Entering the Seireitei

The dad continued, "My name is Ryoma Ukitake, and this is my son Jūshirō Ukitake. You saved my son's life and for that I will remain forever in your debt. To repay that debt, can I ask you a few questions?"

Takashi saw no reason to refuse. "Sure"

"I have two questions. First, do you have some sort of sleeping problem, and if you do, do you have a solution?"

"I do have a sleeping problem, and I am currently searching for a solution"

"Secondly, do you feel hungry?"

"Yes I do"

The dad's face brightened. "If you feel hungry, I have a solution for your sleeping problem. Have you heard of Shinigami?"

Takashi nodded.

"That's good. Shinigami have something called Reiatsu. Reiatsu has many usages, but one of them is being able to 'see' without using their eyes. I hypothesize, though I have no proof, that you could use this to 'see' even when your eyes are closed, allowing you to be 'asleep' yet stay 'awake' at the same time. Since you are hungry, it means you have Reiatsu and the potential to become a Shinigami. My son also wanted to become a Shinigami, and I was planning to send him to Shinigami Academy in the spring. I shall send you with him, if you are willing."

Takashi immediately agreed, as this perfectly aligned with his plans.

The dad continued with "I am no Shinigami, but I have rudimentary knowledge about Reiatsu. We have one month before the entrance exam, so we have no time to waste."

Ryoma led them out to the backyard.

"I am going to release my Reiatsu. The point of this exercise is to try to resist it. Are you ready?"

Jūshirō and Takashi nodded, and then Ryoma released his Reiatsu. They groaned, as they tried to keep themselves upright.

After an hour of training, Takashi suddenly felt sleep taking over, and he collapsed onto the ground.

Ryoma stopped his Reiatsu, and a servant carried Takashi out.

One week later, Jūshirō awoke his own Reiatsu and managed to resist Ryoma's Reiatsu.

"Congratulations, Jūshirō. I have nothing more to teach you."

Jūshirō smiled, and then moved off to the side to rest.

A few days later, Takashi also awoke his Reiatsu.

"Now I have nothing more to teach you. Since we still have two weeks left, and you two are still children, you should play like children. But Jūshirō, no strenuous activity, understand?"

"Yes, dad." Jūshirō grabbed Takashi's hand and started running, "Let's play, Takashi."

Takashi was being pulled by Jūshirō around the backyard, when Jūshirō started coughing. Takashi saw flecks of blood flying out, and immediately stopped.

"Jūshirō, I don't want to run. I'm feeling tired." And as to emphasize that point, Takashi yawned. "Why don't we play another game that doesn't have running?"

Jūshirō had never played any games that didn't involve running, so his interest was piqued. He tilted his head as a gesture for Takashi to continue.

"Can you help me find 180 black pebbles and bring them to me?"

Jūshirō nodded, and he ran off, searching for the pebbles while wondering what they were for.

By the time he got back, there was a board split into 19 by 19, with white pebbles strewn by the side.

Jūshirō was very curious, as this was like no game he had ever seen before. Takashi explained the rules, and they started playing.

Takashi absolutely destroyed Jūshirō for the first game, but Jūshirō was fascinated by this game.

"What is this game called, Takashi?"

"This game is called Go."

"Go . . . " Jūshirō rolled this unfamiliar word around his mouth. "Let's play again."

They played a few more games, with Jūshirō growing at a visible rate. Games went from five minutes long, to twenty minutes, to hours.

On the fifth game, as Jūshirō was thinking over a particularly complicated situation, he noticed that Takashi had fallen asleep. He had a servant bring Takashi to his room, and his dad came up to him.

"Well, Jūshirō, what do you think of him?"

"He's my best friend now. He taught me a new game called Go."

"Oh, is that so? That's good." Ryoma laughed and ruffled Jūshirō's hair. He was glad that Jūshirō had found a friend. Jūshirō had always had a hard time making friends, as his constitution wouldn't let him play with the other children. Thankfully, Takashi didn't like activities with lots of exercise, which made him a perfect playmate for Jūshirō. He also had an amiable personality, and was talented enough to become a Shinigami alongside Jūshirō. Ryoma was thankful that Takashi had saved Jūshirō, but if he would end up hurting Jūshirō, Ryoma wouldn't hesitate to remove him from Jūshirō.

The next two weeks passed by in a flash, with the two children playing Go whenever Takashi was awake. When it was time to leave, Jūshirō spent a lot of time saying goodbye to his family, as he wasn't sure when he was going to meet them again. The three of them, Jūshirō, Takashi, and Ryoma set off in a carriage. They traveled for two days until they arrived at the first district of East Rukongai, Aozora. Ryoma quickly found an inn for them to stay the night and a place to leave the carriage.

The next day, they walked over to Shōryūmon, the East Gate of the Seireitei, where there were a few Shinigami guarding the entrance. There was a long line of people waiting outside.

'Wow. Even so long ago, the gatekeeper now should be the same as the one that Ichigo meets. His name was . . . Kaiwan, wasn't it?'

It took them one hour to reach the front of the line. There were several Shinigami standing there who would bring the applicants away for testing. A Shinigami with bushy black eyebrows, and a hairy beard beckoned to them. They walked over and followed him into a secluded area.

"Why are you trying to enter the Seireitei?"

"We wish to apply for Shinigami Academy"

The Shinigami glanced at Jūshirō and Takashi.

"Are these two children the applicants?"

Ryoma nodded, and the Shinigami bent down and inspected the two. He seemed to be nodding and smiling while doing so, which Takashi took as a good sign. The Shinigami was happy with what he saw. Now it was time for the last test.

The Shinigami pointed at Takashi. "Release your Reiatsu"

An explosion of Reiatsu swept the nearby area. The Shinigami was incredibly surprised by how much there was, but he tried to keep his face neutral.

"You pass. Your name please?"

"My name is Takashi Ueno."

"Here is your identification. Make sure it is clearly visible." The Shinigami handed Takashi a wooden token. He then pointed to Jūshirō.

"Release your Reiatsu."

Another explosion of Reiatsu swept the area, but it was even greater than before. This time, the Shinigami could not keep the shock off his face.

'This much Reiatsu at such a young age!!! These children are very talented. They would definitely become high-ranked seated officers, maybe lieutenants. It's even possible that they could become captains?!'

At that, the Shinigami shook his head to dispel those thoughts from his head. He was just an unseated officer, and didn't dare to ponder over the matters of those at the very top. After all, he wanted to stay alive, and involving yourself with captains was not the safest idea. He decided to leave his name to form a connection to these prodigies.

"You pass as well. My name is Yoshino Yoshiyuki."

"My name is Jūshirō Ukitake"

Yoshino was surprised they weren't siblings, with how similar their looks were.

"Follow me" He led them back to the Shōryūmon and into the Seireitei.

As they walked back, Takashi and Jūshirō felt gazes of jealousy and envy burning into their backsides. From what Takashi had seen, they were the first people to enter the Seireitei. It seemed that it was a lot harder to become a Shinigami than he thought. Yoshino nodded at Kaiwan, and he started pulling up the gate. Yoshino stopped Ryoma.

"I'm sorry, but only applicants can enter the Seireitei."

Ryoma nodded and stood back. He waved to the two children to say goodbye. Jūshirō ran back and hugged him, while Takashi just waved back. Kaiwan let the gate fall down again, the loud sound symbolizing the end of Takashi's first part of his new life. Takashi turned around and stared over the Seireitei. It was now a new phase of his life.