Thanks to everybody who reviewed! I love you all!

Following new policy, I can't answer you here…. Damn.

However – I can still say that this story will be pretty long, let's say from 22 to 24 chapters.

I have everything planned and only 5 chapters to write down. Recently – when I had almost finished – a couple of ideas popped in my mind, but I haven't decided if I'll add them or not. Anyway, since it's so long, I hope you won't get too bored.

I'll try to update once a week – it seems only fair.

Now, enough with my rambling and on with the story…

Special thanks to Cynlee – who was the first reviewer and inspired the final sentence of this chapter.

II: TIDAL WAVE

Author's note: Japanese people usually address each other by their surname – unless they are really close. They also create pet forms out of surnames by cutting off the last syllable and putting "-rin" or "-pin" in its place.

I first found this out by reading "His and Her circumstances" and later a manga-addicted friend of mine – who's also studying Japanese at our local university – confirmed and explained this to me.

Four months and three weeks ago…

Hitsugaya Toushiro eyed the vice-Captain critically. "What are you doing, Abarai?" he finally snorted. "You've been pressing your head against that window since we arrived! Are you planning to leave the mark of your face there?"

Renji grunted a reply – which meant he hadn't heard a thing.

Then, suddenly, his face lit up. "Ah-ah! Here we are!"

"What?" Matsumoto asked, lowering Cosmo's latest issue. "Who's coming?"

Renji laughed evilly. "My number one rival!"

A few seconds later, the door opened and Arisawa Tatsuki stepped in.

"Good morning, everyone!" she cried cheerfully – then her smile withered into a scowl. She passed between Ikkaku and Chizuru and stopped right in front of Renji – who was currently leaning back on a chair with his legs stretched on the desk.

Correction: he was sitting in her chair, with his legs on her desk.

Tatsuki crossed her arms on her chest and stared icily at him.

The other students hurried away from them, leaving them alone.

Tatsuki's scowl deepened and her glare became even frostier.

Finally, Renji turned his eyes on her. Their gaze locked. Then, instead of turning into ashes, Renji smirked.

"Good morning, honey."

The other students – Shinigami included – dived for cover behind their desks.

"What are you doing here?" the girl asked, her voice low and dangerous.

Renji raised a tattooed eyebrow, his smirk still firmly in place. "Why, I'm hurt! Don't you remember that we're in the same class…" his smirk widened. "…honey?"

No explosion – yet. The braver students dared to raise their head a little to peek on the scene… and promptly ducked back behind their shelters when Tatsuki smiled.

That psychotic, shark-like smile was the last thing many of Orihime's former tormentors remembered before waking up in the nurse's office.

After that, they usually went to count their limbs.

"Why, Abapin, don't you remember that this is my desk?" Tatsuki's voice suggested that he was going to be physically hurt if he didn't get his ass off of her chair in 0.03 seconds from now.

Renji lazily glanced at the desk, then he turned his gaze back on the irate brunette. "I can't see your name on it…"

"I can see your blood on it if you don't move away this instant…"

Renji glanced again. "You should have your sight checked, honey…"

"Abapin?"

"Yes?"

"Get-Lost."

Renji leaned back on his-her chair again. "I don't take orders from pipsqueaks like you."

When asked, many students would have sworn that they had heard a loud snapping sound as Tatsuki's last ounce of self control vanished.

Meanwhile, Rukia and Ichigo had finally arrived at school.

"See? I told you we'd be here on time!" Rukia huffed. "There was no need to run like that!"

Ichigo shrugged his shoulders. "Stop complaining, movement's good for your health."

The black-haired Shinigami eyed him distrustfully. "Since when you've become a fitness-fan, Ichigo?"

"Since I have to return a book to the school library."

Rukia's eyes widened. "And you made me get up earlier only to ret… " a pencil case landed in front of her, apparently falling out of nowhere.

Ichigo and Rukia looked down at the pencil case, exchanged a puzzled glance and looked back at it.

"It looks like Kunieda's…" Ichigo said, frowning, as he picked it up.

He and Rukia simultaneously raised their heads toward their classroom's window: the glass was broken and, although they were down in the courtyard, they were pretty sure they could hear distant shouts coming from it.

The two Shinigamis sprinted toward the school building.

"You know what?" Ichigo said as he raced up the stairs with Rukia.

"You're going to drop by the library at lunch?" she replied, side-stepping a first-year. "Sorry!"

The orange-haired boy nodded. "Exactly."

When they finally reached the classroom, Tatsuki and Renji had just ran out of projectiles and were about to throw themselves at each other's throat.

"Looks like we arrived at the very last second again." Ichigo remarked.

"Time to cut in," replied Rukia.

Another day had just started for them – and the war goes on.

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