Chapter Two

Flying Lessons

Shinji shuffled through the papers until he found what he was looking for. Ever since he took over the place, things had been in shambles. It wasn't like he wanted to be disorganized, but he just had no experience in dealing with this sort of thing. He wasn't a businessman as he kept trying to tell Hiyori. He originally wanted to be a nurse, but that got put on hold once he was given the dojo. His family before him hadn't been the most organized and everything was sitting around in banker boxes. There was just so much stuff and he had no idea if it was stuff that needed to be saved or stuff that needed to be thrown out.

He sighed. He would be glad to put those two to work organizing the office. It was almost time for them to show up, he realized as he glanced again at his clock on the wall. He was still somewhat nervous about what he was doing and why. He wasn't the type to have an interest in someone he just met, but he certainly felt something when he looked on the redhead. The question was it just lusting after a cute boy with a lithe body? Was he just rebounding after breaking it off with Uryū? He sighed again. Maybe Hiyori was right, and he should just leave it. He looked up as someone knocked on the door.

"Enter," he called as he tried to sort through the stack of papers he had. This was not the invoices for the cleaning service, he thought to himself.

Hiyori came in, crossed her arms and shook her head. "You are the least organized businessman I've ever met."

"Totally not my fault I got this place dumped in my lap. I was an EMT for heaven's sake. I know nothing about business," Shinji groaned as the papers slid of his desk onto the floor with the rest of them.

Hiyori heaved a sigh and shook her head. "Do you want to direct their work or am I going to do it?"

"Can you?" Shinji asked hopefully. "You're so much better at organization than I am…"

Hiyori shook her head. "You just can't stand to stay in the same room with the redhead without getting flustered."

"Pfft, that's not true," Shinji said with a wave of his hand. "I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself and being professional with that cute…sweet…" He paused. "Okay, maybe not. But still, you are better at this than I ever will be."

Hiyori gave him a glare. "I'll do it; just because I want to see this office in shape for once in the time you've been here!"

"Good, they should be here soon!" Shinji exclaimed and escaped out of the office, leaving Hiyori to it.

Rose was sitting at the reception desk watching as a couple people sparred while Kensei was with them. Kensei was their head teacher. Mashiro, Lisa, Love, and Hiyori actually all also taught as well. They often took turns being class leaders and spent the rest of the time helping while another taught at the front. He turned toward the clock again.

It was almost noon and he was hoping that the two of them actually showed up today. After everything he'd said to Hiyori, he didn't want to look like a fool. Granted, she would still think he was one no matter what he did. He wasn't disappointed as the pair came in together again. He frowned because it looked like the redhead's face was a little more discolored than it had been the night before. This time, there was bruising along his jawline. Shinji knew that hadn't been there before.

"Um," Shūhei said as he approached the desk. "Hi, again."

Rose smiled up at them and looked at Shinji. "Show them to your office, idiot," Rose muttered at him.

"Yeah, yeah," Shinji said and motioned them behind the counter. He opened the door to the office where Hiyori was standing on a box going through another box. She looked over as they came in.

"Good. Come here," she said and Shūhei came forward. She proceeded to put a box in his arms. "That's your first one. Go through it and pull out any papers that have to do with the cleaning service. You, red, come here," she snapped and Ichigo went over to her. She dropped a box into his arms. "Do the same thing. All the headings should be Mark Theason Cleaning Services."

Shinji smiled and backed out of the room. It looked like Hiyori had things handled. He closed the door quietly and turned to find Mashiro standing there with a grin. Shinji felt his face heat a little and waved her off. She didn't move, though.

"So, he came today. Whatcha gonna do about him?" she crooned.

"I ain't gonna do nothing about it today," he said with a sigh. "Besides, do ya think they're gonna be here for long with Hiyori yelling at 'em? I'm not sure anyone could tolerate it."

"Hmm, I wonder," she said and wandered off.

Shinji sighed. What was he thinking? Getting interested in an eighteen-year-old with home troubles. It wasn't like he was that much older, he was only twenty himself.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Shūhei and Ichigo found the work to be hard and busy. Hiyori quickly gave them instructions on what to pull out of the file boxes. They were trying to sort through the invoices and other paperwork to organize it in case they needed to find one of them. The boxes were full of papers of different sorts, some they needed and some they didn't. There were three boxes near the desk which were stacked with papers that she said were the most recent invoices and paperwork that Shinji had piled together.

Ichigo seemed content as he sat on the floor with a box beside him sorting the papers into piles. He had quickly picked up what he was supposed to do, of course. Shūhei knew he would. He was making more mistakes than Ichigo did. He knew his brother was intelligent and he was proud to see that he finally was able to show it a little bit. Even if nothing else came out of this, Ichigo was getting a chance to show how smart he really was.

He got up from his position on the floor and went over to where Hiyori sat behind the desk. "Where's the bathroom?" he asked, and she looked up at him.

"Out the door and down past the reception desk. Sure he'll be okay without you in here?" she asked, glancing at where Ichigo seemed immersed in what he was doing.

"I'll tell him," Shūhei assured her as he went over and knelt by Ichigo. He looked up at him questioningly. "I'm going to the restroom. I'll be right back."

Ichigo nodded and didn't look bothered by this fact as he went back to sorting the papers. Shūhei stood up and went out the door, finding the bathroom easily enough. He nearly ran into Master Kensei when he came out.

"Oh, I'm sorry," he said and smiled at him. "I didn't see you there."

"I wanted to catch you today. I have to fit you both for a gi before tonight's class," he explained.

Shūhei nodded and looked toward the office. "I'm sure at some point you can come get us," he said with a grin.

"I have time now, why don't I get you fitted while we're talking about it," he said as he took hold of him by the arm and pulled him toward the locker rooms.

"Um, okay, I should tell…" he started.

"Hiyori won't hurt him," Kensei assured him as he took him into a room where the gi were kept. He rummaged around and pulled one out, opening up the white uniform and holding it up.

He held out the top to him. He shrugged into it over his t-shirt and nodded. "I think it will fit."

"Alright, you're a little on the tall side, both you and your brother, so you may need longer pants if you stick with this. These might be a little short on you two." Kensei watched as he took off the top and handed it back.

"What gave you those scars on your stomach?" he asked with a gentle look on his face.

Shūhei put both hands on his stomach and looked at Kensei. "I… Well, that's a long story," he said and hoped that put an end to the questioning.

"Is it the same reason your brother came in today with even more bruising on his face than he left with last night?" Kensei asked him point blank. Shūhei swallowed and knew he had to say something. "Look, no one here is going to judge you for a rough home life. Just gotta wonder why at your age you'd stay in a place like that."

Shūhei didn't know what to say at first. He looked at Kensei and made a decision to trust him. He had no idea why, but it was something he was going to do. He swallowed thickly and nodded. "I can't leave Ichigo there alone, and she's his guardian," he explained. "I've been the only thing he's had for a long time now."

"Who is it?" Kensei asked and shifted his weight a bit on his hips.

"She's my stepmother, and Ichigo's foster mother. She married my father after my mom died when I was young," he explained.

"And your father?"

Shūhei sighed. "He's sick a lot of the time, and when she divorced him, she used his relationship with his longtime boyfriend to make sure she kept custody of us. I'm not sure why she wanted to keep us, but I think it had to do with spite towards my father."

"How long?" Shūhei knew that he meant the physical abuse.

Shūhei looked at him and shrugged. "Since we were little, about twelve or so. When I was fifteen I tried to tell them what was happening, but no one believed us. Ichigo couldn't talk to tell them it was true, so they believed I was making it up. She broke his arm afterward and I never told anyone again."

Kensei nodded and crossed his arms. "So, what is your plan, then?"

"I need to get him to talk, that's my only choice, and I don't know if he can do it. He has to be willing to tell them what she does to him, because they're not going to believe me. I want to be made his guardian, even though he doesn't need one. There's nothing wrong with his head, he just doesn't talk," Shūhei explained with a sigh because he'd actually said it out loud. What had to happen was that Ichigo had to talk. There was no way around it. Otherwise, they were stuck where they were for who knew how long.

"So, you thought that bringing him to something like this might give him the confidence to speak again?" Kensei asked.

"Yeah," Shūhei sighed. There was something relieving about having told someone this. He couldn't believe he actually was telling someone this. It wasn't like the school, though. There was no one to call and report things to anymore. "I hoped feeling independent might make him realize he can talk again."

Kensei reached out and put a hand on Shūhei's arm and squeezed it. "We'll do what we can to help him find his voice again. Now, let's take you back so he doesn't worry about you."

Shūhei nodded, taking the gi from Kensei and walking back into the office with it. Ichigo looked up as soon as he came in the door with a frown. Shūhei held up the gi. "Uniforms for tonight; you still need to get yours," he told him and put his down on the sofa. Ichigo nodded and went back to working on the boxes he was doing.

Shūhei sighed and dropped back down to the box he was working on. He was still thinking about talking to Kensei. Had it been the right thing to do? After all, he needed to explain why Ichigo looked worse today than he had the day before. He was just glad to be out of the house all weekend. Then during the week he'd have classes and so would Ichigo and then coming here in the afternoons. It was enough, he hoped, to keep them well away from their "mother".

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Ichigo wasn't sure what he thought of everything that was happening. He liked coming to the class, and he liked the people that were there. He even liked Hiyori even though she was a bit bossy at times. She just knew what needed to be done and wanted to see it done right. Ichigo understood. He enjoyed the work, actually. It was fun to sort through all the papers and stack up the ones that were wanted together. Even when Shūhei was gone for a while, he didn't feel panicked or scared, so that was a good thing. He was growing comfortable here, and it was a first for him. School was the next test because he was separated from Shūhei for most the day. Shūhei had shown him how to email all his professors and explain his special needs to them. He had been surprised when none of them had a problem with the fact he was mute.

He heard a knocking and looked up to see Shinji and his face heated up a little bit. He was still not over the fact that someone thought he was cute. He wasn't used to that kind of attention. And Shinji was nice looking too, so it wasn't like there wasn't interest on his part. He doubted anything could come of it, after all, he didn't talk to people so how could they even communicate?

"Almost class time, Hiyori. Ichigo needs his gi still," Shinji told the girl that was directing them.

Ichigo glanced over at Shūhei who was picking up his own outfit and motioning for him to come on. He nodded, getting to his feet and stepping over boxes. Outside the office, Master Kensei waited for him.

"Ichigo, let's get you a gi," he said and Shūhei motioned for him to go on and follow him.

Ichigo swallowed and nodded. He could do this without Shūhei. He could get his uniform. He followed Kensei into the locker room to a closet. He watched as he opened it and he could see all the white uniforms in there.

"Hmm," Kensei mused. "You and Shūhei are about the same size almost, so here, try this top on over your shirt and see if it fits okay." He handed over a top to him.

Ichigo nodded and put it on. He wrapped it like he'd seen the others do and nodded. It seemed to fit him. Kensei nodded and reached for it. "You and Shūhei will need to change, but there's lockers in here to put your regular clothes into. I told him, the pants might be a little short on you two, but it should be fine for now." He folded up the garment and handed the whole uniform over to him.

"If you want to go ahead and start changing, I'll send Shūhei in here," Kensei said. He nodded and Kensei smiled at him before he turned to go.

Ichigo waited for him to leave before he took off his shirt. He paused, glancing at his arm where Cirucci had grabbed him the other night. It was still bruised and cut a little. He sighed. If he could just make her happy, maybe she wouldn't do those things. He had no idea what would have made her happy, but he still wished he could figure it out. He looked up when he heard the door and saw Shūhei come in with Izuru. Ichigo liked Izuru; he was always nice to him.

"Oh, that looks bad, are you sure you're okay?" Izuru asked as he noticed the bruise on his arm. Ichigo covered it with his hand and nodded to him, slipping quickly into the top and tying it in place.

Shūhei looked pained, though, and Ichigo wished he wouldn't. He always blamed himself for when Ichigo ended up being hurt but it wasn't his fault. He did his best to help him avoid it, but Ichigo knew that he had to do something that set her off; otherwise why would she get so angry? He kept thinking he had to do something to set off her anger and he kept failing to figure out what those things were.

Shūhei took off his t-shirt and jeans, getting into the uniform quickly as Ichigo got into his own pants. Izuru stared for a moment at Shūhei as he was getting undressed and Ichigo had to smile. He thought Izuru liked Shūhei and didn't know how to say it. The way he was looking at him as he changed seemed to agree with that idea. He'd tell Shūhei later that he saw Izuru staring at him.

"So, what happened to your arm anyway, Ichi?" Izuru said as he tore his eyes off Shūhei.

Ichigo shrugged and waved his hand to indicate that it didn't matter. He did that a lot when people asked questions about things like his bruises and stuff. It wasn't a big concern; after all, he'd had worse. Shūhei looked over at him and back to Izuru.

"Just an accident," Shūhei said and smiled wanly at Izuru.

Izuru arched a blonde brow at him and nodded. "Like the scars you got on your stomach?"

Shūhei put his hands to his stomach and looked at Izuru. "Don't worry on it, okay?" he said and Ichigo could tell he was getting annoyed. He went over and grabbed him by the arm and tugged him toward the door. "Okay, okay, we can go out there," Shūhei said and turned around. Ichigo turned back and saw Izuru watching them with a careful eye.

Ichigo knew that Izuru was just concerned; but people were always just concerned. No one did anything and that wouldn't change. It was just the way it was. He lined up on the spot that Shūhei pointed to and was excited to start the class for real this time. Master Kensei was up at front and discussing doing warm ups. Ichigo glanced behind him to see that Shinji was watching from the reception desk. He felt his face heat a little again. He thought he seemed nice.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Shinji sat at the front desk while Rose was away on a break. The evening class had just started going. His eyes were on the redhead again, of course. He looked good in the uniform. He smirked to himself and wondered just how to approach him. He looked up to see Kensei come back to the desk with a look on his face that said he was worried and thinking about something. He'd left the students to do their warmups with Hiyori.

"What's up?" Shinji asked as he came and leaned against the counter.

"I just had a talk with that Shūhei kid. Seems that their stepmother is the one who is doing it. Some sort of spite toward Shūhei's father, he thinks. The problem is that they have is rooted in Ichigo's mutism. Shūhei has no way to prove anything, and apparently she has guardianship over Ichigo," he said and looked at Shinji. "If you're going to pursue that boy, you are going to have to be careful. He's going to be delicate and breakable."

"I know that," Shinji said and sighed. "I just really feel something toward him. I want to help him get out of the situation he's in, too. So maybe if he had someone to talk to besides Shūhei…"

"I just don't know how you'll get him to do anything without Shūhei, unless he takes a liking to you all of a sudden." Kensei sighed as Hiyori was almost done with warmups. "Just watch yourself."

Shinji felt like everyone thought he was some kind of lecher, or Ichigo wasn't old enough to decide what he wanted to do. It wasn't like he was that much younger than him. Little more than two years if he had read his birthday correctly on the form. But still, he guessed there was a large space between them because of the way he was used to living. Shinji had been on his own for several years now and had been working as an EMT for a while before he started taking care of the dojo full time this year.

"You look like you're trying to figure out something," Rose said from beside him. He looked over and smiled at him.

"Nah, just thinking."

"Thinking about the cutie that you have a crush on?" he said as he switched places with Shinji and sat down.

"Yeah, but should I pursue it or not?" he asked with a sigh. "He is a bit younger than I am, and he's never been out in the world."

"So what?" Rose asked, looking at him. "Experience is only gained by doing things. He should have some experiences with the real world at some point. He can't stay shut up forever, speaking or not. There's plenty other ways to communicate."

Shinji thought about that for a moment. "I wonder why they can't just write down everything for a judge to get them away from their stepmother?" he asked.

Rose looked over at them and back at Shinji. "Maybe she's convinced them that he can't speak for himself, so she has to do it. I don't know their whole story, but there are ways to make someone look like they are incapable when they aren't. He's obviously got nothing wrong with his head. He's not slow or anything, and he takes instructions from people well enough."

Shinji nodded. Could that be why? He wasn't sure, and of course, he had known him like two days so far, so he wasn't going to ask a bunch of questions yet. He intended to. But for right now he was satisfied seeing that he was in a safe place and could get away from his home. He just wished there was something more that he could do for him.

He continued to watch the class and was amused at how many times Kensei praised Ichigo. That was rare; he usually didn't praise students much. It was obvious he was trying to get a connection between him and the two boys, and the way to Shūhei was through Ichigo. He also gave Shūhei praise as well, and it was obvious he wasn't used to such things either because he also tried harder after being told he was doing well.

By the time they were done, both Shūhei and Ichigo were smiling and panting from their exertion. They both went to change clothes and came back out. Shinji decided it was in for everything or nothing, so he waved at them to come over.

He smiled and saw the redhead's cheeks dusted with pink as he clung to Shūhei's arm. Shūhei rolled his eyes as Ichigo seemed to tighten his grip.

"Hey, I was wondering if you wanted to go down to the coffee shop with me before class next time?" Shinji asked as he stared directly at Ichigo.

His eyes widened and he looked at Shūhei. Shūhei shrugged. "Up to you, you can go out with someone without me. I'll be right here; and the coffee shop is just down the way from here. So, you wouldn't be far."

Ichigo chewed on his lip for a second before he nodded and smiled shyly at him. Shinji nodded and wondered how he was going to take someone on a coffee date that didn't speak. Shūhei and Ichigo walked toward the door and Ichigo turned back and waved at him with a small smile.

"Well, you did it," Hiyori said with a sigh. "I thought it would take you longer to get to the point of saying something."

"I figured now or never," Shinji explained and nodded to himself. He could do this. He could figure out how to connect with someone who didn't talk.