A/N: Yes, another Akemi chapter. I just couldn't figure out a better way to do it. As it were, this one's been sitting on my computer for awhile finished, I just forgot to upload it. So the next chapter (Taiki) is already in progress.

I'm in the middle of a wedding (15th) and a move to Japan (22nd) so forgive me if I don't upload for awhile – but I'll be writing!

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Chapter 9

Not a half hour after I put in my application at the 13th Division, we all gathered in the Main Courtyard. I gasped when I entered through the gates – the place had been transformed, a large stage set up with velvet curtains and all the trappings, with two huge main tables set lengthwise across the stage as seating for the Gotei 13 Captains and Vice Captains, one behind the other. A podium sat at the front of the stage; a large banner congratulating the graduates was strung across the top.

All through the courtyard round tables had been set up with white and black tablecloths and place settings, a formal affair for the graduates to sit at. Down either side of the courtyard, and around the back of the graduates' area, were chairs and bleachers set up for families and friends of the graduates and Academy alumni to sit if they wished to attend.

I stood at the entrance taking it all in as the crowd filled in around me. Almost all the bleachers were already filled by the time I arrived, and most of the Captains and Vice Captains already sat in their seats at the head tables, chatting amongst themselves.

A small, blue head of hair poked its way toward me through the crowd, amongst the tables, and waved an enthusiastic hand my direction.

"Akemi-nee-chan! We've got a table already, over here! But you should hurry, it's filling up fast."

"Okay, Ran," I said, making my way toward her as she turned and skipped off the other direction. But as I followed, something else caught my eye…something that made me stop in my tracks.

"Akemi, dear!"

No. Please, anyone but them.

I suppose they would come, though, wouldn't they?

"Hi…mother. Father." I tried just waving and walking away, hoping to disappear into the crowd, but they weren't about to allow that. Right as I spotted the table where Ran now sat with the rest of my friends, I felt my mother's hand on my shoulder.

"Akemi, dear. Surely you must have a few moments to speak with your parents before the ceremony. We haven't seen you for so long!"

"I didn't know you were aware of the ceremony," I said, through gritted teeth.

"Well it certainly didn't help that your invitation must have been lost in the mail," my father replied, pulling up in front of me. "But the Fon family has a child graduating too, I'm sure you know, so of course we were aware of the ceremony anyway."

"Of course," I said, looking to my table for help. Taiki and Raiko stood up, coming to my aid.

"You must be mister and misses Sayuri," Taiki said with a grin, holding out a strong hand for a shake. "Masuyo Taiki. It's a pleasure."

"That's master and misses Sayuri to you," my mother said, pulling her hand closer to her body in apparent distaste.

"Masuyo…I've never heard of them," my father said, in an apparent attempt to be a bit more polite than my mother.

A failed attempt, but nonetheless, it didn't seem to shake Taiki. "Not yet, you haven't. But just wait – I enter the 8th Division today, so it's only a matter of time."

"8th Division?" my mother asked, wrinkling her nose.

Raiko wrote on a pad of paper, and handed it over to me.

I hate to say it, she wrote, but your parents remind me a bit of Koji-sempai.

I handed the notebook back to her, and whispered in her ear, "Why do you think I don't go home for holidays if I can avoid it?"

She giggled.

"You know, it is usually considered rude to exclude people from a conversation," my father said, eyeing the notebook.

"Kinoyama's mute," I explained, addressing Raiko by her family name for the sake of my parents. "She can't communicate any other way."

"Kinoyama?" my mother asked. "Masuyo? I've never heard of either of those clans. Akemi, dear, just who have you been associating with all this time? And here I thought you had been with Daiho-san and his group…"

"Daiho?" Taiki asked, making an unpleasant face. "You mean that Koji kid? Ug. She was, but the guy's a jerk. She's better off for having left them."

"What he means is, I haven't seen Daiho-san for some time," I said, trying to placate the situation, but it was too late.

"The Daiho clan may not be high nobility, but at least they have noble roots!" my mother exclaimed. "Certainly more noble than some nobody who'd join the 8th Division with that crazy creature of a Captain…"

"Hey! Captain Koga isn't….well okay, he's crazy, but he's strong, too," Taiki answered, defensive. "I think he'll make a great –"

"Um, Taiki, Raiko, I think we should go sit down now," I said, stepping in between my friends and my parents. "Mom, dad, why don't you go find a seat? It looks like they're about to begin, the Commander General just arrived…"

My ploy, thankfully, worked. My parents both looked up to the decorated stage to see the Commander General take his seat at the center of the forward table, and then glanced skeptically into the bleachers.

"She's probably right," my father said after a minute. "But," he said, looking back at me as my parents turned off toward the bleachers, "don't think this conversation is over, Akemi."

"Yes, father," I said, gritting my teeth and following my friends back to the round table, where they'd saved me a seat.

"Dude, Akemi," Hiroki said from his chair next to where Raiko once again took a seat. "Your parents are intense."

"I was hoping they wouldn't come," I admitted. "I guess that was too much to hope for."

"They are your parents," Kaede said, staring idly into the crowds. "You can't expect them to miss their only daughter's graduation."

"Did any of your family make it?" I asked, correctly intuiting her gaze.

She smiled. "I haven't seen them yet, but Satoshi and Ritsuka are out there somewhere."

"Really?" Ran's eyes lit up. "I didn't know they were coming! I knew a couple of Raiko's family would be here…"

I looked to Raiko, and she nodded and smiled. That explained her exceptional mood – then again, so could the fact that she was about to enter the 4th Division, her dream.

I smiled, too. I would be entering 13th, so there was plenty for me to be happy about as well…

"Welcome, one and all, to the graduation ceremonies for the 6th year Academy Classes of Soul Society Year –"

The magnified voice of the Commander General commanded all the attention of the students and audience, and as he continued on, a thick silence fell over the crowd. His young, yellow-haired Vice Captain standing silent behind him, the Commander General lauded us on our achievements, reminded us of our impeding duties, and wished us the best of luck. He then took a long list out of his white robe's deep pocket.

"I will now proceed to announce the graduates in the order of the Divisions they will enter. If you could please make your way up to the stage when I call your name, my Vice Captain will hand you your diploma. Thank you. Now for a special announcement."

"Special?" Kaede asked, looking at me. I shrugged.

"This year, for the first time in many years, an Academy graduate has been recruited directly to the Kidou Corps Division. As this is an especially rare and lauded achievement, I wish to give this graduate special recognition. Miss Itagaki Ume, if you could please approach the stage…"

"No. Way," I said, putting my head in my hands.

"Raiko says that she hates to say it, but that's kind of impressive," Ran said.

"It is," I groaned. "Upstaged again…"

"It's not upstaging, really," Kaede said from across the table, as Ume reached the stage and positively glowed as the Commander General shook her hand. "Kidou is simply her thing. You know you could beat her in hand to hand combat or sword combat, every time, Akemi."

"Heh," said Taiki. "Even I can beat Ume."

"Sure," I said. "But I'm also not the first in generations to be accepted to some special squad, and I'm bound to hear from my parents over that. They'll already probably hate me for joining 13th Division over 6th…"

While we ignored him, the Commander General had proceeded well into the 2nd Division's new recruits. A small line of graduates formed to his right, reached the Vice Captain in turn, shook his hand and took their diploma, then smiled or waved at the crowd. A few minutes later, the Commander General reached the 4th Division, and both Ran and Raiko stood to receive their diplomas. Our whole table hooted and hollered for both of them, especially as Kaede watched Ran wave her new diploma wildly over her head.

As they made their way back to us, the Commander General entered into the 5th Division. We didn't expect to hear any of us called for awhile, so I zoned out a bit, scanning the bleachers for people I knew, my parents included. I thought maybe I could avoid them after the ceremony if I knew where they were sitting, but that wouldn't be possible unless I could –

Kaede nudged me. "Akemi. That's you."

"Huh?"

"Raiko says she thought you decided on the 13th Division," Ran translated.

"I did."

"But they just called your name," Hideki said.

"What?"

"6th Division: Agatsuma Ryu, Sayuri Akemi, and Fon Taki," the Commander General was repeating, when he didn't see three people stand immediately.

What?

"There must be a mistake," I said, shaking my head.

"You'd probably best go get your diploma anyway," Kaede reasoned. "They won't call your name again, even if it is a mistake."

"Hmm…you're probably right," I said, standing and making my way to the front. When I reached the stage, I glanced over at Watabe-taichou, but her face was unreadable.

"Many congratulations," the Commander General said as I passed, and his Vice shook my hand and gave me my diploma.

I bowed to the audience and to the Captains and Vice Captains, then made my way back to my seat, unrolling my diploma to glance over it. It said nothing about my intended Division.

It must just be a paperwork error, I thought as I took my seat again, and my friends gave me slightly confused congratulations. I'll go talk to Airi-taichou as soon as the ceremony is over.

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I put the mistake out of my mind for awhile to cheer on my friends as, one by one, they paraded up to the stage and accepted their diplomas. After Raiko, Ran and myself, there was Taiki, headed to the 8th Division; Kaede to the 11th; Hideki, Hiroki and Tamotsu all to 13th. It was as Taiki said earlier: we were all going our separate ways. Out into the world to do good. It was a huge moment for each of us.

Following the passing of the diplomas, lunch was passed to each table on platters – simple food, but delicious. While we ate, many of the Captains and our teachers gave speeches about our time in the Academy, upcoming challenges – things we'd heard a thousand times before, but were likely valued by our many supporters in the audience.

Then, as we all finished up our meals, the Commander General took the stage once again to say a few parting words of encouragement, and to lay out the schedule for the evening. We were all to remove our things from our dormitory rooms and report to our respective divisions – we would have two hours for that. Then, each division would lead us through afternoon exercises ("They'll probably be deciding on our Seating," Kaede said.), allow us to get situated in the dormitories at our new location, and finally each division would hold a banquet to welcome its new recruits.

The Commander General thanked everyone for coming, congratulated our class once again, and left the podium. This seemed to be the cue for people to start making their way out of the courtyard, as those in the bleachers rose almost all at once and began to head for their students, or for the exit. The students at the tables seemed to linger a bit longer, perhaps feeling, as my group felt, that they didn't know when they would see their friends again.

Though I wanted nothing more than to linger those extra few moments with my friends, I had more pressing matters to attend to. A quick glance in the direction of my parents showed them coming my way, slowly, against the grain of the crowd; another in the direction of the stage showed most of the officers loitering a bit, talking amongst themselves or with our various instructors, but a few (including Koga-taichou) left almost immediately. I had to hurry.

With a quick, apologetic wave at my friends, I dodged through the crowd and made my way up to the stage. Airi-taichou was nowhere to be seen, but she wasn't really the one I was looking for anyway, I realized; when I spotted Shihouin Tsubasa, I knew he was the one I'd wanted to talk to from the beginning.

I sidled up next to him, waiting for him to finish speaking with the new third-year kidou instructor, and waited silently at attention. Finally he glanced over and, seeing me, excused himself from his other conversation. The instructor moved off to speak with someone else.

Turning to me, Tsubasa smiled. "Ah, Sayuri. I was expecting you."

"You were?" I started, but then stopped myself, bowing in the proper manner and continuing, "I mean, I'm very sorry, Vice Captain, but there seems to have been a mistake. You see…"

Tsubasa patted my head in his annoying way, nodding. "Don't you worry about it, little Akemi. I know there was all sorts of pressure from your family, and though I would have enjoyed having you with us, of course I've known for days you'd be with 6th."

I straightened. "Excuse me?"

"Look, I said don't worry over it, okay? Paperwork errors happen. I don't know why your paperwork still came through to our division, but like I said, I've known for days so it's no big. In any case, I trust you'll be in good care."

I was a bit too confused to follow, but not so much that I didn't catch the way his final statement was directed over my head. Turning, I saw the 6th Division Vice Captain, Mori, walking up behind me. She smiled in greeting at Tsubasa, with a friendly nod my direction. I bowed, not exactly sure what to say.

"You will take care of her, right, Ayuko?" Tsubasa asked. "She's an old family friend, you know. I was kind of hoping we'd get her, but I have a feeling she'll be better off with you."

"I'll keep an eye on her," Mori said, with a sparkle in her eye that made me feel some sort of inside joke was being told at my expense. I was beginning to get uncomfortable with everyone talking as if I weren't present when Mori turned to me. "I'll admit I was surprised at first, but I hadn't realized your parents had been talking with the Captain."

"My…parents." Understanding began to dawn on me.

"I'm starting to think we weren't your first choice," Mori continued, with a glance at both me and Tsubasa. "Regardless, I hope you won't hold it against us. I believe I've said before, not all of us at 6th are like the Captain." Something caught Mori's eye, past Tsubasa, and she nodded at us both. "If you'll excuse me. Sayuri, I'll see you in a few hours."

She walked away, leaving me awkwardly facing Tsubasa. There was no time for further conversation, however. My new Vice had said just enough.

"My apologies, Vice Captain, but if you'll excuse me as well…"

I bowed, and he nodded, a vaguely amused lilt to his mouth, as I backed away a few feet then turned and hurried through the crowd. My friends still stood at our table, and both Raiko and Taiki gave me confused looks as I passed in a huff, but there was no time for that, either. I went straight for my parents, who I spotted easily enough, deep in conversation with some of the Fon clan.

No reason to be polite about it. I charged right up to them, slipped in front of the Fon family and practically yelled.

"What did you do?"

"Akemi, dear," my mother began, appearing downright horrified. "This is hardly the polite way to…"

"I couldn't care less what's the polite thing to do right now, mother. I asked you, what did you do?"

My father glanced at my mother, fidgeting. "Now, Akemi, calm down for a moment and explain what's gotten you so agitated, would you?"

I put my hands on my hips. "You know very well what I'm talking about. Sixth Division? I didn't even apply for the 6th Division!"

My mother pursed her lips. "Yes, and you know, that certainly made for a more difficult sell. Watabe-taichou said you had acted particularly ungrateful for the opportunity given to you at your ride-along, and…"

"Ungrateful? I….She…." I was speechless.

"Luckily for you, your mother is a skilled diplomat," my father said, unphased. "It only took her a few tea sessions with the Kikuchi and Shihouin families to garner their support for the idea – the Omaedas and the Watabes have become far too powerful in the 6th lately, after all – and with their support, of course there was nothing that Watabe-taichou could say."

"You're…..you're telling me I've been accepted – no, forced – into a Division where the Captain doesn't even want me? You had to blackmail her?"

"I'd hardly call it blackmail, dear," my mother said, with a nervous glance at the Fon family, who was still within hearing distance. Then again, if the Shihouins supported the move, there would hardly be anything to worry about… "Common diplomacy, that's all. It's for the good of everyone. And I hardly see what there is to be so upset over. If not for us, you wouldn't have been accepted."

"Into a Division I don't want to be in!" I said, throwing my arms up in the air. "You know what, forget it. I have to go pack." Without even a nod at my parents, and only the slightest bow toward the Fons, I turned and left.