Fanfiction of July, number twenty-one! Wow, just as soon as I started, it's ending! It sure made the month feel fast… Anyway, this story, number twenty-one, is Shinji, because a. he needs love (my friend seems to be one of his few fangirls, calling him "fugly in a sexy way"…) and b. he's on Bleach book twenty-one, so it all makes sense! Yay! Enjoy!

"Dammit, school again? How many times are we forced to go a week?" Shinji whined to himself as he walked to Karakura High. He kicked at a rock in his way. "Seriously, Hiyori looks more like a kid than me, why can't she go?" he asked to nobody in particular.

"Hiyori who? Is that your girlfriend?" a voice asked. Shinji swung around. In front of him was a girl about his age, with short, tousled, brown hair and the same Karakura High uniform as Shinji, except with a skirt.

"You scared me…don't do that again!" Shinji demanded the girl. She coward behind her bag. "Oh…I'm sorry, I…was just curious," she said. Shinji sighed.

"Well…just don't do it again. And no, that little snot Hiyori isn't my girlfriend, in fact, she's probably the farthest from it…" Shinji said, sighing again.

"Oh! I mean, that's too bad. You seem like the kind of guy who would have a girlfriend…" she said, walking next to Shinji.

"Uh…yeah, I would never know, actually. Never had a girlfriend…"

"Really!" the girl said, a little too enthusiastically than she had hoped to sound. "I mean, maybe sometime, you'd like too…" The school bell interrupted her.

"Oh, I'm gonna be late!" Shinji yelled, running towards the school, leaving the unknown girl in a cloud of dust.

…

"Hey, Shinji, what's the rush?" Ichigo asked when Shinji ran into class, panting.

"I was late to school, some girl was talking to me…" Shinji said, still panting as he lowered himself into his seat.

"Alright students, please take out your English books and turn to page twenty…" the teacher said as she stepped up to the board and started to write. Meanwhile, Shinji dug through his bag. Oh, shoot! I coulda swore that I put it in here…where is it? Damn! Shinji swore to himself in his head.

"Shinji-kun? Would you like to share my book with me?" a voice asked. Shinji looked up. The girl from the same morning was sitting next to him, blushing and pushing her English book towards him.

"Oh, sure, thanks. I'm not sure how I lost mine though…"

"Maybe that Hiyori girl you mentioned before?" the girl suggested.

"DAMN HER!" Shinji cursed, standing up from his chair. All eyes turned to him. The girl was giggling. "Shinji? Would you like to take a seat?" the teacher asked. Blushing, Shinji sat down.

"Ikuko, would you like to come to the board and answer a problem for me?" the teacher asked. Ikuko stopped giggling and got up, went to the board, picked up a piece of chalk, and finished the problem. Once she took her seat, she was blushing.

"Hey, don't worry," Shinji consoled, "That was pretty good, actually." The girl smiled, blushing again.

Later, Shinji met Ichigo and the others up on the roof. "Hey, I can see that that girl Ikuko likes you…" Rukia pointed out.

"Huh? Likes me? What do you mean?"

"It means she wants to get inside you pants…" Ichigo said bluntly.

"WHAT!" Shinji shouted. Rukia smacked Ichigo on the back of the head.

"No, but it may mean she's interested in dating you…"

"Whoa, dating? Like, her, me, together, alone, somewhere?"

"Basically, yes."

"Oh…" Shinji thought about this for a moment. He had to admit, she was kind of cute, but then again, most of the girls in the class were. But he didn't really feel like "dating" anybody. Not now, not yet. Besides, when he wasn't in his gigai, she probably couldn't even see him! He'd just have to deal with it when the time came.

…

Shinji walked home from school quietly. All day, the girl, Ikuko, had sit next to him quietly, blushing, but without a word. Maybe he was interested in someone. Someone like her. But the whole "Vizard" thing always came up…

"Hi, Hirako-kun!" Ikuko said, bounding up to him form behind. "I mean, if it's okay for me to call you that…" she said, stating to blush madly. "I was wondering, I know we haven't really been talking for long, but would you, you know, like to get a coffee somewhere?" she asked, blushing again as she looked at the sidewalk as the two started to walk together.

"Well, I'm… kinda busy…" Shinji said, looking away.

"Oh, I understand. I'll see you at school then!" she said, keeping her head down as she ran off.

"…Ikuko!" Shinji yelled after the girl, who was already halfway down the sidewalk. She looked up.

"… How about tonight at six, that new place on Main Street?"

"O-okay!" Ikuko said, yelling down the block at him, her smile stretching almost as wide as Shinji's. Shinji smiled too, waving goodbye as she left.

"…Now to explain it to the guys. Hiyori won't leave me alone for weeks…" Shinji said; frowning and rubbing the back of his head as he made his way back home.

……….

Ikuko means "sustaining child" if you are wondering, courtesy of Baby Names Country, the website

Oh, and Ikuko, I guess you would say she is an OC, I created her just for this story though, but who knows, I like her, and she'll probably pop up again! Yay! :)

Oh, and for those who have been "lucky" enough to catch them, I often leave myself personal notes in my writing. I usually delete them and edit the document, but this has been the second time I've left them up. I'm sorry you have to read my drunken rantings, and, if it happens again (WHICH IT WON'T!!), please, just ignore them! Thank you!