"Come on. Just button up, will you…"
Ichigo sighed as she tried to button up her blouse. Her fingers fumbled with the buttons as she tried and failed at getting it in properly. She couldn't afford to buy a new uniform for school this year, so she had to reuse last year's. Unfortunately for her, she acquired boobs over the break, and now the buttons over her bust won't close.
"That's it…."
She held her breath as she pinched the button in the opening. Slowly she shoved the button in. She let out a sigh of relief as she finally managed to close it without messing it up. She stood back and admired her work. But then the button popped off, bouncing off the mirror and smacked her square in the face.
"Damnit."
Ichigo quickly picked it up and shoved it in her pocket. "I'll just have to fix it later," she told herself as she threw her sweater vest on, trying to cover the broken shirt. School was about to start soon, and if she was going to look like a mess, she might as well show up for class on time. The door slammed behind her as she walked out and started putting her shoes on.
"Hey, Kaigo! I'm heading out."
The man slowly opened his door, yawning as he peeked out into the living room. His tired eyes squinted as he looked up at Ichigo, dressed up in her school uniform. "Hey, kiddo, first day of school already?" He rubbed the sleep from his eyes, rubbing his nose, trying to wake himself up further.
Ichigo nodded as she tied her hair up in a loose braid, "Yep, second year."
A big grin appeared on Kaigo's face as he chuckled to himself. She really is growing up fast. She looks just like her mother. But he was smart enough not to say the last part out loud. "Well, here then," he dragged himself over to the kitchen table and pulled out ¥1000. "Here's lunch."
Ichigo examined the money before taking it. "How clean is this money?" She questioned as she raised her eyebrows, looking between him and the bill.
Kaigo tilted his head to her question as he continued to rub his eyes and yawn, "Clean enough to give away to a poor person or something, I suppose."
Ichigo rolled her eyes as she put it in her bag, "You know what I meant." She turned around, grabbing her backpack. "See ya, old man," she called out as she gave him a two-finger salute.
Ichigo could hear the sounds of students chatting loudly as she walked through the school gates. It seemed that everyone was excited to start their first day of the new year. She walked up to the administration's desk and picked up her schedule. She glanced at the name of her homeroom teacher, Tanaka-sensei.
She flipped it over to the front showing her class and teacher information. She scanned down the list, seeing that her class this year was class 2-D. She kept her head down as she passed by the crowd of other students, trying not to be noticed by anyone.
"Hey, look, it's the Poison Strawberry."
Ichigo sighed as she heard someone announce while making her way down the hall. She ignored their remarks as she tightened her bag over her shoulder and kept walking, her eyes looking straight forward.
"Why do they call her that?" Someone else asked as she kept moving past them.
"Last year, she beat up five guys and sent one to the hospital just because they looked at her wrong. One wrong move, and she'll kill you."
"Yeah, right," A different voice spoke up. "There's no way she did that."
"No, it's true she was in my homeroom class last year."
Ichigo shook her head at their comments, not bothering to correct them on their misinformed information. She took a left turn and went up the stairs to the second floor. She entered Class 2-D and found her seat on the far right near the windows. She placed her bag on the ground, pulled out a book, and started to read as the class began to fill.
"Hey, Ichi, looks like we're in the same class again!"
Ichigo looked up from her book to see a beautiful tall girl waving at her walking towards her table. She had long ginger hair that swayed back and forth as she moved around and soft gold eyes that brightened every time she smiled.
"Hey, Yuzuha," Ichigo smiled lightly as she put her book down and stood up, repositioning herself so that she sat on top of her desk.
Yuzuha smiled happily as she got to sit across from Ichigo, placing her things onto her own desk. "So, did you do anything interesting over the break?" Yuzuha asked curiously as she rocked herself back and forth.
"Uh…Not really. Just hung out at the house. But I finally saved up enough money and got my new camera, though," Ichigo told her proudly as she reached into her bag and brought out the camera. She held it up and smiled widely, showing off the camera to Yuzuha. "See?"
Yuzuha stared in awe as she looked closely at the camera's lens, making sure to examine every detail. "Wow, Ichi! It looks amazing! So cool!" She complimented. "We'll have to do a photoshoot one day!"
Ichigo nodded her head enthusiastically as she grinned brightly, causing Yuzuha to laugh at her excitement.
"It'd be fun! I can't wait to take pictures with you. I bet our photos will look so good. Is Sato-sensei going to let you use the darkroom again this year?" Yuzuha questioned as she looked curiously at the camera.
"Yep. She's even letting me use it without supervision this year. I'm pretty excited," Ichigo smiled brightly.
"That is so cool!" Yuzuha cheered as she clasped her hands together.
"Yeah, I might even be able to showcase my work in the Winter Gallery this year," Ichigo smiled softly.
"Wow! That's so cool, and I'll be your number one supporter!" Yuzuha cheered.
Ichigo and Yuzuha continued talking and catching up as Class 2-D started to fill. All of the other students came in one at a time, and the class slowly filled up as everyone greeted each other.
Takashi smiled as he strolled into the class, looking over at his classmates. He was pretty happy with the start of the new school year. He had dreams and ambitions, and one more year of school meant one more step closer to reaching them.
"Hey, Taka-chan, we're in the same class!"
Takashi looked over and smiled as Hakkai walked up to him into the classroom.
"Hey there, Hakkai," Takashi looked over and gave him a fist bump. "You'd think after skipping a grade a couple years ago, we would have been in the same class before now. But hey, better late than never. I hope this new year's gonna be a good year to us."
Hakkai chuckled lightly as he returned the gesture and looked down to his feet. "Yeah, I agree. This year is gonna be a good year," he looked back up to face Takashi with a wide grin.
Takashi nodded and smiled, giving his friend a small playful punch on the shoulder before turning back to face forward again. "Well, don't worry. You and me are gonna make this year an adventure for sure."
Hakkai smiled as he followed Takashi into the classroom. He looked around, seeing the familiar faces went he stopped at the two redhead girls in the corner of the room. "That's weird. Yuzuha and I are in the same class," Hakkai told Takashi as he saw his sister laughing, who was still unaware that he and Takashi were in the same class as her.
Takashi watched as Yuzuha talked animatedly with some girl sitting next to her. Yuzuha had a big grin on her face while the girl seemed amused by her actions. His eyes then widened as he realized who the girl sitting next to Yuzuha was. It was his neighbor, Ichigo.
"What is she doing here?" Takashi mumbled under his breath.
"Awe man, the Poison Strawberry's also in our class," Hakkai whined as he rubbed his face.
Takashi looked at him, confused, "Who?"
"Ichigo Bell AKA the Poison Strawberry," Hakkai explained as he pointed to the redhead next to his sister.
Takashi raised an eyebrow as he looked back up at Ichigo, "Why do they call her that?"
Hakkai shrugged, "You never met her? Well, last year, she beat up five guys for no reason. One of them ended up having to go to the hospital. She's known for picking fights with people," Hakkai informed as he walked over to the girls.
Takashi cocked his head, soaking in the new information. Why had he never heard of her before? With that hair and reputation and being in the same school and neighbors, he would have thought he would have known who she was by now. He couldn't help but wonder why he had never seen her before. Was she a ghost that only showed herself to everyone but him?
As he watched Yuzuha talk to Ichigo, his thoughts wandered if she was really as bad as the rumors say she is. Yuzuha's not one to be friends with shitty people, so why would she be friends with a girl with a reputation like that. He sighed as he ran his fingers through his hair. Whatever, it really wasn't any of his business. Besides, he had his own reputation going for him, so he couldn't say anything about hers.
He followed Hakkai as he led him over to the girls. As they approached Yuzuha, she rolled her eyes at the sight of the two of them.
"Awe, man, what are you doing here, Hakkai?" She whined, annoyed that she was going to be stuck in the same class as her little brother.
Hakkai scoffed as he stood next to her, "We're obviously in the same class...duh."
"Are you kidding me?" Yuzuha asked in disbelief. "Ugh, not only do I have to live with you, but now I have to spend the whole day with you."
"Awe, come on, it'll be fun! And besides, Taka-chan is also with us this year," Hakkai smiled as he turned his attention to his friend.
Ichigo glanced over and saw the lilac hair boy come out behind Hakkai and immediately glared at him crossing her arms. "Huh? What the hell are you doing here, Pretty Boy?" Ichigo snarled.
Takashi smirked arrogantly as he leaned against the table, "Are you deaf, Little Strawberry? Didn't you hear Hakkai? We're in the same class."
Ichigo growled as she glared at him, "Don't call me that!"
Takashi smirked as the girl got herself wild up. It was almost too easy.
"Hey, you two know each other?" Yuzuha asked curiously.
Takashi nodded his head as he smirked at Ichigo, "Yeah, Little Strawberry and I are neighbors."
Ichigo gritted her teeth as she raised her fist and socked Takashi in the arm. "I told you not to call me that, asshole!" She snapped at him.
The Shiba siblings stared in shock as they watched Takashi laugh and rub the spot where Ichigo hit him. Not looking the least bit angry at her.
"Hey, who do you think you are!" Hakkai yelled at her.
Ichigo glared back at him, raising her fist, "You want one too stupid hair?"
But instead of getting angry at Ichigo, Hakkai dropped his head and looked over at his sister and friend. "Is my hair really stupid?" He asked with a concerned expression on his face.
Yuzuha laughed as she patted her brother's head, "You're okay, Hakkai."
Hakkai's face fell as he cried, "That doesn't answer my question."
Takashi chuckled quietly as he shook his head slightly and turned towards the redhead sitting across from him. "Awe, man, now you upset him," he teased her playfully.
Ichigo rolled her eyes at him. "Tsk…He'll get over it."
Takashi laughed as he nudged Hakkai, "You look just fine, man."
Hakkai sniffled a bit as he wiped his eye with his sleeve. "Thank you, Taka-chan," he replied, smiling sweetly.
Takashi smirked warmly at Ichigo as she and Yuzuha continued to tease Hakkai. He didn't understand what Ichigo's deal was, though. Sure she was snarky and sarcastic, but not enough to justify the stupid name Poison Strawberry. There must be something else to her story.
The bell rang, and the rest of the class filed in, filling up the classroom. Everyone took their seats as the teacher soon arrived to begin the class.
Takashi and Hakkai walked down the hall to the Home Ec room. It was the first day back at school, and he wanted to start back up his sewing club and welcome the girls back. He and Hakkai walked side by side, carrying yards of fabric with them. Everyone was doing their part in getting the room set back up. Takashi was looking forward to seeing what all they had done so far. He smiled as he looked around. The room looked more or less the same except for a few things that were out of place.
"Hello, Mr. President!"
The girls cheered and smiled as they saw Takashi enter the classroom. They quickly rushed over to greet him. A lot of hugs and small talk happened between everyone. He smiled and greeted everyone back while thanking them.
"Hey, girls, the room looks good," Takashi praised them as he walked over and started putting the fabric on the fabric holders. "I'm glad to see you all again," he smiled happily.
Everyone clapped and smiled at him, "We're happy to be back, Mr. President!" They all shouted and cheered. The girls all ran over to Hakkai and took the fabric from him, helping him put them on the holders.
They began to decorate the room while making sure everything was perfect. Placing all the equipment where it went. It wasn't hard since most of the girls knew what was going on anyways. They spent half an hour decorating the room. Takashi stood off in the corner, setting up his area watching all of this happen. His eyes went to each person, seeing who they were. Some were old faces, some were new.
He went to congratulate them on their hard work once more when they heard a loud bang come from the hall. Everyone stopped working and turned towards the door to see if it was okay. A few seconds passed before they heard another crash followed by screams. People ran down the halls trying to find the source. They finally came across two individuals standing in front of the lockers. Takashi immediately recognized one of them was Ichigo.
She stood in front of the locker, holding a boy by the collar of his shirt. She looked pissed off as she held him tight against the locker. Her hair was down, eyes were filled with anger, and blood covered her fist. But it wasn't hers. It was the boy's. He was bleeding out from his nose and mouth. She looked like a killer. Everyone was staring at her, whispering amongst themselves.
"Wow, it's only the first day, and the Poison Strawberry is already out for blood." A random girl mumbled.
"What do you think he did?" Another questioned.
"He probably looked at her wrong." Someone else mocked.
Takashi saw blood slowly dripping off Ichigo's fist as well as on the boy's body as his head was thrown against the locker. The boy's mouth opened slightly with blood dripping out.
Finally figuring that enough was enough, Takashi stepped forward. Everyone stopped talking and stepped out of his way as he walked past them all, not knowing what was about to happen. Once he made it near her, he wrapped his hand around her wrist gently. "Hey, Ichigo, it's time to let him go," he tried to lightly pull her away from the boy.
Ichigo looked up at him with her big green eyes filled with rage. "Fuck off, Mitsuya!" She spat.
"No, you need to calm down," he tried to reason.
"Get away from me! You have no right to tell me what to do! This is between me and this son of a bitch!" She yelled and shoved Takashi away from her.
Takashi stumbled back a little but regained his footing. "Stop," he ordered calmly.
This just made her angrier. "Why should I?!" She asked furiously. "This bastard needs to pay for what he did," she growled as she pushed against the boy harder.
Takashi looked into her eyes and saw that the green was getting darker and darker. He noticed how her hand shook with the boy's blood dripping off of it. She was starting to lose all control of her emotions if she hadn't already. He needed to stop her before someone got seriously injured.
"Ichigo, that's enough!" He demanded sternly, grabbing onto her hand that held the boy up.
Ichigo froze, submitting to his authoritative tone, letting Takashi take her hand off the boy. Takashi let go of her hand and watched as she dropped the boy to the floor. As soon as the boy hit the ground, though, Ichigo looked down at him and kicked him in the face before dropping down and grabbing his hair, lifting his head up so that he made eye contact with her.
"You pull that shit again, and I'll break your fucking neck. Got it?" She growled dangerously low. The boy's body shook as he nodded his head. "Now go clean your fucking face. You're disgusting," she demanded as she picked herself up and walked away. Takashi sighed heavily and looked down at the boy, who was now crying silently, nursing his injured body.
He turned to look at the others and saw the shocked looks on everyone's faces. "Alright, party's over. Get out of here," he ordered the group.
As the group began walking away, he took that opportunity to go after Ichigo. By the time he caught up with her, she was halfway out the school. "Hey, Ichigo, wait up," he called out, but she didn't acknowledge him.
He reached out his hand to grab her arm, and she quickly swung around, glaring at him. "Fuck off, Mitsuya."
Takashi took a step back, holding his hands up, surrendering. "Okay, alright, chill out," he told her softly. "I just wanted to see if you were okay."
She scoffed angrily. "Why the fuck wouldn't I be okay?"
Takashi sighed deeply, rolling his head back. He ran his fingers through his hair before looking back at her. "I don't know. You did just try to murder a guy for no reason," he retorted.
"He deserved it," she snapped before turning back around and walking away from him.
Takashi ran a hand over his face running his fingers through his hair as his thoughts raced. He shook his head before trailing off behind her.
They kept walking until they were outside the school. Ichigo looked over her shoulders to see him still following her. "Why the fuck are you following me?" Ichigo snapped and continued to walk away.
Takashi shrugged his shoulders, not fazed by her tone. "Well, we do live in the same apartment complex, you know," he responded simply. "So it only makes sense that we walk in the same direction."
Ichigo rolled her eyes, "Whatever."
Takashi nodded as he walked next to her, hands behind his head. After a few moments of silence, he spoke up again. "So, wanna tell me what that was about earlier?" He asked as he glanced over at her.
"Like I said, it's none of your business," she huffed and crossed her arms, looking ahead.
"So it is true you really are the Poison Strawberry. The girl that picks fights with boys for no reason," he baited her.
"Fuck you. You don't know anything about me. You didn't even know I existed until yesterday," Ichigo snapped angrily.
Takashi chuckled lightly, "True, and that's why I want to know more about you. From you, though, not from rumors."
Ichigo scoffed, "There's nothing to know. I'm just some heartless bitch that hates the world," she grumbled emotionlessly.
Takashi rolled his eyes, "That's bullshit."
She scoffed again and laughed dryly, "Really, Mitsuya, and how would you know?"
He smirked and chuckled, "Because heartless bitches don't help my mom bring up groceries or make my sisters smile. Heartless bitches aren't friends with Yuzuha, and they don't pick fights with people for no reason," he calmly explained.
Ichigo didn't say anything as she stared up ahead. The silence continued to hang between them. She stayed quiet throughout the rest of the walk to their complex, completely lost in thought. Thinking about what Takashi had told her. Did he really believe that she was a good person? Even after everything that he just saw? As they continued to walk, Ichigo didn't say anything, and Takashi didn't push her anymore, and before she knew it, she was standing next to her apartment.
Takashi watched as she slowly walked over to her door, and just when he thought she was going to open it and walk in without saying anything to him, she stopped with her hand on the doorknob, not moving.
"He violated a first-year girl," she spoke lowly so that no one heard her, but he did. Takashi stood still, his eyebrows knit together in confusion. She continued, "He lifted that girl's skirt up and laughed at her while he started taking pictures." Takashi remained quiet as he listened to her. "She cried and asked him to stop, but he didn't. Instead, he called her easy and grabbed her arm," she whispered venomously as her free hand shook angrily. "It's disgusting. He's disgusting. He deserved everything that I did to him and then more," Ichigo finished, not looking over at him.
Without waiting for him to say anything back, she pulled her keys out of her pocket and unlocked the door, then pushed it open and headed inside, quickly closing the door behind her. Leaving Takashi standing outside, processing everything she just told him. It was all starting to make sense now. She really was poisonous, but not for the reasons everyone thinks she is. Ichigo was right. Takashi knows nothing about her, but now he really wants to. He wants to know everything there is to know about the mysterious Poison Strawberry.