Hey! Sorry I'm so late with the update. First I discovered a few really good fics to read, then my internet was down... plus, I had a hard time convincing myself to do this chapter since I'm entering OC land and am going to have to start making decisions that will affect the rest of this story.
Anyway, just wanted to shout out to all my lovely readers that reviews, follows, and favorites are always appreciated, (expecialy if it has constructive critizism), and I am still on the market for a Beta. I also wouldn't mind it if someone gave me permision to use their fan art for this story. The one I'm using right now is off the internet, so I'm open to suggestions!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything Bleach.
Karin stood at the Academy entrance. This was it, after months of studying and waiting, she was finally going to start her first year at Shin'o Academy. She had studied for months with Kukaku-nee to take the entrance exam, but when she did take the test it had been extremely easy. It wasn't like it didn't have a few challenges, because it did, but she had still been confident she had at least passed. She had been justified in her confidence, as they discovered when her results came back over a month later. Kukaku-nee, Ganju-nii and everyone else who had seen her scores had praised her for how high they were, but Karin didn't understand half the statistics that had been included. The only part she had been interested in was the attached acceptance letter. She didn't care about how she stood relative to the other applicants, only that she had made the cut.
Now, after ditching her Nii-san who had insisted on taking her to her first day at the academy (much to her annoyance. She didn't want to be known simply as the girl with the crazy brother), she was about to take her first steps to becoming a Soul Reaper. She was feeling so many many emotions; fear, anxiety, excitement, nervousness, happiness. There were so many emotions, they summed up to make her feel numb. But that numbness was a good thing, it made her think and see clearly. It allowed her to face the impending future bravely.
She was already dressed in her uniform, with a red hakama, a white kosode with red decorations, white socks and black sandals. She had all the extra things she had decided to bring in a bag swung over her shoulder. She had only packed the necessities, she didn't want to drag a ton of stuff to the dorms on her first day.
Taking a deep breath and deliberately not looking back, Karin walked forward through the gates. She was surrounded by other girls wearing the same uniform, as well as boys wearing a uniform that was similar, but blue instead of red. They were all rushing around, seeming to know exactly where they were supposed to be.
Karin checked the signs posted around the buildings, telling all first-year students to report to registration to get their dorm assignments and class schedules. She followed the arrows to a row of tables with several teachers handing out packets to the students.
"Name?" The instructor asked Karin when she got to the front of the crowd.
"Shiba Karin."
The teacher looked up, surprised for a few seconds. It quickly passed, and she returned to sifting through the papers until she found a specific packet with the name Shiba Karin labeled on the front.
"Here you go, Shiba-dono." the teacher smiled as he handed Karin her packet.
Karin took the packet with a small "thank you," though she was a little put off be the formality. She knew that the Shiba clan was actually a high-ranking noble family, but nobody in the Rukon district had felt the need to address her or her family formally. Maybe it was just because they all knew what they were like.
Karin looked at the packet and found her dorm assignment and a map. She quickly found her future bedroom on the map and start heading that way, relived it wasn't that far.
Her dorm was plain, built in the same style as the surrounding buildings. Her room was devoid of any furniture or distinguishing features, save a futon to sleep in and a small desk to do homework on. Karin plopped her bag on the floor and started unpacking her things.
She had just finished putting the last of her books on the desk when she heard someone at the door.
"Oh! Hi there." A girl a little older than Karin stood in her doorway and gave a short bow in greeting. "I'm Keiko. Suzuki Keiko. I live in the room next to yours."
Karin faced her visitor and returned the bow of greeting. "I'm Shiba Karin. Pleased to meet you!"
"Karin-sama?" Keiko looked taken aback. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize..."
"Don't worry about it." Karin assured her. Really, if she was going to have this discussion every time she introduced herself, she might consider using a different surname. "Just call me Karin-chan. I've only been in the Shiba clan for a few months, you don't have to be so formal with me."
"But the Shibas used to be one of the great noble clans!" Keiko exclaimed, then resigned herself. "But, I suppose, if you insist Karin-san..."
Happy that she was at least given that much familiarity, Karin took out her packet and handed it to Keiko. "Hey, do you know if we have any classes together? My schedule is in there."
Keiko looked at Karin's schedule and pulled out her own. After a moment of observation, she handed Karin back her packet. "It seems we have History of the Soul Society 101 and Intro to Kido together, but that's it. I take it you plan on joining the 13 Court Guard Squads?"
"You mean you don't?" Karin had always thought the only reason anyone went to the Academy was to become a Soul Reaper.
"Nope." Keiko shrugged. "I'm horrible at fighting. Can't even find the stomach to squash a bug when I find one in the house. I'm hoping to join the Kido Corps."
Karin made a mental note to find out about what exactly the Kido Corps were. Luckily, Karin was saved from admitting her ignorance when a black butterfly flew in and rested on her finger.
"Attention all First-Year students. Please report to the auditorium for the entrance ceremony." A voice came out of the Butterfly. Karin had to guess these butterflies were a method of communication.
"Guess we better start heading that way." Karin sighed. "Want to walk together?"
Keiko jumped up. "Sure!"
As they walked in the same direction as most of the crowd, Karin listened to Keiko chatter. Turns out she was from a low-ranking noble family, and everyone in her family was expected to be involved in the defense of the Seireitei in some form or another. Because of her temperament, one of her favorite aunts had suggested she join the Kido Corps and be used primarily in creating barriers and holding prisoners. She had taken the entrance exam repeatedly over the past several years and had met the qualifications for entering the academy every time, but this was the first time she had met the requirements for the pre-Kido Corps track. Not that Karin had exactly asked for this information. Keiko had volunteered everything.
When the two of them made it to the auditorium, they took the next two available seats. Keiko continued telling Karin everything about herself until an older instructor took the stage and started making a long speech about the history of the school and the prestige of the graduates.
Karin half listened to the long-winded speaker. The history wasn't really that interesting, and quite frankly, Karin country think of several other things she could be doing right now that was more productive. She did start listening more intently when his tone changed.
"And now I would like to recognize the 10 students who scored the highest on the entrance exam this year." He started reading off several names Karin forgot as soon as they were said, and the students who went by those names stood so the rest of the student body could give them a round of applause.
"Kira Nagami." The girl who obviously held that name stood up with a smug look on her face. Karin immediately hated her.
"And finally, the current number one in this class, Shiba Karin."
Karin blinked in surprise. She had known her scores were good but didn't realize they were that good. Nevertheless, she stood up and let the other students clap and stare at her in awe. Karin noticed that the girl who had gotten second, Kira Nagami, was glaring at her. Karin glared back.
The applause died down and Karin sat back down. The speaker continued his monotone draw for a little while longer before finally letting them go to get some rest before tomorrow, when classes would begin.
"You didn't tell me you placed the highest in our class!" Keiko exclaimed.
"I didn't really know." Karin shrugged. Of course, now that she thought about it, she did remember seeing something along those lines in the statistics that came with her scores.
"Hey, are you Shiba-san?"
Karin turned around and faced a boy close to her age. His hair was dark brown and wild, and his eyes made her think he was planning something mischievous. To his side there was a white haired guy who looked to be from a wealthy home, if a little sickly.
"Yeah. Who wants to know?"
The wild boy pointed to himself. "I'm Watanabe Junji, 5th in our class. And this here is Ukitake Gyou, 6th in our class." He was indicating the sickly boy to his side.
"It's an honor to meet you, Shiba-dono." Gyou bowed to Karin.
"Huh?" Junji looked surprised at his friend's gesture. "Are you some kind of a noble? I'm sorry, I grew up in the 66th district of East Rukon."
"It's ok." Karin waved off the formality. "I'm new to the family, and besides, I'm not even sure the Shiba clan is noble anymore. Kukaku-nee and Ganju-nii certainly don't act like it, and we live in West Rukon. Don't worry about it."
"Really?" Gyou asked. "Then, is it OK if we call you Karin-san?" Suddenly, the white-haired boy smirked, looking as mischievous as his friend for a moment. "Or how about Kar-chan?"
"Uh..." Karin wasn't sure about that nickname.
"Now if you call her that, it sounds like she's your mother or something." Junji shook his head. "We should call her Rin-chan. It sounds cooler."
Karin didn't think it sounded that much cooler, but she did appreciate their gesture. She could tell this would be the beginning of a pretty good friendship.
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