"What made you change your mind?" Shunsui asked as they walked back to their home. The meeting hadn't lasted long and afterwards Hiro had been passed around to all the teachers. It was only when he began to get fussy that Haruko had suggested they leave.

"You," she admitted, giving his hand a squeeze. "And Hiro. I'm going to miss so much while I'm at the Academy. You spend a lot more time with him than I do." Haruko looked up at Shunsui. "I'm jealous."

…

Haruko walked into the Shinigami Academy for the first time since the spring. She waved at several people as she walked down the hall.

"Haruko!!" Yuna called as she ran down the hall and embraced her friend. "I'm so glad you're back."

"It's good to be back." Haruko looked at her friend. She hadn't been able to tell Yuna about her decision. "I need to tell you something."

"What? Are you pregnant again?"

Haruko laughed. "No. Captain Unohana put me on medication for that." Haruko sighed. "The Captain Commander has promoted me to fifth year."

"What? Now?"

"Yes. I resume classes today as a fifth year student." Haruko saw the pout flicker over Yuna's face.

"We'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too. You need to come over more often and visit Hiro."

"Of course. He's so cute! I bet he's getting so big."

Haruko nodded in agreement. They said their goodbyes and Haruko made her way to her new classroom where she was introduced to her new classmates. The teacher pointed to a seat for Haruko and she took it.

They sat through lecture all morning and Haruko had no problem keeping up. She had read through notes of what she would miss by skipping a year. Anything she had a question on, she had asked Shunsui. Of course he always tried to distract her and sometimes, she'd let him succeed. She had studied hard to prepare herself for her return to the Academy.

Haruko sat at a table in the cafeteria alone. She had hoped that she would see Yuna at lunch but she hadn't seen any other fourth year students. As she ate, she heard snickers from a few boys in her class who were sitting at a different table. They were muttering about her. Haruko could hear their conversation.

"She's only here because she's banging a captain."

"He only married her because she got pregnant."

"She only got pregnant so she could trap him."

The chopsticks in her hand broke.

"If I were you, I wouldn't listen to a word those idiots say," spoke a woman with green hair. She handed Haruko a new pair of chopsticks and sat down across from her. "I'm Ame."

"Thanks, Ame. I'm Haruko."

"I know. I remember seeing you at the Spring Formal during my third year. I haven't been to one since." Haruko laughed.

"That seems so long ago."

"You weren't married then, were you?"

"No."

"I remember your red dress. I was very jealous of how you looked in it. No matter how hard I try, I could never look that good." Ame sighed. "So you had a baby. Again, I'm jealous. You don't look like a woman who just had a baby."

Haruko let out a chuckle. "I pushed myself to get back into shape. I started when Hiro was 3 days old. When he was a week old, I continued my training. They saved the physical training for after Hiro's birth."

"Who trained you?"

"Captain Kyoraku and Captain Ukitake."

"The dynamic duo."

"Yes they are," Haruko giggled.

…

Today was zanpakuto training day and Haruko was excited to work with other students. She wanted to know where she stood against them.

The teacher called the name of one of the rude boys from lunch and then looked at his list of names. "Haruko Kyoraku. Let's see what you've got." Haruko glanced at Ame and saw her mouth 'Go get 'em.'

Haruko knew that the whole class would like to see her ability.

"This won't take long," the boy sneered.

"No, it won't," Haruko agreed with a smile as she unsheathed her zanpakuto. "Wanna make a bet?"

He laughed. "You're on."

"If I win, you and your friends treat me with the respect I deserve."

"And if I win?"

"I'll quit the Academy," Haruko spoke with confidence. She knew that after fighting two captains, one fifth year student was no match. It was hard to suppress the smile.

"Deal." He swung his zanpakuto and she dodged it. His swings were erratic and Haruko had no difficulty dodging them. Her difficulty lied in trying to land a hit on him.

"Are you going to swing your sword or just stand there?" he taunted. He was trying to anger her and Haruko knew it was working. She wasn't one who swung her sword without a purpose. Haruko blocked his swing and tried to concentrate on her attack. She realized that she wasn't dealing with an excellent swordsman but with an arrogant jerk. This made his fighting style different that what she was used to. She'd have to fight dirty which was not what she was trained to do.

She swung her zanpakuto and when he dodged it, she tossed it into her left hand and swung again toward him. Her blade stopped at his neck just barely biting into his skin.

"I don't want to hurt you," Haruko spoke quietly. "But if you ever say anything like that about me, I will. I worked hard to get where I am right now and it has nothing to do with the man I married."

"Y-yes, Ma'am," the boy stuttered. "You win."

Haruko sheathed Yakei and took her seat next to Ame.

"That was amazing. No one was expecting you to be ambidextrous."

"My teacher was. If I wanted to block his attacks, I had to be also."

"What was it like fighting your husband?"

"It was hard and I tried not to think of him as my husband when we were training. Fighting against Captain Ukitake was easier but I learned a lot from both of them."