Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Bleach, and I make no profit writing fanfiction about them.

(AN): I'm not dropping Irregular Metronome. Just… thinking about what to do with the next chapter, I guess, and working on partially finished work in the meantime.

"Her wordless abandonment of Soul Society crushes hearts. Suì-Fēng is left with a bitter oath and the mad scrabble for power within the unstable Onmitsukidou. Caged in alone within the prison of his position, Kuchiki Byakuya begins to descend into crystalline stillness. As for Yoruichi herself - all that remains is the beat of guilt and isolation."

Perhaps you've seen that description on my profile before. Either way, it makes more sense to me to add that onto this rather than do two separate stories.

"Hello stranger!" A voice bellowed abruptly in his ear, a burly arm coming to rest across his shoulders. Sasuke reacted immediately; heart going from a lazy rolling to a hammering beat as he wrapped both hands around the offender's wrist and pulled.

Black and white whirled past his vision as the Uchiha threw the mystery man over his shoulder, slamming the body onto the table in front of him and scattering the sake saucers all over the floor. The bar watched in horrified silence as the legs of the table went out, sending the shinigami tumbling to the floorboards with a crash and splutter of spilt alcohol.

"Ouchy." The shinigami groaned, rubbing a bump on the top of his dark head before opening one eye and cracking a grin. Giving a second theatrical "Ouchy." the man closed his open eye and went limp, looking dead to the world and lolling his tongue out comically.

"Taichō!" A second shinigami shrieked, giving Sasuke a dirty look before pushing past a snickering Naruko to hover anxiously over the prone body of his captain. Wringing his hands, the shinigami nudged at the captain's body with his foot. "Shiba-taichō?"

Dark eyes popped back open. "Surprise!" the captain shouted gleefully, one hand grabbing tight of his subordinate's pant leg and the other snaking to yank at Sasuke's yukata. Sending both men tumbling on their asses, he hopped to his feet and snatched a saucer of sake from a gawking onlooker.

"You're right." Shiba-taichō offered Naruko conversationally, patting at the shoulder of his haori to dust off splinters before swallowing down the cheap liquor with a grin. "He does have a bit of a stick up his ass."

"Who are you?" Sasuke seethed as he untangled himself from the squirming body of the captain's subordinate. Rising to his feet, he gave a foul look to a particularly nosy looking stranger before shuffling to Naruko's side and ignoring the pain in his tailbone.

The captain smirked, twirling in place to display the back of his white haori and carelessly throwing the empty saucer aside.

The kanji for 'ten' was emblazoned black and proud along the line of the shinigami's spine, contained in a black rhombus. "I'm glad you asked." He began pompously, turning back around and cradling his chin in one hand while giving an exaggerated wink.

"Who else could I be but the amazing, ridiculously powerful, devastatingly sexy, inspiring and ever victorious JūbantaitaichōShiba Isshin?" Isshin's dark eye glimmered with mock solemnity. "Join my division; I'll protect you until I die!"

"What." Sasuke deadpanned, digging an elbow into Naruko's side as the blonde broke down in a sputter of laughter.

The second shinigami hauled himself to his feet with a put-upon sigh. "Shiba-taichō, please refrain from harassing passerby. It reflects poorly on the image of the Gotei 13 and your family."

"Nonsense Tatsumi! I'm not harassing them. Right? Of course not! You tell him just how not-harassed you are."

"I'm feeling very harassed."

"Nah, you're alright." Naruko disagreed at the same time, smirking smugly at the annoyed look the Uchiha sent down at her.

"See Tatsumi? We're all good here. Now shoo, I'm sure you have some paperwork to be doing."

"Taichō, I believe that's your paperwork."

"Nah it's yours. That's how it works in our division. I'll protect you until I die, and you have to handle all of my paperwork until I kick the bucket. Now shoo."

Tatsumi sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose before giving Sasuke a pitying look. "Good luck." The man offered before turning about and leaving the bar.

Rubbing his hands together, Isshin turned to give the other two a roguish grin. "Well how about it, hmm? I noticed your reiatsu from outside. Ever think of becoming a shinigami before?"

"Actually, we were already trying to get to the Seireitei and sign up for the Academy." Naruko confessed, arching a golden eyebrow. "But it's taking forever to get there. And even if we do, I don't know if we're going to be able to actually get in."

"You'll do fine." Isshin waved off her concerns dismissively. "The Academy is open to everyone with enough reiryoku. And since I could sense you from the street, you've more than likely got enough of it. If they were expecting you to be trained, the only people that would ever get in would be noble brats."

Blinking, Naruko shrugged. "Well, uh, thanks, I guess?"

"What's a captain doing out in the fiftieth district?" Sasuke cut in suspiciously, eying the oddly jovial man. "Don't you have duties or something? And why would you pop in to see some random strangers and try to recruit them?"

Isshin grinned. "Why wouldn't I try to recruit more people to join the Gotei 13? It's not like we've got a surplus of soldiers or anything. We can always use more. As for duties, hmm. Well I suppose I'm just doing some random inspections of our furthest outposts. Keeps them on their toes, ya know? Speaking of which," the captain launched forward to throw his arms over their shoulders. "I suppose I might be seeing you again tomorrow at the outpost?"

Sasuke tried to push the captain's muscled arm off to no avail, growing more and more annoyed as it yielded no results. Giving up with a sigh, he turned a dark glare at the man invading his personal space. "Now why would we do that?"

"Didn't you say you wanted to join the Academy?"

"Yes."

"Well then I'll see you tomorrow."

"I'm not really seeing how those two things are connected."

Isshin stared at Sasuke before tightening his arm so he could pinch at the Uchiha's cheek. "What district did you say you were from?"

"I didn't."

"Zaraki." Naruko sighed, not quite able to prevent a smug smirk from lighting up her face. "Play nice boys, or you'll be in big trouble one day."

Making a noise of comprehension, the Shiba swiveled his focus to the blonde tucked under his other arm. "Well that explains a bit, I guess. Did you think you had to walk all the way to the Seireitei just to get tested to join the Academy? If people had to do that, no one outside the fortieth district would ever join up. Every five districts up to the sixtieth has a recruitment station where you can take ShinōAcademy's entrance exam. So if you've been walking from Zaraki, you walked ten districts more than you had to."

"What a waste." Sasuke grumbled, resuming his futile efforts to push off the vastly stronger man.

"Yep." The Jūbantaitaichō agreed, popping the 'p' with a smack of the lips. Finally removing his arms - to the Uchiha's vast relief - Isshin turned to leave. "Well, I'll see you kids tomorrow. Remember, join the Tenth and I'll protect you until I die! Just keep doing that paperwork, and everything will turn out just fine. Believe in me!"

Sasuke watched the shinigami captain saunter off with a swagger in his steps before he turned to address his blonde companion. "Does that man have no concept of personal space? Let's never meet him again."

"I thought he was fun. Give him a few years and he might even be able to help me pull that stick out of your ass."

"Naruko."

The day dawned bright and early, white shafts of sunlight stinging her eyes as Naruko leant back against the shinigami outpost with an expression of pure impatience. Sasuke had just gone in for his test, which made Naruko jealous as hell.

They'd been standing around in the lineup for hours. If the blonde had known just how damn long it would take just to get in to get tested, Naruko would have made the effort to get up earlier. Sleeping in was nice, but not if she had to pay for it by standing around until she got bored and hungry.

"Uzumaki Naruko?"

"Eh?" Turn her attention to the bearded Shinigami that had called her name, the blonde goggled as the black-haired geezer impatiently motioned her into the building. "Am I up?"

"Yes." Her guide informed her coolly, the wrinkles of his face deepening as he glared at the possible recruit so fiercely Naruko couldn't help but wriggle is discomfort. "We're going to test your ability to emit reiatsu. If you can't do at least a little of that after we give you the tools, you fail."

"Eh?" Naruko had just enough time for another befuddled utterance before her so-called guide settled a hand between her shoulder blades and shoved her into the next room.

"Oh, hello there, blondie." A familiar voice greeted, drawing Naruko's attention.

Shiba Isshin was seated at a beaten-up table, offering a shit-eating grin to his latest visitor as he shuffled his hands over the smooth surface of a worn crystal ball. His dark orbs were friendly, but expectant. "I already saw your loverboy today, so why don't you show me what you're made of?"

Bristling at the challenge, Naruko lifted her chin imperiously and stomped across the bare room so she could throw herself in the cheap chair directly across from the taichou. "Lay it on me! I'm ready for whatever ya got!"

Isshin huffed in amusement, rolling the cantaloupe sized crystal across the desk from one hand to the other. "Alright then." The captain agreed easily, pushing the glass orb across the desk so swiftly that Naruko scrambled to catch it before it ended up rolling right off and onto the floor.

Scowling at the examiner, Naruko cradled the clear crystal close to her chest. "Are you trying to break it?" the fox-girl accused, blue eyes sharp and annoyed.

Maybe she was being rude to a captain of the Gotei 13, but she couldn't help it. Isshin had the kind of face the begged to be punched, and he was so laid back it was impossible not to feel at ease around him.

"It's not going to break." Isshin scoffed, scratching at the scruff of his beard. He was due for a shave, and as soon as the blonde brat finished up her test he'd be off to find a razor. Technically speaking, Isshin didn't have to be involved in Academy admissions, but he was a bit of a sucker for a good love story, and the way the two kids he'd met at the bar ogled each other was completely textbook.

First come awkward stares, and second comes the sexual tension. Third comes the jealousy and fourth comes an explosion of physical 'affection'. Or something like that If those two kids didn't manage to become a well-known example of romance in the ranks during or after the Academy, Isshin would eat his socks.

"It's a mini Reishuukaku." Isshin grinned, the white cloth of his captain's haori shifting as he shifted impatiently in his seat. "All you have to do is shove your reiatsu into it. If we get a reaction, you're in. If you can't figure out that much out, then you're out. After that we can worry about the paper tests and all the other stuff."

Goggling at the cheeky Shinigami officer, Naruto hunched her shoulders together before taking a steadying breath and pressing both palms against the clear glass surface of the reishuukaku stone. "So I just have to make it do something, right? Do I get any hints?"

"Nope."

The easy denial irritated the fuck out of Naruko, but she saw the reason for it. If the potential trainee in question couldn't fumble their way into making their spiritual energy do literally anything, then they probably didn't have enough natural instinct to make it in the Shinigami Academy.

It came across as a waste, since there were probably a lot of potential recruits that would get turned away that just needed a little extra polishing to make up for their lack of natural skill, but the admissions process wasn't something Naruko had influence over. Maybe one day, if she managed to make it in the Gotei 13…

"Anything at all?" The busty blonde clarified, biting the inside of her cheek when Shiba-taichou merely impatiently grunted.

Fine then. Naruko clenched her jaw and stared at the orb cupped between her hands. The little thing was as clear as water, the edge shining faintly as it reflected the sunlight streaming in from the open windows.

It was a bit sad that such a tiny thing had probably ruled the fate of hundreds of souls. The reishuukaku glimmered innocently between Naruko's callused palms, empty and waiting patiently. It had a desolate sort of beauty, begging to be filled with something that would disturb the otherwise corpse-like stillness.

The orb called for something bright and vibrant and alive, like spinning out the threads of a heart and letting them catch the light of the sun.

Naruko knew the moment she touched her reiryoku, because the sensation of pain and memory that nailed her between the eyes couldn't have allowed for anything else.

Blue light swirled in the cradle of her palm.

Ribbons of light and power swirled through the air.

Pressure built and built, rolling angry and blood-orange as it boiled towards breaking…

Sucking a low breath between her teeth, the fox girl pushed through the pain and dove into a thick river of something. It felt like a small sun curled around her heart, beating strong and faithful and pouring out streamers of life and golden fire into her veins.

Maybe it was just instinct, or maybe it was the training of a life mostly forgotten that led Naruko to shove the thick knot of her wild spiritual power along her limbs and into the cold empty sphere waiting between her palms.

The reishuukaku lit up like a miniature star, blazing yellow and warm as Naruko fed it energy. At first it easily soaked up the uneven tides of Naruko's reiryoku, its strong shine prompting Isshin to smirk with visible self-satisfaction.

"I knew you and the other kid were something special." The noble grinned, swiftly dipping the brush clenched between his fingers in an inkpot and making a few notes on the sheets of Naruko's application. "It's been years since we've had this much potential wander on through the doors I'm sure. Most of the newbies can't get it to do more than spark."

Whatever else Isshin intended to say was cut off by the faint whine that began to shrill from the reishuukaku, its smooth planes beginning to smoke with overload. The friendly yellow of Naruko's spiritual output had shifted to an angry red, seething within the confines of the testing orb like an untamed heartbeat.

"Whoops?" Naruko offered sheepishly, meeting the captain's dark gaze with trepidation.

Then the reishuukaku exploded, filling the air with the scent of burning chemicals.

Clenching her eyes shut, Naruko winced as little shards of glass cut into the skin of her hands and face, tearing tiny rivulets that let little streams of blood run hot and free.

The actual pain paled next to the sickly curl of embarrassment that curled in the blonde's gut. She'd gone so far beyond doing 'something' that she felt like an idiot. What kind of hamfisted dumbass managed to blow up their reishuukaku on the first go?

Naruko just knew that she'd managed to screw the pooch in the home stretch. The bastard had no doubt passed, but she'd managed to fuck up. Which meant no Academy for Naruko, and Sasuke wouldn't go without her, and that meant it was back to the slums, and that meant…

Very slowly, Isshin began to laugh. "Oh, I like you."

"And now we're on the road again – ow!" Naruko rubbed at the back of her head where Sasuke had smacked her, and pouted with her pink lips. "Bastard."

Rolling his eyes at his companion, Sasuke drew one knee up to his chest and let the other dangle off the back of the cart. "It's been three days. Enough with the singing."

"It's not my fault if you don't know how to have fun, Mister Stick-in-the-Mud."

"Fun has nothing to do with it. Stop being annoying." Sasuke shot back irritably, catching Naruko's fist when the blonde aimed a lazy punch at his ribs. After a brief scuffle the fox girl subsided with a grumble, leaving the Uchiha alone with his thoughts.

Dark orbs scanned over the dirt path that wound away behind them. Its curve formed a beaten little earthy streak that stretched off into the northern horizon. Somewhere just over the rising hills was Akabeko, but the fiftieth northern district had passed beyond Sasuke's sight a few hours past.

They were travelling at a faster pace then their earlier meandering journey, since Shiba Isshin had shoved a heavy bag of coins into Naruko's hand and told her they should hitch a ride on one of the caravans that made periodic trips to the interior districts of Rukongai. They could head straight to the Seireitei without needing to steal supplies because of Isshin's generosity.

Sasuke wasn't sure how he felt about that. The Jūbantaitaichō had been generous and helpful, but the Uchiha was still wondering why.

The dark haired captain reminded him of Naruko with his gregarious foolishness, but Sasuke knew that no idiot would ever rise to the top in the Gotei 13. Which just begged the question – was Shiba Isshin just a genuinely nice person, or did he have some other hidden agenda?

What was a captain doing out in Akabeko anyway? Was Shiba on a mission for the government? Or was he pulling some strings on behalf of his clan? Doing 'inspections' seemed too benign, and could be handled more efficiently by a seated officer.

All the intrigue irritated Sasuke, but this was their life now. They'd applied to become Shinigami, passed the stupid little tests, and were on their way to the Seireitei. So Sasuke would just have to put up with all the little political annoyances and hidden motivations.

At least there'd be food to eat, a roof over their heads, and a ladder to power they could climb.

"Ne, ne, Sasuke. Let's play a game."

Blinking at Naruko, Sasuke considered the whiskers on her face that twisted with her little pout. Her blonde fox ears might have been hidden under a vibrant orange bow, but unless she slathered makeup on there was no covering her other vulpine features. It was… cute, and before he could defer to better judgement the Uchiha was grunting in agreement. He wasn't weak in front of women, but in front of Naruko on the other hand…

Naruko beamed, rubbing the bridge of her pert nose with a self-satisfied look before going to inspect their surroundings. "I spy with my little eye something purple." She sing-songed, both legs kicking lazily off the back of the cart. They were on the last wagon in line, so there was no one else to see her bare feet swing.

Huffing with fond exasperation, Sasuke turned to scan over the rolling fields. Soul Society was wrapped in the heat of midsummer, with vibrant grass and flowers growing thick and strong as they stretched towards the sun. It only took a handful of seconds to pick out a little smattering of violet petals.

"Flowers." Sasuke grunted. He could go around guessing at the species, but Naruko probably didn't care about that, even if she actually knew any types of flora. Which Sasuke suspected was not the case, since his friend was no scholar.

"You're a quick shot, aren't you?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing."

Glaring at the blonde when she made a totally unconvincing expression of innocence, Sasuke snapped his hand out so he could poke Naruko between the eyes. Satisfied with his revenge after the fox girl gave an indignant screech, the Uchiha returned to studying their surroundings.

"This game is stupid." He declared after a moment. There was nothing around beyond the obvious grass, clouds, and dirt road. Unless they were going to turn around and start using the other travellers in the caravan as objects for the game, it was very quickly going to devolve into 'no I meant this flower and you meant that one'.

Naruko gave a low moan of disappointment, but didn't refute her companion's assertion. The blonde had probably seen the same thing Sasuke did. "Fine." She spun around on her tailbone, bringing her bare feet up into the wagon and plopping her head in the Uchiha's lap.

"What do you want to do after we're Shinigami?"

Sasuke weighed the question, absently letting one hand tangle itself in the sun-kissed strands of Naruko's hair.

How could he begin to answer that? He didn't claim to be an expert on the Gotei 13 by any means, but he'd picked up enough tidbits to paint a picture of an organization rife with political and military struggle. It would be years before they graduated the Academy, and while Sasuke could plan ahead, he couldn't do it almost entirely without information.

Or maybe Sasuke was just grossly overthinking things. "What else?" he smirked, smug amusement glittering in his obsidian gaze. "Become the strongest."

A silent heartbeat passed, and then Naruko was chuckling with hearty delight. "Why did I even ask?" the whiskered blonde wondered, eyes crinkled up with laughter. The answer was practically a given. "I'll have to correct ya, though. I'll be the strongest. You can be my right-hand man. Or maybe the left hand, if you get too uppity."

Sasuke flicked at the fox girl's nose. "You don't have what it takes to beat me."

"I think I'll demote you to the left foot man, bastard."

"And make sure you stay away from strange men!"

"I got it, oyaji." Naruko rolled her eyes at Eiji, sparing the caravan leader a final cheeky grin before turning away and stepping into the crowd. She could feel Sasuke moving at her heels, she was so engrossed by Hokutan that she didn't spare him more than a passing thought.

Everything was so clean. The people milling about were full cheeked and well fed, clad in fine yukata and little pieces of finery here and there. The last leg of Eiji's journey had swerved off and around to the west, ending in Rukongai's third west district and leaving the two Academy applicants to cross the final distance to the Seireitei on their own.

Hokutan was not at all like Zaraki had been. The difference law and order made in the happiness and prosperity of the people was like the difference between night and day. And looming over it all were the white walls of the Seireitei in the distance, so pure and strong it took Naruko's breath away.

"I wonder what the inside looks like."

"You'll see it soon enough anyway." Sasuke mumbled, tightening his grip around Naruko's elbow as he steered the flighty blonde along the marketplace streets. There were so many people, all teeming together like a faceless mass of hundreds, oblivious and ignorant in the shadow of Shinigami power.

"Bah, you're not being any fun." Naruko shot back, slowing so that she could link arms with the Uchiha rather than have him hang on to her elbow with his crushing grip. "Let's just hurry on into the first district so we can go check it out!"

Shin'o Academy was located behind the walls of Seireitei, and just like many other places within the Court of Pure Souls, it was little more than a legend for the common folk that had to live outside the ivory structure.

Sasuke and Naruko were members of a privileged few, who could cross into Seireitei at any time with their acceptance letters to the Academy, since they had both business in the Court and a place to stay.

Classes weren't supposed to start for another month, but in order to accommodate the students that lived at the far-flung corners of Rukongai, Shin'o Academy opened it dorms year-round to any soul that had been accepted into the institution and ensured all its students had a roof over their heads.

"I wonder what kind of food they've got in there." Naruko drooled, a greedy glint in her blue eyes as she kept conjuring up images of what life would be like inside the Seireitei. "I'm getting tired of fruits, veggies, and rice. I want chicken and pork buns and ramen!"

Sasuke cocked an eyebrow at the blonde. "Always going on and on about those noodles. I don't see what's so special about them anyway."

Gasping at the Uchiha's heresy, Naruko pulled away from him and gaped at the dark-haired man with horror. "You're questioning the food of the gods? Shame on you. Out, you vile beast. Out!"

Jerking his chin towards the crowd, Sasuke boldly met the few curious gazes that had been drawn by Naruko's effusive behavior. "Look around you, blondie. You're surrounded by 'gods', and I guarantee you that most of them here aren't going to care about ramen of all things."

Naruko actually looked ill at that declaration, fisting a hand in the orange cotton of her yukata. The waist-length golden strands of her hair fluttered in the faint breeze, and she held her silence long enough to look like a tableau of a horrified genteel lady.

Then she stuck out her tongue at Sasuke. "Bleh, you have no taste. No taste at all."

When they crossed into Seireitei, it was high noon, and the shift in atmosphere hit them like a horse kick between the eyes. The various districts of Rukongai varied in terms of their wealth and safety, but they all shared a certain irreverent young vitality. Rukongai was alive and kicking.

The Seireitei was cold and austere, and the slap of Naruko's sandals over the pale cobblestones was both faint as a whisper and loud as the crack of thunder. Everything held a certain hushed stillness, washed out of passions and imperfections until only the core of duty remained like a chilled blade arcing for the heart.

Even the haphazard maze of buildings that filled the Seireitei's circular walls didn't quite manage to break the impression of calcified stillness.

Hunching her shoulders together, Naruko shifted closer to Sasuke and repressed a shiver. "It's pretty." She complimented conversationally, blue eyes drilling into the back of their black-clad Shinigami guide.

The redhead hadn't bothered to give his name, just telling the pair of recruits that he was an unseated member of the Fifth Division and that he'd hand them off to someone who could more properly direct them to the Academy.

"I'm not paid to chat with Rukon trash." The Shinigami declared icily, hard green eyes never wavering from the horizon. The short spikes of his hair shivered in the breeze, crowning a tanned face that might have been handsome if his expression didn't make it look like he was walking around with a moustache made of smeared shit under his nose all the time.

The slur passed over Naruto like water down a duck's back, so easily shrugged off that the fox girl couldn't help but wonder if she'd had practice ignoring insults and curses in the life she couldn't remember.

Sasuke took the abuse less well, clenching his jaw and staring so malevolently at their guide that Naruko knew he was picking out the best set of ribs to shove a knife between. The Uchiha had enough self control not to fly off the handle and murder the man, but Naruko knew he wanted to.

Bad Sasuke. Down boy.

The rest of their journey across the enormous courtyard that lay behind Seireitei's west gate passed quietly, and Naruko was glad for it. She might have wanted to punch the cocky redhaired prick in the mouth, but she had enough sense to know that she needed to keep her lips shut.

It didn't matter how prejudiced those born inside Seireitei were against those born in the Rukongai. It didn't matter if some no name bastard wanted to insult her and her friend, and look down on them just for having come from the 'wrong' place.

Admission to Shin'o Academy was a privilege, not a right, and if a Shinigami decided to lodge a complaint against them before they'd even walked through the gates, Naruko and Sasuke would be screwed and out on their asses before they'd managed to get anywhere.

The most important thing to do was graduate from the Academy, and if Naruko had to swallow her pride for a few minutes to do that, then she would. Perhaps one day there would be a reckoning for all the self-important fucks in the Gotei 13, but it wasn't that day yet.

As soon as the party of three reached the barracks nearest to the west gate, the redhead sneered at the pair of recruits and stomped back away. The man was on guard duty, and spent his days processing anyone that wanted admission to the Court of Pure Souls. Beyond that, it wasn't his job to look after wet-behind-the-ears newbies.

"Fucker." Naruko muttered under her breath, watching as the Shinigami left with burning anger twisting the curves of her mouth. She couldn't help but tighten her grip on Sasuke's bicep, not sure if she was trying to ground her own temper or the temper of her companion.

Blowing a sigh through his dark bangs, Sasuke poked at Naruko's hand and repressed a wince. "Loosen up." He demanded roughly. Her nails were sharp, and while his base instincts could appreciate the clinging and the closeness of her body, the rest of Sasuke wasn't much of a fan of pain.

Naruko didn't apologize; merely loosening her grasp instead and turning about to face the barracks. There wasn't anything that immediately set the guard post apart from the surrounding buildings. It was just as short and squat as the rest, with white stone walls and a wood tiled roof.

Eyeing the double doors they'd been deposited in front of, Naruko squared her shoulders and sought Sasuke's eyes with her own. Azure clashed with coal, stoking a mutual determined fire until both souls were as ready for the unknown as they were going to be. "Well, let's get this over with, yeah?"

"Tch. Whatever."

(AN): 5000 words. I'd say my random muse for this was fueled by a little spat of SasuFemNaru fics, but since I've already worked my way through most of the section and only could find the rare new piece, I ran out of steam about halfway through the chapter. Still, pushed on to the end. I'm not heartless after all. Some folks were hoping for an update.

(Lookin at you Seta)

Anyway, as far as timelines go I figure I'd settle this about 120 years before canon. I'm pretty heavily inspired by Swinging Pendulum after all.

I'm sure I'll get some criticism about not having them both test into the advanced classes, but keep in mind they're newly dead. Most people probably live for years in the Rukongai before trying to get into the Academy, not months. There's information that they haven't absorbed yet that would have been on the paper exams. So their grades are lower than they otherwise could have been.