The next day was the start of Kidō class. Ichigo wasn't looking forward to it. He wanted to make Renji look bad, but he was worried that he would be even worse than Renji. As he stood in the practice area for Kidō training, he realized that he was standing between Grimmjow and Ulquiorra. Crap. It seems like I can never escape these guys. He turned his attention to the instructor.
"The first Kidō spell you must learn is Shakkaho," the instructor said.
This should be easy. It just makes things blow up Ichigo thought. He aimed at the target and shouted the spirit chant. The spell blew up in his face and sent him flying.
"Try it again. This time put less power into it," the instructor said. Meanwhile, Grimmjow was facing different problems. He could fire the spell off well enough, but he was having a hard time hitting the target.
"Hey loser, you should watch how a real shinigami does things," a kid next to him said haughtily.
"Shut up or I'll blow your friggin head off!" Grimmjow yelled.
"Yeah right. You couldn't hit me even if you tried," the kid jeered. Grimmjow snapped and fired a Shakkaho off at him. It scorched his head and burned a layer of hair off. The kid wet himself.
"You do NOT attack other students!" The instructor yelled. Grimmjow just growled at him. Meanwhile, Ulquiorra was doing perfectly and hitting the target every time. Grimmjow noticed how well he was doing.
I've got to do better so I can beat him! Grimmjow growled to himself. He started trying his hardest to improve his aim. Meanwhile, Ichigo's spells were continuing to blow up in his face.
One Month Later
Ichigo was still the best in the sword training class, of course. Ulquiorra was still the second-best and Grimmjow was third best. Another kid named Stark was fourth best. Even though he was technically stronger than Grimmjow, he was too lazy to fight at his best. The instructors were constantly trying to get him motivated, but they always failed. In Kidō class, Ichigo had managed to get his Shakkaho to blow the target up instead of him. However, the explosion was much larger than normal and kept destroying other people's targets too. Grimmjow had improved his aim, but for some reason, he could only hit the head of the target. Ulquiorra was still doing perfectly. Stark's spells were weaker than they should have been because he kept almost dozing off. The next day they were to start learning healing Kidō spells. They had to heal different injured animals. Ichigo managed to blow his injured bird up. "You are supposed to be healing it! Not killing it!" The instructor scolded.
"Sorry," Ichigo muttered. Grimmjow's injured squirrel kept trying to run away until he got frustrated and blew its head off. The instructor severely scolded him for this. Ulquiorra simply stared at his injured rabbit.
"Why aren't you trying to heal it?" the instructor asked.
"Why should I heal it? It was weak enough to be injured, so it should die. What is the point of healing useless trash like this?" Ulquiorra asked. The instructor stared at him.
"I think you need to see a psychiatrist..." The instructor muttered. Stark and the cat he was supposed to be healing both fell asleep. Ichigo's new animal he was supposed to be healing was a cat. He once again blew it up. Grimmjow stared at him in horror.
"What? You killed yours too!" Ichigo exclaimed.
"You killed a cat..." Grimmjow said mournfully.
"Why do you care?" Ichigo questioned.
"I've always liked cats... I think they might be the only thing I like. Well, that and violence," Grimmjow said while still looking sad.
"Erm... Sorry?" Ichigo said. Grimmjow just glared at him. Oh yeah, he was a cat when he was a hollow... I guess that's why he developed a liking for them... Ichigo thought. Grimmjow now had a bat. It tried to fly away despite its broken wing. He growled at it and blew its head off. Suddenly, Ulquiorra was standing next to him.
"What's your problem?" Grimmjow growled.
"I have a possibly positive emotion that I feel toward bats. I don't like to see trash like you killing them. They are superior to cats in every way," Ulquiorra said in a monotone.
"How the hell are bats superior to cats? A cat could kill a bat easily. And if I'm trash, then I guess bats are worse than trash, since it was killed by me," Grimmjow said. Ulquiorra glared at him and he glared right back.
"Get back to your training!" The instructor barked at Ulquiorra. He silently walked back to his target.
Grimmjow and Ichigo had to take extra Kidō classes. Grimmjow was good enough at it but he kept losing his temper and attacking things. Ichigo made even the simplest spell explode. Ichigo was determined to succeed so he could pass the final exams and officially become a shinigami. Grimmjow was determined to succeed so he could beat Ulquiorra. Stark had been told he didn't have to take extra classes because they knew he was good at it, he was just too lazy to actually cast any spells most of the time.
Two Months Later
Ichigo had finally succeeded in casting the simplest Kidō spells. Now the only problem was that he made them too powerful. Sometimes that was a good thing but other times it wasn't. Grimmjow was just barely managing to keep his temper under control. Stark was still lazy. Ulquiorra was still doing perfectly. Although they were doing better in their classes, they now had a new problem to deal with. Fangirls. Ichigo was left alone, but the other three had hordes of them following them everywhere. Grimmjow found them annoying, and it took everything he had not to attack them. Stark ignored them because he was too busy sleeping to care. Ulquiorra found hordes of peppy, over-emotional girls following him everywhere rather horrifying. He was constantly trying to think of new ways to escape them. Ichigo was glad everyone else had drawn the attention away from him. He knew what having fangirls was like. Remember Nel?
Sometime Later
Ichigo was lying on his bed thinking. I wonder... Hollows are supposed to be purified when killed by a Zanpakutō. So why are Grimmjow and Ulquiorra here? I killed Ulquiorra with a Cero and last time I saw Grimmjow he was still alive... Maybe I should ask one of the captains about this.
The Next Day
Unohana was walking along peacefully when she heard a familiar voice shouting. "Hey! Unohana! I need to talk to you!" Ichigo yelled. She stopped and waited for him. He ran to her and stopped to catch his breath.
"What do you need, Kurosaki?" She asked. He explained what he had been wondering about. "I see. Well, a hollow is purified when they are killed by a shinigami. It doesn't matter how the shinigami kills them. As for Grimmjow, I found him when he was injured and healed him. He was unconscious at first, but when he woke up, he saw me and attacked. Unfortunately, Kenpachi was standing nearby and saw him. He decided that he must be strong enough to fight and attacked Grimmjow. However, Grimmjow was still badly wounded and Kenpachi cut him down before he could even block. Kenpachi was not happy about that at all," Unohana explained.
"Oh, well, that makes sense. Thanks for the help. Oh, and could you not tell anyone about this?" Ichigo asked.
"Why?"
"I don't want them to be treated unfairly because they were once Espada," Ichigo explained.
"I understand," Unohana said with a smile.
"Thanks."
Nine Months Later
It had been a full year and Ichigo had been told that he would be allowed to take the final exam five years early. It was unnecessary for him to stay any longer, due to the fact that he had only needed to go to the academy as a formality. Ulquiorra, Grimmjow, and Stark would be allowed to take the final exam as well, due to their exceptional skills. Ulquiorra had passed the exam easily. Grimmjow had managed to control his temper, so he passed. Stark had managed to stay awake long enough to pass. And so Ichigo was the only one left. "Your sword skills are excellent, your Kidō, however..." the instructor began.
"I failed, didn't I?" Ichigo asked miserably.
"No, you passed, but barely. The only other student I've seen do this badly was-"
"Renji Abarai," Ichigo finished.
"Yes, it was him," the instructor said with a sigh. Ichigo cheered and ran out the door.
"You three actually passed? I'm truly amazed," Ulquiorra said dryly.
"Hey! What's that supposed to mean!?" Grimmjow yelled.
"What squad are you guys gonna join?" Stark asked.
"I'm joining the 11th. I've heard they love violence so it'll be perfect!" Grimmjow said cheerfully.
"Yes, you should get along nicely with them," Ichigo said with a sigh.
"I think I'll join the 8th," Stark said with a yawn.
"I'll join the 5th," Ichigo said.
"I wasn't sure whether I should join the 5th or 6th squad but you helped me decide. I shall join the 6th," Ulquiorra said.
"Hey! You don't even want to be in the same squad as me!?" Ichigo exclaimed. Ulquiorra just ignored him.
"I'll miss you, Grimmy-chan," a fangirl sobbed.
"I told you that if you ever called me that again, I'd blow your friggin head off!" Grimmjow yelled.
"Ulqui-kun helped me decide. I'm gonna join squad 6 when I graduate!" a fangirl declared.
My life sucks... Ulquiorra thought gloomily.
"Well, I wish you guys luck. I guess," Ichigo said.
"I'll train until I can kick your asses, and that's a promise!" Grimmjow said to Ichigo and Ulquiorra.
"I guess this means more work for me..." Stark muttered. Ulquiorra walked off without any parting words. "What a sociable guy," Stark said sarcastically.
"You don't have a lot of room to talk," Ichigo pointed out. Stark just shrugged. Grimmjow spotted a bunch of fangirls running toward him. He took off as fast as he could. Ichigo laughed and then went on his way. Weirdly enough, I'm sorta glad those guys were reborn. The academy would've been a lot more boring without them. It almost seems like we've become friends. It's possible, if you twist the meaning of the word "friends" enough Ichigo thought with a chuckle.
It's been around 16 years since Aizen was defeated. That makes Ichigo and his human friends 31 years old. Rukia waited to ask Ichigo to join a squad because 1. she wanted him to get to live his normal life for a while before asking and 2. she thought he should mature and be a little older before trying to become a captain.
