I just made it into the Academy before the new class began; none of my classmates knew that I'd gotten in any differently than they had. Some got in through affiliation, by birth, or ways I didn't think I wanted to know.
I was lying in the grass by the river outside of the building with my fingers clasped, filling Hisagi in about the week so far. He sat at the river's edge, carving the bark off of a stick.
"It's just odd. It's nothing like human school, but I also find it…boring. Like I'm not actually learning anything outside of the training practices. But everyone else seems to be struggling? I don't know." I rambled.
"Well, I mean, you did come from the human world. A lot of these academy kids never got any type of education at all; you were almost done with yours."
I pondered that for a moment and my mind wandered to Himari. What was she doing right now? I rolled onto my side and scooched a bit closer to where he was sitting.
"Hey, Hisagi?" I said practically in a whisper, one arm supporting my head. He looked at me and cocked an eyebrow. "How long has it been since I got here? To the Soul Society I mean."
"Well…Renji was sent on that mission to send you back…" he trailed off, lost in thought. "Between then, us training you and the awakening of your Zanpakuto, and the first term closing at the academy…I'd say it's been at least 9 months. Maybe even a year, Renji would know." I cast my eyes downward and rolled away from him. "Ariswana? What's wrong?"
I felt tears sting my eyes when I thought of how long it had been since Himari and I were together. How long it had been since I heard her laugh. I felt a hand on my shoulder and my eyes widened when I realized the proximity of Shuuhei to myself.
"It's okay, you can talk to me." he cooed. I gently rolled over to face him and my breath caught in my throat when I saw just how close he was to me.
"I just…it's my sister. I miss her every second of every day. It's hard to know how long it's been since I've seen her." I said in a whisper. I felt that I couldn't speak louder than that in fear of how loud it would be, given the proximity. I was about to shift when the silence became overwhelming, but he put one finger under my chin to make me look into his eyes.
"You will see her again, Ariswana. I promise you that." he whispered in return. The blush exploded across my face when a hell butterfly landed a few feet away from us. "I have to go." he said without moving. We laid there, looking at each other, both unsure of what to say before he suddenly sprung to his feet and extended a hand to me. I let him help me up and we smiled.
"Thank you, Shuhei. Hearing those words come from you, I know that they have to be true." I said before he took his leave.
I successfully graduated from the Academy and graduation day brought plenty of surprises. As my class was celebrating, Ichimaru Taicho entered the room and regarded us all with a smile.
"You should all feel accomplished with where you are, and excited for the journey ahead. I look forward to reviewing all of your results to see if we have room on my squad for any of you, but in the meantime – " his eyes circulated the room and opened once they landed on me. "Ariswana, come with me." I stupidly pointed to myself and he just laughed before walking to the door. I heard murmurs of my classmates around me in both envy and jealousy.
I quickly followed behind him and shut the door behind me.
"Ichimaru Taicho?" I asked when I caught up. He turned to me and slung an arm over my shoulder as we continued to walk.
"Ariswana, I've watched your progress closely during your time at the academy. You are far more advanced than your peers, as I knew you would be. I'm in the market for a new third seat of my squad since Tousen poached my last one. What do you say?" He stopped walking. I couldn't help but leave my mouth hanging agape out of surprise.
"You're asking me to be third in command on your squad?" I asked. If possible, his smile grew larger and he nodded his head once. "Yes, of course sir. It would be an honor." I said with a bow. He clapped a hand on my shoulder and stood me upright again before continuing to walk.
"Then it's settled – welcome to squad three, Ariswana Thompson."
I ran as fast as I could to find Renji and Hisagi to let them know my good news. I hopped over stalls in the Siritei and almost knocked poor Unohana over on my way, but was stopped by Renji's captain, Byakuya Kuchiki.
"Fledgling." he said with a hand up to stop me. I came screeching to a halt in front of him.
"Kuchiki Taicho." I addressed with a bow. He waved my formality off and looked at me like a bug he could squash.
"I had very little faith in you when we first met. I just got the news that you're Ichimaru's new third in command. Congratulations are in order, I suppose." I beamed. "But don't let it get to your head. Those are our men out there on the battlefield and they need a level head to have their back. You'd do well to remember that." he began to walk away.
"Kuchiki Taicho!" he stopped, "I swear that I will not let you, or anyone else down." without looking at me, he continued on, but I could swear I could sense a smirk. Making impressions all around I suppose.
I'd proved myself as capable to the rest of my squad pretty early on; my command was respected and I'd finally felt that I'd made a home in the Siritei. Time continued to pass and it was getting harder to keep track of. I really didn't continue to age anymore since my death, but noticed other, younger folks aging as normal. I guess we hit a period of maturation in death and then suddenly aged rapid fire to end up like old man Yamamoto.
I was enjoying a moment off duty with Yachiru and Kira when Matsumoto approached our group with a sour look on her face.
"Ariswana, Gin requests your presence." she said. I got to my feet and waved goodbye to my friends before following behind her.
"Thank you for coming to let me know, Matsumoto." I said. She spared me a sideways glance and kept moving. When we were just outside of the squad 3 barracks, she stopped me.
"Hey, listen for a minute. I can tell that Gin has a soft spot for you, but I want you to be careful. Don't make any rash decisions; I've been his friend for as long as I can remember and I can tell you that he has a deceptive side." she said, her face darkening. "Don't misunderstand me either, we have a relationship like siblings, this isn't some petty love triangle situation." she looked directly into my eyes with the intensity of fire. "Just watch your back."
I shivered as a slight breeze picked up, though I had a feeling more from her words than the weather.
"I appreciate you sharing that with me. Are you warning me because he's my captain and I'm to trust him implicitly?" I asked. She burst out laughing to where she needed to steady herself on the side of the building.
"Man, Renji really wasn't kidding about you. You're as oblivious as the wind. Just keep that good head on your shoulders and you'll do alright." she said with a smile. I returned it before walking into the barracks. Since when was the wind oblivious? I shrugged, not like I had much experience with men to begin with, so she had a point.
I approached Ichimaru Taicho's door and knocked once. I heard him say "enter" and did so.
"Rangiku said you wanted to see me, sir?" I asked. He smiled and got to his feet.
"Ariswana-san, I have a proposition. You've got a good amount of strength, but you have yet to uncover your Bankai. What do you think about a bit of one-on-one training with me to work towards unleashing that?" he asked as he stepped closer. Matsumoto's words rang through my head, "Just watch your back."
"Ah, I would really like to achieve Bankai, but do you really have the time?" I asked as I inched closer to the door. With shunpo speed, he landed right beside me, pressing my back to the door. The scent of sandalwood overwhelmed my senses and I couldn't hide the blush. I'll have to ask what that cologne is one day…oh dammit, how did I end up here again?!
He leaned down closer to my ear to where his lips grazed my earlobe as he spoke,
"I certainly have the time, if you'll allow me to be your master." My eyebrows raised as I looked over at him to the best of my ability.
"Don't you mean…teacher?" he let out a low growl of a laugh.
"Sure. That's what I meant." he said as he put some space between us, but kept his arm on the door behind the side of my head. I swallowed the lump in my throat.
"O…okay, then sure, yeah I guess I could use…your help." I trailed off as he put the other arm on the other side of my head.
"Good, then it's settled. We start training tomorrow." he purred before pushing away completely. How my knees didn't buckle beneath me, I don't know, but I somehow managed to make it back to my room before my legs crumbled. That man's got some serious persuasion skills.