Yo! Enjoy!

She flipped it over, scanning through the first few questions. The pencil lead made an indent on the paper but didn't move. She froze. There was no way she could write her answers. She put the pencil down, closing her eyes.

The brunette took a deep breath, bringing her hands to the sides of her head, pressing on the temples. If she could hear, read, and speak Japanese, she should be able to write it. Somehow. Right? Somehow that made sense?

'Fuck it.' She picked up the writing tool again, glaring at the paper. 'Let's just go for it.'

In her haste to answer questions she failed to notice the script.

The proctor looked down at her test and nearly choked on his smoke.

"Done!" Hezza gave him a cheery grin while turning over the last page. She went through her answers twice already and was decently happy with them.

"You still have ten minutes left. Are you sure?"

She nodded, moving to sit crossed leg. Her feet had gone numb and it would be a little bit before she could walk again.

He carefully put his smoking pipe down on the table, trading it with the test. He nearly laughed at the childish scrawl under the neatly printed questions. He pulled out a red pen, taking the cap off. It skated down the pages, searching for wrong answers.

Hezza waited with bated breath, biting her lip. Her shoulders tensed as each page turned. The older man nodded to himself, mumbling a few things that she didn't catch. He flipped back to the front page, placing the stack of papers down. In the upper right-hand corner, he wrote a number, stamped it, and shoved it back into the packet.

"Congratulations." He held out the folder. Corners of his mouth tilting up. "Give that to the boy out front."

"Um… right. Thank you." She took the offered papers with both hands, slowly rising to her feet. There were pins and needles stabbing her legs, but it was manageable.

She bowed and turned, going out the room the same way she came in. The proctor waited until the door rolled back into place before allowing himself to chuckle.

"Kami help her. That kid has horrible handwriting." He picked up his pipe and put the nib in his mouth. His free hand rubbed the back of his head.

Hezza took quick steps to stand in front of the boy she saw earlier, putting her packet down on the table between them. He opened it up, pulling out the test only halfway. He shot her a smile before sliding it back into the folder and turning to file it away.

"Here you go!" He gave her a new red folder. "You will find your class schedule, instructors, and room number inside. Good luck, and congratulations on making it to the advanced course."

Hezza nodded, stepping back so others could approach the table.

"Advanced course?" She hissed as they walked away.

Retsu seemed to already know that she would make it. Not a single surprised emotion passed across her face.

"Of course." The Captain only looked forward, intent on finding something. "Did you expect anything else? Come on, let's see where you'll be rooming."

Hezza nearly stumbled, trying to catch up with her Captain again.

"Right."

"You have a nice view."

Hezza glanced up from the papers she had laid out on the desk. She moved the chair back, taking the few steps to stand next to the Captain of the Fourth Division.

"You're right. That's amazing." Hezza has been set to one of the top floors. From the window they could see to nearly the edge of the outer cities of the Soul Society. The sun was starting its descent on the other side of the sky.

Retsu looked out for a few more minutes before moving to the center of the relatively small room.

"Classes start in a few days. We can head back to the Division for now and pack your things." Retsu paused.

"Okay."

The black-haired woman nodded. She opened the wardrobe, running a hand over the freshly pressed red and white uniforms. Hezza picked at the borrowed kimono. She still needed help tying the obi in the back, but it was pretty easy besides that.

"Your class schedule and workload will be expedited compared to those on the normal route. Should your grades fall to inadequate levels you will be dropped from the advanced levels and will be asked to join the regular class." She had walked over to the desk as she spoke. Spreading out the papers to read over each of them. She picked up a pen and started to mark down notes. Her small hand hovered over something, turning her head to look at the girl. "You understand that will be unacceptable. Correct?"

"Yes, I understand."

Retsu seemed to believe her answer and returned to the tabletop. There was a comfortable silence between them. Hezza let her do what she needed, perching on the western style bed. A stray thought of why they would have such bed types here flashed through her mind. But she dismissed it, sitting upright. Unable to slouch due to the tightly wrapped obi around her stomach.

"That blue suites you." The Captain didn't turn away from the table as she spoke. "The grey tones it down and the gold adds just enough elegance to round out the outfit. You picked well."

"Thank you, Captain Retsu." Hezza folded her arms together, hiding her hands in the long sleeves. "Why did you put your name down for me?"

"Hm? I claimed you as my own. So now you must work hard in order to not disgrace my name." The black-haired woman turned around, finally finished with her notes. She closed her eyes and gave Hezza her signature creepy smile. "You wouldn't dare drag my name down would you?"

Hezza flinched back, a nervous giggle bubbling out of her mouth.

"I wouldn't dream of it!"

Retsu leveled the girl with a look. She nodded once and then held out her hand.

"Come along. Let's go back to the headquarters. The crowds should have died down a little by now."

"Okay!"

See ya next time!