I have 106 reviews after 6 chapters! I'm SO happy you people are enjoying this so much!
This is also why I'm really sorry that it took me 3 weeks to update! I know it gets hard to follow a story when there's too much time between updates, which means that if I see something like that may happen again, I'll post a shorter chapter, just so that I don't let you hanging (you should know that the first half of this chapter was already written 10 days ago!).
As always, the chapter is beta-ed by the fastest beta in the world: DeviantHollow23 !
/ / /
Flashbacks.
/ / /
.
§I§
Change of point of view
§I§
.
- PREVIOUSLY -
Ichigo thanked and waited for the last test to begin: Kido.
Oh damn…
CHAPTER 7
There was a woman among the examination committee that had been studying Ichigo like a hawk since the beginning, which made him wonder if she suspected something.
She looked to be around forty-five, judging by the few grey hairs among the black and the slight lines under her eyes, but Ichigo knew very well that as a shinigami she had to be several centuries old, which also meant she had examined her fair share of candidates in all this time.
But that doesn't necessarily mean she's a reiatsu expert, Ichigo reasoned with himself. He really didn't need another thing to worry about.
"Kasshoku-san" the woman addressed him with an even voice "I'm Toyotomi Arisu, one of the Academy's Kido teachers".
Just fan-fucking-tastic. Ichigo felt an intense need to start pulling at his hair, but with a mighty effort he managed to keep his face blank and his hands still.
"Do you already know any Kido?" the woman asked.
"Yes I do, Toyotomi-san." he nodded "Some years ago I saw some shinigami execute some spells, and I've been practicing those ever since." he said, anticipating the obvious question.
"Then please, show us what you can do on that gigai in the corner."
Ichigo glanced at the anonymous thing and raised an eyebrow. It was held up on its feet in some way he couldn't see and, judging by the blackened spots on it, the previous candidates hadn't been very gentle with it.
Alright, Ichigo took a few deep breaths, calm and focused, calm and focused, and nothing will blow up…hopefully.
/ / /
Tessai watched as his pupil raised his left hand, palm facing a boulder distant a good 300 feet , positioned his right hand on the left arm and started focusing his reiatsu.
Even though the effects weren't visible yet, the Kido teacher could feel the static in the air.
Just a moment more and…
"Hado N. 88: Hiryugekizokushintenraiho!" Ichigo shouted as a gigantic electric blast erupted from his left hand and sped towards its target obliterating everything in its path.(1)
When the dust finally settled, Ichigo observed his handy-work with a cocky smirk. Ha, Rukia's jaw will drop when I show her what I can do!
"Excellent, Kurosaki-kun" Tessai commented and Ichigo's smirk grew even bigger. "I just wish you did the lower number spells with as much nonchalance".
"Yeah, yeah…" he muttered rolling his eyes. As if I hadn't been working my ass off for the past 6 weeks!
It was funny, really. Everybody moaned about the difficulties with the more powerful spells but, after Tessai's coaching, he was able to do most of them.
The lower numbers , though, were a sore point. Tessai had explained to him that in his case it was all tied to the ability not to infuse a spell with too much reiatsu, since some lower number Kido couldn't bear more than a certain amount, otherwise they became unstable, or you had to be able to compress the excess reiatsu to sort of 'fit the mold of the spell' as the ex-captain had said.(2)
"Oh my," Urahara sighed walking up to them "you almost blew up the whole place and the shop above!"
"Sorry, Urahara-san." Ichigo mumbled.
"And it will take me Kami knows how long to restore everything!" he kept whining. "But," he grinned suddenly "you can at least show me some of your progress! What about a 'Hado N. 4: Byakurai'? You can use that rock as a target." he pointed at one sitting a hundred feet from them.
Ichigo looked at him sharply – because of course Urahara had to ask for a Kido that required a lot of control.
No matter, he raised his hand and started…
/ / /
Ichigo stared at the target and raised his left hand, deciding to start with 'Bakudo N. 4: Hainawa'. It was common enough, but more showy than the lower numbers.
Alright, I've done this countless times, no idiotic Geta-Boshi to fuck up my concentration – he could still feel the burns on his hands after that botched up Byakurai two weeks ago – so everything's gonna run smoothl-
Hey King, Hichigo's voice popped up in his mind, would you like some help? the hollow asked with the sweetest – and most creepiest – voice.
Of course, dear, I'm sure a Bala would be the best way to impress the commission, Ichigo replied, sarcasm dripping from every word.
And hadn't we established you would hide for the whole time of the exam?" he finished yelling.
Touchy touchy, the hollow drawled, for example I'm sure that fat ass you fought before could use losing some body parts, he would immediately feel lighter, HIchigo licked his lips, imagining all the bloodshed involved.
Ichigo's left eye started twitching, but he knew now really wasn't the time to argue with that psycho. May I remind you, idiot, that if Seireitei finds me out, you can say goodbye to your beloved violence and hello to eternal sleep?
That argument finally seemed to shut him up and Ichigo sighed in relief.
"Is there any problems, Kasshoku-san?" Toyotomi Arisu asked, a note of impatience clear in her voice.
Ichigo blinked, realizing he'd stayed frozen in the same position for some time. "No Toyotomi-san. I was –ehm– focusing".
"We're waiting." the examiner said in a no-nonsense tone.
Ichigo swiftly waved his hand, chanted the right words, and a flawless reiatsu chain erupted from his hand weaving around the puppet.
"Very good, Kasshoku-san. Do you also know any Hado?"
"Yes, Toyotomi-san". He turned again to his target, feeling slightly nervous. He was going to do a Byakurai – since anything above a Hado 4 would raise questions – and it also had to be far less powerful than normal, which meant absolutely nothing had to disturb his concentration.
He stared at the target.
A calming breath.
Another.
He clenched his jaw.
He narrowed his eyes.
"Hado…"
He felt the reiatsu pulsing under his skin.
"… N. 4 …"
He paid maximum attention to compress all the necessary spiritual energy in his finger.
" …Byakur-"
– when a sudden very familiar presence hit his senses…
?Rukia?
…and his eyes turned involuntarily to seek her out.
"-ai!"
–CRASH!–
His eyes shot back to his target just in time to see part of the wall next to the puppet crumble from the impact of the Kido. From the size of the hole – three feet at the very least – he gained that his nicely compressed lightning had decompressed into a river of spiritual energy!
He scowled furiously – Damn it all to hell!
His eyes strayed again in her direction, and this time, for a split second, startled angry amber met amused violet.
He quickly shifted his gaze to the ground and fought valiantly to keep it there.
Shit! Did she recognize me?
His thoughts were running a mile a minute, wondering if maybe she had already known he was here, or if she didn't, should he tell her later? And what was she doing here anyway?
He was so absorbed in his panicked speculations that he almost missed when the examiner spoke to him.
"Well, attempting a Byakurai without its incantation isn't very easy for a beginner," (3)
Ichigo scowled– good thing he was still staring at the floor. What! I've trained with those two freaks five hours per night every night for two months and she calls me a 'beginner'?
Loser… Hichigo snickered in his mind.
You again? – but the hollow had wisely already made himself scarce.
Anyway, this is all the midget's fault! What's with appearing just like that? He felt like pouting – but of course Kurosaki Ichigo never pouted – even though rationally he knew this actually worked to his advantage in his charade.
"but all considering you did pretty well." Toyotomi-san continued "I also can see you have quite a lot of untapped reiatsu, which we deem very important for your evaluation.
"I even think you may skip the basic Kido class and start directly in the advanced one. What do you think, Kuchiki-fukutaicho?" she asked, turning to Rukia.
"I agree, Toyotomi-san." Rukia replied evenly, after taking the empty seat next to the woman "He may have to catch up a little, but I'm sure he will do well in our class."
Ichigo's eyes widened. Wait, WHAT? Rukia said 'our' class, as in she's one of the teachers in the Academy?...WHAT THE HELL!
"Very well, then. If all of my colleagues agree…" Toyotomi-san looked at the other members of the commission and after they nodded, she went on with a solemn tone "…I'd like to welcome you, Kasshoku Kaito-san, in the Shino Academy."
"Thank you very much, it's a great honor for me." Ichigo mumbled softly, using a tone deeper than his usual, and bowed.
After that, still in slight shock and not daring to look up at the commission – that is at Rukia – he turned towards the door and, grabbing his bag on the way, nearly ran out of the examination room.
There's no way that Geta Boshi didn't know about this! I'm so gonna kill him!
§I§
Rukia was hurrying towards the examination room.
Toyotomi-san and the other members of the committee had been informed that she would arrive later due to a meeting with her captain, but she still wanted to attend to as many exams as possible, since some of the candidates would become her students.
My students… she shook her head, still baffled by the whole idea of herself teaching in the Academy. After all, less than three months ago she'd still been posing as a student in Ichigo's school – and she had to admit she would have liked to graduate with him.
I bet the Orange Wonder is already studying for the entrance examination to some good university…or maybe he's still lounging on a beach somewhere with Isshin and the twins? she thought dejectedly, then immediately she frowned. Why am I thinking about him again? This is getting ridiculous!
She shook her head and entered the examination room, noticing that a Kido exam was going on.
She caught Toyotomi-san's gaze and they nodded at each other silently in greeting, not wanting to interfere with the candidate's concentration, but the deafening 'CRASH' a moment later told Rukia it wouldn't have mattered.
This guy is as bad as Ichigo, she snickered inwardly, well, almost as bad, because Ichi's Byakurai would've blown up in his hands!
It looked as if the guy was feeling pretty embarrassed by the incident, as he kept his head down, not looking at the committee.
Then, for a split second, he looked up and their eyes met. Rukia blinked in surprise. Do I know him from somewhere?
Meanwhile she heard Toyotomi-san saying that the candidate had tried the Kido without its incantation. Really? Hmm…Then it looks like he's way better than Ichigo.
With this in mind she had no problem agreeing with the older woman on accepting the guy in the Academy.
As he mumbled his thanks and hurried away, Rukia followed his retreating form with her eyes, unable to shake the sensation they had already met…but where?
XXX
*** ONE WEEK BEFORE***
Rukia slid open the door to Ukitake's office and bowed. "Good morning, Taichou, I've heard you needed to talk to me about a new assignment".
"Hello Rukia-chan," Ukitake smiled "yes, I do have an assignment for you, but please, sit down first and have some tea with me".
Rukia complied and waited for her captain to speak again.
"You see, I've heard from Toyotomi-san – I think she was one of your senseis in the Academy?"
Rukia nodded.
"Well, she's looking for an assistant teacher, and I immediately thought of you!"
Rukia blinked in surprise. "Me! I-I'm honored Taichou… but I'm not sure I'm qualified."
"Oh, don't say that Rukia-chan," the captain chastised her with a fatherly tone. "Everybody is aware how very good you've become at kido!"
Rukia couldn't help the tiny smile that escaped her at the praise. "Thank you Ukitake-Taichou, but still–"
"I know what you are going to say," Ukitake cut her off, albeit gently, "but the teaching wouldn't take up all of your time, and you don't need to worry about the paper-work either, since I'm sure Kiyone-chan and Sentarou-kun will be glad to help you out.
"What's more, there's been very few powerful hollows in the World of the Living in the past months, so, unless that situation changes, I think you're free to dedicate some time to teaching. What do you say?"
"I…You're right, Taichou…" but Rukia still didn't sound convinced.
They sipped their tea for a few minutes, Rukia's gaze lost in the warm, light green liquid.
Everything Ukitake-Taichou said makes sense, but why me exactly? After all she knew for a fact that there were other people as good or better than her, who probably had more time on their hands.
"You know, Rukia-chan," Ukitake broke the silence "there's also another reason why I thought you might enjoy this assignment".
His Fuku-Taichou looked up questioningly.
"I know how hard it is to part from a person you care about," he said with an understanding tone "so doing something different may take your mind off said person".
Rukia looked at him clearly startled. "Thank you for your concern, Taichou, but I…I don't think I understand."
Is he implying what I think he's implying? she thought alarmed, as a slight blush started to creep up her face.
The captain gave her a knowing smile. "You don't need to pretend with me, Rukia-chan.
I've known you for many years and I can tell something's been bothering you since you came back to Seireitei."
At a loss for words, Rukia's gaze dropped again to her tea. She felt her cheeks heating up some more, embarrassed that people had noticed.
So yeah, I miss that idiot – a little, she added quickly in her mind, and those wonderful Chappy movies! And manga! And… but I can't believe I was being that obvious! What would Nii-sama say?
Jushiro knew he didn't need to press her any further, so he just waited.
"I…" Rukia finally looked back up, her expression calm once more. "I think I shall enjoy this new assignment. Thank you for giving me this opportunity, Ukitake-Taichou".
"You're welcome Rukia-chan, and I'm sure you will!" he said with an enigmatic smile that Rukia just couldn't place. "You may go, now".
As soon as Rukia left, Jushiro took a little box that had been sitting by his side and put it on the table. When he opened the lid, a hell-butterfly flapped its blue-rimmed wings at him.
It was from a breed with a very special characteristic: it was untraceable.
XXX
Urahara yawned and scratched his head. Tonight Ichigo was once again trying his hardest to destroy his basement, so he'd decided to leave him with Tessai and go back up to his shop to relax.
He stretched the upper part of his body on the table and closed his eyes, but a moment later he felt something tickling his right hand. He opened one eye and found a black and blue butterfly.
He listened to its message, then smirked.
Looks like everything's going as planned!
XXX TBC XXX
A/N
Well? What do you think of Rukia as Ichi's teacher?
And all of you who thought Ichi would fail utterly the Kido exam, you should have had more faith in him **chuckles**, after all the guy had 2 months! I can see him scowling at you from here... Ichi:"Hey people, I actually did learn something, you know?"
(1) "Flying Dragon-Striking Heaven-Shaking Thunder Cannon". If you haven't seen it yet, think of it as a VERY powerful "Hado 33: Sokatsui".
(2) I'm making these Kido mechanics up to suit this story, though I I hope they aren't too much against Canon. Let me know, please!
(3) I suppose every Kido has its incantation, even though we don't know all of them.