Bleached

Chapter 9: Graduation and reminiscence

Disclaimer: Kubo owns

AN: So, people have been asking who the "Reiou" is, and from what I know of Bleach trivia, it's supposed to be the Soul King's Japanese name. I could be wrong though...but I am not, according to Bleach wiki. Any of you notice how the Soul King looks exactly like Aizen? Wonder why...anyways! Pairings! Oooh, I gotta admit, I'm gonna torture you guys with this one *evil laughter*(also because i'm kinda condfused about that). Enjoy!

§ Shinou Academy, Dorms §

Byakuya sighed. He'd been watching Ichigo pace for the past...three hours, was it? It certainly felt longer than that. But he could understand why Ichigo was so tense. The man had barely had enough sleep in the past months after his fight with Oki (the pervo sensei). For some unfathomable reason the students had decided that Ichigo was an incarnation of the Reiou, and had decided to bow infront of him wherever he went. Unfortunatley this meant that Ichigo was chased by every single female, and some of the males at the Academy. Not even Senbozakura's sharp petals could keep the horde away. Some had even resorted to camp outside their dorm room. Luckily, Ichigo managed to scare them away. Byakuya had known that Ichigo was dangerous when angered, but now he knew that the word "dangerous" could never describe the sheer killing intent of Ichigo.

* Flashback*

Seba Kino was a well-known and much hated Third year student at the Shinou Academy. Belonging to a wealthy minor noble family, the boy was used to being on the top of the food chain. When he'd arrived at the Academy, he'd been expected to walk on rose petals and being praised by the teachers. Unfortunately for Kino, Byakuya was on top of the food chain in the Academy, and he'd wasted no time in setting the record straight when Kino had tried to lord over him. The teachers had given Byakuya a mild reprimand for the action of beating another Heir, though to a minor family, extensively. That beating had caused Kino to not approach Byakuya again, even though he still treated the rest of the pupils with hate, and Byakuya had suspected he planned to get revenge for humiliation he'd endured at Byakuya's hands at some point. He was right. Kino had approached him when he wasn't with Ichigo, assured in himself to be able to take Byakuya down, even though was three years his senior. Apparantly he'd achieved Shikai. Apparantly.

"Oh, if it isn't Kuchiki Hime. How are you this fine evening? I hear you are graduating. Though, I wonder how much the Kuchiki's paid for you to be placed three years ahead. You don't even have Shikai, unlike me! Though the amount the Kuchiki's paid must have been miniscule compared to what the Shibas must have paid." Unknown to Seba, Ichigo had chosen that moment to appear behind him. The whole school was now watching the altercation. Kino continued his rant.

"That Shiba Ichigo is just a pretty boy pansy, like you! Prodigy, hah! I doubt he knows how to shunpo! Bribing the Academy to get them through easily must be a trait in that family." Now Byakuya pitied Kino. Ichigo was very protective of his friends and family. Very. Protective. Seba didn't notice his impending doom as he contiued.

"I mean, I've seen that Shiba Kaien dude around, and he's a right idiot. There's no way he could've graduated in two year without any extra bribing. And I've also seen that orange bastard around. He barely participates in class fights. I bet that the fight with Oki was staged to throw people off their trai-" Seba cut himself off when he finally noticed the killing intent Ichigo had been giving off, and nearly yelped when he came face to face with Ichigo. The orange haired man took a step forward, expression blank. Then he smiled coldly. The whole school shuddered in fright.

"I don't know how to fight, do I? Well, I hope you don't mind if you spar with me." Ichigo said in a faux light tone. Seba, the fool he was, straightened himself and took the opportunity as one to prove himself right.

"Oh yeah? Well, come with it, you cheating, lying, Shiba!" The whole school winced. Ichigo's expression turned blank once again before he disappeared, only to reappear beside Byakuya, who was standing a hundred feet away. Seba was still, before his various wounds which Ichigo had apparently afflicted on him in the span of two second erupted in gruesome display of blood. Ichigo turned to the school with the same cold smile on his face.

"If anyone ever insults my family and friends again, they will find themselves dead. Is that clear?" As the whole school nodded frantically, Ichigo shunned to the dorms, leaving Byakuya.

Seba Kino had been hospitalized for 4 months.

*Flashback end*

That was the day that the school had learned to keep a distance from Ichigo, and not to insult his loved ones. Though the students still had secret shrines of Ichigo. But that was not what was bugging Ichigo right now. What was bugging him was the fact that the final exam was tomorrow, and he still had not picked a Squad. He'd ruled out the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 11th, 12th and to some degree, the 13th. Byakuya pinched the bridge of his nose. The raven haired man knew that he himself was going to Division 6, since the Kuchikis practically reigned there. He sighed.

"Ichigo, you've been pacing a hole in the floor. Why don't you just join Division 6 and be over with it?" Byakuya said in an annoyed tone. Ichigo, to his delight stopped and sat down, with a thoughtful look on his face.

'I want to join the 5th, cause that would mean to be closer to Aizen, but-' Ichigo's train of thought was abruptly cut off as Yhwach interrupted him.

"What exactly is your plan regarding Aizen, Ichigo?" the Quincy spirit asked. Ichigo hesitated.

'Well, I was thinking of killing him, and Tousen ASAP.' the answer was met with silence from his partners, before Yhwach finally relented.

"I understand. But you must be ready to face the complication if do so. You'll be changing the future forever, as Aizen was a big planner of it. I wouldn't of Arrancars, as they would not exist without Aizen, but Juuhabach is a definite threat. My older version is crueler than Aizen in many ways, and the only reason we survived that war was because even though the Quincy were defeated, we lost. And you know that he was the one who set Aizen loose. By then Aizen had lost his sanity." the older sword-spirit said what Ichigo already knew, reminding him of the possibilities. Ichigo knew that Juuhabach was a much bigger threat than Aizen could ever hope to be. Juuhabach had crippled Soul Society in such a manner that they could never hope to recover. Every one of Ichigo's friend had lost a big part of themselves during the 10 year long war with the Quincies. Aizen had just finished the job killing them. Shiro chose that moment to insert his own two yen.

"I agree with the Quincy. As for th Divisions, join the 6th. Byakuya isn't so bad, and it wouldn't invoke Aizen's suspicions. And the Sixth division barracks are close to the fifth." Ichigo blinked in surprise. Huh. His hollow liked Byakuya. Who would've thought. He raised his head and spoke.

"Byakuya?"

"Hn?"

"..I've decided on the Sixth." Byakuya stilled. A moment passed. Another. And another. And then Ichigo was engulfe in a hug, surprised.

"Really? Thank you! This way Grandfather will be off my back about my training! We are going to have the best. Time. Ever!" Did Ichigo mention that Byakuya talkd like a kid when he was excited? The orange haired man suppressed a chuckle, and peeled the Kuchiki off himself.

"Calm down! Now get off me so I can tell Ginrei-sama that I accept his offer. Shoo!" Byakuya grinned once more before quieting down and going back to his bed. Ichigo supressed a chuckle, while Shiro laughed. If only Rukia was here.

§ Shinou Academy, last exam §

Ginrei was sitting in the podium of the fighting arena. It was the last exam the graduates were taking, determining their strength in combat. The graduates had to fight each other using HouHou, Hakuda, Kido, and most importantly Zanjutsu. As predicted, Byakuya and Ichigo were pitted against each other, being the strongest of their class. Ginrei was looking forward to finally seeing his grandson's Shikai. The past six moths since Christmas had been filled with anticipation. He knew he wasn't the only one who was excited for this, as he spotted fukutaicho Shiba, Ukitake-taicho, Kyourako-taicho, Hirako-taicho and Unohona-taicho in the crowd. He evn spotted Yorouichi! The Shihoin had probably heard about Ichigo's shunpo, and come ta assess if he was as good as told.

The captains looked bored, as the fights up until now had been exceptionally boring, with the highlight being a female student crying "Oh my Ichigo-sama!", causing much confusion. Apparently the student population of Shinou thought that Ichigo was an incarnation of the Reiou. Ginrei shook his head in silent amusement. Suddenly the announcer said what every single captain had been anticipating.

"Up next: Shiba Ichigo-sama and Kuchiki Byakuya!"

"Finally! Wait, did he say -sama?" Shiba Kaien's confused voice exclaimed loudly. He was promptly ignored, as the fighters entered the arena, looking impassive. They both adapted stances, though Byakuya's was a little more aggressive, as ones should be when facing a stronger opponent, Ginrei observed approvingly. Ichigo, on the other hand, had adopted a relaxed, but deceiptive stance.

"Begin!" As soon as the umpire announced the match to be fought, Byakuya shunpoed towards his enemy, knowing that he was the weaker one, and as such he had to create his own openings. Ichigo blocked each one Byakuya's lightning fast attacks, just using his long zanpakotou to absorb the hits. He knew Byakuya's fighting style intimately, having been his teacher for the past year, and having fought in his past timeline. After a few minutes of blocking became boring, Ichigo shunpoed away, creating a little distance between himself and Byakuya. In the crowd, Yorouichi whistled.

"I guess my little Bya-chan has improved under that hunk of a teacher. And that shunpo he did just now..wow!" the princess exclaimed loudly. On the battlefield, Ichigo smirked to Byakuya.

"My turn, Bya-chan." Byakuya smirked as Ichigo was suddenly on him, forcing him back. He tried to block and parry the attacks, but even though he managed to blocked a few, most of the attacks managed to get him. Byakuya winced as another slash managed get his arm. He quickly realised his disadvantage and shunpoed away,using a kido to create a distraction, knowing what he had to do. The Kuchiki Heir Lord stood still, before unleashing.

"Scatter, Senbonzakura!" As a million sakura petals surrounded the orange man, attacking him, his smirk widened. Finally, something to fight. Both Ichigo and Byakuya attacked at the same time, this time fighting more evenly. Meanwhile, Ginrei was assessing his grandson's shikai. It was magnificent. It had an elegant and subtly deceptive deadliness. Many opponents would dismiss it as being a pretty trick, not recognizing the true potential of the sakura petals. But given the way young Ichigo was avoiding them, it must mean that they were sharp enouh to cut. Ginrei was proud. The fight went on, and both opponents looked to be at a standstill. Suddenly Ichigo unleashed a deadly Sokatsui (kido), causing Byakuya to shunpo away. He was still singed by it, though. Ichigo gave a small smirk.

"It has been fun, Byakuya, you managed to make me unleash my reiatsu." the Shiba heir congratulated, as if Byakuya hadn't noticed the pressure weighing him down. He gritted his teeth, knowing what was to come.

"I think you have deserved to see my shikai." the prodigy said casually, causing muttering to erupt in the crowd. There were many fangirls there who wanted their hero being awesome. Little did they know they would pass out as soon as Ichigo released a hold of his reiatsu, not even releasing his shikai.

"Incredible. He had so much reiatsu sealed away. I thought he was lazy when it came to that, because of his already monstrous reiatsu. This is easily equal to my shikai edging on bankai." Yorouichi said. She was truly impressed by this man. Too bad he'd chosen the Sixth. And judging by Ginrei's smug expression, the old fart knew as much. Having both the strongest shinigami-graduates in centuries enter hi division must have been a blessing. Ichigo was probably on the verge of learning bankai, meaning that Ginrei could go back to retirement. Yorouichi turned her attention back to the fight.

"Tear the heavens asunder..." every concious person in the room held their breaths.

"Zangetsu!" a wave of pitch black reiatsu engulfed the arena, blinding everyone except the oldest captains. When they could see again, they saw an unconcious Kuchiki, and a victorious Shiba. Silence. Then Ginrei stood up and began to clap, and the rest of the captains followed. Ichigo bowed slightly, before resealing his zanpakotou, making many sigh in relief. He then lifted Byakuya up, bringing him to Unohona, who blinked in surprise. The prodigy bowed again.

"Please heal him, Unohona-taicho." with that said he shunpoed, leaving Unohona stunned. Kaien snorted silently at the picture she presented. Retsu turned and glared, making the Shiba Clan head yelp in fright. Ukitake shook his head at their antics.

Ginrei smirked in satisfaction.

Next: Aizen's downfall.

AN: So, much revelation in this chapter and finally Ichigo escapes school! Sorry for no omake. Didn't feel like it would fit, but oh well. There will be quincy war, though nothing like the one in canon *shudders in revulsion*. That thing is too fucking long. I feel like going all Shia Laboeuf on Kubo and scream "DO IT!" in his face. UGH!