Bleach Fan Fiction ❯ The Ice Lord and The Silver Wolf ❯ The Art of the Soul Reaper ( Chapter 3 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

I do not own Bleach or any of its affiliates.
I can do this Karin thought to herself as she donned the red and white uniform of the female
students at the Soul Reaper Academy. Her nerves were making her feel sick and excited at the same time.
Walking from her new room in the academy barracks, she joined the flow of new students headed toward
the assembly hall. Thinking about her brother, a hero of the Seireitei, she knew she had a lot to live up to
and accomplish. Standing in her spot in the ranks of students, she figured that there were 60 students,
total. Looking at the podium, she saw an impossibly old and scarred standing with both hands on a club-
like cane Signaling that he desired silence, the old man began to speak "I am Genryuusai Yamamoto,
Head-Captain of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads. You all wish to become Soul Reapers, the guardians of
the souls of the World of the Living. My hopes are that you will make yourselves worthy to bear the title
of Soul Reaper. I will now administer the oath, simple, and unbreakable. Do you swear to protect Soul
Society, and protect the souls of the World of the Living, even if you must sacrifice your life to do so, and
swear to follow the orders of your seated officers should you become Soul Reapers?" asked the ancient
Head-Captain.

"I do so swear!" echoed the voices of the new trainees. Karin found herself filled with the need to
do as she had sworn Something about that old man's words had awoken a great need, a fierce hunger
inside of her. She knew that she would do as she had worn, and even give up her life, such as it was, to
fulfill her oath. Being dismissed with a nod from the Head-Captain, the students filed to their first classes.
Karin entered her first class with 20 of her classmates, and stood behind a simple wooden desk. An older
man came into the classroom, dressed in the black hakama and haori of a Soul Reaper.

"I am Lareck Retsu, your teacher. You will call me Retsu-Sensei, and with any luck, one day you will
all call me by my name I'm going to take roll, and don't be shy to affirm your presence in this room " He
said, holding up a piece of paper and beginning to call off names. Karin waited patiently until her name
was called "Kurosaki, Karin?" red Retsu-Sensei.

"Here, Sensei" Karin called before taking her seat Whispers immediately broke out amongst all the
other students.

"Kurosaki?
s in THE Kurosaki?"

"No, she's too small"

"I don't know, she seems pretty spunky "

"There will be silence!" roared Retsu-Sensei. Looking at Karin, he scrutinized her for a moment.
" re you related to Ichigo Kurosaki?" he asked her

"He's my older brother " she said, squirming a little under the stares of the other trainees

---

"Don't expect any favors from me In fact, I am going to work you a lot harder than the rest of
them " he warned.

" s you will, Sensei " cknowledged Karin Retsu-Sensei resumed calling roll. As soon as he
finished, he looked at his new students.

"Now, as I said, I am Lareck Retsu, , and I am in charge of teaching you the combat forms of Hoho,
Zanjutsu, and Hakama. Learning these things is necessary for you to become decent Soul Reapers, and will
very likely be tied up in whether or not you survive your future battles. It usually takes six year to
graduate, and for every day of those six years, you are going to report here to me for training. You will be
with me for two hours every day, as well as being in a Kido class for another two hours. There is also a
meditation class, which teaches you to control your riatsu, as well as the basics for communing with your
Zanpakutou, besides those, there is a various curriculum designed to teach you how to fulfill your duties,
whether you apply to the Kido Corps, Special Ops, or the Court Guard Squads. In this lesson, as well as the
Kido lesson, there are to classes only for those who prove themselves to be exemplary. For the Kido
lessons, the teacher will be Unohana Retsu, Captain of Squad Four. For this lesson, the teacher will be
Toushiro Hitsugaya, Captain of the Tenth Squad " Upon hearing Toushiro's name, a thrill went through
Karin "In order to be considered an exemplary student, you must have hopes of being able to graduate in
three years or less Now, onto your first lesson " said Retsu-Sensei as he began one of the most grueling
training regimens she had ever been through. She was proud of herself when she could walk out of the
room at the end of it. Retsu-Sensei hadn't been lying He was harder on her than the others

She had two more minor lessons before they broke for lunch. After lunch, walking down the hall to
her Kido class, she again stood by another desk for the fourth time that day. Their teacher was waiting for
them, leaning against her own desk When they had all filed in, their teacher began to speak "I am Kira
Chou, your teacher in the Kido arts. Kido is divided into two parts, Bakkudo, or restraining spell, and Hado,
or destructive spells. In order to be considered one of the greatest Soul Reapers, you have to have the
intelligence to master Kido " she said with the air of one who was arrogant in her capabilities. She was
about to continue when she noticed that Karin had raised her hand "Yes, Kurosaki?" Kira asked testily

"What about Lieutenant Renji barrai of Squad Six? He's achieved Bankai, and he says he's horrible
with Kido. And what about Squad Eleven Captain Kenpachi Zaraki, or even Ichigo Kurosaki, a hero of the
Seireitei, and one of the most powerful Soul Reapers there is, and he doesn't know any Kido
re you really
saying that that they're not amongst the greatest Soul Reapers ever to live?" Karin asked, a little annoyed
that this woman wasn't giving her brother credit for his abilities

" ll of Squad Eleven are idiots, including their captain. As for Lieutenant Abarrai , he can still barely
use it. Also, although I will admit that he is a hero, but that doesn't change the fact that he's a totally
incompetent clod " Chou-sensei said, closing her eyes in her eloquence. She never even saw it coming.

---

Shaking her aching fist over the form of her unconscious teacher, she looked up at the shocked faces of
her fellow students and groaned. Then she brightened as an idea came to her.

" ll right, first things first, I'm the only one here allowed to insult Ichi-nii. If any of you tell her that I
was the one who knocked her out, you will all regret it, got it?" she said, glaring at her classmates Looking
at their nodding heads, she bent down and started shaking Chou-sensei. Chou-sensei opened her eyes and
looked around confusedly, then grabbed her head and groaned "Oh, my head hurts!"

"Chou-sensei, you fainted, and then hit your head really hard when you hit the ground " explained
Karin, helping her sensei stand even as she lied through her teeth.

"I suppose I can go see Captain Unohana after class " mused Chou-sensei " nyway, we should
probably start the lesson " said Chou-sensei as she walked to the board and began a lesson every bit as
mentally straining as the first morning lesson had been physically exhausting.

Physically and mentally exhausted, Karin stumbled into her final class of the day. Sitting on the
floor with his legs under him at the front of the room was a small, dark-skinned man. Even without
moving, he radiated total refinement and power. There were no chairs in the room, just several rugs
spread around, and Karin was momentarily confused. The man motioned her classmates and her to sit on
the rugs. As they were doing so, the man stood up. To Karin and the others, it seemed more as if he
flowed "Well, I'm glad you've all survived the day Six hour of classes must have you totally exhausted,
huh?" asked this strange Soul Reaper Karin and her classmates wearily nodded "What you will be learning
in this class is easy to define, but hard to accomplish. You will be learning the art of meditation. This is the
safest possible way for you to gain communion with you Zanpakutou. Your Zanpakutou are the clearest
expression of your souls, and so you must have achieved total inner calm, and empty your mind of all
thoughts. My name is Yoru Tsuki, and I will be your sensei, he said as he flowed back into a sitting position.
For Karin, who had loved her karate lessons, meditation was no problem. As she slipped deeper and
deeper into it, she became more and more aware of her surroundings. Finally, she could hear something
no one else seemed to be able to: a faint, eerie, howling sound.

With nine hours of classes a day, there wasn't much time for anything else. Karin made the time for
other things. Exploring the area surrounding the Academy, she found not one, but two booksellers. Finding
odd jobs here and there, Karin began to earn some money. Along with her classes, she also practiced Kido
and her fighting skills for an hour every day. As her first month went by, she was disconcerted to find that
the howling noise she heard during meditation became clearer and louder every day. In her classes, she
quickly became the best, and was highly praised for her skills and exemplary spirit control. Whenever she
had the money, she would buy a book on one of her subjects, and become even better at it. She was
jealous of her position as best and worked very hard to maintain it.

"I can't believer her progress " said Kira as she sipped tea with Lareck and Yoru "It's like she's a
fish in water "

---

"She does seem to be thriving " Lareck commented " There are six tests in each of Kido, martial
arts, and spirit control in order to become a Soul Reaper, and she's passed two of the martial art tests,
three of the Kido tests, and five of the spirit control tests She's amazing, and I taught Ichimaru and
Toushiro, both of whom graduated very early. Yoru agrees with me in this: she must be placed into the
advanced classes Do you agree?"

Of course! She's absolutely brilliant, and I feel that she needs a challenge You have my whole-
hearted support in this " said Kira, again taking a sip of her tea

" ll right, let's send her a note " said Lareck

Karin was preparing for bed when there was a knock at her door. Sliding it open, she was surprised
to see a sixth year student, all of who often served as aides to the senseis. After handing her a piece of
paper, he wordlessly walked away. Looking at the paper, Karin smiled. She had made it to the advanced
classes.

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