Lost in Translation
Chapter 1: Carrot & Shrimp
Transfer student stories abound~! Blaze reigns from the country of love: France. As such, he speaks not a drop of English, let alone Japanese, the country he and his family have been uprooted to for his father's business. Being a high school student in a foreign land while not understanding a word of what anyone is saying? Oh, and let's throw in some Hollows, just for good measure! (If any of Blaze's French is wrong, blame my French friend Leon and Google Translate x))
Ichigo sighed softly, staring out the window, seated in his 3rd period History Class. It was a far cry from the most interesting class of the day, and he groaned inwardly, knowing that 4 more classes awaited him before the student body could leave.
"I'm well aware that most of you weren't listening to a word of my lecture just now, so it should be interesting to see who passes that test tomorrow. Moving on..." Their elderly History teacher adjusted his glasses, shuffling some papers on his desk to start up a powerpoint, before a guidance counselor entered the room, chatting quietly with Mr. Hanto, before leaving for a moment, re-entering with a student.
"Ah, that's right. Class, I meant to tell you the other day that we would be expecting a transfer student in today, but it must have slipped my mind. Would you like to introduce yourself, Blaze?"
The raven glanced up at the teacher, raising an eyebrow. He looked confused. This is where the guidance counselor stepped in, whispering something to Blaze, who now looked irritated, sighing slightly, before opening his mouth.
"Mon nom est Blaze Petit, et je ne parle pas japonais."(1)
As soon as the sentence left his lips, the majority of the girls in the classroom were swooning. It wasn't everyday that they had a transfer student, let alone a cute one from France.
Ichigo blinked, observing the student now. He idly wondered if he'd be one of those insufferable pricks who used his language to charm the panties off of the school's female populous, or thought he was better than everyone because he wasn't from Japan.
"Oh, so he's from France! Alright then. Everyone please do your best to treat him kindly and with respect." He then lightly tapped Blaze on the shoulder and pointed out a desk for him to sit at. The raven obliged, ignoring the gawks that he received as he took his seat.
"Ah...there wouldn't happen to be anyone here that can speak French, would there?" Their History teacher asked hopefully, looking around the room to find everyone staring right back, no one familiar with that language. Most of the students were already well-versed in English and were taking either Chinese or Spanish as an elective, but hardly anyone took French class.
"Okay then. Would anyone like to help Blaze find his classes for th-" Before he could even finish his sentence, the females in the room squealed, jumping in their desks, hands raised high towards the sky. Ichigo rolled his eyes. Of course.
Their teacher picked up a copy of Blaze's schedule, then turned to his other student's schedules, glancing through them before he landed on one.
"Kurosaki. You and Blaze have next period together, Art class. Would you mind accompanying him?"
The carrot top scowled, knowing full well that there were at least two other people in this class that had art next. Rather than voice his complaint, though, he grumbled his response. "Sure."
"Thank you, Ichigo. Now, on to-" Again, his sentence was interrupted by the ringing of the bell, in which every student quickly packed up their things and rushed out the door. All with the exception of Ichigo, who simply chucked his things into his backpack before making his way over to Blaze's desk, who was studying his schedule as if it was Greek.
Come to think about it, to him, that's probably how it looked.
"Blaze." The raven looked up, blue eyes lightly observing the carrot-top.
"Ah...geez, he would pick me for this, don't even know how to tell you we have to go to class." Ichigo complained, while Blaze raised an eyebrow, unsure what Ichigo was going on about, so he went back to looking over his schedule.
"Hey! The least you can do is pretend you're listening to me!" Ichigo barked, annoyed that the boy was ignoring him.
"Je ne peux pas vous comprendre, âne..."(2)
"What was that, baguette?"
"Ichigo! Don't yell at the new student! Just help him find his way to class."
Ichigo frowned, and instead of further talking to Blaze, he grabbed his arm, yanked him out of his seat, and began to make his way to art class.
"Cul! Lâchez-moi!"(3) Blaze struggled, attempting to worm away from his grasp.
"Can't understand you, shrimp!" Ichigo yelled back, continuing to drag him along.
'Shrimp' was a word that Blaze understood well, and knew that it was intended as a direct insult to his height, causing him to glare at the taller young man before successfully yanking out of his grasp. Ichigo turned around, a firm scowl in place.
"Carotte géante stupide!"(4) The small raven spat, blue eyes darkened with disgust.
"Did you just call me stupid, you little piss ant?" Ichigo barked back.
"Si la chaussure s'adapte, espèce d'âne!"(5) And with that, the young Frenchman stormed off in the opposite direction, to which Ichigo rolled his eyes, and continued on his way to Art class, daring anyone who looked in his direction to say anything with a venemous glare.
It was only when he got to Art class and the teacher was taking attendance that Ms. Oroshi realized that a student was missing.
"It seems we have a student missing. The new exchange student, Blaze. Where is he?"
"Well, Ichigo was supposed to bring him here, but he yelled at him, so Blaze is probably lost by now." One of the female students filled in, glaring at Ichigo.
"It's not my fault! He called me stupid!"
"Ichigo, would you please go and find Blaze? We can't have him wandering the halls." Ms. Oroshi kindly suggested, to which Ichigo only grumbled under his breath, but otherwise left in pursuit of the raven.
"Where could that stupid little brat have gone off to..." Ichigo mumbled, stomping through hallway after hallway, but not finding a sulking short transfer student.
It was as he passed a window, only glancing out of it for a moment, that he paused, backtracking to the window.
Outside, a few stories down, was Blaze, but he wasn't alone. He was scrambling away from a Huge Hollow, that which was grabbing for his pants leg, pulling it nearer to him.
"Dammit!" Ichigo cursed, changing into his Shinigami form as quickly as possible before darting out of the window and onto the grass below, hurtling towards the Hollow, who was holding a struggling Blaze by the leg above his mouth.
In one bound, Ichigo swept Zangetsu through the Hollow's arm, successfully catching Blaze and depositing him on the ground before finishing off the Hollow, landing next to Blaze when he was done.
Looking over, Ichigo saw that the raven was shaking, staring wide-eyed at the spot the Hollow had previously occupied.
"Quelle était cette chose?"(5) He gasped out, chest rising and falling, still trying to grasp what he had seen.
"I still can't understand you. And anyway, why ask me a question when you won't understand the answer, anyway?" Ichigo raised an eyebrow, but otherwise returned to his non-Shinigami form, lowering his hand to help Blaze up.
Blaze glanced at the helping hand, figured there was no hidden intent behind it, and took it, standing up and brushing the grass from his clothing, frowning at grass stains that would be stubborn later, he knew.
"Blaze." Petit glanced up to see Ichigo pointing at the school. He nodded, following him to class.
He had expected some weird things upon coming to Japan. Giant monsters trying to eat him? Not so much.
Translations for what Blaze was saying are below ^^ Yes, Blaze has a bit of a bite to him, because I hate when I'm reading a story, and it has an OC in it, and the character is lame and obedient and just overall bland. Ichigo needs someone just as challenging as him, even if he can't understand a word he's saying. XD
(1) "My name is Blaze Petit, and I can't speak Japanese."
(2) "I can't understand you, ass..."
(3) "Ass! Let me go!"
(4) "Stupid giant carrot!"
(5) "What was that thing?"