Serious Shinigami Shenanigans

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A young girl with pale brown hair tied in a ponytail, wandered down the hallway of the Shin'ō Academy (or as the locals called it: the Shinigami Academy) in her white and red uniform. Her destination was the board upon which the school posted important messages and information. She was incredibly nervous. After taking the entrance exam for the academy, she was about to find out whether or not she had gained a place at the school.

With the board finally in sight, Kiyomi stopped walking all of a sudden. She couldn't quite see anything that was written, but her nerves seemed to have gotten the better of her. What if she didn't get a high enough score? What if she would have to wait to retry the entrance exam? She was never this nervous about anything and it felt unnatural to her. But her mind focused on one thing; if she didn't get into the academy, what if she hurt her friend again?

As these thoughts crept into her already nervous mind, a group of other students wandered past her, evidently headed for the board. Kiyomi stood for a moment and watched, waiting to see what their results were. Judging from the large smiles that were passed around the group shortly after, they had succeeded. With a small sigh, Kiyomi closed her eyes, still standing in the middle of the hall.
"Alright, pull yourself together Kiyomi," she thought to herself, trying to pluck up the courage to move forward, "You'll never find out how you did if you just stand here."

Opening her teal blue eyes and nervously twisting a hand through her wavy, pale-brown ponytail, she took a few steps forward until she was stood in front of the large board. Glancing at it, she scanned all of the pinned up papers, looking for the correct one. Finding the list of students who had taken the exam, she scanned down it for her name:

Shiratori Kiyomi.... Pass

All of her former nervousness evaporated instantly and a wide grin spread over her face as she read the result. The sheet neglected to mention scores, possibly out of respect for those students who had failed, however Kiyomi didn't really care. She had passed!
There was a small note pinned to the entrance exam results telling everyone who had passed to find their name on one of the class lists and prepare for their first lessons. Nodding to herself, Kiyomi began to scan each of the lists, looking for the class she had been put into.

Once Rake was called to spar with a student, he felt that he should at least give it a shot. He had fought with punks in the real world before, that counted right? He had been about to stand up when he noticed his muscle headed opponent, he sat right back down and spoke, "I have no knowledge of it as well..." he kept the fear out of his face and voice, as the muscle head laughed and sent his next opponent to the nursery room.

"Chickeeen" Tora teased Rake.

"At least I didn't cheat and kick someone in the weak spot."

"That wasn't cheating and you know it."

After the demonstrations were done there was still half of the lesson remaining and so the tutor began teaching the class some basic hand-to-hand combat techniques. Kiyomi was entirely focussed on memorizing all the tips that the tutor mentioned, wanting to become proficient in the art lest she ever need it as a shinigami.

Soon enough the Hakuda lesson ended and Kiyomi headed off to her first Hoho lesson. She hadn't spoken to Rakeshisu and Toraburu since she had met them in front of the boards and wondered how they had found the day. She contemplated this and more as she meditated in an attempt to control her reiryoku in the Hoho lesson. As her thoughts wandered, she found her mind wandering, imagining a tranquil meadow, a gentle breeze blowing the white flowers and long blades of grass.

After breaking for lunch, the new students were given the chance to visit their new dormitories. After being shown to hers, Kiyomi left the notebook she had been carrying since the beginning of the day on the bed and headed off to the final lesson of the day: A double session of Zanjutsu.

The Zanjutsu training hall was a lot like the Hakuda room, only much larger. Kiyomi felt even shorter than she normally did upon entering the room, as the building's ceilings were extremely high. Upon entering the classroom, every student was handed an Asauchi; a nameless blade. The instructor explained that due to being in the advanced class, zanpakuto communication would be taught as well as general swordsmanship. This was why there were more Zanjutsu lessons on their timetable than any other.

Kiyomi listened with interest as the instructor explained to them that their lessons would alternate between meditation and teaching the art of the sword. Today's lesson due to being a double timetabled slot would be half of each, starting with the former. They were to meditate -like they had been all day- but were to try and seek out the spirit of their zanpakuto.

"Most shinigami initially make contact with their zanpakuto when they are dreaming, thus in order to do the same when awake, a state of inner peace must be attained. Meditation is the best way to do this. I do not expect any of you to make contact with your zanpakuto spirit right away, but you are to work on your technique, as it is essential to communicating with a zanpakuto, even after learning it's name," the teacher calmly explained to them. His voice was calm as he explained this to his new students. He then beckoned them to resume a pose of meditation.

Kiyomi decided to sit with her newly attained Asauchi balanced on her cross legs. She closed her teal eyes and tried to attain a state of 'inner peace'.

Rake sat at the floor with his own Asauchi...and meditated like all the other students. Of course, Tora had decided to sit next to him. Tora did not take it too seriously though, and merely stared at the blade in boredom as everyone else meditated. Rake focused on achieving the so called "Inner Peace" and the entire room was silent until Tora decided to converse with his friend, "Yo, Rake. You know how to do this? How do you do it?"

"This isn't a test you can cheat on, you have to do it yourself. If you had listened you would have known that," Rake whispered back.

Tora let out an exaggerated sigh, "But this is so boring, why don't we just leave?"

"You're the one that challenged me to come here, now shut up and get back to work, I'd like to have a challenging competition and not an easy street because you were too lazy to even sit there and pretty much do nothing." Rake closed his eyes once more after earning a few glares from nearby classmates and resumed meditation...

Tora sighed once more and resumed his own work. Neither made any huge progress that day...

Kiyomi was one of the few people who gave short glares to Tora as she attempted to concentrate. However, closing her teal blue eyes once more, she managed to get in nearly a whole lesson's worth of meditation. Her meditation landed her in the grassy meadow from before, inspired by her glances out of the window during the lecture first thing this morning. It was definitely peaceful, but before she could do anything further the class was disturbed to begin their first proper Zanjutsu lesson.

The final lesson of the day passed with only a few incidents, and after it ended, Kiyomi found herself heading towards her dormitory. She was exhausted after learning various sword fighting techniques and sparring with a partner for the remainder of the lesson; the class using wooden swords to prevent serious injury. She had received quite a few bruises from her opponent though and hoped that she wouldn't be doing anything too strenuous first thing in the morning.

After changing into sleeping attire, Kiyomi lay down in her bed and fell asleep almost immediately. The young student's dreams were of the meadow her mind had been focused on all day, only all of the flowers that bloomed there were white lilies, and the meadow was covered in a thin, delicate layer of snow...

Two months, of "vigorous" training, "meditating", and goofing around. Rake, who had once been focused, was now distracted once more by his friend just like in High School in the world of the living. He did not go as far as ditching, but if this continues he will have been about to. He began to pay less attention, focus less, he and Toraburu had become the bane of their classes and teachers. Rake had no idea how big his own transformation had been, figuring that if Tora was not taking the challenge as seriously anymore, why should he? Instead of practicing, he relaxed and shirked his work often.

Toraburu did NOT like what was happening to his friend however. The words of Rake the night before his death still rang in his mind, that people needed to focus and do good in school in order to succeed. The young man did not mean for his friend to become more like him, which he was aware of his own sloth like nature but cared not. He had thought that the shinigami school could be able to act as a second chance, thinking that Rake was still like how he had left him when he died despite getting a job. Only now, when he realized what he had done to his idiotic friend, did he realize that Rake was better off without him.

Tora first tried to focus on his work, but ended up procrastinating like no other shinigami has procrastinated before. He then tried to ignore his friend, but found that he could not do that either. He tried to talk to Rake about it, but Rake had dismissed him as drunk, which he may or may not have been at the time. Tora was beginning to feel guilty. His friend was an idiot, and mimicked those close him without knowing it. Tora had known that, and yet it was High School all over again. Then a thought came to him, Rake had no other real friends other than him. A lot of the students here were rather intimidating, and like stated before: Rake was an idiot. Maybe Tora could ask others for help...

Hey there Mom, Dad and Raito~
It's been two months since I started here at the academy. That's two whole months without seeing or speaking to any of you! I'm so sorry for not writing sooner, I've just been so busy lately. I have so much to tell you and I don't really know where to start!

We've done so much in classes already, in such a short space of time. It almost feels like I'm being absolutely swamped with new information every day. I guess that must be a part of being in the special accelerated classes though. I had such a shock at the beginning of the year when I found out I had been placed in the advanced classes! I hoped you would be proud of me!~

I've made a few friends since coming here, the closest of which is definitely Yūjin. She is amazing at Kidō, even if she's too modest to admit it to anyone else. I guess she doesn't want to show off, but she's always giving me little tips on how to improve my own Kidō skills. Kidō is definitely one of my weaker areas. I have to say I'm just not very good at it. It's quite funny to see the spells blowing up in people's faces and covering them in ash when done wrong, even if I too end up like that most of the time. Heh.

I suppose you'll want to hear about what i'm actually good at rather than just the bad... well I guess i'll start with Hakuda. Tanaka-sensei says I've progressed a lot in Hakuda, especially because I had no knowledge of hand-to-hand combat before joining the academy. She always says that I'll probably be snapped up by the 2nd Division or the Onmitsukidō before I know it... Only I'm not sure if I'm suited to be an assassin and I don't like the idea of being the Soul Society's version of a prison guard. I guess anything like that is ages away though, so I have plenty of time to think about it. Plus they might not even think I'm good enough, even though Tanaka-sensei seems to hold me in high esteem. We haven't learned much about each of the divisions yet but everyone seems to have their favourite Captain, whose division they strive to join in the future. Me? I'm not so sure about that yet either... Yūjin doesn't want to be a part of the Gotei 13 and instead strives to be a part of the Kidō Corps. Considering her talent for the demon arts, I think she'd do well there.

Oh! You'll be proud to hear that I am one of the best in my Hohō class at Shunpō. The tutor says I have a natural speed and 'nimbleness' that most others lack... even though we've only just begun to learn how to do Flash Step. Perhaps it's because of all the running around I used to do with you Raito! I miss our games. I'll have to come back and visit you soon ^-^

Raito, you'll probably be more interested in this since you always were curious about shinigami. One of the most interesting lessons -in my opinion- is the zanpakutō communication section of our Zanjutsu lessons. Due to being in the advanced classes, they make a special effort to help us discover and mold our own zanpakutō and learn their name so that we can become powerful Shinigami. No one in our class has learned the name of their zanpakutō yet, at least not as far as I know. Sensei says it could take a few years before any of us actually do. However, whenever I perform Jinzen, I always end up thinking about a snow covered meadow. I keep seeing the same meadow in my dreams, white lilies blooming even in the cold conditions. I haven't mentioned it to Sensei yet but do you think it could be my 'inner world'? Supposedly that's where your zanpakutō spirit resides... Only the meadow is always empty save for the flowers and the wind.

We're heading out to the World of the Living tomorrow for practical Konso training. If I have time I'll send you another letter soon, telling you how it went!

I love you all and hope to see you all again soon! Give Haruka my best and wish her a happy birthday next week. :)
- Kiyomi -

Kiyomi finished up the letter, with a neat but rather elegant version of her name written in Japanese kanji. With a small smile she folded the letter and tied a small ribbon around it to keep it in place. She then headed to send it to its destination. Happy that she had finally gotten around to writing to her family, Kiyomi was about to head to bed when she spotted her Asauchi leaning against he wall by the desk in her small dormitory; exactly where she had left it.
"I suppose a little meditation outside of class wouldn't hurt," she murmured, grasping the hilt of the sword she had been given in her very first Zanjutsu class. Sitting down in her bed area, she balanced the Asauchi on her crossed legs and closed her teal eyes.

Kiyomi hadn't realised how tired she was and whilst attempting to meditate, had instead fallen asleep in the meditative position she had taken. As she drifted off into a deep slumber, she found herself once again in that snow covered meadow. Kiyomi found herself slowly walking through the soft layer of white, leaving a trail of footprints in her wake as she wandered through the field of white lilies. This was new. Whenever she had come here before she had been unable to move from that one specific spot, instead having to sit and watch the world go by in the hopes that one day she would see the spirit that resided here. Perhaps her patience had begun to pay off...

Rake, even through his slacking, had not forgotten about his own Asauchi. He still sat down with it, getting strange dreams about deserts and strong winds, a sandstorm. He still had no idea what was going on between him and his sword, but continued none the less.

It was the next day, when a field trip to the human world had been planned. They were to go into the human world and perform a soul burial in groups of four. Rake had been grouped with Kiyomi, the strange girl he met on the first day of classes, and her friend Yūjin. Toraburu had been grouped with someone else, but swapped with the last person in their group.

Rake tried to converse with Tora, but for some reason his friend had remained silent...

The sixth year students that were supervising the trip to the world of the living did a quick roll call, checking that everyone had a Jigokuchō to guide them from Soul Society to the world of the living without having to pass through the Dangai. Kiyomi's Jigokuchō hovered around her head and the young female found herself smiling as she watched the black butterfly. They were such delicate creatures, and yet Soul Society depended on them for safe travel to the human world.

Glancing to Yūjin, Kiyomi smiled, "Well this should be fun anyhow!" she grinned cheerfully, Yūjin nodding and grinning back in response.
"There's nothing better than practical experience after all," the blonde replied as the duo wandered over to Rake and Tora so that they could pass through the Senkaimon as a group. Both girls knew of their reputation, and had both agreed to keep an eye on them, hopefully encouraging them to take part rather than be lazy like they normally were.

"Alright, next group to head on through!" called one of the sixth year students. Kiyomi prodded Rake's arm, "C'mon Keshi, we're heading out!" she grinned, Yūjin already leading the way towards the Senkaimon.

"Yeah yea-WAIT WHAT? KESHI?!" He started out in a dismissive voice before building to a yell before being dragged off to the human world. Toraburu snickered slightly before following his friend and the strange girl. Rake was a bit uneasy about Tora's sudden behavior, but was currently distracted with the smaller girl calling him "Eraser" instead of his real name, "My NAME is Rakeshisu, not Keshi," he said irritably.

Kiyomi merely blinked and proceeded to lead Rakeshisu through the Senkaimon, their Jigokuchō fluttering just ahead of them.
"When written in rōmaji your name has 'Keshi' in it. It's much easier to say than 'Rakeshisu'," she muttered quietly as she arrived in the World of the Living. Yūjin grinned as the other three came through, waving them over to where she was stood next to one of the sixth year acting-instructors. The area was currently littered with the groups that had passed through the Senkaimon before them.

After hurrying over to Yūjin, the sixth year began to explain to them what they would be doing. They were to be allocated an area of this city and in that area of about a square mile, they were to work as a team to perform Konso on any of the wandering souls they found. The sixth year smiled cheerfully to them as he showed them the boundaries of their group's square mile.

"Sure it's easier, but my name is not Eraser..." Rake huffed. He at least payed attention to the instructor as she told them of what they were to do. 'So we just walk around and stab the spirits with out swords? Seems legit...' The red headed male thought as he toyed with his nameless sword's handle.
"What was your name again? Kiyuki?" he asked Kiyomi, not remembering he name exactly since it had been two months since he had even thought of the girl.

"Well until you prove to us all that you shouldn't be called an eraser, i'll continue calling you Keshi," she frowned, deciding to set it in stone here that she wasn't about to take any laziness from him as it would only bring their group down. She seemed to do it in such a calm and reserved way however, that it was weirdly intimidating.
"My name's Kiyomi," she replied after a few moments, wondering how in soul society this guy hadn't discovered her name by now with the amount of roll calls they'd listened to over the past two months.

Yūjin smiled and waved at the other two before introducing herself just in case Rake didn't know her name either; "I'm Yūjin."
The blonde female then pointed in the direction of their allocated square mile, "I guess we should get going though. We'll need to find a central point and plan how we're going to systematically carry out the Konso, so that we don't miss out any of the wandering souls."

Kiyomi nodded to her friend, "Sounds like a plan!"

As the group wandered about, it was not long before they spotted a spirit. It was a young girl sitting nonchalantly on a high wall, looking into the traffic before the wall that had been next to a busy road. Rake held no other reaction to her other than noticing her and saying, "There's one." He felt slightly irritable about the girl that had called him eraser, wondering if there was some kind of second meaning to calling him an eraser. Since the objects left things blank, was she calling him nothing? The thought only further bothered him, as he tried to decipher a meaning that probably was not there to begin with.

"There's one," Rakeshisu's voice echoed through the near empty city area. Kiyomi's gaze followed his gaze to where the spirit was sitting on a high wall. She blinked before glancing around at their group of four.
"Who wants to go first?" asked Yūjin, hopping back over to where Rake was stood, having been a short distance away so that they could cover a larger area as a group.
"Keshi found it so I assume it's only right he gets to perform Soul Burial on it," replied Kiyomi calmly, her teal eyes straying from the young spirit girl to the male student. Yūjin nodded in agreement, "Go ahead Rakeshisu."

"Go ahead Rakeshisu."
'Crap, how do I do it again?' he thought. He kept calm though, the girl looked at him in curiosity as Rake unsheathed his nameless sword. He was torn between saving his looks and perhaps harming the spirit.
"Come on Rake, hurry it up, what are you chicken?" Tora called, suddenly seeming like his normal old self.
The shinigami grew irritated by the insult. Surely Tora did not know what to do either, So he started to try the soul burial. He pointed his sword at the girl only to be stopped by Tora, "That's not how you do it moron, you'll just end up poking her eye out"
'huh? He knows? Since when did he ever pay attention in class!?' Rake was confused, Tora had been acting strange the past week. Little did he know, Tora had been feeling odd as well as acting odd, guilty and counter-productive in everything he did.