Karakura Days and Nights
by Ulquiorra9000
A/N: Hey, everyone. It's been awhile since I did fiction like this, but I'll do my best. This will be what I call a "depowered" fic, where characters don't have their supernatural powers. Just hijinks.
Chapter 1: Moving Vans
Ichigo was vaguely aware that Mr. Kurostuchi was still lecturing in biology class that afternoon, but the 16-year-old had long since fixated himself on his secret hangman game with Chad. Warm September sunlight poured through the windows and the blossom trees swayed outside, but that didn't make the class feel any less stuffy. The squeak of Mr. Kurostuchi's chalk on the board didn't help, either.
"Hmmmmmm..." Ichigo frowned as Chad passed the paper back from the left. He tapped his mechanical pencil on his chin as he studied the English letters. Chad had insisted on the "challenge" of a game in another language, and once Chad had promised him five bucks, Ichigo was game.
Already, the hangman stick figure just had his legs left to go; if Ichigo didn't crack this soon, he was toast. He felt himself sweat a bit into his uniform.
On Ichigo's right side, Uryu dutifully scribbled down everything Mr. Kurostuchi said, and he kept shooting Ichigo stern looks through those geeky glasses of his.
"Semester's just started!" Uryu hissed. "This is some way to start off our junior year, Ichigo. What if there's a pop quiz?"
Ichigo grinned. "Yeah, and what if there isn't?"
"You don't know that."
"You don't know if there will be one. It's a pop quiz. I'll roll the dice." Ichigo gave the thumbs-up.
Uryu sighed through his nose. "One day, you'll come crawling to me or Rukia for tutoring. I'll be sorely tempted to say no."
"You're a real pal." Ichigo clapped Uryu's shoulder and turned back to his game, ignoring Uryu's indignant sputtering. So, he had "TH _ S C _ _ SS S _ C _ S". What the hell was that supposed to be? Ichigo had already tried R, F, O, M, and N. There were still so many options!
"... and the next phylum is known as mollusca," Mr. Kurostuchi droned on, writing it on the board with that horrible squeak of chalk. He underlined the characters. "A highly diverse group, including snails, cuttlefish, and octopi..."
Ichigo leaned on his elbow. "You gettin' any of that, Chad?"
Chad hastily wrote something down. "Sort... of," he muttered in his deep voice. "I was never good at biology, honestly. I'm more looking forward to algebra, actually."
"And I'm more looking forward to home," Ichigo commented. Enough was enough. He took a stab and wrote "B".
Chad took the paper back, grinned, and crossed it out. "Sorry, Ichigo. Not even close."
"Oh, man." Ichigo tried to focus on Mr. Kurotsuchi's lecture for any chance of inspiration, but hearing the blue-suited man going on about snail digestive tracts made his brain hurt. He peeked across the rows at Rukia listening as though it were a sermon, or at Chizuru, who sat perfectly still, facing the chalkboard.
Then he realized that Chizuru had fallen asleep sitting upright. A righteous grin crossed Ichigo's face. I'd like to sleep, too. But...
Chad passed the paper back. Under his mop-like bangs, his eye grinted with challenge. "Last one, Ichigo," he said.
"Like I don't know." Ichigo hunched over the paper. It was obviously a phrase... maybe a vowel? His pencil shook a bit in his hand as he lowered it to the paper. What vowel...
It hit him.
Ichigo wrote in U.
Chad smiled and wrote it in, then passed the paper again. "Good. Keep it up."
Quick as an arrow, Ichigo put in K.
It worked.
Now Ichigo faced "TH _ S C _ _ SS SUCKS." Suddenly it was so clear! I, then L and A.
Chad gave the thumbs-up.
"Hell, yeah." Ichigo thumped his open palm on his desk without thinking.
Mr. Kurotsuchi froze at the sound, halfway through writing something on the board. His yellow eyes narrowed. "Mr. Kurosaki?"
Ichigo tried to cram the paper into his pocket. "It's nothing, sir. Good lecture, though."
All the other students' eyes tracked Mr. Kurotsuchi as he stalked through the aisles and towered over Ichigo. He snatched the half-hidden paper from Ichigo's pocket and held it up, mouthing the message on it.
Chad tried to shrink back despite his huge frame.
Uryu sighed again and put his hands over his face.
Mr. Kurotsuchi's pale face went red as he waved the paper for all to see. "So, Mr. Kurosaki thinks that 'this class sucks'. Do you all see this?"
The students nodded automatically.
"H-hey, it was Chad who came up with it!" Ichigo blurted.
Chad started. "Well..."
"Quiet!" Mr. Kurotsuchi whacked Ichigo square on the head, his face still livid as he squeezed the paper in his other hand. His stylish, blue-dyed hair was suddenly unkempt. "The paper was on your desk, Kurosaki. Detention, tomorrow after school. My office. Don't be late, or it'll be two."
Chizuru, who was wide awake by now, stifled a giggle behind her hand as she watched Mr. Kurotsuchi stomp back to the chalkboard.
"I have decided," the teacher went on, "that this Friday, there will be a quiz. Better study hard."
Uryu shot Ichigo a what-did-I-tell-you look. Ichigo put on his best tough-guy scowl, but Uryu clearly didn't buy it.
"Chad," Ichigo muttered, slumping over his desk.
"Yeah?" Chad asked meekly.
"Make it ten bucks."
"You got it."
*o*o*o*o*
"Heeeeeey, there he is!"
Just as the final bell rang and Ichigo was setting off across the school's front grounds, one of the senior students caught up to him. At once, he locked Ichigo's head around his arm, giving him a light noogie with his free hand.
"Dammit, Grimmjow!" Ichigo tore himself free and ran a hand through his hair and stinging scalp. "You're still doing that crap? I thought you got tired of it last year."
"It was time for a comeback," Grimmjow said with a shrug. His brawny frame completely filled his uniform, his tie half-loose around his neck. His shirt was already untucked, but his gelled, sky-blue hair was impeccable. "Anyway... have a good day, Ichigo? Bet you didn't."
"You read my mind, pal." Ichigo slumped his bag over his shoulder and kept walking, and Grimmjow jogged to catch up. "Already got a detention under my belt."
"You're kiddin' me." Grimmjow's sharp green eyes went wide. "What you do? Skip out on something?"
Ichigo shook his head. "It was the dumbest thing. Got caught playing hangman with Chad in biology. Mr. Kurotsuchi threw a fit!"
Grimmjow tossed his head back and laughed. "Oh, man. You guys have balls, screwing around in his class." He clapped Ichigo heartily on the back. "You're a hero, man. Everyone hates him. Good to know you stood up to him."
Ichigo rolled his eyes as he took a right on the route to the Kurosaki family clinic. "I didn't mean to get caught or make a scene. You think I would?"
"I flatter you to believe so."
Ichigo hesitated, then returned Grimmjow's wild grin. "I guess it was worth it to see the look on his face."
"Chad get detention, too?"
"No. Lucky him." A light wind picked up, and a few blossom petals drifted along. A taxi rumbled past.
"What? Really?" Grimmjow punched his open palm. "If I were you, I would -"
"I'm not you, thank God," Ichigo cut in with a groan. "I wonder what he'll make me do?"
"Wash his car?"
Ichigo burst out laughing. "He probably drives a piece of crap. Washing it ain't gonna make it look better."
Grimmjow chuckled as the Kurosaki family clinic drew near. "If I were you," he said again, "I'd go into that detention with a -"
Ichigo swatted Grimmjow with his bag. "Shut up already!"
"Sorry." Grimmjow pointed. "Oh hey, look."
"Huh?" Ichigo stopped and stared at all the moving vans parked in front of the house next to his. The garage and front door were both open, and men carried boxes of goods and furniture inside. As Ichigo watched, two men carried an expensive-looking armoire in through the front door with some difficulty.
Then there were the new neighbors.
An olive-skinned man with black hair stood watch, arms folded, eyes neutral behind his glasses. He wore a simple dark blue vest over his dress shirt, and gray slack and brown shoes. Pretty well off, in Ichigo's eyes.
Then Ichigo noticed the blonde girl about his age standing nearby, with the same skin tone as the man (probably her father). She wore a simple white blouse, knee-length black skirt, and tennis shoes with ankle-high socks. Her hair was done in two thin ponytails, and she had messy bangs around her face.
As one of the moving men passed her with an armload of cardboard boxes, the girl hastily asked him to be more careful. When he nodded, the girl smiled and thanked him.
Ichigo watched curiously until he felt Grimmjow's strong hands seize him and drag him into cover behind the nearest house. "What the hell!" Ichigo cried.
Grimmjow's eyes were more alive than Ichigo had ever seen them. "Ichigo! That girl over there... did ya see her?"
"S-sure I did," Ichigo sputtered as Grimmjow pinned him against the house's wall. The senior probably didn't even realize what he was doing.
"She..." Grimmjow finally let Ichigo go and took a step back, running a hand through his stylish hair. "Whoa... did you see her smile? You saw it, right?"
"Sure," Ichigo repeated, unsure what else to say.
Grimmjow pointed at Ichigo, going steadily pinker. "You... you oughta introduce me, Ichigo. Like, right now! You think she'll like me? She will, right?"
"Hey, stop," Ichigo said, cutting into Grimmjow's babbling. "You're going crazy."
"No, I..." Grimmjow sighed and put his hands into his pockets. "Look, you and Rukia are together, right? You've got experience. You can make this happen for me."
"Rukia? Me?" Ichigo felt himself go red this time. Sure, he liked her, and she'd hang around him sometimes, but going out? He didn't even know, himself.
"Is that a no?" Grimmjow asked. "Don't wimp out on me, Ichigo! Come on!"
Ichigo paused. Normally, Grimmjow was the first to screw around and get in trouble. His list of detentions and incident reports was ridiculous. But this time, he saw something kinder in Grimmjow's eyes.
Oh, what the hell.
Ichigo motioned. "Okay. Let's meet your mystery girl."
"Hell, yeah!" Grimmjow tagged along as Ichigo led the way across the house's front lawn. But the girl was gone.
"Can I help you boys?" the well-dressed man asked crisply as Ichigo and Grimmjow approached.
"We live around here. I'm in the next house, actually. Ichigo Kurosaki," Ichigo said, offering a hand.
The man shook it at once, but his eyes were like iron. "Keito Tier. My wife Miza and I just moved in today. You go to the high school?"
"Yeah, both of us. This's Grimmjow Jaegerjaques. Good friend of mine," Ichigo said, clapping the senior on the shoulder. "Just wanted to say hi."
"Of course." Mr. Tier's chilly aura didn't change. "Well, I suppose I'll see you boys around." He turned and headed to the front door.
"W-wait!" Grimmjow , reaching out a hand as though to grab Mr. Tier's shirt collar.
Mr. Tier spun on his heel. "What is it? I'm busy." He adjusted his glasses, and their panes caught the late afternoon sunlight.
"You, uh, have any kids our age?" Grimmjow asked tentatively. "Can we meet 'em, too?"
"My daughter is here," Mr. Tier said flatly. "Halibel. But you won't see her at the high school. She's home-schooled. My wife and I are looking up good potential universities for her, in fact. Now, please move along." He turned back and headed insided without another word.
Grimmjow stomped a foot. "What the hell!"
"He reminds me of Uryu's dad," Ichigo said in awe, staring at the doorway. "Not exactly a great thing."
"Ugh. Don't remind me of Ryuken," Grimmjow groaned.
"Why? Because he called you a delinquent?"
"To start with."
"Sorry, man." Ichigo shrugged as he moved on, heading up the front steps to the Kurosaki house. "We'll see what happens. See you tomorrow."
"Hey, that girl... Halibel... she lives next to you," Grimmjow said suddenly. "You could try to -"
"I said see you tomorrow," Ichigo repeated, heading inside and shutting the door behind him.
Grimmjow never quit, did he?