Assembly in the Courtyard (Open)

The students surged forward, but Shioshi hung back, not really caring about what was happening. The assembly had promise to possibly be interesting, of course, but he still preferred to come in last to things like this, so he didn't get pressed by those in the middle to get to the front. Finally, when there were only a few people left to enter the Central Courtyard, he went in, where the staff was assembled at the front of the waiting students. He moved to the back of the crowd and dearly hoped that among those that would be a part of the Shinigami that would be appearing, Draylon, a man that humiliated him before all of his classmates, wouldn't make an appearance. He'd vowed that he would one day do to Draylon what he had done to him, although he usually wasn't one for personal vendettas.

"We're pleased to tell you all that this assembly will answer many of your questions on just what a Shinigami does daily. Their duties, their training, and other things you may not know but want to. Please be patient as we await their arrival," spoke one of the teachers. As she finished speaking, the murmurs immediately, but Shioshi, of course, stayed silent. His inner calm was a thing of strength, and wouldn't be broken by an event like this. With a sigh and a shake of his head, he waited for the Shinigami to come, and without the whispers that the other Students just had to speak. No, not Shioshi. His thoughts were completely focused on the center of the Courtyard, where the Shinigami would make their appearance.

The fresh faced academy students awaited patentally for the shinigami speaker to make his appearance. Five minuets went by, the students kept quiet, a few started whispering between eachother, and then another five minutes went by and the speaker still hadn't turned up, at this point a teacher was telling everyone to settle down, assuring them that he wold be here soon, and then after fifteen minutes of waiting, a shinigami pushed through the sea of academy students, and made his way to the centre of the courtyard, all of the staff were giving him a harsh glare, he gave an appologetic expression, and looked at all the academy students as they were staring back, some laughing and some annoyed and some wern't too botherd.

He let out a nervous laugh and said "sorry about being late i had some important buisness to take care of, anyway my name is Bishamon Saitou" this was a lie he was simply sleeping. Bishamon didn't like talking one on one never mind to all these students, but he owed someone a favour so he stuck doing this, he didn't get nervous doing these things its just he found it bothersome. "Well then a shinigami's primary roll is to mantian balance in the world of the living, this could mean a number of different things, such as helping souls of dead people move on, or killing hollow's which target these souls, we also watch over the souls in the other districts around the seireitei, there are a lot of more things we do but those take priority, so any questions?" he hoped that no one would ask, so he could just leave, he then saw nearly every student raise there hand, he gave a fake smile and said "you at the back."

Shioshi's eyes were wide indeed when he recognized the Shinigami that was speaking. It was not angry recognition, though, but one of pleasant surprise. For the Shinigami was none other than Bishamon Saitou, a man that had helped him with a class project just the week before. A grin actually grew across his face. He actually raised his hand with all of the other students to ask a question, and, oddly, he was the first to be called, although Bishamon didn't seem to recognize him at that time. When the easily-annoyed Shinigami told Shioshi to ask his question, he went ahead and spoke immediately, hoping the Shinigami would at least give him a nod of recognition once he heard his voice and, hopefully, remembered him.

"I was just wondering, what Squad are you a part of, and what is it's focus?" he called across the courtyard. He spoke loud enough for the man to hear him, so that would be easier for him to recognize him, or at least to answer his question if he didn't. He waited with his arms crossed, that wry smile still etched upon his features. He was confident that his voice would be recognized, though, so he only waited for that slight nod. Nothing was guaranteed, of course, but he truly did believe that he would be recognized.

Bishamon heard the question being shouted across the sea of student "I was just wondering, what Squad are you a part of, and what is its focus?" he stared at the one asking the question, he thought he recognised him, he stared at the student for a while, quickly he realised that he had been staring at the student for a good minute, he glanced around and saw everyone goving him a percuilliar look, he scratched the back of his head and said "well i have not long been out of the academy so i am not officially in a squad yet, however i have applied for squad 7 and their primary focus is...errmm" he paused, he knew the answer; he had to know otherwise he wouldn't get into the squad "oh yeah, squad 7 maintains peace between Seireitei and Rukongai. They make sure shinigami don’t go causing chaos in Seireitei, and are completely responsible for keeping Rukongai civil… or at least the area closest to Seireitei. When souls have complaints or suggestions or questions and so on, whatever, they send is sent to the 7th Division where it is read or ignored or taken into consideration, and decided upon." he stopped and caught his breath; it was like he just told them an essay.


He looked at the student hoping that, that would have answered his question, he saw the guy getting a bit irritated, possibly from the answer he gave him or was it that he did know the student but simply forgot his name, he gave an awkward smile "err...anything else?"

Shioshi nodded, seeing a small glint of recognition in the Shinigami's eyes. Truth be told, he didn't really care about the question, or its answer. It had simply been an easy way for him to try and get Bishamon to remember him, and he had, somewhat. Now, though, he was determined to just wait until the end of the assembly and then, possibly, he'd slip over to speak to the Shinigami before he left. Or, maybe, he wouldn't. It just depended on his mood at the end, as it always did when he made any decisions. "No, that's all I wanted to know," he called back to Bishamon's return question, letting him know he could go ahead and accept questions from someone else now. His thoughts at first moved to, as they usually did, Draylon, and how he would one day humiliate him, just as he had humiliated Shioshi in front of all of his peers and several of the teachers, the combat instructor among them.

However, his mind inevitably wandered to something else. What would it be like when he finally graduated from the Academy and joined one of the Thirteen Divisions? Who would be a part of the squad? Would he, perhaps, end up in the same squad as Bishamon, the 7th Division? Or possibly the division that Draylon was a part of, whichever it was? Or maybe one of the more unpopular ones, those with almost no members? Thoughts of fighting side by side by Draylon suddenly assaulted him, and he actually let out a sudden snarl, startling the Students nearest to him. Realizing what he'd done, he gave them an apologetic smile, and then looked to his inner calm, a thing he always so excelled at. If that happened, he'd just have to deal with it, and then, one day, he could possibly humiliate the man in front of the rest of whatever squad it was that they might be a part of. That was a ways off, however, and, as the assembly drew closer and closer to the end, he redirected his focus upon Bishamon.

The assembly didn't last too long, well Bishamon's Q&A anyway, there were quite a few questions, some took little thought and some took longer, however he managed to answer them with relative ease. When Bishamon's talk ended so did the assembly, well that wasn't too bad, he thought, now i can get some rest, he then stretched his arms above his head and let out a yawn, he was about to set off to his barracks, but was held up by a few teachers thanking him, telling him he done a good job and so on, Bishamon didn't take well praise; however he was rather pleased with himself, apart from turning up late he did do quite a good job, he gave them a nod, and then headed off.

Pushing through the crowd of students, the students were standing and talking in the most inconvenient places, it was like a maze to get through, he was stepping on a lot of toes and knocking a fair few people off balance, he said the occasional sorry, even though he was getting slightly annoyed. Finally he managed to get passed the crowd of students, but something made him stop just in front of him was the student who asked the first question; the one who he recognised but couldn't put a name to the face, he thought about just taking another route, and avoid socialising - which is what he would normally do, but before he knew it he tapped the student on the shoulder and asked "err sorry about this but do i know you? i am terrible with names." He then waited for an answer.

In his own silence, he didn't even notice Bishamon until he was right there, asking him if he knew him. He jumped, then turned to face the Shinigami. He recovered from his surprise quickly, and then turned his shocked expression into a smile. "Yeah, actually. We met in the library here at the Academy not too long ago. You helped me out with a project for my class. I'm Shioshi Reinuu. Remember?" he asked. He hadn't actually expected Bishamon to approach him, not in the slightest, but now that he had, he was hoping that they could at least have a good conversation, especially since he was nearing the end of his time at the Academy. Although the last time he'd seen the Shinigami hadn't been that long ago, much had changed. Much, indeed. He reached out a hand and, before the Shinigami could say another word, shook his.

"It's alright, you know. The name thing? Yeah. Your speech was good, too, and you did alright with the questions. I could tell you don't like the attention, though," he said to the Shinigami, grinning as he did. Although he usually had reason to, he could easily lighten the mood in conversations, even when there was no need to. "I'll be out of the Academy soon, you know. It's nearing the end of my final year. I'll be heading off to apply for a Squad, and then I'll be an official Shinigami. It'll be a bit odd at first, for sure, adjusting and the such, but hey, everyone else manages, so I will, too, of course," he continued in the light-hearted words. He flashed Bishamon another smile, and then motioned to the stares the Shinigami was getting, confirming what he had said earlier about delivering his message good during the assembly.

He remembered helping an academy student doing a project, but he still couldn't put a face on the student, however he decided to take his word for it, he did recall the way this student talked and talked, he gave him an awkward smile "oh of course that's your name sorry about that" the student shook his hand without really offering, but Bishamon chose to just shake back, he laughed "so i guess it’s a pretty interesting time for you then." He looked around and saw a large tree, where the grass was lush, it was an ideal place to relax and have a chilled out conversation. Judging on what the kids saying and the way he acts, it seems like he could do with a good talk.

Bishamon made his way over the tree and sat down under it, the shade was a cool refreshing escape from the heat of the sun, he then waved to Shioshi to join him. Bishamon wasn’t one to choose to socialise, but if he was relaxed he really didn't mind, also he could relate to what the student was going through, he remembered it well, a very stressful time graduating, sometimes all people need is to relax, however some people found this difficult, and by the looks of Shioshi he needs to relax.

Shioshi smiled, and then moved and sat down in the shade, not up against the tree, but on the grass, cross-legged. He allowed the slight breeze and the nice shade just to feel good as he sat there for a moment, He didn't stay like that, though, at least, not for long. He focused on Bishamon again, ready to talk. "You've been through the graduation before. Is it stressful? I mean, I know it is, but like, is it extremely stressful?" he asked, his voice not too urgent but still allowing his curiosity to shine through. Suddenly, though, he thought of a better question, and quickly spoke again.

"Wait, forget that question. What kind of major missions have you participated in? That's what I really want to know, so I can get a grasp on just how dangerous my job will be," he blurted. He realized how stupid he sounded, randomly crying out just saw that Bishamon didn't answer his first question, and he looked around to be sure that no one was staring. Then he turned and threw a sheepish grin Bishamon's direction, hoping he wouldn't think him odd for that. "Heh, sorry about that. I don't exactly get a chance to have a conversation with a Shinigami that often, and it's got me all excited," he explained, to lessen his embarrassment for a moment. Then, he motioned for Bishamon to speak, and waited in silence for him to do so, the breeze picking up a few strands of his dark blue hair.

Bishamon let out a slight chuckle; not from the question, but rather the way he was stumbling over his question. He needs to think before he speaks, he then let out a yawn and slouched down even further, the questions where a bit of a pain, however it was understandable why he wanted to know "it quite alright i don't mind answering a few questions" he smiled at Shioshi, and took a moment to reflect on some of the dangers he’s encountered "well...hmm, i had to go to Russia to kill a number of hollow's, which shouldn't of been too difficult, but there was a fierce blizzard, which made it a lot more difficult, also there was a shinigami accompanying me called Dray, i don't know if you know him or not, but he suffered a pretty bad blow so he was in danger of dying from blood loss which added to the danger" He looked at Shioshi who was hanging of his every word.

It was refreshing to see an eager shinigami, he smiled once more "im sure i have probably had it easy so far, i bet as soon as you get higher in the ranks, the missions are a lot more deadly, but i guess that’s the risk you take if you’re a shinigami" Bishamon then closed his eyes and awaited to be flooded by more questions, in truth it didn't really bother him.

Shioshi simply stared at the Shinigami before him. He was a friend of Draylon?! The bastard that had humiliated him in front of so many people while barely taking any damage himself?! Shioshi leapt to his feet, glaring down at Bishamon with a sudden fury. "You're friends with Draylon? The man who completely humiliated me in front of my peers, the instructors?!" he yelled down at the Shinigami. He immediately spun and stomped off a few steps, to allow himself to calm somewhat. However, unable to do what he'd moved away for a moment to do, which was, obviously, to cool himself down, figuratively speaking, he wheeled on Bishamon and moved back over to the Shinigami, sitting back down on the grass so that they could continue their conversation, this time peacefully, instead of erupting into furious yells.

"I'm... sorry. Draylon isn't exactly my favorite person in the world. When he was helping to instruct a class out in the Sparring Grounds, I challenged him to a duel, not knowing that he was a temporary instructor. When he told me about that, he I thought that it would be a chance for me to prove myself to those around me. However, he immediately used Kidou, something I'm very sure isn't allowed in a Sparring Match, since that's made to help in your training with the blade. No one stopped him, though, and so I was forced to fight Kidou with Kidou. I managed to get up close to him and use my weapon, of course, but all I did, apparently, was make his wrist hurt a bit because of my continuous attacks. Then, he used a sudden barrage of Kidou to take me down. At the end, I managed a Bakudo and Hado combination, but he used the same Hado from before to cancel out mine, and then simply waited for the Bakudo to end, while I was humiliated before all and fell into unconsciousness..." he explained to the Shinigami.

Shioshi heaved a great sigh, and fell back in the grass, suddenly wishing he was out of the Academy and into the Gotei 13, so he could become strong enough to do to Draylon what he had done to him. Draylon was a thinker, though, and used his mind in battle, as Shioshi had seen in his fight against him out in the Sparring Grounds. He needed to sharpen his mind, too, before he'd be able to take down that Shinigami. Shaking his head, he pulled himself back to a sitting position, and then waited for Bishamon to respond to his outburst and then the explanation to said outburst.

Bishamon was suprised to say the least; it felt like Shioshi was shouting at him rather than Dray. After Shioshi’s rant was over Bishamon scrached the back of his head and looked over to Shioshi “yeah, Dray does use quite a lot of kidou, and to great effect. But he’s not as tough as think, by the sounds of it, he must of been exshuasted, he might be good at using kidou, but he can't use a lot of it in battle, well at least not yet, it sounds like you were unlucky if you would of stayed fighting for a bit longer, you might of got him, he isn't that good when it comes to close combat fighting" he looked over to Shioshi, trying to reassure him that it wasn’t that bad, however it looked like that wasn't going to help that much.

But it was apparent that Shioshi did have a goal; either to become as strong as Dray or to defeat him battle, Bishamon didn't care too much if his goal was to kill him, a goal is a goal, and they do give you a reason to get stronger, so it was probably a good thing.

He lay there for a few seconds in the peace and quiet "so what are you going to do once you graduate? Kill Dray or find a squad or..."

"Well, I'm not gonna be strong enough quite yet to do to Draylon what he did to me, so I'll just be finding myself a Squad. Heh, I may apply for the 7th Division, since you're the only Shinigami that I know and don't hate," he replied to Bishamon's question, after a few moments of consideration. He turned to look the Shinigami in the eyes. "Sounds like a good place for me to start out. Heck, I may just stay there through my entire career as a Shinigami, if I end up having a reason to. Of course, that's if I get accepted. There's always the chance that I won't, which would, of course, suck. The only other Squad I could think of that I may join would be the 2nd Division, and possibly the 1st Division, if I really felt like it for some odd reason," finished the Student. He let his eyes close and his mind to wander.

He would stay quiet for the moment, just enjoying the peace, and let Bishamon enjoy it too, until he thought of something to continue the consideration, or possibly just leave, as now that Shioshi thought of it, he'd been there for quite a while. Of course, Bishamon had probably cleared his schedule for the day, but on the off chance that he hadn't, Shioshi wanted to be sure that the Shinigami would head out if he had to. "Do you have other duties remaining today, Bishamon? Or are you just gonna be wandering around the Seireitei? I just want to make sure you aren't running late for anything important," Shioshi said after about five minutes more of silence. He glanced in the Shinigami's direction so that he'd be focused when Bishamon responded.

Bishamon chose to take what Shioshi said about "you're the only Shinigami that I know and don't hate" however it could of not meant to be interrupted that way, however he wasn't too concerned either way "well squad seven is running low on members, so im pretty sure you would be welcomed in."

The gentle breeze blew as there was a moment of silence, most of the students had gone back to their class or back to their barracks, the peace was a nice change, Bishamon was slowly drifting off, until the silence was broken by a question from Shioshi, he thought about the question, "ha...well i don't think so, well even if i did i would be late for it anyway" he stretched his arms above his head and yawned, and let the silence once again fall upon them, his eyes slowly closed and his mind began to wander again, until he shot up "well, that’s a pain, it appears that i may still have some work to do" he then started to slowly walk off "nice chat, we will have to do this again sometime" and with that he headed off.

Shioshi sat up and grinned as Bishamon ran off suddenly, which he did because he had remembered something he was supposed to be doing. The Student stood up and waved at the Shinigami as he headed for the Main Gate. "See you around, Bishamon!" he cried. Then, with another grin, he turned to examine who all was left out in the Central Courtyard. There was no one else there. With a start, he realized that he was late to class, and so he leapt to his feet and bolted across the Courtyard, heading in the general direction of the Zanjutsu Grounds. This would be the second time this week he was late for a class of some sort! Cursing his luck, he put all he had into running. However, although he was, of course, running late for something once again as a result of his conversation with Bishamon, he wasn't actually that mad about it. No, instead, he actually felt like he'd had a good time. Something he hadn't felt in quite a while.