Author's Note
EDUCATION TIME! So I went back and did a small bit of editing in the last two chapters, which I'm mentioning for educational purposes. First, I realized the other day that 'tate' was supposed to be 'tatte' with two t's in chapter 10 because it's the te-form of the verb tatsu-to stand up, which the conjugation rules say replace tsu with tte for the te-form. Te-forms are used for several different purposes, one of which is requests, so yeah. Hooray for learning Japanese in my college class! Secondly, since I did one small edit I figured why not do another, I fixed Ichigo's mangle of Voldemort. Apparently the t in Voldemort is silent, as 9tail-Naruto pointed out to me. I did not know this and when I mentioned it to a coworker, they were like "Oh yeah, it is. It's French for 'to flee death' or something like that." and I was like "What? Why have I never heard this before? Why did the movies mess it up like that?" I guess this just shows how I am not a super Harry Potter buff. Oh well, I know my Bleach and there's always the Wiki.
Anywho, this educational note about edits was brought to you by the letter T, because somehow both edits occurred because of it. It's a bit short, but enjoy the new chapter!
Harry and Ichigo walk down the halls, silently fuming at the toad the government has forced into their lives.
"You didn't have to do that." Harry says.
"Nani?"(What?) Ichigo asks, looking over at Harry. He had been focused on walking forward and making sure that he didn't subconsciously turn back as he was being goaded to do.
"You didn't have to get yourself in trouble just because I did." Harry explains, staring at Ichigo.
Ichigo snorts. "Don't flatter yourself, Harry. The toad was pissin' me off, I would've gotten in trouble with her anyway. Figured it'd be easier to share the misery than go it alone, that's all."
He leaves out the part that if left to trouble on his own he would have done worse than insult the toad and her poor excuse for a class. He never really said it, though he was sure some of the people who knew him guessed, but there were times when it was very hard to ignore the deadly croon of the embodiment of his instinct and just walk away. Even back when he was actively doing his best to suppress his hollow side there were times when he was tempted to let the monster he could be run rampant, to let it rip apart whatever had drawn his ire. Right now he had to keep his focus on moving away from the class, lest Zangetsu convince him to give into the urge to head back and show Umbridge how little safety her classroom offered.
"I could handle her on my own. I don't need your help." Harry mutters. He is tired of being babied by others. The Order is keeping him out when he's sure he's faced more than some of its members have faced. He's not some kid to be kept in the dark. He doesn't need the Japanese watching over him. He can handle himself, he doesn't need the extra care.
Ichigo sighs and rubs the back of his head. "Never said you couldn't. If I'm being honest, it's for me."
"What?"
"In case you haven't noticed, I'm a bit short-tempered." Ichigo replies, a self-depreciating smile on his face. "I also like to hit my problems until they quit being problems. It's not a very good mix in these kinds of situations."
Harry nods in understanding. It wasn't exactly hard to pick up on Ichigo's short temper during the summer and assaulting a teacher was only asking for trouble.
"The toad's ideals are an insult to all I've done these past few years, so it's very hard not to use my preferred problem solving method. Having someone else who could be dragged down with me if I give in to that urge helps my restraint."
"So you're using me like some sort of leash?" Harry asks, feeling insulted. Ichigo's explanation is not helping with the boiling rage inside him.
Ichigo shrugs. "Sort of. It's more like I need you to represent the consequences and reasons why I can't just slug the toad in the face." It's not going to help Harry if he sugar-coats the truth, regardless of how it will upset the other boy in his current mood. In Ichigo's opinion, it's best if Harry knows how he'll be relying on the other boy to act as a restraint for his violent temper, especially since cutting off an arm in vengeance is not going to be appreciated by school staff.
"You should just punch her." Harry states in a vindictive tone, his growing dislike for Umbridge leaking out.
Another shrug from Ichigo, but before he can reply another voice calls out as they round the corner.
"Why, it's Potty Wee Potter and the funny foreign kid!" a floating, wide-faced little man cackles, purposely dropping a few of the inkwells he'd been juggling.
"Get out of it, Peeves." Harry growls, really not in the mood for putting up with the troublesome poltergeist.
"Oooh, Crackpot's feeling cranky." Peeves says, pursuing the boys down the corridor, leering at them all the while. "What is it this time, my fine Potty friend? Hearing voices? Seeing visions? Speaking in tongues?" Peeves continues, blowing a raspberry to punctuate his point.
"You will be seeing stars if you don't piss off." Ichigo growls, ready to punch the lights out of the poltergeist, sure that no one will care if he does. Bullies have always pissed him off and the little man is no different, besides he could use the release.
"Oh hoh, short tempered are we, Monster Boy?" Peeves cackles. He loves a good scare and Monster Boy could certainly scare Wee Potty if Peeves can get him to slip up the human act. It isn't hard at all for anything with a little sharper senses to pick up on the power and predatory nature hiding in human guise, so of course the wizards don't know about the wolf among their little sheepy selves. And being the Master of Pranks and Annoyances that he is, Peeves can tell when a person's about to snap and both these boys are close. It is simply too interesting a situation to pass up, watching the foreign monster's mask slip while Potty's in such a volatile mood.
"I said, leave us ALONE!" Harry shouts, taking off down the corridor in an attempt to ditch the annoying poltergeist. Ichigo hesitates for a moment, trying to decide if he should run after Harry or slug the little man, before he decides to follow after Harry, easily catching up.
Unfortunately, Peeves decides to continue following the boys and with a cackle bursts into song.
"Oh, most think he's barking, the Potty wee lad,
But some are more kindly and think he's just sad,
But Peevesy knows better and says that he's mad,
Hanging with monsters for dangers to be had –"
"SHUT UP!" "URUSAI!" (SHUT UP! Well actually it means noisy, according to my sensei, but usage tends to get it translated as shut up)
Ichigo eyes flash to hollow gold as he swipes at the poltergeist's legs, intent on dragging him down for a beating, only to snarl in frustration as his hand passes harmlessly through the little man's legs.
A door on their left flew open, revealing McGonagall's office, while the woman herself emerged looking grim and slightly harassed.
"What on earth on you boys shouting about?" McGonagall demands while Peeves zips off with another cackle. "Why aren't you in class?"
Ichigo turns to look at her and it takes considerable will for her not to take a step back. The angry eyes that are focused on her are a predatory gold and the teeth-baring snarl on his face simply intensifies the feeling of standing before a dangerous beast. When the Japanese teens had been placed under her jurisdiction in the school, McGonagall had been given a warning that Ichigo was of a more violent nature and not entirely human, but this was not what she had expected. She hadn't thought that it would at times be like facing down some sort of feral monster.
"We've been sent to see you." Harry sullenly answers McGonagall's question, drawing her attention off of Ichigo.
"Sent? What do you mean sent?"
Both boys silently offer their notes to her. McGonagall takes them with a frown, noticing that Ichigo's eyes are back to brown, though still sharp with a smoldering anger. She slit the notes open with a flick of her wand and quickly reads them, eyes narrowing as she takes in the contents of the notes.
"Come in here, Potter. I'll deal with you after Potter, Kurosaki."
Ichigo gives a curt nod. It's probably best that way, it'll give him time to cool his temper, or at least manage it so that he's not about to hit whatever annoys him next . Harry simply follows McGonagall into her office to discover his fate.
Ichigo leans back against the wall next to the door, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. Calming down was the only way he would avoid getting into more trouble, which meant he'd have to talk down the hollow half of Zangetsu so the bastard would quit whispering violent, appealing ideas to him. This was going to be fun.
'Alright asshole, I need you to frickin' shut up so I can think straight.'
'Riiight 'cause you weren't also contemplatin' how best to pummel the damn toad.'
'Yeah, but you make it harder for me to not act on those thoughts. So do me a favor that I've asked for, and SHUT UP.'
'Why don't you come in here and make me?'
'As tempting as that sounds, it'll take too long, so I've got a better idea. If you don't shut the hell up I won't spar with you tonight. Got it?'
'Tch. You ain't no fun, Kingy. Fine, I'll be quiet, but I'll still be thinkin' 'bout all the fun ways to tear the toad apart.'
'That's fine, as long as I don't have to listen to it.'
'Jus' don' forget ta ask when ya need a plan for takin' down the toad.'
Ichigo lets out a sigh, feeling the added aggression of Zangetsu draining away as the more vocal spirit withdraws deeper into his mind. He cracks his eyes open, watching and listening as the masses of students flee their classes. The pounding of hundreds of feet and buzz of half as many voices was soothing in its simplicity and normality. Ichigo let the waves of sound wash over him, helping him focus on calming thoughts.
It wasn't much later that Harry come out of McGonagall's office and Ichigo slipped in, a bit calmer than when he had arrived.
"So I suppose that you actually did openly insult Professor Umbridge and her class, as well as refuse to acknowledge her as a teacher?" McGonagall asks, sounding exasperated.
"She's not a teacher." Ichigo stubbornly replies.
McGonagall lets out a frustrated sigh. "Even if you disagree with how she handles her class, you still must treat her as you would any other teacher, disagreement with her or not."
"Tch. If it was as simple as disagreeing with her I probably wouldn't be in here."
"What?" McGonagall asks with genuine confusion.
Ichigo sighs. "I've dealt with teachers I don't get along with before. I can keep it to just getting a little mouthy when they start in on me, but she's not a teacher. There is no point in having to suffer through dealing with her when she won't be teaching anything."
"Kurosaki, I do hope you realize that the consequences can be more than detention or a loss of House Points when causing trouble with Professor Umbridge." McGonagall says, worry and concern lacing her tone.
"Haah, yeah I do. She's with the government, which is corrupt as hell, and she is the type of person to abuse those privileges she's granted."
"Good." McGonagall replies with a curt nod, relief slipping into her features because Ichigo seems to have a somewhat more level head than Harry. "Then I expect you to stay out of trouble in her classes."
"Don't worry about it." Ichigo calmly replies. "I won't be going to those 'classes' anymore."
"What?!" McGonagall practically screeches. "Kurosaki, you cannot simply skip class just because you dislike the teacher. As a student, it is you respo–"
"If I go to those classes, I will not be able to hold myself back for long. The toad will get hurt." Ichigo states, looking her in the eye, letting her see the truth in his eyes.
McGonagall lets out a defeated sigh. "And dare I ask why it is that you cannot remain civil in Dolores Umbridge's presence?"
"You want to know why I can't be civil with the toad. It's because she insists on insulting all that I've dedicated myself to for most of my life. She has a complete disregard for the safety of others. The toad tries to force the idea that everything's safe down our throats when even a kid could tell you otherwise. It's just stupid. I have risked my life trying to protect the people who are important to me. I have taken beatings that would leave the toad passed out from pain and kept fighting. I have nearly died more times than I'd like to count just to save others. According to her, that was unnecessary." Ichigo growls, eyes flashing gold for an instant. "The toad's denial of danger, and through that the sacrifices others make to protect people, leaves me rather pissed off and with a desire to open her eyes up, painfully."
McGonagall pinches the bridge of her nose, feeling the beginnings of a headache. "Defense Against the Dark Arts is one of the core classes at Hogwarts, Kurosaki. I'm not entirely sure you can be allowed to not attend it." She sighs. "However, I get the feeling that forcing you to attend will be a difficult, if not impossible task. And even if we were to succeed in doing that, you've made it quite clear that you'll only cause trouble." Ichigo simply grunts in acknowledgement. "It says here that she's given you detention every evening this week, starting tomorrow, alongside Potter. Can I trust you to stay civil through those encounters?"
"I'll try, but I can't promise anything."
"I suppose that's about all I can ask for." McGonagall says, sounding a bit tired. "One last question before you leave. Are Ishida and Inoue likely to join you in skipping her class?"
"Iie (no), they have much better control over their tempers than me."
McGonagall nods, then directs him out of her office.
The Great Hall was buzzing with whispers and rumor about how Harry had gotten into a shouting match with Umbridge, along with tales of Ichigo's own venomous, albeit quieter, match. The gossip traveled fast, even by Hogwarts's standards, becoming practically the sole subject of conversation. All of it made worse by the fact that few, if any, bothered to even try keeping it out of Harry and Ichigo's hearing range. They could hear the whispers of disbelief around them, even as their friends who had quickly taken up seats on either side, Ron and Hermione around Harry, Uryu and Orihime around Ichigo, tried to distract them.
Harry finally set his utensils down, hands shaking too much from anger to properly wield them. "What I don't get," he says through clenched teeth, "is why they all believed the story two months ago when Dumbledore told them…"
"The thing is, Harry, I'm not sure they did." Hermione grimly says, staring down at her plate. "Oh let's get out of here." She announces, having caught the tail-end of yet another insult to Harry. She slams her own utensils down and, after staring longingly at his unfinished pie slice, Ron follows suit. Ichigo, Uryu, and Orihime are a bit more practical minded and simply take their plates with them. They may not know where the kitchen is, but they know that it won't be any trouble to just bring the plates back in the morning. Seeing what the Japanese have done, Ron brightens up a bit, running back to grab his unfinished pie slice. The group ignores the stares of the other students as they leave the Great Hall.
"What d'you mean, you're not sure they believed Dumbledore?" Harry asks Hermione once they've gotten a fair distance from the Great Hall, frustration in his voice.
"Look, you don't understand what it was like after it happened." Hermione says quietly. She knows that what she's about to explain will only upset Harry more, but it will also, hopefully, help him understand. "You arrived back in the middle of the lawn clutching Cedric's body… None of us saw what happened in the maze… We just had Dumbledore's word for it that You-Know-Who had come back and killed Cedric and fought you."
"Which is the truth!" Harry explodes. Hermione is sounding like one of the many students who doubt him and right now he needs his friends to believe him. If the people who know him best won't believe him, who will?
"I know it is, Harry, so will you please stop biting my head off?" Hermione asks in a weary tone. She doubts it will be the last time she'll have to make such a request to Harry, not with his temper. "It's just that before the truth could sink in, everyone went home for the summer, where they spent two months reading about how you're a nutcase and Dumbledore's going senile!"
Harry goes quiet for a moment before turning to Ichigo and asking, "What about you? Doesn't it bother you?"
"Doesn't what bother me?" Ichigo asks in mild confusion.
"That they all just talk about you like that when they don't know what really happened?"
"Nope. If I cared what others thought about me, I'd have dyed my hair black a long time ago." Ichigo nonchalantly answers.
"You shouldn't let it bother you too much, Harry-kun. Like the saying goes, 'Those that care don't matter and those that matter don't care,' ne?" Orihime asks, a cheery smile on her face.
Harry just looks at them with uncertainty.
"If it's any consolation, Kurosaki can be incredibly oblivious when it comes to how others perceive him." Uryu says, pushing his glasses up while Orihime and Ichigo both lightly blush at the comment.
"Urusai, Ishida." Ichigo growls.
Soon they reach the Gryffindor common room, which was mostly empty as everyone else was still at dinner, and picked out the best chairs near the fire place to sit in, Crookshanks curling up in Hermione's lap once she's settled. Harry felt exhausted as he stared into the flames. The day had been long, more like a week, and he honestly just wanted to fall asleep. Unfortunately, the mountain of homework he'd been assigned needed to be done, or at least started on, so sleeping right now was not a good option.
"How can Dumbledore have let this happen?" Hermione suddenly cries, causing everyone to jump. Crookshanks abandons her lap, looking affronted, and takes up a new residence in Orihime's lap, purring as the girl strokes him. "How can he let that terrible woman teach us? And in our O.W.L. year too!"
"Well, we've never had great Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers, have we?" Harry points out. "You know what it's like, Hagrid told us, nobody wants the job, they say it's jinxed."
"Yes, but to employ someone who's actually refusing to let us do magic! What's Dumbledore playing at?" Hermione rants.
"From what I've heard, he didn't have a choice in the matter." Uryu states as he sets aside his now empty plate.
"What?" the trio asks.
"I simply overheard some of the adults saying that the Ministry forced Umbridge into the position. Not that there was much Dumbledore-sensei could do to resist when he had no other applicants for the job."
"Well then I hope the job really is jinxed." Ichigo mutters. "The sooner she quits, the better things'll be."
'We could help speed up the process, Aibou.'
'You are still playing the Quiet Game.'
'Tch. Bastard.'
"Kurosaki-kun." Orihime scolds. He just gives a huff in reply.
"Yeah, me too. I mean, she's trying to get people to spy for her." Ron says darkly. "Remember when she said she wanted us to come and tell her if we hear anyone saying You-Know-Who's back?"
"Of course she's here to spy on us all, that's obvious, why else would Fudge have wanted her to come?" Hermione snaps. The complete disruption to her education in the subject frays her nerves. Hermione longs for knowledge and Umbridge is denying it when it is her job to provide it. Not only that, but the Ministry hag is looking to ruin one of her best friends. In short, Umbridge is being unbearable.
"Don't start arguing again." Harry wearily pleads, having seen Ron open his mouth to retaliate. "Can't we just… Let's just do that homework, get it out of the way…"
The others silently fulfil his request, grabbing their bags and pulling out the necessary materials to get started. As they do this, people start to drift back into the common room, done with dinner. Harry carefully reseats himself so that he doesn't have to watch them enter and stare at him, but it does nothing about the feeling of their eyes upon him.
"Shall we do Snape's stuff first?" Ron suggests, before writing his title across the top of the parchment. He then expectantly turns to Hermione. "So what are the properties of moonstone and its uses in potion-making?"
"You could at least try do the work yourself, Ron-san." Uryu says. Even if they were to make a group effort on the homework everyone should contribute, it was only fair. Besides, no one learns anything when all the answers are just given to them.
Hermione, however, was focused on Fred, George, and Lee Jordan, who were testing their Skiving Snackbox candies on first year students. Instead of giving Ron answers to the homework, she instead declared her intent to put an end to the tests, receiving no support from Ron, who did not want to tempt his brothers into making him a test subject. His lack of support left Hermione slightly miffed once she'd dealt with the twins and it only took her a few moments to give up on doing any homework. Before retreating upstairs to bed, Hermione hid a couple of knitted "hats" under some rubbish in an attempt to free more house-elves, something Ron found underhanded as most house-elves, unlike Dobby, were quite happy with their indenture. Once she was gone, he uncovered the hats so that the elves could at least chose freedom or servitude and Orihime helped him, not much caring for the deception that Hermione had tried herself.
"There's no point in trying to finish it now," Ron says, rolling up his titled parchment, "I can't do it without Hermione, I haven't got a clue what you're supposed to do with moonstones. Unless you guys wanna help?" Ron asks, turning a hopeful eye to the Japanese.
Uryu gives an affronted snort. "If you want my help, you will have to make your own contributions. You should do at least some of your own homework instead of relying on someone else."
Ichigo shrugs, giving a 'I-know-as-much-as-you-do' vibe to it. Ron turns pleading eyes to Orihime, hoping she might take Hermione's role tonight.
"Sorry, Ron-kun, but Ishida-kun is right. You won't learn much if I give you all the answers." Orihime says, giving Ron an apologetic smile.
And so having ascertained that there would be no help with their homework, Ron and Harry decided to call it a night. Maybe not one of their wisest decisions considering that they were sure to get even more the following day, but one they made none the less because in all honesty they were not in the mood to attempt it using their own knowledge at the moment.
It was only as he was falling asleep that Peeves's nickname for Ichigo made him pause in thought, remembering what Kreacher had said about him and his meeting with Zangetsu. It really only brought up one question: What was Ichigo?
Author's Note
Sorry, detention is next chapter. It should be good, though I think the second detention will be more entertaining. And recent Bleach chapters, Uryu is being stupid and I still can't wait to see what happens this week.
Please comment/review to tell me how I did.
