Disclaimer - I do not own Bleach
Chapter Nine - Academy Bound
Toushirou took the tests required for admission into the Shinigami Academy and, three days later, the results were in. Head Captain Ukitake summoned the white haired boy to his office, the folder with Toushirou's test results positioned on the desk in front of him.
A smile was fighting to spread across his face but the Head Captain managed to keep it at bay. When he heard a knock on his door Ukitake forced a neutral expression on his face.
"Enter."
Ukitake watched as the door slid open, revealing the white haired boy. Toushirou stepped into the office, closed the door behind him, and walked across the room. "You wished to speak to me sir?"
"Yes Toushirou," Ukitake said, his gaze focused on the boy. "I received your test results today and I thought you'd like to know."
Toushirou nodded, his teal eyed gaze focused on Ukitake.
"Well I must say that I was surprised," Ukitake began and watched as a look of confusion appeared in the young boy's eyes. "Not only did you pass but you made the highest score on record…"
Ukitake let that comment hang there for a moment, enjoying the boy's reaction. The look in Toushirou's eyes went from one of confusion to one of amazement. It seemed that, while the boy had known that he would pass, he was somewhat shocked to learn that he'd broken a record.
"So," he continued once he'd given the boy a couple of minutes to recover. "As of tomorrow you are the youngest student in Academy history. Congratulations Toushirou."
At this point Ukitake allowed the smile to spread across his face. Pride for the youth shone in his eyes as he gazed at Toushirou. He was convinced that this strange child would make an excellent Shinigami and was looking forward to watching his progress.
Almost like a proud father would watch his only son.
Reaching down Ukitake picked something up from the floor before once again focusing his gaze on Toushirou. "Here's your uniform," he said as he offered the folded bundle of clothing to the boy. "And class begins tomorrow morning at eight a.m. sharp."
"Thank you sir," Toushirou said as he took the folded clothing from the Head Captain.
"Well I'm sure that you want to go and tell Momo the good news," Ukitake said, ignoring the scowl that appeared on the boy's face.
Toushirou took this as permission to leave. Bowing politely to the Head Captain, the boy turned and walked across the office. Sliding the door open he left the office and quickly made his way upstairs to his own room.
The boy entered his room and tossed his newly acquired uniform onto the futon. He hadn't bothered to put it away that morning, which was slightly out of character for him. But Toushirou had been preoccupied with his thoughts that morning and just hadn't bothered.
And he had no intention of putting it away now.
Toushirou was feeling slightly restless, his thoughts now more jumbled than ever. He wanted to go somewhere to clear his thoughts so, after grabbing his sword, the boy left his room.
As he descended the stairs Toushirou tied the sash that secured his sword across his back. He didn't really have the slightest idea where he was going; he just needed some time to think.
Once he left the Squad One barracks, Toushirou quickly made his way to the barrier wall that separated the Seireitei from the Rukongai. Toushirou wasn't exactly certain what was prompting this trip but his mind was made up.
He was going to return to the river where he had been found. That seemed like as good a place as any to sit and think. And hopefully he wouldn't be interrupted.
Toushirou vividly recalled the day that he had been found by the Squad Twelve Captain so it wasn't all that difficult to make his way back to the spot. The river was flowing serenely, surrounded by large trees. Overall a very peaceful atmosphere.
Walking over to a particularly large tree Toushirou sat down, pulling his knees up to his chest. The young boy wrapped his arms around his knees in a protective manner and gazed out at the river. The water almost seemed to hypnotize the boy and a void expression appeared in his teal eyes.
And a shadowy figure appeared in his mind's eye.
"You will be very useful…"
Cold air seemed to circulate around the youth, causing Toushirou to snap back to reality. A shiver ran down the boy's spine and he gazed around.
And watched as snowflakes gently fell around him.
"What does this mean?" the boy asked himself as he continued to watch the snow fall. None of it made any sense to the boy but he vowed that he would figure out what was going on.
Vowed that he would uncover the secrets that seemed to surround his very existence.
"I'm going to figure this out," he thought, determination blazing in his teal eyes. After observing the Shinigami it was obvious to Toushirou that he wasn't normal; now he only had to find out why that was so.
"Shiro-chan!"
Toushirou bit back a scathing reply as he turned and watched Momo approaching the spot where he was sitting. He still despised that nickname and really wished that the girl would stop using it. But this didn't appear to be a likely outcome. "What do you want Momo? For that matter how did you even find me?"
"That's simple," Momo said, offering the boy a smile as she sat down beside him. "I followed your reiatsu signal."
"Of course," Toushirou muttered. "Let me ask you something; is there a way to hide reiatsu?"
Momo nodded. "It's a simple enough thing to do."
Toushirou vowed that this would be one of the first things he learned during his training. Because it seemed like an incredibly useful skill to have. "So back to my first question. What are you doing here?"
Momo shrugged as she continued to gaze at the boy. "I just wanted to make sure that you were alright. I felt your reiatsu flare and that worried me."
"I'm fine," Toushirou said, not really sure if this statement was the truth or in fact a lie. While he was physically fine the fact remained that there was definitely something going on with him. But until he figured out exactly what it was Toushirou wasn't willing to discuss it with anyone.
"I'm glad," Momo said, offering the boy a smile. "So what brought you all the way out here Shiro-chan?"
"Toushirou," the boy corrected. "And I just came out here to think."
"So what are you thinking about?" Momo pressed, feelings of curiosity overwhelming her. There was something intriguing about this boy and she found herself drawn to him.
"Different things," Toushirou replied truthfully, the shadowy figure once again looming in his mind. "But mostly about what the Academy will be like."
"You made it into the Academy?!" Momo exclaimed, her eyes widening at the news. She had known that the boy had strong reiatsu but even she hadn't expected this. "Shiro-chan that's amazing!"
"Toushirou," the boy once again corrected.
"So when do you start?" Momo asked, completely ignoring the correction. She was excited for the boy and couldn't hide this fact.
"Tomorrow," Toushirou replied in a calm voice. He had mixed feelings about the fact that he was starting the Academy but was determined not to let anyone see this indecision. It was his problem and he fully intended to work through it on his own, without anyone's interference.
"That's amazing!" Momo squealed, reaching over and wrapping her arms around the boy's shoulders.
"Get off!" Toushirou pulled away from the girl, a glaring look in his teal eyes. Irritated the boy got to his feet. "I'm going back now."
"Okay," Momo called out as the boy walked away. "I'll see you at the Academy tomorrow!"
Toushirou sighed. "I think this may be more than I bargained for."
A/N - End of another chapter. Hope that you enjoyed, please be kind enough to leave a review and tell me what you thought.