Please notice: this is unbetaed and English is not my native tongue. I write solely for pleasure and fun. Please be kind.
One – HIT
The teacher sensed that something was wrong tanks to the ruckus coming from classroom three, which perfectly reached his ears even if the headmaster's office's walls were so thick they were almost soundproof.
«I should go and check if everything's fine» he muttered, probably speaking to himself. He popped in the office, and he saw a girl rigidly sitting at her desk, apparently occupied doing her work. Her strict facial expression gave her the typical secretary looks.
When she realized his presence, the girl looked at him with furious eyes.
«Those punks are so noisy» Ise Nanao grumbled, neatly piling up some envelopes. «Anyway, it's just crazy, don't you think? Accepting a transfer student at this time of the year… thinking that, not that long ago, this was an exclusive all-male private school…»
«Crazy indeed» professor Kyoraku Shunsui mocked her, lazily stretching his arms. Nanao shot him a deathly glance, before violently starting to stamp the envelopes.
«Anyway» she declared, stopping to soak the stamp into the ink pad, «the new student is supposed to come this morning. It seems like he comes from Tokyo, but his looks aren't common at all, he seemed pretty mixed to me, almost like a half-breed. Here, this is his profile. His hair is absurd, but I don't think he dyed it.»
«Kurosaki Ichigo» Kyoraku observed, reading the name on the document. «Oh, I see. The son of that famous surgeon, Kurosaki Isshin. His mother, who apparently had European blood in her veins, died a few years ago.»
Nanao froze, looking at the teacher with a raised eyebrow. What was the reason behind all that curiosity?
It didn't last for long, though. Kyoraku looked intently through the papers, then he dropped them on the desk, seeming as bored as usual.
«Another hothead» he said, scratching his head and smoothing back his long, dark hair. Without even asking, Kyoraku rustled in one of Nanao's drawers, looking for an elastic to tie it on his nape. The young secretary looked at him with a sigh. If only he hadn't had that terrible temper, Shunsui could have been…
«The thing, Kyoraku-sensei» she added, underlining the honorific hoping to induce him keep a little bit of responsibility, «is that Kurosaki has been assigned to class three, the one you are in care of.»
Shunsui stayed silent for a moment, considering those word. Then, with a quick movement, he grabbed the jacket he nonchalantly dropped on a chair and he draped it over his shoulders, walking down the corridor.
Nanao remained by herself, staring at the door that Shunsui forgot to close behind his back. Pursing her lips, she frowned.
«What the hell is going on here?»
Class three consisted in a group of eighteen years old boys, all with more or less good marks, but that didn't seem anxious to show their brightness to other people. The only one who shone above all the others was called Toshiro Hitsugaya, and he was so smart he had been accepted at the Seireitei All-male High School even if he had just turned twelve.
Luckily, the pupils were all essentially calm and in good terms among them. Or better, Kyoraku thought, glancing towards young Ayasegawa, who was sitting in the third row and seemed occupied checking his eye make-up in a little mirror under the loving gaze of his classmate Madarame, sometimes it was even more than just "good terms".
Since Seireitei High School was exclusive and prestigious, it was attended just by extremely wealthy or extremely bright boys. Kyoraku quickly realized that the two categories had more things in common that he thought, like loneliness, for instance, but also an oppressive life to escape.
Anyway, Seireitei High functioned exactly like every other high school, since it had every comfort and it was immersed in a splendid private park in Okinawa's suburbs. Honestly, Kyoraku thought that his pupils had all they needed to be happy and live a serene life, in that school.
«Good, good. Now sit down» he exclaimed, entering the classroom. Even if he didn't speak loudly, all the boys silenced immediately and they rushed to their chairs.
That was the reason why headmaster Yamamoto made Kyoraku responsible for that class. The man was not only very good at teaching his subject, classic western literature, but he sported also a sense of authority that made him earn everyone's respect.
«Where's the new kid? Come here, introduce yourself» Kyoraku cheerfully said. Nanao was right, he immediately thought. The boy that moved his chair to get closer the desk was a very strange kid. The picture on his folder didn't give justice to the exact colour of his hair, a shade of bright orange instead of a dull coppery chestnut as he thought at the beginning. He was lean, almost scrawny, with every muscle at its right place and long, slender legs. And his face... Kyoraku half-closed his eyelids, fishing in his memories.
For Gods' sake, he thought, incredulous. That poor boy looked like the exact copy of...
«My name's Ichigo Kurosaki» the student was saying meanwhile, putting a hand on his hip and frowning, as if all that talk was a total nuisance to him. As many boys inside the classroom, he didn't wear the burgundy blazer of the uniform, given the hot weather of mid-April, and he stood there in grey trousers and white short-sleeved shirt. He even loosened up the knot of his black tie, which hang from his thin neck in a rather weird manner. «I come from Tokyo, Karakura prefecture. I'm eighteen and yes, this is my natural hair colour. And if any of you has problem with it, I won't hold back.»
A faint laughter resonated through the classroom. It seemed that threaten didn't quite scare the boys as the newcomer wished to. From where he was, Kyoraku noticed that Abarai, one of the most turbulent pupils, was broadly grinning.
«Any questions?» Kyoraku mumbled, distracted. He was so immersed in his dark thoughts that he barely saw that one boy, sitting in the fourth row, had shyly raised a hand. He kept glancing around nervously, under his mates' questioning eyes.
«Good, good, Kurosaki. You can go sitting next to Kira» Kyoraku said, pointing the empty desk near the blonde boy. He paled, when Ichigo moved the chair to put his things on the desk and take a seat.
«Hello, err... » Ichigo began, frowning again. «I didn't quite catch your name…?»
«I...Izuru Kira» the other answered, stuttering a bit. And then, without even catching his breath, «I'mverypleasedtomakeyouraquaitance!»
Ichigo kept peeking at his new mate during the whole boring lesson of Latin literature. White professor Kyoraku was disserting about Seneca and stoic philosophy, he came to realize that Kira-kun seemed a good-natured guy, even if chronically timid. He observed with interest while he underlined some sentences in his textbook using his ruler, one of the typical features of a nerd, but it just seemed natural for that thin boy with his apprehensive looks.
Kira, that was his name, was also a rather cute one. Behind his docile behaviour, in fact, he looked absolutely nice. He was slender, light-boned, with thin, graceful hands, and his features were chiselled. His blonde hair constantly fell to hide his gaze, and his eyes were so blue it almost matched the colour of the sky.
Definitely, it could have been worse, Ichigo thought.
During the lesson (which he maybe should have followed with more attention, since Kyoraku-sensei loved to bother newcomers with unscheduled tests), he kept glancing around, just to understand better that weird place.
The boys sitting around him never looked towards him. They were all apparently busy looking through their books or listening to the teacher. A flash of colour in a corner caught his attention, and Ichigo saw a tall guy sporting a bright magenta ponytail on his head. At least he wasn't the only one having weird hair, he said to himself.
And next to that one, he saw... he blinked, resisting the temptation to rub his eyes in astonishment. He never saw such a handsome boy before. He was slender, delicate without being thin as Kira-kun, the boy had dark, sleek hair falling on his shoulders, and a peculiar, silver pin keeping it away from his forehead. From where he was, Ichigo couldn't see the colour of his eyes, but he believed it was grey, or maybe light blue. His face was calm and serene, so beautiful it reminded him of a classical statue... Ichigo blinked, straightening his back. That guy was the only one, in the classroom, who was still wearing the red blazer, perfectly buttoned in spite of the hot, and not a single drop of sweat was visible on his pearl-white forehead.
Then, something hit him on his back, and just as he was turning to see who did that, a little paper ball fell on his desk.
A message.
Ichigo glanced around with a deep frown, noticing that a couple heads turned towards him, but they immediately focused on the teacher again when they met his fiery eyes.
"What the hell", he thought, silently straightening the paper under his desk to hide him from the professor.
«I think it's from Hisagi-kun» Kira murmured, leaning towards him. «I saw him throwing it. It's that one, with dark hair. His name's Hisagi Shuuhei.»
Ichigo followed Kira's pointing finger, and he noticed that a boy lightly turned to look at him. He could spot his short, black and spiky hair. And the part of his face that he managed to see... he lowered his gaze, looking at the floor. Three long parallel scars ran across his fair skin, from eye to chin, forming uninterrupted lines.
«Kami-sama» he muttered. «What on Earth does a guy like that want from me?»
«Don't let appearance deceive you» whispered Kira, hiding behind a wall made by his Latin books, «Hisagi-kun is a decent guy. And he's also pretty handsome.»
«If you think so» grumbled Ichigo, returning to the message.
Ichigo like "strawberry" or "15"?
«What kind of question is this?» he snapped, talking loudly without even realizing.
«Shut up, moron» a short boy growled, turning from the desk in front of him. Ichigo was so nervous he could just start yelling, but he suddenly froze when he noticed that the one who just talked was visibly younger than him, with big, green eyes and short hair, so light that it almost looked pristine white. «Did you just swallow your own tongue? I said shut up, or you'll make me miss Kyoraku-sensei's lesson.»
«Oh, come on, Hitsugaya-kun» Kira popped in, cheerful, «you already read all Seneca's works. You could even take Kyoraku's place.»
The young boy called Hitsugaya glared at Kira, then he just turned without adding anything. His juvenile, almost childish face was filled with disgust.
«Thank you, dad, for parking me in this wonderful place» Ichigo complained, and in that moment the bell rang, signalling the beginning of the lunch break. When he heard it, Kyoraku-sensei smiled broadly.
«Good, boys, today's lesson's over... so this means homework for ya.»
A general moan echoed around, while the teacher handed out the photocopies filled with Latin words. Ichigo eyed the sheet suspiciously, and he realized that the translation looked long and terribly complicated. He raised his head, meeting Kira's eyes, and when the two of them made the same discouraged expression, they smiled to each other.
«If you'd like, later we could go to the library to get it done» Kira suggested, lifting his desk's top to put all the books in the empty space, «but I have to warn you, I'm not that good, at Latin.»
«Translations aren't a problem to me» Ichigo reassured him, «if they aren't too difficult.»
«You still don't know Kyoraku-sensei» Kira sighed, hunching his shoulders. Ichigo smiled. Kira and him would have gotten along well, he was sure of it.
The canteen was similar to those you could see in American TV series, he thought. Or at least it looked like that to his eyes, while he glanced around with a deep frown.
He hated it. Being the weird one, the one everybody kept avoiding and so on. It made him feel... what was the right word? Exposed? Almost... in danger?
«Oh, no, western food again» Kira groaned, biting his lower lip and looking nervously through the self-service's counter. His indecision was decidedly blocking the long queue that formed behind Ichigo's back, and more than one pupil of Seireitei High School were beginning to express their irritation.
«Hey, Kira-kun!» someone yelled. «Would you hurry up? We are hungry!»
«Err, I'm so sorry, Renji-kun» Kira stuttered, blushing and grabbing some random food. Ichigo quickly chose steak and salad, ignoring the dessert and opting for a Diet Coke and an apple. He followed Kira, who sat around a still empty table with a gloomy face.
«How disgusting» he commented, glancing at his meal. «How I miss old, good oriental cookery.»
«At my place, it's always my sister Yuzu the one who cooks» Ichigo said, thinking to the delicacies his sister always made him when he came home from school. «She's really good, even if she's just a kid...»
«Did you say your sister? But... what about your mother?»
Ichigo stayed silent for a moment, looking Kira while he kept playing with the food on his plate, without even trying to gulp it down. «She's dead.»
Kira opened his mouth, ardently wishing to say something, but he was interrupted by the noise of a chair being moved, and then someone smashed his tray on the table.
«Everyday it's the same» the newcomer snarled, the awkward-looking Abarai. «It always takes forever to Kira-kun to choose what to eat, and we get only the leftovers.»
«Stop whining, Renji» his mate hissed, neatly putting his tray next to the taller guy and starting to cut his steak with fork and knife, «you will never get leftovers. The meal is the same for everybody.»
Ichigo raised his head and his mind suddenly emptied when he crossed the grey eyes of the beautiful boy he spotted during class. He looked at him, squinting lightly. «Can I do something for you?»
His toned froze the rather light atmosphere, while even the cheerful Renji turned to face his friend, looking concerned. His forehead was covered with strange-looking tattoos.
«Oh, Byakuya, please» an unknown voice broke in, while a hand lightly patted the dark-haired boy's shoulder, «calm down, or you'll scare the new one to death!»
As an answer, Byakuya gracefully shrugged, beginning to chew on his meat. Ichigo's eyes instinctively went to the boy who spoke. Hisagi Shuuhei was slightly taller than him, but he was decidedly more muscular and well-buildt. There was something wild and... charming? Yes, charming, attractive, in his scarred face. He also had some tattoos: a sixty-nine on his left cheekbone, and a thin azure line going across his face.
He didn't meet his gaze. He didn't want to forgive that irritating message of before. He hated when people teased him because of his name. It was something that, simply, made him angry.
«Hisagi-kun» Kira exclaimed, «did you see? Kyoraku-sensei is so mean. He can't just give us so nonchalantly a translation like that. It will be an all-nighter to me, I'm sure of it...»
Renji smiled. «Probably that man's just terribly frustrated. I think Ise-san, the secretary, rejected his avances again.»
«And do you think it's right for him to take his revenge on us?»
Ichigo smiled too. If it hadn't been for that cold bastard of before, he wouldn't had minded to chitchat with the other boys. But even if Byakuya looked totally uninterested in him and focused only on his meal, the strong feeling of uneasiness kept growing in him, maybe even amplified from Hisagi's arrival.
Anyway, Hisagi put his tray on the table and then turned around and walked away. Ichigo watched him, feeling a little disappointed. That was not the kind of reaction he was expecting. Hisagi wasn't going to ask him again the question he wrote in that note, then? Especially since he got no reply beforehand. Why that guy suddenly got so interested in him, and now he just ignored him as if he even wasn't there? He had no explanations for that behaviour. Probably it was just innocent curiosity, he told to himself, trying to be optimistic. Regretfully, though, being optimistic wasn't part of his nature.
«Where's he going?» Ichigo asked, disoriented, talking to Kira, the only one he believed he could rely on.
«Helping Kaname-kun» Kira replied, absentmindedly peeling his apple, without even looking at him. It must have been a habit, then, Ichigo concluded.
«And who's Kanam... oh» he murmured, stopping abruptly. Hisagi was coming back, and he was not alone.
With him, there was a dark-skinned boy, with long afro hair. His white eyes, without pupils, contrasted sharply with his ebony skin. Hisagi was helping him approach the table, avoiding all the people and the obstacles.
«That... that guy's blind» Ichigo said, keeping his voice low. «What happened to him?»
Kira nibbled on the apple, shaking his head, his eyes darkening. It was weird to see how emotions quickly popped up and disappeared from his delicate features. «Kaname-kun is blind since his born, and he comes from a poor district. Nevertheless, he has a great memory and he is able to remember everything he hears. He's a real monster of intelligence, since he has the highest grades in the whole school. I don't think there's much difference between Hitsugaya and him, actually. He's an old friend of Hisagi-kun. I think they grew up together.»
Ichigo wasn't really paying attention to him. His eyes were glued to Hisagi, which was carefully guiding the blind boy across the room. His vaguely wild looks seemed out of place, while he acted so gently, moving an empty chair to let Kaname sit next to him.
«Hey, Kurosaki-kun» Abarai Renji said, smiling to him, «are you going to sign in for some club?»
«Actually...» Ichigo began, without really knowing how to go on. He always hated clubs, even at the public school he used to attend in Karakura. He thought it was just a waste of time.
«Well, if you don't know what to do, I'll suggest soccer club» exclaimed Renji, all cheerful, «I'm in it, and our team is the strongest!»
«Not thanks to you, surely» said Byakuya, cruel. «You aren't that bad, as a player, but you're too violent. Sooner or later, you'll be ejected from the tournament because of your bad behaviour.»
Ichigo looked at him, incredulous. How could someone say such horrible things and stay completely impassive? Renji blinked, embarrassed, but then he smiled again, even if a little half-heartedly.
«What about literature club?» Kaname gently questioned. Renji looked grateful for the interruption, because he started eating his meat in silence, without trying to talk further.
Ichigo turned towards the blind boy, not really knowing how to behave around him. «Err, I...»
«He doesn't look like a poetry lover, to me» Kira said, with a mischievous grin. «What about music club? There's me, Hisagi and...»
«Stop calling me by my family name, Kira» Hisagi interrupted, opening his canned drink.
Ichigo cringed. «Music club, like playing instruments, singing and stuff? You know, I'm afraid I'm completely tone-deaf.»
«Is there a seat left?» called an irritated voice, coming from behind him.
«I think so» Ichigo absentmindedly replied, looking at the white-haired kid that he almost had an argument with during class.
«What a pain in the ass» Hitsugaya grumbled, sitting next to Ichigo and biting down on a mouthful of steak as if he would have wanted to rip off someone's head instead.
«What's the matter, Hitsugaya-kun?» Kaname politely asked. His voice was soft and sweet, and it perfectly suited his calm and attractive looks. If Byakuya was cold and unapproachable like a prince, Kaname was sort of a reassuring presence, to Ichigo. Or at least this was what he thought.
«Those two damn queers» the kid snarled, pointing to a couple of boys who were walking towards the counter in that moment. Ichigo stretched out to see them: the taller one was a skinhead, and his nude scalp almost shone in the neon light. The other had a weird bob hairstyle, but for some reason it didn't look bad on him, since he had a delicate, feminine face. The two were holding hands, and the status of their relationship was pretty evident.
«So what?» asked Renji, wolfing down his lunch. The more Ichigo looked at him, the more he liked him. Renji looked like the typical dude who was good at sports, thanks to his tall and muscular body. The various tattoos that marked his forehead, neck and arms only added to his already evident, manly attractiveness.
«They do NOTHING but necking and fussing all the time» the younger boy revealed, shivering. «In every moment. During class, in the library, at lunchtime, in the garden, and EVERY fucking night they have s...»
«Please» Byakuya disgustedly blurted out, «I'm eating.»
«It's unbearable» Hitsugaya complained, ignoring him.
«Excuse me, but why do you care about what those two do at night?» Ichigo asked. The boy turned towards him with nothing but a ferocious expression on his face.
«I sleep in their room!» he screamed, furious. «The only triple bedroom, guess who got it? Me, obviously, and the damn couple of goddamn lovebirds!»
«Ah, love, what a marvellous thing» Hisagi murmured, sly, sipping on his Coke. Ichigo looked at him, and he suddenly realized that the other boy was already watching him. He immediately averted his gaze, feeling uneasy. Were homosexual relationships, in that horrible school, a common thing? Well, he had nothing against it. Who knew how many other couples could be out there, aside from Madarame and Ayasegawa? The boys sitting around his table seemed just friends with each other, to him, except maybe...
He quickly glanced towards Kaname, who was calmly eating his steak. Then, his gaze followed Hisagi again, which was occupied chatting with Hitsugaya, gently scolding him for his homophobia. After all, Kira told him the two of them were childhood friends. And weren't childhood bonds meant to transform into...
«Oh really? Then listen what I'm going to do» Hitsugaya yelled, standing up and moving his chair back with a squeak. «Tonight I'm fucking going to sleep in the corridor! Screw you all!»
Then, the white-haired boy walked away, angrily throwing the remnants of his food in the trash bin.
«Talking about rooms» Ichigo asked Kira, «I still need to unpack all my stuff... where am I supposed to sleep?»
Carved on the little wooden plate next to the door there was number twenty-four, and below a smaller one held a piece of paper where Kira neatly wrote his name, followed by an empty space. Coming in, Ichigo let his only suitcase fell to the floor, looking around surprised.
The room wasn't that big, it was just ample enough to accommodate two beds and a small detached bathroom. A traditional-style closet could be opened next to the entrance door, and just above one of the beds a bow window let the two boys see part of the school garden.
«Not bad» Ichigo recognized, pacing around and opening all the doors, «not bad at all. I was expecting much worse.»
«I thought it would have been nice, since you're new and you still don't know anybody» Kira explained, visibly blushing, «so I asked Kyoraku-sensei if I could share my room with you, and he accepted. Actually, he was busy writing some love poems for Ise-san, the secretary, and I'm not really sure he completely got what I was telling him, but...»
«You were right, Kira» Ichigo replied, enthusiast, entering the bathroom and beaming when he noticed the big, comfy-looking western-style bathtub. «Wow!»
«As Hitsugaya-kun said previously, all rooms usually host just two boys. Nobody knows why there's only one for three people.»
«How come there are some futons in here?» Ichigo observed, peeking inside the ioshiire/i. Kira looked at him, a little surprised by the sudden change of his attitude. Slowly, he started smiling. He looked happy to have gotten a roommate, Ichigo thought.
«Ah, you can sleep in a futon, if you like, but I definitely rather doing it in a bed.»
«Hey, and whose are those? Are these your CDs?» Ichigo questioned again, climbing on one of the beds to look through a pile of discs neatly set on a shelf. «The Offspring, Nirvana, The Cure... hey, I think we have matching taste.»
«Are you serious?» Kira yelled, finally losing his composure out of enthusiasm. «I can't believe. What's your favourite band? Mine is-»
«Social Distortion!» they both laughed, since they talked at the unison.
«I think I've just solved the club problem» Ichigo beamed, relieved, sitting on his new bed and discarding his shoes. «Music, then. If Hisagi-kun likes this kind of stuff too, we'll get along greatly.»
«Hisagi-kun? Oh, he's somewhat different.»
«Uh?» Ichigo murmured, while zipping his luggage open and beginning to stuff his clothes and personal items in the closet. Kira elegantly pretended not to see a stuffed animal which suspiciously looked like a teddy bear peeking under a pile of neatly folded hoodies.
«He's...» Kira hesitated, looking for the right word, smiling when he finally found an acceptable one. «An artist, I think.»
Ichigo huffed, loosening up his tie's knot. «What do you mean?»
«Oh, I think you'll realize. Look, it's almost two o'clock. In a little time we'll have afternoon classes, and then you can come and see our club. What do you think?»
«I think it sounds fine» Ichigo replied, trying to ignore the sibylline tone of that answer.
Seireitei High School, he thought, frowning, here I come.
TBC
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