2 My Journey Begins

Waking up to sunlight in your eye shining through the holes in the ceiling is not a pleasant sensation. I turned around to get more sleep but then the memory of where I am forced me to get up. I turn to look at Gin's 'bed' and as usual for the past week it was empty. This action means that his plan has begun and in a few months he will join the academy.

I did not remain idle during this time, using meditation techniques I picked up during my mental and physical rehab (A/N: after the incident with his family) trying to sense reiatsu. Three days passed before I could sense my own reiatsu, it only took this long because I had no clear mental image of what to look for. My reiatsu seemed massive, but I thought that was only due to unfamiliarity with an energy's presence within my body, until I learned how to sense other people's reiatsu and I found out I had five times more reiatsu than Gin. To put that into perspective Gin is someone seen as an absolute prodigy who graduated the Shinigami Academy and became the Third Seat of the Fifth Division in one year.

This unexpected advantage would be instrumental in me gaining the attention of the only character capable of training me to be the strongest Shinigami ever. Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto, the current Captain-Commander of the entire Gotei 13 the strongest Shinigami in its ranks and the wielder of Ryūjin Jakka the oldest and most powerful fire type Zanpakutō. With an offensive firepower so potent that if he uses its Bankai, Zanka no Tachi he runs the risk of destroying the Seireitei, his opponent and himself if he does not finish the fight quickly. If he wasn't such a stubborn old man several problems could have been resolved much easier.

Hopefully my exploits reach his ears and he sees within me his replacement and takes me under his wing. Extreme mastery of Zankensoki ₁ (basic Shinigami fighting Techniques) with my immense levels of reiatsu( for a 'child' with no training) I should be at the very least one of the stronger captains at the beginning of canon or a rival to the old man.

Becoming the captain of the 2nd Division is the most logical decision in my opinion because having someone like Soifon as your second-in-command is extremely beneficial, as she is captain class, even if she is on the weaker side. The chance to learn techniques from the 'Flash Goddess' is also too good of an opportunity to pass up, especially Shunkō. Being in control of the Onmitsukidō, the Captain of the 2nd Division's personal attack force, and learning how to be a master assassin will be a massive help in the coming storms that will rock the entire Seireitei.

These are my goals to ensure my survival in this universe. Though me sticking out this much will have its disadvantages, I'm sure Aizen will have a plan for me like he did for the old man. "Sigh, I'll just deal with it when it happens".

A sound comes from my right and I see Rangiku beginning to stir and as she opens her mouth to call for Gin, I say, "He's gone again", before she can even ask and watching her visibly deflate makes me feel sad and slightly angry at Gin. Even though I understand his actions it still pisses me off that he makes someone who is hopelessly in love with him feel pain. It bothers him too, no matter how much he tries to hide it behind his smile, he's angry with himself for the way he makes her feel but he soldiers on because he believes they can never be happy while Aizen lives. These kids have kind of grown on me so I'll protect her and then I'll save him when the time comes.

"Let's try to get some breakfast, what do you want?", I ask in an attempt to lighten the mood and she replies in a slightly cheerful tone, "Dried Persimmon". I just laugh at her answer and get up to check if we have any left.

Timeskip: 2 months later

A dark-skinned boy is standing in a clearing with his eyes closed as the sun begins to break the horizon and his shirtless body covered in sweat reflecting its rays which flows along his budding musclurature. He takes a deep breath while shifting his feet to line up with the width of his shoulders, bending his legs slightly, moving his hands up in a boxing position and shifting his weight to the balls of his feet. Once this is completed he releases his breath and launches himself towards an invisible opponent. This is a mental technique he found out he possessed called 'Shadow Training' where he visualises an opponent to fight, at the current moment he visualises his past self at superhuman levels of physical prowess. With all the martial art knowledge he possesses, which admittedly isn't that much because he gave up after the incident. Though he did schedule some lessons before he died.

After an hour of training he turned around to go home. He paused when he realised that he had begun to think of that house as his home and then chuckled and continued on his way. He made it home before Rangiku woke up and went to take a bath. As usual Gin was already gone and Rangiku began to wake up and looked over to his cot with an angry expression on her face. It seems like she will confront him soon, this means we will be joining the Shin'ō Academy together really soon.

Several hours later and the sun had already gone down with no sign of Gin's return so Rangiku got up and began to storm out of the house. I call out to her, "Where are you going?"

She turns around and says, "I'm going to find Gin and give him a piece of my mind!"

I sigh and say, "I'm coming with you", while closing the door behind me. She nods in appreciation and we begin our search for Gin. It didn't take long for us to find him standing in a clearing with his back turned to us while wearing the shihakushō of a Shinigami. He hears our approach and turns to us, we both notice the blood on his cheek. The moon reflecting off his silver hair and his cold sky-blue eyes, which soften when he recognises us, was a chilling sight.

Rangiku calls out to him, "Gin, what are you doing?"

Gin replies with conviction, " I have decided to become a Shinigami and change things so you won't have to cry anymore".

Rangiku chokes up at his words and replies in a shaky voice, "We-we'll become Shinigami with you".

We get in a group hug and then we head home with the plan to become Shinigami in training tomorrow. We reach the door to our home and I stop Gin and allow Rangiku to go inside and I say to him, "I'm not sure what you're chasing, but for Rangiku's sake don't you dare die". He looks me in the eyes and says, "Dying is not a part of my plan". I nod and walk inside and head directly to my cot and while I begin to drift to dreamland the thought that tomorrow is the beginning of my journey to become the strongest Shinigami ever does put a smile on my face.

[1]Zankensoki:- Zan referring to Zanjutsu(sword-fighting techniques),Ken referring to Hakuda(unarmed fighting techniques),So referring to Hohō ( high speed fighting movements based on the art of Shunpo) and Ki referring to Kidō( advanced spells requiring strong spiritual power:Hadō and Bakudō