Part One
Chapter One
Coming back to Karakura town might have been a mistake, because as soon as I got here, that bastard Kisuke had already sent me out on a 'mission'. Normally, I wouldn't have minded, since I didn't really have much to do with my basically immortal life, but this particular job required me to to interact with high schoolers. And wear a short skirt. No matter how much I pulled down the skirt, it always felt too short. Hell, I'm pretty sure I've passed since arriving here has had a glimpse of my nearly exposed backside. Kisuke truly owed me for this, and I was getting what I deserved, one way or another.
Eventually, I had arrived at my destination, classroom 1-3, which would be my least favourite place until Kisuke decided that my mission was done, maybe even after I've left this place. Before I could open the door, I froze. I was surprised at my own nerves, I had fought many battles, dealt with hundreds of hollows, and yet.. The thought of facing a class of fifteen years old kind of scared me. Maybe I had isolated myself for longer than I thought.
Clenching my fists, I took in a few deep breaths to gather my nerves. 'It won't be that bad' I thought to myself, even though I didn't really believe myself. I've always hated teenagers, even when I was one myself. Steeling my nerves, I reached for the door, but before I could even reach it, it slammed open. I jumped back a bit in surprise, just barely missing the teacher who came storming out, but she stopped in surprise when she noticed me.
"Oh?" She blinked owlishly down at me. "Are you the new student?"
"Yes..?" I murmured unsurely, eyeing the suspicious grin that starting growing on her face.
"Good! I was just about to go looking for you! Well, come on in so that I can introduce you to everyone!"
I didn't even get a chance to do anything before she grabbed my wrist, rather tightly might I had, and pulled me into the classroom. Instantly, all eyes were on me, and I started fidgeting. I hated being the centre of attention. I had been trained to stay away from people's eyes, spent hundreds of years in hiding, so this feeling was unusual.
I could already hear the whispers forming. I was different, compared to everyone else in the school. With my dark skin, I assume I was the only one with such a skin tone, and dark brown hair with startling golden eyes. Teenagers loved gossiping about new and unusual things and people, didn't they?
"Listen up everyone!" their teacher clapped her hands, bringing all eyes toward her, much to my relief. "I'd like to introduce a new student who will be joining us from now on. Please welcome Yumika Shihoin"
"I hope we can all be friends" I said as cheerfully as I could manage, and bowed toward the class. I lifted my head slightly and gazed around the room until my eyes landed on a head of startling orange hair. 'So..'I internally mused. 'This is the kid Kisuke wanted me to watch? Then where is..' I continued my search until spotting the other person I was tasked with overseeing. She was watching me, grey eyes narrowed in suspicion. She no doubt recognised my last name, Kisuke had informed me that she was a Kuchiki, another noble, so she should at least be aware of the other families. But I don't recognize her, so the same should apply to her. I wasn't as important as the others, so I would be surprised if someone even remembered my name.
Once I was done with my survey, I stood up with my hands clasped in front of me. I avoided looking at the students who's attention had once again fallen back to me, instead keeping my eyes back on the ground.
"Let's see.." the teacher, who's name I had already forgotten, murmured as she searched for an open seat. She eventually spotted one and grinned. "Why don't you go take a seat behind Inoue?"
It wasn't hard to notice to notice where my seat was, as the busty, ginger haired 'Inoue' was waving frantically with a large, friendly smile on her face. I don't know why, but instead of alarming me, those actions calmed me down. When I reached my seat, I was immediately greeted by the bubbly girl, who dramatically whispered so that their teacher wouldn't notice.
"I'm Orihime Inoue, it's nice to meet you"
I found myself smiling at the lively human, her peppy mood instantly brightening my own. "You as well. I hope we can be friends"
For some reason, I meant that. It had been some time since I actually had some friends. Especially ones that were like Orihime. It wouldn't hurt to be friends with this girl while I was here, it was just too bad it would be a short lived friendship.
XxxxX
Classes went by rather slow and boring, with subjects I knew even better than most of the teachers, and when lunch finally came, I nearly started crying in relief. Who knew school could be so mind numbing?
After regretfully turning down Orihime's offer of eating lunch with them, I followed Ichigo and Rukia up the roof. I wasn't even sure if we were allowed up here. I had tried my best to remain hidden, but I seemed to have underestimated a teenage boy's ability to find a girl.
ShihÅin-chaaaan!"
A hand grabbed my shoulder, and I released a surprised squeal before throwing my clenched first in the direction of the person's face. It connected, and the next thing I heard was a man groaning. Looking back, I saw that the person I had hit was a boy I shared a class with. He was clutching his nose, and had fallen to his knees as he cried dramatically.
"Oh!" I gasped. "I'm so sorry... Uhm..." I tried to recall the boy's name, if I even knew it at all, but kept pulling a blank
""Keigo.." he muttered dejectedly, still holding his nose.
"...Keigo!" I finished, as if I hadn't forgotten his name at all. "You startled me, and I acted on instinct.."
"Don't mind him" a second boy spoke, making me notice him for the first time. Although, his attention was on me. Instead it was on his phone. "He'll be fine"
"Are you sure?" I questioned skeptically, eyeing the sulking brunette on the ground.
"I'm sure" he snapped his phone shut and finally looked at me. "Hey, why don't you join us for lunch?"
"Uhm.." I glanced toward where Ichigo and the Kuchiki was. I wanted to keep my distance, but infiltrating their group seemed like a better way to watch over them. "Sure?"
"Great" he smiled kindly then headed over to where the duo were.
I gazed back at Keigo, before following the darker haired boy, arms folded behind my back. If his friend thought he'd be fine, then he probably would be. Besides, I didn't even hit him that hard.
"Hey!" the kid who's name I still didn't know called out to the two as he approached them. "You two are together again"
The two turned towards us, and Rukia's eyes lingered on me for a moment. She really was suspicious. Suspicion was good, but why would a noble from Soul Society attend high school in the world of the living?
"You two are quite close, huh?"
"Mizuiro! And.. Yumika?" I nodded with a slight grin. So, that was the guy's name? Good to know. It would've been awkward to continue to hang out with him without even knowing his name. Let's just hope I actually remember it.
"Do we look like friends?" Ichigo scoffed.
Beside him, Rukia was struggling with what looked like a juice box. I held back a smile, I felt the tiniest bit of pity for her. I remembered how long it took me to figure it out when it first came out. I sometimes wondered if my mother didn't drop me on my head as a baby, because while I was good with some things, I was completely retarded with others.
"Am I wrong?" Mizuiro questioned, blinking his wide eyes at the duo. "Oh well," he shrugged. "If you say so. But Ichigo, you should be more aware of what people will think"
"Stupid. If I cared about what people thought, I'd have dyed my hair black"
"I actually like your hair colour" I pipped up, earning the attention of the two boy's, as Kuchiki was still struggling with the juice box. "It's.. Refreshing and different"
"Thanks, I guess.. So, what brings you here?"
"Mizuiro invited me" I shrugged. "I hope you don't mind"
"Not at all"
"So this is it!" Rukia exclaimed. Looking over, I noticed she had discovered the straw. "But where do I poke this?.."
"Hello, Kuchiki-san" Mizuiro greeted the shinigami.
"Huh?" Rukia noticed the human boy, and quickly put on her 'kind' smile, although it looked a bit too forced to me. "Oh! Hello, err.. Kojima-kun!"
"Right! I haven't introduced myself yet. I'm Mizuiro Kojima, age fifteen. I like.."
"Picking up girls" Ichigo interrupted.
"Huh?!" Mizuiro exclaimed, looking at Ichigo with eyes wide in horror. "No way! That's mean!"
"He looks like a dork, but he's a real flirt. Watch out for him"
"Stop it! You'll ruin my reputation! Besides, I'm only interested in older women"
"That's why she has to be careful"
Even though Ichigo had referred to Rukia, I subconsciously stepped a bit away from Mizuiro. I was even older than the Kuchiki, I guessed, so I was in more of a risk. That is, if the boy would even be interested in someone as old as I am. Seeing Rukia still struggling with her drink, I walked over to her and took the box from her. She was about to protest, but paused when she saw me stick the straw into it's designated hole. I then handed it back to her.
"There you go" I smiled at her.
"T-Thank you.."
"What's this?!" I heard a familiar voice yell out. Looking to the side, I saw Keigo, finally recovered from my blow. "Both the beautiful transfer students?! What are you doing here?!"
"Mizuiro invited me/Ichigo lured Kuchiki here" Mizuiro and I chorused.
"N-No way!" Ichigo cried out.
"What?! Ichigo, Why you.." Keigo seemed outraged, but that changed rather quickly when he popped in front of the Kurosaki, patting his shoulder.. "Good job"
"T-Thanks.." Ichigo muttered, a bit disturbed at Keigo's behavior. "But.. You're so happy you're crying?"
Keigo ignored the orange haired boy and made his way over to Rukia and I. Standing up straight, he raised his hand and saluted us while.. Crying? This boy was strange. "I'm so glad you've come, Captains! To this garden of masculinity"
I shared an awkward glance with Kuchiki, before slowly nodding my head. "Uh, sure.."
"Alright, everyone! We're partying it up during lunch!"
"With milk coffee and yakidoba bread?" Mizuiro murmured.
"Shut up! It's the spirit that counts! And, Kuchiki-san, Shihoin-chan.. If you're ever in need, don't hesitate to come to me!"
"Uh..thanks?" I muttered unsurely, wondering why this boy isn't in a mental hospital yet.
"Anytime!" Keigo grinned and stepped back...
..right into a rather imposing figure. I blinked at the boy, who towered over the rest of his. I realised then that I was wrong, I wasn't the only one with dark skin, although his was lighter than mine. His dark brown hair hung in front of his face, partially obscuring his eyes. I noticed a bandage on his cheek, as well as some wrapped around his arm when he raised his hand to wave at Ichigo. Chad, I heard Ichiho say. A strange name.
"Are you.. injured?" Ichigo questioned the giant man.
Now only noticing the man's state, Keigo completely turned toward him, surprise evident on his face. "Hey, you are injured! What happened?"
"A steel beam fell on my head" Chad explained.
"a steel beam?" I asked incredulously, staring at the large man in shock.
Chad turned his gaze toward me and raised an eyebrow quizzically. Oh, right. I hadn't been introduced to him yet.
"Uhm.. I'm Yumika. I started here today.."
"Sado Yasutora" he grunted.
Sado? Then why did they call him Chad? Teenagers are strange, honestly. I bit back a sigh and smiled up at him.
"So, uh.. What about your hand?"
"I had a collision with a motorcycle. And the rider got hurt bad, so I just carried him to the hospital"
"You got hit by a motorcycle, and still carried the rider to the hospital?" I sputtered, my eyes going wide. "What are you even made of?.."
Sado shrugged it off before placing a birdcage down onto the ground. I gazed at the parakeet, a shiver went down my spine as I felt something come from it. Although, I wasn't exactly sure. It wasn't completely unusual for a spirit to take an animal as a host, but it was rare. And I was hoping this wasn't the case.
"Huh?" Keigo blinked at the bird. "What's with the bird?"
"Hello" the parakeet chirped, making my blood freeze. "My name is Yuichi Shibata. What's your name?"
I was really hoping I was wrong, that there was nothing strange about the bird. But life seemed to hate me, as I was right. There was a spirit in the bird.
XxxxX
After school had ended, I had followed Kuchiki and Kurosaki around for a few more hours. Once or twice, Rukia's instincts had kicked in and she looked around, but hadn't seen me. For once, I was actually quite thankful for this restrictive gigai*.
Deciding that I had done enough for today, I headed back home to the shouten. Strangely enough, neither Jinta nor Ururu were sweeping like they usually were. I shrugged it off and headed into the actual shop part, and went to the back, grabbing a box off of one of the shelves on my way. I threw open the door, finding Kisuke sitting at the table behind it.
"I'm home~" I sung as I entered the room.
"Welcome home! How was school?"
Instead of answering him, I slipped off off my shoulder bag and threw it at Kisuke's face. It connected with his face with a loud 'smack', sending him falling onto his back. Ignoring his wailing, I went over the table and sat down. I opened the box of konpeito* I had taken and popped it into my mouth.
"You're overreacting" I rolled my eyes at him when his wailing started to become a bit annoying.
"I think you broke my nose!"
"Stop exaggerating. I didn't throw it that hard"
"Yumika-dono"
I turned my attention to the door and noticed Tessai's towering figure. His gaze wasn't on me, however, instead it was on the box of candy I held in my hands.
"Did that, my chance, come from our store?"
I sighed before straightening my back, looking him straight in the eye. "Tessai, I'm doing a job for you that not only requires me a skirt that all but exposes my backside, but will also almost always have me surrounded by young, horny teenagers that most likely will violate me with their eyes every moment they get. The least you can do is give me free candy as compensation for this trauma"
Tessai stayed silent for a moment, his intense gaze remaining locked on mine, before he finally released a sigh. "Very well, but please limit yourself. We don't need you eating all of our merchandise"
I grinned cheekily at the large man, the seriousness melting from me. "I make no promises, Tessai"
"Speaking of your job," Kisuke spoke as he sat up, hand pressed against his nose. "How is that going so far?"
"It's boring as shit, Kisuke" I groaned. "I don't see why you're even having me watch them, they're pretty normal. Well, as normal as a shinigami* from a noble family and a human with shinigami powers can be"
"Don't worry, I have my reasons"
I narrowed my eyes at the blonde shopkeeper. "This better not be something bad"
"You'll find out, eventually. For now, why don't you get some sleep before dinner?"
I stared at him, long and hard, contemplating whether or not to drop the matter. At least for now. But, I was tired. A whole day of school, then following Ichigo and Rukia around left me tired, I didn't have the stamina to do this kind of thing anymore. And all those naps in class only cured my boredom, and not my exhaustion. I stood up, deciding to let Kisuke have his way today.
"Don't think this is over, Kisuke" I warned him. "I want answers, and if I don't get them, you'll end up with more than a broken nose"
With my threat said, I headed toward the door, tossing more of the candies into my mouth. Just as I left, I heard Kisuke muttering to himself.
"Still exactly the same"
XxxxX
Hello everyone!That ends the first chapter of this fan fiction, I hope that you liked it.
I won't have a set updating schedule, as I can't really afford to always have an internet connection other than FreeBasics, but I will try to get a chapter out once a week
Angie_Sixx
Gigai = Artificial body
Konpeito = A kind of Japanese sugar candy
Shinigami = Death God
*Edited*