Thank you all for being so patient, I'm having some financial and health issues that need to be taken care of. I'd like to thank everyone that reviewed, and I'd especially like to thank hunterofcomedy for the supportive pm's. Last but certainly not least I'd like to thank my awesome beta, KaizokuGotenks.
That Girl
Waking up to a screaming alarm clock is never pleasant, but waking up to a screaming alarm clock with a crippling migraine when you have sensitive neko hearing is pure torture. Rukia groaned and blindly groped the nightstand, trying to silence the source of her discomfort. When her hand found the device, she slammed on a random button, not caring which as long as the screeching stopped. She sighed in relief, and poked her head out from under the quilt.
The green neon lights read six in the morning, giving her an hour and a half to get ready for school. She turned over onto her side to perform her morning stretch, but groaned in frustration at the dull pain that kept her from successfully doing so. Rukia was perfectly content to stay cocooned in her warm quilt, but her stomach protested the lack of food.
~Groooooowl~
"Stop complaining, I'm getting up. It's not like there'll be a lot to eat anyway." She muttered to herself as she slowly sat up, sighing and bringing a hand to her head.
"I feel like I have a hangover," she groaned. Unfortunately, she had nothing within the house to remedy that.
"I suppose a trip to the nurse will be necessary today." She rarely ever had to go to the nurse for her injuries, as they were rarely serious enough to warrant the trip. Rukia had learned early on to stay out of Kaito's way whenever he drank, and she had learned the hard way. When he was sober, however, he was half-way decent.
When the sharp pain of her migraine dulled a bit, she slowly stood and walked to the kitchen. Taking a shower was out of the question, thanks to her aching head. She silently thanked Kaito for having been hung-over the night before, as the shades that would have brought in the blinding were closed. As she walked into the kitchen, she was a little shocked to see Kaito rummaging through the fridge.
"What are you doing up?" Her voice was laced with exhaustion as she spoke.
Kaito sighed and pulled out a small container of white rice. "That damn Tosa Inu next door woke me up." He opened the cupboard above the stove. "Don't we have anything else?" He growled out. Rukia sighed and opened the oven, pulling out two packs of instant miso soup. She put the two packs on the stove and pulled out a small pot. All the while Kaito looked at her strangely.
"What the hell are those doing in the oven?" He questioned her.
She filled the small pot with water and lit the stove. "You put them there two nights ago." She stated as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.
He grunted and stuck his head back into the fridge. "You need to go to the store today."
Rukia brought out two medium sized bowls out from the cupboard and placed them on the counter. "I need money." She said while pouring the contents of the packets into each bowl. Kaito sighed and walked into the small living room to retrieve his wallet. Rukia took this time to heat up the meager portion of white rice in another small pot on the stove.
When Kaito walked back into the kitchen he slammed one thousand five hundred sixty two yen onto the counter. Rukia glanced at the money and sighed. "That won't buy us very much."
Kaito ran a hand through his hair. "Well it's all we got for now, unless you go and put those quick hands of yours to use."
Rukia stiffened at his words, her ears went back and her tail angrily swished back and forth behind her. She poured the now boiling water over the dried miso soup contents in their bowls. She then took the pot with the white rice off the heat and set it aside. "I can figure out how to stretch this out for a couple of days," Rukia assured.
Kaito picked up his bowl of miso soup and walked to the old recliner in the living room. "See to it that you do, because if not, I could always ask Gin to give you a job," Kaito threatened and Rukia visibly paled. Just hearing that man's name gave her the feeling that snakes were slithering across her body.
She gulped.
"There will be no need for that," she whispered.
"Good," Kaito said from his recliner.
Rukia picked up her bowl of soup and gulped it down in two long sips. She placed the bowl in the sink then walked to her room. The house had resumed a warmer temperature, so she had no problem trading her comfortable nightwear for a dry school uniform. She walked into the bathroom and brushed her teeth. Her eyes found the small area on the counter she had swept her finger on for dust and then she sighed.
Rukia spit out the toothpaste and washed her mouth out, then walked back into her room and opened her backpack. She took out the three bottles of cleaning supplies and set them on the bathroom counter so she'd remember to clean later. She returned to her room for her backpack, stuffing the money into it, and left the house. She closed the door and inhaled the fresh air, savoring the earthy smell that always came after rain. She smiled, and started walking towards school.
The school was fairly empty, with only a couple of teachers' cars in the parking lot, giving Rukia some much-needed privacy. She walked through the double doors and into the hallways towards her locker. She worked the dial on the lock, her ears twitching when they heard the click. She stuffed her empty backpack into the locker and went into the girl's restroom.
Rukia checked the stalls just be sure no one was inside. She walked up to a full body mirror next to the sinks and turned so her back was facing the mirror. She carefully parted her hair on the back of her head, and tried to turn her head only slightly to see if she could see any blood or an open wound. Her fingers came into contact with two medium sized scabs.
"Rukia?"
She froze and then slowly turned around when she heard someone call her name. She had been so busy examining her head that even her sensitive neko ears didn't register the approaching footsteps. There at the door to the girl's restroom was Miyako Shiba, the school nurse. She was a beautiful woman, and very motherly to all the students. Her husband, Kaien Shiba, was a cop at the Karakura police station.
Rukia bowed politely, but cringed as her head throbbed in pain. "Good morning Miyako-sensei."
The older woman noticed her cringe and a concerned frown took over her face. "Good morning Rukia, are you alright?" She stepped forward and examined the back of Rukia's head, as she had seen the young student examining it in the mirror.
"Yes I'm fine, I lost my footing while I was climbing a tree and hit my head," Rukia replied; her voice remained even as she told the lie.
Miyako carefully ran her hand over the spot on Rukia's head again. "Yes you certainly did, are you sure you're feeling alright? You could have a concussion."
Rukia smiled as the nurse voiced her concern. It was always nice to have people care for her wellbeing. "I think I just need some aspirin, and thank you for your concern Miyako-sensei."
Miyako stepped back and smiled at Rukia. "Alright then, let's go to my office." Rukia nodded, and they both walked down the hall to the nurse's office.
Rukia sighed and sat in one of the chairs near the examination table; she closed her eyes and willed the slight throbbing in her side to go away.
"How have you been Rukia? It's been a while since we've had our last chat." The nurse asked the young student as she rummaged through the medical supplies.
"Except for this headache I've been alright, and how about you Miyako-sensei?" Rukia replied and opened her eyes when she felt two pills being put in her hand along with a glass of water. She graciously took the glass of water and quickly swallowed the pills, downing them with a gulp of the water.
Miyako smiled sadly as she considered Rukia's question. "I've been stressed lately. Kaien will be going on a drug raid tonight." She sighed and sat in the chair next to Rukia. "It won't be long before I start getting gray hair."
"Kaien will be fine, he's one of the best officers on the force," Rukia assured, trying to cheer up the nervous woman.
Miyako smiled again and patted Rukia's leg. "He's a talented man, and I trust him to come home safe every night. It's the people he's after I never trust."
Rukia nodded and stood up. "That's understandable. Thank you for the aspirin, Miyako-sensei."
The older woman smiled at the expression of gratitude and walked to her desk. "No problem Rukia, if your head still hurts after four hours you should come back and have two more."
Rukia nodded and waved as she walked out the door. She walked down the hall and towards her locker to retrieve her backpack, as well as any books she would need for the first half of the school day. She walked into a classroom, taking her usual seat in the back right corner of the class. She set her backpack down, and took out the homework she didn't do yesterday. Just as she was about to get started the teacher walked into the classroom.
"What are you doing here so early, Rukia?"
Rukia looked up from her homework. "Good morning Ochi-sensei, I woke up early and thought I would finish my homework here."
Misato Ochi, Rukia's homeroom teacher, was a bespectacled young woman with brown hair. She was generally an easy going person, but was strict when she had to be.
"Alright, if you need any help let me know." The teacher told Rukia before walking out of the classroom.
Rukia nodded and started on her homework. Around seven fifteen, students started to slowly pile in. At seven thirty, Hanataro walked in. Rukia looked up, smiled and waved at him, and continued with her homework.
'Almost done,' she thought with a smile. Her tail swished happily behind her as she finished the last question and put down her pencil. She got out of her seat and handed the paper to Ochi-sensei. As she turned around to return to her seat, a familiar head of orange hair came into view. His amber eyes widened when they noticed her.
"You!" He yelled with a finger pointed at her.
Rukia scowled and her tail swished back and forth angrily. "Yeah, what about me carrot top?"
The orange-haired guy scowled back and glared at her. "What the hell are you doing here?"
Rukia raised an eyebrow. "I go to school here, idiot; I thought that was pretty obvious." She retorted gesturing to her school uniform.
"Or were you too blind to notice that I was wearing it yesterday?"
Ichigo smirked before resting his arm on her head and leaned against her. "I must've missed it when I was too distracted by your shortness, midget." He said smugly. Rukia growled and turned around and kicked him in the shin, hard.
"What the hell!" He yelled while nursing his bruised leg.
"I'm not short, you're just freakishly tall!" Rukia quipped back at him. She walked back to her desk in the corner, growling at any student that stared at her.
"Hanataro."
"Y-yes Rukia-san?" He stuttered out.
"What's his name?" She gestured with her head to the orange-haired kid.
Hanataro looked to where she gestured and blinked. "That's Kurosaki Ichigo."
She blinked for a few seconds, taking in the new information. "Ichigo?" She repeated his name. Then she grinned, her fangs glistening in the sunlight.
Hanataro gulped. "Are you okay Rukia-san?"
She smiled at her timid friend. "Fine Hanataro, just fine." She noticed Ichigo glaring at her and smiled mockingly at him. He scowled and turned away from her to continue talking to his group of friends. She smirked and grabbed a textbook out from her backpack and mentally laughed.
"This is going to be very fun."
Before third period, Rukia was so tired that she decided to take a catnap (pun intended). Hanataro was not in the same class, and no one ever bothered to talk to her. That was something she was always grateful for; so she didn't think she had to worry about any interruptions. Boy was she wrong.
"Oiy, midget."
She sighed, but kept her face on the desk and closed her eyes.
"What do you want dandelion?" She groaned. She could sense the irritation rolling off of him because of her reply and internally shouted in victory. She expected him to growl and respond calling her midget or something else…anything else.
But what she didn't expect was for him to grab her right neko ear between his thumb and fore- finger. Her eyes snapped open, and then her mind went blank. When she opened her eyes again, her teeth were firmly planted in Ichigo's hand. Her eyes met his, and hers widened at the shocked look he was giving her.
'Shit!' was her only thought. She immediately released Ichigo's hand and ran out of the classroom; she never noticed the concerned expression on Ichigo's face as he watched her leave.
As she raced through the hallway her mind could only think of one word, "why?" Her eyes narrowed and she ran out the double doors that led to the back of the school.
'I thought I was over it; that I was stronger than that.' She never stopped running, even as she approached her favorite tree. She jumped and reached out for a strong branch, then used her strong legs to climb the tall tree. The branches and thick bunches of leaves shielded her from view, so she knew she could safely lounge here without anyone disturbing her. She found a thick and wide branch, and sat on it, ignoring the dull pain in her side.
Her heart was still racing with anxiety, and she mentally berated herself for showing such a moment of weakness. 'I worked so hard to make myself invisible, then that idiot comes along and ruins it.'
She couldn't believe how she had let herself respond to his insults, it was so unlike her. The only student she ever talked with was Hanataro, and that was because he was so quiet and shy by nature. Ichigo, on the other hand, was loud and confrontational; she should have known better than to interact with him. Her thoughts went back to the bite and she scowled.
'Who the hell grabs someone's ear like that anyway?!' She thought angrily. She brought her hand up to her right ear and parted the hair at the base of the ear. She felt the wedge shaped tear and frowned. Her ears went back as her mind went back to the incident that caused the tear, but she quickly disregarded those thoughts.
"No use dwelling on the past." She whispered and closed her eyes, still trying to ease her quickly beating heart.
Ichigo stared at the door Rukia had run out of then he looked down at his bleeding hand. The pain finally registered in his mind and he sighed, "Dammit."
"Whoa! Ichigo are you okay?"
Ichigo turned to see Keigo and Mizuiro at the door. Keigo looked at his hand in amazement, while Mizuiro was busy texting on his phone. Keigo ran over to him and grabbed his hand to examine it.
"Dude, looks like you got bit by something." Keigo said while poking Ichigo's wound.
Ichigo's eye twitched and he punched Keigo to the floor. "Don't poke it, you idiot." He yelled. Keigo cried out on the floor and Mizuiro walked up to him.
"So what happened?" The black-haired student asked.
Ichigo just scowled. "Nothing," he replied tersely.
"That crazy Neko-chick bit him!" One of the other students yelled out. Ichigo growled at the kid, causing him to shrink in his seat.
Mizuiro blinked. "Neko chick? You mean Shinobu Rukia?"
"Rukia?" Ichigo asked.
"Black hair and violet eyes right?" Mizuiro asked and Ichigo nodded.
"What did you do to make her bite you?" Mizuiro questioned.
Ichigo ran a hand through his hair. "I touched one of her ears, it's not like I yanked on it or anything; I was just trying to get her attention."
"There are better ways to get a girl's attention, Ichigo," Mizuiro stated.
"It's not like that! She's been a bitch and I wanted to ask what her deal was!"
Keigo popped up from the ground and gave Ichigo a thumbs-up.
"Our Ichigo has taken the first step to asking a girl out!"
"I said it's not like that dammit!" He screamed back at Keigo.
Mizuiro put his cell phone in his school bag and pointed at the classroom floor. "In any case, you should go to the nurse Ichigo, you're bleeding onto the floor."
Ichigo growled and grabbed his school bag. "Yeah, I'm going." While he walked down the hall Ichigo's thoughts kept going back to Rukia's face when she bit him. He expected her to be mad, but when she had opened her eyes, he had seen fear in them.
When he got to the nurse's and Miyako saw his wound, she asked what happened to him, and he lied saying that a stray cat bit him. It was really only half a lie, though. After his hand was bandaged, he walked back into class, but he didn't pay attention to the lesson. His mind was too preoccupied with the events that had just happened.
The lunch bell rang, waking Rukia from her nap. She stretched her arms above her head and cursed at the persistent pain in her side.
"Guess that's what I get for climbing a tree." She sighed and carefully made her way down the tall tree. When she hit the ground she slowly sat down, waiting for Hanataro. She waved when she spotted him, and moved over so he could lean against the tree trunk.
He sat down next to her and took his bento box out his backpack. He handed her a pair of chopsticks and they dug in.
"How was math class Rukia-san?"
She froze; the fish in her chop sticks inches from her mouth.
Hanataro noticed her expression. "Are you okay Rukia-san?"
She smiled weakly at him. "Yeah, I just remembered that I forgot to change an answer before I gave my paper to the teacher." She resumed eating.
"Oh, well I'm sure you'll do fine."
She nodded at his statement. "By the way, is everything alright at home?" She asked him, desperate to change the subject.
Hanataro smiled back at her. "Yes, mother has been much better this week. How about you Rukia-san?"
She clicked her chopsticks together and frowned. "Aside from yesterday morning, Kaito has been bearable, but until he gets his next welfare check, we'll be very low on food." She took another bite of fish.
"Of course, most of that money will go to gambling." She quickly added.
"I wish I could help out Rukia-san, but most of our money goes to mother's debts." Hanataro said sadly.
Rukia waved him off. "No worries, I'll figure something out; Kaito gave me some money so I have to go to the store and make something that will last about a week."
"Rice is filling, and you can get a big bag for cheap." Hanataro suggested.
"True, but I was thinking more along the line of something like a soup, and salmon is very high in protein but it is too expensive."
Rukia was so deep in thought that she never heard his approach, so by the time she did notice him Ichigo was within twenty yards of her and Hanataro. Rukia's ears went back and she glared at him, but that didn't stop him. He glared right back and quickened his pace.
"He doesn't look very happy." Hanataro said nervously, glancing over at the approaching orange-haired boy.
"When does he ever look happy?" Rukia asked angrily.
Ichigo stopped in front of them. "What the hell was that back in math class?" He yelled.
Rukia put down her chopsticks and stood up. "What did you think would happen, idiot?" Rukia answered with a question of her own.
Ichigo growled out, "Not for you to bite me, that's for damn sure."
"It's your fault, you grabbed my ear!" She yelled at him.
"You didn't have to bite me though! You could have just kicked or yelled at me, what's wrong with you?"
"Me? What's wrong with you? Who grabs people's ears like that when they're trying to sleep?" Her tail swished angrily behind her and her ears had nearly completely flattened against her head.
"Tch, whatever midget." Ichigo turned around and walked towards the school with a scowl on his face.
"Stupid strawberry." Rukia muttered and stomped angrily in the opposite direction.
Hanataro remained sitting against the tree, blinking slowly in confusion.
"What just happened?"
For those that don't know:
The Tosa Inu is a breed of Japanese dog
1,562 yen is 20 US dollars
Hopefully the next chapter will be posted sooner than this one was, but please bear with me for the time being until I get everything taken care of. My personal life will always come first before writing any stories.
