Lex Talionis
Chapter 2
The man had decided to join the Gotei 13, in order to gather intelligence and get closer to the Central 46, unfortunately he had to wait a year being as the entrance exam deadline had long since passed.
He was now in line at the Shinigami Academy to take the entrance exam, his black suit having been disposed of the night before.
He stood at a height of 5'11" and had waist-length black flowing hair that seemed to ripple with the shadows. His skin tone was slightly tan and he had some noticeable muscle definition, but nothing large enough to be an inconvenience to his mobility. His most noticeable feature, save for perhaps his hair, were his eyes; they were a scorching auburn.
Individuals ranging from nervous wrecks to arrogant upper-class aristocrats surrounded him as they all stood in line to take the entrance exam, much to his displeasure.
He patiently waited for his turn as he came closer and closer to the seated official, and with what seemed to be hours, it was finally his turn.
"What is your name and where are you from?" the official asked gruffly not looking up from his papers.
"Fushou Ichigo. I am from Fushou, 80th District of East Rukongai," he replied impassively.
The official noticeably stiffened before slowly looking up from his papers and stuttered fearfully, "Could you…say that again please?"
Ichigo merely narrowed his eyes at the official before the man quickly said, "Never mind, forget I said anything, you may now go take your exam!"
Ichigo walked past the man and a group of instructors greeted him, who appeared to be the ones responsible for the testing portion of the exam.
"Greetings Fushou-san, we will first start with Hakuda, or hand-to-hand combat," one of the instructors said.
Ichigo merely stood there with his eyes closed before he gave a slight nod in acknowledgement.
A man with black hair tied up in a ponytail, bushy black eyebrows, a bushy black beard, and frameless red sunglasses, wearing a Shinigami uniform with a badge wrapped around his arm stepped in front of him, "Kotsubaki Jin'emon, Lieutenant of the 7th Division."
Ichigo didn't respond in the slightest and continued to stand perfectly still with his eyes remained closed.
The Lieutenant of the 7th Division didn't appreciate it one bit, and as to teach this person a lesson he quickly darted forward with a palm strike ready in hand.
To his shock, and the instructors, Ichigo sidestepped the attack and dealt his own palm strikes to the ribs of Jin'emon, sending him soaring past the instructors and outside the testing area into the line of students.
Jin'emon was thoroughly embarrassed in front of the new recruits and swiftly closed the distance between himself and Ichigo, but the results were the same.
The instructor quickly interjected by saying, "The Hakuda portion of the exam is over!"
Jin'emon was red with anger, almost matching the color of his sunglasses, before he retook his position in front of Ichigo once again.
"Do you know how to Flash-Step, Fushou-san?" a different instructor asked.
A moment later, Ichigo lifted his hand holding a hair band. The instructors were slightly confused before noticing that Jin'emon's ponytail had been undone.
"I didn't even notice he had moved" the Hoho instructor said with a baffled expression.
Jin'emon on the other hand was fuming.
"I'll kill him!" the 7th Division Lieutenant thought.
"Fushou-san," a third instructor said quite calmly, "please cast a Kidō spell, if you know any, on that target dummy over there."
Ichigo faced the target dummy, lifted up his hand, and calmly said, "Bakudō #63. Sajo Sabaku."
A yellow rope formed and wrapped itself around the dummy, tightly squeezing it to the point of the wooden joints cracking under the pressure.
The Kidō instructor's expression was far from calm after witnessing the display, but he soon regained his composure before saying, "That was most exceptional Fushou-san."
"Let us test your Zanjutsu, if you would please take a sword from the rack behind you we may begin," a burly man told Ichigo.
Ichigo simply pulled a concealed sword out from his back, "That won't be necessary," he stated.
"Very well. Kotsubaki Fukutaichō, if you would please," the burly man asked.
Jin'emon didn't even wait for the instructor to start the fight and rushed Ichigo. Ichigo just stood, immobile and unwavering, as Jin'emon came running towards him, seemingly bored by the whole situation.
Jin'emon raised his blade as to slash downwards at Ichigo, but not before Ichigo reacted.
Ichigo flash-stepped behind Jin'emon and cut the wrist of his right hand, then reappeared in front of him, using the hilt of his sword and thrust it in the wrist of Jin'emon's left hand, effectively disarming him. This all happened within the time span of Jin'emon blinking his eye; he would have blinked both eyes but Ichigo had slashed the left side of his face, from the forehead down to the cheek, thereby cutting his eye.
This all happened so abruptly that Jin'emon felt the cut to his wrist, the strike to his other wrist, and the slash to his face all at the same time.
Jin'emon screamed out in pain he fell to the ground, not only feeling the external injuries that Ichigo had dealt him, but his internal injuries as well.
The instructors were at a loss for words. A person from the Rukongai just defeated the 7th Division Lieutenant with seemingly no effort at all.
"The spiritual pressure outlets on his wrists are likely damaged, you should take him to get healed," Ichigo said calmly.
The instructors broke from their stupor, one of them calling for a 4th Division member while the others continued the examination.
"Well," one of the instructors began, "let us begin the final portion of the exam, measuring your spiritual power."
Ichigo sheathed his sword and stood in front of the instructors once again, his expression unchanged since he began the exam.
An instructor grabbed a white orb and handed it to Ichigo.
"Channel your spiritual power into the orb, Fushou-san," the instructor requested.
Ichigo channeled his spiritual power into the orb if only for half of a second before it shattered into tiny pieces.
"That orb has the capacity to contain the spiritual energy to that of an unseated officer, all the way up to a 20th seat, but it's not surprising you destroyed it given your results thus far," the instructor commented.
"This orb has the capacity up to a 10th seat," the instructor said as he handed Ichigo another orb.
The orb shattered in one second.
"This orb has the capacity up to a 3rd seat," the instructor said with a tinge of excitement in his voice, curious to see just how far Ichigo's spiritual power went.
The orb shattered in one and a half second.
"This orb has the capacity up to a high level 2nd seat, or Lieutenant," he finished, handing the orb to Ichigo.
Ichigo took the orb and placed it within his hands before the orb suddenly began to glow very brightly, cracks began to form, and after two seconds, the orb shattered.
"Well," the instructor began, "we don't have any orbs with greater capacity than the one you just destroyed, and this concludes your exam, thank you Fushou-san."
Ichigo turned and exited the examination area, causing heads to turn, and whispers to break out, but he ignored it all as he proceeded to walk towards a tree and sit underneath it.
A couple of hours had passed until they finally called Ichigo's name to come and receive his results.
He wasn't surprised that his papers stated he was accepted into the Shinigami Academy as an advanced student.
After familiarizing himself with the school grounds, he headed towards his dorm room over in the West Section.
He finally arrived to his dorm, room 6-15, and he pushed open the door and slowly walked inside. The room was simple in design; white walls, one window, two beds, one bathroom, and two desks. His attention however, was on the individual who happened to already be inside.
"I was wonderin' if I'd have a roommate, what's your name?" the boy asked.
"Fushou Ichigo," he replied with his usual lack of emotion.
The boy's grin widened, "You sure are interesting. My name's Ichimaru Gin," the boy said.