Shin'ō Academy

While following the examiner to the Academy, Shinji has the time to compare the architecture of the Seireitei and that of the Rukongai. He noted that the building were very different from those at the Rukongai, truly the place where nobles reside. They were as different as the night and the day, here the architecture seem more sophisticated and noble, the road were meticulously built and it was pleasant to walk on and walls are present for privacy. there was also a very flagrant similarity both the architecture of the Seireitei and the Rukongai are identical to architecture of feudal Japan Era. It is truly beautiful as one would expect from a capital. After half an hour of traveling by foot and sightseeing, they finally arrived at the entrance of the Shin'ō Academy. The academy has an architecture similar to the other buildings of the Seireitei, while being a imposing sprawling multiple story building with a spacious open courtyard.

They entered the courtyard and they were directed to a corner of the courtyard where, two seniors of the academy, a boy and a girls, were sitting at two desk, separated by a distance of one meter. They were tasked with distributing the academic uniforms for cadets. The uniforms for cadets are similar to the shihakushou, the uniforms of Shinigami, with different Colour schemes. It consists of a shitagi(under shirt) being blue for boys and red for girls, a white kosode(shirt) being stripped along each sleeve and the stripes following the different Colour code for boys and girls, and a hakama (trouser) being blue for boys and red for girls. Then, they were told to report at the gate in two weeks in our uniforms and were sent home.

Shinji spent his two weeks camping under the starry sky of the 1st North district, facing the capricious weather without a tooth on his head and hiding under trees when possible. Then, the long awaited day arrived, he reported to the gate similar to the other Cadet from all the northern districts of the Rukongai and was allowed to enter. As soon as they arrived, they were mixed with the cadets from all over the Rukongai and given a speech about the history of the Academy and its purposes. Then, they were sent to their respective classes. Where their teachers told them about their future prospects and the importance of hard work.

"OK.... Now, let's talk about your curriculum for this year..... You will learn about the four main fighting style of a Shinigami ; namely Hakuda, Hohō, kido and zanjutsu... Firstly, we have hakuda which is a close-combat fighting style in which one is unarmed and can use only one's body... It's divided in four ranks, hakuda practitioners, hakuda combatants, expert hakuda combatants and master hakuda combatants.... The hakuda combatants are the ones that only know the basic about hakuda and can't solely used it to defeat an opponent while the master hakuda combatants can defeat opponents solely by using the body... We will further explore this fighting style during our

practical course."

"Then, we have Hohō which is a defensive combat style that relies on footwork and the fundamental for shunpo which enable Shinigami to move a high speed on a given distance..... Just like hakuda, it is divided in different level depending on the Shinigami ; shunpo practitioners, shunpo experts and shunpo masters... Shunpo practitioners are capable only of high speed movement for short distance while shunpo masters can move at high speed for long distance with only a few steps.... This make it a very important skill for Shinigami as a second later, can be fatal to ourselves and our colleagues.... "

" The Third fighting styles that a Shinigami must know, is Kidō also known as the spirit way... It is a fighting style that is very versatile, that is based Reiryoku (spiritual power) and advanced spells .... Kidō can be divided into Kaidō for healing others, Bakudō( way of binding) for restraining an opponent and to lesser-degree inflict damage upon an opponent and Hadō(way of destruction) for inflicting damages directly to the enemy..... It is also divided into different ranks; Kidō practitioner, Kidō expert and Kidō master.... Kidō practitioner possess basic knowledge about Kidō and can use only low level spell with Incantations, while Kidō master possess vast knowledge about Kidō and can use almost all spells without Incantation..... This is one of the most difficult fighting style to learn... "

" Finally, there is zanjutsu(swordmanship) .... It is the sword fighting and is the main fighting style of most Shinigami.... It is divided into in three level; swordman, expert swordman and master swordman... For this I assume that no further explanation is necessary..... This fighting style also not be tackled until your second year in the academy unlike those from class #1..... But you can at least spend you every waking moment with them and slowly imprint your soul essence in the Asauchi, that has been given to you, today... Now, let me give you your timetable for this semester.... "

"From Monday till Thursday

07:45-08:45~Theory behind Reiryoku and Kidō in classroom#2

09:00-10:30~Applications of Kidō in Kidō training Field

10:30-11:00~Break

11:00-12:30~ Hohō in Hohō training Field

12:30-13:30~Lunch

13:30-15:30~Hakuda in Hakuda training hall

For Friday

07:00-08:00~Law and duties in classroom #2

That's all for today, cadets.... See you tomorrow. "

This marked the beginning of the life of Shinji as a Cadet.