Phew. This week has been BUSY! I have an essay due tomorrow, but that's complete, at least. Got a presentation coming up as well and the three kids I'm tutoring have their finals in 2-3 weeks O.o I even managed to piss myself off by forgetting the most important thing when I wanted to renew my passport. Yep, I forgot the passport:/

Oh well, at least I got this chapter up. It's slightly shorter than all my recent chapters, but long nonetheless.

Oh and in case it wasn't already clear, this is obviously an AU following the Bleach Universe, so I will obviously be using some scenes from cannon. I would like to reiterate that if you want to give suggestions, please give me proper ones. If you're trying to be witty/cute/sarcastic with what you say, don't bother. I don't have time to interpret what you're trying to say.

Anyway, this chapter, as the name suggests, focuses on the three stooges in the academy. Just thought I'd focus on them for awhile. Either way, thanks for all the alerts/favs and reviews, and on to the next chapter!

Disclaimer: Bleach isn't mine.

Chapter 24: Back at the Academy

Ever since Ichigo managed to graduate from the academy within two years, he and Rukia had been eagerly waiting every year for the past few years for their friends to graduate as well.

Ichigo's views about the curriculum, however, were slightly flawed. He finished it within two years while Rukia never completed it, not that it mattered, so Ichigo was more inclined to believe that it would be relatively easy for Izuru and Momo to complete it. The two of them did worry for Renji and his Kido skills though, but ultimately, Ichigo believed that his proficiency in Zanjutsu would offset his short-comings.

Of course, most of the investigating fell on Ichigo's shoulders. When he suggested that Rukia ask either Ukitake-taichou or Kaien-dono to help her look out for their friends, she had turned slightly red, to his surprise, and had promptly gone deaf, but he couldn't imagine why.

It wasn't that hard to find out though. Every year, each division typically had a surge in paperwork when a new batch of newly certified shinigami graduated. A list of every single graduated shinigami, along with their individual total test scores and instructors' comments would be given to the Captains of the respective divisions. The shinigami were ranked based on their combined score, but the Captains could organize the names any way they wanted. For Byakuya, he was meticulous, or at the very least, he got Ichigo to be meticulous for him.

When he got the list, Byakuya got Ichigo to rank them in terms of their scores in the various exams and organize their names before returning it to him. Far from using it to judge others, according to Byakuya, the scores were to allow him to be aware of what each shinigami was lacking in so he could subsequently train them accordingly, assuming they chose division six.

Ultimately, Byakuya cautioned Ichigo against using merely a shinigami's test scores to determine their proficiency. Other factors had to be taken into account as well, which was why Byakuya merely asked Ichigo to sort the scores; the final decision would be made by him.

Whatever the case, Ichigo also used the list to check if any of their friends were able to graduate ahead of time. He wasn't too optimistic, but if he could, why couldn't they? At least, that was his point of view, but he was to be sorely disappointed for the first two years since he graduated, which were the others' third and fourth years in the academy respectively.

By the fifth year, when there was still no sign of any of their friends graduating, the two of them began to get slightly worried.

"Do you think it's possible they might not be able to graduate?" Ichigo asked Rukia when they realized that none of them were able to graduate in their fifth year.

"Of course they can. How can you not have better faith in your friends?" Rukia replied.

Ichigo just shrugged. "I do, but I finished it within two years, so they should be able to complete it by now…"

"Don't be so dense, Ichigo. You are considered a prodigy, unlike anyone of us. None of us are in the same league as you, you know. I mean, you were made a third seat immediately upon graduation; the last person to have achieved such a feat is Ichimaru-fukutaichou. Not even Kaien-dono was that good."

Ichigo smirked. "You thought that highly of me? I didn't realize that," he said teasingly.

Rukia chose to ignore him. "Still, I see where you're coming from. I can't imagine any of them failing to pass; it just doesn't seem possible. I mean, we all belonged to the advanced class, so it's quite unthinkable for any of them to be unable to pass."

They were both silent for a moment before Ichigo spoke up. "Oh well, there's nothing we can do about it, can we? Like you said, we've to have faith in them. I think they will be able to make it. We shouldn't worry too much."

Rukia turned to look at him. "Why the sudden about-turn in attitude?"

"Because," Ichigo cracked a grin. "I'll kick their ass if they fail to pass. No wait, I'll kick their ass, then introduce them to Zaraki-taichou."

Rukia looked like she disapproved it for a moment, then broke into a similar smirk. "If that happens, let me in on the fun as well."

The school curriculum year came and went, and pretty soon, it was almost time for the year end examinations for the graduating candidates. True to their word, not that they had any other choice, Ichigo and Rukia waited patiently, choosing to believe in their friends' skills and that they would graduate without any issues.

Although they couldn't enter the Academy building, that didn't stop the two of them from looking at it from afar, imagining that they could be within its walls and watching the fights.

"If only I could see their final Zanjutsu fights," Ichigo told Rukia in a slightly wistful tone as they both looked at the Academy, which looked seemingly empty from the outside.

"I'm more interested in watching Renji's Kido practical," Rukia replied.

"If you ask me, I think he's looking to his other tests to pull his grades up. I still remember him mentioning that he would wash his hands off Kido the moment he graduated, so I won't be surprised if he chose to bomb his Kido practical."

"You do have a point, I guess," Rukia conceded.

"He is one of the best in our year for physical combat, so I won't be surprised even if he managed to pull it off. That's why I would rather watch their Zanjutsu fights than Renji fail at Kido, because I want to see what their Zanpakuto look like."

"Well, we could always ask them to show it to ask when we see them," Rukia suggested.

"Maybe. But it takes away the fun of seeing it in battle."

"Well then, you could always challenge them to a fight instead! Or we could have a friendly duel – the two of us against the three of them."

Ichigo looked like he was pondering this for a moment. "No way. I want to win, you know. I'd better fight alone," he said with a grin. The pinch he received in reply was nothing short of painful.

Back at the Academy – Year Six Examinations

It was only a couple more days till the final examinations. While the two shinigami who were free from the Academy's closed doors waited patiently, unbeknownst to them, their friends who were still in the academy were thinking about them as well. Well, sort of.

In terms of appearances, none of them had changed much over the years. Izuru still looked his same old blond self. He was still quiet in class, but that didn't really apply to when he was with his two friends. Renji still looked the same with the tattoos above both his eyes. He hadn't gotten any new ones so far, but he vowed to get one on his back the moment he graduated. As for Momo, she was still the same cheerful, bubbly girl, except that her hair had grown longer and it was now tied in a ponytail and no longer in two pigtails. In terms of character, well, they hadn't really changed.

"Oi, Izuru, why are you still studying?" Renji called out to his blonde friend as he approached him, his body not consisting of any form of studying material beyond the Zanpakuto he had strapped to his waist. "Besides, you already tried taking the exam last year. Sure, it sucked that you failed, but now that you know what's going to come out, why bother?"

Izuru didn't bother looking up from his studying spot under a tree, his eyes still glued to his books, although no information was flowing in any longer due to the interruptions. "I told you, Renji, the questions that come out every year are different. The fact that I failed last year means that I need to study even harder, on the off chance that I might fail again this year. Besides, a little more studying wouldn't hurt."

Last year, Izuru was given the go ahead by Gengoro to sit for the graduating exams, since he was deemed ready even though he was in his fifth grade, the only one for that year. Unfortunately for him, the exams were tougher than he'd expected, and he failed narrowly, which led him to wonder how in the world Ichigo had managed it in his second. Disappointed with himself, Izuru sought to study much harder this year to avoid bringing disgrace to his family name.

"If you say so," Renji replied dismissively. He looked round. "By the way, where's Hinamori? I thought you said she was studying with you?"

Izuru jerked a thumb somewhere to his left. "She's somewhere over there, practicing her Kido," he said, still not bothering to look up. Renji looked in the direction he was pointing and spotted a small figure in the distance whose black hair was tied in a ponytail.

"But since we're on the subject of studying," Izuru interrupted, finally looking at his red-haired friend. "I don't see you doing anything of that sort," he commented.

Renji just shrugged. "I got bored," he said in a lazy tone. "I'm expecting to fail the Kido practical anyway, so I'm not going to bother."

Izuru raised an eyebrow. "And the theory?"

Renji smirked and tapped the side of his head. "I've got it all up here. As for Zanjutsu, it's in my second nature. I've looked through everything and I think it's ridiculously easy. Even if I fail my Kido practical, my Hakuda practical and the final fight should pull it up. I'm guaranteed a pass, no sweat," he finished off with a wider smirk.

Izuru regarded his friend for a moment before shrugging. "It's your loss. I've already told you how hard it is, so don't come crying to neither me nor Hinamori when you fail. Furthermore, don't come looking for us to save your hide when both Ichigo and Rukia kick your ass for failing, which I'm pretty sure they will."

"Yeah, yeah, you and your optimistic thoughts," Renji said dismissively. "Speaking of which, how do you think those two jokers are doing?" he continued, referring to their two friends. "What seat and squad do you think Ichigo is in anyway?"

"Beats me. I tried asking Gengoro-sensei about it, but he refused to tell me – said I would find out eventually. He seemed pretty happy about it though," Izuru added as an afterthought.

"Damn. That must mean he's doing pretty good if Gengoro-sensei is happy about it."

Izuru ran a hand through his hair in exasperation. "I'm still at a complete lost as to how Ichigo managed to do so well in the exams – finishing it in the second year and topping that year's scores to boot."

"Maybe it's just you," Renji sniggered as he sat down next to Izuru, imitating his friend and leaning against the tree.

"Ha ha. You're one to talk," Izuru said sarcastically.

"I wonder how Rukia's doing…" Renji suddenly said, the humor in his voice fading.

Izuru immediately turned round to look at Renji. He saw his friend staring up into the sky at nothing in particular, his expression unreadable. Izuru didn't answer, because he didn't know if Renji was asking him a question, or if Renji even know he'd spoken. But before he could make a decision, Renji suddenly turned to him with a smirk on his face. "I bet she's kicking Ichigo's ass for being his usual self, don't you think?"

Izuru didn't really know how to respond for a variety of reasons. He hadn't noticed it at first, but for the past few years, whenever Renji mentioned Rukia, there always seemed to be a very slight hint of bitterness in his tone. It wasn't hostile; he just sounded distant. Izuru had a hunch why, but he didn't want to say anything in case he was mistaken.

Thankfully, he was saved from replying when Momo chose that moment to return from her Kido practice, the light sweat on her face showing that she'd been pushing herself pretty hard. "Oh, Abarai-kun, you're here," she said when she saw Renji. "Where were you earlier?"

Renji shrugged. "Elsewhere," he said simply. "I didn't feel like studying anymore so here I am. Besides, this is the third time I've gone through everything; I'm more or less ready."

"Yeah, well, I told him studying more wasn't going to hurt, and that one couldn't be too ready, but it doesn't look like he's going to listen to me," Izuru said to Momo with a faint smile.

Hey, it's almost dinnertime," Renji said, suddenly changed the subject as he got to his feet. "Surely you don't want to practice on an empty stomach, do you? Come on," he said, beckoning to Izuru. "I'm not going to allow you to skip dinner again, and I'll forcefully take away your books if I have to," he finished with a grin.

Izuru decided not to mention he'd already skipped lunch, because he was certain Renji wouldn't even have bothered to threaten him. Besides, he was getting famished, so pushing all the mundane, unnecessary thoughts away, he got up and the trio headed for the dining hall.

Momo scowled defiantly as she surveyed her opponent as he sneered at her. Her opponent, a fifth year by the name of Outsuka Kokei, wasn't as tall as Renji or Izuru, but he looked much burlier than either of them. Beyond that, there was nothing remarkable about him, but the fact that he was a fifth year showed that he was smarter than he looked, and it seemed that he knew that too.

Unlike both Ichigo and Izuru, however, he was smug about it. Apparently, he decided that fighting Momo was not going to show off his skill, because when both their names were called out to fight in the Hakuda practical, he took one look and Momo and immediately mouthed off, "What? Are you kidding me? I'm supposed to fight her?" he said, as if she wasn't there. "This wouldn't even make me break a sweat even if I tried to. Why wasn't I given a better opponent? How am I going to score in this component in that case?" he complained.

Unbeknownst to him though, the matchups were decided based on skill level; opponents of similar skill level were matched up against one another so that no one would be at too huge a disadvantage. It wasn't a widely publicized fact though, and it was only through both Ichigo and Izuru's observations that Momo was aware of it, since they both said they had trouble against their opponents. Izuru himself nearly lost.

She didn't know whether to be glad or not. On one hand, getting written off was to her advantage, since she could easily take her opponent by surprise. Obviously, she didn't look like it, but in the world of shinigami, judging your opponent based on appearance was a fatal thing to do. Physical strength was secondary since you could bolster it with spiritual strength. On the other hand, it was real irritating that she was stuck with an opponent with a huge ego.

The green light was given, and Outsuka began advancing on her casually, not even bothering to move into an attacking stance. "I would like to say I'll make this quick and painless, but my kaa-san always told me not to lie," he sneered. "Try not to scream too much, little girl."

It was so ludicrous that Momo didn't know whether to burst out laughing or be affronted. If he was going to belittle her because she appeared young, and do the same for other shinigami eventually, then his future in Seireitei was going to be bleak.

Deciding that she'd had just about heard enough from him, she shifted into her attacking stance, but Outsuka merely brought his hands up and began doing imaginary punches as he continued his advancement, leaving him wide open.

One of the stupidest things a person can do would be to belittle his or her opponent, only to be caught off guard once the person reveals he can fight back, and that was exactly what happened. In another time, if her opponent had taken her seriously, Momo might have had a hard time. However, that wasn't to be the case here.

As soon as Outsuka got close enough, Momo made her move. Quick as a flash, she shot forward, jabbing out with her right fist and landing a punch square on his chest with a loud thud. Taken by surprise, Outsuka grunted in pain and staggered back, but Momo didn't give him time to relax. Closing the distance in one stride, she struck again with her right fist, connecting with the same spot before rapidly following up with a left hook to his face. It crashed into his cheek, staggering him.

Momo didn't stop there though. She had the upper hand and she was going to take it; it was his fault for underestimating her anyway. Before her opponent even had time to recover, she lashed out with her foot, burying it into his gut. The wind was knocked from Outsuka's lungs and he pitched forward, panting heavily as he tried to regain air.

Glaring hatefully at Momo, he tried to retaliate, swinging out with his right arm, but with the wind knocked out of him, it was such a weak attempt that she caught it deftly with both hands. Still grabbing his arm, she spun round and elbowed his gut again. This time, the blow was enough to send him to his knees, and without a moment's hesitation, she raised her leg and planted her foot in his face.

The force sent him pitching backwards, and Outsuka fell flat on his back, completely knocked out cold. The rest of the candidates watching were dead silent. The match lasted for all of a few seconds, and her opponent had not been able to land a single hit.

Unable to resist, Momo bowed at her unconscious opponent's still form as two healers rushed up to tend to him. Then, she headed back towards Izuru and Renji, who were looking at her with disbelief. "What?" she asked innocently.

The examiner for the Kido practical looked at the names for the next group of candidates up for the practical. He blinked when his eyes fell on one name – Abarai Renji. If anyone had been there to see him, they would've seen his shoulders slump and a hand being raised to massage his temple. Being one of the Kido instructors, he had the (mis)fortune of having Renji in one of his classes. Needless to say, that didn't go well.

Unlike his friends, Renji had one of the worst Kido performances in the advanced class, if not the worst. He'd been sent to the Academy's infirmary for way too many times to be counted. If the Academy graded on Kido alone, he would have been locked up for being a hazard. At least he was one of the best when it came to melee combat. One thing was for sure though – the Kido Corps wouldn't come knocking on his door.

Renji, along with a few other candidates, streamed onto the Kido training compound – still used for the examinations. He wasn't really all that bothered about the practical, since he knew he would probably fail it anyway. He didn't really have any interest in it anyway; he was counting on his other tests to pull up his overall grade.

Once all the candidates were lined up, the examiner announced, "Ok, your task is simple! When I call out the spell, aim for the target in front of you. Cast the spell with the incantation. Please do not attempt being cute by skipping the incantation." He shot a look at Renji, who was smirking to himself, having done just that in many of his lessons.

"You'll be tested on your accuracy, speed and technique. While power isn't a scoring criteria, it will help you gain bonus marks, so try for power if you're aiming for top grades."

At this point, Renji couldn't help but feel his hopes lifting slightly. If they weren't tested on power, he might just eke out a pass.

"Alright, let's start with something simple. Are you ready? Pay attention now… Hado #31!"

Immediately, multiple cries rang out. "Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation…" As each student was finished at their own time, some faster, some slower, multiple orbs of red energy blasted forward, each varying in size. It all looked fine, until…

"Boom!" A loud bang suddenly erupted, startling everyone, including the examiner. A cloud of smoke burst forth at the same time, engulfing a student. The examiner didn't need to bother checking the roster to figure out who was standing at that position.

He sighed, making his way towards the cloud of smoke, which rapidly cleared to reveal Renji, who was sporting burns on his hands. "Please tell me you said the incantation at the very least." Renji gave a sheepish grin, but his slumped shoulders suggested that he had the decency to be disappointed at himself. The examiner sighed again and massaged the bridge of his nose. "Go see the healers outside."

"Come on!" Izuru's opponent yelled at him as the latter dodged yet another attack, the same thing he had been doing for the past five minutes. "Fight back, damn it! Shikai or not, just fight back! Stop dodging!"

Izuru didn't bother answering, instead concentrating on his opponent's weapon. Earlier, his opponent had begun the final Zanjutsu fight by releasing his shikai almost immediately. It looked like a large sledgehammer, sporting a thick and sturdy looking wooden handle. The only difference was that in addition to both sides of the hammer, there were also two additional axe heads, forming a cross shape.

It looked horribly unwieldy, but with Zanpakuto, you could never tell for sure. Besides, the same could be said for his Zanpakuto as well – it didn't look like any ordinary blade. Either way, getting clocked by that thing would definitely not be pretty, but its weight seemed to be a factor, as all his opponent's swings were pretty slow, which made dodging ridiculously easy.

"Why don't you concentrate on your own fight?" Izuru suggested, ducking under a high swing heading straight for his face, which left his opponent completely open, but instead of taking the chance to land a hit, Izuru rolled away. "Just because I know shikai doesn't mean I have to use it, and I don't want to."

His opponent just growled in anger and charged again, leaping up and swinging his weapon downwards viciously. Izuru stepped aside and the weapon slammed into the ground, creating an indentation in the ground. "Stop dodging, coward! Fight me!" he yelled, obviously getting more and more frustrated by the second, and it was made obvious when he picked up his weapon and swung aimlessly at Izuru's direction even though he was out of range.

That was, of course, what Izuru was looking for, although he bristled slightly at the 'coward' comment. While he certainly could make use of his Shikai, he didn't really see a need for it. There wasn't a need for it in the first place, and if he used it, his opponent was likely to end up getting humiliated instead, which also served no purpose. As such, he wanted to wait for his opponent to either tire out or get too frustrated before making his move.

So it went on that way for a few more minutes. Izuru kept dodging while his opponent kept attacking, the former evading the attacks with relative ease, while his opponent was getting steadily more frustrated because he couldn't land a single hit.

Eventually, he got so frustrated that he let out a shout. "Stop dodging, damn it!" he yelled, swinging his weapon down into the ground in frustration. Seeing his opponent finally losing it, Izuru made his move. He shot forward and slashed at his opponent's chest. Caught off guard, he managed to back away in time to prevent serious injury, but he couldn't stop Izuru from raking a thin streak across his chest.

As his opponent staggered back in surprise, Izuru chased after him, pressing the element of surprise that he had. Not expecting Izuru to counterattack so viciously, his opponent had to resort to desperate defending for a few seconds as he tried to regain his bearings. He tried to retaliate by swinging high, aiming for Izuru's upper torso, but the latter was quicker.

Wanting to end the fight quickly, Izuru ducked under his opponent's outstretched hand and swung his leg low, catching his opponent just above his feet, sending him pitching forward. The opponent caught himself, using his hands to break his fall and rolling clear before getting up. Hot on his heels, Izuru lunged again just as his opponent was getting up.

This time, his opponent wasn't able to defend himself quickly enough, and Izuru buried his leg into the latter's stomach. With an "oomph!" he was sent sprawling onto his back, but before he could get up, he found Izuru standing over him with his Zanpakuto pointing at his throat.

"Winner, Kira!" the judge announced, and Izuru couldn't help but smirk.

Back in the waiting hall, he found both Renji and Momo waiting to congratulate him. While the outcome of his fight was announced to them, they didn't know how he'd achieved it since the candidates weren't allowed to see the other fights; only the other academy students could do so.

"Good job man," Renji said, slapping Izuru on his back when the latter rejoined them. "How did you beat him?"

Izuru just shrugged, proud that he'd won but not willing to gloat. "I kept dodging to make him frustrated, and he eventually started making mistakes, which allowed me to take him down fairly easily after that. I must remember to thank Gengoro-sensei for that tip about controlling emotions in battle."

While Momo was glad that Izuru had won, Renji on the other hand looked disappointed. "That sounds anticlimactic. So you didn't use your shikai?"

Izuru shook his head. "It would've probably guaranteed a win, but that would have made it too easy, and it would also involve humiliating my opponent. That's not something I want to do," he said.

Renji scowled. "That's boring," he said.

"Why would you want to see it anyway?" Izuru asked. "It's not like the both of you haven't seen it in action before. I just didn't feel like using it anyway."

"If you insist, I guess," Renji said with a shrug before splitting into a grin. "On the other hand," he said, patting his Zanpakuto, which was strapped to his waist. "Whoever my opponent is will definitely get to see my Zanpakuto in action."

Despite himself, Izuru had to grimace slightly. "Well, that's definitely not going to pretty, that's for sure."

Ichigo had to resist the urge of grabbing the stack of papers containing the list of graduating shinigami when it was handed to him by Kuchiki Byakuya. Quickly taking his leave before his Captain could ask him why he was looking so nervous, Ichigo began to compile the list of scores, but not before nervously scanning the list first for the three most important names.

It wasn't long before he located the first name, Kira Izuru, near the top of the list – placing fifth, to be exact. Scanning his scores, Ichigo found that Izuru had done quite impressively, scoring very well on almost everything. In fact, it was due to his written tests that he didn't graduate as top of the cohort, something Ichigo found strange since he always had the impression that Izuru was pretty book-smart.

Allowing himself a sigh of relief, he carried on searching. He found Momo's name slightly further down the list, and Renji's was even further down. Scanning their scores, Ichigo had to resist the urge to laugh. Renji had attained nearly full marks in anything and everything related to physical combat; his Kido theory scores were average, and the culprit for his overall score was his abysmal Kido practical grades. It seemed that Renji was sure he would fail and hence didn't bother studying Kido.

Oh well. The important thing was that all of them had passed, and they could finally all be reunited as shinigami. Making a mental note to tease Renji about his Kido grades, Ichigo resumed his work. Knowing Renji, he would probably lie through his teeth and boast about getting good Kido grades, so Ichigo couldn't wait to see Renji's reaction when he found out that his two best friends knew how he fared at Kido.

And speaking of which, he was eager to break the news to Rukia as well, who was surely waiting apprehensively for Ichigo to send a Jigokucho to her. Oh well, perhaps he should tell her in person. A little suspense for her wouldn't hurt.

Gah, seemed so weird at places :( To anyone who questions, I originally wanted one of them to lose their fights, but seeing as they eventually become Lieutenants, it felt kinda weird to make them lose to other random characters. Renji's Kido is no different as well, since he's still blowing it up in his face in cannon. :)

To all those hoping for more IchiRuki interactions, this chapter doesn't have much of it. More will come though, so don't worry. I won't be spending long at this time frame since I want to get to the good parts. Honestly, I can't wait to get to the good parts, but I don't want to breeze through as well.

Oh, oh, regarding other pairings, what else would you guys prefer? I mean, IchiRuki is obvious, but anything else goes, so I know any other pairings may not satisfy everyone. If you were looking for any sort of Ichigox? or Rukiax?, what are you doing here?

If there's nothing more to add, that'll be it for this chapter. Don't forget to show your likes and support by dropping a review, along with comments/suggestions if you have any. Next update will unfortunately be next Tuesday, as I highly doubt I can get it up by next Saturday, so see you guys soon!