After my last interaction with Hiyori, I wasn't eager to meet her again. In fact, my ideal life included staying the hell away from her for the following 20 years at least. Obviously, that didn't happen.

One day, as I was walking with Shinji towards the training grounds, the little monkey tackled him. They began their usual banter while I waited patiently. Eventually, Hiyori noticed me and kicked Shinji hard, then hit me. Considering my level at the time, it came as no surprise that I could hardly do anything to defend myself. Hiyori then grabbed my collar and lifted a fist. Before I got to feel it, though, Shinji wrapped his arms around her waist, trying to hold her down.

"Whatever did Koizumi to you, monkey?" he asked, irritated. She struggled in his arms, but he managed to hold her.
"Let me go, hage-Shinji! Or you wanna get it first?"

I slowly pulled myself up. "I... that time you got wounded, I blamed her." I admitted. "She half-assed apologized, too."

Hiyori bit Shinji's hand and he yelped, dropping her. She fell on her own feet, then kicked him in the shin. He pulled on her hair, and they resumed their arguing. I slowly distanced myself. Hikifune came to the rescue and pulled Hiyori away from Shinji, making her apologize. Shinji and I went on our way afterwards. "Congratulations on making Hiyori hate you." he said jokingly. I groaned miserably, making him laugh. "I'm glad I'm not the only one anymore."

"I didn't mean to upset her this badly..." I muttered.

"It's nothing. The monkey's not worth your time."

"I don't wanna anger her..." I replied. "Is there any way I can make it up to her?"

"Hell if I know. I've been trying for years."

"Sure, trying... You hardly seem to be struggling to get on her good side."

"Ha, as if I'm the one who starts things! I'm the victim here, can't you see?" Shinji declared dramatically.

'And Megadeth sing folk.' I thought.

"Sure you are."

Shinji poked me in my side. I squeaked, slapping his hand. He pouted, pretending to be hurt. We soon got to the training grounds.

"Today I'll be teaching you kido." Shinji pointed his index and middle finger at me, then said "Bakudo no 1: Sai."

My arms were suddenly lodged behind my back and I fell on my knees. "Nani?" I yelled. He smirked.

"Nice to be hearing some Japanese every once in a while, but that wasn't the point." I glared at him. He snapped his fingers, releasing me. "Try it."

I sighed, rubbing my arms. "I think I'll need a more detailed explanation."

"Nah, most people who have a reasonable level of reiatsu get it right first try."

"And if I don't?" I asked.

"If you don't, you'll probably never learn kido." At my horrified look, he chuckled. "Just kidding, you'll learn in time. I doubt that it's your strong point, but that ain't no excuse. You need to know some."

"Then what is my strength?"

"Hand-to-hand combat. And I think a bit of swordmanship. Though your zanpakutou asks for some reiatsu control."

"So I should be good at Kido?" Shinji shrugged.

"Dunno. I think you don't need much control for your zanpakutou, so what you've got is enough."

"So you don't know."

He deadpanned. "There's a reason why I'm not an Academy teacher."

"Alright."

I could understand that he was doing his best, so the least I could do was not be a brat. I tried the spell (obviously with Shinji as a target) and managed to hold him for a good 1 second before his stronger reiatsu instinctively overpowered my spell. We soon decided that it simply wouldn't do with just the two of us.

And this is why I made my first trip to the Academy. All the students kept staring at the Captain suddenly in their midst. Shinji promptly ignored them, looking straight ahead as he walked. I tried to imitate his composure, but had no luck. My eyes instinctively darted around and I could tell I looked nervous.

We arrived at a big room, full of targets. An old woman greeted us.

"Hirako, you brat, why'd you steal that haori?" she screeched, approaching us with a book in her hand.

"It's mine, old hag. Do news take that long to reach the Academy? Or are you too deaf to hear them? Sides, I've been captain for a long time, m'kay?"

She still hit him. "You'll always be a brat! Of course I'd heard about it. I just think you don't deserve it."

He rubbed his head. "I didn't come here on visit. I wanna ask you to teach her some Kido."

"Oh, skipping classes is finally taking its toll on you. Whatever was Yamamoto thinking when he gave you that haori?"

Shinji glared. "I'm a good Captain." he snapped. "He has yet to regret making me one."

She snorted. "Ha, just like you were a star pupil while skipping classes!"

"Who the fuck even cared?" She hit him with the book again. Really, women either loved Shinji or hated him to death. There seemed to be no in-between.

"What are you even here for? You've spent more time in this room today than in all your academy years."

"You really are deaf. I asked you to teach her some Kido."

She seemed to have just noticed me. "Oh, what a cutie. You're the girl in his care? If this pervert tried anything, I'll give him hell."

I smiled nervously. "Shinji's actually really nice to me."

She blinked. "Shinji? You call this jerk by his name?"

"Enough, baba. Will you do it?" he asked, irritated.

"Sure, sure. You must be busy. Just go and come back tonight. I'll try to give her some idea, but I don't do miracles."

Shinji waved as he left. I was suddenly alone with an old woman whose name I didn't even know.

"Alright, so do you know anything?"

I sighed. "Unfortunately not. Hirako-Taicho tried to show me..."

"Ah, therein lies the problem. You can't learn by watching. Somebody has to explain it to you. And you can call him Shinji, really. I'm used to him." Her voice had changed compared to when he was around. She almost seemed fond of him.

"Alright."

She then began explaining various ways of using reiatsu in battle. She split the basic spells into several categories, then briefly explained each.

"I don't know whether you'll even use kido in battle. Only those particularly proficient in this ever use it. But I teach everybody."

I nodded. She had me practice some spells, shooting them at the targets, who were specifically designed to absorb reiatsu. This woman had a lot to teach me, too much for a day. She said that I would most likely never be a genius at Kido, but work got people further than talent.

"Just practice a Bakudo or two every day on that haori-wearing brat." I smiled. "I'll tell him it's for a noble cause."

She laughed. "Well, when you actually manage to hold him down for a long time, you can consider yourself a reasonable Kido user. He's a pain, but very strong and never modest. I don't really see him lowering himself to give you the illusion of victory."

"No. Maybe enough for me to actually stand a chance, but never nearly enough for him to lose."

"I see. He's always been that way."

I had half a thought to ask her what she meant, but then Shinji appeared, waving. It was time to go. He had a bouquet of flowers and a small gift bag.

"Ha, you think you can bribe me?" she asked, but even I could recognize her excitement at receiving a present.

"It ain't a bribe because I brought it now. It's a 'thank you'." He explained, smiling. "You've done us both a favor."

She smiled, accepting the gifts and the polite kiss on the cheek. "It's been over 50 years since anyone's brought me flowers."

He grinned and I knew what would follow. "Shame, I haven't seen such a beauty in decades."

"You can call an old hag for what she is. I'm not getting any younger."

"Nobody is." Shinji replied, smile fading. "But each age has its own fun." He turned towards me and nodded. "Let's go. Hope you learned something."

"Okay. Goodnight and thank you for the training session."

"Bye, kids."

"Who was she?" I asked on our way home.

Shinji shrugged. "My tutor. At the Academy, each class is assigned one. She was in charge of us. Whenever a teacher had a complaint about any of us, they went to her." He sighed. "Most were about me. I finished the Academy in 5 years instead of 6, but that was only because I was lazy. The teachers were always on her ass about it. How I was wasting my potential and all that."

"You still are lazy." I pointed out.

"Old habits die hard. And that was a long time ago. We were one of her first generations. She was younger and probably the most beautiful teacher in that place. I was a kid, I think a little younger than you."

Time passed, even for shinigami.

"Then I grew up and began visiting, but mostly to show off. To prove that despite what they said, I was a perfectly capable shinigami. She was the only one who had faith in me."

"She has a funny way of showing it."

"Time made her this grumpy."

Even as he talked, I could sense fondness in his voice, in the soft smile on his face.

"She didn't even tell me her name."

"That's because you wouldn't remember it anyway. She doesn't give her name to her students most of the time and the other teachers indulge this game of hers."

"Why not?"

"Because she feels better this way." Shinji shrugged. "I'm not sure. I'll make sure to ask."

"I see..." (Not.)

"Did you learn anything useful?"

"Yeah, but I'll have to keep practicing."

"Good."

"She suggested using you as a target."

"Pft, of course she did. Bring it on."