Chapter 1

Toushiro Hitsugaya is fifteen years old and living in New York City with his mother. His father left when he was two and his mom had always struggled to take care of him. Lately, Toushiro had been trying to get a job so that he could start helping her but he's had no luck yet. But he's not about to give up.

Toushiro opened the front door to the small, run-down house. The light blue paint on the outside of the house had been slowly peeling off the wooden panels of the house for as long as Shiro could remember. The living room was just inside the door with the kitchen to the right. There was one bathroom and one bedroom in the back. Toushiro used to sleep with his mom but once he turned twelve he started sleeping on the couch in the living room.

Toushiro went into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water. He saw that his mom had left a box of Hamburger Helper and a pound of ground beef on the counter to thaw. He poked at it with his finger and saw that it was done thawing so he took out a pan and started to brown the meat. He was just adding in the Hamburger Helper mix when his mom walked in the front door.

"Hey Shiro! How was school?", she asked as she kissed his cheek and peeked over his shoulder to double check he was doing everything right.

"Fine. I got a B on my math test."

"That's great sweetie!" and she gave him another kiss on the cheek. Toushiro had always struggled in math so a B was a really good sign of improvement.

Toushiro smiled a little. He lived to make her proud.

"I'm going to get in the shower" she called as she went into the bathroom.

Shiro waited until the meal was cooked then he turned the burner on low to keep it warm. When she got out of the shower, he got two bowls out and spooned some food into each. He set one on the table in front of her and sat down across from her.

"What would I do without you?" she smiled as she picked up her fork.

"You'd do just fine mom. You always have."

"Yes but doing just fine all by myself would be no fun."

Toushiro smiled and ate his dinner.

The next morning, Toushiro woke up at 5:30 and got in the shower. Then he went into the kitchen to make breakfast while his mom took her shower. They ate together and then his mom walked to school with him.

Toushiro sighed as he looked at the graffiti painted high school across the street. "Do I have to go?"

His mom chuckled. "You ask that almost every morning and I give you the same answer every time."

Shiro groaned. "I know, I know. I'm just still hoping that eventually you'll get annoyed with me asking and give me the answer I want."

She smiled. "I know. But you need this Shiro. I know it's not the greatest school to have on your diploma but having a diploma is what's important. It's the first step towards doing something great. And I know you can do better than this."

Shiro sighed and nodded.

"Now I've got to get to work." She kissed his cheek. "Have a good day."

"You too." He sighed as he watched her walk away. He knew that she wanted him to do this for himself but he'd always done it for her. Of course he'd never tell her that, but he'd always tried his best with the hopes that he could get a good job and get her out of this hell some people dared call a city. And with that thought in mind, Toushiro walked across the street and headed into the school.

About a half hour walk away...

"But mommy I don't wanna! I wanna stay with you today!", the eight year old girl whined. She stomped her foot, tousling her little black curls, and refused to keep walking.

Her mother, Tiffany, frowned. Tiffany was unusually tall for a woman, six feet to be precise, but she pulled it off. Which would explain why she had become such a successful model. She crouched down in front of her stubborn daughter and took her little hand in her own. "But honey don't you want to see your friends?"

"Yes but those boys keep teasing me about how short I am. Why can't I be tall like you and daddy?"

Tiffany frowned. Rukia was a little short. Well, maybe a lot. She was a head shorter than the average eight year old. "Don't worry sweetie. You still have a while. You might grow up to be as tall as me but trust me honey, you don't want to. People still tease me about being so tall."

"Really?" her big purple eyes were starting to shine with hope.

"Of course. Nobody's perfect sweetie. Just find something to tease them about and they'll leave you alone."

"Okay."

"So are you ready to go to school today?"

Rukia nodded with a new found feeling of determination. "Yes."

Tiffany smiled and stood. She walked her daughter across the street to the building set aside for elementary students. The school was a private school that kept all grade levels on the same campus but in different buildings.

So what do you guys think? I've got a few things in mind that I want to do in this one. I've got a couple other chapters written already but I want to see what kind of response this one gets. I know it's not a lot but I promise it's gonna get better. I hoped you guys liked it and I hope you stick around to read more of it! Don't forget to review! :)