A/N: Alright everyone. First fanfic, be gentle with me please ^_^'

Rating may go up. Pairing is to be announced later, partly because I haven't really decided what it is. At any rate, this story is pre-beginning for Bleach but just before timeskip for InuYasha. Bit of a long chapter but think of it like a pilot episode :D

Mini-dictionary at bottom for some of the Japanese words if you don't know what they are. I think I caught all the spelling errors, but I swing back and forth on usage of English/Japanese words; Hopefully no one finds this too annoying.

Onwards!

"KAGOME!"

Said girl paused and looked up from the Bakudo incantation she'd been in the process of memorizing to the source of the irritated wail. Ten feet from her with his right hand outstretched in front of him, braced at the wrist with the left, was a young boy of 12 or 13. His mess of long straight brown hair was tied into a thin dragon tail which swept from the base of his neck to the middle of his shoulders. But his face was turned over his shoulder to yell at her, so she could see his long messy bangs starting to cling to his cheeks and forehead as they became dampened with sweat, obscuring slightly the brilliant green eyes, which she knew without a doubt, were glaring at her.

She glanced at the other end of the courtyard which was engulfed with black smoke as a result of his Kido shots. "What's the problem? You're doing fine Nobooru, alot better than I did when I started out with Shakkaho" she said turning back to her scroll. "That's not the problem! Look!" he shouted, breaking his stance and pointing furiously back to the end of the courtyard. She sighed, putting her scroll down beside Kogitsune and, slapping dust from her red hakama, wandered over to the youth. He scowled up at her and she gave him an amused smirk, which only prompted him to growl furiously and jab an arm outwards to point again at the destruction. She sighed dramatically and followed his finger to where the dust and smoke was settling and understood the source of his frustration. Nobooru's shots, though numerous and stable, didn't have the kick behind to get them all the way to the targets against the far wall; They had simply fallen short and blasted a small trench of craters just short of them.

She looked back him with a small exasperated smile, to which he gave an even greater scowl and blew a bang out of his eyes. She focused on the action immediately. "Well?" he pressed, crossing his arms and tilting his head.

She mirrored the action, then let loose at laugh and replied, "Well it would help if you didn't look like a sheep-dog" He opened his mouth to protest but her hands landed on his shoulders and in one smooth motion she twisted him around. She sank her hands into his hair looking for the elusive ends to his hair tie, which immediately caused him to protest loudly to her playing with his hair. "Oh quiet down you!" she laughed, tugging the hair tie free and immediately combing her fingers across his crown to gather the bangs out of his face, "You can't hit something you can't see" Ignoring his grumbling she brought his hair into a bun high on the back of his scalp and immediately realized his hair tie was too thin and short to bind it. With a sigh she raised her hand to her own and tugged her long blue ribbon free. Ignoring her hair cascading down over her back she reached out and swiftly bound the brown locks, tugging a few loose pieces behind his ears, "There".

He turned around with a spectacular scowl, as always, and she gave a queer smile as he grunted. She gave him a poke in the forehead. "OW!" he yelled, swatting at her hand, "Would you cut that out!" "I can't cut it out; it grows right back" she laughed in response, catching his hand as he tried to swat at her. "Alright now. That's enough. C'mon, show me your stance" she continued, stepping back to give him the space. He grumbled, but looked down to his feet and spread them apart, she noted that he bent his knees a little, then spread his arms out straight in front of him, his shoulders visibly straining with how tightly and forward he had set them. Once he seemed to determine himself fit he looked to her expectantly.

She gave an exasperated smile and shook her head, stepping into his space. "This isn't a duel Nobooru, you're way too tense" She pressed her foot against his to guide it inward a little but he resisted and protested, "But Yamagawa sensei says that we need a strong stance when casting any kind of Kido, it's the foundation of casting when you're a beginner". She nodded, hearing his words, and added for his benefit "That is very true, but you're trying to cast Kido, not stop a charging Hollow with just your body. Here, just let me show you"

She pressed her foot against his, "Bring your right foot in a little... put the other about a foot's length back..."

He complied, moving as she'd told him, then relaxing his arms and shoulders when she took his hands apart. "Okay, instead of bracing around your wrist, put your right out to cast and press your left against the back of it. Your arms and shoulders should be comfortable enough that you could hold this position for several minutes okay?"

He nodded and did as she told, looking at her expectantly. "Now you're ready to cast. When you say the words, speak loudly, clearly and not too fast; Speed comes later, now we're just trying to get a feel for it okay?" He looked at her for a moment then nodded, focusing on the middle target on the other side of the courtyard.

He took a deep steadying breath, "Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Inferno and pandemonium, the sea barrier surges, march on to the south!"

The red energy formed swiftly as he spoke and as he finished up with chant with a shout of "Hado 31, Shakkaho!", the ball sped away from his hand, soaring across the courtyard with great enthusiasm until, true to form, it struck the target he'd been aiming for and promptly exploded.

Nobooru stood still, stunned and shocked that it had worked, until a broad grin broke his face and he leapt out of his stance, punching the air with a jovial "IT WORKED!"

Kagome stood to the side laughing as he proceeded to do a small victory dance. "Alright hotshot" she said, dropping her hand onto his head making him pause in place and look eagerly up at her, "You did good, now c'mon" He practically jumped after her as she wandered back towards the seating area where Kogitsune lay contently watching and her scroll lay forgotten.

"What's next?" he asked excitedly, stepping in front of her and walking backwards, eagerly yammering, "C'mon! Tell me! Another Hado? Oh! Can you teach me Sokatsui! How about a Bakudo? Oh you gotta teach me Rikujokoro! That one completely immobilizes the target! C'mon c'mon what's next?"

She paused, smiling bemusedly down at him, and he immediately stopped to stare eagerly at her, hanging on to her next words. A slow grin spread over her face and she said, "Next is lunch"

"Alright lun- Lunch!" he squawked, staring at her in dismay as she walked around him and his horrified expression, "Why lunch?" She sat back down on the bench and unwrapped her small bundle of onigiri that she'd pilfered from the mess hall that morning.

"KAGOME!" he wailed like a wounded animal, "Why lunch! You promised to practice my Kido with me! You've only taught me one new Hado; c'mon I want to learn more!" She burst into peals of laughter at his horrified expression and looked up to him. "Nobooru! I just taught you the incantation for Shakkaho an hour ago and you've been firing ever since; Kido's not like Zanjutsu you know, you can really hurt yourself trying to learn and practice new Kido rapid fire like that. Just sit down and eat, recover your strength and let the information stick. Besides you have afternoon classes in a little while don't you? It wouldn't do for you to go in there half dead because you used up all your strength"

He did not look convinced. She mustered a great sigh and shook her head at him, "Look, how about this? You sit down and eat, and on my next day off if you can hit all the targets with one shot each and not show any strain after, then maybe...I'll teach you one of the weaker advance level Bakudō 'kay?"

Nobooru grinned and clenched his fist with a hissed "Yes!" Then eagerly sat and flopped down beside her and tucked into one of the onigiri. She rolled her eyes with a soft laugh, earning a questioning stare from the younger boy, so she elaborated "You're far too eager; It's bad enough that you've got me practicing with you in the evenings after supper, but it's terrible getting me to be doing anything Kido related on one of the days that Onabara-sensei gave me off"

He tilted his head curiously, "Why'd he do that anyway? Don't you normally have advanced Zanjutsu on day three?" "Mmm" she grunted softly, chewing her onigiri thoughtfully, "He mentioned something about a couple of Soul Reapers from the Thirteen Court Guard Squads wanting to meet me and Takashi this afternoon. He was looking pretty squirrely though so I'm pretty there's a Squad Captain involved-" Nobooru choked on his onigiri and gave her an incredulous look, "What?" she asked, looking more surprised by his reaction than what she'd said, "It's not that unexpected..."

He gave her a look which suggested 'Elaborate?' She smirked, "Okay, I was going to wait to see if it fell through or not before I announced this, so you can't tell 'Tou-san until I'm sure but yesterday sensei came to me and Takashi and told us that he put us up for early graduation" Nobooru's eyes widened dramatically and she quickly cut him off, "Now don't make a fuss about it! Not yet at least, Sensei said not to get our hopes up too high. Even if it's approved they'll almost assuredly only let one through. Early graduation is only approved for a handful of students in a century and while Takashi is my only competition the odds are stacked against both of us"

He gave a huge gulp to get his mouthful down and said, "But you know your Zanpakuto's name and everything, I mean you've almost got your shikai you just gotta work out the kinks in whatever Kogitsune's trying to do right? But Takashi, he's only just started to hear his Zanpakuto's name, that's gotta count for something right?" She smiled a bit sadly at him, "Normally it would mean I'm a shoe-in yeah, but..." she trailed off and stroked Kogitsune's sheath as he brushed against her senses gently.

"What? What's the matter?" he asked, seeing her slight melancholy. She smiled a bit disappointedly and explained, "Sensei pulled me aside after he told us and explained, although he's rooting for me, Takashi will probably get through not me. His Kido scores over all are better, more generalized whereas mine is heavily skewed; My Bakudo is at an advanced level, but my Hado is mediocre at best. And most important... Takashi is from a noble family, one of the lesser Noble families, but a noble family none the less, and they hold a lot of influence in the Thirteen Court Guard Squads. I'm just a Rukon district brat"

He simply sat for a moment and seemed to consider her words then without warning he lunged to his feet and stood in front of her. He scoffed, "No way they'll pick Takashi, you're way stronger than him, and more importantly; He's an asshole" Nobooru nodded sagely at his own words and continued, "I bet they'll have you spar with Takashi to show off your power, and you'll kick his ass like you always do, or he'll say something stupid and rude and they'll definitely pick you" She gave a soft snort and reached out to gently pat Nobooru's head, "I wish I had your boldness Otouto" "Pfft" he scoffed, seemingly ignoring her comment but she could see the flush on his cheeks, "Trust me Onee-chan, you're gonna be a Soul Reaper"

A Soul Reaper.

Her thoughts wandered. It had been three years since she'd died and come to Soul Society. Nearly three years after wishing away the jewel and being left on the modern day side of the well, only three days away from graduation, and she dies by getting hit by a car. Nearly a year in the Warring States Era, she'd been poisoned, cursed, stabbed, bitten by youkai, had part and/or all of her soul removed on multiple occasions, shot with her own arrow, fallen from high places, and kidnapped more times than she could count on both hands. And most importantly: She'd survived it all. And then she came home and died of what amounted to nothing more than a lack of special awareness on her own part.

But of course, in some ways it made sense. Fate had always thrown curveballs at her, and just to compound the randomness of it, there had been no Konso that she could recall; One moment, the screaming of tires just behind her as she walked home from high school, the next, she came to in an outer district of Rukon district, so abrupt and disorienting it was like she had walked through a patch of empty air disguised as a stair step. And to top it off? With the exception of those few disorienting flashes right at her death, she had all her memories, whereas the best she could find from others were scattered fragments, usually from close to just before their death.

The first few months of wandering the outer districts had been a blur of constant peril; between rogue Hollows that wandered freely and the lawless ruffians that more often than not targeted young unsuspecting women like her, she had learned quickly to use her senses to avoid fights, or barring that, frighten an enemy into submission. Her Mikoki, though ineffective against the normal human souls was flashy and intimidating enough to scare away any bully or pimp who set his eye on her, and could purify any Hollow that got too close for comfort; thankfully it seemed to be a lot more willing and able when it came to manipulating as a soul.

It hadn't stayed lonely for long, almost right away the dreams of Kogitsune had started, and within a few months during one truly terrifying ambush by a Hollow so large that her Miko powers had only pissed it off, he came to her.

She didn't have to try to bite back the scream that wanted to escape her as it reached out to grab her, the impact of its swat knocked the breath out of her and sent her tumbling back down over a small ledge, which in addition to knocking her senseless, practically tore open her back on the rocks. She coughed desperately trying to get air through the pain and her spasming diaphragm. Her face, shoulder, and ribs stung sharply, and she knew without a doubt by the hot sensation creeping across the areas around them that the Hollow's claws had broken through her skin.

The creature roared again and survival instincts kicked in. She opened her eyes, ignoring the stinging in her cheek, and looked to where the offensive creature was lumbering down over the incline. It was a large Hollow - probably two stories- bigger than the creatures she'd dealt with before, and with its long face and ogre-like build it reminded her distinctly of Naraku's offspring Goshinki. She moved to sit up and stand but shooting pain screamed up along her chest from its claw marks and the edges of her vision darkened, the pain nearly enough to cause her to black out.

Frustrated she let loose a small slew of swear words that would've made InuYasha proud.

Or shocked.

She heard the creature give an amused laugh at her predicament but it said no more, merely crouched in front of her, watching with narrowed eyes as she used her arms to scramble back a bit. It thoughtfully licked a painful looking burn that her Mikoki had left on its foreleg but its short tail whipped back and forth like that of an angry cat.

Fear was beginning to overtake her. She was pretty sure she wouldn't be able to get her Miko powers up to where they needed to be to pull off another attack that would take care of a Hollow that large, not through the fear and pain she was feeling now. And it was going to pounce, she knew it was going to pounce. How many times, when Buyo was young and spry, had she seen the feline take that position as she got ready to pounce on her unsuspecting toy mouse? Except this was a Hollow, and she was the toy.

And then it brushed her. Not the Hollow, something else; Something so painfully familiar to her it felt like a word on the tip of her tongue, yet so utterly novel she couldn't help but spike her powers in an attempt to fight it off. But this seemed to make whatever was, this entity, stronger, and suddenly it was there; Whispering, calling, begging. Little fragments of words seemed to come from every direction, but one clear one shot through her mind, in a voice like distant thunder; Draw me...

And then the Hollow lunged...

She didn't flinch, she'd give herself the credit for it later. She'd still been dragging herself backwards and in reaching behind her hand had landed on something; Something which she felt instinctively was metal, but wrapped in something soft and smooth, and felt warm and safe and right.

Instinct took over.

She pulled, and ignored the Hollow's scream, ignored the chime that filled her world, ignored the howl of triumph that echoed through her mind, and brought the strange item forward.

Then all of a sudden... silence.

She opened her eyes. When had she closed them?

The Hollow's face was suspended not two feet in front of her, the horrible red glow of its eyes fading, its body starting to disintegrate even as she watched, too shocked to do anything but stare.

Because between its eyes, having gone right through the mask and down into the face and head below, was the flawless gleaming blade of a sword.

She stared in shock, watched as the Hollow disappeared, and the small patch of air in front of her, just above the blade of the sword seemed to shimmer and ripple like the distant road on a hot day. It darkened and expanded, and without warning became solid. Where there was once empty space, perhaps the most peculiar creature she'd ever seen suddenly stepped out of thin air and landed, weightless, on one paw on the blade of sword.

It seemed to be a black fox. Though black wasn't an accurate description, it seemed as though its very essence was shadow, it had no beginning or end, no discernible curvature to show the contours of its face or body in the black mass that was its body. There was simply the bright empty space next to it where she could see the slight curve of the blade behind it, then the not-solidness of its shadow body. But she felt in soul that it was a fox, by the long pointed ears she could see sticking up out of its silhouette, the delicate paw balanced on the blade, and most importantly, the long shadow-shedding tail that flicked with great laziness through the air. Hanging from said tail was a cherry wood and rice paper toro lantern as tall as her hand. From within it an unearthly glow was being emitted, and despite the paper seemed impossibly bright, yet didn't seem to shine on the shadowy being in front of her.

A splash of colour appeared in the shadow; two narrow pupil-less eyes, which gleamed with a blue green light from within. They landed on her, seeming to see into her, finding all and missing nothing. Then, slowly, a thin jagged grin, gleaming with the same inner blue green light, which made the black silhouette of its fangs all the more sinister spread over its maw.

Definitely a fox.

And just when she thought she may've been better off with the Hollow, the jaws cracked open slightly,

"Welllll donnne..."

And just like that she was left in an empty clearing, clutching a sword, and no one, not even a living shadow, around for miles.

Very slowly she looked down at the sword, felt a vibrating purr rumble across her mind, and in her greatest wisdom said to the world at large,

"What. The. Hell."

Then passed out.

And that was pretty much how she materialized her Zanpakuto and first met Kogitsune.

It was also pretty much when she'd met Nobooru;

She gave a moan of pain as she slowly became aware of herself again. Above her was a slightly rotting looking ceiling but there were many still sturdy looking beams holding it up. She found it hard to breathe but was pretty sure it was the layered cloth underneath her arm, which was draped across her middle, suggesting she'd been bandaged up. Something abruptly poked her knee hard and there was a soft grunt from her left.

Immediately her eyes shot open, and she lunged upwards to a sitting position, or at least tried to. She got about halfway up before agony tore through her chest and she was forced to fall back with an exhausted, pained gasp.

"Oh good you're alive" someone said nearby; Male, young, and sarcastic. She opened her eyes, after she got her breathing under control, and turned her head slowly to see in that crouched in the corner by the door was a young boy, ten years old maybe, filthy and bruised, with a tangle of brown hair and brilliant green eyes. He had a sour expression on his face, as if he wasn't sure whether to scowl or look hopeful. At any rate, he didn't seem much of a threat, and she quickly turned back to look around the room. It was clearly a small hut, barely long enough for her to be stretched out as she was, and she wasn't exactly tall, even for a woman. And beside her...

The sword she'd used to kill the hollow. It was long, a lot longer than Tessaiga for sure, it must've been a nodachi, which surprised her because she didn't recall it being very heavy at all, not that she'd really been paying attention. She'd have to draw it to be sure, but the sheer length of the hilt was pretty convincing enough. Being laid out next to her like it was, she got a chance to take in some features that she hadn't noticed before, like the fact that the edges of the silken hilt wrapping were in fact a different colour from the deep blue of the center, sort of a shiny blue-green that gleamed like embers in the half light of the hut. Through a small hole in the pommel of the hilt ran a bright blue broad ribbon that looked oddly familiar and tightly tied two small golden bells, each about the size of her fingertip. And there was a sheath, which definitely hadn't been there before in the clearing with the Hollow.

She reached out to touch it with the back of her finger thoughtfully, and found that despite its full dark colour it didn't feel like wood or metal, and she had to wonder where it had come from. "Yeah, that thing just showed up outta nowhere when ya passed out" the kid drawled from behind her. She paused in her musings and looked back to him, watching as he nodded sagely and puffed up a bit trying to seem big, "Figured it was meant for your sword since, y'know that showed up outta nowhere too. Why'd you let that Hollow beat you up so bad if you hadda sword? Shoulda just drawn it in th'beginin' if you ask me"

She considered the child for a moment; he wasn't actually that young, probably a few years older than she'd first guessed but he was small and thin like an underfed bird. No pants, just a torn and muddied haori. His bravado and rough way of speaking though... she wondered if he was one of the orphan street kids. But he was thin... well ... everyone was thin in the outer districts, but his seemed more deep than others she'd found. She remembered the street ruffian who'd proudly explained Soul Society, the Soul Reapers, and spiritual power to her; "If you have spiritual power, then ya gotta eat!" had been among the first things he'd explained before telling her about the Soul Reapers.

He noticed her stare, and gave a fierce glare, or at least an attempt at a fierce glare, his youth and overall appearance didn't make for a frightening countenance. "Whatchyou lookin' at!" he snapped. "Where am I?" she asked, ignoring his hostility. He calmed slightly at her question, and turned away scratching his nose "At my place, not far from where you killed that Hollow actually. I heard the scream and came to see what was goin' on, got there just in time to see you pull out that fancy sword of yours" She blinked at his comments for a moment, then gave a soft grunt of understanding.

Slowly she braced her arms beneath herself and carefully lifted her back from the ground. It hurt but there was no blazing agony. The thin torn blanket fell away from her chest as she did and she saw that most of her upper chest had been bandaged, along with a small area of her upper right arm, with what appeared to be the bloodied remains of her kimono. It was an amateur job, the one on her chest was too loose, the one on her arm too tight, and her thin, ragged white under layer was still in place, pinned beneath the makeshift bandages. With a hand she tested her injuries, she was sore, and her flesh pulled and stung where the Hollow had clawed her or the rocks scratched her. But other than the flesh wounds and bruising she seemed to be okay, no broken bones, and what could've been a concussion given her impact with the ground was only a minor headache. Miraculously, her hakama had just survived, though it was blood-stained and even more ragged than before.

She looked to the boy, to find staring at her with some trepidation. "Did you do this?" she asked with a soft smile plucking the edge of the bandages. Seeing that she didn't seem to be angry he cautiously returned the gesture and nodded, "Yeah, I didn't have money for gauze so I kinda just used your haori, it was a goner anyway and you had that under layer besides..." he trailed off, glancing at a bloody pile of rags in the corner, probably whatever had been left over when he shredded the thing. Then his eyes jumped back to her, "You thirsty?" he asked, seeming suddenly eager.

"Yes, very, do you have any water?" she replied. He nodded eagerly, "Yeah, just a second!" he jumped to his feet and darted to the doorway fiddling with something, it sounded like a barrel, on the other side. But she heard the splash of liquid, followed by him returning with a long handled cup, which he handed over to her upon sitting down. She drank deeply, it tasted a bit leafy, probably rain water but beggars couldn't be choosers. Polishing it off, she handed it back to him, and leaned over so he could put it by the door. She swept the blanket off of her and carefully pulled herself into a seiza position so she could look at the –her-sword. It was too long to draw in the room, she carefully pulled out the first few inches, and the gleaming steel shined happily back at her. The gleaming grey tsuba she noticed had a pattern; some five harshly angles depressions that were very evenly space. It took some creative angling to get a better look at it but if she had to guess the embossing on the upperside was supposed to be a paw print of some kind.

"So um, Lady, I normally don't offer this y'know seeing as I'm a loner by nature" he started, and she noted that his bravado was back, half concealing his obvious nervousness, "But y'know since you obviously need a little help even with that fancy sword of yours, you can stay for a while, I don't mind" She smiled at the kid's spunk, "Thank you for the offer, but I'm leaving right now actually" "What?" he yelped, and she saw there was fear painted on his face, "Are you crazy? Did you see the size of that Hollow? What if there are others!"

She considered him for a moment, he was a kid, she saw right through it; He'd been just as scared, just as in danger from that thing as she had been, having been within screaming distance of it when it had attacked her. Her wanted her to stay, cause he wanted her to protect him. "There are too many Hollows out here. Too many gangs. Pimps. It's dangerous to stay here any longer" she explained, he looked like he might protest but she cut him off, "I'm going to the inner districts" His teeth snapped shut with an audible snap, so she continued, "There are less Hollows there right? And I have spiritual power, this much proves it for sure if the hunger hadn't already" She gestured to her sword, "It'll be easier to buy food with money, and money will be easier to get in the inner districts. I can find a job that doesn't involve selling my body" He seemed to shrivel a bit, as though his world had shattered.

So she reached out and put her hand on his head. "You can-should- come with me" she said once his eyes met hers. They widened almost impossibly so, and he looked for all the world as though her statement had been a life changing moment, which she thought inwardly it probably was. "You'd let me?" he asked, incredulous, staring up at her in awe as she stood. She nodded. "Of course, why wouldn't I? If you want to come with me I'll do my best to keep you safe. And fed" she added as an afterthought, and he stood so abruptly that she was surprised he hadn't jumped on the spot, still looking as though he couldn't believe what she said. "It's a long way though. I can't promise this is going to be easy. This far out its going to be several days walk just to reach anything resembling civilizat-" "I'll come!" he interrupted, grabbing her hand, clinging to it like a lifeline, and she looked down at him surprised. "I'll come" he repeated, albeit more softly.

She simply stood and stared for a moment, then laughed and reached up with her other hand to push his bangs out of his eyes. He had green eyes...

...He had eyes like Shippo...

" My name is Kagome Higurashi" she said, smiling as his eyes lit up. "I'm Nobooru... Nobooru ..Higurashi...?" he asked hopefully. She gave a soft laugh, remembering the makeshifts families she'd heard and seen, if he wanted her family name... "Higurashi Nobooru... No, I guess I should call you Otouto"

The grin that split his face made even the sun dim for moment.

"SHIT!" Nobooru yelled without warning, lunging backwards away from her. She jerked out of her internal musings, surprised by his raucous yell and the way he was pointing to the ground at her feet, which she promptly reacted by lifting up off the ground and tucking against her chest. "What is it?" she asked, looking around where her feet had been, confused. "I dunno!" he yowled, "A rat?"

She looked at him, bemused. Then stood and crouched so that she could look under the step. She looked into the darkness and then shot her hand forward to grab the small bundle of brown.

"Don't touch it!"

"Calm down... it's not a rat"

"Well what is it?"

"What is what?" they both turned to the doorway of the courtyard to a young man in his late teens standing there. He was a student, with short hair a deep shade of red-brown that resembled aged cherry, and made the stunning colour of his hazel eyes stand out all the more. The Zanpakuto in his right hand had a brilliant golden tsuba and red hilt wrapping. "What did you find?" he asked, walking over to where they were.

"I assure you it's nothing that would interest you Takashi-kun" she said with a queer smile and carefully opening her hands to her brother to show him what it was. Inside was a bundle of ruffled brown feathers, a sparrow, with one wing drooping out at an awkward angle and a rusty stain running up over its flank. It simply laid, exhausted, in her palms its small gasping breaths apparent. "A sparrow?" Nobooru asked leaning in. He blinked seeing its bedraggled appearance and gained a slightly unhappy expression, "Looks like a cat got at it" She nodded, shooting a glare at Takashi's back as he scoffed and wandered back to where he'd been.

"Nobooru" she said authoritatively, and he lifted his gaze to hers, "Give me your hands"

He leapt back away from her but bumped into the stair and fell back in a graceless heap. She laughed, but reached out with one hand and pulled him into a proper sitting position. "C'mon now, I'm serious. You've just started healing kido right?" He looked up, "Yesterday! I just pulled it off on a test dummy, I can't actually heal anything!"

She heard another scoff from the doorway and shot Takashi an acid filled glare. "Trust me, Nobooru. You pick up kido like a fish takes to water. Animals don't have much to them, it doesn't require a particularly powerful or skilled bit of healing" He looked up her thoughtfully, considering her words, then back down at the wounded bird cupped in her hands. Slowly he brought his own up to cup beneath hers and she parted them, letting the sparrow drop into his palms.

He looked down at it for a moment blinking at the decrepit creature then glanced quickly back up at her. She nodded at him encouragingly, and he lowered his head, focusing his reiatsu into his hands, surrounding the bird. She could see the shimmer around his hands, but knew by the lack of soft green light he wasn't focusing.

Opening his eyes, he glared furiously and growled, "Aaahhh! It's not working, here you do it" She shook her head, "No way, c'mon you're not trying. Just... try feeling for the bird's reiatsu, it's weak because it's just an animal but it's still there, it's still a soul. Feel it, recognize it, and then just let your reiatsu do the rest" He scowled up at her, and she brushed her hand across the top of his head, "C'mon, calm down, take a deep breath and try again" He sighed, looking at the bird again, seeming to study it for a moment. He blinked then carefully closed his hands around the bird and took a deep steadying breath, reaching out with his reiatsu to feel the small creature in his hand, as she'd said, then-

"Oh just give up Kagome!" Takashi snapped in a huff from the other side of the courtyard, "He's only just a second year, healing kido in an applied form is way above him. Just put that thing out of its misery and –" Whatever he was going to continue caterwauling about was promptly cut off by his choke of shock at the brilliant emerald reiatsu that haloed her brother's hands. It slowly faded and she smiled broadly to herself as Nobooru opened his hands and stared down at the contents.

The sparrow, having felt its weakness and pain fade, stood on its feet in his palm immediately, gave a few admittedly startled sounding trills, and then promptly took flight in a flurry of brown feathers.

"It worked!" Nobooru cheered, jumping to his feet and grinning broadly as he watched the small bird flutter away over the wall. She bumped her elbow against his arm, gaining his attention, then put her hand on his hand and couldn't help but feel a bit proud of him. "I knew you could" she said matter-of-factly, and promptly tried to muss up his hair. He gave a bark of irritation but whatever he was going to yell was cut off by a few short slow claps coming from the doorway.

She looked over sharply, certain that Takashi would never in a hundred lifetimes applaud her for doing anything, but her eyes landed on a familiar willowy man with short silver hair, the source of the clapping, and his younger companion with long blonde hair which dipped elegantly over his left eye, who had a soft smile on his face.

"Gin! Izuru-kun!" she cried happily, turning to them with a delighted bounce as they strode over to her. "Hey Kagome-chan" the silver haired drawled out, folding his hands into his sleeves. Izuru gave a soft laugh and said, "Kagome-san, you won't be able to refer to us so familiarly once you become a Squad officer you know" She laughed in return, giving a little mock salute with her fore and middle finger, and replied easily, "Then I shall enjoy it while it lasts. Onabara-sensei said some people were coming, but I didn't think you two would be here. I haven't seen you two in a while"

Izuru ducked his head a little guiltily, but Gin just grinned a little more, like the cat that caught the canary before saying, "Well we had to come and congratulate you when we heard they put you up for early graduation, Kagome-chan; You nearly bet my record, y'know" She laughed, "I'm not quite sure it deserves congrats yet, all things considered" but she couldn't help but flush despite this, pleased by the subtle compliment.

"Kagome-san" said a voice authoritatively from the entrance way, and she leaned over to spot her teacher standing there beside Takashi, watching her amusedly. "Sensei" she greeted. "Come, I want you and Takashi-san to introduce yourselves" She glanced amused at Gin and Izuru, then stepped around them and came to over to where Satoshi was at, and upon seeing how many others had come felt surprised and embarrassed she hadn't noticed right away.

In addition to Gin and Izuru, there were three other Captains and another whom, judging by her arm band, was a Lieutenant.

Aizen-taicho, with his calm politely interested expression, she recognized pretty readily, mainly because both of her roommates were major fans of his calligraphy classes and had taken her with them on multiple occasions. She didn't recognize the small female Lieutenant, with black hair done up in a small bun and long bangs framing her face, but the way she stood next to Aizen suggested that she was his. The other two she didn't recognize, but were very... interesting... to say the least.

The one that drew her eyes first was ... oddly dressed. In addition to the usual captain's haori, he wore a brilliantly pink, gaudy looking, flowered kimono. Around his middle was a long and flowing pale blue-green sash which she inwardly thought might've looked nice if not for the ridiculous kimono. Atop his head was a very plain, and slightly worn looking, straw hat though and she noticed he wore no tabi socks with his sandals. His hat was tilted so it obscured part of his face but she caught sight of bright, brown eyes, thick brown hair in a low ponytail, and an unshaven face. She also noted the fact that despite his somewhat ridiculous appearance, he had two Zanpakuto, and was subtly observing the two of them as they stood beside each other.

The other one was much more what one expected to see when it came to a taicho. He wore just the white haori as expected, without any variations. He had brilliant green eyes and an interested expression. But right away she noticed that probably the most interesting feature was that his long untied hair was the purest white, which inwardly she was intrigued by; She had seen a lot of different hair and eye colours here in Soul Society, but not white.

She couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness at the reminder of InuYasha that it brought up. Not for the first time, she found herself missing him like a hole in her heart. But she smothered the thoughts...

They stood close enough together that she couldn't help but think they were close friends, and judging by the sheer presence of their reiryoku, even at such a smothered and relaxed level, told her they were powerful. She wasn't certain but she thought she might know who these two were based on what she'd read about Soul Society and its Captains. If she was right, then they were Ukitake of the thirteenth, and Kyouraku of the eighth, which made them probably the oldest and most powerful Captains in Soul Society after the Head Captain himself.

She turned expectantly to Takashi next to her and gestured for him to begin, which he was all too pleased to do. He stood up straighter, lifting his head, and puffing up proudly, then spoke with that air of superiority that drove her insane, "I am Kumoi Takashi, grandson of Kumoi Gyoukaku". As tempted as she was to mime him she didn't, knowing sensei would probably try to strangle her; he was under enough stress as it was, and she suspected that Takashi's rude introduction was causing him an aneurism . Really though, if Takashi was from such a 'noble' family one would think he'd at least be able to afford some manners.

She looked to them and smiled, bending at the waist in a polite bow, "My name is Higurashi Kagome" She straightened, then hearing the bells just behind her, knew that Nobooru had walked over to her with her zanpakuto, presuming correctly that she'd need it, so she smiled and added, "The squirt behind me is my Otouto, Nobooru" She heard a choke, and knew that he was blushing, furious.

But the Captains didn't seem fazed, although Ukitake gave an encouraging smile and said, "That was an impressive bit of tutelage just now, Higurashi-san" She was pleased by the compliment, surprised that he'd arrived in time to see her help Noboru pull it off, but admitted readily, "I'm not that good really". She put her hand on Nobooru's head, noticing his intensified flush to have so many eyes on him, "It just helps that Nobooru has a knack for Kido; he just gets impatient sometimes. Speaking of..." she glanced back down at him, "You better get going or you'll be late for class. Can't have Yamada-sensei scolding you" He nodded in agreement and brought Kogitsune up for her. She took her Zanpakuto and quickly slipped it over her head so it ran diagonally across her back, feeling Kogitsune vibrate happily in her mind as she tightened the silvery black sash that was attached to either end of the sheath.

Nobooru turned to walk away from them and as he did she reached out a hand, snatching back her ribbon. He spluttered as his bangs fell abruptly down into his eyes, then glared fiercely over his shoulder at her. She waved at him happily, and he grumbled furiously, storming away with a fierce flush on his face as she snickered to herself.

"You shouldn't antagonize him so much, Kagome-san" Izuru said, watching as she put her hair back up into its ponytail. "I'll stop antagonizing him when he stops making it so easy; He needs to learn to control his temper" she explained, pushing her bangs up off her forehead. Onabara looked at her and shook his head gently, "Let us move to the practice grounds shall we?"

It was a short walk, one which she spent mostly by idle chatter with Izuru. He taught an optional class about haiku at the Academy on occasion, which of late had been the only times during which she saw him. Since there hadn't been one in a while, she hadn't seen him in a few weeks, and hadn't seen Gin in a few months. She privately hoped they'd stick around for a while after so she could chat with them.

"Ah here we are", Onabara-sensei sighed, and Kagome stepped in next to Takashi as Izuru wandered over to where Aizen-taichō, and thus his Lieutenant, were standing a little off to the side. Apparently the two fukutaichō knew each other because she waved happily at him and they struck up a brief conversation.

"Now then you two, why don't you demonstrate your skills for the Captains, seeing as they came..."

Whatever he was going to continue saying was ignored by the both of them, as they each simultaneously turned toward the other. Blue clashed with hazel as they stared fiercely at each other.

This was an old fight; She and Takashi had entered in the same year and been almost equals in ability ever since. And while her intention had never been to get involved in Takashi's petty rivalry he'd started over some perceived slight, presumably one that she'd undoubtedly never understand, the man irked her in the worst ways. She was his superior in Zanjutsu, but he was her superior in Kido, so they had -and still were - often put together. Against each other they tended to be about equal; Currently, the score was 94-86 in her favor, but it had changed many times in the year and a half they'd known each other.

Her initial tentativeness upon coming to the academy had once been an aid in her defeat, but over time she'd grown stronger, both emotionally and physically, and recently more and more the score was in her favor.

So here they were, bolts of lightning shooting from their eyes as they once again butted heads. Her glare was calm, steady, and had a coldness to it that would've made even Sesshōmaru proud: His was patronizing, superior, and had a faintly disgusted looking edge to his sneer.

"First blood?" she bit out, offering the terms they usually used when sparring against each other; It was simple enough, first one to shed blood lost.

"Acceptable" he hissed, "Anything goes?" He was referring to a mix of Zanjutsu and Kido, as sometimes they only did one or another.

"Naturally" she smirked, feeling a fox grin split her face – Gin was being a bad influence again-and felt Kogitsune stir for a moment, but almost immediately he did the mental equivalent of a yawn in her mind. He had stopped being interested in their quarrels, or any of her fights for that matter, months ago and recently only showed any interest in what, or who, she was fighting if she was trying to use her shikai, which she was more or less banned from using on Takashi for the time being because it wasn't clear exactly what her shikai entailed or was trying to accomplish.

In a mirror image of each, their hands shot to the hilt of their Zanpakuto. She felt Kogitsune's bells chime at the sudden impact of her hand, and caught the golden glint off Takashi's tsuba as his hand did the same. Before she even got a moment to draw, a familiar sly voice interrupted their tense stand-off.

"Excuse me, Onabara-san" Gin said, polite, and yet with a slightly facetious tone, "Seeing as Kagome-chan and Takashi-kun-" Here she smirked inwardly, knowing that Takashi was undoubtedly pissed over being addressed so familiarly by one of the taichō he hated most of all, but she digressed "- are obviously so very familiar with each other's fighting styles, perhaps they'd each show their capabilities better if, rather than sparring with each other, they each had a friendly spar with one of us Captain's hm? I'm sure it would be a great learning experience for them"

In the silence that followed his suggestion Kagome thought she heard the universe laughing at her...Or maybe it was just Kogitsune.

She, and Takashi too apparently, had enough sense to stare stunned at each for a moment before looking incredulously at Gin, who himself was on the receiving end of more than their two incredulous stares. Onabara-sensei simply stammered uselessly, Kyōraku looked surprised but intrigued, as though considering his words, although Ukitake looked like he might protest it. Izuru looked to Gin with the curious expression of horror that one might have when watching a slow train wreck, and Aizen's fukutaichō, whose name she was going to have to ask for from Izuru afterwards, was simply looking frantically back and forth between her Captain and the other people present as though not sure what to make of the situation.

She glanced to Aizen, but he was mostly obscured from her position by being on the far side of Gin and Kyōraku, so she didn't catch his expression, although she did catch his words. "Hm, Ichimaru-taichō might be making a valid point, Onabara-san. Higurashi-san and Kumoi-san are clearly very familiar with each other; They are more capable of predicting their opponents tactics, and obviously will limit themselves to certain techniques if they know something isn't going to work. It would be a greater demonstration of their skills and their ability to think on their feet, I think, if they were each to have a friendly spar with one of the Captains present yes?"

Scratch what she'd said before; If Gin stuck around after this little stunt she might try to strangle him. She wouldn't have gotten out bed this morning if she'd known the bastard was going to do this to her, and he would be hearing of how annoyed she was with him after this. Worst of all, she was pretty sure even smooth talking Takashi wouldn't be able to worm their way out this, not when two Captains had basically requested in no uncertain terms that they show off a bit.

She pulled her hand away from Kogitsune's hilt and turned towards the assembly with a seemingly polite smile, which belied her desire to punch Gin quite unrestrainedly in the eye the first chance she got, and said lightly "It is just a spar, I wouldn't be opposed to mixing things up a bit sensei"

Onabara snapped out of his stunned stare and glanced between the two Captains, then glanced to her and Takashi as thought unsure. "Well yes I suppose you make a very valid point. Well... shall you and Ichimaru-taichou spar with them?" he asked, looking between the two. Kagome knew that if Gin was going to be sparring with her she was going to make sure to make a pain in the ass out of herself and lock him in a level 60 Bakudo over this little stunt of his. It probably wouldn't work with him being a Captain and all but at least she'd feel better.

"Actually" Kyōraku piped up, "I would like to spar with Takashi-kun" She inwardly laughed at his expense, and watched as Kyōraku-taichō gave a good natured smile to both Aizen and Gin, adding, "So long as neither of you object of course" Aizen returned his expression with a polite smile, "Of course not Kyouraku-taichō. I for one would rather be spectator on this particular occasion"

Gin levelled her a sly grin and said casually, "I guess it's you and me then Kagome-chan"

She couldn't hide the frown, she was just as ineffective at figuring out his expressions as anybody else, but her miko abilities made it easier for her to feel people's emotions, which was in part the reason she was so comfortable around him. She didn't need to look at his grin and try to figure if it was his, 'I'm-not-up-to-anything-but-I want-you-to-think-I-am' grin or the 'I'm-here-to-mess-with-you-until-you-forget-what-you-were-doing' sneer; She'd just reach out with her mind and figured out his emotions for herself instead. It didn't seem to be either at any rate, and she was just about to wonder exactly whether or not sparring with her had been his goal all along when Ukitake spoke up, "Well in that case, I shall spar with Higurashi-san, if neither of you oppose"

She was going to kill Gin when this was over. It wasn't enough that she was going to have to fight a Captain, but now she was going to have to fight probably one of the oldest, strongest in all of Soul Society and make an even bigger fool of herself.

...the laughing was definitely from Kogitsune.

But she twitched at the politely hopeful expression Ukitake-taichou was giving her and knew she wouldn't be able to find it in herself to try and squirm her way out. She had always been too eager to please, but people who looked at her with those courteous and mildly eager expressions she'd never been able to turn away.

It didn't help any that she was a sucker for those long pure white locks; She secretly longed to touch them and feel if they had the silken texture they looked to have or if they were slightly coarse, almost fur-like, like InuYasha's.

So she painted a smile on her face and replied "Of course not Ukitake-taichou, I'd consider it an honour"

She really did consider to be an honour, and couldn't help but feel a ripple of excitement run down her back as he brushed past her so they could stand a little farther away, out of the way of Takashi and Kyouraku's spar. However, getting her ass kicked on her day off hadn't been on her list of plans.

So as her new sparring partner stepped into her blind spot she shot Gin a scathing glare, which to her infuriation he merely responded with a cock of one brow upwards as though curious about her sudden dour mood. She fantasized for a second about shaving it off in his sleep, but it wasn't productive and she had someone waiting on her besides.

The smile she painted on she suspected was tinged with nervousness as she spun on the spot and trailed after Ukitake. Once he determined them to be of sufficient distance away he turned to her and said lightly, "Well shall we begin Higurashi-san?" She gave a polite smile, nodding, and replied, "Of course sir, but um... How did you want to call the end? Takashi-kun and I usually go for first blood" He seemed to think for a moment, putting his chin into the crook of his thumb and forefinger thoughtfully, then suggested, "If that is what you're used to then I see no reason why we shouldn't use that"

She twitched inwardly, not sure how she felt about attacking to wound in a case like this, where she was against what was basically one of her superior's, but reasoned that the man had been around the block a few times and that an Academy student, even a prodigy like her if she was to take Onabara-sensei's words seriously, probably couldn't do enough to draw blood to begin with.

Still, she drew her sword, feeling the sheath disappear in a small burst of shadow as she did and heard the bells on the hilt chiming ominously. Kogitsune did the equivalent of a sleeping fox lifting its ears curiously and cracking an eye; he seemed mildly interested by the concept of a new opponent, but didn't stir any further. She looked to Ukitake who seemed to be debating whether or not to draw on his own, then decided and pulled it from his sheath. His zanpakuto took the form of a rather average looking katana, with a square bronze tsuba, and a dark red hilt wrapping, but the change in the air upon its draw was palpable and she felt a slight vibration in the air like the sensation of distant thunder. She caught the fleeting scent of lightning on waterfalls and wasn't sure if it was because of the man in front of her or another confusing sensory conglomerate of Kogitsune's making.

She hadn't noticed it before, but now, seeing him with his sword in hand and a slightly more serious expression on his face, Ukitake seemed kind of...wasted; There was this thinness to him like someone who had lost quite a bit of weight in a short period of time. Now that she thought about it he and Kyōraku were about the same height but if she had to guess there was probably nearly a fifty pound difference in their weight. She wondered if maybe he'd been sick recently and recalled hearing from some of the late year students that there was a captain in the Thirteen Court Guard Squads who was frequently prone to illness. She wondered inwardly if Ukitake was him but was certain he wouldn't be up and volunteering to spar if he wasn't feeling up to it ... or at least, she hoped not.

She didn't want to make the first strike, and neither apparently did he, so for several long seconds they stared at each, sizing the other up, and she knew she was going to have to make the first move if this was going to get anywhere quickly. She cursed her luck, then shunpo'd toward him. Since everybody and their dog used the shunpo technique to quickly get behind their opponent she avoided using it this way and came at him from a sharp angle on his left side. He was right handed so it forced him to twist across to block her blade as it came down on him.

The screech of metal as they clashed and locked hilts smarted her ears, but it gave her a second to note that his expression looked mildly surprised, and wondered briefly if it was due to her aggressive tactic or the strength of her swing.

Whatever the reason she didn't get a chance to linger on it, because Kogitsune without warning was doing the mental equivalent on standing on her shoulders looking down over her head on what they were doing. It almost made her want to beat him back into the hindground but he seemed beyond excited and was actually laughing out loud in her mind.

It was very distracting but she noticed Ukitake glance surprised down into the katana in his own hands and realized that whatever it was, his zanpakuto was either able to feel Kogitsune's sudden alertness, or it itself was also being strange. She'd read somewhere that zanpakuto spirits could freely communicate with each other when their blades crossed, and wondered if maybe Kogitsune was just excited to meet a spirit that wasn't Takashi's.

But she digressed, Kogitsune's behaviour aside she had a spar to deal with. She took one hand away from the hilt, straining slightly with the sudden weight that fell on her other, and pointed one finger at Ukitake. Distracted by whatever was up with the Zanpakuto he didn't notice right away until she spoke, and when she did, his surprise was evident, "Bakudo 61: Six-Staff Light Prison!" To her greatest irritation he wasn't surprised enough to get caught up in the golden spikes of magic that merged on his location and with shunpo manoeuvred out of the way.

The golden kido collided on itself without a target and fizzled out of existence after a few seconds. Ukitake hadn't moved far and she was preparing to lunge at him again, when he spoke to her and the impressed tone made her stop, "A level 60 kido without an incantation, that is ... quite astonishing" He seemed to be sizing her up a bit more than he had before, and she felt oddly pleased with herself despite the fact that the attack had failed. Bakudo 61 and 62 were the highest she could cast without the incantation, but she'd only recently just started being able to do that- she hadn't even gotten a chance to use them on Takashi in a spar yet- and as a result she couldn't quite get them off as quickly or stealthily as she could some of the lesser numbered bakudō that she could also cast without incantation.

She grinned, feeling the urge to cut loose a bit and Kogitsune growled in delighted agreement. Takashi and she were fairly evenly matched but it wasn't like they ever went all out against each other. For one it would be too destructive to the training field, but additionally the likelihood that one would seriously wound the other meant that Onabara-sensei usually kept them restricted to kido below a certain level and to a small fighting area. But Ukitake was enough above her she was pretty sure she could show off without harming him, though the training field was probably going to need to be fixed.

Behind her, where she was faintly aware of the power emanating off of Kyōraku's blades, she heard Takashi take her bakudō as an indication to pick it up a little and he fired off a very fast sounding Sokatsui without the incantation. Last she'd checked that was the highest hado he could fire without the incantation, but the speed with which he'd casted made her wonder if he wasn't working on the next one already.

It made her want to show off some more.

She blamed Kogitsune; he was a fox after all.

"You have no idea how much I can do" she said, feeling a little proud and playful now that she'd managed to impress him. He smiled a bit apparently pleased by her sudden enthusiasm.

She pounced.

Forgoing a side attack she went head on, a strategy in mind. She moved as if to attack his chest and felt more than saw his blade come up to parry it. Again she removed her hand from her sword, and the faint iridescent sphere in her hand blocked the blade's path with a sharp flare of power. She saw his eyes widen at the fact his blade had been stopped so easily and she brought her now free sword down, aiming to graze his collarbone. But he expertly lifted his off-hand and in a mirror play, did the same technique, halting her sword's down curve, and the force of his superior Seki bounced the blade back with what she was almost certain would've been violent force had she not seen it coming; She pulled back enough at the last second that the force didn't throw her off entirely but sent her stumbling back a few steps from being off balanced with the weight of his sword still fighting her other hand.

Unfortunately with her sword having been repelled the way that it had, it had been forced back and up over her shoulder, which left her front wide open. Not for the first time she cursed the length of her zanpakuto. The nodachi was long, longer than most swords, so she could get within striking distance of her target without being in their striking distance if she played her cards right, but it made it more difficult to wield in a tight area, and more relevant to her current problem, it was harder to snap the long blade back into place to defend herself if it was shunted aside. She wondered what insane deity had designed that she should end up with a nodachi nearly as long as she was tall for a zanpakuto and then went ahead and named it "Little fox"; she was not impressed.

Ukitake slipped in front of her and brought his now free blade down to take a swipe at the inside of her arm. She was forced to shunpo out of the way or get cut, but as she flicked back into existence, indulging in trying to get behind him, he turned expertly fast and there was another scream of metal as their blades collided. The force pushed her back several inches but she held her ground.

Such was the force however she almost didn't see his other hand lift and point a finger at her, aiming for her right shoulder area. Her eyes widened but instinctively she felt the gather of power at the tip as Shō, so she quickly reigned in her reiryoku, tightening and concentrating it and, to her irritation, felt some of her mikoki get sucked into the action. At the moment he released the spell a thin barrier shield , a faint pink colour owing to the mikoki residue, shimmered into existence over her shoulder and down a little over her chest, which with a flash and a loud thump, deflected the weak hadō upwards and away from her.

It caught him off guard enough that she was able to pull off her next stunt, she dropped her weight at the same time she angled her blade, sending his zanpakuto screeching along the edge of hers-she apologized inwardly when she felt Kogitsune flinch a little in pain-until the force of his own pressure sent him leaning forward over her, off balanced. From her semi-crouched position she launched herself back upwards, bringing her blade up at an angle to, hopefully, graze his arm.

But, quick as a greased fox, Ukitake pivoted, and she saw him twist his arm. Her surprise came when he, deliberately, pivoted into her side and caught her sword just barely under his, and then with an ease that surprised her, forced them both almost vertically downward, where they both stabbed into the ground beside her right foot.

She was surprised by the move, and knew without pulling that he wasn't going to let her sword up again very easily. She didn't get a chance to think about what to do next though because she became aware of a sharp, but tell tale stinging on the inside of her right knee and looked down to the source. Her lips twitched upwards when she understood what had happened. When Ukitake had locked his sword against hers and forced them both downwards, the slight curve of Kogitsune's nodachi form had dragged along the inside of her knee ever so slightly... but still more than enough to leave a clean slice about the length of her hand on the knee of her hakama, and a small stinging nick about an inch long below it.

She sighed, and couldn't help a slight chuckle as she did before smiling over her shoulder at Ukitake who stood more or less behind and next to her, "I yield" The man just laughed whole-heartedly and she felt the pressure on her wrist weaken as he shift behind her, then pulled his zanpakuto upwards, causing Kogitsune to slide free a bit as well.

He stepped respectfully out of her personal space and sheathed his weapon, and she mirrored the movement, feeling the sheath rematerialize as she did. Ever the proper one, Kagome sank into a customary bow and spoke, "Thank you for the spar Ukitake-taichō". She straightened in time to see him bow his head respectfully in return, and reply honestly, "It was my pleasure, Higurashi-san. Shall we go join the other spectators?"

She was almost confused but then noticed out of the corner of her eye that Takashi was still fighting Kyōraku-taichō. She found this briefly surprising but then considered that she and Ukitake-taichō's spar had been fairly short. But as she trailed after Ukitake's back towards where the others were standing she realized it may've been more to do with their fighting styles rather than the briefness of her own spar. Takashi was much more on guard -nervous she almost wanted to say- than when she and he normally fought, retreating nervously from Kyōraku's twin blades frequently and trying to supplement his katana with hurried hadō shots. They also weren't using the first blood call they she and he usually used. Rather Takashi seemed to be targeting Kyōraku's hat, and the taichō in turn targeted Takashi's blue sash about his waist. That certainly made it interesting, but Takashi's frequent retreats and Kyōraku's chattiness seemed to be dragging it out.

"Ah, yes, after you taichō" she said happily, and he returned it with a polite smile and strode past her.

She felt Kogitsune stirring restlessly in her soul and felt now that her fight was over that his excitement was about so much more than just a new and powerful opponent. As she trailed after the older man, she reached inwardly and asked "Kogitsune? What is it? What's wrong?" He stilled, in a way that told her he'd heard her question, but he said nothing –he never did- and just settled back down in her mind. She blinked, clearing away the vague image of a shadowy fox, and immediately her eyes settled on Ukitake's back, where the logo for squad thirteen sat. She hadn't thought about it before but now that she had a moment to ponder a bit, she realized something else about the taichō in front of her...

He smelled like thunderstorms...

She quirked her lips, not sure why she'd noticed or why it seemed to make Kogitsune so pleased, then trotted along after him.

Tadaa! Wow, it seems so long -11,000 words/~20pages- and then I sit down and read it and it's like "What? Over already?" Lol

In any case, there's Chapter 1 folks! Got to meet some people, see what's happened to Kagome, how she's gotten here.

Hmmm... she's pretty chummy with Gin eh. Maybe we'll find out why in chapter 2 ^w^

As promised, dictionary below. Some words aren't actually used in this chapter, or at least not in Japanese, but I figured I'd better put them here just in case. Also, sorry about the mysterious recurring "ō" that occasionally gets used. My symbol replace only started working at the end, so there are long o's not shown on words where they're altually supposed to be. I went back and fixed some of them but everytime I go through it again I find new ones. Some of them also got replaced with "ou".

All done! CrowFeathers out :D

Dictionary:

Kido = lit. Dark road ; Translated as "Demon arts" by viz. Broad term for the magic used by Soul Reapers

Hado = "Attack/destructive" kido

Bakudo = "Defense/barrier" kido

Shakkaho = lit. Red Fire Cannon; Commonly used Hado, red ball of energy that can be fired at target

Sokatsui = lit. Blue Firefall; Similar to Shakkaho but bigger, more destructive, and blue

Rikujokoro = lit. Six-Staff Light Prison; Six beams of light pin target from all sides, completely immobilizes target

Zanjutsu = one the four aspects of training received at the academy, lit. Cutting technique

Taicho = Captain, also used as suffix

Fukutaicho = Lieutenant, also used as suffix

Konso = soul burial, the method by which Soul Reapers send souls of the dead to Soul Society

Reiryoku = Spiritual power used by Soul Reapers, Hollows, etc.

Reiatsu = reiryoku that deliberately or accidentally overflows into the air, creating pressure to frighten or incapacitate an opponent

Shunpo = flash steps, method of movement used by those with reiryoku

Mikoki = combination of miko~priestess and ki~energy

-san = overall polite suffix, can be used for anyone

-chan = familiar suffix, used for people with whom the speaker is well-known, especially girls. May also be used for children, animals, or things that want to be made to sound cute.

-kun = familiar suffix, used typically to refer to boys. Also used in professional settings by superiors when referring to subordinate women.

(No Suffix) = extremely familar, or -especially with first name- extremely rude

Otouto = little brother

Otou-san = father, first 'o' is honourable prefix which is sometimes dropped

Kogitsune = combination of ko~little/small and kitsune~fox, can also be taken as baby fox/kit