Disclaimer I don't own Bleach or any of characters, they are all property of Tite Kubo.

"There are rumors going on about you three," the words just echoed in their heads. After a few minutes of silence Rukia asked, "H – how do you know?"

"Heard it from some girls in class," Toushirou replied.

~Flashback~

It was the end of the day and Toushirou was packing up his school supplies. As he was packing up, two girls from his class, a blonde and a brunette, walked up to his desk.

"Hitsugaya – kun?" asked the blonde.

"Yes?"

"Can we ask you a question?" asked the brunette.

"You just did," Toushirou answered. The two girls looked at each other and gave each other confused looks.

"*Sigh* What do you want?" asked Toushirou.

"Why do you still talk to the Kurosaki twins and to Kuchiki?" asked the blonde.

"Yeah, you can do so much better," added the brunette.

"What is that supposed to mean?" asked an irritated Toushirou.

"You mean you haven't heard?" asked the blonde. Toushirou simply gave her a look that said 'I'm not in the mood'. The blonde then continued, "Those girls are no good."

"Yes, you need to be careful or they'll corrupt you!" stated the brunette.

"Exactly! That Kurosaki Yuzu girl will let anyone put the moves on her. That girl has no morals and will open her legs for any boy," the blonde said with disgust.

"Then there's that tomboy Kurosaki Karin. That She – Devil has to use her mannish strength to threaten and scare boys into going out with her. Talk about pathetic," said the brunette.

"I know! And there's Kuchiki who thinks she's all that and too good for high school boys," stated the blonde.

"But we know she's not all that," interrupted the brunette.

"Yeah, we all know that she only likes college guys because they can buy her nice things…that and also because college guys are more experienced in bed," continued the blonde.

"Seriously those girls –" the brunette was interrupted when she heard the sudden screech of a chair being pulled back. Both girls turned to find an angry Toushirou.

"Don't ever talk about my friends like that again. Just because you are stupid enough to believe those idiotic rumors, doesn't mean I believe them, or that I would turn my back on them." Toushirou took his bag and made his way to exit the room. As he was exiting, he angrily slammed the door behind him.

~End of flashback~

"W – what?" Yuzu asked as tears were running down her face.

"Who started the rumor?" Karin angrily asked.

"I don't know. But I know it wasn't the girls who told me, they're not smart enough to start rumors like that without getting caught," replied Toushirou.

"I … can't b – believe … this," Yuzu said between sobs. Karin went over to Yuzu and gave her a hug to try and comfort Yuzu. Toushirou saw how distraught Yuzu was by this, but he didn't know what to say.

"Yuzu, please don't cry. We know it's not true," Rukia said as she placed a hand on Yuzu's shoulder.

"I know it's not true! But what if Yamada – kun finds out?! He'll never want to talk to me again!" Yuzu yelled as even more tears ran down her face.

"Yuzu, we both know Hanatarou is not like that. He would never believe those rumors," Rukia tried to reassure Yuzu.

"Yeah, it's obvious the guy is in love with you," Karin added. Yuzu still not being convinced pulled away from Karin and nodded okay anyways. Yuzu wanted to believe Rukia and Karin, but she was mentally preparing herself for what Hanatarou would say when he rejects her.

Karin sadly watched as Yuzu continued to wipe her tears. Karin clenched her fists in anger, she wanted to punch whoever started the rumors and made her sister cry.

Rukia let out a deep sigh and said, "The rest of the school year is going to suck." Yuzu gave a bitter laugh and nodded at Rukia's statement.

"Let's just go home," Karin sadly said.

"I'll walk you home," Toushirou stated.

"That's okay, you don't have to," Karin said.

"Wouldn't want your fan club to turn their back on you," commented Rukia.

"Like I care what they think," Toushirou said as he started walking towards the Kurosaki clinic.

"That and we all know those stupid girls would follow Hitsugaya anywhere," Karin said.

"Shut up! I'm trying to be nice," Toushirou yelled.

"Well you're doing a horrible job," Karin retorted.

After Yuzu, Karin, and Rukia found out about the rumors, things at school got worse. The hushed whispers seemed much louder to the girls, as they imagined all the horrible things their schoolmates were saying. The girls, however, kept their heads up and tried to act like it didn't bother them. As a matter of fact, it felt like the girls were solely living for the weekends. When they could escape the evil clutches of school life. Although, that didn't always work because sometimes they would run into schoolmates.

It was a Saturday afternoon and Rukia, Karin, and Yuzu were on their way to the mall to meet up with Ururu, Jinta, and Hanatarou.

"This should be fun, I can't wait to see Ururu and the guys. Especially after how horrible this past month has been," Rukia said.

"I don't even want to talk about school," replied Yuzu.

"I know that'll be the last thing on your mind once you see your precious Yamada," Karin teased, causing Yuzu to blush.

When the girls got to the mall Yuzu and Karin quickly went to the bathroom, while Rukia went ahead to meet up with Ururu and the others.

"What's taking them so long?" complained Jinta.

"They'll…Oh, here they come," Rukia said as she pointed to Karin and Yuzu.

"Hey," Karin said as she waved to everyone.

"Hi Tsumugiya – san, Hanakari – kun, Yamada – kun," Yuzu greeted. As Yuzu was greeting everyone, she was purposely avoiding eye contact with Hanatarou. Hanatarou was going to say something, but Yuzu cut him off by going up to Ururu and linking their arms together as she walked off and asked, "Where do you want to go first Tsumugiya – san?"

As Ururu and Yuzu are walking away Jinta tries to run after them, but Karin holds him back. "Let go!" yelled Jinta.

"No way, you're trying to go touch my sister," replied Karin.

"Don't say it like that! It makes it sound perverted!"

"Only sounds perverted if you're having perverted thoughts," countered Karin.

"What?! You calling me a pervert?!"

"So I see you're not as dumb as you look," Karin said as she started walking away, causing Jinta to glare at her.

The first store that Ururu and Yuzu picked was an arts and crafts store. It didn't take long for Karin, Rukia, and Jinta to get bored as Ururu and Yuzu browsed the section that contained sewing supplies. "Yuzu, we'll wait for you two out front. Take your time in here. C'mon guys," Karin said as she started walking out. Karin was actually surprised that Jinta didn't try to stay with Yuzu.

"Why are Yuzu – san and Tsumugiya – san buying sewing supplies?" asked Hanatarou.

"It's part of a competition they are both in through the schools," informed Karin.

"Oh, I see," replied Hanatarou.

"Are you part of any school activities Hanatarou?" asked Rukia.

"Yes. I'm on a few of the athletic teams," replied Hanatarou.

"What the hell?!" yelled an astonished Jinta.

"Really?" asked Rukia.

"Yes, but I'm only the water boy," answered Hanatarou.

"I knew you couldn't be on the actual team," commented Jinta and that caused Karin to slap the back of Jinta's head. "What the hell Kurosaki?!"

"Stop being such a dick," was Karin's reply to Jinta's outburst.

"So you're a water boy huh? At least when you start applying to colleges it will show you were involved in school activities," Rukia said.

"Yes, I'm hoping being the teams' first aid respondent will look good on my applications," Hanatarou replied.

"You are also the team medic? Nice," commented Karin.

"I'm not so sure I would say medic, but I do provide basic first aid if necessary," said Hanatarou.

"Pfft, still sounds really sissy to me," Jinta said, causing Karin to roll her eyes at the comment. Karin was about to retort, until she heard Yuzu say, "We're ready."

Hanatarou smiled at Yuzu and Yuzu once again averted her gaze as a blush quickly spread to her cheeks. "W – what should we do next?" asked Yuzu.

"Let's go to the video store, there are a few movies I want to rent," Karin said.

Once they were in the video store, they all went their separate ways to find a movie they wanted. Hanatarou and Yuzu were in the same aisle, but they were looking at shelves that were opposite each other, so Hanatarou and Yuzu were back to back. Hanatarou accidentally bumped into Yuzu. "Sorry Yuzu – san," apologized Hanatarou.

Yuzu didn't even look at Hanatarou and replied, "It was nothing." Hanatarou sadly continued to look through the movies. He couldn't understand why Yuzu was avoiding him. Hanatarou knew that they didn't text as much anymore, but he really thought it was because they were busy getting ready for college exams. 'What if Yuzu – san doesn't like me anymore?' Hanatarou sadly thought.

"I'm going to go pay," Yuzu said and Hanatarou didn't reply as he watched her walk away.

After they paid for their movies/games, Rukia said, "I want to go try on this one dress I really liked the last I came." Jinta gave a groan of disapproval, while Yuzu and Ururu happily led everyone to the clothing stores.

"Is it this store Rukia – chan?" asked Yuzu.

"Yup, it's this one," replied Rukia as the group walked into the store.

"Do you need help finding the dress Kuchiki – san?" asked Ururu.

"No, I see they still have it," Rukia said as she pointed to a rack of dresses. "You guys can look around while I try the dress on."

"Okay!" Yuzu said as she happily went to the accessories section. The others followed after Yuzu.

Rukia was in luck, they still had the dress she liked and there was only one left in her size. Rukia asked one of the employees if she could try on the dress. The employee led Rukia into one of the fitting rooms. After Rukia put on the dress, she looked at herself in the mirror and she really liked the way the dress looked on her. As Rukia was taking off the dress and getting ready to put on her clothes, she heard two female voices.

"The twins and Kuchiki…" after hearing her name Rukia placed her ear on the door to try and listen to what the two girls were talking about. "….miserable…..you are a genius."

"….great I'll be….start more rumors…" the second voice sounded very familiar to Rukia, she just couldn't figure out who it was.

"Okay…..call my cell….."

"I….here's my new number…."

Rukia wanted to go out and see who the girls were, but Rukia was still half naked. So instead she fumbled through her belongings and took out a piece of paper and a pen to quickly write down the number she heard. She just hoped she heard the correct numbers, because Rukia could only hear bits and pieces of the conversation. Rukia then quickly dressed herself and walked out of the fitting room hoping to spot the two females. Unfortunately, Rukia didn't find anyone.

Karin saw Rukia frantically looking around the store, "Rukia is something wrong?" asked Karin, and all eyes were then on Rukia.

"Did the dress not fit?" asked Yuzu.

Rukia looked at her two best friends and inwardly debated on whether or not she should tell them what she heard.

"It's nothing, I just thought you all left without telling me," Rukia lied.

"You could have just called one of us," Karin pointed out.

"Riiight…I'm just gonna pay for the dress and then we could leave."

After Rukia paid for the dress, she started making her way to the group and saw Ururu and Yuzu taking silly pictures with some of the accessories. Rukia smiled and thought, 'It's best they don't know. Yuzu has been taking this the hardest, the least I can do is let her enjoy this day.'

"Why don't we go eat already?" Ururu suggested once Rukia joined the group.

"Great idea. Tsumugiya – san and I will go ahead to find a table for us," Yuzu said and then went ahead to save the group a table.

Rukia was going to follow Yuzu and Ururu, but she heard Hanatarou say, "Rukia – san?"

"Yes?"

"Can I talk to you about something?"

"Yeah, what is it Hanatarou?"

"Do you know why Yuzu – san is avoiding me?"

"I…uh…well you see…"

"Is she mad at me? Does Yuzu – san not like me anymore?"

"No, no that's not it! I think Yuzu thinks you don't like her anymore," answered Rukia.

Hanatarou's eyebrows knit in confusion and he asked, "What do you mean? Why would Yuzu – san think that?"

"It's because there are rumors going on at our school and Yuzu thinks you will believe the rumors if you hear them."

"That's nonsense. I know the type of person Yuzu – san is and I would always believe her over some silly rumors."

"I know you would Hanatarou," replied Rukia.

Hanatarou then got a determined look on his face as he thought, 'I need to speak with Yuzu – san.'

"Why are we walking so slow?" Jinta asked Karin as there was a big gap between them and Rukia and Hanatarou who were walking in front of Karin and Jinta.

"Can't you see Yamada and Rukia are talking?" replied Karin.

"Yeah so?"

"It seems like they're talking about something important so give them so privacy."

"If they wanted to have a private conversation they would not be having that conversation in the mall," pointed out Jinta.

"Maybe – " Karin started but she was interrupted when someone bumped into her and almost knocked her down.

"Watch where you are going Kurosaki!" replied the girl that bumped into Karin.

"The least you can do is apologize," stated the girls' companion. Karin simply looked away as the two girls from her school waited for a reply.

"I don't hear an apology," said the girl that bumped into Karin.

"And you won't hear an apology," Karin and the two girls looked up in surprise to find Jinta standing in front of Karin. Jinta then added, "You heard me! You're not getting your apology so what the hell are you still standing around here for?" The two girls glared at Jinta and then walked away.

"W – what was that about?" Karin asked, referring as to why Jinta stepped in.

"I was gonna ask the same thing. How can you let those bitches talk to you like that?"

"You don't understand. Don't ever do that again."

"What?! I just helped you! You don't say 'don't ever do that again' to someone that helps you," said a now irate Jinta.

"I don't recall asking for your help. So next time just mind your own business!" Karin said and started walking ahead of Jinta.

Jinta glared at Karin's back and mumbled, "Last time I help this bitch."

After the group finished eating, they browsed a few more stores until Ururu said, "It has been fun but Jinta – kun and I need to get going."

"Okay, let's try to hang out again soon," Yuzu said.

"Yes," replied Ururu with a smile. As Jinta and Ururu were walking away, Jinta had a somewhat sad look on his face as he looked back at the group.

"It is getting late, maybe we should start heading home too," Rukia suggested.

"Yeah, I think you're right. I don't want dad to worry," said Yuzu.

"I'll walk you girls home," Hanatarou said.

Yuzu wanted to protest, but Karin said, "Always the gentleman Yamada."

Hanatarou simply smiled at the comment and the group started walking towards the Kurosaki residence. The walk home was pretty silent. Everyone seemed to have something on their mind. When they were a few blocks away from the Kurosaki residence Rukia nudged Karin's arm and loudly said, "Karin I'll race you to the clinic!"

"You're on!" agreed Karin, and just like that Rukia and Karin ran towards the clinic, leaving Yuzu and Hanatarou behind.

"Hey!" Yuzu yelled as she saw Rukia and Karin running ahead. Yuzu let out a sigh as she saw that Karin and Rukia really did leave her behind.

"I'm sorry to make you uncomfortable Yuzu – san," started Hanatarou.

"What?" asked a surprised Yuzu.

"I know you don't want to be around me Yuzu – san."

"No, that's not it! I –"

Yuzu was interrupted when Hanatarou said, "I know you have been avoiding me. It may have something to do with the rumors going around at your school. I don't know what the rumors are about, and I don't care what they are about. I – I just want to be by your side Yuzu – san." Hanatarou said the last sentence as he looked into Yuzu's eyes.

Yuzu couldn't help it and she started to cry. "That's nice of you to say…but you'll change your mind once you know what the rumors are about."

"No I won't!" replied a determined Hanatarou.

"Yes you will…d – do you want to know what the rumors are about?" Yuzu asked as she looked down at the ground.

"Yes."

"At school they think that I will go out with any boy and then have sex him with," stated Yuzu. And Hanatarou was quiet far too long for Yuzu's liking. She was expecting Hanatarou to walk away, but instead Hanatarou gave Yuzu a hug and said, "I know that is a lie. Nothing they say will change how I feel about Yuzu – san."

Yuzu couldn't believe what she heard, she returned the hug and continued to cry into Hanatarou's shoulder as she let out all her anguished tears.

When Yuzu was finally done crying, she pulled back and said, "I'm sorry for that."

Hanatarou gave a caring smile and said, "You don't need to apologize."

"I really should get home," Yuzu stated. Hanatarou nodded and the two continued towards the Kurosaki residence.

When they were in front of the house Yuzu said. "Thank you Yamada – kun."

"It was my pleasure Yuzu – san." Hanatarou took a few steps towards his own house before he stopped and looked at Yuzu as he said, "I did mean what I said Yuzu – san, I want to be by your side. You don't have to give me an answer now because I know you are dealing with things at school. And I would also like it if the next time we meet you call me Hanatarou." And with that Hanatarou started walking towards his own home.

When Yuzu walked in to her house, her face was a deep red. Karin and Rukia who were already there, noticed Yuzu's flushed face and they asked in unison. "What happened?"

Yuzu then told Rukia and Karin what happened between her and Hanatarou.

"Really? Hanatarou said all of that?" asked Rukia and Yuzu nodded yes.

"I never thought Yamada would have made first move," commented Karin.

"I know! And he asked Yuzu to call him by his first name! Yuzu that is so cute!' squealed Rukia.

"So what are you going to tell Yamada? I mean it's obvious you like him too," added Karin.

"The next time I see Yamada – kun, I'm going to tell him I like him too," Yuzu replied with a blush.

"You should start calling him by his first name already," Rukia said and Yuzu's blush only deepened.

Despite the fun that the girls had at school, it was back to reality when Monday came and they were forced to go back to school. The girls were used to the disapproving looks by now, but what surprised them on Monday, was that now students were actually running away from them. As if they were afraid they were going to catch some sort disease by being in the same vicinity as Rukia, Karin, or Yuzu.

Later that day the girls found out that a new rumor was started. And this time the rumor was that Karin had a delinquent boyfriend with red hair and that he was helping Karin terrorize students that made Karin mad.

Karin let out a sigh and thought 'That idiot!'

"You okay Kurosaki?" asked Toushirou.

"Yeah."

It was the end of the day and Karin was out front waiting for Yuzu and Rukia, so that they could walk home. As she was waiting she heard someone yell, "Hey Kurosaki!"

Karin looked up and was surprised to find it was Jinta calling her. "What are you doing here?"

"Just came to make sure those bitches ain't messing with ya again."

"You idiot! You're just making things worse! If you really want to help then go away before Yuzu and Rukia get here!" yelled Karin.

"What?" asked a confused Jinta.

"Everyone at school hates us! You thinking you're helping by defending us, but you're not! So hurry up and leave before anyone else sees you."

"I…uh…but…" Jinta didn't know what to say, so he did what was he told and he left. Karin wouldn't know that Jinta would continue to check up on the girls, he just made sure that neither Karin, Rukia, or Yuzu didn't see him.

When Rukia and Yuzu joined Karin, Yuzu asked, "Have you heard about the new rumor?"

"Yeah, but don't worry it's nothing I can't handle," was Karin's reply.

"Yes, try to not think about it. Just think about how Onii – chan and Senna – san are going to visit this week," Yuzu said.

It was already and Friday and Rukia felt the week lasted forever, she had been distracted all week trying to figure who the voice belonged to. The voice she heard outside the fitting room sounded so familiar, yet Rukia could not figure who the voice belonged to. It was really pissing her off, especially with that new rumor going on about Karin. Rukia need to figure it out soon.

"Ready to go Rukia – chan?" asked Yuzu.

Rukia who had been lost in thought replied, "Oh, uhm you and Karin can go on ahead without me."

"Really? You're not coming over? But Onii – chan and Senna – san are going to be there," Yuzu said.

"I have to check with Nii – sama if it's okay for me to go, but I'll try to stop by sometime this weekend."

"Okay. Bye Rukia – chan."

"Bye."

After Yuzu left, Rukia still took her time to collect her belongs. When all her things were packed, Rukia took her time exiting the building. As Rukia was leaving the school gates it suddenly dawned on her who the voice belonged to. 'No! It can't be!' Rukia thought as she ran home.

When Rukia got home she ran up to her room and started rummaging through the purse she took with her when she went to the mall. After a few frantic minutes of searching, Rukia found the paper that contained the phone number. She quickly took out her phone and dialed the number. Rukia's heartbeat was racing as she waited for the other person to answer the phone.

"Hello?" answered the person on the other end.

Rukia's eyes widened in surprise and she hung up the phone. The only thing going through Rukia's mind was 'Why?'

A million sorries for the late update, but I had a bit of writer's block. But I did make this chapter a little longer than the other one's so I hope you all can forgive me. Also I don't really know why I added the Yuzu and Hanatarou part, but as I was typing it just came out and I liked it so I left it in. Also I promise Ichigo will come out in the next chapter so don't be mad that he wasn't in this chapter. I don't think the next chapter will take too long to be upload cuz I got my creative juices flowing. Please let me know what you think. Til next time!