Of Birthdays and Siblings

Classes

Toshiro awoke the next morning to a jarring pain in his ribs. He felt himself jolting up slightly and saw that Bambietta was on top of him. He leaned back and tried remembering what was supposed to be going on. The small female pulled on her clothes. "Come on! Let's get you breakfast so you can go to your first day of classes! I'll be taking you."

The small taicho flopped over onto his side and let out a groan. He closed his bright teal eyes and took a deep breath. "She's treating me like a child who is starting the first day of school. This is absolutely embarrassing."

"If you think about how she treated you during dinner last night, you'll know she lives to drain your mental energy. Learn to ignore her comments."

"Yeah right..."

"Come on... get dressed already." Bambietta tugged on his night clothes in an attempt to take them off.

"I can change by myself." Toshiro's eyes narrowed. "She's also a drain on my physical energy due to her constant clingy... messyness."

"Yeah, but..."

"Get out!" The small child snapped the words out before shoving her away. He saw the rather hurt look on her face and let out a deep sigh. "Stay outside of my... our father's old room."

The boy found himself changing his clothing before leaving the room. His sister was waiting out side of the room for him. She then grabbed the right sleeve of his clothing and dragged him through the halls and past the guards to a room similar to the classrooms at the academy. Quite a few students were gathered there and a bunch of the other students looked up when they entered.

The young male that he had met the day before glared at him, not at all pleased with the fact that Toshiro had showed up. Niklaus looked at where Bambietta's hand was latched onto Toshiro's sleeve. The white haired child felt his stomach churn as the eyes bore into him. One of the teachers noted he was there and motioned for him to sit with the younger children and his stomach flipped again.

"Now that is an insult." Toshiro could see the smirk forming on the boy's face and he found himself glancing at the ground. He could hear all of the teachers as they spoke to their groups and thus came to the conclusion that they were broken into groups based on skill and age. The youngest were being taught basic concepts of how spiritual pressure and such worked for the Quincy.

Eventually though he found himself dismissed and Bambietta came and grabbed his arm. He watched as the younger students left. "We're going to the training grounds now."

"Why?" Niklaus spoke up. "He's not learned any of the stuff he needs to use on the training field, so there is no point in him coming until they graduate the first group up and start teaching them the basics that need to be used."

Toshiro could hear a few giggles from some of the females and he looked away, only to have Bambietta tug on his sleeve. "He doesn't know his way around, so he has to stay with me."

"Yeah... but you've graduated already and you don't have to stay." This comment caused Bambietta to temporarily let go of his sleeve and a yelp from a male student could be heard, though it wasn't Niklaus. She then came back and pulled him along to the training field. Unlike the training fields at the academy it happened to have benches to sit on and Bambietta sat down next to him with a smile on her face.

A Quincy around the age of a high school student was directing the lessons. He glanced up to see Toshiro standing there. "I am under the instructions from the teachers to show you the basic techniques."

"What is the point though when he's not going to get to this stuff until later."

"Shut up." Bambietta snapped at the male. The young male demonstrated the techniques and then headed out to replace the targets before coming back.

"You'll be needing this I think." The student teacher stated, holding out a Quincy cross.

Toshiro's eyes went wide before glancing at the ground. "I'm a Shinigami, not a Quincy."

"Why is he getting special treatment?" The comment came from one of the children who was physically around his age.

"Would you like to try your hand?" The teacher asked, which caused a few more whispered protests to be heard. He could feel Bambietta's hands grip his arm tightly and he could see from the side that she wasn't happy.

He carefully stood up and his mind processed the information that he had gotten today as well as the information he had also received about the Quincy who tended to run around with the Substitute Shinigami. "Goodness knows this is as boring as my academy years."

Toshiro walked over and took the small device in his hand, fingering the cold metal in his fingers. He carefully attached it to his wrist and flexed his fingers before raising his hand and repeating exactly what the older teen had done. A mummer between the students occurred, including a few curses. One of the people cursing was Niklous.

The small white haired male went and sat back down while the other students began to practice their techniques. Eventually though they were dismissed for a break and Toshiro found himself tugged to a small recreation room. He suddenly found the shoulder of his clothing tugged on and himself being forced to look Nikolous in the face.

The young man was livid. "Why is it you had to show off? You outdid what even Lady Bambietta did."

Toshiro suddenly found a fist flying at his face and he found himself dodging. He also found himself placing his arms up crossed to block the blows. He was prepared to fight back when a figure with dark hair stepped between them. Bambietta's hand suddenly slapped the other male across the cheek. "Leave my brother alone!"

Inwardly the white haired male flinched. "It hasn't been announced yet. Is she a moron."

"That can't be." The male suddenly looked at Toshiro his face paling. In the mean time,

Bambietta tried to launch herself at the male. "He is my brother!"

Her hand balled up into a fist, only to be grabbed by Toshiro. "Stop it."

"But he..."

Toshiro narrowed his eyes at her. "The first rule of the city is when you come home wash your hands. Second rule is no eating food that was on the ground."

The corner of his sister's mouth suddenly twisted up. "What does this have to do with anything? Those are silly..."

"Rule three is that battles are one-on-one." The boy found his throat tightening. He couldn't shake a foreboding feeling and his mind didn't like the conclusion it was coming to. "This isn't your fight, so back off."

"But I want to help you."

"If you want to help me then show me back to my... the place I've been staying the last few days. I'm starting to get a head ache." His sister let out a deep sigh while he closed his eyes. "I am quite sure that I felt his reiatsu. Why is he here? He's supposed to be dead."

"It was rather brief."