Bleach Fan Fiction ❯ Sleeping with the Enemy ❯ Training and Comradery ( Chapter 2 )

Chapter 2: Training and Comradery

 

Nina awoke to the annoying sound of her alarm clock along with the irritating light pouring into her room and illuminating her face from the window. She opened her eyes but then squinted against the blinding brightness of the sunlight as she held up her hand to block the sun. Nina grumbled, flopped over onto her side, and reached her hand over to smack the snooze button on the alarm clock. She lay there a moment more before deciding that she ought to drag her ass out of bed. She'd hate to be late on her first day.

After changing into her new uniform, Nina grabbed her zanpakuto and left behind the comfort of her quarters and all the unpacked belongings within. Her zanpakuto, Kiyohime, was not as remarkable as some zanpakuto were rumored to be, but then again, it didn't have to be. Kiyohime in its sealed form was a normal silver bladed katana with a black sheath. Its guard was gold and in the shape of a rectangle, and the hilt was laced with black and red. It was relatively lightweight and feminine, and the spirit within the zanpakuto shared a good relationship with Nina, and a good relationship with your Soul Slayer was preferable, or so Nina was told.

She made her way down the streets of Division Five, but for the life of her, Nina could not remember where the training was taking place today...or the location of the training grounds for that matter. She stood in the middle of the street and scratched her head. Just where did Hinamori say those grounds were?

“Hey, you look lost,” someone's voice said from behind her.

Nina turned to find a bob-haired man approaching her. She smiled at him. “Uhm, yes…heh. It's my first day.”

The man stopped next to her and smiled. Upon a closer look, the young man had healthy looking skin, violet eyes, and colorful feathers attached over one of them. His black bobbed hair was shiny, and physically, he was a rather petite looking man, but cute nonetheless. “What are you looking for?”

“Erm…the division training grounds, actually,” Nina responded.

He turned and pointed into a direction. “You were on the right track. They're that way. My division trains with Division Five sometimes.” He turned back to her and bowed politely. “Ayasegawa Yumichika. I'm the Fifth Seat in Division Eleven.”

“O-oh, um…Seito Nina. Third Seat, Division Five.”

He smiled, impressed. “Oh, a third seat? Did you just graduate the academy? I've never seen you before.”

“Y-yes,” she replied. “Erm, what are you doing here?”

He shrugged. “Delivering some paperwork. I swear I'm the only person that does anything in my division! But your Division was the last, so I was just on my way. But I should congratulate you on your position! You must have some talent!”

“I suppose so,” Nina told him softly.

He smiled again at her. “Well, I really should be going. I'll probably see you around soon, `kay?”

“Uh…o-okay,” Nina said. She waved at him as he ran off leaving her to find her way to the training grounds.

She made it just in time as her new comrades were just gearing up to begin a training session, and Hinamori noticed Nina approaching. “There you are! I knew I should have stopped for you this morning.”

“I apologize for being late, Lieutenant,” Nina said bowing. “I couldn't remember where the training grounds were.”

Momo simply smiled and shooed her onto the field. “Oh, it's okay, Seito-san. You weren't late anyway. Go ahead and pair with someone and get to know everyone while we train.”

Nina nodded and hopped down to meet everyone in her division. She spotted a male several yards away, and she approached him shyly. “Um…do you mind if I pair with you?”

He shook his head and smiled, thinking that this new girl was incredibly hot! “No! Not at all! Train with me! I'm Keitaro.”

She bowed politely and then glanced around for Captain Aizen. “Um…where is Captain Aizen? Doesn't he normally oversee training or am I wrong in that assumption?”

Keitaro shook his head. “He usually does, but he's been busy lately. He might be catching up on paperwork. I'm sure he'll join us later, though.”

Most of the morning was spent in training, and the members of the division found out quickly just how skilled Nina was at handling her weapon. Even Hinamori herself was amazed over it, and soon enough, Aizen approached and watched intently as his third seat made quick work of the members of his division, one of them flying across the field and landing face down in the grass with naught but a mere kendo stick.

Aizen applauded, and Nina looked up, startled. “What a show,” he said. “Truly you do have a good deal of potential. I commend you.”

Nina bowed. “Thank you, Captain.”

She got a slap on the back from Keitaro that made her step forward to keep from losing her balance. “Nice job, Seito-san!”

“Ah, thank you…” she said quietly, regaining her balance.

“You all may be dismissed for the rest of the day,” Aizen pleasantly said. “You've all worked hard. Thank you.”

Nina began to file by with the others, but she was stopped by a gentle hand on her shoulder. “You especially, Seito-san. You'll do splendid things if you keep working at it,” her captain said.

She glanced up at him, not quite making eye contact. “I will do my best, Captain Aizen.”

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The rest of the day was spent in her quarters arranging her things. Nina hadn't brought very much with her to put in her quarters because she did not own much to begin with. That and half her things were still being shipped to her from the academy in District One. Once her living area was arranged, she was ecstatic to open a box and find all her art supplies inside. Immediately, Nina drew out her sketchbook, charcoal, pencils, kneaded erasers, and her smudgers. She found her familiar messenger bag in which she carried her art supplies and drew it out happily, filling her bag with the aforementioned items and throwing in a box of colored pencils for good measure.

Art was a form of expression for Nina and a means by which she familiarized herself with people and territories, and what better way than to utilize an afternoon in early autumn when it was still somewhat warm. She pulled the bag over her small, petite frame and set out to look for subjects to draw. Eventually, Nina settled beneath a tree in the shade that was somewhat out of the way where no one could bother her much, and she began to draw scenes of people as they walked by as well as subjects from her imagination.

Nina leaned her head back on the tree trunk after a while and took a deep breath to draw in the fresh fall air. She got up and put away her things, deciding that perhaps she should get to know her surroundings a little. Nina explored her division first and found the dining hall where she ate her mid day meal. Afterwards, she ventured out of the division and into Seretei, hoping that she wouldn't get lost or in trouble for going places she shouldn't. She didn't talk to many people - some nodded at her and waved - but eventually she came across a large building that was labeled as the library.

She smiled. “Oh, wonderful…now I can check out books! I wonder what they have…”

She ventured inside and was greeted with rows and rows of old books, some of which were first editions. She blinked up at the tall shelves and took out volumes to look at them. Some of the books she found were actually manuscripts from the western culture - Dickens, Longfellow, Bronte - many of her favorite authors. She plucked a book down - a Charles Dickens volume - and took it up to a desk in the middle of the area.

“What do I have to do to sign this out?” she asked.

“Just take it and put it in the drop box when you're done,” the other girl told her. She started to go back to work, but then she looked up. “Oh, you wouldn't happen to know if someone would be available a few days a week to work here, would you?”

“N-no…I don't think so,” Nina admitted. Wait…the library would be the perfect place to draw people, and it wasn't hard work. And it was an easy way for people to approach her so she could make friends. She glanced up at the girl. “Well, actually, I would consider it.”

She smiled. “Oh, that's a relief. It won't be but a few days a week, and all you have to do is keep track of the books and put them away as they come in. Come back if you decide to do it for sure.”

Nina nodded. “I will. Arigatou.”

She started to leave, but a sign caught her attention: Archives Room.

Nina ventured through a doorway that led down a set of dimly lit stairs. She made her way down and looked around. There were many, many shelves filled with very old manuscripts, some on dusty shelves, and Nina's curiosity was piqued. She wondered what was contained in all these volumes. As she rounded a corner, she bumped into a figure carrying some volumes.

Startled, she looked into the face of the man she'd met earlier. “Oh…um…sorry!”

“I thought I sensed someone else down here,” Yumichika told her. “I thought I should investigate.”

“What is this place?” she asked.

“Oh, this is Soul Society's archives room,” he told her. “This is where all the records of Soul Society's history are kept, including academy yearbooks and division records.” He put a volume on the shelf. “Quite fascinating stuff, really.”

“Indeed. It sounds like it.”

He glanced at the book. “What do you have there?”

She looked down at it. “Oh, um, something by Dickens. I rather enjoy reading.”

“Oh, well, you should talk to Lieutenant Hinamori and Lieutenant Ise over in Eighth Division. They have a book club going.”

She smiled softly. “I'll keep that in mind. Thank you.”

“Not a problem.”

“Um, you look busy. I'll let you get back to work. Sorry to disturb you,” Nina told him.

He shook his head. “Oh, it's fine. I was kind of glad for the company, actually.”

Nina bowed. “Then maybe we'll run into one another again. I'll be going now.”

Yumichika smiled and watched her leave. She was definitely someone he wanted to talk with because she was very beautiful, and Yumichika only liked talking with lovely people.

By the time Nina returned to her division, it was around dusk. She adjusted her messenger bag over her shoulder and rounded a corner, not really paying attention to where she was going. She suddenly bumped into the solid form of someone else rounding the very corner going the opposite way. She fell back on her rear, dropping her book.

“Oh, I'm sorry about that…”