Dirty Boots
AN: Hey guys, it's been a while, no? This is my first attempt at an AU fic. Enjoy!
It's tough being a girl. Lemme say that; you're expected to behave nicely, listen in class, like dresses, dancing, and hair and nail stuff. I hate all of the above.
Welcome to Karakura, Ohio. Population: Not enough. I've lived here since I was ten years old, just adopted into my new family. Everyone here knows each other, been together since they were babies.
So it was, no doubt, hard for me to fit in when I was ten years old, adopted, and different. Think ten year olds can't be mean?
Think again.
I was picked on from the second I walked through those doors. They all analyzed me, defined me with their eyes; I was an outsider, after all. I sat with some girl named Loly and a boy named Yammy. The duo spent most of class poking me from either side, seeing how I would react, I guess. Through the class, I put up with it. Until our break when we launched a stampede out of the classroom.
Recess was the worst. Where I used to live, even though we were ten, we played family. It's a kid game, I know, but we didn't have parents. We were each other's family. And in the game, we would do day to day things- pretend to teach, make sand dinners, tell stories. I grew up playing that game, I was always the older daughter (there were three daughters: me, Tia, and Nel). So, I guessed that all groups of friends worked that way.
I was wrong.
The first thing they did was: separate. The boys went to play sports, the girls all sat in a circle at the other end of our playground. Unsure, I slowly walked to the girls end, almost like I was afraid of demons. The first words I caught were: 'Flat iron' and 'party'. I didn't stick around long after that, because like I said, I hated all girly things. Hoping for better luck, I approached the boys.
They were playing a game called 'Ninja'. I looked around the small group—not one girl was among them. That didn't dampen my hopes, so I put my best foot forward and asked if I could play. They stared at me like I had five heads.
"Why aren't you with the other girls?" one asked. I shrugged.
"But girls don't play our games!" another added. Once again, I shrugged. After a moment of awkward silence, they let me into their circle. I tried to imitate their movements: try to hit the person next to you, jump away from the hit. Simple enough, no?
Try doing that with five boys aiming at you constantly. Not so easy now, is it? I dodged a few aims, but they knocked me down and began to laugh. I felt sick, listening to them. So, I kicked one of them. In the ankle. As hard as I could. He hit the ground next to me, howling, and his friends told the teacher.
I sat in the principal's office for the next two hours. One boy, who wasn't playing Ninja with us, came to my defense and said that I didn't know the rules, and that I didn't know my turn was over. The principal, a young man with brown hair and a mild voice, let me off with a warning and sent me and the boy back to class.
That boy's name was Renji. He had blood-red hair that was tied into a ponytail at the back of his head; he looked like a pineapple. He stood an inch taller than me, and walked with a sense of caution.
By the time I returned with Renji, the class was leaving for lunch. We joined the line, behind a boy with orange hair, and marched like solders into the cafeteria. I followed Renji to our assigned table. Three girls were already sitting there, I hadn't noticed them on the playground.
"This is Jackie. She's the one who kicked Yammy in the ankle" he introduced me. I resisted the urge to kick him; what if they're scared of me?
One of them, a girl with close-cropped black hair, held out her hand for a high-five. "Awesome, the jerk deserved it. I'm Tatsuki." I slammed hands with her and smiled. If nothing else, I had her and Renji. The girl sitting next to her had shoulder-length hair that was an odd, but nice, shade of brown and was staring with wide eyes at the boy with orange hair, who was squabbling with another black-haired girl. She was smaller, but looked fiercer.
"This" Tatsuki pointed to the light-haired girl, "Is Orihime. Those two" she pointed at the pair "Are Rukia and Ichigo." They turned to us the mention of their names. Orihime seemed to snap back to attention. She smiled and held out a small hand.
"Nice to meet you" she said with her small smile. I shook her hand and noticed odd looking food on her plate. I'd ask about that later. Next up was the smaller black-haired girl.
"Rukia Kutchiki" she nodded politely. I could tell she wasn't the formal type of person. The boy next to her remained silent until she elbowed him in the ribs. He yelped and she gestured for him to greet me. Slowly, he swiveled in his seat and faced me.
With a monotone face, he looked at me. "Ichigo Kurosaki. And if you know Japanese, you better not laugh at the name" he nodded his head towards Rukia. She frowned and elbowed him again. And once again, he yelped. They squabbled, and Orihime offered me some food.
It was odd taste. I looked at Renji, who hadn't said a word after he introduced me. He was eating a slice of cantaloupe.
"Is it always this weird?" I asked him.
"Weird? This is normal for us" he said, taking another bite. And at that moment, our lives had become intertwined.
Beginning of a new fic!