Chapter Thirty-Seven
Midori's POV
My first week in the Shino Academy and I am already starting to miss home. It was fun here, but I did not like that there was no one around my age taking classes as well. A lot of people keep giving me weird looks and treat me different. After that, they would walk off saying something about it being unfair, that my parents paid for me to be here. There was one guy that looked out for me though. He was a classmate of mine but a lot older than me. He went by the name of Shuhei Hisagi. He was a nice guy that had a few goals of his own. He wanted to be as strong as the man that saved his life when he was a little bit younger than me. He asked me who my parents are to cause such animosity. He seemed surprised to know that I was the daughter of a Captain and a Fourth Seat. I thought it was weird that he did not know. He then puffed out his chest with a firm expression on his face and declared, "They're all jealous. They don't like the fact that you're smarter than them and pick on your parents to make them fee better. I heard of your father and he doesn't seem like the type of man to do such a thing."
I smiled and replied, "He isn't, mom didn't even want me to go. Dad just asked for a test to see where I stood and told me to take it seriously." Shuhei looked surprised before asking, "And you passed? On the first try?!" His expression was funny so I tried not to giggle at him. "Yep." I stated proudly. He slumped over the table we were sitting at and groaned somewhat dramatically. My friend then looked up at me before saying, "I'm gonna' have to start stealing your notes from now on." I laughed feeling really lucky to have someone to talk to like this. I think I might have found a friend that I was not related to. Dad probably would blow a gasket if he knew that my friend is a guy. He always acts funny when Kaien or Uncle Shunsui mentions me bringing a boy home. Mom always jokes that he's going to wait on the front porch at night with his Zanpakutō ready when the time comes.
I never gained the nerve to tell my parents that I had him as a friend but told Uncle Shunsui which earned me some teasing in my direction. So I went to Uncle Byakuya about him and received a raised eyebrow and the question, "Why are you so worried about you parents reactions to this boy? Do you like him?" I did not know how to answer that question, I did not know for sure. I hoped not he was my best friend. Over the years I had gained more friends but never lost him. It was our Fifth Year and we were turning heads in the school. It must have been because of how Shuhei was slowly turning more and more good looking since he had started. I was never more surprised when he asked me out in the beginning of the term. I thought it might have been fun so I agreed.
Shuhei and I were tucked away in a secluded area one day after classes three months after our first date. He was very hesitant to talk today for some reason. "What's wrong?" I asked him. He did not answer me verbally but instead, he pressed his lips against mine. Being surprised was an understatement but I returned his kiss. I had no idea how long we were like this but my head was swimming. There was something nagging at the back of my mind. I tried to shrug the feeling off but someone cleared their throat loudly and the sound caused me to jump out of my skin. I looked up to see a face that I was hoping I would not see until break. "Uncle Shunsui?! What are you doing here?!" I asked and felt Shuhei remove his arms as fast as he could. My acting-uncle smirked at me and replied, "I was here today to review the freshman class and decided to take stroll and see how everything's changed. Is it my fault that I found more interesting material?" he questioned and I was at a loss for words as my face turned red, I could feel the exact shade.
"So, this is Shuhei, right?" my dad's friend questioned looking my boyfriend over. "Y-yes, Captain Kyōraku, Sir." Shuhei replied, getting to his feet and bowing deeply. Now was not the time to kiss Uncle Shunsui's hind end, he was in the mood for starting mischief. His eyes twinkled as if he had received a new bottle of sake before saying, "Very formal man, I see." Shuhei lifted his head curiously and replied, "I do my best, captain." Uncle Shunsui nodded thoughtfully and added, "I bet you have impressed her pops already, haven't you?" I knew where he was going and that was not funny. Shuhei looked relieved and replied, "No, I haven't had the pleasure of meeting Captain Ukitake. Sir." Uncle Shunsui had looked falsely surprised and asked, "You haven't?" he turned to me and inquired, "Dori, I thought that you would have showed him off by now with the way you keep talking about him." I blushed, if possible, even harder. "Well, we gotta fix that." Uncle Shunsui started and watched Shuhei's face paled. "Don't worry, Midori's folks are understanding until you cross them." Uncle Shunsui stated with a smile and continued while turning to me, "I'll just let your folks know that you're bringing him next time you're off." I paled as well, my folks still have no idea that he existed. "No Uncle Shunsui, you don't have to." I tried to decline the offer. "I insist Dori-chan." he replied in a happy tone as he turned away and left us. "I'll talk to you later Dori. Keep up the good work you've been doing."