Chapter 11: Confidence is Key

Beep beep! Beep Beep! I heard my alarm go off and cursed under my breath before getting up and turning it off. I wanted to get stronger, but did I have to get stronger at 4am? I've never hated hearing an alarm more than when it went off at 2:30am. I quickly took a 5 minute shower before deciding to try something different.

Instead of my typical baggy soul reaper uniform, I picked out one of the other uniforms that was put in my dresser drawer by who knows who. This one had no sleeves and no back for the shirt and the pants were pretty much black leggings. To finish preparing for physical training, I French braided my hair diagonally down the back of my head and down my back. This would keep it out of my face and off of my neck.

This all made me rather self-conscious because now a whole lot more of my scars were visible. I'm pretty pale, so they weren't that noticeable, except for the burn scars on my legs. Oh well. It will be just me and Byakuya-taicho, and he already knows.

I made it out to the training grounds outside of the manor by 3:30am. What can I say? I enjoy being early. "I can't believe you get up this early," I heard Aisuhime sighing in my head. I rolled my eyes and joked back with her, "Look, I'm no princess. Stuff like this is probably easier than most of the things I have gone through." I heard her do her best stereotypical huff, and I started laughing out loud.

"Um, Shinkiro-chan, look behind you," I heard Kagekishi say. I turned around to see a slightly red-faced Byakuya-taicho with an almost shocked look on his face. I smiled brightly at him and walked up to him.

"Alright, Byakuya-taicho! I'm ready for training. I don't plan on ever losing to Ikkaku-san again!" I said excitedly, unsheathing my zanpakto. I was determined. This seemed to break him out of his little trance or state of shock or whatever. He nodded and unsheathed his sword as well.

This made me nervous. Jushiro-oto-san warned me about Byakuya-taicho's zanpakto and about his insane speed, but I refused to let that scare me. I wanted to get stronger. I tightened my grip on my zanpakto.

"Today, we are going to work on your speed. I'm going to come at you at half my speed and without using my flash step," he explained, his stoic expression back with a vengeance, "You are to dodge or block as fast as you can. I will be aiming to harm you, but not kill you. Treat this exercise as though I were striking to kill though, understood?" I nodded, my earlier smile replaced with a determined face.

Byakuya-taicho ran at me really fast, and I jumped back. He then got right next to me and began to swinging at me in very quick, precise swings. I didn't want to let him down, and I found tracking his movements to not prove too difficult. This whole thing last for about three hours, and I ended up with a few cuts here and there; however, they were really shallow.

By the end of the training, I was sitting on the ground breathing rather heavily. Byakuya-taicho sheathed his zanpakto and was, of course, the picture of composed. He hadn't even broken a sweat. He turned to leave.

"Kuchiki-taicho," I said hesitantly. That caught his attention. He turned back to face me, and I stood up and walked up to him. We were now standing in the center of the training area. "About yesterday, I wanted to apologize for snapping at you. I truly am grateful for you training me, Kuchiki-taicho," I said softly, looking him dead in the eye before walking past him back to the manor.

-2 month time skip-

It's been two months, and I have gotten much stronger. I can now keep up with Byakuya-taicho's flash step and can use both of my shikai forms very effectively. I also took Jushiro-oto-san's advice and asked Nanao Ise for help, and she has become one of my best friends along Rangiku Matsumoto from the tenth division and Momo Hinamori from the fifth division. I've also become good friends with Ikkaku Madarame, Yachiru Kusajishi, and even Captain Kenpachi Zaraki because of Yumichika-kun of course.

"Shinkiro-san," I heard a familiar stoic voice say. I turned around and saw Byakuya-taicho standing at the edge of the clearing where we always train.

"Yes, Taicho?" I answered, my face turning red. Oh, one other thing, I've developed a major crush on my mentor. The only person who knows is Jushiro-oto-san, only because I trust him, and I wanted his advice. He seemed rather positive about it, but I don't know honestly. I plan on telling him after I get assigned a division, which is supposed to be soon.

"Yamamoto-soutaicho is calling for us to have a meeting with him and the other captains," Byakuya-taicho said, trying to mask some sort of emotion. I couldn't tell which emotion, but I was pretty excited. I grinned and cocked my head to the side, asking the unspoken question. He smirked slightly and nodded. My face turned beet red, but I also squealed in delight and hugged him without thinking. He stiffened before returning my hug briefly.

"We need to hurry or else we will be late," he says bluntly. I let go of him and nod.

"Race ya, Taicho!" I said excitedly as I began flashstepping towards the head captain's office. Byakuya-taicho quickly caught up with me, and we were neck and neck until the last second, he dashed ahead of me. I stopped and glared jokingly at him. I knew he was taking it easy on me.

When we entered the room, I instantly felt the eyes of every captain on me. This made me nervous, but I held my head high as Byakuya-taicho made his way to his seat. Byakuya-taicho hadn't just taught me about being strong. He taught me about pride and dignity as well. Some of it was a little stuffy for me, but some of it was really useful.

"Today, we are deciding on who will have Shinkiro Ogawa in their division. You have all received a file about her skills and abilities and personality this week," the head captain said beginning the meeting, "Now, we need to know who would like this girl in their division. Shinkiro-san, is there anything you'd wish to say before they decide?"

I looked at him, surprised. I didn't expect to have to say anything. This made me more nervous, but I looked at Jushiro-oto-san who nodded encouragingly and smiled and Byakuya-taicho, who looked at me expectantly. They thought I could do it, so I did too. I took a deep breath before speaking.

"My name is Shinkiro Ogawa, and I have been training for the past 2 months under Captain Byakuya Kuchiki," I began my voice stronger than I thought it would've been, "I plan on becoming stronger than I am now. There is always room for improvement. I want to work in a division where I can help people who cannot help themselves, protect people who are too weak to protect themselves, and continually get stronger. That's all." I finished with a sincere smile and stood beside the head captain. He nodded and then looked at all the captains.

"If you wish to have this girl in your division, please stand," the head captain said, and I held my breath. What if no one stood up? What if I don't know which one to pick? I didn't think about this. I looked around and to my surprise, Byakuya-taicho, Komamura Iba-taicho, Shunsui Kyoraku-taicho, Toshiro Hitsugaya-taicho, Kenpachi Zaraki-taicho, Mayuri Kurotsuchi-taicho, and Jushiro Ukitake-taicho all stood up.

My eyes widened. I was kind of disappointed that Unohana-taicho hadn't stood up, but I wouldn't hold it against her at all.

"Shinkiro-san, do you have a squad in mind out of the captains that have stood up?" the head captain asked me. I bit my lip.

I really liked Hitsugaya-taicho. He was really nice, and he took things seriously. I didn't really know Iba-taicho, but I knew if I was in Kyoraku-taicho's company, I could see Nanao-chan more. But I wanted to work with Byakuya-taicho too, but I knew that I would get distracted by him if I was in his division. No way in heck was I going into the twelfth squad. Kurotsuchi-taicho is insane!

Kagekishi, Aisuhime, I need y'all's help. I don't know what to do. "Where do you feel you can grow the most?" Kagekishi asked me. Then I knew my answer. I walked over to the short, white-haired, turquoise-eyed captain.

"Hitsugaya-taicho, I would be honored to become a member of squad 10 and work alongside you," I said with a smile as I gave him a small bow. I looked up and saw him give me a small smirk.

"It has been decided, Shinkiro Ogawa is now the third seat of the tenth division of the 13 Court Guard Companies," the head captain said and then dismissed everyone.