5

Rukia Kuchiki and Orihime Inoue

Shizuko looked at the hole in the walls of the Kurosaki house. They… they thought it was a truck? Why was it that she could remember a large monster attacking them? Yuzu gave a light laugh as she held up her ladle. She had been ready to start making breakfast when they noticed the damage to the house.

"It's a good thing no one got hurt," Yuzu chirped.

"Yeah, but you'd think we would've woken up to a truck hitting the building," Karin commented, Shizuko silently agreeing with her.

"We're lucky for sure!" Isshin agreed with a grin as he started to board up the hole.

Ichigo's eye twitched and Shizuko brought a hand up to her forehead in thought. She brushed against the spot she was sure she'd been hurt. In fact, she had no injuries. The only thing that made her sure that something had happened was the bruise on her foot. The hand shape seemed unwilling to vanish. Well, the one on her throat eventually did. She felt that old spot burn when she thought about it. She needed to ignore it. It was unpleasant first thing in the morning.

"Are you all right?" Yuzu asked Shizuko and she jumped a little.

Yeah, just tired is all. The excuse made Yuzu pout before nodding.

They all needed to get ready for the day. The two teenagers were going to be late due to the hole in the house. They were drafted to help get everything cleaned up. Ichigo did so with a scowl on his face and Shizuko did it with the barest of limps. Isshin happily hummed as he fixed the wall to the best of his abilities.

"I can't believe him," Ichigo grumbled as they finally headed to school. "He made us late."

I didn't mind helping, Shizuko slowly signed with a small smile.

"You are too nice to him," Ichigo pointed out.

He didn't elaborate further when she tilted her head. He said what he said. They entered the school building, and a few people gave Ichigo a wide berth. His scowl scaring them away. A few people wondered how Shizuko could stand to be near him. She knew him for him, that was why.

"Is he dead or injured?!" A feminine voice exclaimed, and Ichigo's eyebrow twitched before he brought his book bag down on someone's head.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm fine," Ichigo griped at the teenager in question. "No one was injured."

"Oh, Kurosaki-kun," a girl with long brown hair said, blinking at his appearance. "G-Good morning."

"You look happy as always Inoue," Ichigo commented.

"So, you two finally showed up," Mizuiro commented as they took their seats. "Were you helping clean up?"

"What's third period?" Ichigo asked, not wanting to talk about it.

"Social studies," Mizuiro answered, and Shizuko felt her mood drop.

Ochi wasn't her biggest fan. He didn't like foreigners, even more than the bully that cut her hair. He was constantly on the sidelines, seemingly waiting for her to be on her own. She didn't want them to bother her. She just wanted to finish her high school career before she took the college exams. She wanted to go into criminal justice, she'd make a decent policewoman. At least, that's what Yuzu said when she shared that little bit of information. Karin on the other hand believed she'd be better suited in culinary or as a manga author. She supposed she could do that as well. Oh, she was really unsure about it after all.

Her hands twitched as she felt something enter the room. No, it wasn't Ishida-San, she had grown used to him as soon as she became aware of the energy coming from him. She turned towards the source and froze, her lips parting just the slightest. It was… that girl from last night. She was sitting next to Ichigo. Their eyes met, and Shizuko wondered why she seemed so sad. Still, it was oddly scary to see her sitting in their class acting like a normal high schooler.

Ichigo went to ask Shizuko something and noticed her expression. Her face had paled. He turned to see what had bothered her, and blanched. It was that soul reaper from the other night! If Shizuko was reacting that way, it meant she remembered what happened. No wonder she was uncomfortable. The soul reaper- Rukia he had to remind himself- turned to him with a polite smile.

"You must be Kurosaki-kun, it's nice to meet you," She said, her old way of speaking still shining through.

"Oh, this is Kuchiki Rukia," Mizuiro introduced. "She just transferred in today. It's a bit weird but her family was in a tight spot and had to suddenly move."

"You…" Ichigo trailed off.

"What's wrong?" Mizuiro asked.

"Kurosaki-Kun, I don't have the textbooks yet, may I look at yours during lessons?" Rukia asked, holding out a hand.

Ichigo spotted the writing on it and blanched once again. If you say something, I'll kill you! Man, he was having a spot of bad luck. Ichigo rubbed the back of his head before sighing. He turned towards a deeply uncomfortable Shizuko before turning serious.

"What's wrong?" Mizuiro asked her.

Oh, it's just an unpleasant thought I had. She excused.

Chad knew that was an excuse the second she signed it. Mizuiro blinked before smiling at her. He didn't like seeing a cute girl upset. Even though his girlfriend had his heart, he still didn't like it. She scratched at her cheek before slightly smiling in response. There, that was better than her uncomfortable expression. He turned around in his seat and her expression slowly turned sad.

Are you sure you're okay? Chad signed to her, and she blinked.

Yeah, I'm just worried about Ichigo. She replied.

There, that was the truth. She may have been a little out of it due to her injuries, but she was certain that she had seen Ichigo in the same dark uniform that Rukia had been wearing. A giant sword in his hand. Ichigo asked to speak to Rukia in private and she sighed quietly when they left the class. She hoped that he'd be all right.

Shizuko sighed as she put her school items into her bag. She even got the homework for Ichigo, she hoped he'd do it. She couldn't believe that he'd skip school like that. Her disbelief faltered as she remembered the previous night. No… she could believe he would. Ichigo was the type of person to go too deep in trying to protect people. She couldn't help but blush at the memory of him catching her. She couldn't be that light, could she? Either she was, or Ichigo was stronger than he looked.

"May I talk to you, Potter-San?" She blinked when a feminine voice spoke up to her.

Shizuko looked to see the girl who greeted Ichigo that morning. Her smile was kind, and genuine. She found herself nodding her consent and the other girl seemed to grow happy by that. Her expression faltered slightly when the door slammed open, startling them both. Shizuko froze slightly, it was the boy who cut her hair. The other girl tensed as well, warily eyeing the boy. Shizuko wondered if he had done something similar to her in the past.

"Is there something you need?" The other girl politely asked.

"I want to speak to the gaijin," The boy rudely answered.

"I'm sorry, but Potter-San and I were about to grab some food together," The other girl excused, and Shizuko blinked as she was gently grabbed and dragged out of the classroom.

Shizuko marveled at the strength behind the girls hold. She was far stronger than she looked. She quickly changed into her leather shoes and was promptly dragged through Karakura's shopping district. It seemed so quickly that she was staring at a milkshake with strawberries, heavy whipped cream, and… an ice cream sandwich? She'd never seen something like that before. Shizuko was going to try and get Ichigo to join her next time she wanted to go. He might enjoy it. Actually… he probably wouldn't.

"So, Tanaka-San's been bothering you?" The other girl cautiously asked.

Shizuko gave a slight nod before wondering how she was going to eat the giant milkshake. Was she supposed… wait it had a waffle cone inside of it? Who came up with such a thing? The other girl giggled slightly, and her cheeks began to burn, the back of her neck felt like she was sitting in front of an oven.

"Oh, my names Inoue Orihime!" The girl finally introduced.

Shizuko simply gave a sweet smile. Orihime didn't know sign language, which made conversation difficult. Shizuko picked up her spoon and started with the giant pile of whipped cream on the milk shake. She wouldn't be able to drink it until it was gone. There'd be too much of a mess.

"How are you liking Karakura?" Orihime asked and Shizuko tilted her head in thought before reaching for a napkin and pulling a pen out of her school bag.

I like it. Shizuko wrote down before letting Orihime read it.

It caused Orihime to smile. Shizuko had cute handwriting that was very legible. She nodded her understanding at how the foreign teen could be comfortable in the small town. She seemed a bit reclusive, only going to classes and not joining any extracurricular activities, but very kind. She almost seemed reluctant to eat the cat shaped ice cream sandwich that came with her milkshake.

Was it bad that she felt guilty for biting the ice cream sandwich? Shizuko didn't know, but watched as Orihime dug into her milk shake. Her head began to spin slightly as she told her about her friends. It seemed like no time had passed at all while they talked. Shizuko finished her milkshake last and gave a quiet laugh at something Orihime said. She tensed slightly when she felt something coming their way. It was the thing that attacked the Kurosaki household the previous night! No, that was a stupid conclusion for her to make. It had to be something similar. Why was it there?! She… she had to get Orihime to safety. She didn't have many female friends and wanted to be one with the long haired girl.

"Oh! Why don't we go window shopping? It's been forever since I could talk Tatsuki-Chan into it," Orihime suggested with a smile.

That was perfect. Shizuko nodded and blinked when she was dragged once again. A slightly amused smile appeared on her face when they both got distracted by a cute plush in a window. Shizuko paused when she saw a familiar white bear inside the store. They had ended up in the area where Ichigo gave her the stuffed bear that was sitting on her bed back home. Orihime watched as Shizuko's expression became distant for a few seconds before she plastered on a smile.

"Do you also like cute things?" Orihime asked and Shizuko nodded.

That wasn't what had gotten her down for a few seconds. They began to walk through the shopping distort, Shizuko watching with a soft smile on her face as she gave nods in the right places of Orihime's conversation. Home… how long had it been since she felt that before? It was before she turned eight. When her grandfather passed away? Yeah, that was the last time that somewhere had felt like home. It was nice to have again.

They eventually parted ways. Orihime somehow getting Shizuko's phone number out of her before they did. Honestly, it was nice of Isshin to supply her one, but she couldn't help but wonder what happen to the one she already had. The more she tried to remember, the more her ears began to ring. It didn't matter. She shook her head in thought before smiling softly when Orihime texted her that she got home safely. A small emoticon was sent to the other girl before she pocketed her phone. She removed her shoes and headed into the kitchen. Yuzu waved at her and smiled.

"Welcome home!" Yuzu's chirp saw a bright smile appearing on Shizuko's face.

Shizuko looked up as the sound of metal hitting an object rang through the area. Ichigo was practicing his swing, the excuse he had given his father that morning when Shizuko had been told to go along to get out of the house, and Rukia was practicing her pitch. A sketchbook was in her lap and the wood pencil in her hand was held in a loose grip. Ichigo had made a homerun with that swing, she was impressed. That didn't explain the drawings on the balls, or the yelling that they did. The term hollow came up quite a bit, as did training. She looked at the sketch of the monster she saw and gained a thoughtful expression. Could those monsters be hollows? She wasn't sure.

"Kurosaki-Kun! Shi-Chan!" Orihime's call caused her expression to brighten, and she quickly closed the sketchbook and placed it next to her bag before standing up from the ground.

"What are you doing here, Inoue?" Ichigo asked, and Shizuko sent him a strange look before cheerfully waving at Orihime.

"I was doing some dinner shopping," Orihime replied, holding up her shopping bag filled with a multitude of products. "I bought onions, butter, bananas, and gelatin!"

What is she planning to make? Echoed through three heads. Yuzu would have been strict with Orihime if she heard those ingredients. Shizuko could remember the slight looks of disappointment and wondered how the girl was able to get that deep level of it. It was worse than her grandfather's when she got into trouble at school.

"What are you doing here, Kurosaki-Kun?" Orihime asked.

"I'm practicing my swing," Ichigo stated, using the lie that he told his family that morning.

"Oh, Kuchiki-San?" Orihime moved to the side and noted the new girl standing next to her mute friend.

"Hm?" Rukia asked. "Who the hell are you?"

"You idiot, that's Inoue," Ichigo hissed at her as Shizuko let out a soft sound that could've been anything. "She's in our class."

"Oh, Inoue-San!" Rukia said with a small curtsey, the smile on her face somewhat false. "Honored to make your acquaintance."

"Honored to make your…" Orihime said, trailing off with her own curtsey.

Ichigo felt something tug on his sleeve and looked towards Shizuko. She motioned down at Orihime's leg, and his eyes widened. There, around her calf, was a deep bruise the shape of a hand. No wonder Shizuko recognized it, she'd had such bruises before. There were also the bandages around Orihime's arm, it was obvious that the pink-haired teen was worried about her.

"Oi, Inoue, what's wrong with your arm?" Ichigo asked. "Did you fall down?"

"Oh this?" Orihime asked, holding up her am and pulling the sleeve back to show the bandages on her bicep. "No, I was hit!"

Orihime was welcomed to a worried Shizuko gently squeezing her face with her hands. She let out a slight laugh at the strange sensation. She could tell what Shizuko was trying to say. Stop being so Blasé about it! It was incredibly sweet.

"By a car?" Ichigo asked in disbelief.

"Yeah," Orihime said, her voice muffled. "Last night when I went out shopping to get something to drink, and bam! I've been getting hit a lot lately."

Shizuko squished her face further and Rukia wondered about the girl's sanity. She looked incredibly stressed by those words. Orihime tried to laugh off the story of being hit by a car and only got a glare out of Ichigo.

"You shouldn't be laughing that's a serious accident!" Ichigo chided. "You should be angry!"

"Well, it's not like they hit me on purpose," Orihime pointed out.

Ichigo looked over at Shizuko for a second and Rukia did the same. That sounded like something the pink-haired teen would sign. No wonder those two got along fairly well. Shizuko finally let Orihime's face go and the brunette gave her a sweet smile.

"Do you get hurt often, Inoue-san?" Rukia asked.

"More than often," Orihime answered. "It's happening a lot more now, almost every day!"

Still, that's not a good thing! Shizuko signed and Ichigo gave a translation.

"I just zone out a lot," Orihime excused, rubbing the back of her head in thought.

"Then you shouldn't act like it's unavoidable like that," Ichigo continued to chide.

Rukia simply sighed through her nose. So, Orihime was a simple airhead. She looked down at the bruise on Orihime's leg and narrowed her eyes. She crouched to get a closer look at it. It had to be painful to even stand on. She knew that Shizuko was still healing from the one around her leg. The one that was cleverly hidden with an old pair of Ichigo's pants. Shizuko quietly reminded herself that she needed to go and buy her own clothes. Maybe after the summer when she had enough saved up.

"I feel like that hurt more than your arm," Rukia commented, motioning towards Orihime's leg.

"Y-You're right!" Orihime confirmed. "My leg hurts way more than my arm!"

"Have you gone numb from the pain?" Ichigo asked in disbelief. "Go to a doctor."

"O-Oh it's late!" Orihime chirped, looking at her watch to distract Ichigo.

"Are you in a rush?" Ichigo asked. "We can always walk you home."

Shizuko nodded her agreement and Orihime blinked for a few seconds before smiling at the two of them. A part of her was sad, but she couldn't explain it. She shook her head, her long, light brown hair swishing with the movement. Shizuko found herself missing her own long hair watching it. Orihime brought a hand up and waved them off as well.

"I'm fine, but thank you!" She said, smiling widely at them.

"Ok, see you tomorrow!" Ichigo called to her, watching as Orihime rushed off.

"Potter-San," Rukia's voice brought the pink-haired girl out of her slightly worried state. "You've had bruises like that before, yes?"

Shizuko picked up her sketchbook and turned to the back of one of her flops. She quickly wrote down her answer to the question, taking her time. Her tongue was poked between her teeth as she carefully wrote her characters down. She was trying so hard to get away from the childish handwriting she seemed cursed with. Even her English was bubbly. She turned her sketchbook around so Rukia could read her answer.

I've had two of them before… the darker they are the more recent it is, Shizuko had written. Oddly enough, they hurt more than regular bruises. I can still feel one of mine even though it's faded away.

Rukia blinked at that. She hadn't known how long a hollow bruise would hurt for. Now she did. The small smile being sent her way, made her stomach churn. It was too familiar. Shizuko blinked before seemingly remembering something. Her cheeks turned a light pink as she rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment.

"What is it?" Ichigo questioned.

I need to go pick up some items from the stationary store, Shizuko signed. Yuzu asked me to since I was going to be out today. See you back home.

Ichigo wasn't able to stop her before she quickly picked up her messenger bag and hurried down the street. Heading up the stairs and going to opposite way that Orihime did. He rubbed the back of his head in disbelief. Sometimes Shizuko was too anti-social. He huffed before crossing his arms over his chest. His focus was changed when Rukia said something.

Shizuko looked at some of the note pads in front of her. Yuzu wanted something cute, but also something that would stick to the fridge. Did she go cat print? Or dog print? She was more inclined to go cat print seeing as they shared a fondness for cats. Why was it so difficult for her to decide?! An orange sleeve entered her peripheral and she couldn't hold in her flinch. One of the stationary packs with cats was tossed into her basket.

"Geez, watching you stress yourself out was annoying," a voice stated and she gained an unsure expression. "See you later, cotton candy head."

Cotton candy head?! Shizuko's unease turned into annoyance as she puffed her cheeks out. That guy had a bowl cut for god's sake, what right does he have to rag on her hair?! She retained her slight anger as she headed home. Her head tilted to the side when she felt something familiar. A hollow? It was pretty far away, but it still worried her. She needed to get home.

"Ah, back already?" Yuzu asked, greeting the teenager as she walked in.

Yeah, I wasn't sure what stationary you'd want, Shizuko quickly explained.

The small cat stationary was held out and Yuzu's eyes lit up in delight at the cute design. Maybe the bowl head had a sense of style after all. It was worth being called cotton candy head just for the smile on Yuzu's face. Isshin walked into the kitchen as Yuzu put up the stationery for their grocery list. The small animated cats that made up the bottom of the paper sleepily gazed at him. It was cute. His daughters were so cute, yes he did also count Shizuko in that category.

"Oh, have you seen my dress?" Yuzu asked Shizuko.

You're missing clothing? Shizuko signed in confusion. I haven't seen it, but I'll keep an eye out during laundry day.

"It was my favourite one too," Yuzu pouted slightly. "Even a pair of my pajamas are missing."

Shizuko frowned in confusion at that. Why would her clothes have gone missing? She thought for a few seconds and realized that Yuzu was tiny, as was Rukia. Ah. Was the soul reaper still there? She wasn't going to get involved. Yuzu shrugged off her frustration and pulled the teenager into helping her cook. She could teach her how to make rice cakes! They could even coat them in sweetened red beans. It also made it a little easier to create lunches the following day.

Shizuko had been unsure of the treat until Yuzu simply forced one into her mouth. Yuzu watched as the amber eyes brightened in amazement. Ah, so they found a favourite food for her. It was oddly cute to see the happy expression on Shizuko's face. Ichigo came in, his face a little dirty.

"Oh, you made rice cakes?" He asked, swiping one.

"Yeah, I think Shi-Chan has a favourite food," Yuzu lightly said and said teenager turned a beet red.

I've never had one before, it's really good, Shizuko stuttered through her signing.

Ichigo simply raised a brow and she somehow turned a darker red. Yuzu inwardly chuckled, happy to see them getting along. She sent Shizuko on her way so the teen could actually study. Her Japanese needed to get better, it was still elementary at best. A few rice cakes and a cup of tea with her. She cracked open her books and sat back, ready to study for the rest of her night.

She stood up straight when she felt something appear nearby. A hollow? What was it doing here? Her hands went to her head and covered her ears at the sound of its screams. She blinked when it suddenly vanished, and it went silent. Her expression one of confusion. Why did a hollow suddenly appear and then leave? She couldn't even few Ichigo. Oh. Oh. Where was Ichigo, or Rukia for that matter? Those two were very distinct in the way they felt.

She ran a hand through her short hair. She could ask, eventually. Ichigo wouldn't be able to dodge the question forever.