Chapter 2: Flirting

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After we had all finished hanging out at the mall, Rukia's brother-in-law had picked Rukia and me up to drive us back home. Rukia and I were sitting in the back seat, talking about our day. I was also going through the cell phone that my uncle had given me, checking out where everyone had put their numbers into it. I laughed when I saw that Yumichika had taken a dashing selfie and set it as his contact photo.

"So, how was your first day at school, Junamai?" Mr. Kuchiki's smooth voice drawled from the driver's seat.

I looked up to see that he was watching us from the rearview mirror. "It was really fun. I met a lot of new people… and they're all really nice."

"You mean they're all really weird." Rukia interjected, making me giggle.

Mr. Kuchiki smiled at us. "I'm glad that you're enjoying yourself. I hope that moving hasn't caused you too much stress."

"It's been a lot easier than I thought it would be… I have my uncle here, after all." I smiled as I thought about my Uncle Juushiro. And then I turned a big grin in Rukia's direction. "And Rukia, of course."

Rukia grinned back at me. "Of course!"

Mr. Kuchiki chuckled. "Well, if there's ever anything that I can do, don't hesitate to ask."

It felt really amazing to know that I had so many people looking out for me. I made eye contact with him through the mirror. "Thank you, Mr. Kuchiki. I really appreciate that."

Not long after, we were pulling up into their driveway. Mrs. Kuchiki was waiting for them at the front door. She swept right up to Mr. Kuchiki and gave him a loving kiss. It was so sweet… And then they were all kind enough to help me get my many bags out of the trunk and into my house. I waved goodbye as they all walked back across the street. Rukia may have lost her parents, but she still had her sister and her brother-in-law… and they were a cute little family.

I closed the front door and stepped back into the foyer, looking around at all of the bags. I was scratching the bag of my head, wondering how I had managed to let Rangiku talk me into buying so much, when my uncle walked in to greet me.

"Juna! You're home!" He smiled warmly. "And I see you've done some shopping."

I smiled sheepishly. "Yeah… I may have gone a bit overboard…"

He laughed, waving me off. "Nonsense. You're a teenage girl. It's perfectly alright if you want to go on a shopping spree once in a while." He leaned down to pick up some of the bags. "And besides, you didn't bring much with you, so you needed some new things."

I grinned, happy that he was such an amazing uncle, and grabbed more bags, following him up the stairs.

He helped me carry everything up, chatting as he did. "So how was your day?"

"It was great! Rukia introduced me to a lot of people, so I made a lot of new friends. In fact, it was one of those friends that kinda talked me into buying all of this stuff…"

"Well I'm glad that she did. You deserve it." He gave me a wink over his shoulder. "Did you enjoy your new school?"

I shrugged. "It was alright… just like any other school I guess."

And then a very different, somewhat raspy voice interrupted our conversation. "And did you meet any cute boys?"

I rounded the corner to see "Uncle Shunsui!" I dropped my bags and ran to meet him.

He had opened his arms so that he could wrap me in a tight hug. "Hey, Juna! Long time, no see!"

I giggled as he swung me around.

Uncle Juushiro smiled as he watched us. "Shunsui arrived home today, and he wanted to surprise you."

I grinned up at Uncle Shunsui as he set me back on my feet. "I thought that you weren't coming home until next month!"

"Yeah, well, when I heard that you were here already, I had to cut my trip short… That way, I could make sure that my sweet little Juna was settling into her new home alright." He gave me a wink as he ruffled my hair.

Shunsui wasn't really my uncle, but he was my uncle's best friend, and they had grown up together, like brothers… even now, they lived next door to each other, so I usually saw Uncle Shunsui every summer when I would come to stay with my Uncle Juushiro, and I had just taken to calling him uncle, as well. They owned a chain of travel resorts together, so they spent a lot of time traveling around to their various locations to make sure that everything was in order. But when Uncle Juushiro had gotten the call about me needing to stay with him… he had rushed home to get everything ready for me. And now he was taking some time off, like he usually did in the summers, to make sure that I was okay… and I felt really guilty for it, but I couldn't really do anything about it. And now, to hear that Uncle Shunsui had rushed home for me, as well…

"Uncle Shunsui, you didn't have to go through any trouble for me…" I mumbled.

"Don't be silly!" He grinned down at me, placing both of his hands on my shoulders. "You're no trouble! You're my sweet little Juna!" And then he leaned in to whisper in my ear. "I used you as an excuse to skip out on work…"

I couldn't help but giggle, even though I knew that he was fibbing to make me feel better.

"So, uh… Do you need help putting away whatever the hell all that is?" Uncle Shunsui eyed the bags that we had brought upstairs.

A brief image of Ikkaku holding up the set of lingerie flashed through my mind, and I practically screeched. "No!" And when they both looked at me, surprised by my outburst, I forced a smile. "Heh, no thanks, I can get it…"

They both watched me skeptically, but didn't protest.

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I had put everything away and was downstairs with my uncles, eating dinner.

"So, are you gonna tell me about how many boys flirted with you today, or what?" Uncle Shunsui asked through a mouthful of food.

I blanched. Why was he so stuck on that? "Uncle Shunsui!"

Uncle Juushiro chuckled. "Don't harass her, Shunsui."

"What?" Uncle Shunsui paused to take a swig of his sake. "She's a pretty girl… it stands to reason that she'd have her fair share of boys hitting on her."

I sighed. "No one hit on me, uncle."

"Now I don't believe that for a second!" He shouted out indignantly.

"She probably wouldn't even know it if a boy flirted with her…" Uncle Juushiro commented with a mumble, trying to stifle his laughter.

I choked on my food. "Uncle!"

"Yeah, you're probably right." Uncle Shunsui agreed. "She's way too naïve."

I was blushing by now. "Will you both just leave me alone?" I grumbled beneath my breath.

And then they both laughed, of course.

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I had done the dishes before I went back up to my room. I needed to do my homework, but I decided that I wanted to shower first. So after a long, hot shower, I took my time drying and brushing my hair… and then I walked around my room, looking for something to wear. I pulled on some of the new underwear that I had bought, taking my time. I really didn't want to do my homework… and then I grabbed a tank top and some pajama bottoms, slipping into those as well. I glanced out the window to see that it was dark and the sky was clear… so, in favor of procrastination, I decided to step out onto my balcony and star gaze for a bit.

I leaned onto the railing and stared up at the moon. It was crescent shaped, but still shiny and bright. I sighed, feeling content… and then I heard a strange noise. I looked up, and saw a dark figure standing on the balcony across the yard, at the house next door. The light was off, so I couldn't really see much… but I knew that someone was standing there… across from me… watching me? And suddenly I didn't feel so content, anymore… I bit my lip and slowly retreated back into my room, shutting my balcony door and making sure to lock it. I figured it was time to do my homework, now…

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I woke up and changed quickly into my school uniform. I had dreamed of strange shadows and balconies… and it had been weird. So, now that it was daylight, I chanced a look at the house next door. I saw the balcony across from mine… and it was empty. And it didn't look scary at all… there weren't any menacing shadows or looming figures… just an ordinary balcony. With a shrug, I grabbed my book bag and hurried down the stairs. I ate breakfast quickly as Uncle Juushiro packed my lunch into my bag. And then I was off.

Rukia and I made it to school a bit early, so I was sitting at my desk and going over my homework, when someone called out my name. I looked up to see that Renji was scooting his chair closer to mine, smiling as he said good morning.

"Good morning, Renji." I smiled back at him.

"Oh, I have something for you." He mumbled as he started to dig around in his pocket.

I lifted a brow and watched him.

Then he pulled out the pen that I had lent him, grinning as he handed it to me. "Here. Thanks for letting me borrow it."

I took it from him, again feeling his skin brush against mine. "No problem."

Then Keigo walked in with a panicked look on his face. He glanced around the room before spotting Renji and me, then dashed over. "Hey, guys, please tell me that you finished last night's homework!"

Renji rolled his eyes. "We're not gonna let you copy ours, Keigo. So just shut up."

Tears started rolling down Keigo's face. "But Mizuiro wouldn't let me copy his, either! And now I'm screwed!"

"Well that's your problem! Maybe now you'll learn to do your own work." Renji grumbled, leaning his arms onto my desk and looking away from him.

"Awww, but Renji!" Keigo whined. And then he turned his teary eyes to look at me. "Hey, Juna… do you think that maybe you could-"

Renji cut him off by punching him in the gut. "I already told you no. And I meant no for her, too."

I blinked, unsure of what to do in this situation. Keigo was twitching on the floor, still crying. And I was just holding my homework in my hand. Renji sighed and leaned back onto my desk, resting his chin on his tattooed arms. I looked at his tattoos, observing the contrast between the black ink and his tanned skin… the tattoos looked really good marked over his muscular arms... Without even realizing what I was doing, I reached out and traced my fingers over the black markings.

He lifted his arm up so that I could see them better. "Do you like them? I designed them myself… and Shuuhei helped me with them."

I smiled at the way his eyes lit up. "They're really cool, Renji." I continued to outline the tattoos on his arm with my fingertips, actually enjoying the way his skin felt.

He grinned at me. He was about to say something else, but Ichigo walked in and Keigo jumped off the floor, bumping his head on my desk.

"Ichigo!" He yelled, rubbing his head. "Renji won't stop flirting with Juna and no one will let me copy their homework!"

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "So stop crying about it and just do your own homework."

I tensed. Did he say flirting? Is that what flirting was?

"So, Renji…" Ichigo took his seat in front of Renji. "How's the 'flirting' going?"

A slight blush rose to Renji's cheeks and he gritted his teeth as he glared at Ichigo. "Will you shut the hell up?"

"I'd say it's going pretty well…" Uryuu interjected. "Considering that Juna was flirting back with him…" He pushed his glasses up on his face matter-of-factly.

What?! What the hell was that supposed to mean?! Had I really been flirting?! I wasn't even sure how to flirt!

Before anyone else could say anything, the teacher walked in and started class… to my great relief.