Hi, it's me.

This chapter is longer and still considered as 'break time' chapter. Thank you for all the reviews. There's one question asking: why Uriya and the others don't end on some random parts of Rukongai after being konsoed? Well, they are being konsoed by Urahara; there's nothing normal about him, so… there it is.

About my other story, Past Tales of Espada, well, let's say that I cancel it until this Alive is finished.

On to the story…

#21: Reconciliation

It had been almost a week after Ichigo and Uriya came back for their classes.

They had been 'eluded' from their practice lessons all the time and were given menial, almost boring tasks as replacements.

All the time, they were avoided by their classmates like some plague.

Whenever theory classes were being held, instead of sitting on their usual seats, Koheita, Kanzaki, and the group opted to sit on the opposite corner; as far away as they could muster from the two.

Uriya didn't seem to care; nevertheless Ichigo felt upset about the whole thing. He felt like to snap and tell them that he wasn't some kind of monster—but both his common sense and Uriya admonished him to hold back. At least, he realized that he couldn't blame them—it was natural thing to do after all.

Today was another Wednesday, exactly a week since they were released. Right after the bell indicating the end of theory lesson rang, Takasuke-sensei called them both. He gave another mundane task of writing down the name of zanpakutos which were owned by the taichous and fukutaichous in Gotei complete with their shikai and bankai—if available.

Ichigo seemed almost exploding for being given such trivial task—he didn't object when they were given summarizing tasks or reading thick books other than their textbooks (Ichigo enjoyed reading, really—sometimes)—but this—this was beyond his patience. He felt like to strangle Takasuke-sensei.

The oppressing tension of Ichigo's leaking reiatsu suddenly lingered around the classroom, making the other students asphyxiated by the sheer pressure. Takasuke-sensei struggled to stay calm and then he managed to choke out, "Shirosaki-kun, ple-please cease your reiatsu."

Ichigo scowled, but he complied after Uriya deliberately raised his own reiatsu to counter his. Without words, the white haired young man grabbed his bag and blank parchment he would use to write down his task, and stormed out. Uriya trailed behind him—not before he sent a slightly concerned look at Takasuke and the other students.

When both Ryo and Uriya left the class, Kanzaki took a deep breath that was being denied for some moments ago. Ryo's sheer pressure of reiatsu was quite something. Either was Uriya's.

He glanced around and saw that his other classmates did the same thing—some people even openly cheered. He noted that Koheita and his closest friends were silent, though their faces were slightly pale; and they were panting. They didn't seem relieved or happy like the others; they were just… silent.

Kanzaki turned his eyes downcast. He pondered about their discussion last Saturday. He and Koheita, along with the other four, had promised to keep considering both Ryo and Uriya as their precious friends.

But Fujita's words—added with other classmates' cold behavior and fear towards the two; and not to mention, Ryo's barely free display of oppressing reiatsu—made him rethink about their decision. Was it wise to keep considering them as friends? What if the rumor was true? What if…

"That's it." Kanzaki heard Koheita stated firmly—after the fake orange haired man recomposed his breath—and he looked upward to meet his friend's determined eyes. His other friends also looked at him, confused.

"Koheita?"

"I know that I am not the most righteous person in this entire Soul Society; but this is far too much." He continued in such serious tone he rarely exhibited in his usual demeanor. "We can't let this to keep continue. We can't keep shunning and avoiding them like some nasty plague. That's just not right.

Those rumors can't be considered as valid information yet. We just hear tittle-tattles—nothing can be considered valid from just tittle-tattles. Besides, even if it's true, then so what? Shizu doesn't seem to be angry at Ryo—considering he was the real victim (he's the one who was being stabbed, duh! If it's true, that's it…). He doesn't seem to question it. So be it.

We all know that Ryo is far stronger than us—we've seen it directly—and Shizu is far more brilliant than most of our classmates, and maybe of our senpai too. He even exceeds you, Masamura." He grinned silly. "No offense."

Masamura snorted, but he seconded Koheita nonetheless.

"I know that they are different. I know that somehow they have—let's say—monstrous amount of reiatsu." He paused for a second. "But I know one thing: I do really like Ryo. And aside from my initial dislike towards Shizu, he's a great friend and reliable comrade. Just like you've said, Kanzaki."

Kanzaki looked away. He knew what Koheita meant.

"Listening to other people condemning them as fearful creatures or freaks or whatsoever somehow makes me furious. It's not right, man! They're not monsters! They're just… different than most people. That's all!

Yanno, Kurosaki Ichigo-sama is also different, but he's still admirable man and he has many friends here—most of them were formerly his enemies before he fought and defeated them. Remember Zaraki-taichou, Kuchiki-taichou, and Abarai-fukutaichou? They were formerly enemies with Kurosaki Ichigo-sama, but he later befriended them. He still befriends them."

Yajirou grunted in agreement, while Asahi and Mayu nodded curtly.

"Hearing those long words from you… I couldn't believe that until today you still resented Shizu-kun." Masamura remarked dryly.

But he immediately added. "But I agree with you. Fujita' words are hardly reliable—the same goes for the others' accusations. I bet Fujita is the one who spread bad rumors about both Ryo and Shizu-kun. We all know that he's a gossipmonger amongst us, even more than you both."

He grinned and gestured at Koheita and Kanzaki. The two only shyly smirked. "I, too, don't believe that they're that bad. Some rumors I've heard are exaggerated."

"But what's about the teachers—who seemingly unite to keep them at a distance? They seem to treat them as—well, you can say—outcasts? Why the teachers gave them special assignment as if they were afraid to let them mingle with us again?" Yajirou voiced his incredulity. "After last Saturday's commotion, these actions seem suspicious enough."

"…Yeah. Perhaps." Masamura slowly muttered. "But still, it didn't prove anything. Maybe they did it considering Shizu-kun's health state. Shizu-kun's barely recovered, right? From whatever condition he was in before… the same thing applied to Ryo. Or maybe…"

He paused a moment and then he added, "…Honestly, I fear them, really. But I also know that they are good person. Moreover, like Koheita has said before, the rumors are just rumors. You can see the teachers didn't even confirm the truth."

"Of course they didn't! They don't have any right to!" Asahi interjected.

"That's true. But you see… as long as they don't reveal the truth about Ryo and Shizu-kun, there's no strong proof that they are dangerous or truly monsters. I don't believe it nonetheless. Like Koheita has said, they have stronger reiatsu than most of us. All in all, they're just different" Masamura finished.

They were silent, pondering their discussion. They didn't have any chance to resume their conversation though; as Takasuke-sensei yelled at them to get ready to the field. They hurriedly complied, taking their respective asauchi, and ran to the practice field.

Pro tempore, the problem was forgotten.

###

When the lunch time was coming, the group ate on their usual table. They didn't see both Ryo and Uriya on the vicinity; and wondered where they were going. 'Maybe they go to give their assignment to Takasuke-sensei' was their collective thought.

The entire cafeteria's attendants were busy chattering about the two young men. They talked about their person and sometimes prowess in academy subject; but mostly they jabbered about their oddness and the event that happened last Saturday. Added the fact that Ryo barely released some oppressive amount of reiatsu in the class, their backtalk went on and on; becoming more 'colorful' along the way. The group noted the hint of fear and disgust towards the duo. Somehow it revolted them.

"…I lose my appetite, somehow." Koheita murmured. He shoved his half-eaten-ramen bowl away.

Masamura nodded and did the same thing with his plate—the yakisoba was barely eaten. Both girls also nodded and shoved their meals aside. Yajirou, however, finished his meal; still he complied with his friends nonetheless.

Kanzaki only took a sip from his glass of ice tea—he didn't even bother to get a decent meal. He thought about their conversation earlier. And it seemed his stomach didn't quite agree with his mind as he thought about that.

"Let's grab some onigiri and go somewhere less… repulsive." Koheita suggested a bit louder this time. His words earned stares and mostly glares, from other people around their table; but the fake orange haired man didn't seem to notice. He didn't wait for his friends' reply; instead he went to the food counter and bought some packs of onigiri.

They walked out from the cafeteria and went to the backyard. The group believed that the place was rarely visited; and thus it was perfect as their hang-out place—for the time being. At least, it wasn't noisy there.

Masamura was the one who noticed them.

He halted midway. When his friends barely asked him why he did halt; he shushed them and pointed forward instead. They found a hidden spot behind the foliage and thick bushes; and they peered over the scene in front of them.

Ryo and Uriya were sitting under the tree. The white haired young man had lied down; and he had been snoozing with one hand over his face; the other on his chest. The green eyed man sat beside him, reading a thick book. He wore a peaceful—if not emotionless—expression.

The group peeked for some more—until Uriya looked upward from his book. He pointed his eyes towards the thick bushes they were in as if he could see through the foliage. The group simultaneously gulped—Shizu Uriya was really something. They knew he could discern their reiatsu even from far away. They had been found out.

Strangely the emerald eyed man didn't say or do anything more. He only kept his unnerving gaze lingering on the spot for a while; and then he resumed his reading. He didn't even try to wake Ryo.

Feeling relieved, the group decided to back away. They didn't feel ready to confront the two yet.

###

Uriya had felt their reiatsu approaching ever since they were walking out from the cafeteria.

He didn't really care though; there were many free spaces on the backyard they could share. The problem was: did they even want to share the vacant area with him and Ichigo?

I guess not, he thought after he waited for a while.

He knew they were hiding behind the thick bushes and foliages across their spot, watching him and Ichigo. The said teen was off—he was snoozing and unable to feel their presence, of course (he couldn't even when he was wide awake, Uriya mused humorlessly).

Uriya fixed his gaze upon the bushes, somehow hoping they came out and announced their presence. But they didn't. Instead they backed away and left the place.

Uriya sighed. So much for his new life…

###

When hohou theory was starting, the initially noisy class went silent as both Uriya and Ryo walked in—typical.

They ignored the silence; though Ryo seemed like he had intensified his menacing scowl. It didn't help in any way possible; since the others became more terrified even to look at him. Uriya glanced at his companion—somehow worried he would burst out his reiatsu or something—but he said nothing.

They walked upstairs and sat on their usual spot—beside Koheita and the group. Uriya vaguely wondered why the goofy young man and his group of friends didn't sit on their apparently new corner.

However the position reversed. This time, it was Uriya who sat right next to Koheita. Ryo was sitting beside him, sulking silently.

Koheita shared a look with Kanzaki; and gulped. They knew that they were tense and had palefaces. Especially Koheita, since he sat right next to Uriya. Despite his brave words on the last time considering Uriya and Ryo, he still feared them somehow. And he clearly wasn't ready to sit next to Shizu Uriya all of a sudden.

As Fujiwara-sensei walked into the silent class, he noted the eerie silence. He looked around and noticed that everybody in his class glanced fearfully towards the duo Shizu and Shirosaki every now and then. It was typical since last week—but still the old teacher felt unnerved about it.

He frowned and stroked his long beard thoughtfully. This isn't right, he pondered. The gossip has been spread and sadly, it's nearing the truth. However, there's no reason to cast them away. I do really think that the last Saturday's incident was just some mistakes; a very bad mistake.

Clearing his throat to gain the students' attention, Fujiwara-sensei spoke curtly, "Is there anything wrong here?"

The students' attention reverted to him. Slowly they shook their heads.

"No—nothing wrong, Sir." One of the male students who sat in the front row squeaked.

"If there's nothing wrong, why do you act so strangely silent and fearful all the time?"

They didn't reply. They couldn't.

Fujiwara-sensei sighed heavily. He straightened his feature and walked towards Ryo and Uriya. The entire class held their breath as they saw their teacher moved closer and closer to the infamous duo.

The old teacher stopped right beside Ryo's desk, making the white haired young man looked upward at him. He watched them as Ryo shifted uncomfortably under his scrutiny; while Uriya kept his stoic posture and stared back at him with his undivided green eyes.

To think that both of them are fighting in the last Winter War, he mused. If you think that way, the last incident was surprisingly plain in comparison. But of course, the other students don't know about that.

This Shirosaki guy is Kurosaki Ichigo, after all—everybody knows his prowess in term of reiatsu and strength and power. And this Shizu Uriya… I don't really know who he is, but Ukitake-sensei told us that he's also one of those war veterans. I've seen it myself: his ability and enormous reiatsu, which he covers well. He's at least as strong as Kurosaki, in my opinion.

Fujiwara-sensei held out his right hand towards Ryo; and for some agonizing moments, the class thought he would surely hit Shirosaki on the head.

But he didn't; instead he stroked the white haired young man playfully, ruffling his already ruffled hair. Ryo was speechless and Uriya widened his eyes in slight shock. The entire class gaped, bewildered.

"Sensei, what—?!"

Ignoring Ryo's protest, Fujiwara-sensei kept ruffling his hair in affectionate manner. Suddenly smiling, he then nodded at Uriya who nodded back mutely. Eyes somehow twinkling with some kind of pure mirth, the old teacher stroked Ryo's head once more before descended towards his own desk.

The show of casualness towards the duo by Fujiwara-sensei slowly melted the quietness within the class. Laughter and mirthful chuckles could be heard here and there—and soon the class went back to its usual noisy situation. Fujiwara-sensei smiled and sighed in relief, though he knew he would be faced by the fact that he had to make them silent once more and listen to his lecture.

Ichigo scratched his head and grinned sheepishly at Uriya. The green eyed man only scoffed and mouthed words to him that sounded suspiciously like 'happy trash'. Ichigo glared at him for a while but decided to let it down.

Koheita and the group watched as the scowl lessened from Ryo's forehead—though it didn't disappear altogether, since Ryo looked like he had an eternal scowl—and he had a silly grin on his face. They also watched a slight tug of smile on Uriya's lips as he looked at his roommate.

Suddenly they saw the duo as the same persons like before: Shirosaki Ryo and Shizu Uriya, the odd pair yet great friends of theirs.

To hell with the others' accusation towards their person! To hell with the gossip! So what if they were different? So what if they were somehow stronger than most academy students? Koheita decided that he didn't care about those things. All he knew that he liked Ryo's company and he began to appreciate Uriya as well.

Preparing himself for the cold shoulder, Koheita inched closer to Uriya and Ryo. He beamed his best goofy smile ever and chirped.

"Yo, guys!"

Both Ryo and Uriya turned to look at him—the surprised expression within their eyes made Koheita felt somehow confident to approach them more. But before he made another comment, Kanzaki had beaten him.

"Nice to sit here again, after all. The other corner was boring without you both." He told them. He knew he lied but… blah, he didn't care. Somehow he also felt relieved and confident to approach both Uriya and Ryo after Fujiwara-sensei' show.

One by one, Yajirou, Masamura, and Asahi approached them with their appreciative words and more usual comments. Mayu only smiled shyly at them.

Ryo replied with his grateful smirk; while Uriya nodded affirmatively. With unspoken agreement settled amongst them, they went back to the lesson.

After the theory, Fujiwara-sensei called for them both after he told the other students to go to the field first.

"I will give you your special assignment." He heaved a sigh. "Though I do not feel like to; you know the reason."

Uriya and Ichigo nodded.

"Sensei." Uriya interjected. "Until when will we be given these mundane tasks?"

Fujiwara-sensei shrugged. "I don't really know. You can ask Ukitake-sensei further about that."

He gave them a task to summarize the book with the title 'How You Can Upgrade Your Shunpo Level'—somehow Ichigo didn't feel truly surprised when he found that the author was one of Shihouin relatives (though he couldn't imagine Yoruichi to write a book)—from the page 657 to 710 about long-distance shunpo. The paper would be collected after the practice lesson was over.

Ichigo glared at the amount of pages they had to read; but somehow he felt excited. He always wanted to know about long-distance shunpo; since Yoruichi didn't teach him about it—yet. Somehow he had a thought that the former Onmitsukidou leader didn't even want to teach him those movement anyway.

"This is just theory."

Ichigo looked at Uriya who had promptly finished his own share of reading. They were sitting at their usual spot inside the library. The librarian wasn't on her spot again—typical. The library, like usual, was vacant of presence, except theirs.

Ichigo watched Uriya shifted through his notebook. The latter had already written halfway part of his summary. How he could manage to do his work so fast was beyond Ichigo.

"I know it's just another theory; but it's a worthy read."

"Want to practice it sometimes?"

Ichigo pondered the question. And then he nodded.

"Sure thing. But when? This kind of practice needs long range and vast area. I mean; very vast area."

Uriya shrugged. "I think this kind of shunpo can only be practiced when you're in hurry."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Uriya shrugged again, but didn't answer.

Ichigo resumed his reading. Nonetheless, his mind went back to the moment in the class. He didn't expect Fujiwara-sensei to do something like that. He was thankful about that—though he was quite embarrassed because of that—since after the old man did it, the tenseness and fearful aura within the class lessened. Koheita and the others had even talked to them again.

He still felt the fear and resentful feeling towards himself and Uriya; but it wasn't as strong as before. He didn't blame them. Everybody in their right and sane mind would surely think twice to get near less befriend them, the terrifyingly odd pair—especially after the 'freak' show that Saturday and in the zanjutsu class. He chuckled when he thought what if they found out about their real identities. Oh, what hilarity would ensue…

"Why are you chuckling?"

Ichigo started. "Nothing. I'm just thinking about last time in the class."

Uriya stared at him for a while and then nodded slowly.

"You're glad that they seem to warm towards us again."

"Well, yeah…"

Uriya shrugged—Ichigo felt he often did it recently—and said nothing. He resumed his task. After some times, he gave his finishing stroke (ending paragraph, duh!) and murmured, "Done."

Ichigo gawked at him. "What?!"

"I'm done."

"How can you do it so fast?!"

He shrugged—again!—and replied simply, "Practicing."

Ichigo shook his head and hastily finished his own share. His scribbled four pages of summary surely couldn't be compared with Uriya's neatly written ten pages of summary. Ichigo sulked silently.

Sometimes I think he's just like another Ishida for me, Ichigo grumpily thought. Less annoying; nonetheless he's still quite unnerving.

Uriya raised his brows somehow teasingly looking at Ichigo's 'handiwork'. Pursing a faint smirk, he asked, "Finished? Let's collect them at Fujiwara-sensei's desk."

Ichigo complied. They walked out of the library, intending to go straight to Fujiwara-sensei's office. As they turned around a turnoff, Ichigo almost collided with Koheita.

"Whoa! Ryo, it's you!" he beamed albeit awkwardly. "Oh, hi too, Shizu. Actually, we've all been looking for you."

"Huh? Why?"

"Well… we—we want to say something to you." He quickly added in sheer awkwardness. "When we walk back to the dorm. Together. Okay?"

Ichigo frowned. "Why not now?"

"It's secret."

Koheita swiftly turned around and ran from them. It wasn't before he yelled, "We'll be waiting for you on the front gate!" and then he disappeared behind another turnoff.

Ichigo shared a look with Uriya, who wisely kept his quietness. The older man shrugged lightly—another shrug, Ichigo thought, just what happens with him?—and continued his walk towards Fujiwara-sensei's office.

Ichigo sighed and followed him.

###

After they collected the task to Fujiwara and grabbed their belongings, Ichigo and Uriya walked out the academy building, right towards the front gate—and found the group had been waiting for them.

Koheita was his own self, smiling and cheerfully waving at them; regardless the odd looks he earned from the other passersby. Kanzaki stood beside him, looking at them awkwardly and, not to mention, guiltily.

Masamura leaned against the wall; his calm feature didn't betray his slight anxiety—though Uriya somehow knew his restlessness. Yajirou, however, was fidgeting nervously. Asahi seemed forcing her smile, while Mayu hid behind her best friend; her expression a bit afraid.

Ichigo approached them first, directly asked them, "What's the matter?"

Koheita and Kanzaki shared a guilty look. And then, surprisingly, it was Masamura, who started first: bowing deeply in apologetic manner while stating, in loud and clear voice.

"We want to say sorry for shunning you and thinking bad about you. I'm sorry—no, we're sorry, Ryo, Shizu-kun."

Ichigo couldn't cover his shock. He gaped at Masamura as the others followed his lead, bowing their heads almost simultaneously and chorused a 'sorry'. Uriya stood still beside Ichigo; his face betrayed nothing, but his eyes held amusement within.

After several times of chorused 'sorry', Ichigo had had it enough and yelled, out of sudden embarrassment. God, they had become some kind of entertainment here, as the other remaining students passed by and giggled at their antics.

"Okay, okay, enough already! This is embarrassing." He cleared his throat and spoke again; this time he almost couldn't hide his own joy. "I accept your 'sorry'. And I don't blame you—really!"

"No, no, it's rude of us." Kanzaki interjected. "We shouldn't let some irresponsible gossip clouded our opinion about you."

"Kanzaki's right." Asahi seconded. "Initially, we're afraid, yes. But now, we realize that whatever happens, you and Shizu-kun are still our friends; no matter what happens."

Ichigo looked at them one by one. His expression was one pure shock and some of gratitude. Uriya stared at them evenly, not bothering to reply anything.

"Guys, I don't know what to say…" Ichigo muttered.

"You've just said what we want to hear." Mayu retorted quietly. Since she rarely talked, everyone turned to give her their full attention. She blushed.

"You-you have barely said that you accepted our apology. That's enough." She smiled. "For one last time: sorry."

Ichigo grinned. "Yeah, thanks. Thanks for everything."

Unexpectedly and out of joy, Koheita launched himself and tackled Ichigo onto the ground.

"Koheita, what the hell?!"

"Oooohhhh, Ryoooo!! It's been long time since I talk to you like this! I miss youuuuu!!" he attempted to kiss Ichigo on the cheek.

Annoyed, Ichigo rudely shoved him aside. "OKAY! OKAY! I get it! I get it! Quit that disgusting pout of yours already! Gah!!"

"Koheita, dude, I don't know that you've switched sides. I thought you're straight." Yajirou deadpanned.

Koheita glared at him. "Of course I'm straight! I'm still normal guy! Wanna proof?"

He then got up and attempted to kiss Asahi—in result of one hard slap on his cheek. Groaning, he nursed his bruised cheek and cussed Asahi. Everyone save Uriya laughed at them. The said man only chuckled softly.

Together they walked towards their dorm. The problem amongst them was somehow settled.

###

A/N: I was a bit off when I wrote this… blah, whatever.