Chapter 3: Vegetables, Bottle Caps, and Sake, Oh My!

A/N: Chapter 3! At last!

Ryu: Sora is laaaazy…

Sora: Ryu doesn't know how to live with laziness.

Ryu: I've had chapters 5, 6 and part of 7 written and typed for weeks!

Sora: Not like I had any ideas, woman.

Ryu: We've been discussing it for, what now, 3 weeks!?

Sora: Not like I had any ideas, woman.

Ryu: You're becoming repetitive, idiot.

Sora: Sticks up middle finger Bitch.

Ryu: You're not niiiiice…

Sora: That's because I'm really an Espada. Yes!

Ryu: Blinks The…hell…?

Sora: Ha ha! You'll never catch me now! Sonidos away

Ryu: Glares Next time I'm setting Yachiru on her. Smirks evilly

-End A/N-

Chapter 3: Vegetables, Bottle Caps, and Sake, Oh My!

The man looked down, raising an eyebrow. His electric blue eye swiveled around before settling upon him.

"You alright kid?" he asked in a gruff voice.

Ichigo looked up at the man with an expression akin to terror. He stood slowly, and nodded, as he knew some English. "Yeah. Sorry."

There was an awkward silence. "You an exchange student?"

Ichigo nodded again. "Yeah."

"Japanese?"

"Yeah."

The man paused for a second, and then proceeded to say in Japanese, "Are you alone?"

Ichigo was relieved that he didn't have to continue to speak English and shook his head. "No," he told the man, "I'm here with my friends." He glanced back at the entrance to the platform, where the Shinigami and Ryoka were beginning to filter in. "This train's going to Hogwarts, right?"

The man nodded. "Yeah. Get going though; it's going to be leaving soon."

Ichigo gave a slight nod, then turned and walked back to where his friends had gathered.

He stood still for a second.

And then proceeded to smack both Renji and Rukia upside the head.

"Ow!"

"What was that for, idiot!?"

Ichigo didn't answer. "Come on, Let's get going before the train leaves."

Hitsugaya gave the snickering Matsumoto and Ikkaku an icy look, and they followed after him, heads bowed, as they walked toward the Hogwarts Express.

Yumichika looked at the train with an expression somewhere between horror and disgust. "I have to get on…. that unbeautiful thing?"

"Just get in, Ayasegawa. You'll live." Hitsugaya answered, glancing back at him.

Yumichika quieted with a forlorn sigh.

Ichigo and Uryuu led the small parade of Shinigami and Ryoka onto the train, Ichigo ignoring anything and everything the others said.

"Look at all the kids!"

"Where are we gonna sit?"

"This thing is huge!"

"Taichou, look! All the boys are staring at me!"

"Just…keep walking, Matsumoto. Don't look at them."

"Ichigo!"

He pointedly ignored this.

"Ichigo!" THWAP.

"The hell was that for, Rukia!?" Ichigo yelled from the floor, turning to look at the petite girl, who was currently shaking her head a little.

"Where are we going to sit? All these areas look full."

Ichigo looked around from his place on the floor and realized Rukia was right. There were no free compartments. "Uh…"

Uryuu walked a bit ahead, and then came back. "I found one, but it looks like it only seats six, so we may have to split up," He spoke as he pushed his glasses higher up on his nose.

Matsumoto raised her hand. "I volunteer! I'm sure I can get someone to let me sit with them! Orihime, you come too!"

Hitsugaya gripped the back of her shirt. "I'm going too then." He looked at Rukia and Uryuu. "You two can keep them in line, right?" he asked looking at Ikkaku, Yumichika and Renji who were currently annoying Ichigo.

Rukia nodded. "Of course, Hitsugaya-taichou. Leave it to us."

An evil looking glint appeared in his glasses as Uryuu nodded as well. "Yes, leave it to us."

Hitsugaya gave a third nod, before following after Matsumoto and Orihime. It didn't take them long to find a compartment, as there was one across the hall from the empty one.

Upon entering this newfound compartment, Hitsugaya really had half a mind to turn around and find an empty one, as this one already had three occupants.

But, sadly, Matsumoto plopped herself down on the nearest seat, next to a redheaded boy who sat near the window, and he knew that she wasn't going to move unless tempted with alcohol.

The other three people in the compartment were watching them, the two boys, he noticed, were staring unabashedly at Orihime and Matsumoto, (mostly Matsumoto, as her shirt was more revealing, as he had been greeted with a hug shortly after arriving at the station,) but the other person, a girl, seemed more interested in his hair, from the direction of her (kind of creepy) gaze.

"You three…are foreign, right…?" The girl asked, tilting her head to the side a little, and he noticed what looked like radishes on her ears, along with a bottle cap…necklace? "Japanese?"

Orihime nodded, and Hitsugaya blessed his luck that she knew English. "Yes."

The girl nodded as well, before speaking in Japanese, which caused her two companions to turn and stare at her, before beginning to speak to each other in hushed tones. "My name is Luna. Do you plan on sitting down?" She glanced over at the two boys, who were still talking. "Oh, and don't worry about Harry and Neville…They just seem to stare a lot."

"Oh, that's fine, Luna-chan! I get that all the time!" Matsumoto answered, grinning. "And I'm Matsumoto Rangiku by the way. You can just call me Rangiku."

Luna nodded slowly, before looking back over at Orihime and Hitsugaya. "And may I ask your names?"

"O-oh, of course! I'm Inoue Orihime! Pleased to meet you, Luna-san!"

Hitsugaya sighed inwardly, before he spoke. "Hitsugaya Toushirou. I prefer you call me Hitsugaya-taichou, or just Hitsugaya." He then sat on the edge of the seat next to Matsumoto, resting his elbows on his knees. Orihime sat next to Luna, before engaging in a conversation with her, which he caught to have a topic such as, "Peanut butter goes wonderfully with eggs, ne, Luna-chan?" He shuddered at the thought. Literally.

"Are you okay, taichou? You just shivered." Matsumoto asked, looking almost worried, before she grinned again. "Are you cold or something? I can always hold you for warmth…"

Hitsugaya turned to look at her, the temperature beginning to drop at the suggestion she'd just posed. "Matsumoto." He gritted out. "If I can control ice, how could I be cold, pray tell?"

"Aww, Shirou-taichou's so cute when he's angry!" Matsumoto squealed, before hugging him and burying his face into her ample chest.

"M-MATSUMOTO!!" Hitsugaya yelled, his voice muffled.

Harry and Neville watched all of this with confused looks. Neville then turned to Harry, looking a bit scared. "Harry, do you think that they're…uh…going out?"

Harry blinked, before looking over at the other boy. "Well, he doesn't seem that happy, so I don't think so…"

Luna looked over at the two, and spoke in her dreamy voice. "Oh, don't worry, they aren't going out. They've just known each other for a long…long…time…"

Hitsugaya was saved from a death by smothering when his phone began to ring. Matsumoto let go of him, and he pulled the phone out of his pocket, having the presence of mind not to growl into it, seeing as it had saved his life. "Hello?"

"Hello, Hitsugaya-kun. Have you arrived at Hogwarts yet?"

Hitsugaya shook his head, though he knew Ukitake wouldn't be able to see that. "No, not yet. We should arrive soon though, hopefully."

"Alright. Call when you get there then, okay?" The older man asked.

"I will."

Both hung up, and Hitsugaya, trying to stay as far away from Matsumoto as possible, settled back more comfortably into the cushions of the seat. He closed his eyes, intent on drowning out the multiple conversations in the compartment. He crossed his arms as he settled back more.

He must have fallen asleep, because the next thing he heard was a sudden, loud voice in his ear.

"Look, taichou! I told you it was a store!"

Opening his eyes slowly, Hitsugaya was met with the face of his fukutaichou extremely close to his own, and this caused his eyes to widen fractionally.

"Store…What?"

"A store, taichou. Where you shop?"

"Yes, yes. I got that part." At this point, Hitsugaya shoved her away impatiently so he could have some thinking room. "But Kurosaki said this was used for transport. So why are you still going on about a store?"

"Because they're selling stuff! Luna-chan says that it's candy they're selling!"

"Candy?" He thanked the heavens that Ukitake wasn't there.

"Yup, candy! Do you want some, taichou?"

A long pause. "What do you think, Matsumoto?"

"Yes…?"

"No."

"Not even a little?"

"Not even a little."

"Luna-chan, get some candy for taichou too, 'kay?"

"I said no, Matsumoto!"

"But…but…" She pouted. "You won't even have a little? Luna-chan might be offended if you don't have at least a little…"

"No." As long as she doesn't do the puppy dog eyes, I'll be fine.

Alas for Hitsugaya, she did. He twitched, once, twice, as she stared at him with a pitiful longing look in her eyes. He twitched once more, and broke.

"…Fine. Just…stop staring." He groaned, placing his head in his hands as she broke into a wide grin.

"Yay! You won't regret this, taichou!" There was a short pause, then; "Hmm, I wonder if they sell sake, too…"

Why do I have a feeling I'm going to regret this?

"Because you will."

Oh, god.

End Chapter 3: Vegetables, Bottle Caps, and Sake, Oh My!