Chapter 1: New Town, New School, New Friends, New Clothes

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I ran down the stairs, nearly tripping as I pulled on my socks. I had woken up late, and since it was my first day at my new school, I most certainly did not want to be late.

"Juna!" My uncle called from the kitchen.

I ran into the room to see him flipping some waffles onto a plate.

He looked up at me and smiled. "Rukia should be here any minute. Make sure that you grab some breakfast before you go."

"Thanks, Uncle Juushiro!" I gave him a big grin before grabbing a waffle and rushing back out of the room.

"And don't forget your book bag!" He called after me.

Just as I was shoving the waffle into my mouth and grabbing my bag, there was a knock on the door. I opened it to see Rukia, smiling and ready to go.

"Good morning, Juna!"

I choked down my waffle, barely managing to reply. "Morning, Rukia!"

She giggled at me. "Are you ready to go?"

"As ready as I'll ever be." I grinned at her, scratching the back of my head.

We proceeded to walk to school together. Rukia had lived across the street from my uncle for as long as I could remember. I had stayed every summer with my uncle, so Rukia and I knew each other well. And now… well… I had moved in with my uncle… so I had to adjust to living here. I was lucky that I knew Rukia and that I had her to help me. We arrived at the school and Rukia pulled me over to where a group of students were huddled together.

"Hey, guys!" She shouted out, waving happily. "I wanted you to meet my friend!"

They all turned to face me, and suddenly I felt overwhelmed. There were just way too many people looking my way. I could feel heat rising to my cheeks, and I completely blanked on what to say.

"Whoa, who are you?! Where are you from?! What are you into to?! What kind of guys do you like?!" The same guy pretty much assaulted me with his questions.

"Give it a rest, Keigo!" Two other guys both knocked him over the head, sending him to the ground.

I blinked before looking at Rukia. She was completely unphased.

"Hey there!" A girl with a very huge rack skipped over to introduce herself... and I had thought that my boobs were big… "I'm Orihime!" She had a really nice and friendly smile… it put me at ease.

"Hi." I tried my best to smile back and to speak without stuttering. "My name is Junamai."

"I like your pink hair." She continued to smile as she tilted her head.

One of the guys that had knocked the interrogator down stepped up and caught a strand of my hair. He had dark red hair and a lot of tattoos. "It reminds me of cotton candy… or bubble gum…" He mumbled as he held my hair up to scrutinize it.

The other guy that had helped him knock the one guy down stepped up on my other side, also catching a strand of my hair. "You're right... and it's really soft, too."

"Oh, my! Let me see!" A third guy rushed over and stood right in my personal space. He was strangely sparkly and had feathers on his face. "It's so lovely…"

I was blushing up to my ears. I tried to look at Rukia, but she had been pushed away by the second guy and I couldn't turn my head very well with them pulling on my hair.

"Will you guys knock it off? Honestly… you look like three Neanderthals that just discovered fire." A guy with glasses glared at my assailants. "And you're making our new friend uncomfortable!"

"If she were uncomfortable she'd tell us!" One of them growled back at him.

"She's obviously too polite for that!" He snapped back.

"Just kick their asses if they get on your nerves, Juna." Rukia called out through their chatter.

I deadpanned. She knew that I was not the "kick their asses" type.

"Or you could let me do it for ya!" A short girl with spikey hair yelled excitedly.

Eventually, I was properly introduced to everyone. Some even told me their names during class, disregarding the fact that the bell had rung and the teacher had started the lesson. I was thankful for my good memory, knowing that it would help me to remember all of their names and faces. They all had very unique and boisterous personalities. But they were all very friendly, even if they did bicker and fight amongst themselves. They were a very entertaining group, indeed.

"Pst!" The whisper was harsh and barely a whisper at all. "Pst!" It was even louder the second time.

I looked over to see the guy with red hair and tattoos, Renji, trying to get my attention.

"Can I borrow a pen?" He whispered again, holding up his pencil to show me that it had broken.

I nodded before reaching into my bag to grab another pen. I smiled as I handed it to him. His fingers brushed against mine as he took it from me… they were soft and warm.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

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We were eating lunch beneath a tree outside. Uncle Juushiro had packed a lunch for me and put it into my bag. He was an amazing cook, and the food was delicious. Everyone was practically drooling over just the smell. Rukia fought them all off, though, as she helped herself to a portion of my miso chicken. I didn't mind, since if she hadn't come to my defense they would have all mauled my lunch by now. I eyed Orihime's food, seeing that she was eating something very strange… but I didn't want to be rude, so I didn't give it much thought.

"So what are we doing after class, guys?" Keigo asked with a mouth full of food.

Rangiku clapped her hands together. "I say we go to the mall."

Ikkaku groaned. "Who the hell wants to go to the mall?" He groaned louder when nearly everyone in the group raised their hands.

"Just be quiet, you!" Rangiku threw an empty juice box at him. "The mall will be a great place for us to hang out with Juna and get to know her better."

My eyes widened when my name was mentioned.

"Oh, the new girl doesn't care!" Ikkaku threw the juice box back at her, and then turned his attention to me. "Do ya, new girl?"

I blinked, not knowing what to say. But before I even had to think of anything, Renji cut in.

"Stop being rude!" He smacked Ikkaku's head before coming to sit beside me. "Sorry about baldy over there… He has an attitude problem."

I turned my attention to Renji and smiled. "It's no problem, really."

"So, the mall it is, then!" Rangiku shouted happily, smiling at the people that agreed and ignoring the ones that didn't.

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After lunch, class seemed to pass by in a blur. And as soon as it was over, Rukia grabbed my hand and whisked me away with the others, off to the mall. Not that I was complaining, since it was actually pretty fun to hang out with all of them.

We went into practically every store. And every time Rangiku saw something that she thought would look cute on me, she would squeal and demand that I try it on, even going so far as to shove me into the dressing room. And once I was in there, she would keep finding more things and shoving them in at me. And she always wanted to see me in everything, so I had to make sure that I showed her… and if she really liked it, she would drag me back out into the store to show the others. It was really embarrassing, and I was blushing the whole time she flounced me around as if I were a model in a fashion show.

Right now, she had me in a cute little sundress, since apparently I looked "adorable" in them… And she was pulling me around and shouting to make sure that everyone saw me in it. I was trying to hide my face because I was so uncomfortable.

"Awww, Juna! You look really cute!" Orihime squealed with Rangiku.

"They're right, Juna! That color really suits you." Rukia agreed. "It really brings out your green eyes."

A few of the boys were still in the store, looking at some jackets… but even they stopped what they were doing to look at me.

"Absolutely gorgeous!" Yumichika proclaimed.

"Stop hiding behind your hair, you look good." Ichigo teased me.

Renji just stared.

"It's settled then!" Rangiku giggled. "You have to buy it."

I sighed… I had brought very little with me when I had moved here… So, my uncle had given me a credit card and told me to get whatever I needed… I guess now was as good a time as any to get the clothes that I was sorely in need of. "Alright."

Rangiku was happy to help me pick out everything that I needed to fill my wardrobe. We got dresses, tops, skirts, shorts, pants, pajamas, shoes… everything. The only thing that I needed now was underwear. The guys had split off from us at some point, so the girls were helping me carry my bags. When I told them the only thing left that I needed, Rangiku had giggled and dragged me into an exotic lingerie store. I had blushed until I felt dizzy, and it only got worse when the aggressive store clerk measured me and told Rangiku my size. And then Rangiku shoved me into another dressing room and started throwing whatever she could find at me.

"Rangiku!" I squealed. "I can't wear stuff like this!"

"Don't be silly!" She yelled as she forced me into a very see through lingerie set that had lots of laces and bows. "You've got an amazing body! You need something that flatters it!"

I could hear Rukia laughing on the other side of the door. "It's not funny!" I shouted indignantly, struggling against Rangiku.

"Aww, but Juna! You have such an amazing body!" Rukia laughed, finding joy in my pain.

I groaned, finally giving up when I became exhausted. I looked at myself in the mirror and wanted to die. "Rangiku! This isn't okay!"

She sighed. "Just buy this one set and then I'll take you to buy something normal."

I grumbled. "Fine…"

After the horror of the lingerie store, I managed to escape to a store that was more to my tastes. It had cute underwear that was colorful and decorative instead of lacy and scary… Orihime helped me pick some out and then we left the store to find the guys. Rukia texted them and we met them in the food court. The four of us sat down at their table, letting our bags settle around us.

"Fucking shit, did you guys buy enough stuff?" Ikkaku eyed the bags like they would suddenly combust.

Rangiku waved her hand dismissively. "We had to get Juna some new stuff. She just moved, ya know."

"Thirsty?" Renji offered me a drink of his milkshake.

I tilted my head, surprised by the gesture… but it looked delicious, so I smiled and accepted. "Thanks." I took a sip, tasting the sweet chocolate, and then handed it back to him.

He grinned at me. "Sure."

"What the hell did you buy, anyway?" Ikkaku grumbled.

I looked over to see that he had picked up one of my bags. Oh, shit… He pulled out the set of lingerie that Rangiku had made me buy, holding it up in the air for everyone to see. I gasped, feeling my blush all the way up to my ears.

"I-Ikakku!" I screeched, lunging for the bag.

His eyes were wide, shocked by what he was holding. He let me grab it away from him without any struggle. I shoved it back into the bag, shaking with embarrassment. Everyone was silent… and then…

"Damn, that was some sexy underwear." Shuuhei mumbled.

And then nearly everyone started laughing, breaking the tension. Keigo even got a nosebleed and passed out. I still felt flustered, but at least no one was teasing me… I felt a warm hand on my shoulder and I looked up to see Renji. He was smiling reassuringly at me.

"Don't get so rattled. Everything's okay…" He whispered, trying to soothe me.

I managed to smile back at him. He was so kind… "Thank you, Renji."