Chapter 2
Isshin yawned tiredly in his position in the line-up.
"Tired?" Kyoraku asked.
Isshin nodded.
"Captain, you left so much paperwork for me to do," Rangiku exclaimed, pouting. "You know I don't like doing paperwork. Luckily, the new third seat was happy to do it for me!"
Isshin sighed.
"Don't go pushing everything on that kid, Rangiku," he said. "He may have graduated within a year, but that doesn't mean you should forget your duties as a Lieutenant."
"Try saying that again once you start doing your own duties, captain," Rangiku exclaimed. "Where were you anyways?"
"Training with my daughter," he said.
"Ichigo, right? You found her in the Rukon District years ago and adopted her as your daughter. I heard she has extraordinary combat skills," Ukitake said.
"Her kido could still use some work," Isshin said, stifling another yawn. "So, did the head captain find a new captain?"
Yoruichi smirked.
"Yep," she said.
"Who is it then?" Hiyori asked impatiently. "I want to know who I have to be forced to listen to."
"Calm down, Hiyori. I'm sure the new captain will be here soon. Although they're pretty late," Shinji said.
"Shut up, baldy!" Hiyori exclaimed.
Shinji growled at her.
"I'm not bald!" he retorted.
"Captain Hirako," Aizen said. "Perhaps you should save the fighting for a later time."
"You know who the new captain is, Yoruichi?" Isshin asked, looking at the squad 2 captain.
"Kisuke Urahara," Unohana spoke up. "He is the former third seat of squad 2. I saw his bankai personally along with Captain Kuchiki and the head captain. It was quite the extraordinary sight."
Suddenly, the doors slammed open and a young blond man burst through. He looked slightly panicked and awkward. He wore a captain's haori with the kanji and symbol of squad 12.
"AHHH! I'm late!" he exclaimed.
The young man blinked when he noticed everyone staring at him. He smiled awkwardly.
"Um...hi...?"
"Kisuke, stand tall and get into your position! You're one of us now! Act like it!" Yoruichi exclaimed.
"A former member of squad 2," Ukitake said. "It is nice to meet you, Kisuke."
Kisuke smiled shyly before making his way to his position, and just in time too. Yamamoto entered the room and took his place at the front of the room.
"Now that everyone is here, we can begin," Yamamoto said.
Ichigo sighed in relief as the instructor said she had passed the kido exam. She left the academy and went to a quiet corner, laying down. Her zanpakuto laid next to her.
Next, she had to learn her zanpakuto's name and then she could graduate from the academy and get into the Gotei 13...and hopefully not join squad 10.
Ichigo opened her eyes. She hadn't noticed when she closed them. The sky was a clear blue color, not a cloud in sight. It reminded her of the sky in her inner world. While her inner world was kind of strange, it was also tranquil.
Hey. You're pretty good at kido.
Ichigo hummed.
"I suppose I am," she muttered.
But you're not as good as that other guy...what'd you call him? Isshin?
"He's my adopted father," Ichigo said. "And of course I'm not as good as him. The stupid goat face is a kido master. I'm better at fighting."
Maybe so, but once you learn my name, I can teach you to be even better at fighting than you are now. After all, that's kind of my job as a zanpakuto spirit.
"You don't seem very happy about that."
I'm perfectly happy! It means I get to fight!
"Something tells me you're one of the more violent zanpakuto spirits," Ichigo muttered.
She got a cackle in reply.
Hey look! He's back.
Ichigo looked over to see Isshin walking towards her corner. She sat up, brushing a strand of her vibrant orange hair out of her face.
"Hey. How was the meeting?" she asked.
Isshin yawned and stretched.
"Good," he said. "The new captain is Kisuke Urahara, former third seat of squad 2. Yoruichi nominated him herself. He's a little timid, but he should settle into his new position soon enough. How'd your kido exam go?"
"Passed...barely," Ichigo said, looking away.
Isshin chuckled.
"At least you passed; you can improve from here," he said. "Any progress with your zanpakuto?"
"It hasn't even been a day, old man," Ichigo said.
"The sooner you learn his name, the sooner you can graduate and become a soul reaper in the Gotei 13." Isshin said.
"Yeah, yeah, I know," Ichigo said.
"Come on, let's go get something to eat," Isshin said.
"Don't you have paperwork?" Ichigo asked as she accepted her adopted father's help to get up.
"I'm sure Rangiku and Toshiro can handle it," Isshin said.
"Toshiro?"
Isshin nodded as Ichigo tucked her still nameless zanpakuto into her sash.
"Toshiro Hitsugaya. He graduated within one year. He's my third seat," he said.
"Wow," Ichigo said. "A prodigy; that's rare. The last prodigy was that creepy snake kid."
"You do know he's older than you, right?" Isshin asked, raising an eyebrow. "And his name is Gin Ichimaru."
Ichigo rolled her eyes.
"He's still creepy," she said. "I hope I don't go into squad 5. Captain Hirako and Lieutenant Aizen are fine, but Ichimaru is just plain creepy."
Ichigo shuddered, making Isshin laugh.
"You can always request a transfer if you do go into squad 5," he said. "Come on, I'm hungry."
Ichigo sighed softly. It had been about a month since she first heard her zanpakuto's voice.
She cracked open an eye. She was in the courtyard of the academy. Her classmates were in the same position as she was: in the Jinzen position. There were only two others that had managed to find the name of their zanpakuto. They were taken outside to figure out their zanpakuto's ability.
Ichigo closed her eyes and cleared her mind. She felt herself go into the familiar feel of the trance-like state.
"So, you come in here again," the double toned voice said.
It was clearer and Ichigo knew she was in her inner world. She opened her eyes. The zanpakuto spirit stood in front of her, still cloaked in black.
"Is that your true form?" Ichigo couldn't help but ask.
"No. You don't get to see my true form until you can hear my name," the spirit said, his tone slightly spiteful.
"Look, I don't know if I'm really ready for any of this. I can barely do kido. My fighting skills are good, but according to the instructors, I'm too unstructured and violent." Ichigo said.
"I'm not surprised," the spirit said. "Your spiritual pressure levels are abnormally high for any soul reaper. If you can learn to control it, you'd be a force to be reckoned with. And your fighting style, as violent as it is, will only continue to get more violent, especially if I train you. I am your other half, Ichigo. I was formed from your dark side, the side that craves fighting, the side you were forced to use in order to survive when we still lived in the Rukon District. You suppressed it and it manifested as me, your zanpakuto spirit. The reason why you can't hear my name is because you don't accept that side of you; you don't accept me to be your zanpakuto."
"I did have a violent side when I was younger. It was the only way I could survive where I lived in the Rukon District. It made me become incoherent, almost feral, always just living off of instinct. When Isshin found me, he took me in and taught me how to be a real person. He showed me compassion and sympathy when nobody else did. I suppose that's why I began to suppress my violent tendencies." Ichigo said.
"There is no getting rid of that side of you. It will always be part of you and if you can't accept that, you will not learn my name." the spirit said, sounding serious and patient.
"You're right about that," Ichigo said quietly. "There's no way I can suppress my violent tendencies for much longer. Sooner or later, I'll snap and end up hurting people I care about. I have to accept it and use it to protect instead of hurt."
"That's the idea," the spirit said. "I think you're ready now, Ichigo."
The black cloak seemed to dissolve, revealing the spirit's true form.
"My name is..."
Ichigo gasped awake. She stood and walked to the front of the room. An instructor guided her to another courtyard.
"Go on," the instructor said, smiling slightly.
Ichigo held the blade up, looking at it.
"Kill...Zangetsu!"
The blade exploded into a white light. When the light died down, she held a pitch black blade in her hands. It was large and heavy, but Ichigo held it effortlessly. The blade didn't have a hilt, instead having black wrappings with a long cloth tail. The large blade had a strange outline that seemed like another blade in the middle with a smaller hole within.
"I've never seen a shikai like that, but congratulations! Ichigo Shiba, you have officially graduated from the academy," the instructor said, smiling.
Ichigo smiled a tiny smile back.
