Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.

Author's Note: And I'm back. Kinda. I'd rather not go into details, it's extremely personal. Hopefully I'll be able to update sooner. Enjoy.

I Hate the Fact That I Love You

Promise

"This sucks," I said grumpily, flopping on a chair. Yamamoto glared at me before heading into the principal's office. Moments later the principal trotted out of his room, looking weary.

"Kurosaki-san…" he sighed, rubbing his temples. I said nothing, simply glared at that floor. I'll reiterate; this sucks. And my finger hurts. "Why did you go completely psycho and destroy the auditorium?" What the fuck am I supposed to say to that? Oh, a bipolar ferret that I just met with a special hatred for me ran around and fucked everything up?

Yeah, that'd work out real well…

"It was… I was… momentarily blinded by nationalism," I finally said, unable to think of anything else. The principal stared at me.

"Err… excuse me?" he said after a moment, trying to figure out what I meant. I glared at him.

"I mean, seriously, what are we, pansy British people? I don't see anyone walking around drinking tea and crumpets with their pinky finger sticking out! I was pissed because we're doing a British classic in a Japanese society!" I exclaimed and the principal scowled. At the mention of pinky, my bitten finger pained me. If I ever get my hands on that ferret…

"We at Karakura High School pride ourselves on a well-rounded, international education," he explained patiently and I scowled.

"Yeah, well, who cares about the rest of the world? We're isolated on a tiny island filled to the brim with a bunch of smart people! I say, screw the world! Japan is its own country! We're like women! We take a stand!" I shouted just as Ryu and Toshirou barged in.

Wait a minute, what the fuck, Toshirou? Why can't this kid just leave me the hell alone? It's like… I don't even know how to describe the stupidity of his random and frequent appearances anymore…

"Sir! It wasn't Karin's fault! If you want to blame anyone, blame me! I brought my ferret, and he messed everything up! Toshirou here can back me up!" Ryu exclaimed loudly and dramatically, holding up Shu. The ferret just cocked its head and looked at us all sweetly. The furry bastard. Toshirou, being a frickin' prick, merely grunted, looking extremely uncomfortable and uneasy. And sexy.

Fucking asshole. Damn whatever god made such an annoying brat look so good. The principal looked at the three of us, obviously confused, as Yamamoto reappeared.

"Something wrong, Haruka-sama?" he asked the principal quietly, who shook his head. My finger throbbed.

"Ah, no. I'll deal with these kids; you're dismissed, Yamamoto-san," replied 'Haruka' with a sigh, pushing up his glasses. The old man nodded before leaving. The principal watched him walk out, and then looked at Toshirou. "Hitsugaya-sama, is what they're saying true?"

"Yeah," Toshirou said after a long moment of silence, glancing at a tense Ryu. I was tense too, but for different reasons. Why was Toshirou helping me? Was this some weird plot of his to exact revenge? Argh, damn the white haired boy and his stupid, unreadable ways! He's as complicated as a frickin' girl! The principal sighed. My stupid finger fucking hurt.

"So then, Kurosaki-san, was all that nationalist stuff made up to protect your friend?" he inquired and I blinked.

"Uh… yeah… and because I thought you wouldn't believe me," I said honestly, slightly taken aback.

"Well, you thought correctly," he said with a groan before looking at Ryu, "okay, here's what we'll do. Kochiku-san, you have detention for bringing a ferret to school, and you're suspended from the first soccer game of the year for causing the destruction of the auditorium. Karin, you get a warning for lying and questioning school policy. Hitsugaya-sama, you're not in trouble at all, considering you weren't involved." There was a moment of silence as this sunk in, and then my eyes widened. The pain of my finger receded in the wake of my righteous and just fury.

"What? That's not fair! Ryu didn't even do anything!" I yelled angrily and the principal shrugged.

"That's life," he replied simply. I scowled, opening my mouth, but Ryu touched my shoulder.

"Hey, it's okay," he said quietly. Then he glanced at the principal. "Mind if I call my parents? They'll want to know." He nodded before gesturing for Toshirou and me to leave. We did so, reluctantly in my case. I stomped down the hallway, absolutely fuming.

"This sucks," I raged aloud, "Ryu shouldn't get in trouble." Toshirou said nothing; his arms were crossed and his teal colored eyes were brooding. I looked at him, irritated. "Well, don't you think this sucks?" Toshirou shrugged.

"He shouldn't have brought his ferret. He got what was coming to him, especially considering it wrecked the auditorium," he said simply. I gaped.

"You're a fucking bastard, you know that?" I replied gratingly, belatedly remembering I hated the kid. Toshirou glared at me, eyes flashing.

"Oh, because you're so much better," he retorted irritably. He seemed lost in thought, which confused me, and didn't have his usual spirit when arguing. I quickly dismissed it.

"Yeah, whatever. If you think helping me is going to cause me to lower my guard, forget it," I snapped. Toshirou rounded on me.

"I didn't do it for you," he spat, "I did it because it was the right thing to do. You didn't deserve to get in trouble. Besides, Ryu asked me too." I was taken aback by the venom in his voice, and slightly hurt as well, although I had no idea why. The pain in my finger came back with a vengeance.

"Oh yeah, because you always do things people ask you to do," I replied after a moment, recovering. Toshirou stared at me flatly. I noticed he was cradling his own bitten finger, which gave me some satisfaction as mine was throbbing like crazy. Wait… that sounded bad.

"How the hell would you know? Do you even know anything about me?" he asked sharply and I stared at him, slightly unnerved. He was right. What did I know about him? Just that he was a fucking brat. I narrowed my eyes.

"The same could be said for you; what do you know about me?" I responded and Toshirou scowled.

"That's cheating," he accused me, and I smirked.

"Don't care," I replied snippily in a sing-song voice. At this point we'd stopped walking and were facing each other, scowling angrily. Toshirou glared at me with his cold, aquamarine eyes.

"Look. Just because I'm rich and influential doesn't mean…" he began, but I zoned out as something hit me. Metaphorically, of course, otherwise that'd be painful. Although maybe it'd take my mind off my goddamn finger!

Of course!

"Get Ryu out of detention- or at least lift the suspension for the first soccer game off of him," I said abruptly, cutting the boy's annoying monologue off. Toshirou froze, staring at me with something akin to stupidity in his gaze.

"What?" he asked blankly. I grinned deviously.

"You heard me; if you're so rich and shit, use your powers for good! Help out Ryo!" I exclaimed eagerly, ignoring my pain in the wake of my righteous and just cause (notice a pattern?). Toshirou stared at me flatly, understanding gracing his regal appearance.

"No," he said flatly. I scowled irately, deflating like a balloon.

"Why the fuck not?" I shouted. Toshirou crossed his arms again; what the hell, is he my motherfucking parent or something?

"Because," he began in a reprimanding tone, "Ryu deserves it." Angered, especially since Toshirou wasn't denying the fact that he could help out, I took a step forward.

"No, he doesn't," I growled. Toshirou took a step back.

"Yes, he does," he replied. I stepped forward again.

"No, he doesn't!" I practically yelled, feeling extremely angry. Toshirou scowled.

"Yes, he does!" he hissed furiously, stepping back again. We continued down the hallway in this fashion, attracting blatant stares from idiotic passerby's and students in their classrooms (teachers, too, annoyingly enough).

"No, he doesn't!"

"Yes, he does!"

"No, he doesn't!"

"Yes, he does!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"Argh, what the fuck?" I finally shouted loudly (because, of course, normal people shout softly). "Here, how about this; do this favor for me, and I promise I won't prank you or bother you or anything, okay? And you can needle me all you want- I won't care!" This was for Ryu, I told myself, glaring at Toshirou as he considered the request. My finger burned painfully, and I was tempted to simply chop the stupid thing off. Somehow.

"Really… you promise?" he asked, a devious gleam flickering in the depths of his blue-green eyes. Oh fucking great, what was I getting myself into?

"Yeah, cross my heart and hope you die," I said. Okay, I didn't say the last part, but I thought it. And it felt good. "Until the play is over, at least." We were extremely close, staring each other straight in the eye. Toshirou might be good looking, but he wasn't particularly tall. Then again, neither was I, but I was a girl, so it was all cool. Girl power for the fucking win. Toshirou considered it for a moment longer, and then smirked a frustratingly gorgeous smirk.

"Fine. I'll see what I can do," he said nonchalantly, the arrogance in his voice causing me to gnash my teeth. "Oh, and one more thing. I get to kill Matsumoto when she shows her face." I stared. No! No no no no no!

Ugh, dammit, Ryo. Damn you more, Toshirou.

"Fine," I said through clenched teeth. Toshirou smiled and backed off, before sauntering away. I had a headache and my finger hurt (as I'm sure you've realized), causing me to wonder if I should just skip the rest of school. Nah, my Dad would have an aneurism if he found out. I brooded on what I'd literally gotten myself too. Before I could angst and act teenager-y for long, Ryu showed up, looking weary.

"Coach Zaraki is gunna be pissed," he sighed. I flashed him a smile, feeling happier in Ryu's presence. I was also a bit unnerved with my confrontation with Toshirou; it had to be the closest thing to a civil conversation we'd ever had. And it felt… weird. I felt weird. Brushing it off, I decided to tell Ryu (cryptically) the good news.

"Ehh, I wouldn't worry about that," I said nonchalantly and the boy gave me a surprised look.

"Huh?" he asked, clueless, and I smiled mysteriously. Or what I thought was 'mysteriously'. I probably just looked like a retard. Actually, how the fuck does a person look 'mysteriously'?

Okay, getting off topic.

"Where's the ferret?" I asked, changing the conversation. I couldn't bring myself to call the furry bastard by his name, considering the trouble he'd caused. Furry bastard. Wait, I already said that (thought it? Wondered it? Fucked it?). Shit.

"Shu is… uh… Shu?" Ryu patted his hair, looking for the smelly son of a bitch, only to realize the little ferret wasn't there. "Oh shit."

Down the hall, in the principal's office, we could hear screaming.

Yes, it's shit. No, I don't care. I wrote this in the space of an hour. Be happy.

-Firefox