A/N: I'm going on an update spree! I have 5 days off for vacation, and since I have 5 stories, I'm going to try to update each one…Just don't laugh at me when it fails…
I got a surprising amount of hate for the last chapter. I'll put it down here: this is a story with OCs. If you don't like OC use, then please go read somewhere else. Thank you.
Disclaimer: Bleach belongs to Tite Kubo and Viz Media, Human belongs to "The Killers" and Battle Born Studios.
Responding to some reviews here…
himelove22: Yep, there will be a love triangle, sorry…I just love those things :D But the epic meeting will be very soon! So don't worry!
midnight03: You're welcome. At the moment, however, I am retracting my offer for a beta, since from my personal experience it just takes too long for them to get back to you. But the fact that even one person liked this story enough to so much as offer service means a lot to me, so thank you.
Sadie: Yep, she is, sorry. Oh and PS I love the name Sadie :) I named my cat that…anyway
: Okay first of all, when you start something with "I don't mean to be mean, but…" you are obviously going to follow it with an unnecessarily mean comment, so you may as well save your breath. Second, unless you can magically summon up five to ten students at the Academy for me to use I will continue using the OCs. Third, do you suppose that they would have just conjure up the name "Orihime" from thin air to fit her? No. Please be realistic even if you're gonna flame it.
Flower in the River: Oh, YEAH…forgot about that important little piece of information! Oops. Just…forget about that for now, mmkay? Thanks.
nypsy: Oh. I guess that makes sense. It's nice to see that there are people like you who read so much fanfiction and really take the time to review. Keep it up. Anyway, good guess. But I'm not revealing anything, so keep guessing.
makaykay15: Yes, he does! I was hoping I didn't go too overboard on that, but I guess if it was that funny, then I did a good job. Noticed that you read TDoRA but didn't review it… :( Oh well. Thanks for taking the time anyway. And now to the chapter…
Pay my respects to grace and virtue, send my condolences to good. Give my regards to soul and romance; they always did the best they could…And so long to devotion, you taught me everything I know. Wave goodbye, wish me well, you've gotta let me go. Are we human or are we dancers? My sign is vital, my hands are cold, and I'm on my knees looking for the answer… Are we human or are we dancers?
"So, Miss...Abarai, what can you do so far?"
"Um...nothing?" Sadako gulps.
The inspector woman frowns. She had a square face, square glasses, beady eyes, and a very short, very unattractive haircut. "And you arrived in the Soul Society last week, correct?"
"Um...yes, ma'am."
The woman sighs and makes a note on her paper. "And where did you live when you were alive?"
"I don't remember, but I think it was Karakura Town, since I had on a shirt that said Karakura High School on it when I passed over."
The woman frowns. "What do you mean, you don't remember?" she asks. "Of course you remember."
"I'm sorry, ma'am, but I don't," Sadako says apologetically. "I woke up in the west Rukon District without even knowing my name. I actually still don't know what I look like."
"Actually, you look a lot like a woman we had our class learn about earlier in the year," the woman says. "Her name was..."
She trails off, looking into space. After a minute or two, Sadako clears her throat gently, and she starts. "Oh, my goodness. I completely forgot what I was saying!"
"It's okay," Sadako reassures her. "I do that all the time."
"Anyway, Miss Abarai, I just have to ask - are you related to the vice captain of squad 6 at all?"
Sadako starts. "Huh? Who?"
"You know, Abarai Renji," she nearly purrs. Clasping her stubby hands under her chins, she gazes off into the distance again. "He has the most loyal heart in Seireitei, with the manliest tattoos you'll see anywhere, long red hair that he ties up in a ponytail, and wraps in a white headband. His hair is the color of rubies, and garnets, and it is so beautiful..."
"No," Sadako says. "I took this last name from the family who took me in. But Abarai Renji sounds a lot like Abarai Ronin, the boy of the family and a student here at the Academy."
"Oh yes - Ronin," the woman says shortly, snapping out of her trance. "Well, it would make sense, seeing as they're blood brothers, wouldn't it?"
"Whaat?"
"Yes ma'am. You should get him to tell you the story. But here are some pictures - Ronin's from the Academy Yearbook last year, and Lieutenant Abarai's from...I don't know, a magazine or something." Blushing a little bit, she reaches into her desk and withdraws a book and a slip of paper. Flipping to a page, she places the paper on it and then slides to book to Sadako. "There. See?"
Sadako looks down at the book. On it is a picture of a man, staring intently at the camera. Despite his serious expression, he has laugh lines near his eyes and mouth, and he looks like the kind of man who likes a good time. Next to the picture is Ronin. If you excuse the fact that Renji has black eyes and tattoos covering his neck and forehead, he and Ronin do look a lot alike.
"Yes, that's interesting," she says. "But, um, weren't we in the middle of an interview?"
"Yes, of course," says the lady. She withdraws the book and closes it with an abrupt snap. "And back to the interview. You posses no skills in the arts of either sword combat or Kidô but you decided to enroll in the Academy anyway?"
"Yes," says Sadako nervously. The lady nods and writes something else down on her paper. She then lays her pen down and looks up at Sadako.
"You made a good choice, young lady," she says seriously. "Your Spiritual Pressure is in dire need of attention. Please go through the door to my left. Have a nice day."
"Sadako starts. "Wait – that's it? That's the whole interview?"
"Please do not make me repeat myself," the woman says shortly. "You'll find the next part of your interview in the door to my left. Thank you very much."
Weirded out, Sadako rises to her feet, watching the lady intently, half expecting her to say "Actually, just kidding." But she doesn't. Still unsure, Sadako walks across the room and, taking one last look behind her, opens the door and slips through.
Inside is a man. His back is to her, and he is bent over, organizing something. When he hears the door close, he straightens, whirls around, and nearly falls into his pile of whatever he was organizing.
"Señorita Abarai!" he exclaims. "Welcome, welcome. I am Señor Francisco and I will be outfitting you for a uniform today!"
He claps his hands, looking excited. He has black hair, which is thinning and disheveled-looking, and a furry mustache crawling across his upper lip. His face is tan and lined, and his black eyes sparkle with mirth. A tape measure is slung across his broad shoulders, and behind him there seems to be an insane amount of red, gray-blue and white fabric.
"So. Your measurements, please…?"
For some reason, this sounds very dirty to Sadako. She blushes. He waves her embarrassment aside. "Please hold out your arms," he says.
First he measures the length of her shoulders. Then the length of each arm. He measures from her shoulder to her ankle on both sides. As he measures, Sadako asks, "Are you going to write this all down?"
"No, Señorita," he says. "I can remember it. My memory is quite good for this, as it is my job." He chuckles to himself. "Hold still, Señorita, it will be just a few more minutos."
Sadako does what he asks. He has measured what seems like every part of her body before he steps back.
"You may go, Señorita," he says. She hurries into the next room, gratefully closing the door on the strange Señor Francisco and his measuring tape.
In the next room is a small woman with brown hair tied back in an aqua bun. She turns when she hears the door opening, and Sadako sees the white banner wrapped around her arm with a wooden badge. She looks surprised for a moment, her brown eyes widening, before she recovers herself and smiles.
"Hello, Abarai-san," she says.
"You can call me Sadako," Sadako says, smiling back. She likes this woman already.
"I'm Lieutenant Hinamori of squad 5," says the woman. "But you can call me Momo." Her smile falters for a moment. "Have I seen you somewhere before?"
Sadako shrugs. "Maybe. I don't think so, though."
Momo blinks a few times. "You look familiar," she says, then waves it off. "Well, anyway, that's not important. I'm here on specific orders from the head of the Academy to help you harness your powers – since I'm pretty good at Kidô, they called me in."
"Oh," Sadako says. She supposes she should be honored, but instead she just feels guilty that this woman had to come all the way out here to help her. "Thank you for taking the time –" she begins, but Momo stops her.
"It's my pleasure," she says. "Please, don't apologize. "One of my favorite things to do is help new students get a harness on their powers. And you need immediate attention – your Spiritual Pressure, if left as it is, could easily kill weaker beings if it manifests." Despite her dire words, Momo smiles again. Sadako can't help but smile back.
"Okay," says Momo. She pulls out a ball, about as large as her own fist. "Hold out your hand. Now close your eyes…feel your power. You shouldn't have any trouble locating it. I see that you've found it, now…let the power flow into your hand. I'm going to put this ball in your hand now. Focus on the ball…let your power flow into it…yes, that's it. Just like that. Good job! Now open your eyes, Sadako. That was beautiful!"
Sadako opens her eyes tentatively. The ball in her hand has risen off of her palm, spinning slowly through the air and emitting a strong glow. She casts an uncertain glance at Momo's broad grin.
"Is this…what's supposed to happen?"
"Yes," Momo beams. "Except it takes many people five or six times to master it. You got it on the first try! Excellent job, Sadako. I will enjoy working with you."
**!**
"Abarai Renji, vice captain of squad 6; Kurosaki Ichigo, substitute shinigami; and Arisawa Tatsuki here to see Captain Hitsugaya and vice captain Matsumoto," Renji announced to the receptionist.
The woman cast bored eyes at the three of them, then stopped. "It she a human?" the receptionist asked, interested.
"May we go in now?" Renji demanded, avoiding her question.
The receptionist glared. "You two may, but the human stays here," she barked. Renji leaned in close and whispered something in her ear. Her eyes widened and she shook her head briskly, terrified. Renji nodded, straightened up, and strode away, motioning for Ichigo and Tatsuki to follow him.
"What'd you tell her?" Ichigo asked, curious.
"I told her that if she didn't let us in, I'd lodge a formal complaint with my captain, the noble Kuchiki Byakuya," Renji snickered. "She fell for it hook, line, and sinker."
"That would scare me, too," Ichigo muttered.
Tatsuki walked in silence just behind them, taking in everything with wide eyes. They had found her a uniform to wear, and she was moving in it with ease, admiring the loose black fabric that looked so heavy but in reality was light as air and easier to move in than her karate uniform. They hadn't given her a sword – first, because there wouldn't be extras anywhere, except the Academy; and second, because she couldn't fight with one anyways and it would just get in her way.
Renji stopped at a large door and opened it without knocking. He poked his head in and said, "Oi! Rangiku! Where is your captain?"
"I'm right here, idiot," Hitsugaya said from behind Renji. Renji glanced behind him and raised his eyebrows at Hitsugaya.
"Hello, sir," he said, moving aside. Hitsugaya swept into the room, followed by Renji, Ichigo, and Tatsuki. Tatsuki started when she saw Rangiku.
"Oh, I know you," they said at the same time.
"Good, we don't have to waste time with introductions then," Hitsugaya said. "Lieutenant Abarai, please tell us why you are here,"
"Well, sir, it's concerning Inoue Orihime's death," Renji said, his face serious. "We'd like to see if we could find her. I was going to get approval to send out a team from each squad to search."
"And why would we want to do this?" Hitsugaya said, taking a seat at his desk. He picked up his pen and paused with it hovering over the paper, glancing up at Renji.
"We believe she may have a vast amount of Spiritual Pressure and if she does not learn to control it, she may end up killing herself. Again."
"And we care because…?" Hitsugaya said. "Look, Abarai. I'd love to help you, really I would. But I can't just send out all these men over something like a dead girl whose face I can't even remember. It's not worth –"
"Wait. What are you saying, Tôshirô?" Ichigo said. "You can't remember her face?"
"Now that he says it, neither can I," Rangiku said slowly. "I really hate to say it, but if someone asked me to describe her face right now, I would come up blank. Ichigo, I…" she said helplessly. "I can't help you."
**!**
"Kenny! Did you hear?"
"I hear a lot of things, Yachiru. Do you mean something specifically?"
"Of course she does, Captain. She always does."
"Be quiet, Baldy! And yes, Kenny, I meant something specifically. Hime died! You know, Jiggles? Yeah, her! She's dead, Kenny!"
"A shame. I liked her. She was quite beautiful."
"Aw, be quiet, Ayasegawa. Yeah, I heard it through the grapevine, I think. D'you reckon Ichigo'll come here to try 'n save her, Madarame?"
"I reckon so, Captain."
"So maybe if I look for her, I'll find Ichigo, and then I can fight him again."
"In a twisted sort of way, that makes sense, sir."
"Aw, be quiet, Madarame."
**!**
"Hachi? Why are Hiyori and Shinji fighting now?"
"Um…I think that that Orihime girl was killed, and Shinji got rather upset, Mashiro. Hiyori got tired of him moping around and decided to take it into his own hands."
"Yeah, except I asked Hachi, not you, Rose."
"Sorry."
"You should be."
"Be quiet, Love. No one asked you."
"No one asked you either, Rose. But as usual, that didn't stop you."
"Why, you –!"
"Hachi? Why are Rose and Love fighting now?"
"God only knows, dear child. God only knows."
**!**
You know what, it's 12:30 AM. I promise to make the next chapter super long if you guys bear with the awful shortness of this one. R&R?