The walk to Ichigo's dorm was an awkward one. To his right stood a fuming Chifuyu, who's stance made it her seem like a predator ready to pounce on its prey, and to his right stood a meek green-haired woman named Maya, who happened to be the reason Chifuyu was so pissed.

As they walked down the hallways, the girls peered out of their dorms to even catch a glimpse of the alleged male IS pilot, their stares eating him up as if they had never seen a guy before. Flashing his trademark scowl at them, hoping to scare them off, only caused the girls to squeal happily, chattering among themselves.

"Come look at this guy! He seems to be the perfect hot bad-boy!"

"Oh, he looked at me! Utsuho, he looked at me!"

"Oh, I just want to take him in my room and ride the night away! Oh, the things we would do..."

Chifuyu, having heard every detail, pulled herself closer to Ichigo, deepening his already profound blush. "Uh...what are you doing, Chifuyu?"

"Keeping these hormonal girls away, Ichigo." She said curtly. "If they think that you are taken by the world's strongest woman, they should stay away, right?"

"True, but considering what almost happened at the infirmary..." He cut short, being silenced by a blade to his throat. "Would you stop that!?"

"Only if you stop saying unnecessary things, young man!" She shot back, sparing a glare at Maya, who shivered and picked up her pace. He merely shrugged, pushing the blade away from him as he continued. "You know, we will have to talk about it at some time."

"But is it the best idea to do so in front of a horde of teenage girls? Especially since the rumor mill would get anything we say around faster than either of us can lap the school?"

"You have a point there." He conceded.

The rest of the walk to his room went in a relative silence, interrupted only by the occasional girl leaving her dorm or Maya fidgeting more under Chifuyu's gaze. The green-haired woman barely squeaked out their arrival when they got to his dorm, being so terribly afraid.

"Thank you, Yamada-sensei." Ichigo said respectfully as he entered his room.

"N-no p-p-problem, Ichigo!" She forced out. "I-if you w-would like a tour, I c-can come back later, maybe show y-you around?" She then let loose a high pitched 'eep' as the world's strongest woman grabbed her shoulder, a smoldering dark aura flowing out behind her.

"Oh no, Maya. You will be far too busy to assist him!" She said with an evil grin. "No, I will send someone else to do that for you. After all, we need to have a nice, long chat."

"No! Nooo~" The young woman cried out as she was pulled away by her collar. Ichigo just gave a mental prayer for her well-being before opening the door to his room. He gave an appreciative whistle when he saw how stocked the room was. Two large, fully dressed beds lined one wall while the opposite held a mounted T.V. with two closets on either side of it, as well as a fully equipped bathroom and kitchen. As he was inspecting each room, Ichigo jumped when he felt his phone vibrate. Looking at his phone, he was confused when Chifuyu's name was shown. 'Did she forget something?

[Hey kid, it's Chifuyu. I just had to tell you to that one of the closets has been stocked with your uniforms, so don't freak out and think that you
are in the same room as another girl.]

"That was convenient." Ichigo said to himself before lying down on one of the beds. Having nothing better to do and not wanting to get lost by wandering around on his own, he turned on the T.V. Several hours passed by, and he started to doze off, almost making it to dreamland when a loud banging woke him up. Grumbling, he opened the door to his room and a blue-haired girl snaked her way in before he could respond.

"Heya, Ichigo! Crazy how we keep running into each other!"

Of course. Of course they would send that flirt Tatenashi Sarashiki to be his guide. Ichigo growled a bit before yelling at her. "That is only because you are rigging it to work out that way, you crazy woman! And why did you barge into my room?!"

"Why, to see the special room they only give the sole male IS pilot, of course! You know, you are the only student to have a full bathroom to yourself? Hey, you even have a fully stocked kitchen!" She said boisterously.

"That does not give you permission to just barge into a man's room!" He snapped back, shoving his finger in her direction before sighing, slumping over. "Oh, whatever. I already know what you are like. Lets just get this tour over with. I know I will be tired by the end of it."

"You learn quickly, young one!" She said with a Cheshire-style grin before pointing dramatically out the door. "Now follow me, for we're off!" She began to do an overt march out with the disbelieving orangette following close behind. She kept up the march throughout the entire school. She pointed out the IS training area, where some students were practicing moving at the moment, as well as the arena, though he had already known that. She led him down to the classrooms, pointing out where his would be when classes began, and ended in the cafeteria, just in time for dinner.

"Wow, this school has quite the selection!" Ichigo exclaimed, seeing foods from almost every culture around the world.

"Well, we get students from everywhere, so it makes sense that our food selection is just as varied. I mean, I am from Russia!" She exclaimed, pointing at herself with a thumb. Her actions got a chuckle from him, having finally given up to her antics early on in the tour.

"With all of the stereotypes about Russia, I never would have thought that to be true."

"That just goes to show how stereotypes shouldn't be trusted!"

Shrugging, Ichigo went over and grabbed several plates of sushi. Giving the standard thanks for his meal, Ichigo dug in, not waiting for his guide to join him. It took him three trips to the buffet before he was finished. With a pleased sigh, Ichigo leaned back in his chair. "Man, that was really well made!"

Tatenashi just laughed at the sight. "Well, you hungry man, it is getting late. I trust that you can get back to your dorm, correct?"

"Of course. What kind of fool do you take me for?"

"Oh, I am not referring to getting lost, Ichigo." She replied with a laugh. Before he could ask for clarification, the blue-haired girl pranced off, leaving him at the table.

He pushed himself up from the table and sauntered over to the direction of his room. It wasn't until he was a few hallways away from his room that he got the distinct feeling that he was being watched. He stretched out his spiritual energy, feeling for anyone nearby, when he recoiled. Just around the corner behind him was a small horde of girls and one was peering around the corner. Getting a distinctly bad feeling, Ichigo took off, sprinting the remaining distance to his room, and heard the girls chasing after him, their thunderous footsteps clambering after him.

Swearing loudly, Ichigo opened his door and dove in, sweat dropping as the door he slammed behind him bumped as several bodies collided with it. "What the hell is wrong with this school!?" Shaking his head after using the deadbolt on his door, Ichigo yawned. Going through the standard paces of preparing for sleep, Ichigo laid down on his bed and closed his eyes, succumbing to the need for sleep that plagued him.

(XoxoX)

The smell of ashes made Ichigo open his eyes, and despair filled them.

Here he was again, in the middle of his nightmare world that was covered in ash, except for the lone hill that was in the middle of the land. 'No, no, no!' He frantically thought. 'Not again!'

"Not again, what?" A sickeningly sweet voice whispered in his ear, to which Ichigo whipped around to. His mother stood behind him, eyes wide in an insane leer. "Does poor, little Ichigo not want to see his own mother? Why, you wound me, little berry-boy." Ichigo covered his ears, trying to block out her mocking tone. "Your zanpakuto even tried to stop me from seeing you, but that just won't do, will it?"

"No, stay away! Please, stay away from me!" Ichigo cried out, his arms raised as if trying to physically stop her from approaching him, and froze when he saw his body to be much smaller than he was used to, his voice a higher pitch than it had been in years.

The apparition of Masaki held a hand over her chest as if she were wounded by his words. "My ungrateful brat of a boy doesn't want to be with his mother?" She then glared at her son, rooting him in the spot with arms that grew from the ground and pulled his legs down.

"You are just a dream, a figment of my imagination!" Ichigo tried to tell himself frantically. As she approached, the frown adorned on her face unchanging, Ichigo slowly began to freak out. "Not real at all! My mom is dead, dead because of a hollow! She is not here, approaching me with hateful eyes!" Yet his own eyes seemed to prove him wrong as she knelt down in front of him, grabbing his head with both hands. She brought her face close to his, and whispered sweetly into his ear again.

"Why don't you tell me if this feels real, my ungrateful brat." And she began wrenching at his whole head, causing splitting pain throughout his neck. The agony hit him like a tsunami, and he screamed. He screamed and writhed as she wrenched at his head, and as he felt the skin on his neck begin to split and tear, all went dark.

(XoxoX)

With a frightened yell, Ichigo swung out deliriously, too panicked to think clearly, and when he calmed down enough to realize that no one was there, and that he was entirely unharmed, Ichigo flopped back down onto his bed. 'Why does she hate me to this degree?' Ichigo thought to himself. 'Why is it that my mother is haunting my dreams?' Knowing that he was not going to be getting any sleep, and that he was not going to get answers anytime soon, Ichigo pulled out his phone and sent a message to the only person he felt could help him.

[It happened again.]

There was a short delay before he got a reply.

[Nightmare?]

[Yes.]

[I will be there shortly.]

Silently thanking the person, Ichigo flipped his phone shut. Less than a minute later, there was knocking at his window, and Ichigo opened it for Chifuyu to climb in.

"Since I came here, you better be willing to explain what the hell these nightmares have been about, Ichigo." She said, giving no room for argument. And, quite frankly, Ichigo wasn't even going to.

He told her of each nightmare, of how his dead family, the dead citizens of Karakura, and his own mother had been ravaging his dreams, of how they tortured and mutilated his body and mind. He didn't spare a single detail, and while she kept up a facade of being unfazed, he could see the pity in her eyes, and it burned him. She brought him into a comforting hug, patting his back as he hugged her back. It was then, while in her embrace, that Ichigo broke down, sobbing into her shoulder. The tears he shed were bitter, full of confusion and pain, and when he cried himself dry, Chifuyu stood up and walked to the kitchen, brewing two cups of hot chocolate for the both of them, using her special imported brand of chocolate.

Carrying the two mugs, she pushed one into his hands and sat down beside him, taking a quick drink from her own. They sat in silence for minutes like that, just drinking from the mugs in each other's presence, and again it was Ichigo who broke the silence. "I am sorry if I woke you up, Chifuyu."

"Ichigo, it is alright. You are sharing with me, and that is more than enough to make this worth while." She said softly, brushing some hair behind an ear. "Besides, I was up anyways, working on my class's lesson plan."

"Heh." Ichigo chuckled halfheartedly. "You really are a dedicated worker, you know that?"

"Well, most of the time I have nothing better to do." Chifuyu stated. "I mean, I am used to little to no sleep, so I am usually away well into the night anyways."

"Still, thank you. It means a lot that you would come to help me." Ichigo said softly before lying on his back, putting his glass on the nightstand by his bed.

"What, and let you sleep alone with your nightmares? No way, boy." Chifuyu said, putting her glass by his before lying beside him. "No, you need comforting, and I am here to do that. Now just relax and let big sis Chifuyu do the work."

Blushing at the way she worded what she said, Ichigo was about to object before she pulled him into a hug, resting his head on her chest as she closed her eyes. "Now just rest, and let me keep the nightmares at bay for you."

"But, I don't want to hu-" Ichigo tried to push out of her grasp, but found himself unable to move, and was met with her personal death glare.

"Shut up, and sleep."

"But Chifuyu-"

"Shut. Up. And. Sleep." She ground out, aggravated that he was trying to stop her from helping him. "Do you think that you will be able to hurt me? Me, the strongest person in the world?"

"Fine." Ichigo grumbled as he relented.

And for the first time since the incident, Ichigo slept without a nightmare to plague him.

(XoxoX)

The following months that led up to the start of class flew by in the blink of an eye, yet dragged on forever, each hour an eternity. By day, Ichigo would study from the IS handbook until the energetic student president forced him out of his dorm to hang out. They would spar often, and he was surprised by the amount of skill the woman had, though recognized that her skill paled compared to Chifuyu even when she held back. They often ate lunch and dinner at the cafeteria together, and she brought him out of his shell, even if he resisted. He couldn't deny that she was fun to be around, and that they had gotten close in that time. But even so, each day was peppered with the worries and nightmares that choked his mind.

By night, these fears and nightmares became as real as they could. Whenever she could spare the time to do so, Chifuyu spent the night with Ichigo, and in those nights he was spared. The nights she was unable to do so, however, the nightmares blasted him with a vengeance, including those he has started to care for as additional targets for torture. These horrors went on til he was almost killed, making him wake up in a frenzy each time. He, his zanpakuto and his hollow kept in contact those nights, meditating and training in his mind to pass time by and allow his body a lesser form of rest.

But as is the will of the world, the relaxing time between he, Tatenashi and Chifuyu slowed down in occurrence as the semester's beginning drew near. And by the time the school year began, he felt he was ready.

(XoxoX)

He was not ready. In no way was he ready. He thought the attention he received for being the sole male IS pilot was bad enough as it was before, but it did not even come close. Now, he was stuck in a classroom with almost all of the girl's attention focused on him and him alone. It didn't matter that Yamada was trying to start introductions, he could feel every stare as if they could physically bore into his back.

"Um, Mr. Kurosaki?" The assistant teacher called out, leaning forward. "It's your turn."

"Ah yes." Ichigo said, clearing his throat as he stood. "My name is Kurosaki Ichigo. It is a pleasure to meet you all." Without a care, he sat back down, ignoring how stars formed in the eyes of every girl, their focus multiplying.

Before he freaked out, the door opened up and Chifuyu walked in, drawing the attention from him, much to the boy's relief. He was happy as she went through her form of a welcoming speech, dominating the conversations and telling them exactly what they would be doing for the next few weeks, when they would do it and what she expected of them.

Assisting in Ichigo's case to everyone being insane, the only reply was a consensus of fangirlish screaming. Both Ichigo and Chifuyu sighed as she turned her attention to him. "So, how ya holdin up kid?" She asked, the smile she had hidden in her voice in a way only Ichigo could notice. He smiled in a forlorn way before responding.

"Well enough to function, Ms. Orimura."

"Ah, so you already know how to use manners, eh, Ichigo? Good." She turned to the others before barking out at them. "You all should follow this man's example! I swear, it is as if they gave me the crazies to deal with."

"Scold us more, Lady Chifuyu!" a girl cried out, only making the woman sigh.

"And way to prove my point, young miss. Outside of the classroom, now. You will find a bucket of water that I want you to balance on your head until I say otherwise." The girl in question balked before complying, trudging slowly outside as the rest quieted down. "Now, Maya, why don't you give these ladies, and Ichigo, a rundown of the IS's origins."

"Yes ma'am!" The timid woman said before pulling out a pointing rod. "As you all should know, IS stands for Infinite Stratos. It originated as a plan to send one-man units up into space to explore in, but that idea is currently on hold because of how impossible it is at the moment. Now, it is a device used for countries to compete against each other, all without a risk of war, because of the Alaska Treaty's ban of its use in the military!" She said while opening up pictures on the board behind her. "It is also because of this treaty that this school is the only IS academy in the world, with representatives from all over coming here to learn the uses of these wondrous devices, studying and training side by side one another!"

Right at the end of her mini-lecture the bell rang, signaling the end of the hour. Ichigo just sat in his spot as others around him got up to walk around and talk to their friends.

"Is that him? Is that the only guy who can pilot an IS?"

"Yeah! I heard that he is also incredibly skilled at it too!"

"I heard a rumor that he took on all of the teachers in the school and lost only to Lady Orimura!"

Groaning, Ichigo put his head face down on his desk, unable to believe how out of control the rumors had grown.

"Oh? Are you having trouble, Ichigo?" A girl asked him. Lifting his head up, Ichigo just saw the girl's long, blonde hair before she continued. "Well, it only makes sense. I mean, you are a guy after all. Well, if you were to beg, I, the England representative cadet, might be willing to help you out!" Ichigo gave a deadpan look at her when she turned her head the other way, a satisfied smirk on her face.

"Oh yes. Do help me, someone who has been studying on the topic of the IS the past few months, with the oh so obvious lack of experience you have under your belt." He shot back, his tone matching the look he gave her.

"Why I never!" She cried out in offense. "I will have you know that I defeated a teacher in the entrance exam, making me an elite of the elites of this year!"

"Okay, and? You still don't have a lot of experience." Ichigo stood up and leaned into her face. "And I will have you know that I beat four of them, in the same fight, unscathed."

"Bollocks!" She cried out. "There is no way a rude brute such as yourself, managed something like that!"

"Well, I did." Ichigo said shortly. Then, as if to save him further annoyance, the second bell went off, cuing the second half of classes. The blonde girl huffed before moving away.

"I swear on my name of Cecelia Alcott, you will not get away with slighting me as you had!"

'Why, oh why, do I have to deal with so many uptight, rude, and arrogant assholes?' He grumbled to himself.

"Alright class, before we begin, we have to elect a class representative. Who do you wish to nominate?"

"I nominate Ichigo Kurosaki!" A girl in the class cried out.

"Wait, what?!