Disclaimer - I do not own Bleach

Child Prodigy

Several days have passed since the Hollow had attacked me and Momo in the forest and my minor injuries have begun to heal. I haven't seen my best friend since that day although that isn't really all that unusual for her. She often goes weeks without coming to visit, saying that her schedule is so busy that she has trouble finding the free time. I'm not sure whether or not that's the real reason but what business is it of mine if it's not? It's not as though I haven't grown accustomed to being on my own.

As the sun rose over the horizon I left the small hut that I call home and made my way to the river where Momo and I first met. I need to think about everything that has happened and this is the best place in which to do that. The sound of the flowing water has always brought me peace and I find myself needing that peace of mind at this moment. My peaceful world has been turned upside down due to that Hollow attack and I find myself needing to come to terms with the changes.

When I reach the river I sit down on the bank, underneath a large cherry tree. Pulling my knees up to my chin I wrap my arms around them and stare out at the water. My thoughts go back to the Hollow that had attacked us in the forest and again I see the beast with perfect clarity. Momo told me afterwards that it had more than likely been drawn their by our reiatsu.

Not hers but ours.

I recall the shocked expression that had appeared on Momo's face as I fired the kidou blast at the Hollow and then the pride that had shown in her eyes when together we defeated the Hollow. She was proud of me for this unusual power.

"Weird."

My thoughts are interrupted at this point by the sounds of someone walking down the trail toward my haven. Glancing up I watch as two figures emerge from the bushes. One is Momo but to my extreme annoyance the other is that Shinigami from the other day. There's a broad smile on both of their faces as they walk toward me, Momo dressed in her Academy uniform and the Shinigami dressed in the normal black shihakusho.

"Good morning Shirou-chan!"

I wince as I hear Momo call me by that vile nickname however my gaze is intently focused on the Shinigami, who seems to be staring at me with a sort of appraising expression in her blue eyes. I can't figure out what is going on but I'm beginning to get a bad feeling about the situation.

"Shirou is it?"

I narrow my eyes at the Shinigami. "Toushirou. Toushirou Hitsugaya."

"Oh well forgive me." Even though she's apologizing there isn't even a hint of remorse in her blue eyes. In fact it looks as though they're laughing at me. "Toushirou, I came here to invite you to the Seireitei."

"And why exactly would I go there?"

"Don't be like this Shirou-chan." Momo's staring at me with those chocolate colored eyes, imploring me not to make a scene. I know that look well, she's given it to me frequently. "Just listen to what she has to say."

"Fine." This is said grudgingly on my behalf however I will keep my word. Even though I'm not really interested in what she has to say I will listen.

"I told my superiors about what I witnessed in the forest the other day." The woman is smiling at me as she says this as though I should be thrilled that she told a bunch of Shinigami that Momo and I had fought a Hollow and won. "They were shocked to say the least and now they want you to come to the Seireitei and show them what you're capable of."

"No."

"Shirou-chan." There's a chastising expression on Momo's face as she turns to face me. "This is a wonderful opportunity for you."

"It's alright Hinamori-chan." My gaze swiftly returns to the Shinigami as she begins to speak. "He's probably just scared that he'll get there and be unable to repeat the kidou spell that he used on the Hollow. I don't blame him, I wouldn't want to embarrass myself either."

I know what she's trying to do, anger me so that I agree to come with her just to prove that I can, and yet despite that knowledge I still find myself angered by her words. First she leaves me and Momo to face a Hollow alone while she watches from the sidelines and now she's insinuating that I can't perform the kidou more than once. "I can do it."

"Prove it." There's a hint of a dare in these two words and I narrow my eyes.

"Come on Shirou-chan." Momo walks over to the spot where I'm sitting and grabs my right hand. She attempts to pull me to my feet and I briefly debate resisting however I quickly change my eyes. I'm going to go with them and prove that I can use kidou and then I'm going to come back here and continue on with my life. I'm not like Momo, I don't want to be a Shinigami.

"Wonderful." A smile appears on the Shinigami woman's face. "Let's go. By the way my name is Rangiku Matsumoto."

I instantly commit that name to memory, vowing to stay as far away from this woman in the future as possible. She's even more annoying than Momo and that's something that I just can't handle.

Matsumoto leads the way through the forest, with me and Momo following along behind her. It isn't long before we come to a large wall with a door that was guarded by two Shinigami. Matsumoto smiled at the two guards as she led the way through the door and after a brief pause me and Momo follow her. The guards eye me suspiciously but they say nothing and allow me to pass.

"Well I have to get to class." Momo smiles down at me before she begins walking in a different direction. "Good luck Shirou-chan."

Dumb founded I watch as Momo walks away from us. What the hell? Did she just come along with Matsumoto so that she could show her where I lived? Instinctively I turn to return to the Rukongai however I'm pulled to a stop by a hand on my shoulder. Growling low in my throat I gaze up at Matsumoto who offers me what I consider to be a patronizing smile.

"Don't worry kid. You'll do fine."

I'm not worried, I just have no desire to be here.

"Come on. Squad One is this way."

Sighing to myself I follow Matsumoto as she leads the way across the Seireitei, thinking to myself that I could always act like I can't perform the kidou any more. That would make the Shinigami lose interest in me and solve all of my problems.

We came to a stop in front of a tall building with the number one painted on the wall, contained within a diamond. Matsumoto gazed down at me and winked. "Now don't even think about faking inability. They'll be able to sense your reiatsu anyway so it won't work."

Damn. So much for that plan. I guess it's back to the original plan; prove to them that I can do it and then tell them that I don't want to be a Shinigami.

Matsumoto leads the way into the building and down the hall to a large door. She knocks lightly on the door. "Third seat of Squad Three, Rangiku Matsumoto, reporting as ordered."

"Enter."

The large door swings open and Matsumoto steps into the room. After a moment's hesitation I follow her inside, my curious gaze shifting around the large room that we've entered. I quickly notice that there's a group of Shinigami standing against a far wall.

"This is Toushirou Hitsugaya." I glance up as Matsumoto introduces me to the group.

The tests that they put me through aren't really difficult and I find that after a little while I actually begin to enjoy it to a small degree. I've always enjoyed learning new things and I seem to have an aptitude for the things that I'm learning.

"Excellent." My gaze shifts to a man standing against the wall. He has long white hair and kind eyes and he's staring at me with a look that I can't explain.

"Indeed." This voice belongs to an elderly man with a long white beard and a cane. He's gazing at me with an intense look in his eyes which is a bit disconcerting. "I think he will do well in the Academy. Matsumoto, see that he is taken there and explain the situation to the instructors there."

"Yes sir."

Matsumoto bowed politely to the old man and then grabbed me by the arm. Surprised by what had just occurred I didn't protest as she pulled me from the room. However as we reach the courtyard I find my voice again. "Who the hell does that old guy think he is? I never agreed to attend the Academy. I DON'T wanna be a Shinigami!"

"Calm down kid. You shouldn't speak so irreverently about the Head Captain."

I pause. "That old man was the Head Captain of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads?"

She nods. "And he seems to think that you'll make an excellent addition to the Thirteen Court Guard Squads. And you should know something else."

"What?"

"He was against this in the beginning. When I first told them about you and that they should test you he refused, saying that you were too young to attend the Academy even if you did possess unusually strong reiatsu. Captains Ukitake and Kyouraku helped me talk him into it."

"Hmm."

So the old man didn't think I could handle it huh? Now I felt a strange new feeling, the desire to prove myself to these people. I could learn everything that these other students were learning and I would prove it to them. Even though I still don't want to be a Shinigami I decide that I'm going to take the classes.

Matsumoto led the way to the Shinigami Academy and once we were there she found the Head of the school and explained the situation to him. Then she gave him the letter that she had received from the Head Captain. The man read through the letter and although he didn't look overly happy about the situation he nodded and told her that he would get everything set up.

"Good luck Toushirou. And who knows, when you join the Thirteen Court Guard Squads you may even get to be my subordinate."

There is no way in hell that I will ever serve under her. She offers me a smile before turning around and walking away, leaving me to the fate that had been forced upon me.

A/N - and thus ends chapter five. And yes I realize that it doesn't follow the actual storyline of Bleach however since I've only heard spoilers for how he was actually discovered I went with this. And this story is AU so that's okay. Hope you enjoyed, please review and tell me what you thought. Hitsu-taichou