HALCYON DAYS
Volume Two: Retrograde Masquerade
Chapter Three

The school bell rang. Class was adjourned for the day.

"Don't forget your group presentations are due Friday!" Miss Ochi reminded everyone as they filed out. "Shinji, we're so glad to have you with us."

"Amas-Otasim, sknaht," Shinji saluted while making his leave.

Oh boy, that's going to get annoying real fast, Misato fretted.

Uryū made his way out into the hallway, eager to exit campus without having to speak to –

"Yo, Ishida!" Ichigo yelled, jogging up to join him.

Great, Uryū thought, his face scrunching up in agitation.

"Hey, I was thinking we should walk home together," Ichigo suggested. "Y'know, just like –"

"Like what, Kurosaki?" Uryū asked curtly. "I don't need a bodyguard."

He turned a corner to escape the conversation, only for Ichigo to grab him by the elbow.

"You sure about that?" the Strawberry asked haughtily. "That Hollow was singling you out last night. It knew you were Quincy even though you've lost your powers. See the problem? There's gonna be more Hollows coming after you; how do you plan on protecting yourself?"

"That's for me to figure out," Uryū replied, wresting his arm away from Ichigo's grasp. "There are many things I can live with. Sacrificing my Quincy craft was one of them. Being fated to die by a Hollow's hand is another. But what I cannot live with is having you shadow me like a harried babysitter for the rest of my life. Besides..."

He nodded to Chad, who had quietly caught up with them.

"... Chad and I are walking home together today," Uryū continued, pushing his glasses up eruditely. "We've agreed to work on the English presentation together and have some work to do. You should worry less about me and more about who you'll be collaborating with, Kurosaki."

The Quincy turned and strolled off. Chad gave Ichigo a sympathetic shrug and followed, leaving the Strawberry behind to stew.

Now they're working together and icing me out? Ichigo thought grumpily, a vein popping from his temple. Talk about rude –

"Phew, I wonder what bit that four-eyes' butt!" Shinji whistled beside him.

"Huh?" Ichigo grunted, startled. How long was he standing there?

"So how's about we pair up on that class project, neighbor?" Shinji continued. "Seeing as you're the only person I've been formally introduced to today, I figure –"

"Save it, horse teeth!" Tatsuki interjected.

She nonchalantly elbowed Shinji out of the way, sending him spinning off and crashing into an adjacent locker.

"Ichigo, you're already teamed up with Orihime and me. We already agreed to get started at my place after school. Remember?"

I am? Ichigo thought, not recalling such a pact being made. But he saw the sweet look Orihime was giving him from over Tatsuki's shoulder and decided not to protest.

"Yeah, that's right. Sorry, Shinji. Next time!"

The trio strode off together, leaving Shinji dazed. His collision with the locker had left an indent of his face against the metal.

That chick is gonna be a problem, he thought while rubbing his smarting nose.

"Hey, cheer up; we still got room for one more, newbie!" Keigo offered enthusiastically, indicating to Mizuiro. "We're the friendliest guys of our grade; it would be our honor to take you under our wing."

"I wouldn't call it an honor, but happy to have you on board," Mizuiro sighed, opening up his locker – the very one with an imprint of Shinji's face punched into it – and slotting some books inside.

Shinji frowned while watching Ichigo leave with Tatsuki and Orihime.

"Thanks," he huffed sarcastically. "You all sure know how to make a guy feel welcome."


Chad and Uryū had made it several blocks away from Karakura High School before the Quincy came to an abrupt stop.

"Sado, this is where we part ways," Uryū announced. "I'm already fluent in English; I can knock out our entire project tonight by myself. You won't have to worry about contributing. I'll be off now."

"You know, Ichigo wasn't wrong," Chad called after him. "If Hollows are drawn to you, and you've lost your powers..."

Uryū halted, reaching up to rub his forehead in frustration.

"Don't tell me you want to be my bodyguard, too?" he lamented. "I don't want pity from either of you. I made my choice, and now I must live with it."

Chad became visibly irked. He pivoted his hulking body to regard Uryū square on, his eyes glaring down with disapproval.

"You know it's not pity," the Gigante said indignantly. "We wouldn't be able to face ourselves if you got hurt. Don't treat your friends' genuine concern as a burden, Ishida."

Uryū blushed, feeling rather small with Chad looming over him. They remained at a standstill for a long, awkward duration.

"I will walk you home, at least," Chad bartered. "I've got my own business I'd rather attend to, anyway. What you do after we reach your house is your business, but I will escort you so I can tell Ichigo with a clear conscience that I got you home safe."

"Well..." Uryū mumbled, awkwardly fidgeting with his glasses. "Fine, we'll do it your way. I appreciate your concern, Sado. Thank you."

They pressed on in comfortable silence, with Uryū leading the way. After fifteen more minutes of walking, they reached their destination.

Chad's eyes widened with surprise when they came upon the gate of the Ishida residence. It was a luxurious condominium, the nicest in all of Karakura Town, cream-colored and stretching 20 stories high and 200 yards across.

"This is where you live?" Chad remarked with astonishment.

"Just the top two floors," Uryū clarified, clearing his throat sheepishly. "My father runs the town hospital, so he receives a sizable salary."

The whole top two floors? Chad thought, sizing the building up. Not even a hospital administrator could afford that. They must have dynastic wealth.

"Is this why you didn't want any of us walking you home?" Chad asked. "Are you embarrassed by your money, Ishida?"

"Absolutely not!" Uryū blushed. "It's just... don't tell Kurosaki about this, alright?"

"I won't," Chad smirked.

He turned and began strolling away, his job done.

"Make sure to win us top marks with your translation, alright?" he called back with a wave.

Uryū smiled, realizing he had underestimated Chad somewhat. He waved back and made his way into the condominium.


"What's taking the newbie so long?" Mizuiro asked while futzing with his English-Japanese dictionary. "He said he was only gonna be a sec on the roof."

"D'you think he might be smokingup there?" Keigo suggested, scandalized by the thought.

Shinji Hirako was sitting on the rooftop of Mizuiro's apartment building, dangling his feet from the ledge. He needed the privacy to make a phone call.

"No, I haven't had the chance to... because I haven't been able to get alone with him! Aren't you listening?... yes, of course I tried... what's that supposed to mean?! Well, now I'm stuck doing homework with a couple of mouth-breathers, so your night's going a lot better than mine. Look, I've got a plan for tomorrow and I need your help. Any of you know how to make ice cream?"


Ichigo sat crosslegged on the floor of Tatsuki's bedroom, hunched over an English-language copy of Catcher in the Rye and scribbling away a translation in his notebook.

"Ichigo, aren't you listening to me?" Tatsuki barked across from him. "There's something up with that Shinji guy. Something creepy."

"Yeah, yeah. His haircut's goofy. So what?"

A cream-colored Japanese weasel scurried between them, chirping precociously up at Tatsuki.

"Aw, what's that, Ringo?" Tatsuki asked in a baby-talk voice, scooping the critter up and nestling him against her cheek. "You're saying that Ichigo's a big dum-dum who should listen to me more often? Oh wow, you're so right!"

"Is it even legal for you to keep that thing indoors?" Ichigo asked without looking up from his notebook. "I thought you needed a special permit to own vermin."

"Ringo is not a vermin!" Tatsuki protested, hoisting her pet weasel up and brandishing him an inch away from Ichigo's face. "If you're gonna slander my sweet baby Ringo, then say it to his face."

Ichigo continued to write for a moment, then flicked his eyes up to gaze levelly at the little weasel.

Ringo was cute as a button, with a wriggling snout straight out of a Disney animated short and a signature maroon-hued ring of fur encircling his right eye. He was fitted with a red ribbon around his milky throat, mimicking Tatsuki's own fashion style. The critter craned its head forward to sniff every inch of Ichigo's face, then gave an affectionate nip at his nose.

"Okay, Ringo's pretty alright," Ichigo smiled begrudgingly before returning to writing his translation. "As for Shinji... I have no intention of getting to know that guy. I already have enough friends."

"Uh-huh," Tatsuki mumbled skeptically, retracting Ringo and cradling him against her chest. "Just keep an eye out for him. He gives me the creeps."

"Well I thought he seemed very nice!" Orihime offered cheerily. She was sitting adjacent to them, munching away on a mustard-slathered watermelon wedge.

"You think everybody's nice," Ichigo and Tatsuki replied simultaneously.

Orihime blushed. She had no rebuttal, so she just resumed chomping away at her snack.

"Finished!" Ichigo announced, setting his pen down.

"What do you mean 'finished'?" Tatsuki asked.

"I mean I'm finished with the translation," Ichigo replied, tossing her his notebook. "Pages 105 through 107; our presentation is all done."

"But we hadn't even cracked open our dictionary yet," Tatsuki said, completely flummoxed. "How did you... are you actually this advanced in English already, Ichigo?"

"Pretty much," the Strawberry admitted, scratching his spiky hair unassumingly. "It's no big deal. The book isn't even that high of a reading level."

Wow, Kurosaki-kun sure is amazing... Orihime thought while gazing at him adoringly.

Tatsuki noticed the longing stare and arched a brow of suspicion, prompting Orihime to become self-conscious and avert her eyes. She awkwardly munched away at her watermelon rind, as if trying to hide behind it.

"When did you learn English, Ichigo?" Tatsuki asked incredulously.

"Long story, and not a very interesting one," Ichigo answered.

"Oh, c'mon. You've been hiding this secret from us all this time and now you're not even gonna explain yourself?"

"Yup."

"Oh come on!"

Ringo, startled by his owner's outburst, wriggled away from Tatsuki's hands until he popped out like a bar of slippery soap. The weasel flew up towards the ceiling and fell back down onto Orihime's open jar of mustard. He landed with a plop, his butt wedging inside the condiment receptacle.

"My baby!" Tatsuki cried. She frantically pulled Ringo free from the jar and inspected him. The weasel's backside was completely slathered in spicy Karashi.

"I blame you!" Tatsuki shouted, seemingly growing 20 feet tall and casting an accusatory finger down at a bemused Ichigo. "If you had just told me your secrets, my sweet little Ringo wouldn't be caked in mustard!"

"If you just used an indoor voice for once, he wouldn't have tried to escape from you," Ichigo mumbled derisively.

"WHAT WAS THAT, KUROSAKI ICHIGO?!"

"Nothing."

"That's what I thought," Tatsuki huffed. "I'm gonna go wash up Ringo's bottom. When I come back, you're gonna tell me how and when you learned English."

Ichigo and Orihime watched Tatsuki stomp out of the room, cradling Ringo like a fragile newborn.

"She really loves that weasel," Ichigo grumbled.

"Kurosaki-kun, are you alright?" Orihime broached, taking a nervous nibble of her watermelon. "You seem distracted by something."

Ichigo's entire comportment seemed to shift from guardedness to something far more open. With Tatsuki out of the room, he could actually say what was on his mind.

"Well, now that you mention it, I had to bail Uryū out of certain death last night," he said. "I realize now what you were trying to tell me yesterday: his powers are gone. He's too proud to admit it, but he's completely vulnerable now."

HOLLOW! HOLLOW!

They both flinched when the Shinigami Deputy Badge sounded out an alarm: there was a fresh Hollow afoot. Ichigo looked out the window and then made an imploring face at Orihime.

"I should take this, Inoue," he said. "Can you cover for me?"

Keeping even more secrets from Tatsuki-chan? Orihime thought. Another lie...

"Of course, Kurosaki-kun!" she nodded affirmatively.

Tatsuki returned a minute later with a freshly bathed Ringo, only to find Orihime alone and the window parted open. Orihime filled her in on what had happened.

"He ditched just to avoid answering my question – really?!" Tatsuki gritted. "That guy is such a jerk, I swear. So why didn't you demand to go with him?"

"Me?" Orihime blushed. "What do you mean –"

"Until we find a cure for crushes on dweebs, you're gonna have to do something about Ichigo," Tatsuki declared, hands on hips and Ringo scurrying around inside her blouse. "Make your move, Orihime. Stop pining for him like a puppy."

"What's wrong with puppies?" Orihime asked, wide-eyed with confusion.

"Do you want Ichigo to notice you or not?"

Orihime blushed bright pink. While she was afraid to verbalize it, she did want Ichigo to notice her that way. After a protracted moment of indecision, she gave a meek nod.

"Well it looks like I'm gonna have to school you in Courtship 101," Tatsuki nodded. "It's not rocket science. One way to make a blockhead take notice is to make him jealous, so let's highlight your assets..."