. He followed his own mentally mapped out trail to Xialonghu, otherwise known as the Summer Dragon Lake, for a quick bath. The earth was damp and was uncomfortably yielding whenever he stepped upon it. The accompanying squelching noise was also shuddering. He ignored all this and continued to push his way through the bamboo, occasionally getting sprinkled with dewdrops sliding off the leaves.

Sunlight filtered in from a low angle off the ground, creating an unusual sight of lighted grounds and dark canopies. The small forest birds woke for the day, hopping around the forest floor searching for seeds and small insects. An unlikely wind managed to wind its way through the bamboo. It flew through holes – gnawed in the bamboo by small animals – and created a flute-like sound. It was very peaceful.

Toshiro emerged from the forest and saw the still waters of Xialonghu in front of him. A few pliant reeds that were subjugated to stoop from collecting condensation brushed upon the surface. Small ripples broke on the surface whenever the reeds swayed. Quiet dripping sounds occurred rhythmically through the air like a metronome.

He walked up to the edge and immediately took off all his clothes, unaffected by the temperature. One step at a time he walked into the frosty water. There were no signs that he felt even the slightest bit cold: his skin stayed the same colour, his facial expression was calm and indifferent, and there was not even the tiniest hint of a shiver. He walked until he was chest deep and stayed there, looking up towards the sky in quiet rumination. He stood for so long that the water became still once again, undisturbed by his presence. The sunlight reflected off the water and onto his skin, making it seem he was aglow.

When it seemed like he was nothing more than a statue, he abruptly submerged himself. A second later and his head reappeared a few feet from where he last was. His feet could no longer touch the grainy lake bottom. He took in a large breath and dived under once again. In one breath he swam almost to where the island was. He broke to the surface, treaded water for a few minutes, then swum along the surface back to where his clothes laid.

Working quickly, he dried himself off and put his clothes back on. The sun was nearly sitting on the horizon, so there was a little more time before he had to get back to the training camp. He started to wander aimlessly around the glade, in a considerably good mood, though it didn't show on his stoic face. As he walked his eyes wandered up and down, taking in all of the nature surrounding him.

He was passing a large tree when a flat, smooth rock caught his eye. He bent down and picked it up, flipping it over in his hand to examine it. It was a nice and sleek black rock, fairly flat and smooth. The small impurities in it made it faintly sparkle. All in all it was a very beautiful rock. Toshiro turned around towards the lake. He tossed the rock lightly up and down upon his palm, deliberating on whether to skip it, when something bumped into his back. He heard a small 'ooph' and turned around to see who it was.

His emerald eyes settled upon a pair of warm chocolate brown eyes widened in shock and fear. Her deep black was partially damp and still clung slightly to her skin. Tresses framed her face and it brought out the beauty of her soft face. She looked up at him fearfully and he wondered if it was because of his eyes. It wasn't said much, but just enough that he knew his eyes were almost always as sharp and as cold as ice.

Neither made any movement. A small bead of sweat rolled down her forehead, leaving a shining trail. Instinctively, he raised a hand and brushed it off. The girl shied away from his touch, taking a shaky step back. Toshiro still had his hand extended. His intimate actions surprised even him; he was not normally so tender.

He lowered his hand. "I apologise. That was inappropriate of me."

The girl had her head lowered so that her eyes were shadowed, but he managed to pick up her very subtle nod of forgiveness. A silence descended and caught both their throats. The ground suddenly became a shade brighter – a small cloud previously blocking the sun had moved on. Toshiro looked up and squinted in the direct sunlight. When he lowered his head, he saw the girl with her head towards the sky as well.

"Excuse me. I have to be going," he said with a curt nod.

The girl looked down and slowly met his eyes. "A-ah, yes…so do I."

Swiftly, she turned around and headed in the direction of the bamboo forest. He watched her retreating back; she was having slight trouble running. She kept stumbling. Before she made ten paces, he called out to her.

"Wait." He paused and waited for her to turn her head around. The wondering behind her eyes was obvious even from the distance. "May I ask for your name?"

She angled slightly toward him and he saw that here eyes were wide. Was it a question she was dreading? Or maybe it was a question she was hoping for? She bit her lips in slight hesitation before displaying her dazzling smile. The brown of her eyes melted warmly.

"I'm Momo."

A cute laugh escaped through her lips. She smiled once again before turning around on her heels and scurrying out of sight. Toshiro stood still against the soft morning breeze. He tilted his head up at the sky once more before making his way back to the training camp.

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Training Camp

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"I told you, didn't I?! I told you that you should've tied your hair up, but no! Obviously you wanted to royally screw yourself over before you even got started!" Rukia seethed. "What were you thinking, talking to your captain like that?! Your captain who thinks you're a freaking guy!!"

Momo ignored all of her reprimands, and found that it was quite easy. She was running towards the training fields. Her hair was tied back up and she was changed into some cotton clothes prefect for training, much to Rukia's immense, annoyed relief.

"Are you even listening?!"

Momo stopped and grabbed Rukia out of her shirt. Rukia managed to escape from her grasp, but not from her gaze.

"Why are you so worried?"

"Because if you get caught the penalty is death, and I don't need another de-" Rukia caught her next words and cleared her throat. "I mean…it would be really bad if you died,' she mumbled.

"I – no, we'll be fine."

"Where is all that confidence coming from?"

"Why are you asking that? Shouldn't you have buckets of that stuff. After all, you are the most powerful and noble of the family guardians." Momo smiled. "If you're here helping me, then we'll make it through even better than okay. So, we're seeing this through together, no worries and all?"

Momo extended a hand. Rukia looked at her upturned palm while many thoughts splashed though her head. A moment later her face lit up with her usual self-assurance and vivaciousness. She slapped Momo's palm – sealing the deal – and then dove back into her shirt.

"Right! I don't even know why I was worried!" Rukia gasped in mock horror. "I was this close to turning into high-and-mighty-sama himself! Ugh!"

Momo laughed and refrained from asking who this "high-and-mighty-sama" was. She stored this trivial question away, along with a more sombre one. Rukia didn't seem to have a problem with her until the potential of being discovered was right there in front of them. Her personality just seemed to do a three-sixty, and it was unsettling. She also caught herself when talking about the death penalty, and…something about another death? Perhaps, but that was a question for later. Currently, there were more pressing matters.

Soon she found herself running out onto the training fields. Here the grass had yet to turn brown and prickly, so it was a tranquil sight…squashed the moment loud raucous laughter thundered through the air. The new recruits – all of which looked under thirty – were behaving like grade-schoolers; ones that have been given a million rubber bands to flick each other with. Chojiro yelled for order until he was red in the face, but the noise did not cease. He mumbled something about 'incompetent fools' before going off to sulk in his own patch of grass.

However, when Momo came closer into view, it did go unusually quiet. For a minute. Almost every single male gave her a nasty glare. It would be a long time before any of them would forget the cleanup duties they had to do because of her. Eventually, they returned to their previous occupations, whether it be talking, laughing or pushing. Momo slowed her pace until she came to an awkward standstill. Renji closed up the leftover distance.

"Catching up on your beauty sleep, Ichigo?" he asked with a cocky grin.

"Of course," Momo replied in the same superior tone. "After all, I wouldn't need to practise much to beat you, Renji, of all people."

Renji's two friends – the ravened haired one from before, and a blond haired one – both laughed. The blond haired one let out several polite chuckles, but he was obviously holding much more in. Tears pricked at the eyes of the ravened-haired, whom Momo thought of as too serious-looking to be laughing.

"Ahahaha! He got you there Renji!" chortled the raven haired one. He was half leaning on Renji's back for support, thumping his back every two seconds.

Renji scowled at the two. "Dammit, Shuuhei, Izuru, knock it off! Whose side are you on anyway?"

Izuru – the blonde haired one – suppressed his next bout of laughter with a satisfactory achievement. "Sorry," he managed to get out.

By now Shuuhei had calmed himself down. He peeled himself off of Renji's back, only hiccupping every now and then. He walked over to stand in front of Momo, towering over her. He raised a hand to sit all but touching the top of her head, and moved it across towards his body. It ended just below his collarbone.

"Wow. You are short!" He burst into another round of laughter. "You really are the little man!"

Momo scowled and jammed her foot into his, with satisfying results. Shuuhei jumped up and howled, hopping around on one foot. She smirked; he had gotten off easy. She was just the right height and position to have dealt out some serious damage. Before Shuuhei had a chance to repay the favour, a harsh voice cut through the air.

"Soldiers!"

Any and all activities ceased at once. Everyone scrambled to get themselves in a muddled line, nervous under the piercing gaze of their captain. If there was one word to describe him, it would be downright scary. Momo could hear her heart throbbing in her ears, and she tried not to meet his eyes. He could probably stare down the Chao army if he wanted to! He scanned across the line, appraising them. Finally, he spoke.

"I am Toshiro Hitsugaya, but from this moment on you will refer to me as Captain or Sir. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Captain!" the whole line replied in unison.

"I expect you all to be assembled and ready at seven sharp every morning, no excuses. Anyone who acts otherwise will answer to me."

He took off his unbuttoned shirt, exposing his hard, toned chest and arms. There were some pretty impressive muscles for someone who wasn't at all bulky. He let his shirt fall into a clump near the pile of wooden fighting sticks and picked one up. It was about three centimetres in diameter, two meters long, looked much worn and had numerous indents.

"Clearly none of you are experts in the area of war and combat," He brought the stick down upon his knee and broke it cleanly in half. "As that is why you are here. But after I am through with you,"

He threw the halves high up into the air and shot up after them. He reached the twirling pieces of wood while they were still on their ascent. With a powerful kick, he sent the piece on his left hurtling towards the ground before turning and doing the same to the other. He landed nimbly on both feet just as the halves impaled loudly into the earth. The new recruits looked on in respected awe and fear. The halves were perfectly aligned with his body.

"Not even the Chao will dare attack."

The new recruits were still frozen from his display, but he did not expect any comments. He folded his arms across his chest and looked at them once more. Momo kept her eyes on a small spot just a little over his shoulder, just far enough away from his eyes. A few tense moments later and he spoke once again.

"Assemble into four lines. Day one begins now."

Next update: in an hour or so