A/N: Yo. No, the story won't die till it reaches the ending of the First Arc. Then I'll probably hiatus for abit, but yeah. Anyway, my excuse for lateness this time is exams. History was a killer.

Shoutout Time!

randomguy24: Oh yeah, that's true. Fights do get rather messy at times from a first-person POV. Still, it's no excuse if I did it badly.

Heir of Schiffer: Lol, you don't like the nice Shiro? I'm neutral on that one myself, but a character has to develop from somewhere. :D

Furionknight: And you get some. Late, but you still get some.

Thanks to all the reviewers so far! It does wonders for encouragement. xD

Opening Song: Karma - Bump of Chicken

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach, Tite Kubo does. The do, however, own the OCs thus far.

Chapter 14

"Does it feel better now?" One of the Squad 4 members asked, tending to the wound on my back.

It was my first experience with Healing Kido, and it the warmth of the healing was surprisingly soothing. Contrary to human operations, which required an anaesthetic to perform due to excruciating pain, Healing Kido had a numbing effect on its own.

I nodded in reply. The pain had slowly but surely evaporated from my back. All that remained of the wound by the time the Squad 4 medic was done was a thin horizontal scar.

"That's good. The scar should be gone in a week or so." she said.

"Thank you." That was good news. I mean, chicks dig scars, but I don't.

Me neither. I'm glad it'll go away.

So I guess chicks don't dig scars. Then again, I doubt anyone would consider elf-lady a chick. She's a full-grown bird now.

I winced, even though I made the pun. Could something that bad come out of my thoughts?

…Apparently so. That was a really bad pun.

I know.

"You know, you're lucky." The Squad 4 medic remarked, unaware of the terrible pun I made. Her eyes were on the scar on my back. "If the cut was just a millimetre deeper, we'd be having problems fixing you up."

"I'm sure Tomoyo was intentionally precise." I told her rather grudgingly. I was still kinda sore on that subject. I mean, how could I lose to a 14th seat? I was pretty sure that I was up to 8th seat, at least, even if I was lacking experience.

There was a knock on the door just then. "Um, as soon as you're done in there, the Captain would like to see Shiro Aragaki."

I didn't recognize the voice, but it was somewhat hesitant. I turned to the medic that tended to my wound. "Thank you, miss. I'll be sure to repay you someday."

She smiled warmly in return. "You're welcome. Now, its best not keep Captain Hitsugaya waiting."

I nodded goodbye and stepped out of the room, back into the bleak dojo.

"What's taking him so long?" I wondered aloud, getting more than a little irritated. "He said that as soon as I was done, I was to see him."

"It's unusual for the Captain to be tardy. Maybe he's talking to Momo again." Tomoyo remarked.

The two Lieutenants and I were having a rather animated conversation when Tomoyo had joined in unexpectedly. Her conversational tone of voice was very different compared to when she held her weapon. Earlier, she spoke with a calm, deadly manner, intimidating enough to plant the seeds of hesitation in the heart of a warrior.

Now, however, her voice was soft and musical, almost hypnotising. The drastic change implied that she clearly knew the boundary between serious and casual, and was willing to step across the line if needed.

"Who's Momo?" I inquired, a little curious. What kind of person was this Momo to be able to distract the uptight Toshiro?

"Lieutenant of Squad 5, Momo Hinamori. She's Captain Hitsugaya's childhood friend. They lived together in the Rukongai when they were younger." Rangiku supplied helpfully.

"I see. What's she like?" I prompted Rangiku further. She seemed to have a habit for gossip and talking about things.

"Well, she's really nice and sweet. In fact, Momo's the most popular lieutenant in the Gotei 13! She's the complete opposite of Captain Hitsugaya, but you know what they say, opposites attract." She winked.

"Toshiro's not that bad. He's actually much nicer than you give him credit for." Tomoyo intervened, contradicting Rangiku's statement.

"I know, but he doesn't show it too much. He keeps it hidden underneath the cold exterior he has."

"That's true. It's the reason he's got so many fans, after all." Tomoyo concluded, sighing.

My ears perked up. Toshiro has fans? Like fanboys and fangirls?

"How did that happen?" I asked, slightly curious as to how Toshiro managed to acquire such a large fan base.

"Well, to the girls, he's the epitome of 'bad boys'. He's nice enough when it comes right down to it, but also enough of a jerk to make them think that maybe he can be changed. Top it off with good-looking, mysterious and powerful and you have a chick magnet right there." Rangiku explained.

...Did you get all of that, elf-lady?

Yes. It's a female thing, so don't ask. Men don't understand simple concepts like that.

Feminist.

"So what makes him an idol to the guys?" I continued, somewhat interested in this particular topic.

"I don't know. You should ask Shuhei." Rangiku suggested, turning to said person.

Shuhei shrugged. "He's cool."

Now that's a real explanation. It's much more clear and understandable when he words it like that. Women tend to complicate things sometimes.

Chauvinist.

Touché.

"Sorry I'm late." Toshiro stepped in, oblivious to the fact that we were talking about him earlier. Ignorance is bliss, though.

"No worries, captain! You gave us a chance to chat." Rangiku waved off, glancing at her captain. "How was your chat with Momo?"

Caught off guard, Toshiro simply stood and stared for a moment, but quickly recovered and retorted. "It's none of your business."

"Aw, is the cute little kid captain embarrassed?" She teased him in a babyish voice.

"Shut up, Rangiku. And I'm not a kid."

The lieutenant laughed, and acceded to his wishes. The snow haired captain then turned to me.

"Actually, we aren't done with the proficiency test. Tomoyo is far above the 14th seat, but seeing as you managed to defend yourself quite well, there will be one more battle if you wish to continue."

I glanced at Tomoyo. Far above the 14th seat? Then what in the world was she doing at the 14th seat? Regardless, I was being given another chance to prove myself.

"Why not?" I replied, shrugging. I could use the practice anyway, and I doubt that I could do any worse than earlier.

"Good." Toshiro turned to one of the shinigami who were watching the test earlier. "Go and call Kokichiro Takezoe. Tell him he's needed for the proficiency test."

The squad member looked at him, nodded and shunpo-ed off. Toshiro then turned back to me.

"If my estimate is correct, your skills should be at the same level as our 7th seat. Your reiatsu, however, is much higher. You are currently at the stage between a captain and a lieutenant in that aspect, but you won't be using it now, so it doesn't matter." He informed me. "Your weapon is leaning against the wall over there."

I nodded. My reiatsu was apparently higher than a lieutenant's, but if my skills aren't as good as one, there was probably no point unless I planned to choke someone to death. I understood his perspective of things.

"I see. I have one question though." I said, looking at Tomoyo who was standing behind the snow-haired captain. "What was that thing that Tomoyo used earlier?"

"That was utsusemi." Toshiro answered. "It's a Hoho technique that leaves behind an afterimage due to its incredible speed. It's a very complicated and difficult technique to perform, and it's something that I haven't managed to accomplish."

Something the captain couldn't do? What else was Tomoyo capable of? I decided to voice out that question, but before I could a shinigami arrived through the door of the dojo.

"Sir! You called for me, sir?" He asked respectfully. The 7th seat of Squad 10 was an earnest-looking middle aged man. He spoke in a very polite tone and seemed to have a habit of calling Toshiro 'sir'.

I took this opportunity to retrieve my weapon from the wall and resting it on my shoulder before walking to the middle of the dojo to stand in the same place as before.

"Yes, Takezoe. You are to battle with this student. You know how it works; you've seen it done a few times." Toshiro instructed.

"Of course, sir. But sir, isn't battling a 7th seat a little too much for a student?" Takezoe asked.

"You'll find that he'll be a suitable opponent." The Squad 10 captain turned to me then and narrowed his eyes. "The same rules apply. Begin."

Not entirely surprised by the suddenness of it all, I raised my blade to block Takezoe's first strike. He shunpo-ed back to his original position, holding his zanpakuto lowly in his right hand.

"I'm impressed. Perhaps you might be a challenge after all." Takezoe remarked. I responded with a grin. From what I gauged by his initial attack, he was going to get a lot more than what he expected.

"Perhaps." I agreed rather lightly before using shunpo to appear behind him. I attempted a horizontal slash across his back, only to meet his blade halfway. There was definitely a difference between him and those shinigami that I beat before, but he was significantly weaker compared to Tomoyo. For one, I could actually attack.

I continued my barrage of attacks to his front, attempting to find an opening in his defence while leaving none for myself. He managed to avoid or block every single one of them, but I didn't give him enough time for counterattacks. Knowing this, he shunpo-ed away from me, probably hoping to gain some distance from me to plan a little.

Well, whatever it was for, I wasn't going to give him that chance. I shunpo-ed forward to follow him, but before I could discern what was happening, I saw him flying at me with his sword held out to his left, ready to slash me across the chest. Logic abandoned my movements and was immediately replaced by instinct as I blocked his unexpected attack.

"You have good reflexes. That reverse shunpo would've gotten a lot of people." Takezoe commended, beginning a series of swordplay techniques that I recognized from the Zanjutsu classes.

"Thanks. It was a close call, though." I replied, ducking beneath his slash. I lodged his blade into the ground along with my own and planted a dropkick on his chest, using the hilt as support. Landing neatly on my feet, I pulled out my asauchi just before he rolled into a crouching position with one hand clutching his chest while the other held his zanpakuto defensively in front of him.

"You're better than I thought." He stood back up, not taking his eyes off me. "I'd better not underestimate you anymore."

He disappeared, only to re-appear to my right with his zanpakuto raised for an overhead slash. I quickly switched my asauchi to my right hand to deflect his blade to the side before retaliating with a quick stab. Takezoe spun to avoid the attack and countered with yet another horizontal slash.

Knowing that he probably wouldn't fall for the same trick twice, I crouched low -narrowly avoiding his slash-, and attempted a front sweep, which he simply jumped over. I reversed the front sweep right as he landed and managed to trip him up. Seeing an opening, I pushed his sword arm out of the way before catching his head between my feet, using one hand to stand on the ground. Refraining from spinning as it would've broken his neck, I swung him to the other end of the dojo instead, where he crashed against the wall and slumped to the ground.

I like my enhanced strength.

I heard elf-lady's defeated sigh in my head. Just don't go overboard this time.

No worries about that. It's over for now, anyway.

Takezoe struggled to recover, but before he even managed to get back on his knees, I shunpo-ed in front of him, stepped on his zanpakuto and placed my asauchi at his neck for three seconds before resting it on my shoulder once more.

I stepped off his zanpakuto offered Takezoe my free hand. "Good match."

"Yeah." He nodded and took my hand, pulling himself up from the ground. After he brushed himself down, we both walked back to Toshiro and the others.

"Good work, Shiro!" Rangiku commended. I nodded in acknowledgement and gave her a quick 'thanks'.

"It was miles better than watching you getting beaten up by Tomoyo here, that's for sure." Shuhei agreed, smirking. Idiot.

Tomoyo smiled. "He's really not that bad, you know." She responded to him.

"Well, yeah, I suppose, but he still has a long way to go."

"Will you two stop talking as if I wasn't even here?" I asked, annoyed by their speculation. At least talk to me when you're discussing about me.

"That's enough, you three." Toshiro intervened. He narrowed his eyes at me. "I suppose you'd like your assessment."

I was very tempted to reply with 'No, that's why I took this exam', but decided against it. I simply nodded instead.

"Very well." He began.

"Your fighting skills are above average. Mixing hand-to-hand combat with sword-fighting isn't easy, and it's something that the Onmitsukido would do, but you pulled it off rather well. It gives a unique flow to your fighting style, so you're rather unpredictable in combat. I would say that you could probably take on our 3rd seat without any problems, but you'd certainly have trouble with any of the lieutenants."

That's a lot of things to swallow. I guess taking on one of the lieutenants would be rather tough, even though I drew with Shuhei during the exams. Then again, he probably didn't increase his speed or strength with reiatsu because it was a Zanjutsu exam, not a battle.

He went on. "You need to think more on fighting strategy. Don't go rushing blindly into things like you did with Takezoe. That was stupid; you could've gotten yourself killed if it was a fight to the death. As for the fights before, you showed restraint, control, and power. You also seem to have a decent aptitude for Kido, seeing as you used Byakurai without the incantation."

Elf-lady snorted. He has no idea.

Be nice.

"Overall, you pass. Welcome to the 10th Division. You won't be a seated officer until you graduate from the academy, but it's probably a good thing. Just make sure you do your work and not slack off like Rangiku here."

Elf-lady snorted once more. Again, he has no idea.

Again, be nice.

"Me, captain? I don't slack off, what are you talking about?" The Squad 10 Lieutenant asked innocently, causing her captain's eye to twitch.

"Nevermind, just get back to work. That goes for the rest of you as well." He extended the order to everyone else who had gathered to watch the proficiency test. From what Shuhei said during our brief conversation earlier, it was rare for a student to be given the privilege of taking the exams so I suppose the crowd was inevitable. According to him, the student needed to be vouched for by two seated officers, and apparently Shuhei himself had been chosen during his academy days.

Toshiro turned back to me. "You'll be assigned missions from time to time, but they shouldn't be beyond your capabilities. I suggest you spend the rest of your time focusing on your education."

Right, education. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes at that.

"Anyway, I'll be leaving now. I have a lot of paperwork to catch up with. Good night." He bade to everyone before using shunpo to disappear out of the dojo into the darkness. Takezoe also left in the same manner to get back to whatever he was doing before Toshiro summoned him.

"Let's celebrate!" Rangiku exclaimed, looking at this as an opportunity to slack. "I'll go whoop us up a big, awesome dinner."

I felt the blood drain from my face. I exchanged a glance with Shuhei, and his face was slightly green, probably matching mine. After all of Shuhei's warnings and examples, I didn't want to try Rangiku's cooking even once. It was a terrible ending to a decent night.

Lieutenant of Squad 10 was in the midst of waltzing off to the kitchen and turned to Shuhei. "See if you can call Captain Kyoraku and Izuru for dinner as well. Tell them to bring the drinks!"

"I'll go help out as well." Tomoyo said, walking off to where Rangiku was heading. Shuhei visibly relaxed, and the hint of a smile played around the corner of his lips.

"Thank the gods for Tomoyo." He said fervently, before turning to me. "Come on, we've got a few people to get." He started walking to the dojo entrance. I hurriedly followed him, unsure of what to do.

"Are you sure it's going to be safe to eat? I don't want to an accomplice for genocide with food-poisoning." I asked cautiously. Was it really a good idea to invite people to die? Hm, I wonder…

"Don't worry about it. Tomoyo's a master chef. She can fix up anything that goes wrong in the kitchen." He grinned. "If we're lucky, she might even make her signature Vienna sausages."

I smiled at that. Good food is always good.

"Let's hope we're lucky, then."

Closing Song: Saikou no Kataomoi - Tainaka Sachi

A/N: Hopefully you enjoyed the chapter a little more than I enjoyed my History exam. As for updates, I might delay updating by a week or so due to exam purposes, but I won't stop writing! :P

I'm striving to keep a balance here; do tell me if I'm getting out of hand.

As usual, reviews would be extremely appreciated :D

Still awesome and encouraging as well, no worries there. xDD