Death and What Came Next Chapter 2, The Shinigami Academy, a bleach fanfic

Death and What Came Next
A Karin Tōshirō Fanfic
From the Two Lots of Six Series
XxMookinexX

I do not own Bleach or any of its characters, I only wish I did. Any and all unrecognizable characters and situations belong solely to me and are not to be touched without permission. I am not making any money off of this and I write with the soul purpose to entertain.

This story takes place when Karin is 20 and takes account of everything up to chapter 353 of the manga. Written in 3rd Person, mostly Karin centric.

Firstly, some feedback from last time's reviews: to begin with, I need to apologize because I made a very silly mistake last chapter claiming that Karin was from district eighty-four, when there are actually only 80 districts. I really don't know why I thought there were 90, but I'd re-read the first 200 chapters of bleach so recently that I didn't bother actually verifying if this was true. I have changed the previous update as a result. Thanks to Saigo no Hajime for pointing this out to me.

So far I've had a guess that Mugurametsu is a Lion. You're almost right. Keep trying! I really want to see if you guys get it on your own before he comes up again.

Finally I wanted to make a note of something important. In my story I'm missing out all the anime filler-arcs that were not present as omakes in the manga and so are not cannon. This means that Karin has not met Tōshirō yet. I will not be making any references to football unless in passing. I actually really like that particular anime arc. I'm a big fan of the ones that are done well and give added character depth. I simply won't be using it in this story. Sorry.

Anyways, super special thanks to fanofanime, Saigo no Hajime, Curtis Zidane Ziraa, SS and yue who all reviewed last chapter! Take a couple of scoops of chocolate fudge brownie Ben and Jerry's ice cream! Ladies and gentlemen it is my pleasure to present to you the second proper installment of DAWN!! Please enjoy your stay :)

– Chapter Two –

The Shinigami Academy

It had not come as a surprise to them to find out she was leaving. Perhaps they had known since waking up to see her tears the day before, and if that hadn't tipped them off, her sudden engulfing embrace certainly did. Before that day they had never seen Karin cry. Nor had she ever been one to display such physical affections. The man, Ichigo, was something of a legend, apparently. Somehow, she'd gotten him to get the higher-ups to bend the rules. The four of them were now the new residents of district thirty-nine. It wasn't perfect, but it was home.

Yet, a small voice spoke in each boy's heart, would it really be home if Natsuri, no, Karin wasn't there? She was leaving them all behind, and whilst they were happy for her, grateful for all that she had done for them, they wished she would stay with them a little longer.

The time to express such regrets had passed, however, as they stood hugging her goodbye in turns.

"Take care of them, Jito," she said, hugging him last and tightest of all. "You're the oldest now, and whilst Kazu's going to be the one to lead them, I want you to watch over them. You're responsible for their lives, so do me proud, okay?"

Shin was crying as she left, a surprise because Karin had always thought he hated her. Kazu smacked him over the head.

"Boys don't cry, yer such a baby!"

Karin smiled and made no mention of Kazu's tears the day before.

"Oi, Natsuri… eh, I mean… Karin," Subu tugged on her sleeve to gain her attention. "Will ya write me? I'll learn ta read and everythin', so write me and I'll tell everyone 'bout ya. But ya have ta have adventures ta make 'em good stories, yeah? I can't tell 'em borin' ones."

She grinned and patted his head.

"I'll make sure to be extra reckless, just for you," she told him. "And I'll do more than just write you, I'll definitely visit. I'll miss you guys."

"We'll miss ya too," Jito replied, smiling at her. He was looking older already, she decided.

"Well… bye then." She gave them all one last tearful goodbye before walking away to join her brother and the shinigami fukutaichō Kuchiki Rukia. That had been a surprise and a half. She remembered meeting Rukia in the human world when she was ten, calling her Rukia-nee-chan. She'd even stayed in their house. She'd had no idea that Ichi-nii was so well connected.

"Oi, Karin," Kazu called. She looked back quickly, eager for one more conversation. It was silly of her she knew. This wasn't goodbye, but it was painful for her nonetheless. "I'ma gonna become a shinigami just like ya, so make sure ta be watchin' out for me, yeah? It'll be a while yet cos I gotta look after this lot, but I'll make it one day, I promise ya." He held out a fist in her direction, promising in actions and words.

"I'll be waiting!" she shouted back. She licked her lips and glanced quickly at her brother to gauge his reaction. He nodded peaceably at her, letting her know she had all the time she needed. "Oi, brats!" she yelled, slipping back into her familiar district seventy-four dialect. "Look after yerselves, ya hear me! I'ma gonna be checkin' in on ya, so yer faces betta be ever so neat when I do!"

They waved, some of them laughing, some of them crying, some of them trying to be strong. She tore herself away from them and walked away again. With each step it got easier. If she looked back, she'd be unable to go forward, and that would be sad. After all, she was looking forward to it.

"So you're Kurosaki Karin?"

The redhead was called Abarai Renji. He was tall, muscular, and most importantly, he was the taichō of the 5th Division. She'd never seen a captain before… well, not counting that one dark haired shinigami who'd singlehandedly beaten back the hollow invasion into her district two years ago. It was just that she had never expected to see one up close so soon. Of course one day, when she graduated from the academy, she would have been placed under ones command. She'd simply expected a bit more time. Even Rukia was a fukutaichō of the thirteenth division. She'd thought that had been impressive, and then she'd met a taichō. Awe didn't begin to cover it.

"Pleased to meet you, Abarai-taichō," she said, bowing in respect. She really meant it, and Karin had never been that polite as a rule.

Renji blinked, seemingly taken aback. He put a hand behind his head and massaged his neck in discomfort.

"That's surprising. I never expected Kurosaki's sister to be so formal," he announced to an invisible audience. After all, it was just the two of them there, save for the occasional passing shinigami. Ichi-nii had been forced to leave for the real world again soon after checking her into the academy, whilst Rukia had suddenly been summoned via a hell butterfly to attend her taichō who had taken a turn for the worst in regards to his tuberculosis. So Renji had been stuck with her because apparently he was Rukia's good childhood friend, and Karin had a few hours to kill before her entrance exam.

"Then how should I address you?"

He shrugged.

"I dunno. Honestly, I was expecting you to act like your brother and call me Renji, but probably that would alienate you from your future classmates… they don't like people who get ahead. How about sticking to the formalities around them and saying whatever suits you best when they're not around?"

She smiled and nodded.

Karin wasn't complaining about the situation at all. Still, she felt a little uneasy. It wasn't nerves. She had been assured that she was bound to have enough natural talent to get into the advanced class, especially if she had already awakened her shikai once already. Her issue was that she kept getting odd looks and it unsettled her greatly. The thing Karin couldn't understand about it was that the majority of whisperings she overheard had as much to do with Ichi-nii as her current companion.

"Say, Renji, what did Ichi-nii actually do? He seems to be greatly revered and I have no idea why. If I had those memories originally then they seem to have slipped away."

He looked at her contemplatively for a while before finally nodding.

"Alright, we have some time to kill anyway, so I'll tell you. It was twenty-two years ago now. There was a war. The Winter War. There was a man called Aizen Sōsuke…"

"So Ichi-nii and the others battled their way through most of soul society's taichōs in order to save Rukia-nee-chan?"

Karin was laughing, but was torn between hysterics and sheer disbelief. They'd moved on from the war to its origins and how Renji had met Ichi-nii to begin with. She couldn't believe a lot of what she'd heard. Her brother was something called a visored as well as being a shinigami-substitute. His friends, most of whom she knew very well, had all been adventuring with him in his exploits. It explained the mysterious disappearances. She kind of felt like she understood everything better, including the day he'd come back those years ago with tears in his eyes. Some of his friends had died in that war. Karin felt guilty for asking about it because it was obviously painful for Renji too. Reliving the past had given him a far away look in his eyes, and his expression always seemed to be one step away from wincing.

She could imagine everything. It was almost like she knew the taichōs her brother and his friends had fought. She wanted to meet them. To meet everyone her brother loved and almost died to protect. It had been important to him, and so it was important to her.

More than ever, she was determined to become one of the Gotei thirteen. She would become the sort of strong shinigami that could protect her friends. Fast enough to save them. Strong enough to defeat their enemies.

In the back of her mind Mugurametsu growled with happiness.

Her first impression of the academy was that there were far too many people. Over the next few weeks as she adjusted to academy life, she began to understand that she would not make many friends within the cold stonewalls. The instructors were scary, and the students thrived on competition. It was intimidating. Still, what was impressed upon her most of all was the reaction her name was going to get for years to come. People expected so much of her, and were bound to be disappointed when she wasn't perfect. Then there were others who resented the special attention she hadn't even asked for. It was a very difficult situation.

Still, she'd never been one to give in to such things. She was strong. She had Mugurametsu. If anything, her wish to improve was spurred on even more by her classmates' inattentions or ire. However, there was an issue…

"Kurosaki Karin," the instructor called, summoning her to practice her kidō. Her stomach clenched horribly as she stepped up to the circle she was to throw the fireball from towards the target on the opposite side of the practice-field. It was a ripple effect. Suddenly everyone was paying rapt attention to her. Waiting with bated breath in case she did anything wrong. It wasn't fair. She hated it. Even the students who had been lazily falling asleep cracked open their rusty eyes to watch her sink. She hated kidō. It was her worst subject. It was just so frustrating! She could see how things ought to be done, could understand the underlying principles, but no matter what she did her kidō was always weaker than others. Slower, less accurate, less incapacitating, but she couldn't see why.

She acknowledged her instructor, Makira Shōto, and tried to fire off the same blast as the student before her, imitating the exact posture of his hand, siphoning the right amount of reiatsu. When she was sure it should be perfect she let it go, but even as it left her hand she saw the trajectory was wobbling all over the place. She gritted her teeth and waited for the sniggering that was bound to ensue, feeling the heat rising to her cheeks before the fireball was even halfway towards the target. The instructor sighed, seeing like she could that it was a lost cause and called the next student before Karin could be laughed down again.

"Paizuke Lauren."

She was one of the oddest people Karin had ever met, with long blonde hair, pulled into an obscene amount of punches around her head. Bright green eyes glared at Karin as she walked past, taking up the position Karin had just vacated. Karin could feel the surge of power, could sense that her aim was true well before it hit the target dead on with enough force to cause a minor explosion. Karin didn't bother to look back at her. She would only be smirking, as she had been from the first lesson when she was the only one to produce one so bright.

Karin did not hate Lauren. She simply failed to understand why Lauren hated her, but that was nothing new. For as far back as Karin could remember, aside from Yuzu, girls had never liked her much. She much preferred the company of boys, who didn't gossip and had a straightforward way of thinking.

Inwardly she let out a sigh of relief that at least this week's torture was over. Very soon it would be time for her swordplay lessons again, and she enjoyed them more than anything. It wasn't just that she was good at it. No, she was incredible, but the reason she loved to fight was that she felt she was proving her worth to be there on her own terms. She was not going to be her brother, she had known that from the start, but she was skilled nevertheless and when she was fighting that much was made obvious to her classmates. No matter the sneers, she could survive everything if she improved. Even if it was just a tiny bit. What she really needed, she decided, was a tutor in kidō. Someone who had such mastery of the subject that they would be able to tell just where Karin was going wrong, and she had just the perfect person in mind.

Hinamori Momo was beyond elated at the prospect. It was not often that students approached her, and for it to be Kurosaki's sister made her feel all bubbly on the inside. Of course, she had heard all about the young woman's problems from her subordinate Makira Shōto who taught the advanced first year's kidō lessons. It was the one thing holding her back. The other instructors all sensed it. If she could just improve her kidō, Kurosaki Karin would easily graduate within two years instead of the usual six. Honestly, she had a shikai already. She qualified for the fukutaichō level, and everyone knew the Gotei thirteen were in need of fukutaichōs after the war. Of course they wanted her to graduate. The higher-ups had already decreed that she was to join one of the squads at that level as soon as possible. Several taichōs had already been alerted to that fact and were surreptitiously checking up on her to see what she was worth.

It was going to be a challenge, but Momo was more than ready to take it up. In fact, several people had prompted her to suggest the idea herself and she'd had half a mind to do so except that Karin approached her first. Maybe it was because of all the eagerness to push her to the front that made the girl so disliked by her peers. Momo could see that Karin was very lonely and had some concerns about this. She'd seen her eating by herself during most lunchtimes, and wondered if it was by choice or force. Then again, it could have been that the others were scared. It was rather intimidating to be put into the same class as someone who could already use her shikai with ease. Usually it took years to develop. Or it could have been due to Paizuke Lauren, the other star pupil of the first year's advanced class, who had an obvious dislike for Karin.

"What do you think, Renji?" she seemed to wonder aloud, pausing halfway down a corridor and staring straight ahead. She heard him laugh quietly before stepping out of the shadows. Any of the other instructors wouldn't have noticed him so soon, but Momo had grown even closer to him since the short time she had been his fukutaichō following the war, never mind the fact that they were originally classmates. She smiled. It was good to see him again. She was usually so busy being an academy instructor that she didn't have much time to visit her old friends. She made a mental note to make the time somehow. She missed them.

"About Kurosaki Karin? You are going to teach her aren't you?" He sounded almost incredulous at the suggestion that she might not. Momo laughed.

"Don't be silly, Renji. Of course I will. I was meaning about which squad she might join. Did you have any thoughts? There's quite a deficit after all." He frowned.

"It'll be Iba Tetsuzaemon. I'll bet. A pity really, cos I'd have liked to have her. Still, I know how this goes by now. Priority goes to those taichōs who need them most. I guess it's a compliment of sorts not to be singled out."

She nodded, thinking of how third squad had been selected for the replacement first and trying not to be hurt by Renji's statement.

"I guess. Izu- I mean, Kira seems to be getting on with Ryūken Kotoshi well enough."

He rolled his eyes.

"Momo, you're going out with him, I'm not going to be shocked if you call him Izuru. Besides, I didn't mean it like that and you know it. Third squad was selected first because they suffered the most losses. Just like thirteenth squad needed Rukia since Ukitake-taichō is severely ill. They think these things through."

She smiled.

"It's funny to think how far we've come from when all four of us were students together. You and… Izuru," she blushed at using his first name in front of Renji. "You're both already taichōs, and I'm an instructor. Rukia's a fukutaichō. All of us can use bankai. Isn't that incredible?"

He nodded, taking a few seconds to reminisce with her.

"So… how exactly were you going to train Kurosaki?" he asked curiously to break the comfortable silence. Momo shrugged.

"I have an idea." She paused, then looked at him curiously. "You're interested in her, aren't you?" He snorted.

"Point me in the direction of any taichō who's not. People like her don't come along everyday. That kind of rapid development doesn't happen very often, and hasn't in a while, so it's a good thing to gossip about. Anyways, I thought I'd just drop in and see how you were doing. You spend all your free time with Izuru, so the rest of your friends like me get left behind. I heard Hitsugaya-taichō was particularly vexed at you. Maybe sort that out, yeah?"

He waved to her over his shoulder as he walked away. It wasn't so painful to see his back anymore… the symbol of the fifth team now belonged to her squad in her mind, rather than to Aizen Sōsuke. It had taken many years with lots of support and guidance from her friends and Izuru especially, but she was finally okay again.

"I'm doing just fine, Renji," she whispered, smiling at his retreating figure. Then she turned around and went to find Kurosaki Karin.

"You're not being aggressive enough, Karin," Momo sighed, easily brushing away Karin's latest attempt with a wave of her hand. The flesh on the back of it was barely singed by the contact. "Honestly, your technique is spot on, and you certainly have enough reiatsu in the spell, but seems like you don't want to hit anything. You're not like your brother, Karin."

It was the most shocking thing Karin had ever heard. She was used to everyone prejudging her, holding her up to the brilliant example that was Ichi-nii until she fell down in comparison. It was quite another thing entirely to be told outright that she was different from the start.

"Umm, I don't know what to do about that, Hinamori-san."

"What are you talking about?" she wondered, temporarily bathing in confusion. "That's a good thing. No disrespect to your brother but he's the worst person at kidō I've ever seen. At least you understand the principles. My point was that Kurosaki-san can't seem to regulate his enormous reiatsu and so kidō is practically impossible for him. You on the other hand have no good excuse. You simply aren't trying hard enough. Look, watch me."

She extended a hand to the side and effortlessly shot out the kidō blast Karin had been attempting to perfect for the last two hours. Its accuracy, spin, speed and firepower were immaculate. There hadn't been a single hesitation in the gesture.

Momo had been watching Karin analyze her kidō blast and suddenly smiled.

"Let me see, do you understand yet, Karin?" Slowly Karin shook her head.

"I did it exactly the same as you… I just… Maybe I'm not-"

"Wrong!" Karin blinked and backed away and Momo shook a hand in front of her face. "See that!" She slapped one of her hands with the other. "That is your problem, you have no confidence in kidō at all. Everything about your technique is perfect. So the result should also be perfect. The issue is with your concentration. At the last second you'll think 'what if it goes wrong', and there all your hard work goes, out of the window. No matter what preparation you do, it's useless if you can't keep your focus."

Karin pursed her lips. She hadn't even been aware that was the case. In which case, how exactly was she supposed to regulate that?

"Karin." She glanced up and saw a determined look on her teacher's face that she had never seen before. "Drop your weapon please."

"What?" Karin asked, startled and took a step back, her hand automatically reaching for Mugurametsu's handle. Momo was very patient.

"I am going to attack you using my shikai. I want you to defend yourself using only kidō. For this purpose, and to stop you relying on your zanpakutō, I wish you to drop Mugurametsu onto the ground. Now, please comply. I imagine the only way to stop you distracting yourself by worrying what your classmates or I think of you is to distract you myself and take away all your emotional support. I will count to three. Then I will attack. One… Two…"

Karin hurriedly dropped Mugurametsu to the ground and backed away. She understood the logic behind what Momo was trying to do. She just hoped it worked.

"Three! Burst, Tobiume!"

And… that's chapter two. What do you think?

Sorry it's so late. This time it really is due to something out of my control as I went back to university and they canceled my internet subscription due to technicalities that they really should have explained before. No matter. I've managed to argue and buy my way back onto the internet connection in order to post this. Hopefully I'll be able to resume more reasonable updates now that it's all sorted out.

Now, I plan to write more in this particular aftermath series, and so have not gone very in depth as to who is where in regards to the various taichōs and fukutaichōs of the Gotei thirteen, so here is a very brief summary list, although I have more details for most squads:
First squad, second squad, fourth squad, eighth squad, tenth squad and twelfth squad are all unchanged.
Third squad's taichō is Kira Izuru. His fukutaichō is Ryūken Kotoshi (who I made up).
Fifth squad's taichō is Abarai Renji. Hinamori Momo refused the position of taichō after awakening her bankai but did serve as his fukutaichō for a while in the immediate aftermath of the war. She then went on to become an instructor in the Academy, preferring to teach than fight. Renji has no replacement fukutaichō following her abdication.
Sixth squad's taichō is still Kuchiki Byakuya. He has no replacement fukutaichō following Renji's promotion.
Seventh squad's taichō is Iba Tetsuzaemon. He has been selected to receive the next fukutaichō.
Ninth squad's taichō is Hisagi Shuhei. He has no fukutaichō.
Eleventh squad's taichō is Madarame Ikkaku following Zaraki Kenpachi's demise. Ayasegawa Yumichika has claimed the third seat. He refuses to become his fukutaichō, and Ikkaku has never asked him to, because both feel the position still solely belongs to Kusajishi Yachiru who went missing after the war.
Thirteenth squad's taichō is still Ukitake Jyūshirō. His fukutaichō is Kuchiki Rukia, who was promoted despite her brother's concerns due to Ukitake's poor state of health.

What squad do you think Karin will belong to?

Apologies once again for the OCs that keep slipping into this. Unfortunately one or two of them have become main supporting characters. Paizuke Lauren comes from Pai(medal) Zu(unexpected) Ke(flower) Lau(road) Ren(gloss). Ryūken Kotoshi comes from Ryū(gold) Ken(hopes) Koto(Reason) Shi(Thread). Makira Shōto comes from Maki(care for) Ra(and so forth) Shō(righteous) To(gates).

Next chapter we may even, shock horror, actually have Karin MEET Tōshirō!! Perish the thought.

As usual, updates occur as and when I get inspiration.

Luv ya

XxMookinexX