Well, school started and apparently being a sophomore sucks, so is being a geek in charge of a whole fricking grade. Within a few months I turned the Cadet 1SG ranks in gladly. Yay I'm kouhai again! ^.^ Well enough of my boring life. I hope you enjoy! :D

His eyes wide open, he was now going to get back at Ichigo for a nasty cut on his cheek he received during that day's practice. Besides it being a pain to explain to a frowning Madam Pomfrey how he ended up with such a gash on his face, it also couldn't heal completely and left a thin x-shaped scar. He got up and tip toed slowly to the sleeping faux body. He quickly pulled a marker from his pajama pockets and drew in his breath as he opened it, letting out a small pop. He let himself breathe normally when he saw that Ichigo didn't wake up and lifted the marker high in triumph.

Ichigo's hand twisted around the handle, making the flowing hot water stop abruptly. He was now at the only hour he could enjoy a bath comfortably in his normal body; a really late night one. He got out of the still steaming water and started to dry himself. He winced at the spot on his shoulder where Albus hit him with the flat of the blade during practice. A deep purple bruise was starting to blossom on his tanned skin. He smiled to himself as he put on his bathrobe and cheerfully went up to the common room. When he finally opened the door to the first year's dormitory, the only one awake was Albus, facing his bed with his back to him laughing maniacally.

"What're ya doing?"

He flinched and the laughing turned into a horrible choking sound.

Albus saw how Ichigo looked behind him and a vein started throbbing dangerously on the orange hair's temple.

Next thing he knew, he was lying on the floor with a nasty bump on his head and an undercover Ichigo was going to the washroom to remove the black phallus drawn on his forehead.

Ichigo came back a few minutes later with an annoyed scowl on his face and lay down to sleep.

"AN OPENING!"

Albus hit the suddenly empty mattress with a flying ax kick when he felt a shadow creeping behind him with a demonic aura.

"Bloody He-"

Outside, deep in the darkest entrails of the Forbidden Forest bright yellow eyes opened and a huge tongue came out in the blackness.

"Souls…"

A huge dark shadow jumped up high in the sky and went through the castle wall without making a dent in it. The shadow's eyes closed and it turned transparent against the light, ignoring a skinny tawny cat running in the opposite direction.

"You've got it wrong, Mister Ishiguo. You do not wave around your arm like a windmill. You swish and flick, SWISH AND FLICK!"

Albus and Rose tried to suppress their laughs as Ichigo, now known as David Ishiguo tried once again to cast a hover charm on a feather.

A red-faced and ancient Professor Flitwick sighed out loud and guided his arm movements himself yet again. As soon as Flitwick was in another corner he took a deep breath and moved his wand dramatically over the feather.

"Winguardium Leviosa!"

Nothing happened and he cursed rather violently under his breath. He threw his wand at the table out of impatience scowled at Albus and Rose, who managed the feat rather easily and were now switching feathers in mid-air. Ichigo's eyes suddenly glinted evilly as he lifted his wand in triumph and tentatively whispered at it. Albus saw how one of Zangetsu's eyes appeared on Ichigo's reflection and blinked once before sighing and leaving. Ichigo threw back his sleeves and lifted his arm slightly. Albus saw in dismay how a tremendous amount of spirit pressure was being put into the wand. At first Albus thought that Spiritual pressure = Magic, but countless nights trying to regrow burnt-off eyebrows proved him wrong.

"Uhh, ichi- David?"

Ichigo didn't notice him as he started the wand movement.

"I don't think that's-"

"Winguardium Leviosa!"

Albus flinched but nothing happened as the feather twitched and slowly started lifting itself, it danced higher until it was in front of Ichigo's face. His face went from concentration into a mischievous grin, but it was too soon. The feather started smoking, vibrating rapidly with a small humming noise until it finally exploded, sending burning debris everwhere. Flitwick didn't bother looking up for the noise as he corrected a Ravenclaw's wand movements.

"I believe you have homework, Mr. Ishiguo. Practice."

As the weeks passed, Albus became better and better at wielding his Soul Blade. Every day at nightfall they would sneak out the window and spar. Sometimes they would just slash at each other while other nights Ichigo would fling his sword aside and make him fight using hand to hand combat. Albus could now feel the weightlessness that came with being a soul without a body and could use it nimbly, though it was no match for Ichigo who could disappear in the blink of an eye and knock you out cold from behind before you could even register what happened.

Albus took a deep breath and pushed open the dormitory window. He crouched with the expertise of a cat on the thin windowsill on the balls of his feet and jumped out into the cool night. His sword on his back, the wind blowing through his hair, the abrupt stop of all movement as soon as his feet made contact with the lower towers; he was used to it, just an exhilarating part of his training. He jumped once more and landed a few yards from the outline of his teacher. There Albus stood, waiting for further instructions. Ichigo's shadow turned around, causing the moonlight to fall on his face, revealing a mischievous grin.

"Well, pipsqueak, tonight you will prove to me if you have really been learning or if all you've been fighting for was bullshit."

Albus rubbed the scar on his cheek subconsciously, feeling the cool skin on his face.

"What do you mean?"

Ichigo removed the badge from his sleeve and held it out. There was a red dot blinking rapidly, it was jumping from spot to spot, the beeping becoming faster as the spot came ever closer to their current location. Albus squinted and studied the badge even closer. The Hollow wasn't making noise yet, he couldn't sense it from above or his surroundings.

"Souls!"

A gigantic hand surfaced from the ground and swatted Albus away, sending him flying into the wall of a nearby tower. Albus, used to this kind of punishment thanks to Ichigo, recovered quickly and landed neatly on the head of a gargoyle. He watched in disgust as the rest of the Hollow slithered into view from the floor below. From head to scaly tail it could have easily reached twenty feet. The head and grotesque torso standing upright measured half the total length, giving it a towering shadow down to the floor of the castle. Its eyes were dark green, with bright red slits as pupils. The mask covering the face was like a snake, with sharp arching almond eye holes and blood-stained fangs. A silver beard streaked in red started from under the mask and continued down until the beast's waist, giving the illusion that it was wearing a bright silver robe with flowing sleeves. The long clawed hands clenched on the ground, leaving long jagged marks in the stone before it disappeared into thin air with a loud crack. I

"Show me what you got. If you surprise me, I'm going to teach you the next important step in being a Death God."

Albus' right hand flew up to his left shoulder and unslung his gleaming Claymore, glittering powerfully in the moonlight. Both hands flew to the hilt as both knees flexed, forming the attack stance he had been taught countless nights. His spiritual pressure started growing, forming a slight ring of dust around him in response. The Hollow appeared a few yards away and he lunged. A clang of metal and sparks as the blade collided with its claws; this monster could defend itself with ease. Albus gritted his teeth and danced around it, jumping and aiming behind the head. The scaly tail flew up in response, smashing Albus against the floor.

The snake-like hollow flicked out its tongue in his direction a few times before opening its jaws grotesquely wide with the crunch of dislocating bones and flew at him. The jaw was closed savagely as a kick from Albus sent it flying upwards. Albus jumped, driving his sword deeply inside its chest and showering him in foul-smelling black blood. An unearthly roar shattered the tranquil night as the sword was pulled out and Albus landed gingerly on the balls of his feet, the monster crashing down in front of him. His eyes were gritted in determination as he stared into the red snake slits of the Hollow. He lifted his sword, which started glowing a soft blue as Albus transferred a lot of his energy into it. As he brought it down to silence the monster, its tongue slithering out of its gaping jaws and wrapping itself around his arms, stopping its movements. Albus strained against the bonds stopping the murder blow but to no avail, the tongue was coiling itself tighter and tighter. Albus held in his breath, expecting his arms to snap under such pressure when the monster disappeared yet again. He felt the tongue loosen and uncoil before the monster went invisible yet again.

His eyes scanned his surrounding, looking for any distortion in the air. He tried to feel for any pressure in his surroundings besides Ichigo's; the Hollow's noxious aura was sickening and overwhelming, coming from every direction and yet from none. Albus felt a lashing out from the aura and lifted his sword to defend himself, but instead cried out as five sharp nails slashed at his back and sent him sprawling. He thought he heard a soft sinister chuckle as a second pair of claws slashed at his front, making him fall backwards now instead of forwards. He gingerly stood up, coughing blood and lifting his sword, eyes brightening in dark defiance. He was going to become a worthy Death God, no matter what. He was going to become the best one Spirit Society ever saw, damn it! He couldn't let this set him back.

He once again concentrated on the sickening aura, looking into his surroundings. The Hollow's energy hung everywhere like a dark mist. He felt the same reaching out again from his right and lunged sharply in that direction, but this time a scaly tail blasted against his ribs, leaving him without air. A gigantic fist slammed into his face and he was now flying through the air again, falling onto a rooftop below and keeping still. His eyes still had not lost that luster, and was glowing with that fire as a thought struck him. The Hollow was projecting his aura in the opposite direction to confuse him! He stood up weakly and lifted his sword, wincing at his bleeding wounds.

He ripped a long strip of cloth from his sleeves and wrapped it around his eyes as a blindfold. In this complete darkness, he would be forced to read into his surrounding's spiritual pressure even harder. He dug through the sick musty aura and waited. The killing intent came diagonally from his right. He parried to his left and heard the clang of metal and an indignant hiss.

"Lucky sssssssshot." A dry, cold, high voice whispered into his ears.

Albus without hesitation stabbed at his right, resulting in a howl of pain and spraying him in more dark icy cold blood. His feet started sliding across the floor. In his mind's eye, he could see the Hollow now. It was a dark atmosphere surrounding a bright core. It moved quickly and made a frontal attack. Albus quickly stopped it in its tracks, slashing off its limbs. It jumped back before losing all judgement and lunged at him frantically with its fangs. Albus didn't move even when the jaws crunched down on him. The Hollow opened its mouth again in confusion as the young Death God wasn't inside of it. A cold voice full of determination sounded from behind it.

"Die."

The blade slashed and dismembered the tail, which flailing fell off the roof and disintegrated in ashes in midair. Albus felt a warmth and giddiness leeching from the sword's hilt into his hands. He was suddenly facing a thin man short of stature. He was clothed in robes of gold and the long blond hair failed to cover the tips of his pointed ears. His eyes were like the embers of coal and a dragon's claw was tattooed on half his face. He smiled at Albus, revealing glittering white fangs. Red and blue flames were dancing around them in a ring.

"You have shown your worthiness to wield me, Wizard. I will do as promised and together we shall bring victory on your enemies."

The flames danced closer and were licking at Albus, streaking the two long tails of the blindfold in gold.

"My name is…"

Albus' hand, covered in flame motioned for the dwarf to stop talking.

The Snake Hollow's face stayed frozen in a horrible expression of defeat as the sword's blade came out of the middle of the mask and withdrew. It slumped dead to the floor and became ashes, except for the silver hair. The ashes fell off and showed a wizened old man with snake eyes with a small golden locket around his neck. The old man closed his eyes and muttered a few words in an odd combination of hissing. He blew up into small particles of light and the locket clattered on the floor. Albus lifted his blindfold onto his forehead. His sword now glinted brighter than ever, not stained in blood or in any way. Small heat waves undulated around the blade, distorting the air around it. Albus sheathed it on his back.

"I seem to have always known your name deep inside since the moment you touched my hands, Fafnir."

Yatta! Finally finished writing this damn chapter! :D I really hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I did writing it. And before I go I have a really important message *clears throat*

ლ(ಠ益ಠლ) Y U NO REVIEW!