- CHAPTER 2 - A Meeting forced by Fate -
Ichigo swallowed the last mouthful of onigiri he had as he sprinted through the hall way.
Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Not again! If I'm late onne more time they're gonna suspend me! He grimaced at the thought of suspension. Not the he really minded 2 days off from school but his father was very big on the whole 'Kurosaki image' thing. He shuddered. Since Childhood it had always been about the family's honor. No, Ichigo you can't do this, no! You can't do that! He mimicked in his head. He was so caught up in thought that he didn't realize the short raven-haired girl as he turned the sharp corner.
"Baka!" He yelled, rubbing his sore head. "That hurt!" He turned to glare at his opponent, and she returned a scowl.
"You think I meant to do that, idiot!" She mumbled bitterly as she began picking up her books. Ichigo picked some of his as she was doing so.
"That's mine." She said simply, pointing to one of the books Ichigo was picking up. He looked at her quizzically then at the book, reading the title.
'Curious John goes to The Circus' he suppressed a chuckle as he stared back and forth from the childrens' book and the scowling girl in front of him, her arm outstretched and her eyebrow twitching in aggravation.
"Listen… It's for.. My little brother." She lied cautiously.
Ichigo scoffed "Suure it is." As he walked by her he handed her the book and stalked off as if nothing had ever happened.
She scowled deeply as the red tint swept over her cheeks. She wanted to be angry with the tall, lanky shinigami-in-training, but something didn't feel right. She felt… weird. She stood staring blankly at his retreating back until he was out of sight and then continued to stare in that direction.
She heard the bell signaling the end of first period and gasped loudly.
Shit! Shit! Shit! If I'm late one more time they're gonna suspend me!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Renji's class was out on a field trip that day so Rukia was forced into solitude, sitting- protected by the shade of the tree- quietly munching her lunch. She heard heavy footsteps and a slightly familiar reiatsu approaching her. The slight memory of the masked reiatsu began and flood back to her, it had a rough feeling; as if it were pushing you around or directing you, along with it's texture it had a distinguishable thickness. The smooth, milky thickness of a hot, humid day. But unlike before or after rain it was not soothing, it was crisp, and cool; Refreshing even. She was suddenly awoken from her trance from a gruff voice growling 'Here' and a math book being shoved into her face.
She stared quizzically at the opposing textbook before identifying her small, neat calligraphy which read 'Kuchiki Rukia'.
"Thanks.." She mumbled, taking the notebook from his hands sheepishly.
"Why are you sitting all alone..?" He asked, though it sounded more like a statement than a question.
"Aah.. My friend's out on field duty." She explained quietly, staring off into space. The familiar burning jealousy was bubbling up inside her again so she decided to cut it short.
"I see.." He said thoughtfully, plopping down next to her at the trunk of the tree. "That red-haired dude?" he confirmed after some time.
"Mm. Abarai Renji" she avoided eye contact with the boy and he did the same for her. An unspoken truce, the only time they locked eyes was when a secure scowl was locked on each of their faces.