When I got up that morning I had a distinct feeling that something had changed. I also had a feeling that the easiest part of my day was already over. I started to get ready for my day regardless of those feelings and found myself dressed and ready to go in just under thirty minutes. I planned on arriving early to the school in hopes of beating the students to the training room I would be speaking in. However, as soon as I opened the door I noticed that the ground was covered in snow. Instead of the warm winter we had been having for the past few years, there was snow. I wondered if that had anything to do with me.
For the first time in a long time we had my favorite kind of weather and I just had to slow down and observe my surroundings. Not only did the ground have a few inches of snow already it was still coming down with no signs of stopping. I walked the first half of the way to the Soul Reaper Academy in awe at something I hadn't seen it what felt like forever.
The second half wasn't as calm. I got stopped twice by drunken Soul Reapers asking me where Squad 11 Barracks were. The snow also picked up heavily making it somewhatdifficult to see without help. Eventually I decided to flash step to the Academy instead of walk. I got there as the earliest students began to arrive and walked to the front of the training room where some of the instructors had set up a small platform for me to stand on.
Two of the instuctors smiled at my arrival and began to brief me on what would be happening. The only part I carefully listened to was how long they suspected the assembly to last, about two hours. Everything I had heard before and knew well. Before Karin had died I had been a frequently requested Captain to speak at the assemblies.
I had roughy ten minutes to plan what I might say about Squad 10 or Rangiku or myself before the assembly would begin. I determined I would be mostly honest but not reveal anything overly personal. Any stupid questions would be answered though not in the way the students were wanting and of course I would try to keep them interested.
When I began I had a short speech about how being in my squad was not easy especially because Matsumoto was always goofing off and it was difficult to stay focused on what you were supposed to be doing with her around. It was also difficult because if they were out of line or ineffective in their work process they would be in a bad situation with me...or at least I hoped I could get that reputation back but I didn't say that.
The first question was a relatively simple one, "What is Squad 10's speciality?"
I straightened my back more and spoke calmly and with authority, "Squad 10 like several other squads in the Seireitei does not have a specific speciality. It deals with several kinds of different situations in both the living world and the Soul Society, including both the things many of you will find boring such as paper and the things most of you search for such as fighting and patroling the living world."
It seemed to shock some of the instructors in the back how poised I had been answering the question and delivering my short speech beforehand.
However, I continued with my ability to have my composure until te last thirty minutes of the assembly when questions such as my romantic insterests and what I did in my free time started to come out. Though I was irritated my true composure until and boy with glasses standing near the front said, "I've heard the recently you aven't been doing your job and are basically a joke of a Captain now. That is why you haven't spoken to us for a long time isn't it?"
I wasn't sure how to answer because I felt that it dealt too much with my personal life and actual emotion but I knew if I ignored him most of the other students would take his stance and begin to view me as a joke and dismiss Squad 10 for no good reason. After all Matsumoto had actually run the Squad quite well without my help excluding paperwork of course.
I ran the question through my head several times trying and failing to find an appropriate way to answer the question. Eventually I settled for a half truth, "If I told you tat was completely false I'd be lying. However there was also much more going on than that and I wouldn't be here today if there hadn't been improvements made. The Head-Captain would not let me speak to you with the potential of my attitude turning students away from being a Soul Reaper and I honestly can say that what you are asking about is behind me and the rest of the Seireitei. I may not have the same reputation I used to but trust me when I say I'm the same Captain with the reputation of years ago."
He nodded and responded quietly where only a few could hear him, "Thanks for being honest."
The training room was silent for at least two minutes before, finally, a familiar voice spoke and my ears subconsciously perked up as a response, "Captain Hitsugaya do you remember which sections you and Lieutenant Matsumoto tested highest in on your graduation exam at the Academy?"
I nodded, "If I'm not mistaken I made a 90 in both Kido and Mobility and Matsumoto, although I don't know the exact scores, scored highest in swordsmanship and Kido."
The training room erupted in surprise. It took me a moment to realize that I was considered a genius and that it wasn't normal to test that high in two different subjects. I kept to myself that all my other scores weren't that far behind that. I heard mutterings of "genius" and "amazing" which me search out Karin in the crowd. She was smiling at me as if she planned this eruption. It took another moment to realize that she had. She had changed the focus from my problems to my successes and I had to fight the urge to smile.
Shortly after, the assembly ended and the students left and I let out a sigh as mentally relaxed. "Difficult, huh? Haven't done that in a while have you?"
I looked up to see Karin still standig in the room, "No I haven't. In more than two years actually."
She looked surprised but dropped the subject, "Well I stayed to see if I could maybe come back into the Seireitei with you today and maybe meet a few of the other Captains and Lieutenants as a sort of window shopping kind of thing."
Only Karin would use that kind of phrase when referring to picking a Squad in the Soul Society and I felt my eyebrows rise in amusement, "My speech not good enough for you? Don't like Squad 10?"
She rolled her eyes, "Don't be a baby just because I have met you now doesn't mean I want to be in your Squad. What Squad I want to be in I don't know but I don't think I could truly make a decision until I have met the Captains and other members of the Squads. I want to make a educated decision not a blind one. As of right now yours is the only one I have any info on so if I had to pick I'd pick yours but it would kind of suck to get there and find out that I would've liked it better somewhere else."
I shook my head, "I wasn't being serious and I don't know what the other Captains are doing today. Can you come back with me? Sure. But I can't promise you'll get to meet everyone. You got to see the Head-Captain the other day but I'm pretty sure he's busy today and..."
She cut me off, "Ok I don't care who is busy we'll just go to as many of them as we can and I'll be happy with that for now."
I furrowed my eyebrows, "You seem to be awfully comfortable talking to me like you have known me forever."
A look of shock crossed her face and her face lit up in a blush, "Actually I'm really not I guess I just thought that was what you preferred since you told me to call you by your first name. I'm sorry but I really don't remember knowing you at all and it kind of stresses me out when you are around because I don't know how to act because part of me tells me its normal to casually speak to you and other doesn't like that idea."
I held up my hand, "Ok calm down you don't have to act in a way that makes you uncomfortable. It isn't that big of a problem you'll get your memories back eventually there's no need to rush them. I don't care that much what you call me or how you speak to me it's ok."
But I did care and I wanted her to be comfortable around me. I wanted our pre-death relationship back and I wanted her to be informal with me and joke around with me. But I knew by the look of relief on her face that I had said the right thing.
With that we began our walk through the deep snow to the other Squads. It had stopped snowing but everything was now covered in white and I loved it. "You really like the snow don't you?"
I was slightly startled by her question but I nodded, "It's my favorite type of weather why?"
She smiled, "You just got this look on your face like you were content with everything in the world. It was like no matter what happened you'd be ok as long as there was snow involved."
I felt myself blush, "It's just that...it hasn't snowed in a couple a years. Not since before the girl I went after died."
And I continued to wonder if that had anything to do with me. Perhaps I had been so depressed that I had drawn all the cold weather to me and prevented but now that I was getting better the weather was cooling down to my version of more favorable weather.
She looked off into the white expanse of the Soul Society, "I've always favored warm weather with the summer and beaches and swimming and such, well as far back as I can remember anyway."
I nodded. We had always been like fire and ice, Opposites but bound to have efects on the other. Eventually I hoped it would return to that way and she'd be as close as she once was...or if I got my way, closer.
Hi guys it's been a while. I have been especially busy with school but I'm done with most of the difficult work so you should be able to expect more frequent updates.
