Note – I've not updated this story in over four years due to losing my notes due to a computer crash. I'm now working on making notes off all of my older stories that I've completely posted to Wattpad so that I can quickly job my memory on important details. I've also used the characters from Softly Snowing in the Finding Friendship series. That series is AU to SS-II.

Softly Snowing II
Academy Years

~Year One (Part Three)~

"Haven't you found a guy that you like a lot though?" Hana thought about Kumiko's words carefully as she lay on the soft bed and pulled the pillow close to her mouth. Her brown eyes took in the room carefully as she listened to the sounds of her fellow students snowing away. The room had openings that made it look like a person could walk straight out of the room, and the wind blow inside. This caused a shiver to run down her spine as she imagined the wind blowing into the room.

"Silly. You noticed earlier that there was this clear object between you and the outside. Perhaps Kumiko-san can explain to me what that object is tomorrow." Her mind drifted back to the question as she shivered again at the thought of the wind seeping in. Upon closing her eyes she remembered the sight of snow falling down, and her sandal clad feet becoming cold as the snow seeped in through her tabi socks. She remembered a soft bun being handed to her causing her to warm up.

Two brown eyes opened up and stared at the window as she pulled her sleeves over her shoulders. She soon drifted off to sleep, and her breath let out soft snores. The next thing she knew someone shook her shoulder telling her to wake up. She blinked a couple of times and saw Kumiko staring down at her. "Come on. You don't want to be late on your first day of full classes. My nii-sama says it gets even more exciting. Plus... you want to see the place we eat breakfast... those of us staying here."

Hana sat up straight as she looked around the room. Ayumu looked at her with a look that caused the young Kamoku child to blink a couple of times. She brushed off the reaction and instead turned to look at Kumiko with a smile. "Kumiko-san..."

"Kumiko-chan..."

"Kumiko-chan... what is the clear stuff in the openings."

"Oh... that?" The black haired noble stared at the openings for a bit. "Those openings are called windows, and the clear item is glass. That's not the only thing glass is used for, and it isn't just clear either."

"Would you shut up." Ayumu's words snapped out at the other girl. "The only reason you're talking like you are is because you enjoy letting people know how much you know about everything, but you really don't know anything do you?"

"Don't know anything?" Kumiko's mouth twisted down at the corners. Her finger pointed at the girl. "You're just jealous that I know so much about the world of the living!"

"You didn't get the drift my meaning, did you? The things you talk about don't matter to anybody here. They serve no purpose what so ever. There is no need for us to wonder about things like glass. We're simply here to become Shinigami and do our duty. Then again some of us are just here to make themselves become more marriageable."

"Can we please get along?" Hana felt her facial features twist up as she held her hands in the air.

"You're one to talk. You're only here for that very reason."

"That's the reason my parents let me come."

"What did you say?"

"Nothing."

Kumiko glared at the other female as her mouth formed a firm pout. "Well... at least Hana-chan cares about what I have to say."

"Could you both stop it?" Another female snapped at the three. "If we're late to meals we don't get anything to eat."

Hana blinked a couple of times. "That's bad..." She began to hurry to change into her uniform as a frown spread across her face. "If we don't get to eat then we won't have any strength to get through class."

The young academy student then hurried out of the room despite her uniform not being on straight. She hurried down the stairs only to misstep on the last one. She hit the ground causing the palms of her hands to sting as well as her nose. She sat up into a sitting position with her knees pointing forward. One of her fingers reached up to wiggle her nose as her brown eyes went cross eyed. A sigh caused her to look up at Akimoto. Her eyes were narrowed and her mouth twisted into a frown. "Are you mad at me?"

A smile quickly spread across Akimoto's face. "Don't worry pet. I'm just worried that you got hurt, and that you didn't care for waiting for me."

"Sorry." Hana stood up and dusted off her clothing as she stepped aside so that others could pass them. She watched as Ayumu glared at her. "Is something the matter Ayumu-chan."

The girl didn't respond, and Akimoto touched her shoulder lightly. "Don't mind her. She likely doesn't think we should be making such a big deal out of eating, just like she doesn't think we should make such a big deal out of things from the world of the living."

Hana quickly became excited. "But eating is important! To get into the academy you need to have rieatsu. When you have rieatsu you have an apatite. If you don't take care of that apatite then you end up getting weak, and you're not able to do anything. So we must eat to keep our strength up."

Akimoto tilted her head. "What kind of stuff do you know abou food from the world of the living?"

"Bentos! You make them for people you like." Hana blinked a couple of times. "I made a bento once. It was mostly rice, and some toppings."

"Was it for someone..."

"Hinamori Momo..." A gasp escaped Hana's lips.

"Wait... you made it for Hinamori Fukutaicho. You like her in that manner?"

"She shared her bento with nii-chan that day!" A pout spread across her lips. "It ruined everything."

The noble blinked a couple of times. "Didn't you enter the academy because of her?"

Hana stared for a few minutes. "Did I? Yes. She's still amazing. She didn't know really. Plus... not really her fault." She felt a few tears come from the corner of her eyes, and she reached up to wipe them away with her sleeves. "Why? I don't quite understand why I am upset?"

Akimoto patted her on her head. "There there pet." A smile spread across her face. "You will let Akimoto-chan know if anyone picks on you right?"

"I want to eat breakfast with Akimoto-chan!" Hana became excited. "I've only ever eaten it with my three nii-chan and our parents."

A laugh left the other girls mouth.

ƸΨƷ

Meals at the Kamoku household consisted of rice and meat. The morning meal placed on their treys consisted of a strange drink in a bowl with steamed rice accompanied by a few other things. Kamoku pointed at the bowl with her chopsticks. "What is this strange drink Akimoto-chan?"

"Drink?" The girl from the noble clan brushed back her hair with a flip. "First off, don't point your chopsticks. It is rude." The girl watched as Hana looked at her chopsticks sheepishly. "Second, that isn't a drink. It's a dish called miso soup."

"But how do I eat it?"

"You drink it."

"Then how is it not a drink?"

"Because it is food and food and drink are different."

"Thank you so much for your explanation." Hana smiled at the girl and clapped her hands together before giving thanks for her meal. She started off by trying the miso soup. Her eyes went wide as she took her first sip. "Amazing! I wonder if Toshiro-kun has ever tried this? I wonder what kinds of foods he got to eat when he was at the academy."

She paused briefly to see Akimoto smiling at her. A few of the other girls wondered past them giggling. Hana watched them before asking another question. "Are they talking about boys?"

"Why do you ask that?"

"Whenever girls giggle they're talking about boys?"

"So you've never seen them laugh for another reason?"

Hana blinked a couple of times. "The only time I can think of they were laughing along with everybody else in our class. For some reason everyone liked laughing at this kid a lot."

Akimoto tilted her head as she ate in a slow, elegant fashion. "This kid. What werethey like?"

"Bunny flies!"

"Ehh... I'm not sure what that means, but it must be a good thing if your happy about it. Why did they make fun of this kid though."

"I don't know why. I told you that I never understood why they made fun of him."

"Him?"

Hana nodded her head. "Yes. I joined the academy because of him."

"Wait... I thought you joined because of Hinamori Momo."

"I want to be strong like her. I don't want to see that happen again, ever." The chopsticks went into the brown haired females mouth. Her brown eyes went wide again as she let out a gasp. "Wait! Don't tell my parents though! They think I'm doing this so that I have better prospects with marriage. I'm not thinking about that though."

"Oh..." Akimoto's eyes narrowed and the corners of her mouth twisted up. "I think my first impression of you was wrong. Yes... your cute. You don't care about my noble rank though do you."

"Well... it is nice being a friend with a noble. I like the fact you treat me like I'm an equal despite the fact you really don't have to. You also have a lot of interesting things to talk about, and your a nice person."

"See. That's what I mean." Akimoto crossed her hands in front of her face. "Hana-chan... there are going to be people who want to become my friends because my family status can get them something."

"That's mean!"

"I know. What I want to say though is some of them may want to bully you for being friends with me. If they say anything mean then let me know. Right?"

"Sure. But what if they say something mean to you? You'll tell me? Right Akimoto-chan?"

"I'll think about it. I think it will depend on whether I think you'll understand or not. I mean... you've not interests in noble affairs. Right?"

"Nope! Though if I am unable to become a Shinigami it might be nice to work in your house and help you."

"How much would you want to be paid?"

"Paid? Why would I want to be paid for doing something a friend should do?"

"Never mind."

ƸΨƷ

The young Kamoku daughter's excitement grew as she headed to class for her first official day of classes. Akimoto went with her and sat next to her while nobody else choose to approach them. The others were busy getting to know the friends they had chosen, and gossip hadn't started to circulate among the first years. Hana wouldn't likely have listened to any gossip that came her way.

She sat down at the desk and look towards the front while her body tensed up from excitement. The silence bothered Akimoto causing her to ask a question while they waited for a teacher. "Have you been to a school before? What was it like?"

"The school I went to. The school only has one room. The only time I've seen buildings this big before was when I went to take the test, and this is even bigger. That building didn't have such a thing as stairs." Hana looked towards the front of the classroom as a finger went to her mouth. "I wonder what Toshiro-kun thought of going to school here and if he was as amazed as I am."

"The desks weren't like this?"

"No. We had small desks that were lower to the ground, and sometimes we had to share."

The teacher came into the room and remained silent before coming into the room. She started speaking to the class about basic announcements before going into the lesson for the day. "My job is to go over the basics of what you'll need to know for being a Shinigami. I'll also eventually be reviewing you over the practical aspects, but I will not be testing you over the application aspect of what we will be learning. For that you have a teacher for sword fighting, hand to hand fighting, kido, meditation, history, as well as a foreign language. Do I have any questions so far?"

A hand suddenly raised up. "Why are we learning a foreign language?"

"In the living world the students learn a foreign language in order to deal with people on the other side of the world. On one side you will be learning a foreign language in case you do need to interact with people in the living world. This way you will be less likely to attract attention and not have to modify peoples memories. If your in the higher ranks you may have to deal with Shinigami from the other side of the world. This afternoon you will be picking out which language you will want to learn."

The female teacher continued. "Plus... this is the extra curricular activity we've picked for first years. Since you're not in the higher classes you'll also be just focusing on application, meditation and history for your classes."

The teacher then handed out textbooks before going into talking about application, and Hana found herself lost. History she found to be boring. Akimoto ended up tapping her on the shoulder for when they went to the small dojo for meditation training. She sat in a traditional position next to Akimoto and listened to the instructions about relaxing ones body. The teacher sat at the front of the room. "This is how you come into contact with your zampaktuo spirit."

"My what?"

"Weren't you paying attention in class?" One of the other girls leaned over and whispered. "Look it up in the textbook this evening then."

The students were then asked to meditate as they sat there. Hana closed her eyes, but found she couldn't keep the posture they were expected despite the complete silence. The teacher came over and corrected her constantly. Her eyes also snapped open when one of the guys ended up snoring. The class ended and she let out a sigh. "The academy is harder then I thought. Then again I barely made it in."

"You shouldn't mention that." One of the guys walked by her.

Akimoto frowned after him. "Don't listen to him. I'll catch you up with what went on in class today. We need to sign up for our language class and hope we get the one we want."

The two girls went to the board. "What's angree-what's it?"

"English?"

"Nobody has signed up for it. It's also a small class."

"Yes... it looks like the fukutaicho of the first division is teaching this class."

"That's a good thing, right?"

Akimoto frowned. "I don't know... I heard first division is very strict. Still... do you mind me putting your name down for it as well."

"Nope! I want to be in the same class as Akimoto for language."