My New Home

He had never been this far into the Seireitei before; no student was ever allowed to be seen roaming the walkways between the Barracks of the 13 Court Guard Squads. But he was not a student anymore. Now, he wore the full colors of the Shinigami, dressed in a large-sleeved, black Shihakusho. However, though he had been admitted, there was still something missing to complete his outfit...a sword.

The standard curriculum of Shino Academy was treaching students the 4 basic combat skills: Zanjutsu, Kido, Hoho, and Hakuda. But another thing they were taught, that he never fully understood, was how to communicate with their own soul to achieve their Zanpakuto. Kyousuke was said to be the only student ever allowed to graduate without having achieved manifestation of his zanpakuto.

He had been told by the Hakuda Instructor, "You are distracted. Something is preventing you from quieting your mind, and it is making your soul restless. If you ever wish to communicate with the spirit which lives inside you, you must put everything...everything...behind you."

He wasn't entirely sure what that meant. He didn't understand what it was that was causing him such distraction. But there was one thing he didn't deny... Ever since he was able to form a conscious thought in yhe Soul Society, Kyousuke had the sensation that he was living with a gaping wound in his chest. Not like those empty holes born into Hollows, but as though he had been born with a wound that only grew stronger as time went on. At times, he felt heavy, like his feet weighed 50 tons each. Other times he was cold and lonely. Were these the distractions? He wasn't sure...

He felt tired, drained even. And while his battle with Captain Wolf took practically everything he had out of him, that didn't seem to be the cause for this level of exhaustion; because it wasn't that he felt physically exhausted, but mentally...spiritually...

Heaving a sigh from his breath, he fixed the light green bag he was carrying up over his shoulder, holding it by a drawstring. Inside, were items he was told he should keep; such as some spare Shihakusho uniforms, an emergency first-aid kit provided by Squad 4, some bed sheets, and a ration pack in the rare event he became hungry. After walking for what seemed like hours, Kyousuke finally came to the building he had been searching for: the looming white building marked with crest identifying it's position. He had reached the Squad 12 Barracks...

Proceeding inside, Kyousuke looked around, noticing a handful of members moving back and forth across corridors and hallways, into different rooms. Some of them wore white coats, unlike a Captain's hayori, he noticed. After a moment of watching everyone scurry about, Kyousuke heard a voice come from behind him.

"Hi. You must be the newest squad member."

Looking to his right, Kyousuke saw a man with short, light-brown hair, dressed in the Shinigami Shihakusho with a white coat over it approaching him with a smile.

"Err...yeah." Kyousuke replies quietly to him, "I was supposed to meet Captain Wolf here."

"Captain Wolf has gone on a mission, I'm afraid." The man informs Kyousuke, "But if you'd like, I can show you around the Barracks and help you get settled in!" He suggests brightly, beaming with soft violet eyes, "My name's Rikiya Arihyoshi, 7th Seat here in Squad 12."

"Kyousuke Junichiro."

The tour had been relatively pleasant. The Barracks seemed to contain some very intriguing things that were being developed and used within the Seireitei. One of these which stood out the most to him was known as an International Hollow Tracer; a supercomputer built and designed to lock on and track the movement of any Hollow anywhere in the world the instant a portal known as a Garganta is opened. With this device, the Squad relays the information directly to any Shinigami in the nearby region.

There were many creations and inventions within the Barracks that caught Kyousuke's eye; some which Rikiya Arihyoshi spoke of proudly and others he "wasn't at liberty to speak of". Interestingly enough, all of the devices and equipment in the Barracks had been a part of Captain Wolf's design, and several things he had built himself. Rikiya then stops in front of a large, metal door, identifying it as the Captain's personal lab.

"Don't ever go in it." He stressed to Kyousuke with a hint of fear in his tone, which only made Kyousuke that much more curious about it, wondering went on behind closed doors of the Department of Science and Research Development. Perhaps one day, he thought, he would find out...

Finally, he was shown to the quarters which he would be staying in; a quaint, modest room with all of the standard necessities: a bed, bathroom, work station and living furniture. After showing him in, Rikiya decided to take his leave, claiming he had lots of work to do. Kyousuke thanked him for the tour and warm welcome, requesting that he be informed as soon as the Captain returned. Rikiya agreed with a smile before going on his way, and leaving Kyousuke to his own devices.

After Rikiya Arihyoshi had left, Kyousuke gently closed the door to his room and wandered further in, dropping his bag off of his shoulder to the floor. He moved over to his bed, turned and fell onto the naked mattress with his arms spread out on either side of him. It was pretty comfortable, he had to admit.

'I think I could get used to this.' He thought to himself as a grin found its way to his lips, and before he knew it, he dosed off to sleep...

Most of his dreams were normally quiet, or blank, without image or context. But this time...was different. The images in this dream were clear, if not complete playbacks of all he had been through. He could see himself back in the Academy, standing with the Kido Instructor. His right arm was stretched out, his hand extended up towards the sky, his palm flat.

"Remember...concentrate on the flow of your spirit energy." The Instructor reminds him in a quiet voice, "Let it stream gently through your being, all the way up to your fingertips. Feel it, like a river flowing into the ocean, becoming one, and ride it's current."

A bead of sweat slowly streams down Kyousuke's face, tickling his pores as his hand began to glow a bright red.

"Yes...easy...good...let the current carry you...good." The Instructor whispers, "You know the incantation, right?"

"Y-yes sir." Kyousuke answers as his body begins to tremble suddenly...

'It's cold.' He told himself as he could feel his fingers starting to grow numb, as though they were standing on a mountaintop during the middle of a blizzard, even though the skies were blue, the grass green and the sun warm, 'It's freezing! How did it suddenly become so cold?!'

"Good. Now...as the current carries you towards the center of the ocean, speak the words." The Instructor says, unaware of his student's troubled state.

"Ye lord... Mask of blood and flesh..." Kyousuke began as his trembling slowly increased, and his hand began to glow a brighter shade of red that was slowly growing intensely, "all creation... flutter of wings..."

"Easy..." The Instructor urges, noticing how bright the light in his hand was becoming.

Kyousuke could feel his teeth starting to chatter, he couldn't stop shaking.

'Concentrate damn it!' He scolds himself, "Concentrate! You can do this!'

"Ye who bears the name of Man..." He continues as streams of red lightning began sparking from his hand.

"Whoa Junichiro. You're exerting too much energy." The Instructor remarks as the rest of the class began to back away, apprehensive of the display, "Maintain control."

"Inferno and pandemonium, the sea barrier surges..." Kyousuke says, as though he couldn't hear the Kido Instructor next to him and the light of his hand began to gather into a single, giant ball...

"Pull it back." The Instructor commands, now starting to back away himself as the orb of red light grew larger and larger. "Pull it back, that's too much! Junichiro!"

"March on to the south! Hado #31!" Kyousuke continues, now shaking like a leaf, dripping in sweat.

"Kyousuke that's too much!!!" The Instructor screams, suddenly turning to the rest of the class, "Get back!!!"

"Shakkaho!" The orb of light leaves Kyousuke's hand by only a centimeter before it suddenly erupts in a massive explosion, blowing part some of the roofing of the Academy as the grounds filled with a large cloud of smoke...

As the dust clears, the Kido Instructor drops a large wall of energy known as the kido spell Bakudo #81: Danku, which he had thrown up to protect the rest of his students from any harm. As the dust settles, Kyousuke drops to his knees, clutching a now burned hand. His face and body had also received a bit of damage, but for the most part he was okay.

Enraged, the Kido Instructor moves up to Kyousuke and stamps his foot into the back of his head, crushing his face into the dirt, "You reckless fool! I told you, you have to maintain control all the way through the spell or it will fail!"

"S-sorry sir." Kyousuke grunts, still trembling under the Instructor's foot.

"Tch. You've got a lot to learn, Junichiro." Scoffs the Instructor, "So I suggest you buckle down and focus if you ever hope to graduate."

That was the first time Kyousuke ever attempted using Kido. Strangely enough, Kyousuke recognized that moment in every detail, 'That was when I was in my first year training at the Academy.' He mentions to himself, 'Am I dreaming? No. I couldn't be. How could I be conscious of my own dreams and continue dreaming?'

The images suddenly began falling apart around him. The ground begins to crack and split open, watching the trees and buildings falling into them as Kyousuke struggles to maintain his balance.

'What's going on now?' He wondered, looking back to see the Kido Instructor and all of the classmates standing perfectly still; as though they had suddenly turned into statues...

"Hey! What are you all doing just standing there?!?" Kyousuke calls out to them, "What the hell's going on here?!" The students and Instructor made no response, wearing blank expressions on their faces as the building around them began to crumble to the ground.

'Why won't they answer?' He wondered, 'Why don't they run? Can't they see what's happening?! Can't they hear me?!?'

The place continued to shake and rattle as Kyousuke saw the ground beginning to cave in. He scrambles to his feet and attempts to outrun the destruction, noticing that he was barely a step ahead as another large chink of land fell into the darkness, "Damn it! What the hell is happening?!?" He exclaims, looking up to see the sky itself starting to web with cracks, "If this is all a dream, why aren't I waking up?!?"

As his foot landed in front of him again, the ground underneath him gave way and he was forced to dive ahead to avoid dropping through the earth, tucking and rolling to his feet. Upon recovering, Kyousuke observes as the area all around him began to disappear. Already half of the Seireitei had vanished, and now, it appeared he would be the next to vanish into the dark depths...

He looks left, nothing there. He looks right, nothing there either. Things were closing in on him fast as the sky itself began to chip away, sending Kyousuke into a state of panic.

'Nevermind the Soul Society, this entire realm is coming undone! But why?! What's causing all of this?!?' He wondered, watching it all happen. He decided to take to the air to prevent himself from being swallowed by the abyss, but noticed his feet wouldn't budge! He looked down to see if he was snagged on something, but found nothing there.

'What's going on?' He questions, trying to get his body to respond, 'Why can't I move?!'