This chapter's pretty close to a filler. But it will have some significance later on.

Chapter 7: Mirror (BarlowGirl)

Mirror I am seeing

A new reflection

I'm looking into the eyes

Of who you made me.

And to him

I have beauty beyond compare

I know he defines me

Rukia's POV

Ichigo stares out of the class window, a smile on his face. 'It has to do with that espada girl, Keta,' I think.

"Hey, Ichigo," Keigo whispers in Ichigo's ear, making the smile disappear. "Why are you so smiley? It's kinda creepy."

Rather than answer, the orangette punches him in the face. "Mr. Kurosaki!"

"Yes, Ochi-sensei?"

"Why'd you punch him?"

"He was annoying me."

"Oh, then that's fine." Keigo makes a whimpering sound as he still lies on the floor. Ichigo give him an unsympathetic look and goes back to looking out of the window.

"Ochi-sensei, a visitor is here to see Ichigo Kurosaki."

"Okay." The principle lets in… Keta? Why is she here?

"Hi, Ichi-berry." The class collectively flinches and waits for the explosion they're sure is to come.

"Hello, Looney!" Captain Hitsugaya waves widely from his seat, a creepy amount of glee emitting from him.

"Hello, Shiro-puppy." Toushiro rolls his eyes and stands up. She walks over calmly and picks him up, swinging him over her back before walking over to Ichigo and sitting on his desk. "Please continue your lesson, Ochi-sensei. I'm just here to see my boyfriend and my Shiro." She pets the captain, and sets him down on the other side of her, leaving just enough room for Ichigo to see the blackboard.

"May I ask your name?" the teacher asks.

"Ketakoshka Kathleen Castlionia."

Ochi-sensei's eyes widen. "I am very sorry, Miss Castlionia."

"It's okay. With your permission, I would like to sketch your class."

"That's perfectly okay! In fact, class, why don't we sketch something to describe how you see someone else?"

"Hai. Ochi-sensei."

Toushiro and Ichigo smirk at one another and pull out blank pieces of paper, immediately starting to work on their sketch. Keta pulls out an actual sketch book from her messenger bag and a set of art supplies and moves to the window ledge to give the boys room before setting in on out her own.

"Alright is everyone done?" The class collectively nods. "Alright, Keigo. You're first." He hands his up. "Who's this?"

"Ichigo." We all laugh. The trying child made a poorly drawn picture of apparently Ichigo in an executioners outfit.

"Alright, Rukia."

"It's my brother."

Toushiro and Ichigo break out into cackling laughter at the kitty-cat I drew. "Damn, Rukia," Ichigo laughs, "you really captured, his royal prissiness."

"It looks just like him," Keta snorts, giggling with the others.

The list continues for a while with Keta still drawing at a second sheet of paper. "Toushiro."

The white haired captain hands his over and the class collectively gasps when we see the woman in a long white gown in the middle of a blizzard. Two wolves, one black and the other white set beside her; white being easily the smaller one. "It's Hyorinmaru."

"Beautiful. Ichigo, let's see yours."

A princess, tiara and all, covers the page in a night black sky with a great big moon behind her. Two huge black cats lie beside her. They were collars with bells that seem huge to me. The princess' eyes are covered by her hands, she's crying, and a very familiar sword rests at her waist. "It's Keta, my princess."

"My princes." She kisses him softly and quick, fully aware that everyone's watching. "Here. You may show the class mine."

One of them is of the class as it is, just ordinary children. The second is wilder. Ichigo and a more twisted version of him are at the front, his hollow, turned to one another and holding hands pulled up to their chests. They're dressed lavishly, like princess with crowns included. Toushiro has a top hat on that looks like it came straight out of Alice in wonderland, and a busy white tail is attached to his backside; Shiro-puppy indeed. Orihime's a child with great big eyes, a bat plushy made of patches in her arms. Uryu holds a scythe, not as creepy as the rest. And Chad is just Chad, only he's in his fighting form, sneering evilly.

The rest of us Shinigami are just that, Shinigami but with a darker twist. I'm sneering down at a hollow's mask in my hands, hands that have claws. Renji's hands are made of bones. Rangiku's scarf is covered in skulls and her smile is so scary. Yumichika holds a glowing bulb, a soul, in his hands. Ikkaku holds a human head on a pike. And Anyu, God bless her, is missing half of her face.

The more normal humans , thankfully, aren't as creepy. Keigo is a jester in shackles. Ochi-sensei is in kimono with black flecks, possibly blood and a weary expression on her face, holding a notebook made out of something other than paper. Tatsuki has knight's armor on, the helmet under her arm. The rest seem to be peasants covered with more black.

Keta smirks as we assess the picture and leans back against the window, drawing her knees up to her face. "So? Suitable or not."

"Oh, my…" Ochi-sensei starts, blinking. "This is quite wonderful. Where do you find such inspiration for your art?"

The vampire looks at her boyfriend and answers softly, "You just have to look beyond what is considered ordinary. You have to have an imagination that never stops. And you have to believe that what people consider wrong and awful could be something great." She hops up then and starts towards the door. "Well, I better go. Ryuken's expecting me. Bye, love." She kisses Ichigo again.

"Bye, Keta." With one last look, the vampiress walks out. "Damn, I love her."

"Hey, Ichigo," Keigo whispers. " How'd you get with her? She's hot." And Ichigo who once again feels that his question is below answering, punches him once again right between the eyes. Keigo goes down like a sack of potatoes…

And class continues like nothing ever happened.