The principal's office was a bright, clean room, dominated by a heavy oak desk and by the man who sat behind it, whose greying, whiskered face was folded into a deep frown. Behind him, a screen on the wall was looping a short video, recorded from the television the night before. The same video had been posted on the net and a link to it was being passed around the students by means of text messages and word of mouth. Overnight, Ichigo had become a star of sorts. More specifically, of the wrong sort.

"How do you think this makes the school look?" demanded the principal, pointing a trembling finger at the screen. On it, Ichigo was shown hurdling a railing and sprinting towards Don Kanonji before being set upon and wrestled to the ground by seven security guards. It started to loop again. To Rukia, it seemed that, with each replay, Ichigo's expression as he was dragged to the ground became more humorous. She was having difficulty taking the principal's rage seriously and glanced around at the rest of the group who had been called into the office to see if they, too, were having the same problem. There were two girls, Orihime and Tatsuki, both friends of Ichigo's. And four boys: Ichigo, Chad, Asano and Mizuiro. Of these, only Asano and Mizuiro seemed able to see the funny side of the situation and were watching the screen with bright, smiling faces. Ichigo was sulking, his head down and his hands in his pockets. "What do you have to say for yourselves?" asked the principal.

It was Tatsuki who spoke up:

"Sensei, why have we been called in here?"

"Look at the video!"

"I know, but Inoue and I were nowhere near Ichigo when that video was taken. I went to the show with my parents and Orihime came with me. We had nothing to do with this." She paused to let her words sink in and, when it was clear that the principal had no useful response, she took Orihime by the hand: "We'll just be on our way then."

Orihime flushed and bowed:

"Thank you, Sensei," she squeaked before being led away by Tatsuki. Rukia was suddenly the only female in the room. To her left, Asano grinned sheepishly:

"To be honest, it was just the same for us. Mizuiro and I went along separately. We weren't involved." He started to back away, but the principal lurched out of his chair and grasped the teenager's shoulder:

"You're friends with Kurosaki," he said: "And guilty by association."

"Oh, come on!"

"Shut up, Asano. Now" – he paced past the five of them and then back again, eyeballing each in turn: "What do you have to say for yourselves?"

While they had been speaking, an idea had occurred to Rukia. On cue, she let out a wail of despair:

"I tried to stop him! I tried! But he wouldn't listen to me and he climbed over the barrier, and – and" – She let the words trail off, hunched her shoulders and gave an almighty sob. The principal was suddenly there beside her, pressing a hankerchief into her hand:

"There, there, Kuchiki-san. It wasn't your fault."

"I didn't mean to, but he wouldn't listen!"

Luckily, the boys had recognised her ruse and, while the principal's back was turned, had sidled across the room to an open window. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched them help each other out of the office.

The principal realised what had happened an instant later, but, as he rushed towards the window, Rukia took off in the other direction, making a break for the door. She ran out into a deserted corridor and, a few minutes later, met up with Ichigo and his friends on the other side of the playground.

"What the hell were you doing back there, Rukia?" Ichigo asked when he saw her smug expression. Asano interrupted him:

"Hey, Ichigo! Rukia got us out of a fix. You should be grateful."

"Yes, be grateful, Kurosaki-kun," she said, smiling sweetly: "It's called A.C.T.I.N.G."

"You were amazing, Kuchiki-san," said Mizuiro. They had been joined by Tatsuki and Orihime who listened, rapt, as Mizuiro described what had happened. Rukia let the conversation drift over her. This was her favourite part of the day: her time at the school. The lessons kept her busy; the endless bustle of conversation; the sense of being part of something larger than herself; and the familiar faces she had grown used to seeing every day. She stiffened as the hollow detector in her bag began beeping shrilly.

There was nothing for it. She grabbed Ichigo's arm and pulled him away from the group.

"Hey, Rukia!" he complained.

"We have to be somewhere!" Then, remembering herself, she turned and curtseyed, mid-step, to the rest of them, offering them her most dazzling smile: "We'll see you later, everyone!"

And then she was dragging Ichigo off towards the school gates. She had just enough time to hear Orihime's quiet comment to the rest of the group:

"Kuchiki-san is quite forward, isn't she?"