Chapter 6: Horray! Filler! Or is it?

AN- Another day, another chapter. Back to school soon, so writings gonna take a hit, so enjoy! And expect an additional mini chapter, interlude, omake... thing... soon enough. But yeah, motivation and time to write will be down, but keep reviewing and stuff, because I actually read them and they actually help me, through motivation or advice.

Disclaimer: Do I own Bleach? That's like asking if I own a yacht. Its a pretty unrelated topic considering here we are in the depths of internet obscurity writing fanfiction, so are you going to ask me if I own Bleach? No, because that would be silly. Of course I flippin' well don't own Bleach!

Beta: Have a guess? Thanks to my beta for the hard work, but I think she really has a paperwork pileup even Rangiku would be jealous of...

Ever had that feeling where its the beginning of the school year and you know that the years gonna drag, but then by the end of said year it feels like it had gone by incredibly quickly? Well, I had that feeling.

The entire year passed by almost pleasantly with only a few major memories sticking out in my mind.

The most prominent of these memories were spent in a certain garden with a certain gentle girl. After a few months of sessions I had gradually grown bored of merely labouring silently and had become somewhat curious as to my companion.

It had started with the occasional question. "So why do you like gardening anyway?"

"Because it is calming." The serene flower tender had told me. "My mother taught me to garden and it is a habit I have kept to this day." I had not bothered responding that it had only been my own mum that had pressured me to learn how to weed, nor had I asked further.

Another time I asked "So how are your studies going?"

She had responded by informing me that she was keeping up with curriculum, and so on. We never had long conversations, but over the year we did gradually learn a lot about one another once she too began to make the occasional inquiry.

I learnt that Mika disliked the rain, and that she had a strong distaste to Chinese food. I discovered that she knew and was fully competent in the language of flowers, the art of understanding the meaning of certain plants, and that she had two dorm mates that she lived with but did not like. I found out that her favourite colour was green, that she had pride in her long hair, that she had few people she could call friends and was happy without them, in that we both shared a similarity in a certain dislike for a certain student (Cough, Gurou, COUGH, cough!) and even inferred that she likes elaborate clothing.

Seriously, you'd be surprised at how much you could learn about someone merely by asking the occasional question. I have no doubt that from my own answers Mika had just as great an understanding of my self, although I was always careful to not contradict my shaky backstory or reveal my past. Mika couldn't complain about my actions, since she too hid things from me, never once speaking of her own history. We both had a secret, and I sure as hell wasn't going to pry.

Still, we did not acknowledge each other out of that one garden.

Other events occurred during the quickly spent year. Due to me sharing a room with the duo, I had also bonded more with Daichi and Hayato. With the former I was often forced to listen to his exaggerated exploits and tales of his previous 'conquests' of beautiful women ("Bullshit!" Insisted Javan. "He couldn't pull a bird if she was made out of handles!") alongside the bookworm, who merely sighed and accepted his fate begrudgingly, although the quiet boy had occasionally taken the chance to point out just how ridiculous some of Daichi's claims were ("Y'know those two hotties in the year above? The twins? Yeah, well I nailed 'em... at the same too at that!").

Either way, I still liked the scarf wearing womaniser. He reminded me a little of Jiraya from Naruto (Not that I watched that show or anything! Sh-shut up! I'm so not Specifically Denying that I actually watched some of it and didn't actually hate it or anything!), Jiraya, in that Daichi was a total pervert who was about as successful at pursuing girls as Eddie the Eagle was at skiing. Yet, somehow Daichi was likeable and endearing, once you looked past the libido the size of a skyscraper he was a pretty cool guy and I liked him.

I prefer to think that we're friends if purely for the amount of time we've spent together in lessons and out.

As for Hayato, me and him sort of clicked. In our apartment together we were the only sane people, so we were often forced to band together against the insanity of a Certain Someone Who Must Not Be Introduced To Women. In the end we had a certain camaraderie: he provides me books to read and food to eat and in return I occasionally distracted Daichi so he could actually read in peace. It was a nice pact, if only for all the reading material I gained.

I've said this before, but Hayato had real class when it comes to literature.

Speaking of literature...

"Damn it Solus! Your strokes look like they were drawn by a seven year old autistic child!"

… I still had daily Japanese lessons with Akimi. I still sucked. But I was totally getting better! She no longer curses the day she agreed to teach me, and I am normally able to digest a chapter in a textbook so long as someone's going through it with me, and I have time to do so. I was slowly but surely working my way through all my textbooks that I should have read, and mark my words I would someday finish them!

"Come on Marc!" Wailed Daichi to my left "We'll be late!"

"Fine." I conceded. "Lets go see what we got then. End of year results are a Serious Business after all."

"What was up with that capitalisation in your tone?" Asked Hayato quietly, nose deep in The Prisoner of Azkaban.

"Nothing." I sighed. "I sure wish that the Seireitei had internet. You'd love Tv Tropes."

"Oh, what have you remembered?" Mentioned Daichi.

Shit. I still keep forgetting that I'm supposed to be amnesic. Its a real pain in the ass trying not to slip up. "Stuff. You know my amnesia is odd. I know lots of stuff like that, its just my own identity and history that is blank." Unohana had sent me a letter sometime ago reminding me of my 'apparent condition', which was Dissociative Fugue, whatever the hell that was.

"Anyway, we have results to pick up." Daichi rubbed his hands with suppressed annoyance. "Me and Hayato are gonna head out to the Rukon District and visit some people over the break, so I wanna get this results crap over with soon."

With the school year over, we now had a general grade for our progress in lesson and once collected we would be free to enjoy our break from the school year and leave the Seireitei, where on the way out we would be handed papers which would allow us to return upon a specified date.

After a year of hard toils everyone was looking forward to leaving the confines of the school. Everyone besides myself and a few others. Due to my status as a Ryoka Test Subject, I was not exactly supposed to leave unsupervised. Hell, the guards at the Academy gate were specifically informed to never let me leave unless I had signed permission from a superior officer and a babysitter to accompany me.

As such, I would be stuck in the school by myself for the most part.

I was looking forwards to seeing my grades though, to see what little progress I had made.

"Sure, lets go." I told my friends. We left our apartment and set off for the main hall where our results would be formally posted along with everybody else's.

XXXXXXXXXX

Our grades themselves were merely a number out of ten, one being the worst grade for a subject and ten being the best. A very simple grading system, and one that required for you to get a 5 in order for you to have a passable grade.

Once we reached the long list with our results on them and had taken a look at our own scores, I realised that I hadn't passed many subjects. It didn't matter, it was fine to fail so long as you increased your grade later to pass your final year.

My four main subjects received the following:

Zanjutsu was given a solid five. Oddly enough, it was actually my second best score. While I didn't have the brawn to properly use the intended academy style that is taught or the speed to keep up with anyone in the class, I had persevered so that I could actually perform the moves correctly even if I did loose nine out of ten spars. That had been enough to raise my grade to a pass.

Hakuda: a one. Well to be honest, I had been expecting that one. I was terrible, and my teacher was so biased that I would need to be the reincarnation of the Flash Godess herself for him to begrudgingly hand me a pass. This plus no adequate partner in lesson equalled one very bruised me.

Hoho was a slightly better three. Again my physical body let me down, since we were all graded by Shinigami standards so my own human self incredibly slow and unskilled.

Out of all this mediocrity though, one thing stood out. Kido. Oh Kido, it was the sole thing that motivated me to get up in the mornings, because even if it had taken me a while I had finally found something I could excel in.

Once the issue of me getting control of my Reiryoku early on in the school year had been solved by the occasional extra session with Momo to help wrinkle out any faults in my channelling technique, I came into the Demon Arts as naturally as a salmon to water or an eagle to the sky.

I wasn't a freakin' prodigy or anything, not like Akimi, but I was damned good. I listened and I worked hard, and as such my perseverance and unsteady belief that I would eventually find a positive in my education had paid off. Under the watchful eye of my Kido sensei I grew accustomed to performing the early Kido we were required to learn, and I grew to love the subject. It was hard, but rewarding. Even if I didn't know yet, it had fundamental laws that governed it, that made it work, and if I learnt these rules the possibilities were endless for me...

Even if I would never be a badass sword swinger like Ichigo or Kenpachi, I didn't care. Kido was a weapon that I could use and learn, so I was resolute in mastering it, and with such passion even my teacher admitted my growing skill in the subject. I had been given a solid nine. A NINE!

I left the sheet with a grin on my face, having already copied my results to a separate page of my own.

"Aww yeah!" Yelled Daichi as he joined me.

"What'd you get?" I asked.

"Have a look." He had copied down his grades from the wall into a book. A six in Zanjutsu, a seven in Hakuda, a five in Hoho and a two in Kido. Plus theory and stuff, but who cares about that?

"Nice one!" I congratulated honestly, even if I was a bit jealous of his score. Daichi had proven himself early on to be a kinaesthetic learner; which carried over to his talents. Daichi was pretty nimble and a pain in the ass to fight, since he could pack a real punch. Even if he had Reiryoku control worse than Ichigo, his reflexes and general skill in close combat ensured that his place in the top class was well deserved.

"How about you Hayato?" I gestured to the surprisingly still devouring reader, whom in response showed his own neatly written down scores: six in Zanjutsu, four in Hakuda, five in Hoho and a seven in Kido. As a whole Hayato was very generalised, he performed adequately in most topics, especially theory (Probably due to all the stuff he had read and memorised). Although his small stature lowered his physical grades somewhat, his surprising talent with a sword and his adequate Kido skills easily made up for it.

A murmur from the other students brought my attention back to the score board, where my proud tutor was confidently claiming her own marks. She seemed satisfied. I decided to approach her and see what she got, even if I disliked her. Ultimately because I hoped against hopes that maybe I had outperformed the prodigy in Kido, that maybe she wasn't quite Miss perfect, or that I had actually achieved something.

"Eww! Whys the Ryoka approaching Miss Nishisaka!"

"She's way out of his league."

"He's so far below her, why would she ever talk to him?"

I ignored the gossipers and tapped the red headed girl on the shoulders. "Hey, so how did you do?"

"Did you need to ask?" She stated arrogantly. "Of course I have done well! Have you never head the word 'prodigy'?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." I responded, used to Akimi's regular way of playing up her own actions. It was just how she was: annoying and boastful, but considering the pedestal she was held on by the other students and teachers for being a prodigy and the Nishisaka heir, was it any wonder that she had such a larger head? "Just tell me already?"

"Hmmmm!" Humphed the girl. "If you are to be so brutish, I suppose I can show you my results, if only to educate you on how one should go about performing."

"You know I care nothing for your status as a noble. You're still a pain in the ass." I informed as she handed over a small sheet of card with her grades printed elegantly by her hand upon it.

"You should do." She insisted. "Now you better look carefully at my scores, you hear me? I expect you to congratulate me for my hard wo-" She corrected herself. "I mean, for my inevitable success."

"Hmmm..." Just as I expected. A nine in Zanjutsu, an eight in Hakuda and Hoho and a ten in Kido. She was good at everything after all. I had no idea why I had assumed that I would actually do better that her in anything. "Well, I guess that you did okay. Only one ten though. Tut, tut. You're slipping."

The noble cheeks blushed in anger. "Is that all you have to praise me on?"

"If you want praise then go bother your fanboys." I told her.

"Mark my words, Solus. One day I'll get you to acknowledge my brilliance!"

"Well one day you'll get you're head out you're ass. Both are rather unlikely." I admitted.

"Hmmph!" She turned her back on me, although I think she was still a little crimson. "This conversation bores me. Leave me be."

"Nah."

"Pardon?" She asked, turning back to me. "Can't you see people staring?"

"So? The haters gonna hate. Like I care for their opinions. From the start they've disliked me."

"Then why are you here?"

I growled back, thinking of my own results, remembering how back in my old school at home people would often compare results with one another, and tell each other 'well done' if not only acknowledge the work most other people had put in. "I don't know what I had been expecting." I finalised. "Bye then."

I turned around and left, definitely not at all disappointed that she hadn't asked over my own grades, definitely not upset that I couldn't show her my theory and Kido marks. "Nope, definitely not."

"Jeez!" Complained Javan internally. "The sexual tension is killing me!" he joked. "Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!"

"I still think you speak a lot of shit. We ain't like that. I hate her guts." I told my eternal ally for the last year, the person whom had always listened to me and always cheered me up when I most needed it. Normally with inappropriate jokes since only I could hear and appreciate it. Then again, I did appreciate the suit lover tried to always cheer me up. Even if he was still adeptly dodging my questions, he was a welcome addition to my mind.

"Meh. It put a smile on your face." He told me. And yes, it had.

One thing was bothering me though. I had one more set of grades to find out. I could probably guess Mika's grades considering I paid close attention to her in lesson time. Admittedly she was just as aloof to others during lessons, to many people's irritations and many attempted courters indignation she would just brush them off with a smile, but that didn't stop me watching. I knew that she was one of the best Hoho and Zanjutsu users in the class, and was competent in Kido and Hakuda. I wanted to hear it from her though, and I wasn't sure if she was staying in the dorms or if she was going to the Rukon District, so couldn't ask during one of our stress sessions.

No, perhaps today I would approach her, casually, and have a proper conversation with her. I wasn't ashamed of our acquaintance, it had just sort of been a mutually agreed thing that we didn't want to tell others of our sessions, so didn't act like we knew each other. Then again, we did know one another. Come on, we've known each other a year and I've seen her splattered in mud and cut by thorns, heard from her own lips her likes and dislikes. If that isn't more than a passing acquaintance, then what is?

So perhaps I would go and see her before she went, see if maybe she wanted to work together in class or something once term started again. Maybe I could introduce her to my friends, if she wanted. She was rather private after all...

Which led to me excusing myself from Daichi and Hayato and heading to the garden, for she would never leave without at least checking up on her flowers. It was there that I saw them.

Mika was not alone. That was the first thing that tipped me off that something was wrong. She would never open her sanctuary to another. It was our place, never had she ever brought an additional person there, nor would she have let me visit unless I hadn't already met her by accident.

There were three males surrounding her, two behind her, blocking off any retreat, and a third before her. It was Gurou and two of his lackies from class B.

"Hey!" I called out as I jogged quickly over, glaring at them. "What are you three doing here?"

"Whassit to you, eh?" Sneered the short boy I'll call Minion One.

"Yeah! What'dya want?" Added Minion Two.

"Its none of your business why we're here, Ryoka." Grunted Gurou as he turned away from Mika.

"Isn't it?" I asked, gulping slightly as he took two paces towards me, reminding me of just how easily and frequently he threw me around the dojo like a sack of straw.

"No." He reminded. "This is business between me and Ikeda here." He pointed to the still encircled Mika. She didn't look roughed up or anything, and she still had her perpetual smile, but it still seemed off...

"So why don't ya shove off!"

I briefly considered it. Gurou scared the hell out of me and antagonising him served no point other than earning me another beating, and Mika seemed fine. I could tell a teacher or something...

But no. Gurou scared me shitless, but the guilt of leaving Mika if something bad DID happen scared me more.

"Marc, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Probably not."

"HERO TIME!"

I shrugged. I hardly fit the Knight in Shining Armour archetype.

"As I said, me and Ikeda here have business. I'll get what I want from her, you ain't got any place bein' here." At this he licked his lips, an action which was as suspicious as it was suggestive.

"Indeed." Agreed Mika, smile still in place. "Thank you Solus, but there is no use in intruding. This is hardly the first time he has bothered me, even if he has been unusual by badgering me here instead of somewhere more secluded."

It was then that I realised; that wasn't a smile. Perhaps it never had been, and I just never realised it.

"Talk huh? Well, I could imagine what sort of 'talk' this would be." I swallowed. "Perhaps you should leave? She doesn't want you here. I don't want you here."

"And whatcha gonna do about it, huh?" He questioned, leering over me. "You're a failure, I could beat you red and purple if I wanted to."

"Regardless." I grit my teeth. "Leave. I don't know why you're bothering Ikeda, but I can't sit back and let you do it."

Gurou squinted down at me, then he did a surprising thing. He laughed. "You really are gonna do this, huh? Ya know I'll kick the shit out of you, right?"

"Yes."

"You're an idiot as well as a weakling." He began to laugh again along with his Minions. "Fine." Stated the bully as he backed off, clicking his fingers to draw his followers attention. "We have places to go, unlike you. Teaching you a lesson can wait for another day, foreigner. Just know that if you get in my way again you'll wake up with a broken arm or two." He turned back to Mika and gave her a wide, toothy grin. "This isn't over."

And then he was gone. Him and his followers, leaving me with Mika.

She looked at me, and for a single moment her smile slipped, revealing a cold glare of icy intensity, before the moment was over and her standard smile was in place. "You did not need to interfere, Marcus D Solus."

"Perhaps not." I concluded. "You've never told me that he's bothering you, and you probably have a reason to. But I couldn't just leave. We're... friends."

"No. We share this garden, nothing more." She denied.

"If that's the way you see things." I retorted. "Regardless, I don't like him and I like you, therefore whatever he wants with you can't be good. Thus it is my duty to tell him to shove off, because me taking a beating is common place, but seeing you surrounded by them was worse."

"We aren't friends." She stated pleasantly, almost telling herself more than me.

"Sure, but you've helped me." And she had. Every time I was angry or upset or depressed or worried, or just wanted someone quiet to work next to, she was always there. Even if she was reluctant, she had let me into her sanctuary, and it did me a world of good. "So I'll help you. I don't care if you don't like it, but I owe you. Even if it breaks our current routine of ignoring one another, I'll help you."

"I don't need your help." Mika informed me too pleasantly.

"Either way it will make me happier if I can stop him bothering you, since I know you don't like him."

"You don't even know what he wanted, so how can you claim to dislike it!" Defended Mika angrily.

"But I know him. It was bad and it was unwanted. The fact that you won't tell me reiterates that it isn't a pleasant chat. How long has he been pressuring you anyway?"

"None of your business. And I don't want your help."

"But you have it. I don't care if I have to walk home with you to your dorm every day and walk you to and from the Academy, I don't care if I have to guard you between lessons and watch your back all over this damned holiday! I. Will. Help. You." I punctuated clearly. "Now let me help you!"

Mika looked at me in silence, not moving an inch, like an animal caught in a cars headlight. Frozen. Finally, her shoulders slumped and she regarded me with her eternal smile. "You won't give in, will you?"

"No." I told her. "You have helped me, so I want to help you in return."

"And I can't do anything to persuade you otherwise?"

"No. Now," I rubbed my hands together in a vaguely evil fashion, "do we need to do this the easy or the hard way?"

Again there was silence while Mika thought her answer through. In the end she knelt down and began to quietly work. I fell into place beside her, refusing to leave until I had an answer. Once more we worked and worked, and in a fashion reminiscent to another session we had in this very garden, it became dark and my stomach growled. Regardless, I worked resolutely, until Mika turned to me and rose.

"Why?" She finally asked, her face neutral. For once there was no smile, merely a blank face.

"I suppose that I stayed because you looked like you needed someone to be there, even if you didn't want to talk." I echoed, an honest smile on my face.

"Yes. I suppose so." She looked away and glanced over at the garden she had worked so hard on. "I don't like him." She explained. "He won't leave me alone. Recently he has sought me out frequently... and won't leave me alone. Nor will he take no for an answer. I don't want to talk about what he wants... but will you be there for me, even if I don't want to?"

"Of course." I informed her, getting up off my own dead legs and brushing myself off. "I always will be there, if you want to talk or not."

"Then thank you." She looked back to me, with her beautiful smile as it should be. "I suppose I will not say no you accompanying me."

"That's all I ask." I told her. "Now then, perhaps I should walk you back to your room so that both of us can get something to eat?"

"Very well then." She agreed, her stomach reinforcing her statement with its deep rumble. "Let us go, Marc."

XXXXXXXXXX

When I got back to my room I had expected that it to be empty, since Hayato and Daichi were going to leave and visit the Rukon District, so I was surprised to see them sitting around waiting for me.

"Heeeeyy!" Greeted Daichi. "Where were you? We were getting worried 'bout you!"

"Agreed." Quietly added Hayato.

"Sorry." I apologised, bowing low to the two of them. "Things came up."

"No problem." Daichi lifted the lid from the pot that was settled into the middle of the table. "Now that you're here, we can eat!"

"You waited for me?"

"Course we did, you're our friend." The pervert smiled at me. "We couldn't just leave when you flat out vanished off the face of the Earth, so we decided to postpone visiting and wait here for you. So, enjoy!" He announced dramatically, gesturing to the stew.

"Thank you." I told the duo.

"No problem. Now, dontcha get all soppy on me! We're MEN after all!" He reminded. "Now all we need ta do is get you a girl then you'll be nearly as MANLY as me!"

"Perhaps." I agreed, taking a seat at the table, glad that the two were there. "Perhaps."

I thought of Akimi and Mika, which led to me remembering tonight. I smiled. "Perhaps this year wasn't as bad as I had thought it would be..."

AN- This came out pretty damned quickly, so let me know what you think. Yes, the Mika scene seems a bit awkward, but there was a reason for this and Gurou's motivations will be explained. Yeah, another OC. Relax, he isn't vital to the plot. He's like Morgan from One Piece, a minor villain to show up once and get beaten. And yes, other characters will actually get screen time. Eventually.

Originally I had a bit more to this chapter, an interlude actually from another character (Guess who, trololol), but it got REALLY large. And then I saw a few omake's I'd been thinking of and figured, 'why not release it all together?'. So when I get the funny stuff done, I'll probably post it, because, y'know, why wouldn't I post it? Do I look like Little Kuribo to you, hoarding my episodes/chapters away in an Author Vault, purely for trolling purposes?

Well, if Little Kuribo is reading this, 'where's the next episode?!', but since he probably isn't, and since I don't actually know where this is going, and since... you know what, I'm going to let this AN sort of trail off... Undying Soul out.