"All this time, for almost as long as I can remember…decades at least, Rukia and I were separated by a distance so great, we couldn't even glimpse one another." — Renji Abarai.
°
°
°
°
°°°°°°°
Renji's hollowed breaths heaved against his chest like a battering ram against battered gates. How long had he been running? He had been running for the last 13 hours just to make sure he got here on time and even then he almost missed the whole thing.
How could he have lost his way immediately after asking for directions? If any of the kids back home knew what happened they would laugh themselves silly. He could already hear the cries of 'stupid Renji' and 'dumb Renji' in his head that caused him to scowl.
The people around him steered away from him but he just blinked in confusion. They were opening the way up to the front? Well, he won't be saying anything if he gets to cut in line. Seriously, what was their problem? Maybe it was the nerves, he thought. Yeah, that made sense.
"Damn, those are some big ass gates." He said in awe as he passed through the North Gate. The air exploded as he did and for the first time in nine months, Renji finally felt that he had taken the first step into another world.
Everything felt different. It was an expansive sensation that rewrote how his senses worked and left him feeling flatfooted for a brief moment before he got himself in control.
"Woah…"
"You got that right. This place feels like what a real Soul Society should feel like." Someone said beside him, another student hopeful.
Renji nodded as he shared the same sentiment. He had asked Black what the Seireitei felt and looked like but the asshole just joked it away under dry metaphors and simply told him, in no certain words, to see it for himself. Well he did, and he definitely was impressed (not that it was such a hard feat to do).
"This place really is huge." He whispered to himself as he followed behind their guide who lead them through the main raid that led straight to the Shin'ō Academy.
He looked around frantically but he could not find that exact mop of raven hair he was looking for, which in turn made him a little anxious but he forced it down.
She was probably just waiting for him at the Academy. Or maybe she was already a student due to whatever Noble clout she could now pull. He snorted.
He wasn't the only one who was wowed as he strolled through the Seireitei. It looked nothing like what he was used to in the Rukongai. Just the fact that it was clean as hell was already a high markup from the world that existed just behind those heavy gates.
"That damned Black. It's been two weeks and I can still feel my back hurt." He grumbled as he tried to scratch a particular itch on his back but lacked the sufficient flexibility to reach for it.
Though Black's presence wasn't a regularity in the schedule he drew up for him, Renji was still grateful that the man decided to help him at all. He joked about it, saying he wanted to watch how Renji's innocent crush would play out but Renji was grateful nonetheless.
Unfortunately, Black was too much of an ass and enjoyed passing his time by pissing off the younger boy to his achievable limits that made Renji forget to tell him how thankful he was every time he wanted to.
And in the last two weeks Black didn't show up and Renji got the distinct feeling that it wasn't because Black was busy or anything but that he just didn't want to show up, which was fair and all, but it still stung. Just a little.
And it was the same gut feeling that told him that the next time he would be seeing Black would be after he gained his admission.
"Yeah, whatever. Who cares about that bastard anyway." He grumbled as his mood instantly turned sour. "Huh?"
Were these guys dumb or what? It was like they couldn't follow a straight line even if their life depended on it. Once again there was a huge unneeded space surrounding Renji and some of these idiots were crashing into each other.
Are their nerves that bad? His brows furrowed even more.
Sure it was a pretty important examination and none of them wanted to fail, least of all him, but it wasn't as if they would die if they failed the exam or bring dishonor to their family.
Silently he said a prayer to whatever god was out there not to let these guys have anything to do with him upon his admission.
"You, red hair, keep it down." Renji looked up and saw their guide looking dead straight at him from the front of the line(because these idiots once again tore open a huge space in the otherwise perfect line) and reprimanded him.
"Huh, keep what down? I haven't even said anything." Was someone already out for him from the get-go? Was this guy trying to bully him or something, or was this some type of test? (Damn Black for not telling him anything about the exams).
The Shinigami looked at him with a frown for a few moments before the frown receded and surprise colored his face. Seriously, what was going on here?
"You got to be kidding me. Another one?" The Shinigami whispered to himself in disbelief and Renji felt insulted.
Who was this guy and was he trying to say he was a troublemaker? If it weren't for the test, and Renji being absolutely certain the Shinigami would floor his ass, he would have been up in the man's face to get him to say what he meant. Seriously, why was everyone acting weird? Was it a secret test thing and he was the only one out of the loop?
"Man let's just get this over with." He grumbled under his breath.
He spied a look at the Academy coming to view and once again his ignorant brain was easily impressed. He could say with full certainty that he had never once seen a school in his life and he was sure that even if he had, this one would still rank at the top spot.
Just from stepping through the gates alone he already felt smart. It was all aesthetically pleasing and utilitarian, or whatever suitable words there were that could describe it.
He could see some students looking at them, passing along only a curious look, before minding their own business.
Their guide led them to an open space, a training yard — or so Renji would call it if he had ever seen a training yard in his life.
"Listen up. My name is Shūhei Hisagi and I'll be one of your proctors for this exam. A fair warning to you all, just because you passed the first test doesn't mean you have a high chance to pass the rest."
Eh. What was this about a first test? Renji looked around and, yes, he pretty sure was the only one who didn't have an idea about this first test and when it took place.
Was it really that weird marching formation of theirs? He wouldn't believe it until someone says it straight to his face.
"Wait, hold on," he looked around and soon came to the realization that they were way fewer in number than they had been at the gate.
"What the hell is going on? And where is Rukia, damn it!" a frustrated whisper left his mouth. He was way out of his depth but he couldn't go back after coming this far. All he could do at this point was fervently pray that whatever weird sickness the Shinigami had didn't affect him.
Everyone was nodding along and giving affirmative replies but he refused to believe that they all understood what was happening. There was no way he was the only one left out of the loop. He was dumb, yes, but he was not that dumb.
.
...…..
.
[Kuchiki Estate]
Rukia looked out of the window towards the Shin'ō Academy and couldn't help but be worried. Sge knew of a certain idiot who was too stupid for his own good to attempt to make a journey through the Rukongai towards the Seireitei.
His safety was a paramount of her worries, but that wasn't the only thing.
"I'm not even sure he made it." It was a sad sentiment but that was just how that idiot functioned.
In her mind he would either forget the date of the exams, therefore missing it completely, or he got lost on the way and ended up missing it completely.
Unfortunately, she couldn't go and check, just to make sure, and she didn't want to take any opportunity to displease her elder brother Byakuya.
She also couldn't use the viable excuse of taking the exams as a cover because unlike the other students, she was a noble and that pretty much came with direct entry into the Academy if she wished to attend. So no, she wouldn't be verifying the idiot's presence anytime soon until the semester started.
––––––
Patreøn*com/QuackVader
––––––