If there was one thing I hated the most about schools, it was the fact that I just didn't belong. It wasn't as if I was one of those loner kids or the future drop out of the school. But I'm sure that being raised by an ex-Gotei 13 captain is pretty close to getting me in that range of a drop out.
"Abarai!" My elbow which was resting on my desk had slipped, forcing my hand that was holding my head up to slip as well and bring my head crashing down onto the wood. The entire room went dead silent as I brought my head up to look at the teacher.
"Hai?" I mumbled, not even bothering to act like I had been paying attention. I wasn't like the other kids. I didn't need to be here but I came because there was nothing else to do. And also because my lovely guardian decided it would be best to act like a normal fifteen year old girl and attend high school.
"You're not paying attention," the teacher said, annoyed. I sighed and sat up, resting my back against the chair and sliding down a little, automatically attracting the attention of about 98% of the boys in our class. I seriously hated the uniforms here at the school. Honestly, they were just too damn small. And it didn't help that I was very self conscious.
Right as the teacher was about to yell, the bell rang for lunch. Grumpily, the teacher released the class to eat before stomping out of the classroom. Everyone glanced at me before grabbing their things and heading outside, going to their usual spots or looking for other friends. I sighed, grabbing my bag right as a shadow loomed over me. I looked up to see the only person that had always been there, a lazy look in his eyes.
"Ready?" I nodded, standing up, the top of my head coming up to his nose. My eyes connected with his and we stood there for a while, the sound from the hallways dying down to silence.
"Something you wanna tell me?" I asked, shifting my weight to one side and crossing my arms.
"I wanted to ask you a question."
"So ask, Ichigo," I said, my crankiness starting to kick in. I hadn't eaten any breakfast since I was in such a rush because I woke up late and with the teacher fiasco, I really just wanted to eat something quick and then take a nap before classes started up again. Yes, I'm very cranky.
Ichigo started scratching the back of his head, losing his cool, lazy composure that he had just a minute ago. I really hoped he wasn't gonna try again. I mean, I love the fact that he was at least trying but I hated having to watch him wallow in embarrassment after he only got half way done. Something always managed to butt in when he would try.
"Well, this Friday, you think…" My wishes to eat and take a nap disappeared as I finally thought that this time, he would get through it.
"Think what?" I asked, my voice lowering, my eyes also turning to look at my shoes. They looked particularly nice today as I felt a blush rise up to my face. I only ever got this way around Ichigo. He was my best friend, that much was obvious. We could argue for hours if we wanted or just sit in silence without it being comfortable. Or at least, that's how it was a couple weeks ago. Before Keigo had to open his huge mouth!
"C'mon Nari. Just one date and I'll never ask again." Keigo whined for the billionth time since I've met him. It was him, Chad, Ichigo, Mizuiro and I, all hanging out at the mall over the weekend. We were in the food court area, just hanging out and eating a few burgers after a tiring day of school. And like every week, Keigo was trying to convince me to go on a date with him. And like always, Keigo was about to get a foot to the face by my "knight". And like always, the entirety of the food court would be staring at us in complete and utter shock.
So as predicted, Ichigo, who was seated next to me, stood up and walked towards Keigo, whose eyes were still glued to me. I watched in pity as Ichigo hit Keigo in the back of the head, sending the poor guy to the floor. And that's when Ichigo's foot made contact with Keigo's face. Mizuiro and I sighed while Chad continued to eat the fries he had gotten.
"Knock it off, Keigo. Do we really have to do this every week?" Ichigo asked, kicking Keigo's side before taking his seat next to me, picking up his drink and taking a gulp.
"Well if you just asked her out already, I wouldn't have to," Keigo said, getting up from the floor and sitting back in his chair. I felt Ichigo go stiff next to me but at the same time, maybe it was me. My eyes had widened, my face started to burn and if I made a guess, I'm pretty sure Ichigo was looking the same.
"Hey, you two look the same." Mizuiro had proven my guess right.
"What? You can't really tell me there's a different reason why you don't let anyone ask her out. It's because you want to," Keigo said, poking at the crumbs that were left of his food.
"Uh, Keigo, maybe you should stop talking," Mizuiro said, chuckling nervously.
"Well it is true. I mean, they're always hanging out together. And Ichigo is always next to her, no matter what. Look at them now. His arm around her shoulders like it isn't obvious he's in love with her. Nari leaning into him like she doesn't want to be any closer. I'm may be an idiot sometimes but I'm definitely not an idiot when it comes to stuff like that."
"Uh, Keigo…" Chad said. I felt my hand inch closer to the cup that Ichigo was holding in mid air. Mizuiro and Chad watched Ichigo and I carefully as Keigo still continued to stare at his crumbs. Finally, my body snapped and grabbed the drink, snapping Ichigo out of his shock, throwing it straight at Keigo's face. He fell backwards, the top of the drink flying off and spilling its contents all over the floor and Keigo.
"Kari…" Ichigo mumbled, his face turned towards me. I stood up abruptly, my eyes staring hard at Keigo who was staring in fear up at me. I grabbed my coat that was hanging off the chair I was sitting on and walked off.
"Kaminari! Where're you going?" Mizuiro called. I didn't look back; just waving my hand before I stepped outside of the mall, throwing my jacket over my body. Ichigo and I had always been teased about our close relationship. But this was the first time that someone had actually called it love. Now that I thought about it, walking back home, Ichigo and I were pretty close. Would you consider that love? Would I consider it love? What would Ichigo consider it?
I stopped on the street, shaking my head to clear away the thoughts. No. It couldn't be love. We were just friends…right?
"…you think that maybe this Friday…you wanna-"
"There you two are!" We both turned our heads to stare at the door where Keigo, Mizuiro and Chad were looking inside, a smirk on Keigo's face, a grin on Mizuiro's and a passive look on Chad.
"Uh…what's up?" Ichigo asked, his voice returning to that cool and collected composure.
"Lunch," Keigo said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Did you guys already eat? Why're you talking in an empty classroom?" Mizuiro asked, stepping into the classroom.
My face started turning a slight red as I turned my face back to the ground. My shoes did look nice today, now that I looked at them well. This was sad. Very sad.
"We were…just…"
"Ichigo and I were discussing what time to meet so we can study for the test tomorrow." I looked up, staring at Mizuiro, Keigo and Chad as Ichigo looked at me. "I kinda fell asleep in class so Ichigo's gonna help me."
"We should go eat lunch now before we use up all our time," Chad mentioned, disappearing from sight. Keigo followed after him, complaining that he would have five less minutes of lunch. Mizuiro just shook his head before following the other two out. Ichigo and I were left again but not for long.
"We should eat lunch," Ichigo mumbled, his head lowered to the ground. I looked up at Ichigo who was starting to walk towards the door, his back towards me. I sighed inaudibly before following after him, wondering what his facial expression looked like. His voice was strong but you could never be too sure. Ichigo could sometimes be one easy book to read and the next moment, he was the most complicated puzzle on the earth.
By the time we got up on the roof, the guys were already eating and chatting about Mizuiro's latest interest. We joined the circle, everything turning back to normal. Ichigo was pulled into the conversation while I sat next to the fence, closing my eyes and attempting to get some sleep. I was actually happy that I hung around guys like Keigo, Mizuiro, Chad and Ichigo. They were decent and respectful, though sometimes they went a little off course. Every time I wanted to catch up on sleep at lunch, they quietly lowered their voices. This time was not an exception.
Five minutes before lunch would be over, the guys woke me up and shoved their leftovers at me: an apple, half a sandwich and half a bottle of orange juice. I quickly ate, still silent and tired. Kisuke was gonna pay for keeping me up late. Instead of ending practice at 7 like he normally did, he decided an extra hour wouldn't hurt. It ended up turning into an extra two hours. On top of that, I needed a nice, long deserved shower and I had homework. It all kept me up until about…midnight? But with the extra practice, I was so dead tired. It didn't help that I forgot to turn my alarm clock on and had Jinta to wake me up thirty minutes after I usually would get up.
"You seem really slow today, Nari. Everything okay?" Mizuiro asked as Keigo and Ichigo had a staring contest.
"Just really tired. My little brother woke me up late today and I was up really late last night," I said, raking my fingers through my red, shoulder length hair.
"Why were you up so late?" Chad asked.
"Homework," I mumbled, lying back against the fence. I wasn't lying; just not telling them the full truth. Chad stared at me a few extra seconds before he nodded. The bell rang once more, signaling the end of lunch.
"Man, I hate school," Keigo said, standing up and stretching out his back. The rest of us sighed/groaned and stood up, heading down to our classroom.
"Hey Kari." I turned to look at Ichigo, who had been lagging behind us. He had his head down to the ground but looked up at me, his hands stuffed in his pockets, his eyes reflecting that lazy look once more. He really did have that bad boy stature that everyone gossiped about.
"What's up, Ichigo?" I could hear Mizuiro murmuring that he needed Keigo and Chad to help him with something before they took off. We stood in silence for a moment before Ichigo stepped closer, his eyes never leaving mine. I could feel my heart start to beat faster, my face burning a bit.
"I…Can I talk to you…after school?" I nodded slowly, smiling a goofy smile. Damn him! Actually, damn Keigo! This never would've happened if he didn't open his big mouth. But then again, I'm kinda glad he did.
"Sure, Ichi." His eyebrows knitted in anger as he glared at me. I giggled before turning around and walking back to class.
"Stop calling me that," he called, following after me. I turned around, looking at him once more. I really shouldn't be attracted to him. It was unheard of for a Soul Reaper to be in love with a human. Then again, it wasn't really heard of. I knew one thing for sure, though. Ichigo had managed to capture my heart and no matter what, I knew I wasn't gonna be able to take it back from him.