The first day Part 1

Although they didn't show it, Itsuki and Gin both sighed in relief seeing Rangiku back to her usual self. They both made their way to the seats Rangiku had saved them amidst the stares of others. There were 13 seats on each row with 4 in the side column and 5 in the middle. Rangiku was at the front row in the middle column.

"Hey Itsuki, Gin meet my new roommate. Her name is Isazaka Yuroe"

"Pleased t-to meet you, Minamoto-san, Ichimaru-sa…"

She bit her tongue. Her voice was small and quiet, if Itsuki and Gin weren't sitting near her then they probably wouldn't have heard her. She was a petite young woman who wore the typical academy uniform. Her black hair was done up with a bun and her fringe went over her right eye blocking it from view. Her remaining brown eye kept darting about as if looking for a hole to hide in for the earlier slip up. Tears were threatening to come out of her eye as Rangiku tried to console her.

"Nice to meet you, Isazaka-san" Gin replied with his usual expression and Itsuki nodded in return.

Feeling no ill will from the two, she noticeably calm down but still looked as if she was trying to hide herself. The group of four continued to talk to each other as the class grew in size until the room was mostly full. No one sat on the seat next to Itsuki due to the aura he gave out. Many girls tried but gave up due to feeling the temperature drop and the dangerous look Rangiku gave them. Gin just acted like normal and paid no heed. Yuroe was quite surprised at Rangiku's change as she felt Rangiku was someone easy-going and approachable.

Finally it was 7:00 and the room quieted down. The same stout teacher appeared and came and stood in front of the podium. His voice resounded throughout the room

"Welcome to Shin'o academy and congratulation for making it into Class 1. My name is Gengoro Onabara and I am the head teacher for the first year, class 1"

A short paused followed, as he looked around,

"You will all be trained to become great Shinigamis over here. We only have one commandment 'Do not seek beauty in battle. Do not seek virtue in death. Do not make the mistake of considering only your own life. If you wish to protect that which you must protect...slice the enemy you must defeat from behind.' … … … …"

A speech of the rules and regulations followed before he got to the task at hand.

"Now. General Knowledge. This module will be go over the things a Shinigami must know. Although it won't increases you battle capabilities, knowledge itself can be utilised as a weapon. You would also go over tactics, what to do in certain situations, what things can be done and what you must avoid in Seireitei."

The class went on until time was up and he told us the directions for out next class.

The next class was the application of Reiatsu.

Reiatsu is the physical pressure that a person's reiryoku (Spiritual energy) creates when it is released. So all this time, Itsuki wasn't increasing his Reiatsu but his Reiryoku while his Reiatsu increased in result.

The difference between spiritual pressure and spiritual energy is simple: Reiryoku is the amount of energy a being has stored within their body or soul, whereas Reiatsu is the pressure that a person's Reiryoku exerts. In other words, Reiryoku is potential while Reiatsu is energy in use and can be sensed by other spiritually aware beings. In general, those with high levels of Reiryoku will often have the highest levels of Reiatsu also. A skilled warrior can overcome a person possessing greater Reiryoku by possessing greater Reiatsu. This is achieved by having greater control over their own spirit energy.

Reiatsu has many colours and forms in which they are portrayed and each depends on the user. It can be used either defensively, psychologically or offensively. Defensively because someone with a greater amount of reiatsu can effectively harden their skin, adding an extra layer of protection. This results in someone with a lower reiatsu unable to cut through.

Psychologically, there are four ways it can be used: fear, stun, paralysis and phantom pain.

Fear - Reiatsu at its most basic level can instil fear in others when it is very high.

Stun - A high level of reiatsu can cause those of a lower power to be stunned just be being in the presence of one

Paralysis - When someone of a high reiatsu focuses on an opponent with low reiatsu they can paralyse them by focusing their reiatsu onto them

Phantom pain - Someone of a higher reiatsu can make an opponent feel as though they are being attacked though nothing is happening to them

Though there are no techniques to offensively use reiatsu, there are ways into using it. Sometimes, just releasing reiatsu in all its glory can cause damage to the environment.

So, overall, a Shinigami's fight heavily depends on the amount of reiatsu a being possesses.

Next came break. The group of four decided to get to know each other better. Yuroe was from Seireitei and was the daughter of a pair of Shinigami who worked for the Gotei 13. They were just low ranked Shinigami who didn't even know the names of their zanpakuto. Due to her personality she had no friends and Rangiku was her first.

Once break was over they went to the Hakudo training hall. The teacher was already there.

Hakudo was basically hand to hand combat. The Onmitsukido (Special Forces) are the best trained in this. Being one of the four basic fighting styles of the Shinigami, it is divided into five stages: Untrained, Practitioner, Combatant, Expert Hakudo Combatant and Master Hakudo Combatant.

Untrained - The user hasn't learnt it or has just started it.

Practitioner - Casual users of this art that can take on average armed opponents. Those of this level are among the seated and unseated officers of the Gotei 13.

Combatant - Average users of this art can take on average armed opponents and put up a decent effort against those many times their size. Those of this level are among the seated and unseated officers of the Gotei 13.

Expert Hakudo Combatant - Experts of this art can take on average armed opponents and those many times their size easily. Those of this level are among the seated officers of the Gotei 13.

Master Hakudo Combatant - Masters of this art can take on heavy armed opponents and those many times their size easily, and, as mentioned before, the Onmitsukido are the best-trained Shinigami in Hakudo. The 2nd Division captain and their 3rd seat, or head of the Detention Unit, are most often the premier masters.

After that it was the introduction to Hoho. The group of four went to the Hoho training field and immediately saw various courses with some students working hard to complete them in the fastest time possible.

Hoho is a defensive style of fighting which relates to footwork, it is one of the four basic combat skills of the Shinigami. Hoho is an important skill for most Shinigami, which incorporates speed and agility. The skill level of Hoho can be enhanced and improved through concentration, training, and mastery of it. The foremost practitioners of this technique are those assigned to the Onmitsukido. Shunpo (Flash Steps) is the greatest expression of the Hoho technique; however there are variations even within Shunpo, which only master Hoho practitioners can use.

Shunpo is a movement technique which allows the user to move faster than the eye can follow. The focal point which determines the basis of this technique is speed. As speed is the main factor of the technique, the method is best characterised by how fast one can get from point A to point B in the least amount of steps.

Shunpo can be categorised into four stages:

Untrained - Those in this category, possess no skill for Hoho and instead, rely on walking to get where they need to be, or have trained extensively to enhance their natural speed to a level allowing them to move considerably fast, though decidedly under that of Shunpo.

Shunpo practitioners – Practitioners of the technique can maintain fast movements for a short period of time, by seemingly taking only a few steps to bridge what would normally be a large distances. Those who are practitioners commonly use their knowledge of Hoho while engaging in combat.

Shunpo Experts – Experts of the technique are considerably fast, and can maintain high speed movements for extended periods of time. While not as fast as a master, they can keep up quite effectively. Some holding the title are faster than others, but, nonetheless, their application of the technique is highly advanced.

Shunpo Masters – Shunpo masters are capable of maintaining high speed movements for extended periods of time while using the least amount of steps to achieve those movements.

Once the introduction was complete, the teacher then went on to complete a few exercises showing the recruits a few Hoho examples