Chapter one
Today, Kurosaki Ichigo had a permanent scowl on his face. Which wasn't a surprise since a scowl always seemed to be present on his face but starting today, it would be permanent. All because of the old man. He had been at the dojo with his friends while his dad eagerly signed the death contract to his current social life. Private school.
"I'M GOING TO WHAT?"
"Ta-da! Look at your uniform, son!"
"WHAT THE HELL, OLD MAN? HOW COULD YOU HAVE AGREED WITHOUT ASKING ME FIRST?"
Isshin retreated to his full sized photo of his deceased wife, pawing at the photo as he wailed, "Oh, Masaki! I only wanted the best for our son! Wouldn't you agree?"
His dad's voice steadily increased as Ichigo gripped his temples, his vein popping.
"OH, MASAKI, MY LOVE! IF ONLY YOU WERE HERE TO SMACK SOME GRATEFULNESS INTO THIS UNDESERVING SON!"
That damn annoying old man, agreeing to anything that meant hell for him! They had offered him a spot as a student at Seireitei high school which was a private school for the 'gifted and talented'. In other words, it was well-known…to be full of stuck up, rich kids. For Kami's sake, he'd grown up with his friends making fun of the lame school with the totally dorky and constricting uniforms. The sweaters, the crisp collared shirts, and the badges screamed anal retentive.
The students at Seireitei would also look down at them, Karakura High school, with their noses impossibly high up in the air as they brushed lint off their already obnoxiously neat uniforms. But now, he would be one of them. Apparently, after twenty plus years of being known as the school with a 24 carat gold stick up its ass, Seireitei decided to become more "diversified" which meant adding a middle class kid as a scholarship student for Kendo. But he just liked to believe that Seireitei sucked so bad at Kendo that they were desperate to have even a public school student attend if it meant they could have another honorable title added to their name.
He barely paid attention to his angry reflection as he finished the last button on his shirt and slipped on the itchy sweater. Even Kami must have taken pity on him since his dad didn't send him a wakeup call that morning. If his dad had, then he really wouldn't feel accountable for letting loose on him. He glanced at his window- on a typical day at Karakura High, Keigo and Mizuiro would be waiting for him right outside his house. He kind of even missed Keigo's obnoxious yelling.
"Hurry, Ichigo, the bus is here!"
"Alright, I'm coming!" He grabbed his backpack and reluctantly made his way downstairs with a sullen expression attached to his face. The rest of his family was sitting at the table eating breakfast. He grabbed a piece of toast and stuck it in his mouth while he slung on his backpack.
Yuzu smiled encouragingly at him as she passed him his lunch, "Have a good day at school, brother!"
"Bring some cute female students home, son!"
Ichigo turned his head, about to retort when he was pleasantly greeted with Karin's triple kick to his dad's face. He smirked, feeling somewhat satisfied and left, hearing, "Old bearded pervert!" and whining in response.
He stood outside just to study the bus for a second. It was huge. They never even had buses at Karakura high school; he had always walked with his friends. The door opened and the driver in a stupid looking striped hat greeted him, "Morning, new transfer student!"
Ichigo merely scowled and muttered a greeting back as he stepped into the bus.
The driver didn't seem to be affected by his scowl and cheerfully grinned as he closed the door, "Ah, a bit shy, aren't we? That's alright; you'll become well adjusted soon enough!"
Ichigo heard whispers as he shuffled through the walkway, striving to find an empty seat. He found one at the very end, feeling slightly relieved to be away from the hushed discussions about him. Not that he cared about the possible rumors buzzing around about him, but it seemed that trouble was heavily attracted to him. The bus immediately jerked to a start and began its way out of the neighborhood.
Red hair peeped out of the seat in front of him, "Yo, new kid,"
Ichigo reluctantly looked up to see a tall guy with spiky red hair and black tattoos on his face.
The guy took this chance to talk, "You're in the wrong seat."
Ichigo just glared at him, "What, you guys even have assigned seats in this bus?"
"Just in that one. Now scram, and go find another seat."
"What the hell? Why should I have to listen to a tattooed pineapple like you?"
Ichigo's comment finally got to the red haired guy as he grabbed Ichigo by the collar, "What did you say, you orange haired punk?"
"I said, you stupid pineapple-"Their argument was abruptly paused by a bump in the road.
The driver glanced at them through his mirror, "Ara ara! We don't have to have any more mishaps, Mr. Abarai…and same to you, Mr. Kurosaki,"
The two averted their attention to the bus driver, both slightly surprised that he caught them. They then gruffly glared at each other before Abarai reluctantly let go of his grip on Ichigo.
"Tch, well she's almost here so I'll leave you to her," he shot him a dirty look before shifting back in his seat.
Ichigo furrowed his eyebrows slightly in response. She? How tough could she be that the redhead even sent him a warning?
The bus finally came to a stop in front of a large gated residence and he heard the driver greet the student who was about to step into the bus. The chatter in the bus seemed to quiet down in response.
"Good morning, Ms. Kuchiki! You're looking as lovely as ever today,"
Curiosity getting the best of him, Ichigo looked up and studied the girl who just stepped in.
She was incredibly short. Her badge was placed perfectly on her sweater, which was devoid of any wrinkles. The same went for her skirt. And her collared shirt. Even her shoes seemed like they were just polished this morning.
He snorted. Ah, a perfect example of the anal retentive type.
She ignored the driver and made her way down through the seats with no expression on her face. There was no mistake, she was a frigid bitch.
Ichigo had barely enough time to notice the numerous students focused on him when she appeared in front of him with a raised eyebrow.
"Excuse me, but you're in my seat."
So trouble came in a tiny, freaky, wide-violet-eyed girl. It seemed Kami had a dry sense of humor.
He made himself comfortable by resting his arm on the window and leaning into his hand, "…And?"
Her eyes slightly narrowed. She seemed like the type that never had anyone question her authority.
"I'd like you to get out of my seat and sit somewhere else." She pointed to the seats around them.
His eyes followed her finger. What was wrong with her? All the seats were occupied.
He grit his teeth, "If you haven't noticed, they're all taken. But I'm sure no one would mind sharing a seat with a midget like you, since you'd barely take up any space."
Ichigo watched the girl's nose flare up and eyes narrow even more. He could have been nice and moved but this brat was the type that wouldn't take 'no' for an answer, and that pissed him off. "What did you just call me?"
He heard a quiet "He's in for it now," in the seat in front of him, which sounded like pineapple head. However, before he could wonder how strong this tiny girl could seriously be, a voice piped up, "Um, Kuchiki-san, you can sit here if you want..." They both turned to see a scrawny, black haired guy smile meekly and gesture to the empty space next to him.
The girl was about to say something when the bus suddenly made a sharp turn into the school, and she tripped and fell back into his seat, her head bonking his chin as her face landed on his chest.
"GAH!"
"THE HELL?"
Crimson spread on both of their cheeks when they realized the position they were in. She dumbly stared at his chest in confusion while he grabbed his aching chin that her hard head hit. As the pain slowly went away, he realized that the girl's head was right under his chin and that her hand was holding onto his leg from trying to stop her fall. And that she was way too uncomfortably close. They stared at each other incredulously for a split second before simultaneously yelling, "MOVE!"
Fortunately, none of the students noticed their collision as they retreated out of the bus. The bus was already parked.
Pineapple stood in the walkway and slung his bookbag on, "Yo, Rukia! Let's go,"
Both of them glanced at him and then at the bus which was close to being emptied. As Ichigo glanced at the students leaving, she smacked her bookbag at his face, which caused Ichigo to bark a "What the hell?" at her.
She stood up and straightened her sweater and bookbag before leering at him with a serious tone, "That's for calling me a midget, you buffoon." With the final word, she followed pineapple out the bus.
Ichigo leered at her back, spitting out cusses under his breath as he grabbed his bookbag and slung it on.
"Um..." The black haired guy was still there, looking at him. He was still there?
Ichigo glanced at him and gruffly responded as he began to leave his seat, "Yeah?"
The guy rubbed the back of his head shyly, "You're the new transfer student, right?"
"Yeah."
"I'm Yamada Hanataro. Nice to meet you!"
"Kurosaki Ichigo. Same."
The guy followed him out of the bus as Ichigo ignored the stupid smile on the bus driver's face. What kind of a bus driver wore getas and a green striped hat? And how could the school even rely on a crappy driver like him? Meanwhile, the boy behind him was rambling on about something as they made their way to the school entrance. He caught a glimpse of the midget girl and the pineapple head entering the school, and his eyes narrowed in response.
Hanataro must have known what he was thinking about, "She's really not like that,"
He snorted, "Oh yeah? First day of school, and I get a welcome punch from that shorty," He knew he was being spiteful in front of the first person who actually welcomed him, but her arrogance pissed him off.
"Kuchiki-san is really kind! I've never really seen her act, um, that way to anyone,"
Ichigo let out a scoff, "So she doesn't treat everyone like the disease?" Hanataro didn't seem to catch his sarcasm as he simply nodded eagerly with a smile.
"Oh, I forgot to ask, what's your class?"
Ichigo took out the crumpled paper in his pocket and glanced at it, "3-1. You?"
Hanataro frowned, "Oh, I'm 3-2,"
The bell rang, and Hanataro slightly jumped, "Ah, we're going to be late! I'll see you later, Kurosaki!"
Ichigo scratched the back of his head as he watched Hanataro leave. The kid was really timid looking, but nevertheless, he was grateful for his friendliness. Maybe not everyone's a stuck up, rich kid like that girl. Still, I miss being at Karakura.
He sighed and opened the door to his class. All the students were already seated, and he felt slightly self-conscious when everyone's eyes turned to him.
"You must be the new transfer student. Kurosaki Ichigo, right?" He glanced at his new teacher- she was dark-skinned with purple hair. She had a slight smirk on her face with lively eyes.
"Uh, yeah," he replied. He walked over to her desk as she introduced him to the class. He glanced out the large window when he heard the teacher say something else to him, "We'll have our class representative help you get adjusted to our school this week. Ms. Kuchiki?" The teacher gestured to a girl, and he followed her hand to meet leering eyes. He quickly caught himself from leaving his jaw wide open in disbelief. It was the frigid bitch from the bus! Ichigo mentally face-palmed. This class could not get any worse!
He looked up when he heard a fake cheerful voice, "Welcome to our class, Kurosaki! My name is Kuchiki Rukia. Please let me know if you have any questions!" The bitch was smiling at him while throwing him a piercing look with her eyes. He was appalled and threw away any reconsideration he had for her after Hanataro's determined speech. That girl was a lying, violent midget.
The teacher didn't seem to notice the deadly threats Rukia was sending him with her eyes as she motioned towards his new seat, "You can go ahead and take the seat behind Kuchiki, and she can fill you in with our current assignment."
He reluctantly made his way to his assigned seat as Rukia looked away, trying to hide her frustration as well. This was going to be a very, very long class.
Lunch seemed to be the only freedom he had so far. He sat in the shade outside, imagining the lunch he would have had with his friends if he were still at Karakura. Keigo would be spouting perverted nonsense, Chad would be sitting quietly, listening, and he'd probably be getting into an argument with Ishida. Although he didn't mind being by himself, it felt completely foreign and uncomfortable here at the new school.
Rukia barely uttered a word to him after class, which he didn't mind. She was such a fake, prissy teacher's pet. He only hoped that Kendo would at least turn out better than his first class had.
"Hey, Kurosaki," He looked up to see the tiny girl with an unhappy scowl on her face. Her again?
What the hell was she doing here after totally ignoring him earlier?
He put on a scowl that matched hers, "What do you want, midget?"
He could tell his insult still touched a nerve as he watched her close her eyes in an attempt to calm down, "It's Kuchiki Rukia to you. I'm only here because you looked pathetic eating lunch by yourself, and I have to fulfill my duties as class representative."
He shot up from the tree he was leaning on, "What? Pathetic?"
She merely sat down across from him and dryly replied, "Really, Kurosaki, you need to stop being in such denial."
"Says the midget with the napoleon complex."
She kicked him in the shin.
"OW! BITCH!"
"What the hell is your problem? Seriousl-"Surprised by her lack of response, he gazed down to see her completely engrossed with his strawberry milk box.
"Hey idiot, what's this?" she pointed to his strawberry milk box.
He pointed to the logo on it, "It's strawberry milk, can't you read?"
She raised an eyebrow at him, "You drink strawberry milk in a box? And just when I thought you couldn't get any stranger…"
He pointed a finger at her angrily, "You're the one totally fascinated by it!"
She ignored him and obnoxiously brought the drink to his face, "Shut up. How do you open this drink?"
He raised an eyebrow but felt annoyed- she probably grew up with champagne and caviar or whatever. How spoiled could she get if she didn't even know what a milk carton was? He grabbed it from her with a sigh, "This is what you do. You take the straw and you push it down the hole on top of the box here," He demonstrated as she watched curiously. She swiftly grabbed his drink after he finished opening it and explaining.
"Hey!"
Too busy being captivated by his drink, she threw him her bottled sparkling water to shut him up. He caught it clumsily, surprised, and examined it. "Pe-rri-er… Wow, you're spoiled too,"
He studied the foreign drink for a second before removing the cap. Foreign drinks like this one were rare since they were imported from far away. Besides, he could get twelve different flavors at an old vending machine on the way home. He mentally shook his head. She must be really loaded if she carries around a drink like this for lunch.
Meanwhile, Rukia brushed off his insult in order to more closely examine the cartoon strawberry image on the label. Awed at the cuteness, she wondered how a buffoon like him would drink something like this. Her eyes grew as she drank it, ignoring his insult, "Woah. This milk drink is really good!"
He gulped down a sip of the sparkling water before glancing in her direction. The girl who had just previously aggravated him to no end was now cradling his cheap milk carton with her hands with a pleasant expression on her face. With a resigned expression, he muttered, "I swear, you're like Jekyll and Hyde."
Once she noticed his resigned face, she spoke in a pleasant voice, "You know what, Kurosaki? I forgive you for sitting in my seat today."
"So you're the new Kendo student?" Ichigo unconsciously tilted his head back from his new teacher's intimidating eyes…and scar. He simply nodded.
His new teacher, Kenpachi, as they called him, was a giant. He was well over six feet tall, with spiky hair and a long scar that ran over one eye. Ichigo silently hoped he would never have to go against him. And he swore he didn't want to know how his sensei got that scar.
Kenpachi circled Ichigo like a predator to his prey, "Well, you're kind of scrawny for kendo, aren't ya?"
Before Ichigo could even reply, Kenpachi smacked him roughly on the back, "Alright then, let's see what you got, shrimp!"
"Abarai! Front and center!"
Abarai? Shit. Not that kid again! Ichigo watched pineapple head stroll up to the center of the mat with a smirk plastered on his face.
Abarai put on his mask and went into position, "Better pray long and hard to live 'cause I'm gonna kick your ass,"
"We'll see about that," Ichigo muttered calmly before putting on his mask as well.
The two eagerly dived into the duel as soon as Kenpachi allowed it to begin. Ichigo struggled under Abarai's strong grip- each hit was full of polished strength, which wasn't surprising coming from a private school kid like him. Ichigo had been the best at his old dojo, but he found himself working up a sweat beating this guy. Chants of Abarai's name surrounded the two, which only fueled his determination to win. He dodged a hit from Abarai and struck back without delay. Their feet danced swiftly on the mat, the clashing of their shinais echoing in the dojo.
Pineapple head may have had some lame private school polished moves and an advantage in a few inches, but Ichigo knew he had the upper hand in making swift moves to shake his opponent off. The two rivals felt the reverberation of their shinais against each other as they both edged back and forth. He barely had a chance to counter when Abarai's shinai struck down on his with brutal power. Damn, his hits are pretty strong. But I've got the lead in agility…I just need to find a small opening and I just might beat this guy.
His eyes quickly scanned Abarai's movements, searching desperately for a movement that would leave him open. Finally discovering a tiny open spot in Abarai, Ichigo quickly struck with all the raw power he could muster and was close to forcing his competition into submission when Kenpachi ended the duel. He already seemed to have come to a conclusion.
The two reluctantly took off their masks, panting. Ichigo was slightly frustrated- why did Kenpachi have to stop the duel right when he was about to win? Although he did end with the upper hand, which meant it was pretty much his victory.
They sent each other fierce looks as they bowed to each other with little respect. Kenpachi came over and chortled, "Well, looks like I was wrong, Kurosaki. You may be pretty scrawny with some rough moves, but you're quick on your feet, kid,"
He turned to Abarai, "Good work, Abarai. Though, it looks like you've got some new competition now,"
Abarai turned away with a slight scowl on his face. Ichigo grinned slightly to himself, relishing the victory as he left the mat. He sat back on the window ledge, catching his breath as Kenpachi grabbed two other opponents and pushed them to the center of the mat for a duel.
Abarai approached him with his hands in his pockets with a wary look, "Guess you ain't so bad,"
Ichigo looked up, a smirk slowly making its way to his face, "Same goes for you."
Abarai reached out his hand while looking away to the side, "I suppose it'd be better if we're civil since we're in the same dojo and all. Abarai Renji,"
He returned the greeting, slapping his hand, "Kurosaki Ichigo."
"Don't get too comfortable now because I'm gonna kick your ass in a rematch later!"
Ichigo scoffed, " Guess you're still achin for another beating, pineapple,"
"Tch, you just got lucky that I was going easy on you this time, since you're new and all,"
"Yo, Abarai!" The two turned back to see a bald guy and a pretty boy. The two guys approaching them seemed older and were contrasts of each other. He was bald, for crying out loud. If that wasn't enough already to show off his toughness, his narrowed eyes were, along with his tight grip on his shinai. The other had on a playful expression with lazy eyes, as he brushed his shiny black hair back.
Abarai grinned at them in response, "Hey Ikkaku, Yumichika."
Ikkaku snickered, "So, this the kid you nearly got your ass kicked by?"
Abarai glared at him with his arms crossed, "Shut up!"
Ichigo smirked and entered the conversation, "Yeah, that's me."
Ikkaku merely stretched his arms, "You're not that bad for a public school kid. Though I wonder how you'd fare against me, Kurosaki."
Yumichika finally spoke up with a mischievous half-grin, "I wouldn't underestimate him, Ikkaku. He seems to have a pretty solid grip on things if he did that well against Abarai here,"
"Hey you four slackers! The hell you think yer doing? Get your asses over here and start practicing!" They glanced back to see Kenpachi at the center of the mat with his shinai dangerously positioned towards them.
Ikkaku furrowed his eyebrows, "Shit, Captain calls. Let's go,"
Ichigo groaned as he grabbed an empty seat on the bus. School was finally over. He didn't know how he got through it. His body ached in too many places- though he preferred his old dojo over Seireitei, he had to admit that he had his work cut out if he wanted to catch up with the other kendoka at Seireitei. He gripped his shoulder. That damn Abarai's hit was a pain.
But it wasn't only the dojo that gave him pain. His new science teacher, Kurotsutchi, was a complete psycho. He learned right away that Kurotsuchi was one of those teachers who took pleasure in mentally torturing his students. Stupid Rukia had to call out and inform Kurotsutchi that it was his first day there. He almost crumbled up his paper when he saw the evil snicker she gave him before turning back to face the front. Thanks to her, the rest of class was a nightmare, with Kurotsutchi paying particular attention to him. Forgiveness, my ass. She was evil as evil could get, if evil liked strawberry milk.
His Japanese Literature teacher was a bit of a weirdo as well, with some stupid patterned pink shawl draped over him like a hippie. And it didn't help that he called the secretary, "Miss Nanaoooo", over a million times during class and flirted with her unabashedly.
Along with his new Kendo teacher, Kenpachi, he decided that this new school was full of loons who just happened to be rich. Like that shorty, Rukia. Hell, even his bus driver was a nut! The only people who didn't seem like such a nutcase was his own homeroom teacher (although she also had her moments too, like gulping down that tall bottle of milk during break) and the headmaster, Ukitake. Even though he looked really frail and coughed every other moment or so.
"Ah, Kurosaki!" He glanced up to see Hanataro stepping over to join him.
"Hey," he replied back. Hanataro rested his bookbag on the floor as he began to chat about the day. Ichigo noticed Rukia coming through the walkway with Renji right behind her. Her face was the same as the first time he saw her- no smile, and eyebrows slightly furrowed in thought.
Renji seemed to be talking to her and grinning. He noticed Ichigo and slightly waved with a "Yo," which Ichigo responded back to, though his eyes quickly trailed back to Rukia who had just noticed him. She merely narrowed her eyes at him, which he scowled back at in reply.
"Hi Kuchiki, Abarai!" Hanataro smiled at them in response, oblivious to the scowl on both Rukia and Ichigo's face.
Her face immediately softened as she smiled at him, taking her seat as Renji took his in front of hers, "Hello,"
Ichigo looked away with his scowl still on his face, annoyed by her fake sweetness. Seriously, that girl's got multiple personalities or something. He couldn't wait to go home- he knew Chad and the rest of the gang were waiting for him to give them the details on Seireitei. And he'd give them all the details, all right. Starting with the midget.