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THE BRUISED BALLERINA

Hello, my name is Hanatarou Yamada, but you can call me Hana-Chan if you wish. I am seventeen year's old and I attend Karakura High School and Karakura's performing art's academy on the weekends. I love romance novel's like one's with prince's and princesses with happy ending's. I have no friend's and I am constantly bullied because of my girlish appearance and submissive nature at my school. At my performing art's school I am shunned or mocked, because I am "better" than the girl's in my ballet class, at least that's what I am told. My Ballet Mistress, Yoruichi Shihōin, just say's that I'm the prima ballerina assoluta of her class. I wish I wasn't and that she hadn't said that in front of the whole class...

As if I wasn't the outcast already...

I just wish to be treated as an equal among my fellow dancer's. Which is why I like to be called a Ballerina then a Danseur noble. I don't want to be a girl, I just wanted to show everyone that we are all the same... Plus... I kinda like that title better. I hope you're not laughing.

I honestly hated dancing at first, it was something my mother had forced me into it for she own reason's. But then I got into it and it made me feel so free and alive, like the problem's in my life do not exist. When I dance I put my emotion's into every move, into every step. When dance I want to tell a story about myself and who I am as a person, like I'm screaming "This is me and what I'm feeling right now!" but I say nothing. I want people to watch and be moved by my motion's when I'm on the stage. I'm in all honesty a very shy person, but when I'm on stage I feel six feet tall with the courageousness of a loin! Is that weird?

Yes? You asked about my mother's reason's? Well...

My mother wanted to be a dancer and she was good, but not great. That's what she's tell's me they said. She just wanted to be one so badly that she slept with any and everyone to get the spot she tried out for, but they would never come through on their end. This is the reason's why I don't know my father now. When I was born she saw a new way to become apart of the dancing scene. It didn't matter to her that I was a boy, she would live the life she wanted through me. I use to resist and refuse, but I would always in up a broken and beating in the end. Yes she beat's me, but never the face because she say's she need's my face flawless for when I'm a famous dancer all around the world, but my feet and back are not off limit's.

What do I mean? I'll tell you later if that's ok...

Huh? Why did I stop trying to refuse her?

It's simple... I have no one. I have no one to run to if I was to leave her abuse. I have no friends or other family, I'm just a freak, an outcast that everyone look's down on and wishes was dead. I wish I had friend's or at least someone to love me. Someone to hold my hand and tell me everything is going to be alright. To protect me and tell me I am safe with them, That I am free to do what I please and I can dance because I want to, not have to... but no one would want I broken thing like me... so I am here...

FRIDAY MORNING/ SCHOOL

It was first period and Hanatarou sat at his desk way in the back of the class next to the window. His classmates sat on the other side of him and in their cliques to talk about what they were going to do this weekend before class started. Since no one ever talked to him, the small dancer just sat there and stared out the window lost in his own thought's.

"It's beautiful day..." He thought calmly. The sky was free of clouds showing the lovely shade of blue that is usually always hidden and the sun was shining brightly and beautifully showering the town in its loving light. Hana loved day's like this it made him hope that today would be a better day and everyone in his class would leave him alone and not bully him. but...

"Hey fag!" He heard someone call he turned to his right just in time to have a heavy textbook thrown at his face. He yelped in pain and grabbed his nose. All his classmate's laughed in pointed at him calling him name's like "fag" and "Cocksucker". Not being able to stand it anymore ran out the class, tears running down his beautiful face.

He ran down the hall's and into the boy's bathroom and looked at him in the mirror. What he saw made him cry harder. His nose was covered in blood, some already caked on. He turned on the water and cupped his hand's under the water and splashed it on his face, watching the blood mix with the water as it went down the drain. He repeated this action until all the blood was gone. He inspected his face farther and saw that everything else was fine.

If he messed up his face his mother would kill him.

He looked back up at himself started to cry. He couldn't catch a break could he? He walked over to the wall near the sink. He put his back against the wall between the sinks and urinals and slid down the wall crying. He pulled his knee's up into his chest and rested his head on them.

"I-I didn't e-even d-do anything..." He sobbed into his knees, his shaky voice echoing off the tile wall's. "I-I w-was just sitting t-there..." He didn't understand why people hated him this much. He was different sure, but that's no reason to beat on him and call him names. He got enough of that at home.

"W-why t-those everyone hate me..." He asked himself as he continued to cried into his knees. He was just so hurt. He wished people just gave him a chance. A chance to prove that he was just like everyone else and his outer appearance didn't matter, but he knew that it did to everyone else, it was high school after all. Maybe if he wasn't a dancer and he actually looked like a normal teenage boy people would be nicer to him.

He really didn't understand was he really that different? Was he that ugly, was that the reason he was beating and teased by other's? Was it because he was so little? He knew he was small and thin, but that was because his mother starved him so he would have the perfect ballerina's body. She would say he needed to be small or he would never make it in the dance world. He wanted to dance, he did he love it, but not at the price of dying from malnutrition.

He was so deep into his own thought's that he didn't hear the bathroom door open and someone enter.

"Are you alright?" A new voice asked. Hana's head shot up from its resting place and looked up and saw a very handsome teen looking down at him. The fluorescent lights above them shined behind the stranger like he was some angel sent down from Heaven in his hour of need..

"W-who is he?..." Hana had never seen this teen before.The other teen was tall to say the least he had to be a least six feet tall. He had perfect peach colored skin and amazing chocolate-brown eye's that held concern... Concern for him.. he looks like a normal teenage boy, except-

"Is his hair orange?" The small boy thought as he looked at the stranger. It was strange color indeed, but Hana liked it."It look's nice on him..." Hana was so busy staring that he didn't notice that the other boy had knelt in front of him until he spoke up again.

"Are you alright?" Snapped out of his trance, Hana finally noticed how close the teen was and curled into himself more with a deep blush forming on his cheek's. This close he could see the teen was indeed very handsome and his voice, it was deep and smooth that it sent shiver's down his spine.

"I-I'm fine.." He lied wiping his tear's away on his sleeve.

"Are you sure... Because you were crying.." The other stated as he reached to touch Hana's face, but the other flinched in involuntarily making the stranger frown.

"Oh-No I angered him!"

"I-I'm so sorry!" Hana cried closing his eyes bracing himself for whatever, he knows what happen's first hand when he angered someone. He would always end up hurt and crying alone, he wished deeply that it wasn't true and that it was in his head, but it happened so many times before that he knew it was true. He waited for his punishment but nothing ever came. He opened his eyes slowly and saw the other teen just looking at him in confusion.

"You.. shouldn't be sorry." The stranger told him. "I should be sorry, I shouldn't have tried to touch you... it was rude.." The orange haired told him... and was he blushing?

"N-no... it's alright..." It became quiet not really in an awkward sense, they just locked eyes and stared into what felt like the other's soul. It was odd, but Hana didn't feel scared anymore he felt an odd sense of security. When Hana looked into the other's eye's he saw what he felt inside all the time. Loneliness. The smaller opened his mouth to say something, but the school bell rang.

"I'm late!" He thought as he stood up and pushed himself off the wall.

"I-I'm sorry, but I have to go!" He said as he ran by the other teen and out of the bathroom. He didn't even hear as the other yell asking him to wait.

"Hey look tha cry baby's back!" A boy yelled making the class laugh. Hana blushed in embarrassment and shrunk into himself as the teacher narrowed her eyes and stepped in front of the small dancer.

"Gilga-San! I told you one more disrespectful out burst like that and you would have detention!" His teacher, Misato Ochi, scolded the boy. Gilga-San or Nnoitra Gilga is one of the meanest, most frighting people who ever walked the face of the earth and if you told him that he'd probably take it as a complement, before kicking your ass. The teen is extremely rude and lecherous, accented by his snake-like eyes and perverted attitude. He is quite possibly the most foul-mouthed person Hana has ever met, even more so than his equally as rude friend, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez. They're both blunt, sarcastic, and quite sadistic.

"Oh come on teach he was just jokin'!" Grimmjow said quick as always to defend his partner in crime. Ochi-san continued to glare at them before sighing. It was too early for their attics...

"Just one more chance and then your here after school." She told them making them grin from ear to ear. She then to the small male standing behind her and she softened her eyes.

"Go to your seat Yamada-San." She told him, before walking back in front of the board. He did as he was told and quickly walked to his seat in the back feeling everyone's eyes on him. He sat down and his eye's went owl-wide as he saw someone had written all over his desk. They had written gay slur's on his desk in permanent black maker. Every rude words you could think of was written all over leaving no spot untouched. He felt eye's on him and looked to see Grimmjow and Nnoitra grinning at him, twirling maker's in their hands.

"W-why did they do this!" He asked himself. "Was it to make me cry... because it feel like I'm about to..." He looked back down at his desk and sighed sadly. He held himself together telling himself that he would cry later when no one was around. He took out his notebook's, covering the foul words and looked to the front of the class.

"OK! Everyone listen up!" Ochi-San order making everyone look up at her. Once she felt she had everyone's full attention she continued.

"We have a new student coming so I hope you all will make him feel welcome." She told them looking over at Grimmjow and Nnoitra with a look that clearly said "Behave or detention!", but they grinned at her like as always paying her no mind. They were already planning a way to "welcome" the new kid. She sighed knowing it was no use and looked over to the door. "You may come in now." Everyone looked at the door and saw a tall lean built boy come in. Hana looked at the boy in shock.

"It's... the boy from the bathroom..." He thought and it was indeed the kind orange haired male that he met in the boy's bathroom. The older male walked up to the blackboard and wrote his name. When he was done he turned to face the class and bowed.

"My name is Ichigo Kurosaki and it's nice to meet you all." He looked up and looked around the class to see the student's he would be spending the year with, until his sight landed on Hana. He stared at him for a moment, before smiling warmly at the smaller. Hana blushed and looked down at his desk. His heart was racing a marathon.

"He's so handsome... and he just smiled at me!" Hana thought all dreamy like. Then blushing even deeper when he realized what he just thought had to have meant. "I think have a crush on him..." , But he just met him like fifteen minutes ago, doesn't a crush need a little more time to form? Plus, the way they met wasn't really something Hana wanted to think about. "I don't even know if he like's boy's..."

He looked back up just in time to hear Ochi-san call him.

"Yamada-San can you rise your hand?" She asked him. Oh God he knew what that meant... It meant the handsome teen was going to be sitting next to him! He hadn't been this nervous since his first Variation he did when he was ten. He was both nervous and excited at that time and that was how he was feeling now. He took a deep breath like he did then and slowly raised his hand. Ichigo looked him. He walked to his new seat in front of Hana and sat down.

"Hi..." The orangette said with a small blush on his cheeks.

"H-hey..." Hana said nervously. "Maybe we could just be friends..."

"Be careful newbie ya might catch something!" Grimmjow yelled making the class laugh at Hana once again. Hana shrunk into him, wishing that he could just disappear. "Maybe not..." There went his one chance to make one friend in his whole life. He knew what was going to happen now. Everyone would tell the new student to say away from the "Faggot" and tell him all these bad thing's that wasn't true. He was deep in his sad thought that he didn't see his newly formed crush frown deeply.

"Fuck off..." Ichigo said in a dangerously low tone that no one knew what he said expect Hana. The class became quiet and Grimmjow narrowed his eye's.

"Whatya say?" He asked.

"I said fuck off blueberry." He told him making everyone gasp even Hana. "Did he just... Defend me?" No one had ever defended him before.

Grimmjow growled.

"Bastard we utta-" Nnoitra started, but was cut off by a fuming Ochi-san.

"That is enough!" Ochi-san yelled clearly angered by the disrespect that was shown to not only to each other, but to her as they did this in front of her. "Grimmjow and Nnoitra out!"

"What! He-"

"I don't care! I said out and I mean out, now!" She was fuming, Ochi-san never got this upset. "Grimmjow and Nnoitra must have finally gotten to her.." They mumbled under there breath's and left the classroom. Ochi-san quickly calmed down and looked over at Ichigo and Hana.

"I understand what you did Kurosaki-San, but please don't do it again..." She order everyone to pay attention unless they wanted to join the two delinquent's in the halls needless to say everyone was listening with their noses in their textbook's, but Hana and Ichigo were having another staring contest.

"I should at least thank him..."

"Ummm... T-thank you..." Hana said with a faint blush.

"Hm? Oh you don't need to thank me." Ichigo told him, but Hana shook his head.

"You didn't have to do that... You could have let them talk about me and pretend you didn't see anything, but you didn't so I'm thanking you." The dancer told him with a small blush still on his face. Ichigo looked at him for a moment before smiling.

"Well your welcome then."

"He's so nice...Oh I haven't told him my name!"

"My name's Hanatarou Yamada, but you can call Hana-chan.. if you want..." He said sticking out his hand for him to shake.

"I'm Ichigo Kurosaki, but just call me Ichigo." He said giving Hana his hand and shaking it.

"He has really soft skin... I don't want to let go..." Hana thought.

"Alright... Ichigo..." He said all dreamy like heart's in his eye's. Not noticing they were still holding hand's.

"Oh god... I think I'm in love..." They both thought as they gazed into each other's eye's totally forgetting they were in school until...

"Pay attention you two!" Ochi-san ordered them. They both sat up straight taking their hands back and looked at her. She looked at them until she was satisfied that they were paying attention, she turned back around and started her lesson. Ichigo looked back at Hana and smiled, making him blush.

I hope you enjoyed the first chapter on my story. Please, if you'd be so kind as to review on it I'd greatly appreciated. :)