72 years ago
Tamotsu Toshiyuki looked at himself in the mirror. He made it. He was in the Academy, ready to train as a Shinigami. Sporting the white and blue uniform that identified him as a student, he held the hilt of the zanpakuto that had been commissioned to him. Each new student was given a zanpakuto to use. Through experience, the strongest of Shinigami would bond with their sword and learn their name.
Tamotsu hadn't had many friends growing up, but always had a feeling that he had to become a Shinigami. Call it destiny or a sense of pride, but he knew what he had to do.
"Tamotsu," a voice called out. "Hurry up or you'll be late on your first day."
"Sorry, Akira," Tamotsu said.
Akira Honda was another student on his first day. Both he and Tamotsu had scored low on preliminary exams, but quickly bonded with each other. Running side by side, they made it to their first lesson.
"This is it, buddy," Akira said. "Seven years from now, we'll be part of the Gotei Thirteen!"
"What squad do you want to join?" Tamotsu asked.
"I don't know. I'll worry about that later."
A man wearing the black robes of full Shinigami rank entered the amphitheater and stood in front of the new students. Everyone suddenly stood at attention as they saw him, many sensing the incredible reiatsu the man emitted.
"Greetings, new students," the man said. "Welcome to the Shino Academy. By passing the entrance exam you have proven yourself capable of upholding the grand tradition in the role of Shinigami. Over the next several years, you will learn to wield your blade properly. You will learn to work together as a team. You will learn to use your reiatsu to its fullest. Each of you should have been assigned a number. This is the class you will be attending. Go there now. Dismissed!"
"Right!" the entire congregation said at once in a loud voice. The mass then dissolved as students began conversations with each other and looked for other students who would share the same classes.
"So I guess we're both in class three?" Akira asked. "Since we scored so low..."
Tamotsu looked at a small piece of paper he pulled out from an inner pocket in his uniform. "Yeah," he said. "If I'd gotten one point lower they said I would have failed the exam again."
Class Three was for the lowest ranked students. The class was small and many of the students seemed nervous or disappointed. Kneeling on the floor on top of straw mats, the group straightened as an instructor entered. He wore solid blue robes, the uniform of a male instructor. He walked to the center of the room and placed his hands behind his back.
"Greetings, Class Three," the man said. "I am Sensei Satoshi Kaneko. I will be in charge of you."
Tamotsu held back a smirk. Ironic, he thought. The name of the instructor for the least competent of us means Wise Golden Child.
"Just because you are in Class Three does not reflect who you will become," Satoshi said. "We all have the capability to learn. Even Head Captain Yamamoto, who founded this school, continues to learn to this day. You all have different reasons you are in here. Low reiatsu level, low Kido skill, physical limitations... But remember this. Everyone has their own weakness. Even those in Class One. Train hard. Do not let anyone say it cannot be done. With a will of iron, you may come out stronger than those who are more privileged. They may have natural talent, but they will not learn half as much as you. You are the ones who will lead."
"Sensai Kaneko," one student in the back asked. "I don't think any of us could ever catch up to those in Class One. Even if we were here for a hundred years."
"With that attitude, you won't. Your first task will be an obstacle course. This is simple, but necessary. The course will test basic skills you will need as a Shinigami. You are to complete this course once. It will not be easy, but it will give me a clear idea as to your skills individually. Once I see this, I will know best how to instruct you."
"An obstacle course?" another student asked. "Can't we start out with Kido or something?"
"Physical prowess is more important," Satoshi responded. "You cannot rely completely on one skill. In battle, you will be moving constantly. Even if you are the most skilled with Kido it will do you no good if you get left behind by your company. Any other questions? No? Good. Follow me to the training area."
The training area holding the obstacle course was extremely large. Tamotsu looked over and saw several different means of testing physical abilities. The rest of the students seemed to be in just as much awe.
"As I said, you must complete this course once completely," Satoshi said. "I shall await your arrival on the other side. Begin!" With a whishing sound, Satoshi seemed to disappear. The students looked at the daunting task before them.
Nervously, they approached the beginning. There was a stretch of sand and dirt for several paces, then four rows of wooden beams with a width that seemed to be the same size as their foot. Beyond that, the course turned.
"Well what are we waiting for?" one of the students screamed. "Let's do this!"
The rest of the students cheered and the entire mass began running full speed. A few seconds later, they reached the first obstacle. Three students made it across without any problems, but the fourth fell down. A loud splash could be heard and everyone looked down. There was no ladder on the other side, so in order to make it across they were forced to cross the balancing beam.
As the fallen student began climbing the ladder, the next wave of students began crossing. Two chose to move slowly while the others ran full speed. Both of the ones who ran fell while the ones who chose the slow path made it safely across.
Tamotsu's turn was next. He started slow, much slower than the rest of the group. Arms spread wide for balance, he inched across the beam of wood. Curiosity getting the better of him, Tamotsu looked down. As he did, the distance between him and the water seemed to increase to an endless void. Looking back up, he focused on the task ahead. Slipping, Tamotsu waved his arms wildly before falling. Instinctively looking for something to grab, he managed to get ahold of the beam of wood next to his own.
"Tamotsu!" Akira cried. "You can do it! Keep going!"
Unable to pull himself up, Tamotsu began to inch his way across while hanging on to the beam. His fingers began to sweat from the effort, then he lost his grip and fell. A second later there was a splash and Tamotsu began thrashing in the water.
"Help me! I can't swim!"
"Tamotsu!" Akira said. "Stand up!"
"Huh?" Tamotsu stopped thrashing and found that his head was still above the water. Standing, he saw that the water only came up to his thigh. "Oh..."
Working his way back, Tamotsu climbed the ladder and saw that he was the last student. He moved slowly across the beam, slipping several times due to his wet sandals. After what seemed like an eternity, and two falls later, he finally made it across the pit. Akira was the only one who was still waiting for him.
"Good job, buddy," Akira said. "Come on, let's go. We've got to catch up."
The two students ran around the corner of the obstacle course. The next area had logs on poles swinging. Several of the other students had already made it through while others struggled and a few got struck by the logs. Forcing their way through they made it to the other side, leaving Tamotsu and Akira alone.
"Come on, Tamotsu!"
Akira bounded through. He stopped as one of the logs swung in front of him, then continued. Tamotsu ran into the arena, dodging the first two logs and then got hit in the side by another. Getting knocked back, he turned and was struck again by one of the logs he dodged previously. A third log struck him again, throwing him to the ground.
Akira winced as he watched Tamotsu get struck an additional ten times as he worked his way through and eventually to the other side. He walked like he was completely drunk and nearly fell over.
"Tamotsu!" Akira said. "Are you okay?"
Tamotsu's face lit up with a large grin as he swayed from side to side. "I'm a Shinigami," he said.
"Not yet you're not. Come on, we've got to catch up."
Shaking his head in an attempt to clear it, Tamotsu followed Akira to the next obstacle. It was an enormous wall with ledges and few climbing holds. The majority of the other students were climbing while a few were able to leap far distances between ledges.
Squatting down for a second, Akira jumped and made it to the first ledge with ease. "Come on," he said. "Its not that hard."
Tamotsu squatted and focused his energy. Opening his eyes sharply, he cried out as he leapt full force into the air only to land two feet from his previous position. Twice more, Tamotsu jumped up and down to no avail. Abandoning that technique, he ran full speed toward the wall and to the closest hold. He jumped and managed to grab on. Pulling himself up, he searched for a foothold.
"Under your left foot," Akira said. "Bring your foot up. There you go."
Tamotsu pushed himself upward and reached for the next hold, but his sweaty hands made the grip slippery and he fell flat onto his back. He groaned as he rolled over and approached the wall once again.
"Don't wait for me," Tamotsu said. "You'll only make yourself look as bad as me. Get going, Akria."
"Are you sure?" Akira asked.
"I'm sure. I'll be up and over before you know it. See you on the other side!"
"Sure thing, buddy!" Akira jumped again, nearly miscalculating the distance a couple of times but he made it to the top of the wall quickly.
Tamotsu climbed again and made it to the same spot before slipping and falling again. For a third time, he approached the wall, this time calculating where each hold was to make it to the first landing. Looking up, Tamotsu could see the last of the climbing students go over the top of the wall. This distraction caused him to lose concentration on his holds and he fell to the ground once again.
Stars lit the night sky over Seireitei. Tamotsu grunted as he slowly made his way up the wall. He was less than ten feet from the top. He could feel the victory. So close, but his entire body burned. He couldn't remember how many times he had fallen, but each time he was able to make it further. Even if it was only an inch, he could-
"Wow, you're out kind of late aren't you?" The woman's voice caught Tamotsu off guard and he slipped, managing to grab a firm hold and prevent himself from falling down.
"Don't do that!" Tamotsu cried out.
"Oh, I'm sorry," the woman said. "Here, let me help you up."
"No! I can do this!" Looking over his shoulder, Tamotsu could see that it was a female student. She had short hair, he couldn't tell if it was orange or blonde in the dim lighting. "Please, let me do this- wait, how are you doing that?" Tamotsu hadn't noticed, but the woman was actually standing on the air behind him.
"What, this?" The woman took a few steps back and forth. "This must be your first day. One of the new students?"
"Yeah."
"Well this is actually my last year here. They'll teach you how to do this later on. Don't worry."
Tamotsu managed to climb to the top with much effort, but once he did he rolled onto his back and began breathing heavily. The woman jumped up and landed next to him, then sat down. He could see her face clearly now. She had soft features and a beauty mark under the right side of her mouth.
"Trying to get some extra credit?" she asked.
"No," Tamotsu responded, breathing heavily. "That was my first time climbing it. I've been at it all day."
"Really? Wow, I probably would have just given up. Oh, where are my manners. I haven't introduced myself. My name is Rangiku. Rangiku Matsumoto."
"Tamotsu Toshiyuki."
"Its a nice night, itsn't it, Tamotsu?"
"I wouldn't know. I've been staring at a rock wall."
"So what brings you here? Did you just want to be a Shinigami?"
"No, Rangiku. I've been pretty weak my whole life. Looked down on and been taken care of. I just wanted to prove that I could be something."
"I see. I'm here for my brother. He was taken in by the Shinigami several years ago. Once I become a Shinigami I can meet him again."
"What's his name?"
Rangiku smiled. "His name is Kiyoshi."
"Its a good name. I'm sorry, but I have to continue this course."
"Would you like some help?"
"No. I have to do this on my own."
"Oh. Okay then."
"But that doesn't mean I have to be alone. You could complete it with me if you'd like."
Rangiku smiled. "I would."
Present Day
"Guess who?" a voice said as a pair of cold hands covered Tamotsu's eyes.
"Hello, Rangiku," Tamotsu said, not at all surprised.
"Wow, Kiyoshi. You're good at this."
Rangiku sat down next to Tamotsu. It was only a few months ago that she and he had learned of their kinship. Since that day, Rangiku had insisted on calling him by his namesake to her. She was the only one to do so, but Tamotsu didn't mind.
"So what are you doing our here?" Rangiku asked.
"I was remembering the first day we met," Tamotsu responded.
"Oh, yeah. That was a long time ago."
"It was. And a lot's changed since then." Tamotsu turned to look at his sister for the first time since she started speaking. She looked much the same as she did the first time he met her in the Academy. Her hair was much longer and she had taken to wearing a pink scarf over her shoulders, the origin of which he could only guess. Had any normal human been around it would have appeared that Tamotsu was talking to himself. "I'll be honest with you. Things haven't been too good for me lately."
"What do you mean?"
"I've been distancing myself from everyone. I'm scared, Rangiku. I'm afraid I'll hurt them. Even just being around them is becoming dangerous."
"I don't understand."
Tamotsu was about to speak again when he suddenly clenched his side. The energy in the air suddenly increased dramatically and a blue light began to shine around Tamotsu. Instinctively, Rangiku jumped back and readied herself. The glow around Tamotsu intensified and in a flash of light he separated from his physical body. Torrents of blue energy flowed out of Tamotsu's body, the bracers around his forearms began to peel back as even more energy surged from them.
"No," Tamotsu said. "No, not now!" Straining his face, the energy began to fade and Tamotsu doubled over.
"Kiyoshi!" Rangiku jumped to her brother's side and placed her arms around him. "What's going on? Tell me."
"My power... It's too much... I- I can't-" Tamotsu was interrupted as his body convulsed. Pulling away from Rangiku he fell to his hands and knees and wretched a pool of glowing blue liquid. The energy around the pool surged, causing the air to become heavy.
Rangiku stared as Tamotsu spewed forth more liquid. That's not bile, she thought. That's pure reishi.
Tamotsu clenched his sides. "Lucky! I need you to take care of my body-" Tamotsu clenched his sides tighter as the stuffed owl emerged from a pocket in the backpack that Tamotsu's body was carrying. Rangiku quickly extracted the soul pill and placed it within the mouth of the seemingly lifeless form.
"Tell me, sir," Lucky said. "What is happening?"
"I- I need to get to Seireitei-"
Nodding, Rangiku unsheathed her zanpakuto and inserted it like a key into the air. Turning it, a gateway appeared. Struggling forward, Tamotsu walked into the bright light which led to the capitol of the Soul Society.
On the other side of the gateway, Tamotsu emerged at the main Senkaimon in the heart of Seireitei. Two guards greeted him customarily until they saw him double over in pain.
"Captain Toshiyuki!" one of them exclaimed.
"Get me Captains Kurotsuchi and Unohana-" Tamotsu exclaimed, his words strained.
"Yes sir!" One of the guards jumped away using Shunpo as Rangiku exited the gateway.
Rangiku caught her brother as he began to fall to one side. His entire body was shaking, a glowing blue sweat beginning to cover his entire body.
"Rangiku..." Tamotsu said. "It hurts..."
Holding Tamotsu in her arms, Rangiku began to stroke his head. "Its okay," she said. "We'll get through this. Do you hear me? You're going to be okay."
Rangiku could hear the doubt in her own voice. She was aware Tamotsu was having problems with his power but she had never seen him like this before. It was beyond her abilities to do anything at this point. All she could do was hold her brother as he continued to sweat large drops of concentrated reishi.
NOTES FROM THE AUTHOR
Doing kind of a double-update since my chapters are rather short and a bit slow. Decided since this will be Tamotsu's last story (uh-oh, was that a spoiler?) I'll go ahead and fill in his past. Its been established he's spent 40 years in the Academy, now you'll see why and what happened during that time.