Graduation Day, Proving Ones Worth

[Gaz]

Shiro #1

---

“Today’s the day!” A voice rang out of the male dorm of academy students, a place that was a hive of activity and chatter. “Rantaro! Today’s the day!” The voice called again as a lanky figure in a shinigami uniform zipped through the corridors making a beeline out of the front door. The young Shinigami in training watched the figure go by with a smile on his face and nodded. “Hey Shiro! Today is the day!” He called after the young man who was already out of ear shot.

Outside Tagachi Shiro was heading to the designated testing site with a massive grin on his face. Last night his last-minute practice was interrupted by Captain Saeki as she dragged him off to take part in a stupid escape room contraption that was more of a horror house than anything actually useful to anyone in the soul society. Despite that he, and his companion in the struggle Lenalee, made it out with more than enough time to get some much-needed sleep. This meant that Shiro was well rested and ablaze with hype for the day.

It was not long before he came face to face with a congregation of other Academy Graduates dressed in their Shinigami uniforms and not the academy ones. At the head of this gathering was a board with three lists, each one directing the names listed on it to head to a specific area for testing. “Where’s my name?” The young man asked as he started scanning.

It did not take too long for him to find his name as he looked at the left most list first and quickly realised it was in alphabetical order, each row had the name of two candidates on it side by side family name first. After he figured that out quickly his eyes darted to the latter third of the list where he spotted ‘Saeki, Lenalee. Tagachi, Shiro’. He grinned before looking at the bottom and reading the instructions.

‘All graduates on this list are to partner up with the graduate that is listed next to them on the list. All pairs must report to section twenty-one where they will meet representatives from each squad.’

Shiro looked up and started scanning over the crowd with his eyes to find the shortest person in the group… one he had come to gain a new respect for last night. “Lenalee! You’re with me!” He called, shuffling away from the board to give other people a chance to find their names. Were Akira and Ren here? Their names didn’t seem to be on their list.

---

Shiro: 7319e6

[Bobbie]

Lenalee #1

---

Lenalee Saeki was awake quite early that morning, though she wished she could really say she felt ready. This challenge will be a tough one and she wasn’t sure that she was prepared for it, but after last night’s escape room with Shiro Tagachi, so cleverly and cruelly put together by none other than her mother, perhaps she was ready enough to face whatever horrors would be thrown at her. Her greatest concern remained to be her zanpakuto who continued to reject any form of communication. "Come on... don't let me down today..." she whispered, "Work with me today and I'll give you whatever you want afterward. This isn't something that we can afford to mess up." She hoped to coax it out, but it still did not speak. Sighing, she grabbed the sheet of metal, as it seemed she had no deeper bond with the item than valuing it for its utility, and got ready.

The women’s dorm was buzzing with activity, as a wide range of emotions were openly displayed by many of the girls there - some were crying, some were laughing, others had a stare of dread on their faces while a couple seemed rather unaffected. What most of them had that Lenalee didn’t, however, was a companion or two by their sides.

The short girl stood not-so-tall, but proud nonetheless, although she was terribly uncomfortable for one particular reason that really had very little to do with the exam she was on her way toward. It was the shinigami uniform and the unbearable sandals that she had to wear. Her mother was very strict about this - she could get away with her own attire on a daily basis at the academy, but on this day there will be no exceptions, and she had to be dressed like all the others were. She hated not feeling the ground beneath her feet, and the sleeves were annoying. Nevertheless, she made it to the crowd, her dagger-like zanpakuto now attached at her hip instead of strapped around her thigh due to the limited accessibility to such a spot that the uniform allowed.

“Excuse me… sorry… oops, may I just..? Move!” The girl’s requests to pass became increasingly frustrated as she had to push her way through the gathering of taller students. Many of them didn’t even hear her asking them to make space for her to pass, and so she had to resort to pushing in order to reach the lists on the board.

It turned out, however, that she didn’t actually need to get to the list and find her name, as just as she reached the board, the tall young examinee and her newest friend called out to her and blurted out that they were working together. That was good news, she could have had a worse partner than Shiro Tagachi, but the woman couldn’t stop her eye from twitching.

Is he… seriously not seeing me? She wondered to herself as she stood right next to him, slightly below chest level, while he was looking right over her head and shouting out toward the crowd.

“I’m over here…” she said, though her clenched teeth muffled her voice. She took a deep breath, opened her mouth, and then, “I’M RIGHT HERE!” came out loud enough to silence the entire crowd of mumbling students. Her tiny fingers wrapped around Shiro's wrist and she began to pull him out of the crowd that parted like the sea for the angry woman and her poor victim.

“So where do we have to go? Section twenty-one?” She asked, once they were out of the crowded space so they could talk. Lenalee hadn’t managed to read the information on the board, but she had a very general idea of the graduation ceremony, apart from the specific challenges.

---

Lenalee: #54d5e3

[Gaz]

Shiro #2

---

“I’M RIGHT HERE!” a shout came from just in front of him, below his natural eye line from the very girl that he was looking for. A hand wrapped around his wrist and pulled him through the now silenced crowd out to somewhere that was not as full of people. The anger that radiated from her little form caused a path to form for the pair of them and it was quite impressive.

“Poor Shiro, Little Lena seems high strung today!” One of the mumbles managed to pierce the silence and reach the tall examinees ears. He winced as he shook his head in their direction. There were plenty more whispers about the pair and most were offering condolences to the pair for one aspect or the other.

“Yeah, section twenty-one.” Shiro replied. “That’s the abandoned area behind the squad eleven barracks...” He added knowing it well from when he trained his swordsman ship with some of their members a few weeks ago. So, was the squad eleven captain going to be the one overlooking this exam? If it was then Shiro filled with confidence but also a sense of pure terror at what that monster of a woman would do to them.

“It's this way, the others should be there as well.” Shiro said as he nodded his head in the direction of a few pairs of people walking off in that direction. He didn’t do anything to free his own hand, she was capable of doing that herself. “You look so different in a uniform! I missed you.” He teased, not remembering the last time he saw her in anything that wasn’t a sleeveless shoeless purple dress.

He quite liked being in the shinigami uniform himself, it gave him an air of success and progression on his dream. Sure the sleeves were a bit short on his lanky arms and were a tad bit tight to move in at the shoulder area but that was nothing a bit of use wouldn’t fix.

---

Shiro: 7319e6

[Bobbie]

Lenalee #2

---

As the girl pulled Shiro to a quieter area, she was not deaf to the comments that were whispered around them, though she offered no reaction whatsoever. Their opinions didn’t matter.

“Oh, you know where it is? Okay.” She nodded once they were out of the crowd and paused for a moment before she suddenly jerked her hand away from Shiro’s arm, realising that it was still clinging to his wrist until that moment. “I thought it was behind the tenth, are you…” she started, but as she looked up at her tall partner, she fell silent and gave a somewhat forced and perhaps uncharacteristic smile to him. “Lead the way!” Trusting her partner had to be a part of this test...

It wasn’t until he pointed out that he missed her that she was brought back to the recent incident that seemed to irritate her so much, but her mind was so focussed on the exam that she had easily dropped it. Rolling her eyes, the shorter one of the pair groaned, “Don’t remind me, this thing is so uncomfortable.” She tugged at the sleeves while the walked, wriggling her shoulders like a caterpillar eager to squirm out of its cocoon. With an exasperated huff, she slouched her shoulders in resignation.

“I swear these things are designed to make you fail just by being a distraction alone if nothing else.”

With that, she threw one arm up and bent over her shoulder, elbow up in the air, as she tried to scratch at a hard-to-reach spot on her back. While the uniform itself was not as terrible as Lenalee made it seem, hers was slightly too large for her and that may have contributed to her discomfort.

Following some other students who were heading in the same direction as them, she kept her eyes peeled for Akira and Ren. She was nervous and wondered if they would be too - Shiro was like an open book, he talked a lot when he was nervous, but the other two tended to be quieter, so she hoped that they would at least be paired up together to support each other. She would trust nobody else to do a good job of that.

Lenalee frowned and let out a sigh as they reached section twenty-one. It was to be expected, but it never failed to make the girl nervous, seeing her mother sitting at a panel with so many other captains. “Oh boy… Here we go.”

---

Lenalee: #54d5e3

[Gaz]

Shiro #3

---

Shiro lead the way towards their designated testing grounds, he rolled his shoulders in their sockets and swung his arms to adjust his feeling. A simple cut under the arm of this uniform would stop that resistance he was feeling. “I don’t think that’s the case. The uniforms for the academy were similar, you just didn’t get used to them.” He replied, remembering one of her reactions to being forced to wear it in the early years of learning.

Then he saw it, the reason that made Lenalee sound nervous. Her mother, captain of the twelfth squad. Captain Saeki. With a long sigh Shiro patter her on the back and nodded before taking another step forward and seeing another figure, one that made sense to be there as it was the squad eleven barracks they were doing this test behind after all. It was a tall woman, with deathly white hair to match her captain’s coat and piercing blue eyes that were sharper than most Zanpakuto. Kenpachi Yoruatsu Akane…. “Shit!” Shiro swore as he shifted his gaze.

The young man did his best to quell his own spiritual pressure, he normally never hid it as he struggled too at the best of times but now, he did it with a panicked smile on his face. “Maybe she doesn’t see me…”

“Maybe who doesn’t see you Tagachi-kun?” A sultry voice spoke as that white haired woman appeared next to him, her hair barely falling as the breeze her movement created passed. “It can’t be me, can it? I know you applied for my squad, you applied to join every squad. Well, every squad but twelve.” Captain Yorutatsu spoke, a chilling smile on her face as one hand played with the handle of her sword, teasing it up and away from her scabbard before letting it fall back into place.

“Yes captain… I would love to join your squad. Fourth seat Shibaraki wants to take me under his wing.” Shiro said shakily as he stood tall and stopped his futile efforts in hiding his Reiatsu. He let his gaze fall on Lenalee and then locked his eyes back on the captain, not looking down.

“Even after she took you in off of the streets. That’s very disrespectful Tagachi-kun. You should apologise. But not now. I want you to prove yourself and join my squad. If you don’t join my squad I’ll wait until you are nice and strong and add you to my collection.” The captain replied, letting a earthy chuckle escape as she turned on her heel and stepped away, vanishing to reappear next to Captain Saeki.

“And you said he was Asami’s boy? Well, if I can’t add her then he will do… in a few years.” She whispered to Azai with a twisted grin, her words quiet but piercing with venom.

Shiro let out a long sigh then he looked to Lenalee. “I don’t know what is worse, the fact she wants me in her squad or to kill me when I’m ‘Strong’.” The colour in his face was only just starting to return now that terrifying aura had dissipated.

---

Captain Kempachi Yorutatsu Akane: a5a5a5
Shiro: 7319e6

[Bobbie]

Lenalee #3

---

Lenalee walked with Shiro till they reached the designated testing grounds, where most of the students came to a halt in their own space. With a sigh, she looked up at Shiro when he patted her back, realising that he understood why she was nervous. “Really hope things run smoothly,” she quietly uttered, before she suddenly heard her partner toss a swear word.

Turning, she looked up at him, shocked to see how panicked he himself was and she followed the direction she knew he was looking in previously toward the captains’ panel. “Who are you worried about? It’s just my mum and a couple others… Don't tell me you're afraid of squad 13...” she started, as she did a quick head count and found that one captain was missing. Before she could ask about that, the voice of said missing captain was heard behind her and she spun around to look at Captain Yorutatsu. A shiver ran down her spine when she saw the eerie smile on the woman’s face, and then when she heard that Shiro was crazy enough to apply for her squad. Had they not been under the eye of this particular captain and it wasn't too late already, Lenalee would have tried to smack some sense into his head.

All the while, the girl was silent, waiting until the terrifying captain was gone, before she punched Shiro’s arm. “What’s the matter with you? Do you want to know what the scariest part is? The fact that you opted to join her squad! Captain Yorutatsu is known to be very harsh and she’s kind of a… you know…” she subtly gestured toward her head, then let out a sigh. She was slightly ashamed to admit, however, that it was a relief that he didn’t apply for squad 12. There wasn’t a doubt in her mind that if the exam ended well and he had done so, her mother would snatch him up instead of her. This way, she felt more reassured that it wouldn’t happen that way and she would be able to join her mother's squad.

Meanwhile, at the captain’s panel, Captain Saeki’s gaze remained on Shiro and her daughter as Yorutatsi’s words cut through the air to reach her, as quiet as they were. “Yes, Asami’s boy. Don’t count your chickens yet, Yorutatsu, we have yet to see the outcome of this exam before anybody recruits anyone.” Azai replied in a cold, detached tone, though the spite in her words were impossible to miss. "Who knows, perhaps he won't even survive a few more years." Despite the nature of those words, Azai now glanced at Yorutatsu with a slight smile to suggest that perhaps the boy's death would please her more than accepting him fall into her hands.

The captain of squad 12 was terribly vexed by the very notion that he would apply for all squads but her own, particularly so after their most recent fun activity with the escape room she had built for him and Lenalee.

---

Lenalee: #54d5e3
Captain Azai Saeki: #bd9ac4

[Gaz]

Shiro #4

---

Shiro rubbed the spot that Lenalee punched and glanced down at her with narrowed eyes, she was right of course he was an idiot. The one thing she was wrong about was how she genuinely cared for the men and women in her squad, she pushed them to be stronger, but she also doted on them in a weird way. It was almost like those that were in her squad were hers.

“I applied because I’ve made friends in that squad… It wasn’t until a few days ago that she learned my name…” Shiro spoke softly, using his free hand to rub the back of his head. He spotted the third and final captain that would attend this testing site as he did. Captain of Squad thirteen Adachi Toshiro. A ruggedly handsome man in glasses that always bore a friendly smile when not doing serious work. Today he bore that trademark smile of his.

“Out of the three captains here I’d rather get into the kido squad… now.” Shiro mused before letting out a long sigh again and looking back the way they had come. “Squad Six is ideal though, if not them Seven…” The young man let out another sigh and looked down at the young woman beside him and then back to the captains as they conversed. “You have it easy getting in twelve with your own mum. I'm not smart enough for there, and besides, I don't think your Mum likes me at all.”

~~~

Captain Yorutatsu raised a fine brow at her fellow captain and leaned back to sit in her seat properly. “If you say so. He has potential… The girl next to him though? She is squad thirteen fodder, easily. I can smell the kido on her.”

“You think so Akane~?” The male captain spoke as he took his seat next to the two women, that bright smile on his face As he did his eyes gazed over towards the targets of Captain Yorutatsu's ire. “That’s your girl isn’t it Azai, I bet she would love to meet my little Sora.” Captain Adachi spoke with a bright smile on his face, already happy at the prospect of telling more people about the cuteness of his little daughter.

As he adjusted to getting comfortable for the morning’s proceedings the rest of the representatives from the other squads approached. The lieutenants from squads six, eight and two. And also, a high seated member of squads three, four and nine. The last of the students seemed to be arriving from the notice board. This was soon to begin a real test.

~~~

Shiro watched the judges and then noticed a sound that he wasn’t really noticing. The sound of a wailing monster… that might just be what their challenge was. “What do you think they’ll make us do?” He asked, wanting to get Lenalee’s opinion on all of this and to see if she had managed to pick up on the faint wailing that the sounds of voices were masking.

[Bobbie]

Lenalee #4

---

Little Lena’s gaze fell upon all the captains that began to gather as she watched three in particular sit and have a chat. Captain Yorutatsu, Captain Saeki, and now Captain Adachi joined the pair as well. While her interactions with any captain were limited, she did do a lot of research of her own about them - of course, that eliminated the first hand experience of past members.

“Yeah…” she uttered with a sigh. The kido squad wasn’t the worst one to be a part of, but she had already set her mind to being on her mother’s. In fact, she hadn’t even bothered applying to any others. It was an obvious choice and the thought of not joining her mother’s squad never even crossed her mind. It would be ridiculous not to be on her squad, a mother-and-daughter duo, and it seemed Shiro was of a similar opinion judging by his next comment about her having it easy. It stung a little bit, because winning her mother’s approval was anything but easy, but she chose to let that slide.

“You’re right, I guess I’m fortunate to have a captain for a mother… glad I don’t need to worry about that.” The girl looked up at Shiro and offered a smile of encouragement, “Don’t take it that way, my mum doesn’t like anyone. I don’t think she even likes me, sometimes… You'll be fine wherever they put you, as long as it's not the kido squad, but even then, you'll learn.”

~~~

Captain Saeki gave her female fellow captain a piercing icy stare as the woman called her daughter ‘fodder’. As was typical of her behaviour, however, that was as much emotion that Azai displayed in public and latched onto the other part of her statement instead, choosing to dismiss the opinion of Captain Yorutatsu.

“Yes, he has potential. Yet in your hands, I’m afraid he will be reduced to-” as she was about to pass a nasty comment, Captain Adachi spoke and cut her off. Perhaps it was for the better, as although there were very little outward signs of it, the white-haired woman got on every one of Azai’s last nerves, and she had no problem with spitting out a cold verbal assault to show it. Recomposing herself, Captain Saeki adjusted herself in her seat, leaning on the armrest further away from the insufferable loud-mouth that was seated beside her. Instead, she turned to Captain Adachi.

“She is,” a detached response came from her lips, with a little nod. “Perhaps she would, though I must offer a warning of her… temper. Has she applied to join your squad?” She gingerly asked. There would be a storm coming from the small girl very soon… she knew it.

~~~

As Lenalee waited by Shiro’s side, she looked around at all the other participants, no longer paying attention to the captains. Whether they were there or not made no difference, but what did make a difference were any hints around them for what they would be tasked with. “I have no clue…” she uttered, though she was distracted as she could hear the wailing too and was trying to locate the source of it. “I thought it would be some standard kido spells and a spar, but… I’m not so sure anymore. Do you hear that?”

---

Lenalee: #54d5e3
Captain Azai Saeki: #bd9ac4

[Gaz]

Shiro #5

---

“Yeah, I hear that.” Shiro replied softly as to not let other students around them know. Some would have heard, if they chose to infer what these monstrous screams in the distance were or not was up to them. “I’ve a strong idea of what Captain Yorutatsu has set up here.” He murmured, sharp blue eyes narrowing on the captains as they discussed. Shiro didn’t know much of captain Adachi, just that he had an incredibly relaxed squad atmosphere.

“We’ll find out soon. But I think we are going into a combat test.” He told the young woman beside him, in almost a whisper. The lean and cupped whisper drew some attention, but most people had started to avoid the pair after Lenalee’s reputation was reiterated. “Let’s hear the rules.”

~~

“Your girl? Azai, she hasn’t applied to anything other than your squad.” Adachi spoke, looking down at a list of papers for all the squads and letting his eyes scan over the applications list. Lenalee was a row of blank boxes and a single check mark on squad twelve. “I think she expects to just walk into your squad.” He spoke before looking at the list and seeing how most students had applied for a hand fun, then Shiro who applied for everything but twelve. “And I think the boy partnered with her is the opposite, every squad but yours Azai.”

Yorutatsu let out a dark chuckle as she raised a hand to inspect her nails. “Saeki, sweetie, I didn’t take you as one to coddle your little girl.” She teased, moving to stand up and look over the gathered examinees, with a sharp gaze she projected her spiritual pressure over the entire yard to get attention. It worked

~~

“You will be waiting out here until your names are called. When they are called you will enter the testing arena. There you will face a challenge, how you handle this challenge will determine what squads pick you. If no squad picks you, then get off of the property of my barracks and leave the Seireitei. You are a disgrace.” Captain Yorutatsu boomed before motioning to the side and members of her squad raised a series of walls around the captains and the large area in front of them that was the arena.

Each of the members of squad eleven pulled on a thick and heavy rope, attached to pullies that raised the thick stone walls from the floor. When they were at their maximum height there was ominous clicking noise. “We will be calling names now!” a lackie spoke.

Shiro and Lenalee’s name were not spoken. Now the waiting started, they were not told what to expect except that they would be waiting.

---

Captain Kempachi Yorutatsu Akane: a5a5a5
Shiro: 7319e6
Captain Adachi Toshiro: 6c84ff

[Bobbie]

Lenalee #5

---

“Of course it’s a combat test… at least it will work in our favour that we were paired together. You’ll easily make up for my sword skills and physical feats that I’m lacking, and I’ll handle the kido to make sure you don’t blow everything up. No offence.” She sighed, meaning that in the nicest way possible.

Looking around her, she wondered about the other pairs. “Do you think they’re all paired together for their strengths and weaknesses or were we just lucky?” she asked, not knowing enough about the other students to really identify said weaknesses and strengths. In her mind, most of them were terrible, at least in the kido department, so it was difficult to see who would be compensating for their shortcomings. With a gentle nod to Shiro, her attention turned back to the captains to hear their instructions.

~~

Azai stared at Adachi, seemingly frozen in disbelief. How could that girl be so stupid?! she thought to herself, her eyes a perfect display of equal parts bewilderment and frustration at her daughter’s choices.

“Yes, well…” she began her reply to her fellow captain, the tolerable one, “We’ll see how she handles that…  her tone was lowered in the subtlest of hints that the woman had no intention of allowing Lenalee to do exactly that. There shall be no shortcuts, and there will certainly be no… coddling. Coddling! The glare that the captain shot at Yorutatsu next was a murderous one. Frankly, if the white-haired pest were to drop dead there and then, perhaps she wouldn’t bat an eye. "As for Tagachi, that is to be expected, while he would make a very suitable candidate, his attitude tends to get the better of him and it is quite an unruly one." Despite her attempt to act unbothered, the spite in her tone could very easily be detected.

Shifting in her seat, she looked toward the students who were all suddenly very attentive as Captain Yorutatsu projected her spiritual pressure across the yard.

~~

Like the diligent student she was, right until the very end, Lenalee was fully focussed on the instructions being given, occasionally nodding to give confirmation that she was listening and understood.

“They must have changed the procedure from last year. I hope we’re not going to be the guinea pigs of a new examination system…” the girl grumbled as she crossed her arms while she waited for her name to be called with Shiro’s, but neither of them were. Instead, another pair were called into the arena before them, while others were instructed to move elsewhere to another section of the testing arena.

Raising her eyebrow, Lenalee groaned, “We’re going to be waiting foreveeerrrr.”

---

Lenalee: #54d5e3
Captain Azai Saeki: #bd9ac4

[Gaz]

Shiro #6

---

“None taken.” He replied, barely even phased, she knew his shortcomings all to well, just as he had witnessed hers in their days in the academy. Akira was in a similar boat to himself, but Ren was just naturally talented at anything he did. That was something impressed Shiro. “I think your mother had something to do with us getting paid together. I know some of these and some pairs can’t swing a sword to save their lives. Others are worse at kido than me, and I barely passed.” Shiro tacked on.

As he waited for their name to be called, he was only met with the same disappointment that his partner felt. They were going to have to wait… that was what was worse the not really knowing and the down time as they waited… It was almost on purpose to heighten their nerves as a potential to cause the examinees to make more mistakes. “Yeah, we might be in for the long haul.” He spoke with another soft sigh before sitting on the grass outside of the arena that was just erected.

“I can’t even sense anything,” Shiro spoke as he looked at the walls as a new pair were called up to enter. “I think the walls are Sekiseki stone.” He added before looking at Lenalee, was she going to get comfortable for the wait or stay standing and high strung? It was not good for her if that was the case. He patted the grass next to him and smiled, others that were waiting had started to follow his example.

~~~

Inside the arena the captains, lieutenants and seats of the other squads sat and looked down into the centre, each of them holding papers as a pair of examinees stood there waiting. “Azai, if you do not mind, I can take Lenalee in. It is the least I can do for the work you have done.” Adachi spoke, leaning close to give it as a whisper. “This way you do not need to worry about her not passing the exam and having to try again next year.” It was true, with the work Captain Saeki and her squad did.

The entire time they witnessed the first test, a pair of students who were told their instructions and thrown to the hollow that was to be released into the grounds. A test truly devised by the fight happy Kempatchi Yorutatsu Akane. “Release!” She called and the monstrous creature bounded out of its cage and barrelled at the Shinigami that had drawn their weapons. With a twisted grin on her face she watched the fight unfold, completely oblivious to what was going on behind her with her fellow judges.

~~~

Time passed and more names were called, those who passed or failed coming out of the doors to the side and walking away from those who were waiting their turn. “We have to be soon…” Shiro spoke to Lenalee. Just before the magical words they had been waiting for were called.

“Saeki Lenalee, Tagachi Shiro! Enter.”

---

Captain Kempachi Yorutatsu Akane: a5a5a5
Shiro: 7319e6
Captain Adachi Toshiro: 6c84ff

[Bobbie]

Lenalee #6

---

Lenalee watched the other pairs for a moment and nodded to him in agreement. “Yeah… though I’m not really sure who she thought was most in need of the other.” She grumbled quietly to herself, as the girl was of the full belief that her mother had very little - if any - faith in her.

Taking a deep breath, she straightened up and steeled herself once more. Her attention was on the plain wall before them, eyeing it up and down and scanning it for any cracks that would allow the girl to sneak a little peak at what was going on inside. Crossing her arms, it seemed she was indeed going to remain standing and high strung. “Yeah… I guess it would make sense, otherwise those who go last would have the unfair advantage of a warning. Surely, they couldn’t have a separate and unique task for each pair of participants…” It wasn’t until Shiro patted the grass that she looked down at the spot, then at his smile, which warmed her own expression into a smile of her own.

She sat down beside him and the first thing she did then was remove her sandals to feel the grass between her toes.

~~~

As Adachi spoke to the stone-cold captain, she turned to him with a myriad of different emotions - or none at all - that were impossible to read. “If she doesn’t pass this exam, she will try again next year like every other participant who reaches the same outcome.” Her tone was almost reprimanding in response to her colleague’s suggestion, but she then sighed. “But if she passes… I would be appreciative if you would accept her into your squad.”

With a subtle glance toward Yorutatsu, Captain Saeki waited until the white-haired woman was completely distracted with the exam, as they all should have been instead of whispering to each other, to gently take the pile of application lists that Adachi had previously been holding. Swiftly taking a pencil, she added a little tick in line with her daughter’s name under squad 13, then handed him the pencil and papers back.

“Just for the paperwork. I will rely on this remaining our secret.” The look Azai gave Adachi was not one that screamed bloody murder, as it had a certain gentle pleading glimmer in it, but perhaps it was the icy hue that could cut through him like putty. It was strange, however, that her gaze seemed to have a different effect on him than on most people and she felt she could afford to display a slightly softer one. Allowing her eyes to linger on the man for only a moment longer, she turned once more to face the arena and the loathed rival of a captain ahead of them, calling out to the students.

~~~

The barefoot girl was tugging at the grass, bored of waiting, until their names were finally called. A tiny fist flew to Shiro’s arm as she looked at him with excitement. “That’s us! Come on, come on!” she exclaimed, despite still having to put her shoes on. Once the sandals were on, she rose to her feet, full of energy and ready for what was to come.

Approaching the entrance, she glanced at her partner with a smile, “What do you think? You ready to be done with being a student?”

---

Lenalee: #54d5e3
Captain Azai Saeki: #bd9ac4

[Gaz]

Shiro #7

---

With an excited step Shiro strode away as Lenalee followed him into the testing arena, he had waited for her to put her sandals on of course. Her question was one that brought a grin to his face, one that could light up a clouded night sky like a flash of lightning dancing through the night. “More than ready! I want to stop being in classrooms!” He spoke just as he passed through the entrance and past the doors that closed, leaving the pair in a dark room.

It was eerily silent until the far wall came down to reveal the arena inside before them. Splatters of blood and craters were littered all over, it looked like scenes from reports of battles gone wrong. Shiro’s eyes looked out upon it as a figure walked in from the side, it was some lackey that worked in squad eleven. “Tagachi and Saeki. Listen up. You will put through a combat encounter against a live hollow, captured directly from Hueco Mundo, if you can dispatch it, you will pass this exam and then be assigned to a squad, if the squads you have applied to do not accept you then you fail. If you fail to cleanse the Hollow you fail. If you die, you fail. You get this opportunity to watch your peers attempt this test. Then it will be your turn. If you survive your failure, you can try again next year.” The none descript fellow droned before stepping back into the shadows to not be seen again.

Shiro looked towards the shadows and then back out to the testing field. “Kill a hollow? What’s the issue?” He asked rhetorically thinking this was going to be simple, a low-level hollow as going to be extremely easy to beat, in all the practical simulations he had always scored high. So had Lenalee.

~~

Captain Adachi looked to Captain Yorutatsu and let out a soft sigh, she was the most pretty ugly woman he had ever met. She would be an awful influence on his darling baby girl, the thought of which brought a smile to his face as he looked down to the picture of her, he left on the forms for the tests. “Of course, I will Azai, I can understand wanting to let your baby want to leave the nest and grow on her own. She is old enough now.” He spoke before the stupid grin emerged and he picked up the picture to coo at it. “But my baby girl will be my baby for ever and ever! Look how adorable she is!” He spoke, twisting to show anyone and everyone the picture. Just as Captain Saeki leaned over to alter the forms.

Yorutatsu ignored the pair, she was looking into the examinee viewing area. She could see Lenalee and Shiro and her smile twisted and contorted. “Saeki, let’s make a bet.” She spoke softly, loud enough to be heard by her peers but not the students below. “Your brat and the son of the dead woman are up next. I don’t care for your pampered princess, but I want Tagachi.” She spoke, not even looking back to the other captains. Only one of them needed to be there, but the head captain required more to ensure the safety of the students.

“If they kill their hollow in under three minutes, you get him. If it’s over a minute, then I get him.” She said, finally spinning her head around to lock eyes on the icy woman. “To nurture, make him grow before adding him to my Bankai.” Her own tone was cold, but a harsher cold that was laced with venom.

~~

Shiro shivered as he watched the students going ahead of them prepare for their battle. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this.” He spoke softly, not taking his eyes off of the pair in front of them, another male female combo. He recognised them, they were both skilled and more jack of all trades students. They should be fine and cleanse their hollow with ease. Then he heard the scream.

---

Captain Kempachi Yorutatsu Akane: a5a5a5
Shiro: 7319e6
Captain Adachi Toshiro: 6c84ff

[Bobbie]

Lenalee #7

---

As the girl walked with her paired partner, she entered the darkness with care and caution, until the brutal scene was revealed to them. Lenalee couldn’t help a sharp inhale as she flinched at the obvious violence that took place here behind closed walls before they were allowed in to witness it.

She looked at the instructor and listened to the test descriptors. It sounded simple enough as she offered a nod to confirm she understood what they needed to do, then Shiro spoke and she looked at him. She wasn’t a big fan of his head-on approach, but even she felt the same air of confidence about her. It didn’t sound like anything they wouldn’t be able to handle. Throughout their years at the academy, there have been several simulations to test the students and give them training opportunities, and both she and Shiro had always done well.

“Just like we’ve practised, no reason for this to be any different…” she muttered, though she wasn’t entirely convinced that they wouldn’t pull any cheap tricks for the exam. “Whatever they throw at us, we can beat it.”

~~~

Azai instinctively craned her neck to pull away from the photograph that was stuffed in her face to look at. Now this was a coddling parent.

“Yes, she’s lovely.” She replied, politely, though even she had to admit that the girl was indeed adorable. Perhaps advertising this so openly to the entire world, however, was not the way she would go about it. “Thank you, Adachi,” she replied, quietly, bringing their interaction to a gentle close so as not to raise suspicion.

Yorutatsu’s calling her name cut through the air like a knife and Saeki’s attention was entirely on the woman whose back was turned to both of them. “A bet? You know it’s against regulations to bet on the examinees.” Her immediate reply referred to the examiners’ handbook, but as the squad 11 captain continued to explain, she quickly realised that this was a very different kind of betting.

She didn’t take very kindly to having her daughter being called a brat and a pampered princess, though she said nothing and let her glare of daggers speak for itself, which would pierce right through the woman’s shoulder blades until she turned round - then she happily envisioned it cut right through her eyes, fully convinced that once those were cut out, only a bottomless pit of malice would shine through the soul’s windows. Remaining perfectly silent, she listened to everything that the unbearable woman said, and for a moment, Azai sat still, bringing one knee over the other to cross her legs in as delicate a manner as her uniform would allow.

Her lips pursed, the captain's manner didn’t waver and while she hesitated in her verbal reply, her icy detached eyes displayed no amount of uncertainty as they shifted away from her object of disdain and her gaze landed on Shiro and Lenalee.

“He would make a nice addition,” she agreed, before she looked up at Yorutatsu to meet her stare, a sly smirk prompting a curl at each corner of the woman’s thin lips. “I accept your bet. Less than three minutes and he joins my squad. Anything above is more fitting for yours anyway.”

~~~

Lenalee looked at the pair before them with the same familiarity and perhaps slightly more confidence than what Shiro presented. “These two will be fine. I’m more concerned about what happens if they succeed before we get a chance - do we face a different hollow then?”

---

Lenalee: #54d5e3
Captain Azai Saeki: #bd9ac4

[Gaz]

Shiro #8

---

“Begin!” Yorutatsu called as a wall slammed open and a monster barrelled out of what was a cell into the arena. It was large with a demonic looking white mask the size of Shiro covering a face on a head that was just a bit smaller than he was. It squealed in an otherworldly tone as it charged at the pair of examinees.

“Oh shi-” Shiro spoke as he moved to the edge of the waiting room, the panel in front of them was a one-way window. “The real thing is nothing like the simulation!” He spoke softly as he pressed his hands against the glass to see the ape like hollow with a long tail slashing and attacking the pair wildly. To their credit the two were dodging and avoiding the thing with fervour, getting tagged even by a minor hit would end this entire exam. “I don’t know, with how it is attacking them their confidence is going to get busted.” He added.

Yorutatsu looked down with a bored expression before looking back to Saeki and Adachi. “This one was pretty docile when we captured it, looks like it was playing to see what would happen.” She explained before letting out a soft yawn. “Deal accepted Captain Saeki.” She spoke, not paying much attention to the fight below. Her entire body looked relaxed, bored of the now and anticipating what was about to come.

Shiro looked to Leanlee and there was that same electricity in his eyes that he showed her last night when getting determined to solve the puzzle room to get their freedom. That infectious energy and eagerness to prove himself. “We can take that.” He spoke before looking back at the fight, the pair before them were still on the back foot but they were now using their Zanpackuto to defend themselves. It seemed they had a plan of having one be a distraction whilst the other used a binding Kido spell. Something that Shiro and Leanlee would have likely done.

Adachi peered past Yorutatsu and then looked at Captain Saeki. “You hate her that much? To go against regulation and manipulate the final decision just to prevent her getting her way?” He asked in a whisper to Azai, Yorutatsu was watching but she was not paying all that much attention to anything, she was busy in her own head remembering a time before now.

Then came a blood curdling ear piercing scream the student that was distracting was ignored as the hollow shifted its focus onto the caster. It leapt at them, skeweing them with it’s tail and yanking the sword free. “Finally!” it bellowed as a wave of spiritual pressure and energy erupted out. The dead student dropped to the floor as the monsters form began to glow and visibly change, the weapon in its hand smashing its mask.

Shiro acted on instinct, his sword coming free from its scabbard and slicing forward to smash the glass, he was out into the arena in a heartbeat. His zanpakuto met steel, the newly forming arrancar struck out at the other student. “Lena! Help!” he called before the force of the blow pushed him back.

Yorutatsu snapped her eyes wide and held one hand out to stop a lieutenant that was making a move to jump in to stop this farce. “New bet Azai. If they survive one minute, then you get him.” She snapped her head around to everyone else and shot a nasty glare. “No one interrupts this. If you do, then you join my Bankai.”

---

Shiro: 7319e6
Captain Kempachi Yorutatsu Akane: a5a5a5
Captain Adachi Toshiro: 6c84ff
Proto Arrancar: 00ff52