Chapter Three: Kuchiki Soujun
"I suppose today's the day term really starts."
Sousuke glanced out of the window of the small six-bed dormitory, settling himself on the sill to watch the students from the upper classes filing across the wide school grounds towards the main hall. "Yesterday in the Great Hall there seemed to be hundreds of students lined up together - I wonder how many people the Academy takes overall?"
"Today we'll get to meet the rest of our class properly, I think," Roujuurou reflected, fastening his obi more tightly around his waist and automatically smoothing down the wrinkles in the fresh white fabric of his hakamashita. "Kuchiki-sensei said that he was our tannin, didn't he?"
"He did," Sousuke agreed, adjusting his glasses absently on his nose. "I imagine that means we'll be meeting in a Kidou classroom somewhere. Do you have your copy of the campus map to hand, Ootoribashi-kun? I'll take a look at it and see if I can work out where that is."
He grinned ruefully.
"I think it would be better if we didn't turn up late, after yesterday," he added lightly. "He seems like quite a strict sensei, and it's better not to get off on the wrong foot if at all possible with a member of the Kuchiki Clan."
"I think it's here," Roujuurou rummaged among his belongings, pulling out a slightly dogeared piece of parchment. "Yes, I have it. Father gave it to me the night before I left, but I haven't really looked at it. All the arrangements for coming here were seen to by him and his staff, so I don't know anything much about the Academy or its layout."
"All of us were sent these with our admission papers," Sousuke took the map, smoothing it out carefully against the sill. "Mine's in the bottom of my trunk still, however, and it'll take a while to dig it out. I'm glad you were more organised, Ootoribashi-kun. It saves time, if one of us is."
Roujuurou reddened.
"The truth is, I'm sort of relieved," he admitted, reaching up to fasten back his thick waves of hair from his face into a loose tail. "I thought I was coming here entirely by myself, but it hasn't been like that for even a moment since yesterday, and I'm glad. I didn't expect to meet someone from my class so quickly, and then when I found out we were in the same dormitory..."
"It's nice, isn't it, to know someone right from the start?" Sousuke glanced up, offering his companion a smile. "I've been on my own so long I was starting to talk to myself, so it's nice to have some company."
"Weren't you with your grandfather until now?" Roujuurou wound the white tie into his sandy mane, coming to stand beside his classmate, who shrugged.
"Grandfather was old and frail, and very old-fashioned," he reflected pensively. "He wasn't unkind, but he kept himself to himself and preferred me to do the same. I spent most of my time in the library, reading. At home, we never had the kind of books Grandfather had, and it was interesting. It's how I learned about becoming a Shinigami - and about the Academy. The estate is a little remote, though. I didn't have a lot of chances to meet other people my age, and I was still recovering somewhat from the fire when I moved there, so nobody liked to bother me."
"That's sort of sad," Roujuurou's eyes widened with dismay. "To be left all alone like that after facing such a tragedy...even if he was old fashioned, surely..."
"It was enough for him to provide for a child he'd never met since the day I was born," Sousuke said evenly, tracing his finger along the black lines of the map. "I don't think he and my parents had a good relationship, but I didn't ever want to ask. He wasn't unkind to me, and well, it meant I had a lot of freedom and space as well. If I start talking to myself, though, Ootoribashi-kun, please, let me know. I'm afraid that when there's only you in a big, echoey room, it's somehow comforting to hold private conversations with yourself out loud."
He laughed, pushing his glasses back on his nose.
"I don't want to start my Academy career with people thinking me crazy," he concluded.
"All right," Roujuurou agreed. "Are you sure it's okay, though, telling me something like that? Aren't you afraid that I'll think you crazy?"
"I don't think so," Sousuke shook his head, leaning up against the window. "It's hard to know, of course, right away, since we've just met. From what you said last night, though, about your father - I thought maybe we had something in common. I wondered if you maybe spent a lot of time on your own too, Ootoribashi-kun."
"I suppose I do," Roujuurou was taken aback, but he nodded his head. "I have two sisters, but I don't really get along with the younger one, and Father doesn't believe in girls and boys being raised together, anyway. My mother died when I was very small, and Father...he's strict."
A shadow crossed his face for a moment, then,
"I hope he doesn't get to hear about yesterday. I overstepped the mark, and even though Lisa is my friend..."
"Ah, Yadoumaru-san." Sousuke folded the map between his fingers. "You and she are more deeply acquainted, then? You didn't just meet by coincidence in the entrance hall?"
"No, we're friends," Roujuurou's cheeks reddened again. "Sort of. Lisa comes from a village near my family's manor, and sometimes...Father doesn't know, but...we became friends like that. So I suppose I'm not always alone. For the past few years at least, I've had Lisa."
"I wonder how she'll fare this morning, in her tests," Sousuke wondered. "I suppose we'll find out soon enough. She was whisked away after the assembly and I didn't see her at dinner last night, so I suppose she's being kept away from everyone else until her fate is decided. I don't know how much influence a Gotei Captain has over things like Academy admissions...but Yadoumaru-san seems very determined."
"She is. She's a lot stronger than I am," Roujuurou said self-effacingly. "I hope she's all right, Aizen-kun. I promised to protect her, but I don't seem to be doing a very good job."
"That kind of girl doesn't need protection," Sousuke said wisely, "but for what it's worth, I hope she passes, too. I thought she was interesting, and it would be fun to have classes with her."
He held out the map.
"Here. I think I know where we're supposed to go. Do you want to wait for Kobayashi-kun and the others to come back from breakfast, or shall we make a head-start?"
"Kobayashi-kun..." Roujuurou frowned, pursing his lips, then he shook his head. "If you don't mind, Aizen-kun, I don't think we should hang around here. The bell might ring, and it isn't like anyone asked us to wait for them, is it?"
"I see," Sousuke's expression became one of comprehension, but he shrugged, nodding his head. "In that case, we'll go."
"Even though we were supposed to be the last students last night, there was still one bed empty in our dorm, wasn't there?" As the two boys walked along the hallways towards the kidou classroom, Roujuurou changed the subject, gazing around him in interest at the wood-panel walls and the intricate designs that decorated some of the frames. "I wonder if that means there's an odd number of students in our class."
"Maybe," Sousuke agreed. "There was nobody extra at breakfast that I saw, though it's hard to know who's in what class when you've barely met anybody else. Aside from the people in our dorm and Yadoumaru-san, I haven't had a chance to talk to anyone."
"Me neither, and the people in dorm don't seem too keen on talking to me," Roujuurou sighed, running his fingers absently through his thick tail of hair. "I'm sorry, Aizen-kun. I'm not very good at first impressions and at greeting complete strangers, so Kobayashi-kun and I didn't get off on the best of footings, and then with Mitsume-kun too...I...I get tongue-tied, and don't know what to say, and then..."
"Mitsume and Kobayashi do seem somewhat aggressive," Sousuke said pensively, "but I try not to judge people on how they appear to be, if I can help it. Besides, I don't think there's anything wrong with your greeting techniques, Ootoribashi-kun. You don't seem tongue-tied with me."
"I suppose not," Roujuurou's cheeks coloured. "I hadn't thought about it, but...people like Kobayashi-kun and Mitsume-kun put me on edge, because they're brash and confrontational. I don't do too well with those types, since I'm never sure what they're going to do next. You don't seem that way, though, Aizen-kun. You seem like a kind person - and not someone who loses their temper a lot. I guess...that's why I find it easy to talk to you. You don't make me on edge."
He glanced down, shaking his head as if to clear it.
"I didn't mean that as oddly as it sounded," he said hurriedly, turning an anxious look on his companion. "I mean, I didn't intend to say anything offensive and if I did, I'm sorry. I just...I think that it's easier to talk to someone who isn't always shouting and thumping around the place. You don't seem like that kind of person to me. That's all."
"Ah, but I already said, didn't I?" Sousuke's features broke into a warm smile. "You and I, we're alike. I don't mind at all, Ootoribashi-kun. Please don't worry about it - you haven't offended me in the slightest."
He sighed, shrugging his shoulders.
"Yamada-kun didn't seem all that willing to make small-talk with anyone, either," he reflected. "Perhaps he was tired - it's hard to be sure. I've heard the name Yamada before...or maybe I read it, somewhere in my grandfather's archive - but I think they're a great healing family somehow descended from one of the ancient Clans. If so, they have land quite far from the Academy...he must have had to travel a long way, and maybe that's why he seemed less than friendly last night."
"I hope it's as simple as that," Roujuurou chewed on his lip. "I don't expect to make friends with everyone here, but I would like it if...if there was the minimum amount of trouble."
"Why would there be?" Sousuke fixed him with a keen glance. "You don't seem like a trouble-maker, if you don't mind me saying so."
"No...no, I'm not," Roujuurou murmured cryptically, then, "Oh! Is it that classroom up ahead? This looks like the Kidou wing - Aizen-kun, I think you've found the right place. We're not the only students to be headed here, look!"
"That's a relief," Sousuke laughed, offering his companion a grin. "Maybe, if we're on time, Kuchiki-sensei will forget about yesterday's little adventure."
"Are you worried about Kuchiki-sensei?" Roujuurou looked guilty. "It's my fault that there was such a commotion - Lisa's and mine, not yours. He won't think badly of you because of us, surely?"
"People from that level of society are unpredictable," Sousuke said matter-of-factly. "You know about the Great Noble houses, I assume? Your own family must be lower nobility, so I would have thought..."
"Yes," Roujuurou agreed, "but it's the first time I've come into contact with anyone from those houses. I know they're very powerful people - but Kuchiki-sensei is a teacher, so maybe..."
"I don't know," Sousuke admitted. "It's interesting, isn't it? I wonder why a Kuchiki works as a teacher instead of fighting as a shinigami? I would have thought it was beneath the notice of a Great Noble to be involved in the training of lower born individuals, but maybe my impressions of the Great Houses are wrong. They are based entirely on reading old books, so maybe my perception is out of date."
"Maybe," Roujuurou nodded, examining the doors of the classrooms one by one. At length he let out an exclamation, reaching up to point at a white sign brushed over with black characters that hung neatly above the doorway of one of the rooms. "Look! There! First Year, Class One! This is the right place!"
"We should go in. Others are already here," Sousuke suggested, pushing back the door and stepping inside. "A classroom? Hardly - this is more like a lecture theatre. Do you want to sit at the front, Ootoribashi-kun, or at the back?"
"As far away from Sensei's gaze as possible," Roujuurou said fervently, and Sousuke laughed.
"You're as worried about Kuchiki-sensei as I am," he teased lightly, and Roujuurou nodded sheepishly.
"I suppose so. I'm thinking about Lisa, too, and what will happen if word gets home about my causing a commotion on the first day."
"You squared up to that attendant," Sousuke remembered, and Roujuurou flushed scarlet.
"I didn't mean... it wasn't...supposed to be like that," he said slowly. "The heat of the moment, everything kind of...not that it matters, now. Come on, Aizen-kun. Let's sit down."
"I had no idea that arriving at your first class session was such an exciting prospect."
The words cut through the buzz of chatter inside the high-ceilinged chamber like a deluge of icy rain in the middle of a stormy night, and almost as one person the gathered students stopped their chattering, turning their attention towards the front of the room. Roujuurou instinctively tensed as his gaze rested on the tall, forbidding form of the man they had encountered the night before, his grey eyes still cool and impassive as he cast his gaze around the group. There was something about the Kuchiki's demeanour that commanded both obedience and respect, yet for Roujuurou it was a curl of fear that wound its way up inside his heart, tightening itself around the organ till he was sure it would spasm and beat out of turn. Was it the memory of the previous day's encounter that had made him so on edge, or was it something in the man's own aura, oppressive and cold, that caused him to shiver inwardly?
Hurriedly he took his seat besides Sousuke, relieved that they had chosen to slip into a row several ranks back from the very front. To be always under that icy gaze would be torture, and Roujuurou had no great confidence in his ability to impress this rigid individual.
Ryuu pursed his lips, raising a hand to count the heads of the students already present. As he did so, the door opened to admit three or four more breathless first years, and Roujuurou recognised their missing roommates among the bunch. Ryuu gestured for them to take seats, his eyes roving carefully over each one as though trying to read through their outer appearances to their souls beneath.
"Twenty two," he said at length. "Good. That seems to be all of you. The bell hasn't yet rung - I will be heartened if you can manage to be in your seats before it rings every time you are scheduled to come here - though I won't hold out much hope that that will be the case. For the time being, please, I want you to retain your current seats. It will aid me in remembering all your names - which I expect to be able to do shortly - and it will aid you in assembling speedily and in an organised manner before each class. Take a look at the people sitting alongside you and resolve to get along with them. I do not tolerate petty squabbles in my classes."
He turned towards the board, picking up a piece of chalk between his fingers and writing the three characters for his name carefully on the board.
"My name is Kuchiki Ryuu," he said briskly. "This year I will be your tannin. As some of you already know, I teach Kidou, and I am also currently the Vice Principal of the Academy. There is therefore very little that goes on here about which I am unaware. Each year it is my responsibility to take charge of the most promising students in First Year and help them on their way to becoming stalwarts of the Gotei - a duty which, you will quickly find, I take very seriously. If you are serious about your work, we will get along well. Those who play the fool or cause trouble will find me a less than pleasant tutor."
He tapped the board, turning back to the class.
"You will doubtless be aware from my name that I have ties to the Kuchiki Clan," he continued evenly. "Those ties are neither reason to be intimidated or reassured. I deal with each student as I find them, whether they come from Rukongai or the highest echelons of Seireitei's class system. I expect the same diligence from all of you, and I anticipate each student to work to the best of their ability, even if that is not the same as the person alongside them."
At this, Roujuurou snuck a glance at Sousuke, who was listening intently, his gaze fixed on the teacher's face.
"I will be instructing you all in Kidou this year," Ryuu was talking again, and Roujuurou hurriedly returned his gaze to the front of the room, aware that he did not want those intense eyes digging into him for inattention. "I will also receive reports from other teachers as to your individual progress. You are all new, and I expect you will take a few days to shake down into Academy life. In the meantime, I will do what I can to make that transition easier, providing you are also willing to help yourselves. Are there any questions?"
Nobody raised their hand, and Ryuu's lips pressed together, a fleeting look of amusement on his austere features. It was gone in a moment, but Roujuurou had noted it with a mixture of surprise and relief. Was this hard front an act, then? Would it be all right, being taught by this man?
He put a hand to his chest, feeling the racing beat of his heart beneath the white fabric of the hakamashita.
I don't want any trouble. I don't want any conflict. You don't have to protect me here...I'm not in danger. I'm fine, so please...let me be.
"Very well," Ryuu turned back towards the board, wiping away the characters and drawing a series of grid lines across the black surface instead. "Aizen Sousuke, stand, please."
"Yes, sir?" Sousuke looked startled, but obediently rose to his feet.
"At the front of the class are sheets of parchment paper. Collect them and hand them out to your classmates, please. There should be enough for two sheets of paper each - one ought to suffice, but in case of errors, two is best."
"Yes, sir," Sousuke's expression cleared, and he inclined his head in acceptance of the duty, making his way calmly and collectedly down to the front of the classroom to collect the aforementioned supplies. Watching him, Roujuurou was envious of the way in which his new friend had reacted. There had been no panic or fluster, nor anything but the briefest show of surprise, and Roujuurou found himself ruminating once again on Sousuke's level-headed temperament.
If I was more like that, maybe Father would accept it. If I didn't get so tongue-tied around people, and I wasn't so useless...
"Ootoribashi Roujuurou."
Roujuurou almost jumped physically out of his seat at the sudden attention, scrambling to his feet as his cheeks blazed red. Ryuu paused to gaze at him for a moment, then gestured towards the desks.
"Inkstones and brushes," he said briefly. "One of each per student, if you please. From tomorrow, I expect everyone to have their own writing supplies, but for now, there isn't time for such messing."
"Yes...yes, sir," Roujuurou somehow managed to force the words through his vocal chords, hurrying to do the teacher's bidding. As he reached the bottom of the steps that ran between the rows of seats, however, he heard a stifled snigger, and then, from nowhere, a foot jutted out from beneath the wood, catching the edge of his sandal and causing him to stumble. Desperately trying to right himself, he over-adjusted, losing his balance and landing with a thud in a confused heap at the bottom of the steps.
Now it was more than just the perpetrator who was laughing, and for a moment Roujuurou could do nothing but sit there, staring in disbelief up at his unexpected tormentor.
"Yamada...kun?"
The words dropped softly from his lips, but before he could say any more, Ryuu was on them, reaching down to grab Roujuurou by the scruff of his hakamashita and hauling him bodily to his feet.
"Is walking down steps so difficult, Ootoribashi?"
The question was asked softly, but Roujuurou swallowed hard, feeling his vocal chords closing off under the coolness of that slate grey gaze. Numbly he shook his head, and Ryuu sighed, releasing his hold and allowing the boy to stand by himself.
"Clumsiness is not a good trait for a shinigami to have," he said quietly. "Be more careful in future."
"Yes, sir. I'm sorry." Roujuurou lowered his head, scuttling despondantly off towards the inkstones.
"Laughing at a classmate's misfortune is also not a good trait for a shinigami, Yamada Seinnosuke."
Ryuu's next words almost made him stop dead in his tracks, and it was everything Roujuurou could do not to swing around and stare.
"I would advise you to review your general manners before you come to the next class - otherwise I will be asking you to carry out more errands on Ootoribashi-kun's behalf."
Roujuurou gathered up the inkstones, not daring to meet the teacher's gaze a second time, yet somehow knowing that the older man had not been fooled. Somehow, Ryuu knew that Roujuurou had not tripped on purpose. Somehow, Ryuu knew...
Roujuurou swallowed hard.
Those eyes...did they really see everything? Could Ryuu see through his students and read their souls?
Now isn't a good time to find out.
One by one, Roujuurou distributed the inkstones and brushes, being extra careful to watch where he was putting his feet. As he passed Seinnosuke's desk, he paused for a moment, gazing at his classmate uncertainly, but the Yamada boy seemed completely unperturbed, simply shooting him a slight, faintly unpleasant smile. In that moment, Roujuurou knew Seinnosuke had tripped him on purpose - and more, Seinnosuke did not care whether or not the teacher also knew.
Indignation welled up inside Roujuurou's heart, but he quickly quelled it, turning his back on his classmate and making his way purposefully back to his own seat.
"Are you all right?"
As he reached his seat, Sousuke offered him a concerned look. "You fell pretty hard - it was quite a bump."
"I'm fine," Roujuurou pushed a brush and inkstone in the direction of his companion. "Thank you, Aizen-kun. I tripped, that's all. It's no big deal."
Sousuke's eyes became thoughtful behind his glasses, but he did not say any more, and Roujuurou let out a sigh of relief.
Telling tales on Yamada-kun wouldn't be a good start to my time here, either. Maybe it was a test...who knows? Father's always talking about the ways in which men test each other's spirit and courage. He said that when I learned to act like a proper man, I'd understand all of these things a lot more clearly. Perhaps Yamada-kun was testing me in one of those ways. Even if he wasn't, though, I don't want to make any enemies here. Whatever his reason, I'd do best to forget it. Starting feuds with people isn't a good idea. I don't want that kind of school record...it's safer not to say anything at all.
"This will be your class schedule for the next semester,"
Ryuu's voice broke through Roujuurou's thoughts once more, drawing his gaze to the blackboard where a neat if complex diagram was now sketched in the teacher's old-fashioned, sloping hand. "Copy it neatly, if you please. There won't be any opportunities to write it down again, so make sure you take down every detail, and learn it. You will find most staff lenient if you are late for the first few days - after that, you will be punished for tardiness as well as for inattention and sloppy work."
"He really has a way of making this all sound like so much fun," A fair haired girl on Roujuurou's other side grumbled, dipping her brush bad-temperedly in the ink and beginning to mark out her own chart on the top sheet of paper. "I thought we'd come here to learn to fight with swords, not draw diagrams and practice our kanji."
"I suppose he wants us to understand right from the start," Roujuurou ventured, and the girl paused in her drawing, shooting him a quizzical look.
"Did it look like I was talking t'you?" She demanded, only just keeping her voice down, and Roujuurou flushed, shrugging his shoulders.
"I...I thought that..."
"Ah, whatever," the girl snorted, returning her gaze to her work. "You're not going to last ten seconds in combat class if you trip over your own feet and can't form a coherent sentence by yourself. What did Sensei call you? Oo...toribashi what now?"
"Roujuurou."
"Figures," The girl gazed him up and down once more, and Roujuurou had the definite impresson he was being sized up much the same way as one might look at a pile of groceries on clearance sale. "Bocchan from head to foot, ain't you? I hope that doesn't mean you're going to look down your nose at those of us from lower Seireitei. We ain't all rich types, but it doesn't mean we're good for nowt."
"I would never..." Roujuurou began, but before he could finish, the girl's eyes narrowed, and she grabbed a hold of his right arm, almost causing his own writing to swerve off the sheet of paper onto the wood of the desk.
"Hey, Ootoribashi...I remember where I heard that now. Ain't you the kid who came in with the Rukongai girl? The one who charged the defences - that was you, right?"
"I...If you mean Lisa...er...Yadoumaru-san, then..."
"Ah, so y'have a spine after all, do you?" The fair haired girl's expression softened slightly, and she offered him the rawest of grins. "I guess that's all right then, if y'do. An' if you'd sneak in a Rukongai kid, I guess you're not one of those bocchan who's always paradin' themselves for everyone else to gawk at, are you?"
"I hope not," Roujuurou shook his head, looking bemused. "I try not to cause any kind of scene or trouble at all, if I can help it."
"You fell over good and proper, that was quite a scene," the blond girl said bluntly, then she shrugged, offering him her ink-splotched hand. "Sarugaki Hiyori, by the way. I already forgot your other name, so don't bother repeating it. It's too long for me to remember, anyway."
"Pleased to meet you, Sarugaki-san," Roujuurou took the hand tentatively, and Hiyori shook it roughly, before pulling back.
"People who trip you ought to be whacked," she added frankly, turning back to her timetable. "Next time, whack him. Got it? Don't jus' take it like a meek so an' so. Whack him good. Sensei was probably waitin' for you to stand up for yourself - if you don't, you won't survive as a shinigami, so remember that, next time."
Roujuurou's eyes widened in consternation, but before he could find any kind of response, there was a knock at the classroom door, and the divide slid back, revealing one of the Senior students. At the sight of Ryuu, he bowed apologetically, then stood aside, and Roujuurou's expression became one of surprise as he realised the senior student had not come to the classroom alone.
In his slipstream was another youth of about Roujuurou's own age, dressed in the same uniform as the rest of them, with his sleek dark hair neatly tied back from his face in a loose tie. At the sight of him, a dull hush pervaded the classroom, and as he ran his gaze over the newcomer, Roujuurou realised with a jolt exactly why.
The boy was slender and delicate in appearance, with the same fair complexion as the teacher who had struck such fear into Roujuurou's young heart. His eyes were also grey, but far softer and with a thoughtful, almost dreamy expression making them appear a lot less forbidding. As he entered the room, he bowed very properly, then raised his head, and Ryuu frowned, gesturing for the senior student to leave them alone. The older student did so, apparently glad to be relieved of his duty, and as the door closed behind him, Ryuu set down his chalk, resting his hand on the newcomer's shoulder.
"Everyone, one moment please. There is something I would like to say to you all."
As the students set their brushes aside, Roujuurou's gaze met the newcomer's for the briefest of instants. It was nothing more than the most fleeting of connections, yet to Roujuurou's surprise the boy smiled, inclining his head slightly to acknowledge the attention. There was something gentle and graceful in this fresh student's aura, and despite himself, Roujuurou was intrigued.
Was he really a Kuchiki? Surely his resemblance to Ryuu was not coincidental?
"This is Kuchiki Soujun, and he will also be studying with this class," Ryuu's tones were level, but Roujuurou sensed the reluctance in the man's even words. At the introduction, Soujun moved to say something in soft tones to the teacher, who nodded with a sigh.
"Kobayashi, Mitsume, Aizen, Ootoribashi, Yamada. Stand, please."
Roujuurou bit his lip, obediently getting to his feet, and Ryuu nodded.
"You five will be in the same dorm as Soujun, and after this class is ended, I would like at least one of you to show him where to go and where to put his belongings. You will be excused from being late for your next class - this is the Headmaster's instructions and the will of the Kuchiki Clan, and I am not in a position to overrule either one."
"That sounded like Kuchiki-sensei was at odds with his family, didn't it?" Sousuke hissed in Roujuurou's ear, and Roujuurou nodded.
"I don't know much about them," he admitted. "Arriving late...does that mean this student is somehow special?"
"I don't know," Sousuke's clever gaze became thoughtful once more. "I suppose there's only one way to find out."
He raised his hand.
"Sensei, Ootoribashi-kun and I will be happy to show Kuchiki-kun the way to the dorm and everything else," he said politely. "If it's not too much trouble for our next sensei, we'd be more than happy to oblige."
A strange expression crossed Ryuu's face for a moment, then he sighed, nodding his head.
"Very well," he agreed, as though somehow there had been a battle of wills and in it he had been defeated. "Soujun, there is a seat vacant beside Aizen. Take it, for the time being, and make sure to copy the timetable like your fellows. There will be no special treatment from me or any other teacher now you are a part of this class, and it would be best to begin as we mean to go on."
"Yes, sensei," Ryuu's words had not been particularly warm or affectionate, but at them, Soujun's smile had widened, and he nodded his head, as though something his kinsman had said had pleased him. "I'm sorry for disturbing the class for the other students, and I will endeavour not to do it again."
Ryuu looked weary, but merely waved the boy to his seat, and with both grace and composure, Soujun made his way up the same steps Roujuurou had tripped down not so long before, taking his seat with the minimum of fuss.
"Thank you for offering to help me," he said, casting Sousuke a warm look. "I appreciate it very much."
"I'm sure it's our pleasure," Sousuke said evenly, casting Roujuurou a sidelong glance. "We're all very new, so I doubt we know a lot more than you do - but we'll be happy to do what we can, won't we, Ootoribashi-kun?"
Roujuurou opened his mouth to respond, but as he did so, he caught sight of something black blurring past the classroom window and he paused, confused. Was he seeing things now?
Was that a cat? Does the school have a cat? What a strange thing to see in the middle of a Kidou lecture. Maybe I am seeing things. Maybe it was just a trick of the light.
"Ootoribashi-kun? You'll help Kuchiki-kun too, won't you?"
Sousuke's voice broke through his thoughts and he offered his companion a sheepish look.
"Of course, if I can," he agreed. "I'm not sure I know very much yet, but I'll try."
"Let me see that list of yours again. Honestly, sending kids scuttling down here after term's begun, and when we've already counted out all the supplies,"
The broad-set, middle aged lady snatched the sheet of paper out of Lisa's hands with a sigh, fixing the girl with a suspicious look and then turning to gaze down the list of characters with a sense of resignation.
"Always one or two, every year - you'd think that those fine shinigami folk would be able to count their own students, but apparently not. What class did you say you were in again? First year, wasn't it? Let me see - I don't remember if there were any blankets left for the first year. Might have to go tug one out of storage. Stay here a minute and don't prod or poke around at anything. I'll go check what we have."
She thrust the list back at Lisa, turning on her heel and flouncing off across the laundry room, leaving the girl standing alone in the middle of the bustling environment. Leaning back against the wall to wait for her companion to return, Lisa cast her gaze around at her surroundings, taking in the scent of freshly laundered fabric and the warm humidity of the chamber with a sense of triumph. She had spent four years breaking her back doing laundry and whatever other chores for the old hag in the village, but now, surrounded by such familiar tasks, she felt she had finally moved forward. In fact, from the moment her tests had been concluded and her application for the Academy cleared, she had felt nothing but triumph and excitement that the future she had dreamed of was finally, tangibly within her reach.
The reiatsu examination had been the easiest bit, she reflected now, squinting slightly as she tried to make out what the laundry maid was doing at the far end of the room. She had known she had reiatsu from an early age, scrabbling for food in the Rukon had taught her that she would either have to submit to service on the other side or die of starvation like other kids she had once known. The written tests had been harder, for although she was literate and intelligent, a few of the more antiquated characters had completely foxed her and she had been too proud to tell the teacher that her eyesight made some of the lines of text blur against the page. Still, she had persevered, determined not to let a few things like kanji prevent her from attaining her wish, and though she had felt somewhat nervous as she had stood beside the desk, waiting for Ryuu and another teacher by the name of Oonabara to grade her work, she had not really doubted that she would succeed. She had achieved the hardest part, which was getting through the gate in the first instance, and, though Oonabara had told her as he had taken her personally to collect the necessary supplies for her tenure as a resident student that her written marks had only just scraped her through, her reiatsu potential had decided her class position beyond all doubt.
She was a first year at the Academy, and more, she was going to be in class 1-1.
Which is Rose's class, I think.
Lisa's lips curved into a satisfied smile.
In which case, I can keep an eye on him. I know he said all that stuff about protecting me, but really, he's the one who seems much more like he needs someone watching over him. If we're together, I can do that - at least, so long as it's not in dorm time.
"Are you Yadoumaru-san?"
The voice startled her from her reverie, and she turned, taking in a girl of about her own age and height, with sleek brown hair in two straight tails either side of her face, and curious hazel eyes. At her surprise, the girl smiled, bowing her head in apology.
"I'm sorry, I startled you. My name is Akibara Konoe, and Oonabara-sensei sent me here to meet you. It took me a little while to find the right door, else I'd have been here before. I'm in your class and your dormitory, and I'm to help you carry your things upstairs and get yourself settled in. He thought it might be heavy for you on your own - besides, you've come late, so I guess you don't really know anyone yet, do you?"
"A couple of folk," Lisa admitted with a grin. "Guys, though, so not people I'd want anywhere near the dorms. It's all right, if you help me? It's not a bother? I mean, if tis, I can manage. I'm pretty strong - spent time hauling things around and stuff before I came here, so a few blankets and bits should be fine."
"It's absolutely not a problem," Konoe assured her, waving her hands hastily to emphasise her point. "The other girls in the dorm are nice, but we all just arrived yesterday, and it would be mean if we didn't make you welcome while we're all still getting to know each other. Besides, you won't know where the dorm is, will you?"
She dimpled.
"Since I got there safely last night and back again this morning, I'm pretty sure I can show you the way. You're in Class 1-1, right? That is what Oonabara-sensei told me, but..."
"Yep," Lisa could not keep the pride from her tones. "Apparently my reiatsu is Class One material. I dunno what that means, but it sounds pretty good."
She gestured towards the back of the room.
"The ba-han is looking for blankets for me. Apparently I'm a nusiance and shinigami can't count - something like that. I guess they don't really like latecomers."
Konoe laughed, shrugging her shoulders.
"I think they're all a bit like that, so far," she admitted. "At breakfast this morning, one of the second years broke a tea mug and you'd think someone had started a food fight or something, the way the supervisor on duty went in for the kill! It was only one mug, and it was an accident - the kind of thing anyone could do, but the poor guy was going redder and redder as all this fuss went on around him."
"Mental note, don't smash up the tableware," Lisa said dryly. "Any other tips?"
"Hrm," Konoe looked thoughtful, then, "well, one of the boys in our class tripped up and fell over his feet in class this morning. Kuchiki-sensei didn't seem impressed...it was kind of...well...I felt sorry for him, to be honest, with everyone staring at him and Sensei bearing down on him...first day and all. Oh, have you met Kuchiki-sensei yet? He's our class tannin, and apparently we'll have him for Kidou...at least, Kidou theory, since Oonabara-sensei told me that he was taking us for practical...but if you're in our class..."
"Met him," Lisa grimaced, rolling her eyes. "Had to sit a test with him glaring down at me for half of it - offputting. He stares at you like crazy. Wouldn't be surprised if he can see through people - he has those kinds of eyes. I guess it's because my friend and I didn't make the best impression on him when we arrived."
"You made him cross with you already?" Konoe's eyes became big. "Don't you think he's scary? I wouldn't dare speak back to him!"
"A bit. Maybe," Lisa dismissed this with a nonchalant flick of her hand. "I dun suppose I'd want to spend too much time being glared at. But I guess he's fair. I mean, he let me sit the tests and he accepted my entry, even to his class, so maybe he's just faking the strict thing. Sometimes folks do, if they think it'll get them somewhere quicker."
She pressed her lips together, considering Konoe's other words.
"What happened to the kid who fell over in class? Did he get a beating for it, or just told to go on his way?"
"Sensei just told him off, and sent him to hand out papers," Konoe looked surprised. "I don't suppose they'd whip him in front of the class..do you think they would? On first day? I don't know. I think Kuchiki-sensei is strict, but I didn't see any sign of a whip or cane in the classroom, so I hadn't..."
"Maybe not, then," Lisa's eyes brightened. "That's good. The ones who hit you, they tend t'hit hard and without hesitation. But if there's no sticks around, maybe he ain't like that. Maybe he relies on the eyes..."
She opened her own eyes wide, poking her head forward towards Konoe in an imitation of Ryuu's piercing stare, and Konoe giggled, pushing her away.
"You're crazy," she said, as she fought to catch her breath. "You're making all the people in here stare at us and the lady might come back any time - she's going to scold us if you make a fuss, and you're on your first day, too."
"Takes more than scolding to scare me," Lisa said frankly, and Konoe shot her a sidelong glance.
"There was a rumour last night...that someone had stormed the gates and forced their way into the school," she said slowly. "Some people were talking about it at breakfast. You're here late...that person...it wasn't you, was it?"
"Guilty," Lisa grinned, a wicked twinkle entering her gaze. "You're not going to be proper and horrified about it, are you? Life's short. If you don't take what you want when you're able, you'll never get anywhere in life."
"Really?" Konoe looked floored, then she grinned. "No, I'm not going to do that. Actually, I'm impressed. No wonder you're not afraid of Kuchiki-sensei, if you're willing to take on the whole security system! But I heard that the person had a Captain to back them - is that true too? Do you know people in the Gotei?"
"Not a single one," Lisa said bluntly. "I dunno how that story began, nor why, but I'm not asking too many questions about it, in case it was some kind of mistake. I'm enrolled, now, but I haven't been to a single class yet or anything, and I don't want them to revoke me if it was a mix up of some kind. Not before I can prove why they should keep me. Besides, Kuchiki-sensei seemed to know about it, and he didn't seem like someone who wasted time on mixing things up, so I guess it's just one o' those weird mysteries."
"Well, I'm glad that it happened," Konoe decided. "I'll help you settle into the dorm, and then do you want to come grab lunch with me? Everyone else will probably have gone, but I wanna hear the whole story of how you got past that hulk of an officer who was stood on the gate checking acceptance letters yesterday."
"Flung him over on his back," Lisa said casually. "S'how you deal with perverts in Lower Seireitei...figured I might as well try it as not, see if it worked. It did - he didn't expect to be tipped over by a slip of a girl like me."
She flicked her hand towards the far end of the room.
"looks like my blankets are arriving, at last," she added. "About time too, because I'm starving after this morning. Let's get them dumped upstairs...and you can show me where the dining hall is!"
"And so I suppose that concludes the guided tour, such as it was," Sousuke pushed open the door of the main dining hall, turning to shoot Soujun a rueful grin. "Ootoribashi-kun and I have barely had a chance to explore the grounds and I'm afraid that it was probably a very lacking tour - but now at least you're as familiar with the place as the two of us are."
"It's such a big old rambling building," Roujuurou added with a sigh, tucking a stray wisp of strawberry blond hair behind his ear. "I wonder what kind of person designed it. All the stairs up and down and we still didn't manage to find the library, even though we followed the signs."
"I think we confused that senpai horribly," Sousuke chuckled appreciatively, and Roujuurou smiled despite himself, nodding his head.
"He must have seen us going and coming up the same hallway about six times," he admitted. "I wonder if he thought we were trying to be funny...or whether his eyes were just playing tricks on him."
"Well, we are now very familiar with the hall that leads from the main corridor to our dormitory," Sousuke pointed out dryly. "So it wasn't a complete loss. I wonder where the library is, though. Presumably not in the dormitory area - and you'd think a room as big as that's meant to be would be easy to spot. I did think I'd read the plan right...but maybe we walked right past it."
"I'm amazed we ended up back here before the bell rang," Roujuurou admitted. "I thought we might not manage it, and I think that one thing I've already learned here is that everyone likes punctuality."
"Military regimentation," Sousuke said wisely. "You're right, though. And we did get Kuchiki-kun settled in, somewhat, right?" This last to the final member of the trio, who nodded his head eagerly."Thank you both for helping me with my belongings, " he said warmly, bowing his head politely towards first Sousuke, then Roujuurou. "I realise it must have been an inconvenience, with my late arrival, and I apologise. I had intended to come last night - but there were family matters that prevented me and so I could not."
"It's not an inconvenience, we volunteered," Sousuke returned the smile with a warm one of his own, casting Roujuurou a glance. "Didn't we, Ootoribashi-kun? And we did get you completely lost into the bargain."
"Perhaps a little," Soujun acknowledged, his grey eyes glittering with amusement. "But that's nice, too. I appreciate it. You probably have a lot of your own things to find out without worrying about me, but you helped me anyway."
"Well, we're all new people together," Sousuke shrugged his shoulders. "And it's too early in term to have proper assignments. Don't worry about it. It wasn't any trouble for us at all."
"Not at all," Roujuurou agreed with a quick nod. "If nothing else, I'm grateful for you coming into the class when you did, Kuchiki-kun. It meant that everyone had something else to talk about, rather than my, well, tripping up and falling down the steps."
"You did rather make a scene," As they gathered their helpings of food and made for an empty table at the back of the already busy dining hall, Sousuke turned to cast his new friend an amused glance, "but I think even Sensei realised it wasn't your fault. You tripped over someone's foot, didn't you?"
"I..."
"Someone's foot?" Soujun's eyes opened in dismay, and Sousuke nodded, Roujuurou's cheeks flushing with colour.
"Someone who left their foot in a place it shouldn't have been," he said levelly, setting his tray down on the table and sinking down behind it with a frown. "I think Sensei knew it too, Ootoribashi-kun, so there's no need to fret over it. He realised what had happened, even if the class didn't...it strikes me that not much gets past our tannin."
"He's probably been doing this job for years," Roujuurou agreed pensively. "And yes, I suppose...well, I don't know if it was...maybe it was an accident..."
He trailed off, setting his own tray down, and pausing for a moment, his gaze drifting across the room to where Seinnosuke and a few other students were busy eating their lunch. For a moment Seinnosuke met his gaze, a slow smirk crossing the thin features once again. He said something to one of his companions, and as the boy raised his head, Roujuurou realised it was another of their dorm members. He sighed, dropping down into his seat.
"I'm sure its nothing," he said again, but there was a note of doubt in his voice. "Accidents do happen. I should have watched my step."
"Maybe," Sousuke's eyes told Roujuurou that he didn't think it was an accident at all, but he did not press the matter any further, merely turning to smile at Soujun, who had taken his own seat with the minimum of fuss, apparently oblivious to the undertones in the other boys' conversation.
"But you must know for sure, mustn't you? You're from the Kuchiki Clan, so you must know Kuchiki-sensei quite well."
"I suppose so," Soujun folded his arms across the table, looking thoughtful. "I've known him ever since I was small, if that's what you mean - but I promised that, at school, we would be sensei and student and I would not call on any favours or make any trouble on account of my bloodline. So for now we're supposed to be strangers...at least of a sort."
He smiled.
"You can't tell us anything about Kuchiki-sensei?" Sousuke looked disappointed. "Nothing at all? I want to know what kind of a teacher we're getting - not from a Clan perspective, but from a personal one. Not even that?"
"Well, he's always been very kind to me," Soujun said pensively. "He's taught here as long as I can remember, and probably longer. Father always says that he's very fair-minded, but demanding of his students...he told me to make sure I worked hard, because Ryuu-dono...no, I mean Kuchiki-sensei...is always fair with his class and won't like it if I try and play on the fact I'm a Kuchiki. I didn't intend to do that anyway, as it happened...but is that the kind of thing you mean?"
"He's fair, but strict, in short?" Sousuke pondered, and Soujun nodded.
"I think so. He's very honest...I've always liked that about him."
"He scares me a little," Roujuurou shivered, looking sheepish. "The way he glared at me in class...as though he could see through me. He seems to notice everything...even if he isn't facing us, I still think he'd know."
"He must have exceptional vision," Sousuke reached up absently to touch the rim of his spectacles with a wry grimace. "I'm sure I couldn't do that."
"Mm," Soujun pursed his lips. "I don't know about that. I've seen him wear glasses, sometimes, when he's been at the manor, so I don't think his eyes are very good. Certainly not for reading books and grading student papers. Sometimes he used to come stay with Father, so he could go over my studies with me when the Academy was at recess, and he would always wear glasses to correct my papers. But Father says that a good teacher always knows what his student is doing. Maybe it's that. I don't really know."
He smiled.
"You shouldn't be scared of him, Ootoribashi-kun," he added. "He's kind, really he is. And you don't seem like someone who'd get into a lot of trouble, so I'm sure it will be all right."
"I suppose we'll see," Roujuurou said cautiously. "Perhaps you're right. It's nice to hear you say so, anyway, Kuchiki-kun."
"Well, it's nice for me too, sitting here with people like this," Soujun beamed. "To be honest, I didn't think I'd ever be allowed to come. Kuchiki students don't often attend here - the family like to train their own, and that's why Father had R...Sensei come see me in the holidays, to round off the things I'd been learning with my other tutors. But...I wanted to come."
He sighed.
"It's lonely," he concluded, "being on your own. Servants aren't the same as friends, and I never really had the chance to meet many people. Sometimes I'd play with the hime from the Shihouin, when we were small, but the kinds of games she liked to play were hard for me to keep up with, and people would fuss..."
"You don't have brothers and sisters?" Roujuurou looked surprised, and Soujun shook his head.
"I had an older brother, once," he responded sadly, "at least, so I've been told. I never met him - he died before I was born, so it's like I've always been an only child. Mother was very sick when she was expecting me, and I was born early, so they fussed around me a lot when I was small. I have cousins and I wanted to meet them and play with them, but I'm Father's only son, so nobody would let me. I know I'm nothing like Father, not in strength nor in intelligence - but they'd fuss over me anyway, so most of the time it was just easier to stay in my room and read or play my flute."
"Flute?" Roujuurou's ears pricked up, and Soujun nodded.
"Oune," he admitted, his eyes lighting up. "She's a family heirloom. She belonged to an ancestor of mine - the Sixteenth Head of the Kuchiki Clan. I believe it was a present from his mother, so perhaps it goes even further back - but it's said that it's a good luck omen, and that all the Kuchiki who have owned and played it have been blessed in some way during their lives."
He looked wistful.
"I don't know if it's a true story, though I'd like it, if it was," he added, "but I've heard it said that my ancestor's life was saved by his playing the flute. I don't know how, or in what circumstances, but its been a treasured family possession ever since. When he died, it was passed to his son, then down the family line. It was Father's, but because I was sickly when small, he taught me how to play. When I was thirteen, and the Clan formally acknowledged me as the heir, he gave me the flute as a symbol of my position. He told me that I was the only one who could make it sing in the way my ancestor was said to...so I should have it as my own."
"Is it at school with you?" Roujuurou asked hopefully, but Soujun shook his head.
"Mother forebade me," he said regretfully. "She said it might become damaged or stolen, and I had no need for it here, so it should remain behind."
"It's a shame," Roujuurou looked disappointed, and Soujun cocked his head in interest.
"Do you play music, then, Ootoribashi-kun?" he asked, and Roujuurou started, then shook his head hurriedly.
"Otousama doesn't allow it," he said quickly, followed by, "but my sisters play koto and biwa and I love to hear them, even though Father says I'm not supposed to care about things like that. I'm sure your flute has a beautiful sound, Kuchiki-kun. I just thought it would have been nice...if we'd been able to hear it."
"Well, maybe if we have a free day, I'll ask permission to send for it, and then you can," Soujun promised. "I don't want to do anything to offend your Father, of course, but I'm sure he wouldn't mind if you just listened to me."
"If he did, Ootoribashi-kun, you could tell him that it was by Kuchiki command," Sousuke suggested with a grin, and Soujun laughed.
"I'm not really here as a Kuchiki, though," he reminded them. "I don't want special treatment - like I said, Sensei would be cross and so would Father, so I'll just be like one of you. It's lively here, and people seem kind. If I cause Ryuu...Sensei problems, I'll be sent home, probably, and then I'll be by myself again...I don't want that, so I won't create any trouble."
"I know that feeling," Sousuke agreed. "I was on my own back home too, Kuchiki-kun. I was living with my grandfather, but he was old and frail and he passed away not so long ago. Coming here has swept away the cobwebs - it's nice being around other people again."
"I'm sorry to hear about your grandfather," Soujun's clever features became sympathetic. "What about you, Ootoribashi-kun? Do you have a close family?"
"I don't really know what that means," Roujuurou said with a sigh. "My father and I don't get on very well. He doesn't like me very much, really, but I'm his only son, so he doesn't really have any choice but to pin his hopes for the family on me. My older sister and I get along fine, but my younger sister doesn't like me much and Father prefers me not to spend too much time with my sisters because he thinks that girls and boys should cultivate different hobbies and interests. My mother was a very kind person, everyone says so, and she loved music and flowers and life...but she died when I was so small I don't remember her at all. My older sister says she used to draw and paint and sketch a lot, but Father didn't really like that she did. I asked him once about her pictures and he said he'd burnt them, so I don't know if she was any good. My sisters now have her musical instruments, because my older sister asked to, so at least they survived, but otherwise it's like she never really existed. Maybe it would've been different if she hadn't passed away but no, Kuchiki-kun, I don't think we're a close family."
"This looks cosy,"
Before either Sousuke or Soujun could respond, there was the clatter of someone's dinner tray on the table beside him, and Roujuurou turned, surprise flooding his thin features as he made out his dark haired Rukongai friend.
"Lisa-chan?"
"Are you surprised to see me?" Lisa grinned, then turned to her companion who was hovering uncertainly on the opposite side of the table, unsure whether or not she could sit down. "It's all right. Sit. This is my friend I told you about - Rose - and Aizen, who I met when I arrived, and..."
She paused, casting Soujun a questioning glance, and Soujun offered her a smile.
"Kuchiki Soujun," he said warmly, holding out his hand to shake hers. "I came late, but I am also a classmate of Ootoribashi-kun and Aizen-kun's. They were helping me to move into my dorm, and we were just talking."
"Yadoumaru Lisa," Lisa grabbed the hand after a moment, shaking it roughly and releasing it with a grin. "I'm a latecomer too, and I guess that makes us classmates as well."
"You passed the tests? We're in the same class?" Roujuurou's eyes widened, and Lisa snorted.
"You doubted me. I'm hurt," she scolded, but there was no real hurt in her voice, and Roujuurou grinned, relief flickering in his lavender eyes.
"No, I knew you'd be all right," he said, "just we'd heard nothing, and it was already lunch time...so I didn't know whether to come looking for you."
"Well, I've been busy. Been sitting tests and getting blankets and stuff, which is apparently worse than trying to break into the vaults," Lisa said flippantly. "This is Akibara, by the way," she gestured to Konoe, who was still standing behind the seat next to Soujun. "Sit, Akibara. I told you. These are friends...it's fine."
"It's all right, Akibara-san. Please, join us," Sousuke smiled wryly, gesturing to the seat. "There's more than room, and you're interrupting nothing. You're very welcome, I'm sure."
"Thank you," Konoe dimpled, a faintly pink colour surfacing in her cheeks as she did so. "Aizen-kun, that's what Yadoumaru-san said, right? And...Ootoribashi-kun, and Kuchiki-kun. So you were Yadoumaru-san's friend, Ootoribashi-kun? Are you all right, by the way, after this morning?"
"This morning?" As Roujuurou reddened to the roots of his sandy blond hair, Lisa arched an eyebrow, nudging the skinny boy with her elbow. "Wait, are you telling me that you were the one who fell down the steps? I should've known - what were you doing, hopping? Why d'ya think you have two feet, you idiot boy? You're meant to walk with them!"
"It wasn't his fault, Yadoumaru-san," Sousuke spoke up, seeing that Roujuurou was too mortified to find an answer. "Someone thought it would be fun to trip him up."
"Really?" Lisa's expression went from resignation to indignation in a flash. "Someone was picking on you in your first class? Who?"
She clenched her fists.
"They better not do it again, not now I'm coming into Class One, else they'll regret it big style," she added. "My hands might be small, but they're bony and trust me, they hurt."
"Lisa, it's fine. It was an accident, and there's nothing more to say or do about it," Roujuurou finally managed to find his voice, shaking his head and holding up his hands. "I wasn't looking, and it was embarrassing, but I'm not hurt and everything ended up all right. Really. Don't look like that - I don't want you getting in trouble because you decided to get involved in something so unimportant."
"I'm sure Ootoribashi-kun is right," Konoe said hurriedly, offering Lisa a smile. "Accidents happen, and so long as he's not hurt..."
"What did Yadoumaru-san call you, Ootoribashi-kun?" Soujun looked curious. "Something much shorter - it sounded like it began with...ro?"
"Rose," Lisa answered for herself, stabbing her chopsticks into the neat square of rice instead of picking it up properly, and lifting it towards her mouth. "Because his first name takes a lifetime to say, and it suits him."
"Rose?"
"Because my name is Roujuurou," Roujuurou agreed, his cheeks still blazing red. "Lisa thinks its too long for everyday, so she called me Rose. Rou-juu. Like that."
"It sounds like a girl's name," Sousuke arched his eyebrow, and Lisa grinned, nodding.
"It does a bit, but it suits him, so it's fine," she said dismissively.
"I'm not a girl!" Roujuurou objected hotly to this, indignation replacing embarrassment in his lavender gaze, and Lisa snorted.
"More of one than me, by looks," she teased, then she relented. "I know, idiot. But it is easier to say, and to remember. I'm not built for all this high class long and fancy noble name stuff. I'm sticking with Rose - and you didn't mind it till Aizen said it sounded girly."
"I'm sorry," Sousuke said contritely, but there was mischief in his brown eyes. "I didn't mean it like that, Ootoribashi-kun. Only, I'm going to call you by your proper name, if you don't mind. I don't think it would be easy to explain to our roommates why suddenly I was calling you by a girl's appelation."
Roujuurou's eyes opened wide with dismay at this thought, and Soujun offered him a reassuring smile.
"Roujuurou is not so bad a name," he reflected, "and I don't think Rose sounds so very effeminate. But I won't call you it, if you don't like me to. It seems like the kind of nickname an old friend would give, and well, while I hope we're going to be friends, it would be presumptuous to begin on those grounds, wouldn't it?"
"What classes do we have this afternoon?" Konoe glanced from the embarrassed Roujuurou to the gentle Kuchiki, before changing the subject. "Are we meant to bring books and things to class? I left everything in the dorm when I helped Yadoumaru-san settle her stuff in, and I guess it's not that long before the gong sounds."
"Introduction to Sakusen," Sousuke offered her a warm smile. "That's this afternoon's class. We're to meet in the lecture hall on the opposite side of the gardens from our classroom."
"You know our timetable already?" Roujuurou shot him a startled glance, and Sousuke shrugged.
"I have a good memory," he said dismissively, "and we only did copy it down this morning. It's not so long ago that I've forgotten."
"I don't remember the first thing about it," Roujuurou admitted, and Lisa grinned.
"Why am I not surprised?" she teased. "Oh well. I don't have a timetable at all, so I'll just trail you people and hope someone doesn't mistake me for an intruder and throw me out. I don't really know what Sakusen is, or why we're going to be learning it, but if it means I don't have to go back to the village and deal with that old hag's orders any more, well, bring it on."