Game 2 - Chapter 1

Junshirou smiled outwardly and cursed inwardly. He'd hoped to raise the subject of Takeshi with Ryouichi, and that wouldn't really be an option if Takeshi was sat at the same table. Realising that Ryouichi was probably unlikely to give straight answers to any of his questions (the motive for which would of course have to be investigated), he straightened out what he wanted to know in his mind.

He'd had time to think while frozen awake, and that time had seemed like an eternity due to Isane-sensei's lecture... he'd pursued more avenues of thought than he could remember, but it meant that he'd remembered exactly what he wanted to know and why. There was still a mild preoccupation with the dreams he'd been having, which he'd determined were concerning his past (which, unhelpfully, he could remember very little of). Well, they could wait. He couldn't remember anything that would help no matter how hard he tried, and it felt like he probably wouldn't manage to understand them until he could get back to Rukongai and find the old man in the dream.

Sitting down, he considered his priorities while simultaneously listening to Chiken and formulating a trivial answer.

So, things that he wanted to find out:

* Why Ryouichi wasn't answering his questions
* What Ryouichi's motives were in helping Takeshi
* What Takeshi needed help with, other than his concentration
* Information about the physical strengths and weakness of the three sat at the table
* Information about any emotional strengths and weaknesses that he didn't know yet

He ordered them according to priority. So, first, he would have to extract information from Ryoui...

"Well, it may have been dull for some of you, anyway... it's a little hard to not pay attention when you're frozen awake", Junshirou joked, letting out a mock yawn. Or perhaps it was a real one - he hadn't had much quality sleep lately.

He started eating while half-paying attention to the conversation and half-figuring out how to interact with Ryouichi. Junshirou suspected him, and he knew that Ryouichi knew that he suspected him. He was pretty confident that Ryouichi knew that he knew that Ryouchi knew that he suspected him. By the end of this conversation, he guessed, Ryouichi would probably know that he knew that Ryouichi knew that he knew that Ryouichi knew that he suspected him.

He mulled his thoughts over, coming to a satisfactory solution without showing any emotion on his face. All he had to do was find some way of linking reiatsu control to it, and he could probably lead the conversation his way, so long as he shot glares at Ryouichi whenever he tried to lead the conversation in an unsatisfactory direction.

So, he mused, all I have to do is wait a little while, and then I can find out exactly what I want to know. He smiled inwardly.

Chiken Kazenosei wrote:

"Hello Kanue and Tenkawa. How's it going? Odd class, don't you think? Kinda dull too..."

Ryouichi sipped his water as he sat with his three classmates. Pretending to chuckle at Tenkawa's joke, Ryouichi decided to voice his own opinion. "You know, Chiken-kun, I wouldn't call history boring. I actually think it's pretty interesting. Yamamoto-sou-taichou, with only his own power and the help of his disciples, was able to completely reshape the existing social and political system. He re-molded our entire society into what it is today!" Ryouichi locked gazes with his classmate. His stare was intense. "Haven't you ever wished you could accomplish something of so grand a scope?" Rhetorical question, Chiken-kun. I know I've always dreamed of it. "And let's not forget about the stuff that Ximenez was talking about at the end of class. Unohana-taichou being the mother of the Shihouin bloodline? Someone high-up in the chain of command orchestrating the First Reckoning and wiping away a few unpleasant details from the history books? It's the kind of stuff that legends are made of, isn't it?"

Tenkawa shot him an unpleasant look. Doubtless he was upset that the conversation wasn't going where he wanted it to. Ryouichi pretended not to notice or care. What, you think I'm going to drop dead from your stare or something, Junshirou? You can't threaten me. You think that you're so brilliant, but you haven't even looked past your first move. You think you have me trapped? You can't do anything to me, because I'm already thinking two moves ahead.

Ryouichi settled back in his seat and waited for Chiken's response. Chiken seemed like the type who enjoyed stories, so Ryouichi was sure he would find this line of conversation interesting.

As Tenkawa and Kanue sat down, Chiken swallowed some of his drink to wash down most of his dinner that he had already eaten. He was completely oblivious to anything being wrong between Kanue and Tenkawa, even the looks Tenkawa would be giving Kanue went completely unnoticed by Chiken.

"Well, it may have been dull for some of you, anyway... it's a little hard to not pay attention when you're frozen awake"
Chiken had mostly forgotten that Isane-Sensei had frozen students as punishment for not paying attention and he wondered how he got by, he surely wasn't very good about being discreet since it never crossed his mind. He was about to start thinking back to what happened but Kanue speaking brought him back to the table.

"You know, Chiken-kun, I wouldn't call history boring. I actually think it's pretty interesting. Yamamoto-sou-taichou, with only his own power and the help of his disciples, was able to completely reshape the existing social and political system. He re-molded our entire society into what it is today!"
"Ah. So that's what happened." Chiken whispered to himself but not quietly enough for anyone at the table to miss if they were listening. Then, some of what happened in the class came back to him, mostly of Isane-Sensei talking of the forming of the first 5 squads. Contented with the fact that he had payed more attention than he thought, he tuned back into Kanue's speech.

"Haven't you ever wished you could accomplish something of so grand a scope? And let's not forget about the stuff that Ximenez was talking about at the end of class. Unohana-taichou being the mother of the Shihouin bloodline? Someone high-up in the chain of command orchestrating the First Reckoning and wiping away a few unpleasant details from the history books? It's the kind of stuff that legends are made of, isn't it?"
Chiken didn't really know how to answer the middle two questions, but he was intrigued with what Kanue was saying. However, unlike the last thing Kanue said, this didn't remind Chiken of anything he heard in class. He must've only blocked the teacher out some but blocked everyone else out fully. He did know some about the other questions though, and tried answering them as best as he could.
"Hmm... I guess I never really thought about accomplishing something like that. After being out on my own in the wilder parts of Rukongai for so long I guess I kinda forgot about society like that." Chiken stopped to take a quick bite of food before answering the other question.
"As for that being the stories of legends, I suppose it is if it was talked about it in class, right?" Here, Chiken was assuming that Ximnez was just talking about something they'd learn later or along those lines. "Sounds very interesting though. I wonder when we'll learn about things like that."

"Hmm... I guess I never really thought about accomplishing something like that. After being out on my own in the wilder parts of Rukongai for so long I guess I kinda forgot about society like that."

Excellent! This would be a great opportunity to try diverting the conversation towards something that allow Junshirou to read into the motivations and personalities of the people sitting around the table, especially Ryouichi's. Mind you, Ryouichi seemed very much to not want to give out any information without a fight.

But it was fine. Two could play at this game, but Ryouichi had told Junshirou something about himself just by the fact that he was even playing. The question was why, and the answer was pretty obvious. Ryouichi was playing this game because he wanted to play this game - he either wanted to hide his motivations, or he wanted to test Junshirou's capabilities. Depending on how the conversation went, it would be easy to tell, and Junshirou already had a feeling that it was the former.

So, this seemed like a good opportunity to get the conversation on to a track he wanted it to. The conversation was about the wilder parts of Rukongai, and about power, and about society - all things which could lead to a conversation about motivations. And what's more, it seemed that Chiken had stopped talking for now. Perfect! Junshirou opened his mouth and...

...quickly put some food in it to distract any attention, after hearing Chiken talk again.

Hmm... how to react to this...

"Who knows if we will? Of course, the people in power will always control what we learn... 'he who controls the present controls the past, he who controls the past controls the future'. That sort of thing. It raises the question of how Ximenez knows all this stuff, though, and a few more besides... why would those in power want to hide certain facts from us?"

He went on, noting the expressions of the people at the table. He decided he'd be blunt... he didn't expect to gain anything from Ryouichi's answer or expression, except the knowledge that he was very good at faking expressions and coherent-sounding answers.

"You have to ask what they want. Why somebody with power would want to deceive people about their true goals... it's definitely worrying, as it's hard to trust somebody if they're keeping something important from you, and these are the people placed in some of the highest positions imaginable. What do you think, Ryouichi?"

Junshirou smiled aloofly. He listened vaguely to the answer given, replied with a simple "Is that so? Well, you may be right...", and wondered what he could ask either Chiken or Satoko next, after a little while, in order to stop Ryouichi from seeing everything Junshirou did as targeted at him. I mean, it wouldn't do to make him paranoid. Too paranoid, anyway.

Naomi still lay in a corner on the stairs by the cafeteria. Her eyes started to blink. She got up and felt a liquid trickle down her neck. Blood she realized. She wiped it off with her hand but it continued to run. Nothing to bad she wiped it off and pulled her shirt over it. She walked to the cafeteria. She got some food. There was barly anyone there except for a table of guys. Naomi thought most of them liked her as a friend but did not talk to Kanue. Naomi walked over and asked if the seat was taken. Naomi felt the burn on her leg from the inncedent in the class yesterday. She flinched a little in pain but continued to smile. She then felt more blood run down her neck from her head she once again wiped it off.

Chiken Kazenosei wrote:

"Sounds very interesting though. I wonder when we'll learn about things like that."

Ryouichi barely resisted the urge to connect his face with his palm. The point is that we aren't going to learn about it in class! Did he really not pay attention at all? Eventually, Ryouichi came to terms with the idea that his classmate had no idea what was going on. It was a slightly frightening thought.

Suddenly, Tenkawa began speaking. Ryouichi cursed himself inwardly for not responding earlier.

Junshirou Tenkawa wrote:

"Who knows if we will? Of course, the people in power will always control what we learn... 'he who controls the present controls the past, he who controls the past controls the future'. That sort of thing. It raises the question of how Ximenez knows all this stuff, though, and a few more besides... why would those in power want to hide certain facts from us?"

"You have to ask what they want. Why somebody with power would want to deceive people about their true goals... it's definitely worrying, as it's hard to trust somebody if they're keeping something important from you, and these are the people placed in some of the highest positions imaginable. What do you think, Ryouichi?"

Well... you're taking the direct route, aren't you, Junshirou? Ryouichi was sure that if anyone other than himself had actually been paying attention, they would have noticed the hidden barb that he was sure was directed at himself.

"I'm not sure why these things are being hidden, if they are indeed true." Ryouichi admitted, "Maybe whoever is trying to keep us in the dark thinks it would be better if we don't know the truth, but I think it's more likely that secrets like these ones are being guarded for the sake of people's reputation. If that's the case, I think it would be best to learn all that we can about the events that surround these supposed gaps."

Junshirou Tenkawa wrote:

Junshirou smiled aloofly. He listened vaguely to the answer given, replied with a simple "Is that so? Well, you may be right..."

Ryouichi very nearly sighed in frustration. He already distrusts me so much that he would completely disregard my answer? This is going to be more difficult than I thought.

"Hey, we're getting ready to close up here," a young Shinigami pushing a long floor broom said to the five students gathered around the lunch table. Looking around, they noticed through the windows that the sun had set and it was dark outside. The cafeteria was now completely deserted except for them.

Naomi lstened as the the man told them that. Naomi did not evan have food. She limped out of the cafeteria head bleeding leg still burned. She went for a walk outside in the cool night.

Chiken had been paying attention to what Tenkawa and Kanue were talking as best as he could, which is to say, not much. What those two were talking to each other about didn't make much sense to Chiken so he decided to finish off his already cold dinner. After finishing it, they were all interrupted by a janitor of sorts talking about them closing the cafeteria. It was only then that Chiken saw that Naomi was in such bad shape with the gash on her neck and her limping. After cleaning up after his dinner he came back to the table for a minute.
"Well, I guess we should be going then. I'll see you all tomorrow, good night."

After leaving the cafeteria in the direction Naomi went, Chiken found her outside after another few wrong turns. He caught up to her and said,
"You're really banged up. Here, let me help." Chiken extended his hand over the gash on her neck and bit his lip, trying to recall the words for it. Yet, as hard as he tried, he couldn't remember the correct words even though he knew them. He sighed and started lowering his hand when he heard a soft, melodious voice whisper, "It's 'Way of Binding number three: Refresh'." Chiken didn't know where the voice came from but the words it said were already tumbling out of his mouth,
"Way of Binding number three: Refresh."

Then, Chiken's hand started glowing and he could feel the energy building in it. Just as quick as he felt the energy building, it was released straight into Naomi's gash. The wound glowed with the energy and quickly sealed itself. Chiken was grinning and the smile took up most of his face, he was so happy he did it and did it right! Still smiling, he said,
"Well, am I glad that worked. That cut will probably be fine until you see the medics tomorrow. Good night!" He was so excited and bubbling with energy for having achieved that spell for the first time that he went straight to the dorms and his room before Naomi could reply.

Once inside, he was still smiling with glee. It was then, after he had unstrapped Myounahanashi and unbelted his robes, that he felt a wave of sleepyness wash over him. The Kidou spell had taken quite a bit of energy to preform and Chiken didn't notice it until now when he had settled down a little. Submitting to the feeling, he lazily got out of the rest of the robes and what not before falling onto his bed, asleep before he hit the pillow.

Chiken Kazenosei wrote:

"Well, I guess we should be going then. I'll see you all tomorrow, good night."

Ryouichi figured that this was as good an opportunity as any to get away from Tenkawa. "I'll see you tomorrow then, Junshirou-kun, Satoko-kun," he said, getting up and disposing of his leftover dinner.

Some time later...

Restless, Ryouichi strolled around the school's perimeter, searching for a particular classmate. Having found no sign of his quarry, he decided to get a better vantage point. Grabbing ahold of a nearby tree, he quickly made his way to the top of the building.

With his arms behind his head, Ryouichi leaned back into the cool tiles of the roof and scanned the area for people. Unfortunately, he again found absolutely noone, not even a patrolling teacher. Closing his eyes, Ryouichi reached out with his senses, attempting to recognize his classmate by their reiatsu.

((Boring post, I know.))

Naomi did not have time to evan talk to chiken, he was gone before she evan got a thank you. Naomi's neck felt so much better. Naomi still realized her leg was still burned from zanpukotou class. Oh well you can have your cake and eat it to she said with a chuckle." Naomi then whispered "thank you Chiken". Naomi continued to walk outside she was all alone hoping to find someone outside to keep her company. As she walked she realized she no one was going to show up. What Naomi would do to see her grandmother again. Naomi continued to walk outdoors, she found a bench to lay on. She curled up and went to sleep.

Naomi was freaming again. She was walking down the road, a man started chasing her. She continued to run he was gaining. She turned down a road. A Black car was coming at her. The car cut to the right hitting the curb and launching itself through the air. It came and hit the ground full force. Right before the car hit Naomi threw herself at the man who was chasing her getting him out of the way. The car then hit the ground. Glass, metal and the exhaust pipe lay on the road. The exhaust pipe lay on Naomi's leg. It burned her. She got up. Looked in the drivers car pulling the driver out. It was Naomi's grandomother. She was cut up pretty bad. Naomi picked her up and sat her down in a grassy area on the side of the road. She went over to the car to get a first aid kit her grandmother had kept in the car for emergencies. Naomi heard a pistol get loaded followed by a man saying its your fault glass went in my arm. Naomi was nervious she whipped around to kick the gun out of his hand when she saw the gun was not pointed at her but her grandmother. Naomi ran up to the back of the man and kicked the gun out of his hand. The gun landed over in the trees. The man went to retreive the gun while Naomi picked up her grandmother and sat her on the other side of the car. The man came back and fired shots at the car. Naomi had time to apply a few anti biotics and bandages. The man came around the corner and loaded his gun. Naomi kissed her grandmother. The begain to talk. "Im taking myself and both of you out of this world. Naomi hugged her grandmother and waited for the bullet to peirce her skit. Then the gun was fired but only the sound of the gun and metal hitting metal. The car blew up. Naomi used herself as a sheid to protect her grandmother. Naomi and the man was killed but the grandmother only suffered a few burns. Naomi yelled out in pain. She woke up screaming loud enough everyone at the school could hear her. Naomi begain to cry.

((Sorry, kind of bored of not posting just because I'm asleep.))

*Zetsumie suddenly woke up to a very dark room. He took a look around.*

Tenkawa isn't back yet.

*He removed his note and decided to stay up and wait for him instead.*

Come on Tenkawa, come back soon. I really need to talk with you.

Junshirou reacted slowly to the news that the cafeteria was closing. That's strange... he was sure the sun was still up when he went in. He shrugged the earlier memory off as a figment of his imagination or something like that - it was something wrong with either him or time, and he knew which one he trusted more.

Finally, he said, "Aww, already?", wolfed down the remainder of his meal, put his tray back, and turned back to the remaining classmates, wishing them a good night. He stuck his hands in his pockets and started humming quietly to himself as he walked back to the dormitories.

"Well, that's one person I've unmade friends with. Who next?", he thought sarcastically to himself. He hadn't got as much information out of Ryouichi as he'd have liked to, but he hadn't got much information out of anyone, really. It didn't look like Ryouichi would be cooperative with him any time soon, so he decided it was better not to push the point. Maybe he should come out and say something like "I want to know the answer to ____, and I know you're not going to tell me the answer to _____, so I'll drop it and we can carry on as normal, okay?". ...that would probably be unwise, though, and it would only serve to fuel Ryouichi's ego.

He soon got bored, and cut across a courtyard, before clambering up on to the roof and walking carefully across the tiles. The cool wind chilled him as he walked, and he felt a feeling of ...well, happiness, he supposed. It was a superior sort of feeling; all this felt beneath him. He just wanted to stay here for as long as he could, listening to the trees rustling in the night air, feeling the chill on his skin, with nobody here to bother him.

He sat down on the edge of one of the roofs, lay back, and looked at the clouds. This brought back memories... even now, he was remembering things about himself that he didn't know a few hours ago. He'd lived for so long here, it was hard to remember anything about what had come before. But all that had happened to him had shaped who he was, even if he couldn't remember it. Still, the clouds helped remind him of who he was, and why he was here.

He'd never seen shapes in clouds. He'd only seen clouds. You had to look at them in a certain way, and that way didn't come naturally to Junshirou. He saw things as they really were, not how he wanted them to be. That applied in a lot of other places as well, of course... it hadn't always, but generally speaking he held no illusions about anything any more. All he had was his desires, and he acted upon them. Disillusionment had wrought that upon him, but he wasn't sure that it was such a bad thing. It was nice to feel unconstrained.

But that was why he was here, wasn't it? So that he wouldn't be constrained. It may have seemed like an odd choice - going into the rigid Gotei protection squads with their myriad laws and customs in order to alleviate feelings of being constrained, but Junshirou had made his choice a while ago, and he knew why things had to be as they were. It was nowhere near as fun as being free, of course. He missed his freedom. But this had to be done.

At this point, Junshirou noticed that he was incredibly, incredibly cold. He dismounted from the rooftop, cut across another courtyard, and walked the rest of the way through corridors (like normal people would) to his dormitory. He was still a little tired, but he was also restless, and the two never made for a good combination. He'd probably have to find something to do to entertain his mind for a few hours while his body settled down into bed.

His room, the corridor, and most other places of any real interest were almost pitch black by now. Junshirou smiled at having memorised the layout of everywhere; otherwise this would have been a real pain to navigate through. He went into his room and closed the door softly behind him. He could hear gentle breathing from the other bed, but it didn't sound like Zetsumei was asleep.

"Are you awake?", he asked softly.

The door to the conference room suddenly opened. Ximenez stepped inside to see a white haori with the number 12 painted on the back. Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi turned to glare at the student in the red hat. Standing behind Mayuri were 12th Division's sole two faculty members - Funui Shingi, a tall pale man with white hair and thick glasses, and Iseijin Ryoukusou, an oddly deformed individual with one bulging eye and skin tinted an odd shade of green. Both men wore identical white lab coats and taught Science and Technology at the Academy, Iseijin to the 1st-Years, and Funui to the 2nd-Years.

"I've brought him, Master," Nemu said to the Captain, bowing deeply.

"Wait outside," Mayuri said gruffly to his Lieutenant.

Nemu bowed once more and left the room, standing diligently outside the door to the conference room.

"Why hello, Tsuchi-kun," Ximinez grinned. "You're certainly looking well."

"Shut up," Mayuri snapped, his yellow eyes glowing with fury from behind his mask. "I don't want to hear a word out of you. And you will address me in a respectful manner!"

Mayuri advanced toward Ximenez as menacingly as he could, given that his height was nowhere near that of the towering student. "You've done nothing but cause trouble since the first day, and now you've gone and blown up Hisagi's class!" Mayuri reached up and grabbed Ximenez by the collar. "You're drawing far to much attention to yourself!" he shouted. "Do you have any idea what they'll do to me if they ever find out what you are?!"

"Captain," came a deep voice as Funui put his hand on Kurotsuchi's shoulder. Disgustedly, Mayuri let go of Ximenez's robe. The tall student in the red hat nonchalantly brushed himself off.

"What the hell am I supposed to do?" grumbled Ximenez. "I'm bored as hell, Mayuri. And you never once told me for what reason you've put me here. I find it hard to believe that you went through all the trouble of calling for a being of my stature just to have me waste my time in a damned training class full of neophytes."

"It's not your place to question me," the Captain fumed. "I'm the one who brought you here. And I can just as easily send you back. You just keep your mouth shut and follow my orders."

Ximenez sighed and stared balefully at Mayuri over the tops of his glasses. "I've got a better idea, Mayuri," he said, crossing his arms in front of him. "Why don't you go to hell?"

Mayuri's face twisted in rage behind his mask. He spoke one word through clenched teeth. "Ignacio!"

At the mention of this word, Ximenez's eyes shot open and his body twitched, becoming slightly rigid. His crossed arms dropped to his sides.

"On your knees!" Mayuri commanded.

Somewhat robotically, as if he was trying to resist, Ximenez quickly dropped to his knees. Without hesitation, Mayuri drew his fist back and clocked him across the face with a mighty backhand that sent Ximenez's red hat and glasses flying across the conference room. The Captain grabbed his hair with one hand, wrenching his head back. "Open your mouth," he hissed, drawing his zanpakutou with his other hand. "Call me master! Claw out, Ashisogi Jizo."

"Yes... Master...," Ximenez choked out. Shaking slightly, his mouth opened, almost of its own accord as Mayuri's zanpakutou reformed itself into a golden clawlike trident. "Now, put out your tongue."

His eyes burning with hate, Ximenez slid his tongue out of his mouth, and Mayuri touched the side of his blade to it. A small amount of smoke rose into the air as the poison coating Ashisogi Jizo began to burn. Slowly, deliberately, the Captain drew the entire length of his acidic blade across Ximenez's tongue, making the student's face contort with pain and rage. With a growl, Mayuri pulled his blade away quickly from Ximenez's mouth, leaving a deep cut in the side of his face. "Let that be a lesson to you. If you won't watch your tongue, next time, I'll cut it right off."

"You... bastard...," Ximenez hissed furiously, his wounded mouth already starting to scar over and heal.

"Just so we're clear." Mayuri said, resealing his zanpakutou and sliding it away.

"If I only could... you have no idea..."

"I know exactly what you'd like to do to me," Mayuri said self-assuredly. "But you can't."

Ximenez remained silent and on his knees for several moments.

"Stand up."

Ximenez stiffly rose to his feet.

"You're spending the night in experimental stasis. And I'm turning your limiter up to 95 percent."

"What?!" Ximenez snapped. "But that--"

"That will put you at about the same level as the students in your class. And at only 5% power, I doubt you'll be able to make any more trouble for me. I have too many other things to do to have to come down here and punish a rebellious specimen. Now. Gather your things."

Ximenez's body turned. His hands reached out for his hat and glasses and put them back on. "You'll pay, Mayuri. Mark my words, you'll pay one day for everything you've done to me. You know where I've been. I know how to hurt people in ways they can't even imagine."

"I'm sure you do, specimen," Mayuri said dryly. "Go back to 12th Division and report to the stasis chamber. I'll be overseeing tonight's tests myself. And I promise you, they won't be pleasant."

"Last night? No, that wasn't any trouble at all...", Junshirou said, while thinking back to how he'd fallen asleep in class. Still, he was a creature of the night, after all.

Did he want to ask about the dream? It was probably the sensible thing to do - Zetsumei seemed to want to talk about it. Or was it something else he wanted to talk about - after all, why else would he say "You were asleep when I got back"?

Junshirou thought it was best to ask that last question himself; although in less analytical tones.

"So... did you want to talk to me about the dream, or about something else?"

It would be good to hear what other people were dreaming, anyway. He'd had enough of his own dreams to last a good long time.

Naomi got up from her bench wiping one of the last tears from her eyes. She needed someone to talk to. No one seemed to be awake. Naomi walked to the dorms looking at each one and litening. No one seemed to really be awake. She then got to zetsuimei and tenkawas room and heard voices. She knocked on the door. And asked if she could come in for she needed someone to talk to. Naomi's eyes were red and bloodshot.

Ryouichi Kanue wrote:

Closing his eyes, Ryouichi reached out with his senses, attempting to recognize his classmate by their reiatsu.

Ryouichi blinked as he snapped back to normal, non-blue-tinted reality. Despite having succeeded in finding his classmate, he couldn't help feeling disappointed. Really? He's... sleeping? How incredibly boring. Carefully, he made his way down from the roof, then slipped in the nearest entrance and made for the male dormitories in the eastern wing. After a bit of stealthy walking, he arrived at his destination. 366, the nameplate read.

After trying the door and finding it locked, Ryouichi returned to 362 and penned a brief note. It read:

Satoko,

I was looking for you last night, but apparently you had already gone to bed. I want to start working on what we talked about yesterday. Lunch would probably be a good time. Let me know.

R.K.
Satisfied that Satoko would get the message, Ryouichi slipped the note under the door of 366, and returned to his own room to sleep.

Fuiro lit another cigarette. It was nighttime, and the total stillness of the first couple nights was finally starting to give way to the quiet chaos that Fuiro remembered from his own Academy days. Students were bounding about on rooftops, sneaking around opposite-gender dorms. It made Fuiro feel a lot more comfortable. Too much stillness set him on edge.

The night always brought interesting things. Offhandedly, Fuiro wondered what he'd see tonight. Another fight perhaps? Or that mysterious flute music? That's what Fuiro was expecting the most - it had been heard lilting throughout the nighttime campus both the last two nights, so he had no reason not to expect it tonight as well. Silently smoking his cigarette, Fuiro kept his ears alert and tuned, ready to move should that soft melody creep through the air once again.

Anshou rolled over in bed. It didn't seem like his roommate Daisuke had gotten back yet. Anshou wondered where he was, after hearing him talk about how important it was to sleep.

He sat up and looked out the window. It was dark except from the stars in the sky and the moon. And Anshou again wasn't sleepy at all. He sat up, grabbed his training outfit and his zanpakuto and headed outside.

What the hell am I doing here? Zaraki mumbled to himself as he found himself wandering through the grounds of the Shinigami Academy. Strangely, despite how out-of-place it made him feel, he often found himself here when he was out at night. Probably cause I never went here, he thought. Indeed, Kenpachi Zaraki was the only Captain who had never attended the Shinigami Academy, save for General Yamamoto himself and the three that had been here since the beginning. It wasn't jealousy, though. Not at all. Silly kids who need teachers to show them how to fight. Zaraki gripped the handle of his zanpakutou. Never needed anyone to teach *me* anything.

Zaraki opened one eye. What was that? A sound of ... something could clearly be heard from a nearby direction. Nonchalantly curious, Zaraki wandered over to see what it was.

It was coming from a gymnasium with the door open. Robbers? Zaraki wondered, grinning. It's been a long time since I've gotten to kill anyone, he thought as he slowly unsheathed his zanpakutou and stepped into the gym.

"Hey," he called out. "Who's in here."

It was a boy, one boy with blond hair and a Shinigami phys ed outfit.

"Yah!" Anshou jumped toward the training dummy with his sword in hand and slashed. The dummy spun and Anshou ducked under the dummy's fists and counterattacked with a kick to the dummy's lower body. Anshou sighed. The sword was too heavy and awkward, if only I could just fight unarmed, then...

"Hey, Who's in here."

Breathing hard and sweating, Anshou looked up. It was only a moment's distraction, but it was enough for the training dummy's whirling arms to catch Anshou in the back of the neck and knock him to the ground.

"Thanks a lot!" Anshou yelled. "You made me--" he looked up and gulped. Standing there was the Captian of 11th Division, Captian Zaraki Kenpachi, with his sword in his hand.

"Er, ah, I'm sorry, sir. I didn't see who you were. I'm Anshou Mizukin, of class 3-A. Just doing some night training, sir." Anshou was in awe. He'd always admired the strong, tough Captian Zaraki.

"Training, huh," Zaraki laughed out loud. "How are you supposed to train yourself? There's no point to training yourself when yourself gets your ass kicked by a training dummy."

A glint appeared in the Captain's eye. "You wanna really train?" he grinned at the boy, his teeth ravenous and shining in the moonlight. Zaraki lowered his arms to his sides. "If you're up for it, I'll give you one free shot. If you can make me bleed, even a little, I'll train you. Otherwise, you're not worth my time. But be ready, cause I won't go easy on you. Whaddaya say?"

Anshou looked up. Train? Me? Really? This was a once in a lifetime opportunity that Anshou was in no way about to pass up. Leaping to his feet, he jumped at Zaraki, his sword swinging for his chest.

Anshou Mizukin carried out 3 launched of one Attack :

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Anshou Mizukin carried out 3 launched of one Sense :

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Zaraki looked down. The boy had struck him squarely in the chest with all his might. He grasped the back of the boy's blade and pulled it away.

There wasn't a single drop of blood.

"You're too weak. A training session with me would kill you. Come back when..." Zaraki stopped. There was a look of grim determination bordering on desperation in the boy's eyes. His jaw was clenched tight, almost like the look of an animal.

This boy's a fighter, Zaraki said to himself. He looks like a pansy, but he's a fighter. Like... death would be a small price to pay in order to get stronger... There might be potential here.

"Lemme show you how it's done," Zaraki grinned, his zanpakuto flashing in an attack.

Clang!

Zaraki raised an eyebrow. The boy had his sword at cross angles to the Captain's. It was taking all his effort... His arms were shaking and his face was turning red... But the boy had managed to block Zaraki's attack. Of course, Zaraki hadn't used anywhere near his full strength. That would have taken the kid's arms clean off.

"Heh. Guess I was right." Zaraki chuckled. "Let's do this."

Kenpachi Zaraki carried out 3 launched of one Attack :

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Anshou's heart sank. He had failed. He'd used all his force, but he couldn't put a single scratch on the Captian's body.

"Lemme show you how it's done." He heard the captian say right before seeing his zanpakuto flying at him. As a reflex, he brought his sword up and blocked it, but it still shocked his arms, like his shoulders were about to come apart.

"Let's do this" the captian said. Does... this mean he's going to train me? Anshou said to himself. But he didn't have time to think as Zaraki came at him with an attack again.

Anshou Mizukin carried out 3 launched of one Attack :

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Anshou's sword struck Zaraki right on the hand. It was a fierce shot, but no blood. With a loud smack, Zaraki's blade caught Anshou right in the midsection. Blood spattered from Anshou's mouth.

Anshou has dealt 1 DAMAGE to Zaraki!
Zaraki has dealt 4 WOUNDS to Anshou!

"You're gonna need to do better than that," Zaraki laughed, attacking again.

Kenpachi Zaraki carried out 3 launched of one Attack :

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Anshou wiped the blood from his face. Damn, that hurt. Not letting it faze him, Anshou tried to read the Captian's movements, dodge, and counterattack.

Anshou Mizukin carried out 3 launched of one Attack :

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Anshou Mizukin carried out 3 launched of one Sense :

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The kid managed to nearly dodge, and Zaraki's blade struck at an odd angle that was easily deflected. The boy counterattacked with a fierce kick to Zaraki's face.

Anshou has dealt 5 DAMAGE to Zaraki!

"Not bad," the Captain muttered. "But how about this?!"

Kenpachi Zaraki carried out 3 launched of one Attack :

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Loudly shouting, Anshou made another attack, this time aiming for Zaraki's neck.

Anshou Mizukin carried out 3 launched of one Attack :

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The kid's blade made contact with Zaraki's neck, but the Captain just smiled and slashed his sword across the boy's midsection, sending the kid flying in a spray of blood.

Zaraki has dealt 3 WOUNDS to Anshou!

"And that's that." Turning away, Zaraki started to put away his zanpakutou. Then he heard a sound. The boy struggled to his feet, bleeding from his chest and face, his sword still at the ready.

He's... still conscious? After losing that much blood? As if to answer his question, the boy attacked again. Zaraki lifted his sword.

Kenpachi Zaraki carried out 3 launched of one Attack :

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The room was starting to spin, but Anshou hardly noticed. His blood was hot and his adrenalin was pumping. This... will probably be my last shot... he said as he ran at Zaraki, making a desperate slash to his face.

Anshou Mizukin carried out 3 launched of one Attack :

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Anshou Mizukin carried out 3 launched of one Sense :

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With a sickening thunk, Zaraki's blade penetrated Anshou's left shoulder as the kid's blade slashed across the Captain's face. Shaking and bleeding, the kid collapsed to the ground, dropping his sword at the Captain's feet. Zaraki lifted his fingers to his face. Blood.

Surely enough, there was a tiny scratch just below the Captain's eye. "Not bad, kid," he smirked.

Anshou dealt 3 DAMAGE to Zaraki!
Zaraki dealt 3 WOUNDS to Anshou!
Anshou has fallen UNCONSCIOUS!

"Ken-chaaaan!" came a little girl's voice at the entrance of the gym. "Ah! There you are!" Little Yachiru Kusajishi toddled into the room, a big smile on her face. "Oh!" her eyes widened at the sight of a bloody body lying at the feet of her Captain. "Was Ken-chan fighting?!"

"Yeah, just a little training," he said as he sheathed his zanpakutou. "Hey, do me a favor - patch him up, would you? Last thing I need is to get chewed out by Yamamoto for cutting up a student."