Big hugs for Kofa-chan, who corrected this translation.

Again, English isn't my first language. I don't know if I should try to tranlate more of this story - it's up to you. Please give me a sign in reviews - first of all, please review~!

This and 2 next chapters are a little weird, but then the real plot begins... This was my first fanfic, so please forgive me ;)

Memories from a life are something unusual in Soul Society. Souls remember only their names, nothing more. They find a family among others Rukongai habitants or they exist alone. Sometimes some of them discover in themselves strange powers, which know them from the others and are caused by having a soul energy – reiatsu. Then a new path is being opened for them – difficult and tiresome, but leading straight forward to Seireitei – a place much better to live than Rukongai. But before you get there, firstly you have to get to the Shinigami Academy and then finish it, what only small amounts of candidates are able to achieve.

Down the way to Seireitei, a girl in white-red kimono, was walking. She looked about eighteen, nineteen years old. Long, loose, lightbrown hair was being scattered by the wind, revealing her uptight face. Today was her first day at the Academy and people from further Rukongai always started from worse positions. They could achive everything only by their own strength – they didn't have neither familiarities and status nor money for prospective private lessons. They had to demostrate real skills to, after a few years, they get to one of the 13 squads.

At last, she got to a huge gate, the only break in a high wall enclosing the Academy edifice. A guard, after he checked her name on the list, let the girl inside. She was stunned. Under the door to the main hall was already standing a crowd of students wearing two-coloured uniforms. She saw that they divided into smaller groups, in which they begin to talk with each other. Her attention was caught by some first-years that had separated from others on their free will and were looking on them with contempt and disgust. "Nobles", she thought, staying not too close to them and staring at a boy with orange hair. She wasn't the only one doing it, because he stood out on the first glance. Nobody else had a katana – and his wasn't just in normal shape. Hung across his back was a sword with a bandaged hilt, proceeding into a broad bottom which, the more to the end, the more thin it became. Like a chopper. The boy was sorrounded by whispers and was even pointed out.

They silenced, when the door was open and showed a man in black kimono with red line, which meant that he was a teacher in the Academy.

"From today you start learning in the Shinigami Academy. You will be learning here kidou, zanjutsu, hakuda, hohou and some more theoretical stuff. You have been divided into two groups, depending on your scores from the entrance exam. Now, please come to me one by one. I will direct you to your appropriate classes, where teachers will explain to you more specific rules", he told them.

The girl with lightbrown hair got to the middle of a queue, behind the strange boy. She wasn't feeling right not knowing, who he is. It appeared that everyone around knew him, but was it really that weird? Even gossips usually had died before reaching 79th district of Rukongai.

At last they came closer to the teacher.

"Kurosaki Ichigo", she heard the boy saying.

"Room number five", said sensei smirking.

Next was the girl, so she introduced herself:

"Kama Ino."

"Room number five", she heard and went in the designated direction.

"So I'll be with that strange guy. Maybe at last I'll get to know who he is...", she thought, walking into the room. Despite a lot of students still waiting outside, the class was nearly already full. Not wanting to bar the way any longer, she started to walk along tables, searching for a free one. Without considering it, she sat on the nearest table and it took her a while to notice that her neighbour is Kurosaki. She was trying not to look in his direction, feeling that it would be rude. It was already enough that everyone else was staring at him.

After a few minutes the room was finally filled and a teacher was standing at the front of the room.

"Good morning, I am Mao Shioko and I'll be guiding your class through the whole Academy. At the end of each term you will take exams from each subject and depending on your scores you can either stay here, in the advanced class, or degrade to the basic class. You are not allowed to play truant but I hope that you all know it. Each absent will have to have a good reason or you will be expelled. Alright, other things will come out with time, so let's go to the first lesson. You probably can't wait for it" she added, smirking. "Let's have some theory firstly. Knowledge about the real world."

The girl was noting diligently, listening to the lecture. However, she couldn't have stopped herself from glancing at her neighbour, who appeared to be bored and thinking about something completely different. By this time two hours have passed, after which a break had begun.

"Alright, my congratulations, you have just begun your learning in the Shinigami Academy!", sensei announced. "After the break will be something that you definitely had been waiting for much longer – zanjutsu. I'd rather you not to eat too much 'cause then you could have a few problems", saying this, she smiled knowingly to students and after that she left the room.

Immediately, a conversation began. Everybody was exchanging with each other their feelings, part of them, in spite of warning, took out their lunch and started to eat. Ino decided to talk with the boy sitting next to her – interest within her finally won.

"So? Do you like it?", she asked shyly.

Kurosaki looked at her with surprise and then frowned.

"What? Don't you know, who I am?", he answered with a question.

The girl cowered, sure that it is about her common origin. Nobles don't humiliate themselves by talking with people such as herself, unless it was completely necessary.

"I'm sorry", she only said quietly, staring at her notes.

"Hey, c'mon, what are ya talkin' about?", asked the boy. "There's nothing wrong, you know. I'm Kurosaki Ichigo, ex-substitute shinigami", he presented himself, holding out a hand.

"K... Kama Ino", she responded, shaking the hand. "Substitute... shinigami?"

"Yeah, you apparently don't know about it, as well. I had gotten shinigami powers as a live man, so they had to make for me another rank. Now, as I already died, they had told me to finish the Academy, sayin' that I don't have enough knowledge about Soul Society to be taken to the squads. Frankly, I have to agree with them. For example kidou is black magic for me, just like for anybody else here and without it I won't be so efficient as with it. And how did ya get here?", stopping his story, he turned his attention to the girl.

"In Rukongai, they told me that if I want to achieve anything, I should try to get here... Nothing interesting in comparison to your story, Kurosaki-kun...", she stummered, being ashamed of how ordinary she was.

Ichigo looked at a clock that hung over the blackboard.

"Oh, I guess that in few moments our next lesson will begin. We have to hurry up", he said, standing up and waiting for Ino.

Kama, walking behind Kurosaki couldn't get rid of the feeling that everybody in the class was looking now not only at the boy, but also at her. She stuck her gaze to the floor and prayed to get out of this class as qucikly as possible.