Chapter 12: Entrance
"To achieve great things, two things are needed: a plan and not quite enough time."
I hate this. The reiatsus of shinigami all around me. Now i was used to Gin's but being in a room with Zaraki's, Kusajishi's and not to mention the captain commander's was horrible. Captain commander Yamamoto was the head of all soul society and was also probably the 'old fart' Zaraki was refering to earlier. As for my current situation, well i was now kneeling in front of Yamamoto (which, to my surprise, wasn't as bad as having to bow to Aizen) and watching him watch me while contemplating the story i fed them (everything true other than the parts that i had to add or omit to cover the fact that i was an arrancar-not to mention segunda espada.) Of course, i was good at lying (especially when it comes to twisting truths) but it was not unexpected that the captain commander was still suspicious of me. In the end, he offered me a chance to be tutored by various captains and lieutenants in shinigami art-slash-skill. That is if i managed to pass the shinigami entrance exam first. I have a feeling that all of this was also a test to check on the authenticness of my tale and my shinigami-ness (is that even a word?)
I recieved my instructions from th captain commander after my meeting with him, after he ordered me out of the room, after he had a lil chat in private- and out of my hearing-with Zaraki. Well i suppose i had better start remembering to give them the title they deserve if i were to become a proper shinigami. The only problem was, i wasnt sure i wanted to become a shinigami after all but i guess its too late now. What have i been thinking? Why, there are so many rules here! So many procedures and.. studying! I achieved the rank of espada in las noche by defeating Barragan. Here, i have to study and take a bloody test just to become an ordinary shinigami! As i was still considered human, and had to attend normal school, my shinigami training would only take place after school and that means i wont be able to join the shinigami academy for lessons, hence the private tutoring. I could only join the proper ranks of shinigami when i have completed the curriculum (six years! Six bloody years! By then i'd have graduated from high school!) And all those respectful terms. The only respect i gave in las noche was to those who really deserved them e.g Neru-chan and there was only one person there that i was forced to 'respect' and that was Aizen. Here, i had to show respect to every single shinigami i see. And i bet beating any shinigami senseless was not acceptable here in soul society either (unless you so happened to be Zaraki-i mean, Zaraki-taichou.) Enough ranting... This is getting depressing. My only consolation is that i may get to see Kitsune-taichou again. I wonder, if i were to bump into any of the three shinigami leaders of las noche, will they give me away? I mean, how do you think Aizen will react if the espada you exiled to the human world reappeared as a shinigami student. Oh and it just occured to me that when i meet foxface again, i'll be of a much lower-ranking than before. I wonder if he'll still notice me. Then again, why do i care? Ah i give up. To hell with everything. If i can become espada in las noche, i'm determined to at least reach third seat in someone's division by the time i start high school!
They sent me back to the human world at midnight. I found my body lying on the road just as i have left it (thankfully, no Urahara dude came to steal my body away this time.) Once i returned to my body, i managed to drag myself back home and crawled into bed without bothering to change my clothes. I succumbed to sleep soon after. I shall worry about the entrance exam the next day.
"Chii-kun~! Play with me..." Akirai whines as she pinched my arm. "You've been like a zombie all day long! Come on, play with me!"
I stared at her irritably. So it wasnt her fault i got so little sleep the night before but the least she could do was leave me to sleep in peace during our lunch break. Sometimes she reminded me of a five-year-old instead of the teenager she was. Zombie? LOL. I was a 'living dead' alright. How I wish I were still one hundred percent human instead of part Arrancar and now, part Shinigami too. Then again, if I had remained human, I wouldn't have had all that fun in Hueco Mundo with Grimmjow, Neliel, Gin, my fraccions, the occasional random suicidal numeros that tried to attack me... et cetera. The list goes on...
"Go bother Hana-chan will ya? I wanna sleep." I whined back. Except that Hanaha always carried with her a metal lunch box that served both the purpose of storing her lunch and of clubbing the top of Akirai's head. Usually, i would have a book on my person at all times which could also serve the same purpose but i couldnt be bothered. I sighed. Tonight would probably end up another sleepless night.
Instinct and spirit-six-sense jerked my head up from the wooden table which i had sprawled upon. In the same second, a thick wooden board came crashing down in front of me-where my head would have been had i not gotten up in time. Startled, i glanced up at Akirai who had a triumphant expression on her face. I looked down at the black and white painted board she was holding upon which there were several wooden chess pieces scattered haphazardly.
"So. I bet that woke you up alright. Now you have to play English chess with me!" Aki-chan proclaimed joyfully. How troublesome... Hn. If she really wanna play chess...
"Loser does the homework!" i say as i started the game. Our only homework so far was maths which i could easily complete myself but being lazy... Ah well. We've been doing one another's (Hanaha included) homework ever since the start of junior high anyways, it wasnt like our grades were slipping or anything.
"Checkmate," I proclaimed triumphantly, as I placed my white knight beside my rook, blocking off her black king's last escape route.
Akirai groaned. She had beaten me at chess the last time we played and knew i'd probably try to get revenge this time round. Unfortunately for her, thanks to my fellow chess players in Las Noche i.e. Neliel, my fraccions and Gin, my skills in chess-as well as many other (not necessarily useful) skills, such as the best way to annoy Nnoitra-had gotten a lot better.
Of course i won the game. I swear i've grown a lot more competitive since my time as a hollow. I used to be more laid back like Starkk. I guess Grimmjow really isnt the best influence around. In any case, i no longer have to worry about today's homework. All i have to worry about is the entrance test. Awesome right? (note the sarcasm) After school, i went home, spent one hour taking a nap, before someone threatened to break down my door if i didnt answer it soon. No prize guessing who's pounding on my door at the moment. Its probably some huge crazy spiky haired shinigami with a fist thats harder than a hammer.
I opened the door to see Zaraki and Kusajishi-san standing there. The lieutenant's next words made me wanna bang my head on the door.
"Oh! So you do live here! Yay. We got the place right for once!" Kusajishi said to Zaraki. His face was expressionless. I couldnt believe they'd try to break into my apartment when they werent even sure of the identities of its occupants. Then again, i got a feeling they dont really care. Honestly, these people... I concluded that shinigami sure were an interesting lot. I didnt even see her fist when it came flying into my face.
"Mmph! Ow. Ow. What-oh." i was pretty sure i sounded like a retard then. But i had good reason to. I was no longer in my body-apparently she punched me out of it with a strange glove (and has a surprising amount of strength considering her size... But then again, she was a lieutenant) Thankfully, my spirit was in shinigami mode. Now if my arrancar self had been the default mode, i'd be in deep shit by now.
"Good. Now we're ready to go." Zaraki said. I added 'infruiating' to my list of adjectives to describe shinigami. I just got punched and he says good. 'Exasperating' would be another good word for them.
Once again, a door was opened in the air and we stepped through the doorway, a black butterfly flitting ahead of us. Once again, i was brought to see the captain commander Yamamoto. Once again, i had to wait while they have their little chat. I noticed that I have yet to include any adjective with positive implication to my list for shinigami. When they were finally done, I was sent away with Zaraki's little lieutenant to the shinigami academy. I think she's supposed to bring me there, but i trusted my gut feeling better and went the opposite direction to whichever way she pointed, and when we arrived at the academy, i was re-confirmed that her sense of direction was horribly accurate (does that even make sense?). I mean, how can they not be sure where I live even when they should be able to follow my reiatsu being the shinigami that they were.
Beyond the gate of the academy was the entrance exam that i was going to take. With Kusajishi-san perched on my shoulders (she was really light!), i slipped through the gates. I found that if i convinced myself that being an arrancar, i shouldnt care about whether i can become a shinigami, most of my inner panic would go away. Most. That was the key word. Most. But i was still determined to prove that i could and had the abilities to become a third seat shinigami at the very least. A ridiculously high aim for a human with shinigami abilities, but perfectly reasonable aim for an Espada. I mean, i already had a shinigami sword (i think the captain commander called it a zanpakuto or something) and i was wearing the shinigami uniform before initiation. That should count for something right?
Ah hell, I never did like exams right from the start. But hey, even without working hard, I still managed to get into the top-thirty ranking in school... Maybe I was just lucky, but luck always seemed be on my side (even though it abandons me sometimes) so...
Entrance exam, ready or not (in which the latter being more likely,) here i come.
