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"All of you, listen up!" an official yelled. "Captain-commander Yamamoto will tell you how this will go

down." The man turned to Yamamoto and bowed to him.

"You will all draw a number from this container," he started. "Your number will correspond with one of

the shinigami standing behind me. You will spar with said shinigami and demonstrate your abilities to

the best of your capability. The shinigami you draw will be completely random; you could draw a captain, lieutenant, or any other person on the premises. There will be restrictor settings that will keep the two of you on equal fighting ground. The higher your abilities, the tougher your opponent will become. There will be no negotiations; you will fight who you draw, NO EXCEPTIONS! You will be able

to fight how you want; using kidõ or Zanpakutõ. The drawings will begin immediately if there are no

questions. Those of you who wish to drop out now may do so."

No one raised their hand and no one asked any questions. I looked around at the collection of people

in uniforms around me. They all wore identical black robes, except for those with captain's haori and

lieutenant's badges. I counted in my head and figured out there were three lieutenants: squad 11, squad 6, and squad 3. I counted again and saw that there were four captains: squad 4, squad 13, squad 10, and of course Komamura was there as well. I sighed. There are twenty people here and seven high ranking officers; even if it is random, there is almost a fifty-percent chance I will be taking on one of them. God, I hope it won't be Komamura. I won't be able to surprise him AND I don't think I

could raise my sword against him. Squad 11 is notorious for being full of hotheads who like battles, so I would like to avoid her, even if she is a little girl.

I was still lost in my thoughts when I finally heard my name called. "Hiroshi Osamu step forward and

draw your number." I walked forward and stumbled a little bit as someone stuck their foot out to trip

me. The crowd sniggered a little bit. I regained my balance and resumed walking. I was almost to the

Captain-commander when I heard a slight whistle in the air. I turned around and caught the rice ball

before it could beam me in the head. I looked at it with a familiar anger building in me once again, but

I choked down the rage before it could surface. I turned back around and claimed my number from an

impassive Yamamoto.

After the last person received their voucher, an uneasy silence took hold of the candidates as they

each waited to see who they would be matched up with. Despite myself, I looked over and saw Kazumi and Mamoru sharing identical looks of smug contempt. I looked over at the boy from lunch

and saw his face was pale and shining with sweat. I forced myself to focus on the Captain-commander

as he started to speak.

"Without further delay, we will begin the match ups! I will call out a number and you and your opponent will come forward. The fights will commence when the rest of the spectators arrive," Captain-commander Yamamoto said.

"Who are the spectators?" I heard a girl ask.

"The rest of the thirteen court guard squads and your fellow students; everyone will witness what will

transpire here today," he answered

"Why?" a different girl asked.

"The pressure and anxiety you feel as hundreds of people watch you will be similar to the stress you

will feel in a high intensity battle," Yamamoto answered once again. "No more questions! We will begin

the process of match ups."

I stood in a stiff silence as I watched people get partnered up. A guy in what appeared to be his mid-twenties let out a sigh of relief when he was paired with a little girl with pink hair. Idiot do you not see

the lieutenant's badge on her arm? I watched as the other captains and lieutenants were paired up with various people. Much to my pleasure, Mamoru was paired with Komamura; he looked like he was

about to puke. He saw me looking and sneered. I raised an eyebrow and turned away from him. I hope he gets hurt, at least a little. Kazumi was luckier as she was paired with an unranked shinigami.

"Will those with number 16 step forward?" Yamamoto said.

I stepped forward as a man with a captain's haori stepped forward. He had long white hair with brown

eyes and was smiling kindly as he looked at me.

"I am Captain Ukitake, and you are the boy from two days ago correct?" he said, the smile faltering

slightly. "I wish you the best of luck," he finished with a gentle smile that reached into his eyes.

I nodded stiffly and then realized I was being rude. "Pleased to meet you, Captain Ukitake; I wish you

the same."

He laughed a little and then turned around. As he walked away, he was overcome with a coughing fit

that wracked his entire body. I rushed over to him and helped keep him steady. He looked at me, clearly embarrassed.

"Don't worry about me. I just need to sit down real quick," he said kindly.

He didn't seem to notice the thin line of blood slithering down the corner of his mouth. At that moment, he passed out. Captain Komamura came over and hefted the unconscious captain with ease.

"Is he alright?" I asked, worrying for the captain.

"He's been a bit ill lately, but don't worry. He will be able to fight without any problem in time for your

fight." His eyes glittered kindly as they reflected the sun above. It took every ounce of will power I had not to stroke his face; soon enough. Captain Komamura turned and walked back towards the other shinigami as Captain Ukitake started to stir.

I walked back to the spot I was standing at previously with people watching my every move. Of course they are going to stare. You are the freak who is fighting a captain, and you are also the freak who destroyed another student without provocation; and to top it off my opponent is ill, wonderful.

_ _

Everyone had finally been paired up, and we were making our way to the stadium at the squad seven

training grounds. I was still wondering about how my fight with Ukitake would go. I wasn't paying attention when someone shot their hand out and grabbed my arm tightly. I snapped my head up to

see who it was; it was the Lieutenant of squad 11.

"HI!" the little pink haired girl screamed excitedly.

"Uh, hi?" I said a bit confused.

"You are the one fighting Ukki, right?" she asked with an equal enthusiasm.

"Ukki? Oh, you mean Captain Ukitake; yes, I am fighting him," I said, still wondering where this was

going.

"You're going to be beaten," she giggled.

"I don't doubt that," I sighed. I seriously did not want to make her angry, because they don't make

people lieutenants for just any reason.

She looked at me with eyes scrunched up in thought. "You look like Koma-Koma."

"Who?" I asked.

"Koma-Koma, you know: the size of a giant, doggy head always looks like this." When she finished,

the smile dropped from her face and she did a dead-on imitation of Komamura's solemn expression.

I bit my lip trying not to laugh but couldn't stop myself; I laughed so much my sides started to hurt

and people turned to see what I was laughing at. I regained my composure. "You mean Captain Komamura. Yeah, I was the person in the incident three years ago. My eyes and teeth changed, and

my hearing became a lot sharper."

"OH, so you are the boy with the wolf eyes?" she asks, wide-eyed.

I rolled my eyes a little despite myself. "Yes."

She started laughing, "Then I am really glad I decided to talk to you. That means you were the one

who put that kid in the hospital during that training class, right?"

I cringed a little bit.

She noticed and laughed a little. "What's the matter? In Kenny's squad, that is a good thing. Kenny

wants to fight you now, just to see if you are strong. He is going to be so jealous of Ukki." She was

giggling to herself.

"Who is Kenny?" I asked.

She seemed a bit peeved. "You're stupid."

I just looked at her.

She started laughing again. "Kenny is my captain, and he wears an eye-patch and has spiky hair with

bells on the end of it. He is always smiling."

I thought and then shuddered. She meant the crazed psycho who taunted Captain Kurotsuchi at my

trial. "Why does he want to fight me?"

"Because you were able to break through a kidõ casted by Gramps," she said.

_ _

She means Captain-commander Yamamoto.

"You have a nickname for everyone here, don't you?" I asked her.

"Just about," she giggled, "I haven't thought of one for you yet. When you fight Kenny I will have one

for you."

I rolled my eyes. "Why are you here and not your captain?"

She also rolled her eyes. "It's obvious; Kenny doesn't want to fight weaklings. I was told that if I fought I would get candy." She giggled and then narrowed her eyes. "You can't have any!"

I held up my hands in mock surrender. "I wouldn't think of taking any."

She smiled again. "Kay."

"So you are here for candy?" I asked, trying to keep the conversation going.

"Not just candy, anything sweet," she started, "wait, do you have any?"

I smiled a little bit. "Let me see." I started patting my pockets and stuck my hand through my bag

absentmindedly.

Her eyes shone like little stars when I pulled the little piece of peppermint from my pocket. She snatched it and shoved it into her mouth before I could blink. She moaned in pleasure as the taste

flooded her mouth.

"I will try to have some on hand for you," I told her, laughing silently at how quickly she finished the

sweet.

"Kay!" she squealed, and before I could really react, she disappeared into the crowd of people.

"That child will eat you out of house and home before she has had enough sweets," a deep voice said

behind me gently.

I smiled. "How long have you been listening?"

"Since I saw her tugging on your sleeve," he said evenly.

_ _

Shit, he heard me laugh at the impression. "Oh," I said, feeling a little nervous.

He looked down at me with his mouth twitching slightly. He's doing that on purpose. "So do I really look like that?" Komamura asked with his signature straight-face, solemn expression.

"No, no!" I said, lying quickly to prevent him from getting upset.

He looked at me for a second before a deep rumbling chuckle shook his chest. His eyes glittered in

their special golden way. "You are a terrible liar."

I sighed, deflated. "Sorry, I didn't mean to laugh. It just caught me off guard."

He took my chin in his hand and made me look him in the eye. "Don't apologize. I like it when you

laugh; the way your body shakes with it and the way your eyes shine." He looked at me lovingly.

"I like it when you laugh too. It is a deep, heart-warming sound that lightens the tension." I was

staring into his eyes.

"I might need to do it more often than." His voice was a liquid honey that seeped into the very depths

of my being. I was still enchanted as he bent down and kissed me on the lips. I closed my eyes and let

my hand grip the side of his face. We pulled apart and stared at each other.

"I'm scared, Komamura." I said, with tears pricking the sides of my eyes.

He looked at me with a hand gently caressing my cheek. "I know you are, but there is no reason for it.

You are easily the best candidate here."

I looked in his eyes as the tears started spilling over. "Thank you," I whispered as I buried my face into his chest. I pulled myself together quickly and then kissed him once again quickly. "I'm going to

catch up with the others before they notice I am gone. Will I see you after the match?" I asked, drying

up the streaks on my face.

"Yes, and I will be quietly cheering you on," he whispered in my ear. "Now go and catch up." He

clapped me on the shoulder, and I ran to catch up with the others.

The arena was identical to the one where I fought Shinta. There was a coliseum set up with bleachers

filled with shinigami and students alike. I sucked in a breath and tried to keep calm as all twenty candidates stood in the middle of the ring, waiting for the introductions to be over with. They were

introducing all the candidates. After each person was introduced, a polite applause went up and some

of the friends of the person would cheer.

My name was introduced as I stood apart from everyone else and faced the crowd. The shinigami gave

a polite applause like they always did, but all the students from the academy started booing me and

throwing garbage in my direction. A few of the people behind me sniggered quietly in their places. A

piece of fruit exploded on my shoulder, and I walked back into line.

"That's fucked up," a voice said beside me. "They should have gotten his face."

A sense of uselessness overwhelmed me. This was never going to let up, all because of Shinta. I bowed my head and waited for everything to finish. Everyone was finished being introduced, and we

were all told to wait for our match to come up; I learned I would be third.

We all took our places at the outer ring of the arena to be spectators. The first match was between the

pink haired lieutenant and the twenty year old guy. It was over pretty quickly; she appeared behind

him and slapped him on the back, and he flew against the wall and was out cold. She seemed a little

confused as she pouted away and took her place at the outer ring.

The second match was between the lieutenant of squad three and a young woman, late teens. The

fight lasted just a bit longer than the previous one. She launched a kidõ and momentarily ensnared

the lieutenant. She then used the moment to fire a Shakkahõ and charged him with her sword. The

lieutenant flashed behind her and had his sword at her throat. The match was over at that moment.

I breathed deeply and told myself to relax. My shirt was still covered in the juice of the fruit, so I shrugged it off. As the shirt hit the ground, the people around me gasped as they saw the lattice work

of scars crisscrossing over my body; the results of my training. I tilted my head up toward the sun and let a single tear slide down my face; no more weakness. I crossed to the center of the arena, and

muttering started up in the stands as my scars came into full view. After the muttering was done a

lone boy screamed, "He's a cutter! Fucking Freak, take this!" A rock hit me in the arm. As if this was a

cue, a hailstorm of rocks flew from the hands of academy students and pelted me. I kept my cool until

the rocks stopped. I felt the warm trickle of blood flow from my temple to the side of my face. Captain

Ukitake gave me a worried look as the blood dripped to the ground at my feet. I ignored it and bowed

to him. I took up my stance with my hand resting lightly on my Zanpakutõ. He walked over to me and

was about to dab away the blood.

"Leave it!" I said, trying to keep my emotions under control.

He looked at me and saw the turmoil burning under the surface of my skin.

"It will give them the reaction they want, so just leave it and get ready," I said, barely keeping my

voice from shaking. Captain Unohona was making her way toward me with a sad smile on her face.

"Don't interfere," I said, not managing to keep my voice steady. She looked shocked but still kept on.

"I said leave it!" This time, desperation leaked into my voice, and it shook. "I need to fight and show

all of them that I am not weak." She looked at me sadly and nodded her head. I turned my head to

Yamamoto. "I'm ready to start." He nodded and gave the signal to begin.

"I won't fight you," Ukitake said calmly.

"You have to," I said.

"I refuse to hurt children," he started, eyeing my face, "especially one that is wounded."

"You will hurt me even more by refusing to fight. This," I said, pointing to my cut, "is what I have had

to put up with and will continue to put up with until I prove that I can handle myself."

"I will not," Ukitake stated sadly. "You are a lonely person and I don't think I could live with myself if I did anything to make that worse."

It struck me to the core, and I felt my chest start to heave. "That does not concern you. If you refuse

to fight, at least defend so I can prove to them that I am not some monster."

"I will defend myself," he said nodding.

"Thank you," I whispered.

I drew my sword and calmed myself down. I stared facing him and then struck. He raised a single hand and blocked my attack easily with a kidõ. The crowd laughed. I raised my hand and cast a Shakkahõ that he easily disabled with one of his own. I started swinging and slashing, but to no avail. I was fighting a captain, and he blocked me easily. It's time to bring up the pace. I performed a flash step and was behind the captain in an instant. He was caught off guard and drew his sword to prevent

me from landing the intended blow.

I flashed again and again, each time he just made it and blocked me. I flashed twice without striking,

catching him unaware.

"Bakudõ 30, Shitotsu Sansen!" I made a triangle with points of blazing spiritual energy that shot forward and pinned Captain Ukitake to the wall. He was stunned and then sighed. His spiritual pressure spiked and the triangle shattered, releasing him.

"That's very good, but the incantation would help you a lot more," he said, smiling, "and your stance is a little too wide. Try keeping your legs closer together and your arms need to loosen up the slightest bit. Other than that your fighting is impeccable."

I just stared at him.

"Ukitake! You must stop goofing around. You don't have to kill him or even hurt him. Just get him in a

position that would mean defeat," Yamamoto yelled across the field.

He sighed and looked at me sadly. "Don't worry; this won't hurt, I promise," he said before disappearing faster than my eyes could track. A blade held its place firmly at my throat.

"Match is..." an official started.

The crowd watched as I lifted my blade up and gently stroked it.

"What are you doing?" Ukitake breathed over my shoulder.

"Mimic and control, Heiwa-tekina Kagami!" I shouted as my hand caressed the end of my blade. My

blades were enveloped in my copper reiatsu. A line went down and split my blade in half with an echoing crack as it separated into two blades. The blades curved around the center forming two half

moons; and finally a length of red rope fell to the ground, sprouting from the ends of both swords.

"Let's see how this works," I said as Ukitake jumped away from me.

The crowd gasped and stared at me in amazement. I brought my hand up and wiped away the blood

that had flowed freely. I focused on Ukitake and watched as he stared at me. "That's something new.

Very good, there are even some shinigami who have not accomplished that feat, but I have to end

this now, sorry." He prepped for a kidõ spell.

"Launch!" I shouted. A black sphere formed and flew out from me, hovering in the air between us.

Ukitake switched his focus from me to the sphere. "Shakkahõ!" The red flame shot from his hand and

flew directly at the sphere. When it reached the sphere, it disappeared and a single red dot appeared

within the sphere's depths. "What the-?"

"Fire!" I shouted, pointing my blades at Ukitake. The red dot swelled and grew and was forced out in a

beam of white energy.

"Bakudõ 81, Dank?!" A translucent barrier sprung up in front of Ukitake and stopped the blast, but on

closer inspection, one could see the cracks in the wall.

Not missing a beat, I charged forward at twice my normal speed and slung both my blades toward

Ukitake, holding the ropes so I could attack from a distance.

"All Waves, Rise now and Become my Shield. Lighting, Strike now and Become my Blade; Sõgyo no

Kotowari!" When the dust had settled, Ukitake was holding to twin swords with a red chord in between

them with five charms hanging from it. He had both my blades caught in his swords.

I yanked the ropes, and my swords flew back to me. He watched as I got them in my hands and took

up a different fighting stance. Ukitake tilted his head to the side in confusion.

"So I take it you know how to use those," he said with a light smile on his face.

"I'm still a little new, but I know enough to handle myself," I said, trying to find a center of balance.

Ukitake turned to Yamamoto. "This may take a bit longer than anticipated," he said.

I took the opportunity to look at the people on the outskirts of the ring. Everyone had varying looks of

surprise and awe. I looked at the captains and saw that Komamura was looking at me with pride

evident in his eyes.

"Go; show them that you are not to be messed with," he whispered, quietly enough so that no one

else but me would be able to hear him.

"Hiroshi, right?" Ukitake asked.

"Yes," I said, turning my attention back to him.

"I'm going to come at you now; not hard enough to do serious damage, but you will have to pay

attention to me now or you will lose quickly," he said, looking at me straight on.

"Thank you," I started. "I will."

He charged me with both blades pointed at me. I dodged one and lifted one of my swords up to stop

the other one. The other blade rushed toward me and I did the same thing again. I used the shape of

my blades to bend and hoist me up over Ukitake, and I landed ten feet behind him. I turned just as he

was about to slash at me. I held my blades up in a cross and shielded myself from the blow; I was

thrown back to the wall. When I hit the wall, it caved in slightly and I coughed up a bit of blood.

"Kagami, will you help me out again?"

"Of course!"

"We probably won't be able to beat him, but let's put on a show at least."

"Okay!"

I felt Kagami's presence almost immediately as I slowly got on my feet and together we faced Ukitake.

We charged him in a miniature hurricane of blades. He was able to block all of our attacks without fail.

I got an idea and took control of my left arm. "Hadõ 54, Haien!" The attack flew wide of Ukitake and

was absorbed by the sphere in the air.

Ukitake didn't seem to notice that I had intended to miss him. He looked at me with curiosity as I

pointed one of my blades at him, "Fire!"

He realized what had happened just as the white beam fired and destroyed the ground he was

standing on not even a moment before. I let out a sigh as two blades were pressed into my throat.

The official seemed reluctant to call the match. I looked at him and nodded. "Match is over!" he yelled.

The blades dropped from my neck. "Good match. That was certainly more of a challenge than I had

expected from a student," Ukitake said in good humor from behind me.

"It was an honor to fight you, Captain Ukitake. Thank you for giving me the chance to prove myself," I

said, turning to face him with a smile on my face, "although this is probably the only time I will ever

be happy to lose," I joked.

He laughed. "I am happy to have been able to help you." He turned around and looked at the crowd.

"I think you proved your point though." He looked at the orb still hovering in the air. "I don't think you

need that anymore."

I looked at the orb and dismissed it with a thought, and then I put my blades together and returned it

to its sealed form. As I sheathed the blade, I was caught off guard by what Ukitake said.

"Komamura is a lucky man to have you," he said out of the blue.

I choked on the air and looked at him with wide eyes. "I don't know what you mean."

"I saw you two before you entered the arena." He saw my panicked expression. "Don't worry, I won't

tell. I think it's nice that Komamura found someone to talk to and be with."

"We really have to work on the whole discreet thing," I said as my cheeks turned a deep scarlet.

Ukitake just laughed. "Well, your secret is safe with me, but I agree some discretion wouldn't hurt."

Now he looked at me with a straight face. "The fight is over now, so will you let someone get those

wounds tended to?"

"Yes, I proved my point," I said, feeling a sense of pride building in my stomach.

Ukitake smiled and took a step forward. His face went white, and he coughed up a bit of blood and

then passed out. I ran forward and caught him for the second time that day. What is with this guy?

Unohona came over and sighed. "He overdid it again. Don't worry. He will be better in a bit. He just

needs to rest. You, on the other hand, should have your wounds cleaned and patched up," she

finished with her trademark smile.

"I'll take care of the boy. Why don't you see if you can get Ukitake to wake up," Komamura offered as

he walked up.

"Okay," Unohona said, immediately handing him a first-aid kit and going to work on Ukitake.

Komamura took me over to a tunnel where we would be out of sight and earshot of everyone. "That

was a magnificent battle. You have gotten a lot better," Komamura said as he started dabbing at the

cut on my temple. I winced a little bit.

"Ukitake saw us outside the arena," I told Komamura.

"I heard. We do have to work on that," he said, finishing up the treatment and looking me in the eye.

"That's two down and one to go," I said as I got up to stretch.

"You did remarkably well in the first two. Even if you mess up, which is doubtful, you will be almost

guaranteed a spot in the Gotei 13."

"I'm still freaking out about the next part of the challenge. I don't know how it will work out."

"You will do just fine," Komamura said, sitting down.

"I hope so," I said, joining him. We sat there for a while until a yawn escaped me. "I'm tired,

Komamura."

"Then rest here. I will wake you when we need to get moving," Komamura said, pulling my head to

rest against his lap.

"Okay, but just for a moment," I whispered, getting myself comfortable.

His hand ran tracks down my body soothingly. "Don't worry. I will make sure no one disturbs us."

"Thank you." I moved myself closer to him and fell into a deep sleep.