Turning Back the Clock II - Academy, 100 Years Ago [Bleachitp]

[H. Zee]

{{Please note: This thread is only for me and MageSparrowHawk, unless of course you ask for permission to join in the OOC thread.}}

A very young-looking Shirubaru sits in the dining hall of the Academy on his own, eating the unappetizing stew served up for all the Shinigami-in-training.

Blech, he says, flicking his straw-like hair out of his eyes. It hangs down around his face, long and ragged. He has no stubble, both his eyes are intact, and he does not wear a white plaster over his nose. He actually looks fairly normal. Why do they give us this muck?

At this moment, he feels a looming presence over his shoulder.

Snakeboy not enjoying his lunch, eh?

Shirubaru turns around and glares at the smug-looking trainee behind him. Daikano Shisuke, the resident spoiled rich brat. He was flanked by the two huge Shinigami-in-training who served as his henchmen.

Go away, Daikano, says Shirubaru, turning away and going red.

[MageSparrowhawk]

A similarly younger Shiaki Koujin sat nearby. Not close enough to be immediately associated with the other boy, but still within earshot in the noisy room. He was surrounded but people chatting, and occasionally pitched in something, but mostly listened. There was a conspicuous gap a few feet around him, but that was to be expected. If Koujin was surprised by something, nobody wanted to get hammered into the ground.

So what are you going to do about the snake kid? His name is Shirubaru. And I'm going to do nothing until such time as either lunch is over, or Shisuke does something really asinine.

[H. Zee]

Daikano laughs, and grabs Shirubaru by the shoulder.

Listen here, Snakeboy! he hisses, so quietly that only he and Shirubaru can hear. I'm the son of one of the four Noble Families. I am going places. I have money, power, parents. What do you have? Nothing. You're going nowhere. Don't you dare tell me what to do.

He then backs away, the jocular grin returning to his face. He once more speaks loudly enough for the kids around to hear.

So, Snakeboy! How long is it until you betray us all, then?

I don't understand what you mean, Daikano...

If your snakey little sword is a manifestation of your soul, Snakeboy, you're pretty much guaranteed to be a traitor eventually. Snakes are evil, Snakeboy. Everyone knows that.

[MageSparrowhawk]

Koujin sighed, then stood up. "I'll be right back guys, I'm going to get another bowl." "You're really going to eat that stuff? You're crazier than I thought..." "What can I say? I'm hungry..." He started toward the line again, bowl in hand. As he walks by Shisuke, he releases his hold on his reitsu for a split second. The other boy crashes to the ground, caught unawares by the sudden pressure.

"Oh, sorry man. My bad..." Koujin shrugs, then continues walking toward the lunch line.

[H. Zee]

Shirubaru roars with uncontrollable laughter as Daikano struggles, red-faced and unkempt, to his feet.

How dare you laugh? snarls Daikano. I'll get you later, Snakeboy!

He and his henchmen turn and leave. Shirubaru is still laughing, despite Daikano's ominous comment.

I notice Daikano didn't bother threatening Koujin, he thinks wryly to himself as he eats. He knows that Koujin's more popular than he is, amongst the Academy students anyway. Maybe not amongst the teachers...

[MageSparrowhawk]

Koujin gets some more soup, and then starts heading back, chuckling to himself. Just before he sits down, he stops. Ya know what... "Sorry guys, I'll be right back." Koujin makes his way over to Shirubaru, and sits down a short distance away. "How's it going? I mean, besides the clumsy rich people around here..." He grins, obviously taking credit for knocking Shisuke down.

[H. Zee]

Shirubaru grins.

I appreciated that, Koujin, he says solemnly. He looks back to his soup. Daikano is such a bastard.

There is a short, awkward silence.

Thanks, says Shirubaru awkwardly.

[MageSparrowhawk]

Koujin smiles and eats some soup. After a moment of silence, Koujin looked back up. You know, he's wrong. About basically everything he said. Royalty doesn't necessarily mean you're going anywhere. I mean, he can't even talk to his zanpaktou. And from what I've heard, you're pretty close to shikai. I mean, that isn't very common for an academy student, right?" Koujin takes another bite of stew before continuing. "And that thing about snakes being evil is wrong too. It was just one duschebag snake who ruined it for everyone. Cunning, yes. Dangerous, most certainly. But only one snake was a betrayer, and it's not you." Koujin patted Shirubaru on the shoulder, then started eating again.

[H. Zee]

Shirubaru grins. I don't think Daikano has gone that in depth with it, Koujin. He doesn't tend to think things through quite that much. Certainly not back to the Fall.

He resumes eating stew, then looks back up at Koujin. And yeah, I'm... pretty close, I guess. He sighs. But I think all this talk of my treacherous Zanpaktou is getting to me. Silly as this might sound, I'm having trouble... trusting it.

He suddenly goes red.

Sorry, I've said too much.

[MageSparrowhawk]

Koujin tapped his chin with his spoon. "Eh, I suppose Daikano isn't well red enough to know the original source of his bias..." Taking another bite, he listened again.

But I think all this talk of my treacherous Zanpaktou is getting to me. Silly as this might sound, I'm having trouble... trusting it.

He suddenly goes red.

Sorry, I've said too much.

He frowns. "Doubt isn't something to be ashamed of. It's something to be worked around, or beaten. Say, how about you and me do a little sparing? I've found that it helps me figure out my problems." He smiles and holds out his spoon like a weapon. "So? After classes today?"

[H. Zee]

Okay, says Shirubaru, raising his eyebrows. Uhh... You sure? I'm not exactly the most popular kid around, y'know. Being seen with me could ruin your rep.

[MageSparrowhawk]

Koujin laughed, and waved his comments away with a hand. "If my 'friends' only hang out with me because of my 'rep', then it's fine if they leave." He scraped out the bottom of his bowl, and stuck the spoon in his mouth. After removing all the scraps of taste from it, he removed the utensil, and continued. "How about it then? One on one, use boken to avoid severely hurting one another, and we go until one of us has a revelation or calls to stop. Eh?"

[H. Zee]

I don't much like fighting, admits Shirubaru cautiously. But... that actually sounds kinda fun.

I'll be there. Thanks, man.

[MageSparrowhawk]

Koujin nods and smiles, then returns to sit with his other friends. They badger him with questions, though none of them seem negative toward Shirubaru. He does get a few fist-pounds for squishing Shisuke.

Lunch ends like normal, and the rest of his day goes quietly. Well...not unusually loudly at least. He'll show up out in the courtyard with a pair of boken in the evening. He begins to whistle to himself while he waits.

[H. Zee]

Once lunch is over, Shirubaru sits impatiently through lessons, thinking excitedly ahead to his sparring match. He was surprised by how much he was looking forward to it. Although he usually tries especially hard in class, today he just sits quietly, excitedly anticipating what is to come.

When the time comes, Shirubaru rushes out of the classroom, and heads straight towards the courtyard. He decides to take a shortcut and heads down through a narrow alleyway.

Suddenly, a big figure cuts him off, looming at one end of the alley. Shirubaru turns around. A second figure is looming behind. All ways of escape are cut off, and he is being slowly approached by none other than...

Hello there, Snakeboy.

...Daikano.

His two henchmen advance from either side of Shirubaru as Daikano speaks.

I told you you'd pay for laughing at me today, Snake freak, snarls Daikano. And I'm here to fulfill that promise. Remember that, Snakeboy. When I say something that sounds like a threat, it isn't. It's a promise.

Shirubaru backed away from the stream of vitriol, and bumped into the huge Shinigami-trainee approaching from behind. Look, says Shirubaru desperately. I don't want to fight you or your mates, Daikano. Just leave me alone. I don't know what I've done to deserve this.

Existing was a bad start, says Daikano. Come on lads. Let's teach him who's the noble and who's the filthy peasant lad, shall we?

Daikano moves forward and punches Shirubaru in the face, hard, before backing away and making a severely pained expression, massaging his hand. Ouch, my knuckles! Hell, he has a face like rock! What are you waiting for, you bastards? Kick the crap outta him!

Shirubaru has curled up on the ground. He looks up as the two figures loom over him. His nose is broken from Daikano's punch, and is bleeding badly.

Please... Leave me alone... he says. I'm not going to fight you...

He is cut off by a boot in the teeth. Whimpering, he curls up tighter, absorbing the kicks and blows, until he hears his attackers laugh and joke with each other before walking away.

I need to get these knuckles seen to by the 4th Division, Shirubaru hears as they leave. Think I've broken something. Kid's ugly face was hard as steel, though I shouldn't be surprised he's got a thick skull to make up for his lack of brain...

Weakly, too hurt to walk, Shirubaru begins to drag himself to the courtyard. He isn't a pretty sight.

[MageSparrowhawk]

Koujin is sitting, in the middle of the large open area often referred to by the more violent students as the 'playground'. He hears a rustling off to one side where Shirubaru drags himself out into the field. "Holy...Shirubaru!" He runs over to the other student and crouches down next to him. Rolling him over, Koujin did a quick once-over of Shirubaru, and came to the conclusion that he was heavily roughed up but not in serious condition. "First, you should be ok. Second, tell me who did this so I can beat the crap out of them."

[horngeek]

Daisuke is walking along the corridors, thinking about what he'll put in his next swordsmanship lesson. At this point, his hair is starting to go grey, but is not entirely there yet.

There was that boy who had almost attained his Shikai, Shirubaru. That was a good thing, and Daisuke was quite proud that it was one of his students.

Then he sees Shirubaru and Koujin out the window.

Oh, my.

Disappearing and reappearing besides the two boys, he looks down at them. What happened?

[H. Zee]

Shirubaru slowly and painfully gets to his feet.

It was nothing, sir, he says, swaying slightly. Heh, me and Koujin just had a little sparring match, that's all. Guess I went a bit too easy on him, huh? Oh, what fun times.

He turns and stumbles away. It's likely that someone will want to know why the hell he didn't tattle on Daikano.

[MageSparrowhawk]

Koujin assists Shirubaru to his feet, and then aids him in walking. He shrugs at Daisuke and keeps walking with Shirubaru, directing the injured boy to Koujin's room. He whispers. "You are coming with me, and then you're going to tell me what happened. I don't have a roommate as of now, so you're staying until you're better. Got it?"

[H. Zee]

R-really?

Shirubaru cracks a battered grin. Thanks, Koujin. I... really appreciate all this.

He coughs, and then continues to stagger along by Koujin's side, with Koujin occasionally having to prop him up to keep him from collapsing.

[MageSparrowhawk]

"Yes really...And it's no problem really. I kinda get bored with no roommate anyway." Koujin sighs, and leads Shirubaru to his new temporary lodging.

Laying the beaten-up student down on the spare bed, Koujin attempts a simple healing kido. It's only partly successful, but it'll still repair damage over time. "So. What happened?"

[H. Zee]

Nice Kido, says Shirubaru, impressed. I love Kido. It's so... refined, elegant. But I can't get the hang of it.

And what happened? Daikano happened. He's never beat on me this badly before. I don't know what to do. I refuse to tell the teachers. I don't want to look weak, and they can't touch him anyway, he's a noble.

[MageSparrowhawk]

"Heh, I'm barey keeping this one going as it is...and if you think kido is elegant, you should see me try and do a Shakaho. If I avoid making it blow up in my face, It never makes it past, say, 30 feet or so..." Koujin sighs, and while he's distracted, the healing kido wavers. He quickly brings his focus back around to it, and the green glow stabilizes.

"Shisuke huh? What an ass. And you're probably right. The teachers can't do anything without getting bogged down in bureaucracy. I suppose he'll just have to get hurt in a 'schoolyard tussle'." Koujin grinned, somewhat maliciously. "Our fight will obviously have to wait at least until you get better, and probably after Shisuke decides that it's no longer a good idea to mess with you, or anyone else for that matter." He pauses, looking down at Shirubaru. "H'ok it looks like that's about all the more I can do. You're probably going to be sore tomorrow, but you should feel back to full in a day or so." His smile returns, though it's purely kind. "Go ahead and sleep here tonight. They left this bed here, even though there isn't anyone staying with me..." He moved over to his dresser and began changing into pajamas. He threw an extra outfit of the standard long gray cotton pants and short sleeve t-shirt over to Shirubaru.

[H. Zee]

Shirubaru catches them. Thanks.

So... You think I should start fighting back?

[MageSparrowhawk]

Fighting back? No. I think between the two of us, we should make him so afraid of messing with people that -he- apologizes when someone else bumps into him." Koujin sits down on the bed opposite of Shirubaru. He's smiling still, but there's a glint of anger in his eyes. "People who don't respect others, whoever they are, are automatically below everyone else in my book. They should also be informed of that." He picks up a smooth glass sphere, and rolls it around in his hand.

[H. Zee]

You mean... Take the fight to him?

Shirubaru looks uncertain. I don't much like fighting. I mean, even in self defence, I can't bring myself to hurt somebody.

[MageSparrowhawk]

"What? We're going to kick the crap out of the guy that beat you up! I mean...if you keep taking it, then he'll just keep hurting you. And you'll probably give him the confidence to beat on other people too." Koujin grinned that 'kinda-mean' smile again. "besides, it'll be fun. I've seen how good you are in our zanjutsu classes...and you're always smiling, whether or not you notice it..."

[H. Zee]

Shirubaru can't help but grin.

Well... I do enjoy zanjutsu. I could do it all day.

As a purely intellectual exercise, of course... Even he doesn't sound too convinced by that.

Okay. I'll give it a go. Tomorrow, we hunt down Daikano, and we, uh, fight him? I guess? He quirks his mouth into a smile. Heh, it felt weirdly good to say that. I guess where Daikano's concerned, any moral objections to combat can be safely cast aside. He's so much of an arse beating on him is practically our civic duty.

[MageSparrowhawk]

"Yes, that's exactly right. It is our civic duty as shinigami and as respectable members of the afterlife to beat. the. ****. out of him." Koujin smiled sweetly, which quickly turned into a feral grin. He laughed a bit, until the smile mostly faded away. He was looking off into the distance, as if imagining something. "Well, now that that is decided, lets get some rest. It should be easy enough to call him out tomorrow." He placed the orb back down on his desk then flopped onto his bed. "G'night Shirubaru."

[H. Zee]

Shirubaru climbs into bed. G'night, Koujin, he says, feeling happy for the first time in years and wondering how he suddenly acquired a friend.