The Shinigami Academy: the place where even the weakest of potential recruits could become a deadly combatant in the ever-present war against Hollows. Even now, thousands of students were scattered around the courtyard, all wearing the official uniform of the academy. Some looked quite confident and excited to be where they were. Others looked terrified of what the academy held for them. Mizukara Yuki stood at the gates as hundreds of other potential shinigami flooded past her, unable to move from her spot.

Chest pounding, palms sweating, vision going dark... Okay, maybe this was a bad idea...

Yuki stood at 5'8", with midnight black hair that fell to the small of her back, flawless pale skin, and a lithe body. She had been born in the small town of Yokusho about 140 years ago. At age 17, both she and her parents were killed by a Hollow attack. Her parents' souls, regrettably, had both been devoured. However, a shinigami had managed to kill the Hollow right as it was about to devour her. Unfortunately, during the initial attack, Yuki had been grievously wounded, and soon succumbed to her injuries. The shinigami apologized for being too late, and performed a soul burial, sending Yuki into Soul Society. In the Rukongai, she was adopted into a small group of people who sympathized with her. After learning from them that anyone devoured by a Hollow would never be able to reach Soul Society, Yuki went nearly ten days in mourning, refusing to speak to or even acknowledge anybody. Finally, the eldest member of her new family told her of the Shinigami Academy, a place where shinigami could be trained to defeat Hollows like the one who had devoured her family. Yuki perked up immediately and rushed to take the exam.

She failed. Twice.

Assured she could try again if she ever wished, Yuki went home and began training furiously. She trained for 118 solid years, doing everything she could to strengthen her reiatsu. She ran every day, eventually able to race all the way to another part of the Rukongai (and even getting lost on some occasions). She found a few guys willing to help her train by fighting with her (which led to several bruises on her part, but did develop her toughness). She even started lifting any heavy object she could find to build up her physical strength. Finally, after all her rigorous training, she passed; only just, but she did successfully pass the test. So, she was given her Asauchi, which was shorter than an average Zanpakuto, and her academy uniform. And now, here she was, standing before the gateway that would lead to her future within the Shinigami: a future of hunting Hollows, of becoming a seated officer, of eventually unleashing her Bankai and becoming a Captain, and perhaps even one day, a future of saving Soul Society itself.

At least, that had been her future as she had approached the academy. Now, standing before the gate, her future looked highly similar to a blackout. Her legs refused to move, and her heart was hammering in her chest. She was being assaulted by all those "what if"s: "What if I'm not strong enough?" "What if they made a mistake?" "What if I embarrass myself?" "What if all my training was for nothing?" As the moments ticked by, Yuki swallowed and took one deep breath after another. Eventually, her nerves slowly started to calm down. She took one more deep breath, and said to herself, "Okay. Let's do this. Here I go!" She shouted the last part as she raced forward. She took one step, then tripped and fell flat on her face. As she laid there, staring at the ground, she let out a groan. "Great. Here's to day one." If her Zanpakuto had had a form by then, she was almost certain it'd be laughing at her.

"The Shinigami Academy. I finally made it." Zakito said to himself as he made his way into the courtyard. Among the thousands of other students that filled the courtyard Zakito certainly didn't stand out. He was only six feet tall, which back in his old town of Nagakuro had made him feel tall, but now that he was surrounded by more people than he had ever seen before he felt small. Most people might feel anxious in such a setting, but even though Zakito was a little nervous he was mostly excited.

Zakito had died nearly 145 years ago and had survived as a spirit for over a year running from Hollows and the few Soul Reapers he had seen. However, he was eventually cornered by a massive Hollow and was almost devoured. Luckily for Zakito a Soul Reaper by the name of Tsuta Masamune was able to slay the Hollow with a single blow.
In complete awe of Tsuta's power Zakito asked her what she was. Kneeling down in front of him she told him she was a Soul Reaper and that she was her to take him to the Soul Society. After she performed the soul burial on him he never saw her again, but once he made it to the soul society he was determined to become a soul reaper.
Zakito spent his first couple of months wandering around Nagakuro and was eventually taken in by an elderly couple. In exchange for a roof over his head and food Zakito helped Yumi and Kuroda around there small home with any tasks that they were to old to do themselves. All of his free time was spent on his training by either practicing on the small tree out back with a wooden stick which doubled as Zakito's Zanpakuto or running around Nagakuro to build up his endurance. Now after all his training he left Kuroda's house and began his journey to become a Soul Reaper.

Looking around the courtyard Zakito could barely contain his excitement. Even though he had passed the test with less than glamours markings he was confidant that he would keep getting stronger. Running his hands through his short white hair he couldn't help, but chuckle. This was easily the happiest day of his life.
Pushing his way through the crowds which seemed to be getting thicker by the moment Zakito stopped for a moment to take a breather.
"Passing the test was the easy part compared to getting through this crowd." he said to himself running his hand through his short white hair. Even though he was in good shape and had a somewhat well muscled build, not as muscled as he would like sadly, he was still getting worn out pushing his way through the masses of students.

Well, I did stay up too later last night... He thought to himself, Though who could possibly sleep the night before today!

Stepping away from the wall and back into the crowds Zakito clutched his Asauchi as he moved towards the gates. Before he was able to make it too far he heard a student shout out something. Looking over to his right he noticed a girl start to rush forward before falling flat on her face.

Ouch... He thought looking on as all the other students simply streamed around the poor girl. Of all the things that he lacked he at least had a good balance.

"Hey, need a hand?" He asked as he squatted down next to where she was laying.

"Mmph lk a rft bntn," came the face-down reply.

"Er... what was that?"

Yuki lifted her head. "I said, 'more like a reset button'. Day one and I'm already tripping over my own feet." Yuki stood up, brushed off her school robes, and readjusted her Asauchi, which was currently at her hip. "Thanks anyway, though. Maybe I'll see you around." With a quick bow, she turned and walked (much more carefully) to the academy entrance. Her first class would be starting soon, and she didn't want to miss it!

Or so she thought.

About two minutes before the opening bell, she managed to make her way to homeroom, the first class for every new student (since there were about 400 first-year students, all of them were placed into one very large lecture hall classroom). She was eager to learn about hunting Hollows, fighting with Zanpakuto, and all kinds of Kido techniques. She was not, however, interested in the slightest about the earliest history of Soul Society as a whole. And yet, for two long hours she and her fellows were forced to listen as their instructor, an old man by the name of Gazakura-sensei, droned endlessly about how so-and-so did this thing and such-and-such did that thing and everybody was like "Yay, let's make Soul Society!" What a drag... Yuki thought to herself. She nearly fell asleep at one point, but quickly realized the folly of such a thing: one student actually had fallen asleep. Gazakura-sensei, upon seeing this, reached into his robe and pulled out a small weighted club. He then hurled it at the sleeping student, nailing him squarely in the forehead and knocking him over the back of his chair. Yuki paid significantly more attention afterward.

As class finally ended, Gazakura-sensei called out, "Everyone, don't forget to check your lockers. Your class schedules and textbooks have all been delivered and will be waiting in your assigned locker." Yuki had been assigned locker 213, which appeared to be located a few halls down from her homeroom (Well, at least I'm used to a lot of walking, she thought to herself with a sigh). Heading down to the 200 hall, Yuki glanced up at the lockers and walked, counting as she went. "201... 203... 205... yada yada yada... Ah, here we go! Two thir-"

SLAM!

Yuki walked face-first into an open locker door, sending her to the ground with a thud. The locker's owner, a young girl with short brown hair, peeked at her from the other side.

"Ah! I'm so sorry! Are you okay?" she asked.

"Oh, I'm fine, I'm fine..." Yuki assured the girl. Actually, her head was pounding and she could see a certain number of dots floating across her vision, but she wasn't about to tell anyone. "And besides, it was kinda my fault. I wasn't paying attention to where I was going."

"Um..." came the brown-haired girl's reply. "I'm actually over here."

Yuki glanced over, unable to determine exactly which of the two or three girls in front of her she should now address; they all looked identical.

"Here, maybe this will help," the girl said. She mumbled something that Yuki couldn't quite make out, then her finger started glowing. She poked Yuki in the forehead with it, and suddenly the pain and blurry vision were gone. Yuki blinked several times; sure enough, now there were no spots and only one other girl.

"Whoa... Were those healing arts?" she asked. Healing arts had become a popular, though rare, form of Kido manipulation. Those who used them were usually assigned to Squad 4, though some who were able to master both healing and Zanjutsu, the art of wielding a Zanpakuto, were assigned to more combat-oriented squadrons like 6 or 10.

The other girl nodded. "Mhm. I can't use them very well, but I can at least heal minor injuries." She offered a hand. "I'm Cora. Looks like we'll be locker neighbors."

Yuki stood to her feet and clasped Cora's hand. "Yuki. Looks like it. Hey, what class do you have next?" she asked as she opened her own locker. Sure enough, there was her class schedule and a small bundle of books. She cringed at the sight of her history textbook; it was easily the thickest one in there.

"Um..." Cora checked her schedule. "Looks like Zanjutsu."

Yuki's eyes scanned her own schedule, then began to glow with excitement; she had Zanjutsu next as well! And Kido practice after that! Yes! she thought to herself. That totally makes up for having history first thing in the morning! "Oh, hey, me too," was the only thing she said out loud, but the excitement was plainly written on her face. She couldn't wait to start training!

"Oh, nice! Wanna walk together?" Cora asked.

"Sure!" Yuki replied. The two of them grabbed the appropriate books, slammed their lockers shut, and headed toward class, Yuki eagerly looking forward to cracking some heads.

"Thanks anyway, though. Maybe I'll see you around." The girl said before standing up and hurrying into the academy, though notably more careful with her steps.
Zakito just shook his head. If Clumsy Girl was any indication this was going to be an interesting academy. Clearing his thoughts of the future from his mind he focused on the present. Heading into the building the crowd had seemed to thin drastically already a sharp contrast from his earlier shoving matches in the courtyard. Looking around at all the halls he tried to remember what he had been told that morning.

History Class...Lecture Hall... He thought looking around. Not seeing anything right away he decided to follow the people that seemed to be first years and knew what they were doing. This turned out to be a mildly effective plan as he was able to find the lecture hall. Unfortunately he only had moments before the bell would ring and from the look of things nearly all the seats were already taken. Beginning to panic slightly for the first time that day he quickly tried to spot a seat before the classes started.
Apparently he looked desperate because a young man with long purple hair drawn back from his face waved him over to a single empty seat beside him. Rushing over Zakito was just barely able to beat the bell.

"Thanks man, I seriously owe you." Zakito said quietly as the bell rang. The young man he was sitting beside gave a small smile.
"Don't worry about. I'm just glad I could help a fellow first year out." He whispered kindly.

After that they didn't have any chance to talk, mostly because they didn't want to risk angering Gazakura-sensei. Or as Zakito had already named him in his head Ancient-Sensei. In Zakito's defense he did try hard to pay attention, but the history was just terribly dull. If it hadn't been for that one poor student getting clubbed in the head Zakito might possibly fallen asleep himself. Finally after sitting through what felt like days of mental torture the class ended. Before he could even leave his seat however Gazakura sensei shouted to all the students.

"Everyone, don't forget to check your lockers. Your class schedules and textbooks have all been delivered and will be waiting in your assigned locker."

Standing up he turned to the young man that had given him a seat. He was a little shorter than Zakito, but something about him made him seem almost intimidating, but in a subtle way. Maybe it was the glasses?

Nah, that doesn't even make sense...

"I'm sorry I wasn't able to introduce myself before. My name is Zakito." He said politely as they both filed towards the exit.

"Quite alright. My name is Akihiko and it's a pleasure to meet you Zakito." He replied.

Once they both made it out of the hall they checked to see where their lockers were.

"Damn, I got 109. What about you Akihiko?" He asked looking at the scraps of paper they had been given with locker numbers on them.
Akihiko frowned, "Looks like I got 103. Guess with both in for a long walk." He said smiling.
Zakito took some solace in the fact the one person he knew was in the same hall, but from what he understood the 100's were really far from where they were.

"Guess we should get moving our next classes are probably going to start soon." Zakito said with a grimance. Even Akihiko looked concerned once that thought crossed his mind. Pushing his glasses up he said, "I suppose we should make haste." Before taking off at a quick jog.
Following right behind him the swiftly made there way through the hallways until they finally reached there lockers.
Quickly opening it up he noticed several books and a class schedule.

"Hey, what class do you have next?" He asked Akihiko who was looking through his locker as well.
After a short pause he replied, "Looks like...Kido. You?" He asks.

"Nice, looks like you're stuck with me for a while longer. I've got Kido next as well."
Akihiko smiled at this, "At least you'll have someone to sit with." He replied jokingly. Laughing at that we both head off towards the Kido Class.
Even though Zakito had only ever practiced his Zanjutsu, and by practice Zanjutsu he meant hitting a tree, he felt confidant that he would do well in Kido.

After all how hard could it be? He thought.

"HA!" "Again!"
"HA!" "Again!"
"HA!" "Again!"
"HA!" "Again!"

Such was the sound coming from the large gymnasium at the south side of the school. Zanjutsu, the art of battle with a Zanpakuto, was the most basic thing a Shinigami would ever learn, but it was also one of the most important. Such had been the basis of a short, militaristic speech given at the start of class by the instructor, who required that all students simply refer to him as "Shishou" - Master. There were two older students with him serving as teaching assistants, but neither of them gave their names. As this was the first class, nearly the entire day consisted of the whole class drilling in a single attack: an overhead slice, as though bringing the Zanpakuto down on the head of a Hollow. Yuki, for her part, was currently drenched in sweat and could feel her arms trembling with the effort of even holding her sword aloft, nevermind actively swinging it down again and again. Cora seemed to be doing better, though the strain was starting to show for her as well. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the instructor finally called "Stop!" Almost everyone groaned in relief; some even dropped their Zanpakuto, which was rewarded by intensive yelling from Shishou and his assistants. Yuki didn't drop her sword, but she did willingly sink to her knees and lay the sword on her lap. She gulped down air, sweat pouring out of every possible place on her body. Cora simply bent over and panted. After yelling at a few students for a particular lack of form, Shishou dismissed the class.

"My arms... I swear I can feel them pulsing..." Yuki whined as she and Cora left the classroom.

"That was definitely a lot of exercise," Cora responded. "You okay?"

Yuki sighed; Cora was definitely in better shape than she was. "I'm just annoyed. I was hoping we'd learn some actual fighting techniques. Instead, all we learned was how to swing a sword. Anybody can swing a sword like that!"

"True, but only some can swing one properly," Cora answered. "Didn't you feel it as time went on? How your swings became more natural, and how it started to feel more accurate?" Yuki thought for a moment. When she got past the pain in her arms, she could see what Cora was talking about. Her first swing had felt awkward, clumsy, and a bit sporadic. However, as the class had worn on, her swing had gotten sharper and more focused, and it had taken less and less conscious thought to direct her blade properly. Cora continued, "Practice really does make perfect in this case. If you want to fight a Hollow, that sword is all you need. But if you want to win against a Hollow, you need to know how to use it."

"Couldn't agree more," came a voice from behind them. Both girls jumped and turned around. Standing behind them, smiling down, was one of Shishou's assistants. He was tall, and his hair stuck out in several directions, but he looked pretty nice. In more ways than one. He laughed as the two girls turned around. "Sorry, sorry, didn't mean to scare you. I just wanted to say, you did very well today in class," he said, looking at Cora. "I haven't seen many first years grasp the basic form so quickly. You're pretty talented."

"Oh, uh, thanks," Cora said, blushing slightly. "I've had a little bit of practice before. Well, not with a Zanpakuto, obviously - it was actually with a stick - but yeah, um... Yeah."

The older boy smiled. "It shows. Anyway, I just wanted to tell you that. I've got to get back before next class." He turned and began to walk away, then stopped and looked back. "Oh, my name's Suichi, by the way. See you tomorrow!" he called back. Then, with a quick wave, he turned and headed back to the gym.

"Bye!" Cora called as he left. Her face was still rather red. Yuki looked at her as she continued to stare after Suichi, then broke out in a broad grin.

"You liiiiiike him," she teased mischievously.

"I-I do not!" Cora stammered, but Yuki was relentless.

"You totally like him!" Yuki laughed.

"Th-That's not it at all! I was just... surprised that he noticed me among all the first years, is all."

"Bet he likes you too~!"

"Sh-shut up!" Cora said, punching Yuki in the shoulder. "Come on, Kido class is next and we can't be late!" She quickly walked off toward class without waiting for Yuki. Yuki, for her part, continued laughing for at least half the walk. Secretly, though, she was happy for Cora; from what she'd been able to see, even Yuki could tell Cora had some talent. Yuki, on the other hand, had a long way to go before she was ready for battle. Oh well, she thought. After all, it's only the first day.

One thing was for certain. Kido class was harder than Zakito had expected.
Though he had expected it to be somewhat challenging to shoot lighting out of his fingers and summon giant walls of spirit energy, what he hadn't anticipated was all long incantations.

Once Akihiko and Zakito had arrived at class they had lined up with all the other students in time to listen to a somewhat long lecture on the basics of Kido, why Kido was an important part of a Soul Reapers skill set, and pretty much everything a person could say about Kido. After a good twenty minutes that had felt more like an hour they were all give books with basic level Kido incantations and told to memorize them all and that they would then practice them.

Sitting on the floor with Akihiko he read the incantation for Shakkaho yet again. Sighing he looked over at Akihiko who seemed to be diligently studying his book.
"How much longer do you think they will make us read this?" He asked quietly enough so that Izumo-sensei and her two helpers wouldn't hear him.

Akhiko smiled as he pushed his glasses back up, "Probably not much longer. I think it's been close to twenty minutes now and if this is an hour long class like the others our last twenty minutes should be live practice."
Zakito nodded. That would make sense he supposed. Smiling he turned back to his book. Finally he was going to master some real power. Zanjutsu would be fun, but Kido was the ability to channel your spirit energy to blow Hollows up with a few carefully spoken words.

Not long after Zakito had asked Akihiko about the time Izumo-Sensei spoke up.
"Alright students. You've had more than enough time to study. It's time for live practice." Akihiko looked over at me and smirked when she said that. I just smiled and rolled my eyes.
"Now, if you would all head out the doors to your left we'll get started." She said, seriously before her and her teaching assistants headed out the same doors she had just mentioned. Standing up Zakito filed out the door with Akihiko close behind. Once they were all outside Zakito noticed there was a large wall with targets lined up in front of it.

Target practice. This should be simple. He thought to himself as he took a seat along with all the other students on the ground.

"Our first Kido is Shakkaho. A basic Hado that will serve you well later in your time as a soul reaper. First line up!" She shouted at the students. Zakito quickly realized he was actually one of the ones in the first row and jumped up.

"Step forward and assume the correct casting posture. Right arm forward with left hand placed on inside of right arm." She continued to shout as we all stumbled into place.
Several of the students were so flustered they forgot left from right and Izumo-sensei came by to correct them in a sarcastic manner. Thankfully Zakito felt he had his arms held correctly. As he was standing there holding his arms out like an idiot one of the teaching students came by to check his form, as she had already done for about half the other students. Standing in front of him she almost matched him in height. She had one hand resting on her hip as she looked at him with a slight frown on her face.
Normally Zakito would be more than happy to be getting such attention from a girl that looked as nice as she did, but right now it just served to fray his nerves. Brushing her long crimson hair back out of her face she finally walked up next to him and began to speak.

"You have the basic idea, but try to space your feet a little more." She said using her foot to tap the insides of his gently nudging them apart. Zakito couldn't help but blush lightly. Deep down he realized he had wanted to impress her. Moving his arms slightly she looked him over again.

"Okay, you should be good." She said before moving onto her next student.

And there she goes... He thought to himself with a slight twinge of sadness. What are you sad about? You just met a cute girl Zakito! Besides you need to focus!

Closing his eyes he cleared his thoughts and breathed out. This was no time to be thinking about cute girls. This was serious training time. Moments later Sensei spoke up again.
"Now aim for the target and use Shakkaho. Hado training...Begin!" She yelled.
Taking a deep breath Zakito began, "Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Inferno and pandemonium, the sea barrier surges, march on to the south! Hado thirty-one Shakkaho!" He finished with a shout, amazed that he had actually remembered all the words to the incantation.
The large orb of red energy blasted out of his hand and straight into a target. Just not his target, but the one three to the left of his. And even then it only actually clipped the edge. Surveying the field he could see that well over half had missed on there first shot at least. That was something of a comfort. Sitting back down the other two groups went up and fired doing just as poorly. After the last group had went Izumo-sensei called out that class was over and told us all to leave before her next class arrived.
Standing back up Zakito headed for the door.
After all his big hopes he had done so poorly at using Kido. Still, he consoled himself with the fact that it was only his first day and he had learned a lot already. Given enough time he was certain he could excel. With that thought in mind he checked his next class.

Looks like Zanjutsu next...Sounds like fun.