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I woke the next morning with a growing feeling of dread. I had never entered an exam feeling so unready before and I was feeling so uneasy I nearly skipped breakfast.
"You need to eat Karin!" Akane scolded me when I told her I wanted to go without food. "Do you really think not eating will make you do any better?" she asked me as I frowned at her. Sighing, I grabbed the sandwich she had made for me and stuffed it in my mouth, causing her to smile slightly.
It didn't take long for us to get to the academy and, unlike yesterday, the office was filled with people, most older and taller than me and all seemingly waiting for the exam. This only made me feel more nervous and I was suddenly thankful for Akane's hand as it gripped my shoulder comfortingly. At nine o'clock exactly we were all called into the arena and I had to leave Akane behind.
As we arrived we were given a number. I assumed it was to make it easier to tell us apart and would tell each of us if we had passed or not without using our names and henceforth saving us the embarrassment if we failed. The impersonality of it all made me sweat.
We were tested one by one, each of us showing the examiners our hands which they proceeded to place a strange devise on that made some beeping sounds before they were taken off. It was one of the strangest tests I had ever taken and when I left I had no idea whether I passed or not.
We were sent into another room further down the hall that looked like an old fashioned classroom while they decided which of us would pass and which of us wasn't. I have to say that those few minutes could have been some of the worst in my life. I concentrated on my breathing as I looked around at the others in the room. They seemed as nervous as me.
One, a girl with long, curly golden locks and bright, sky blue eyes, caught my eye and we shared a terrified look. Some boys in the corner were whispering quietly to themselves and the whole room felt very tense as we waited for the results. After an agonisingly long wait one of the teachers, a male shinigami with blue eyes and blond hair that covered half his face, came in with a large sheet of paper that he proceeded to pin up on the board before flash stepping quickly away.
I soon found out the reason for his speedy exit; the paper held the numbers of the people going through and was soon swamped with people pushing about, trying to get a look. There were cries of happiness and groans of disappointment as I waited patiently for the crowd to thin so I could walk over to it without being crushed. When that was possible I made my way over to the board, my heart beating faster than ever before. I had never cared so much about the results to an exam before in my life. Though, thinking about it, I still hadn't but I decided that was a very sombre way of looking at things and pushed it from my mind.
My number was 32 and as I looked it took me a while to spot it but it was there and I felt a grin come to my face as I saw the number on the paper. It was the last number on it but I figured that was because it was the highest number to get through seeing as I had been one of the last to sign up. Grinning mentally to myself I resisted the urge to punch the air before following the directions on the bottom of the paper telling us to go back through to the arena.
When I arrived I lent myself against on of the hard stone walls and waited for the teacher counting the people coming through the door to speak. After a few other people had trickled into the hall, the man looked at us with a smile. It was the same man who had pinned the results up and I instantly liked him though I wasn't completely sure why.
"Welcome students. Congratulations on entering the academy but we would now like you to participate in some more tests to be able to correctly group you." He said, his voice seemed to be slightly forced in its happiness and I wondered why he tried to keep up that kind of appearance with students. My old teacher never had. "I will call you into the arena next to us one at a time to test your skills and then you'll be free to go." He explained, holding the clipboard in his hand up to his face before reading out the first number; two. Great, they were going in order. That meant I would be the last in. sighing slightly I sank to the ground and waited. And waited. And waited. Soon I was the only one still in the arena and, just as I was beginning to revel in the piece and quiet, I was called in.
The arena I was called into was slightly smaller than the other but in this one the sides were filled with people holding clipboards. Some of them were wearing shinigami outfits but most were in the red outfit the girl from yesterday was wearing or a blue version just like it. I assumed this was the uniform as most of the people wearing it looked more eager than those dressed in black.
"Number 32, Kurosaki Karin." The man at the door announced as I walked in. apparently the name 'Kurosaki' had spread further than even Ichigo had thought because all the shinigami looked at me in surprised interest and even some of the students were struggling to hide their curiosity. I gulped, quite unnerved by the eyes now watching my every move. The blonde haired teacher was staring at me intently as he beckoned me forwards.
I walked over to him cautiously, wondering exactly what it was he wanted me to do. When he gave me the wooden katana I could feel myself grinning. Sword fighting was something I could do as hat un' clogs had taught me how so I would find fighting hollows easier. He had also given me a sword to use and it had come in handy many times. Adjusting the weight of the wood in my hand I eyed the student who had just flash stepped in front of me, a wooden katana in her hand also and an over confident grin on her face.
"Begin!" the blonde said and I dodged as the girl lunged at me, her long brown hair flying out behind her and her deep brown eyes blazing. I dodged it before ducking under her arm and pushing her onto the floor causing the people round the room to gasp slightly in surprise. The girl blinked at me, astonished, before her eyes narrowed and she disappeared, flash stepping behind me and catching me slightly of guard. I blocked it skilfully before turning and lashing out at her. She stepped back with a grimace before attacking me again, growling as I blocked it. Then she flash stepped again.
This time I kept my eyes on her, trying to track her movements and finding it surprisingly easy. She came at me from the other side, a smirk on her face. She thought she had won with this but I ducked her katana before using my shoulder to push her back to the floor. I smirked as she sat there winded and she growled at me, pulling her brown hair from her face as she glared up at me.
"Enough." Came the blonde teacher's voice as the girl began towards me again. She stopped and glared at me, clearly considering mutiny, before dropping the wooden sword and flash stepping huffily back to her seat. My eyes trailed her before focusing on the blonde who was looking at me in slight surprise. I raised an eyebrow causing him to blink before smiling slightly at me. "Good." He praised me as he walked over. I could see his Zampacto now, strapped to his side; a dreary green colour that seemed to suit him in a way I couldn't explain. "Tell me, have you ever done kido before?" he asked, obviously feeling the need to ask due to my unexpected skill at swordplay. I cocked my head slightly before looking at him.
"Um, no." I replied, not really caring for being polite. The man didn't seem to care much either by the looks of it as his smile just seemed to increase. A forced smile that I was beginning to become annoyed at.
"Well then, watch me and see if you can copy, ok?" he told me before turning to a target area I hadn't noticed before and held a palm up to it, his face becoming serious and more natural. I smiled slightly upon seeing his usual expression before watching what he was doing. "Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Inferno and pandemonium, the sea barrier surges, march on to the south! Hado, 31 Shakkaho!" he cried, a large ball of red reitsu surging from his palm before destroying the target just to the right of the middle one. I could feel I was staring; the only person I had seen do that was Rukia and even then not often. Then he turned to me, the fake smile back in place.
Glaring at him I moved forwards before pointing my hand at the target like he had done, aiming for the middle one. Taking a deep breath I repeated what I had just heard, hoping it would work. To my surprise, and everyone else's it would seem, the red ball of energy exploded from my hand and completely destroyed the middle target, leaving only the smoking edge of the pole. I stared at it in shock before looking at he teacher's equally shocked face. He blinked before looking at me with wide eyes.
"You certainly are just like Ichigo!" he told me as he brushed his hand through his hair. My eyes widened.
"You know my brother?" I asked hurriedly, turning to him with pleading eyes. He just stared at me a moment before the smile was back, though this one looked more real than his previous.
"So he is your brother. Yes, I know him. I saved him once actually though he probably would never admit it." he explained. Noticing my curious eyes he stuck his hand out to me. "Izuru Kira, third squad lieutenant." He introduced himself. I grinned at him before clutching his hand and shaking it firmly. A shy smile came to Kira's face before he cleared his throat and ushered me through into the next room where everyone else was waiting.
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Well, that's chapter two. I think I'm going to have her whiz through the academy, after all; Ichigo never had to go there ^_^
Hope your liking it!
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