Chapter 5: New World, New School

"Ah..." Ashley muttered under her breath, as she slowly opened her eyes to the blinding sunlight. She slowly rose up from the bed she was laying in, wondering where she was for a minute or two. But she just then realized that all of yesterday's wonderful events were not a dream as she thought it was; it was all real. She was in a world, all too different from her own, when she was attacked by a Hollow in her world. How and why she ended up there, she knows not. "I guess I really am here..." Ashley whispered to herself, as if realizing it on her own. And the room she was in: a room for which she will be staying in for a long while, she hoped. She was living in Uryu Ishida's house, in one of his rooms, living where he is. Ashley thought that this would only happen in her dreams.

After she brushed her hair and teeth, took a quick shower, and redressed in what she wore yesterday (since she has no other clothes with her), Ashley quickly dashed downstairs, eager to eat her first breakfast in this world with Uryu. But before she went downstairs, she checked in Uryu's room to greet him and he was no where to be seen in his room. So she headed downstairs, knowing he may be in the kitchen cooking breakfast. Not even questioning it, she shouted gleefully, "Good Morning, Uryuuuuu!!!!!" Unfortuneately, silence had greeted her back and Uryu was not there.

"Uryu...?" Ashley blinked, looking all around the kitchen, only finding cook books, torn out pages of recipes on the counter, knifes, meat grinders, and other food ingredients. She looked around the house as well, and could not find him anywhere; she even checked the bathroom. "Where could he be, I wonder?" Ashley said to herself, as she walked her way around the couch in the living room; she fell all the way down on the couch, lazily. "If he needed to go somewhere, he could have at least leave a note for me." Ashley sighed then, as she flopped her feet upon the coffee table that was infront of her. Whenever she did, the table shook for a second, and a small piece of white paper fell off of the table and floated down on the ground. "What's this?" Ashley wondered, as she picked up the unknown piece of paper from the floor. It was blank on the front of it, but when she turned it on the other side, she saw a short note written neatly on it--Ashley imediately recognized it as Uryu's handwriting. Anxiously, she read:

Ashley,

I apologize if I am not here when you wake up. But, I am too impatient to wait to train my new powers any longer. Again, I apologize and hope that you can forgive me for leaving you alone. But, do not worry. I promise you that I will be back before dusk. If I am not back until then, then I probably had confronted a Hollow or more, or something might have...happened. But, you must not worry. I'm sure you can do well without me, anyway. Oh, and don't worry about dinner. I'll drop by the grocery store on my way back and pick up something. Remember: don't worry about me if I'm late.

Love,

Uryu

If something happens to him, then don't worry? Ashley knew he said not to worry, but how can she help it? Just thinking about something strong enough to take down Uryu...it aches her heart so, that it feels like that she'll have a heart attack at any given second. She could not, and will not live on without Uryu. "That dummy," Ashley muttered, as she stared down at the note with unblinking eyes. "You must've lost your mind if you think that I can live without you."

Hours went by, from morning to night, and there was still no sign of Uryu. Ashley spent all day, abiding to Uryu's favor, by not worrying over what he was doing; but, unfortuneately, she failed miserably. All day, she listened to music, wrote lyrics/poems, searched the net on an old laptop she found, read manga and other novels, and even cooked herself a few bowls of ramen that she found lying around; anything she could do to not think or worry about Uryu. But, no matter what she did, she could not stop thinking about him. Even if she did forget about him for a moment, she always found herself thinking of him again.

And now, she was sitting in the Dining Room, getting ready to eat her fifth bowl of ramen. It was at least past ten already, and Ashley was eating her ramen and reading a book she found in Uryu's room that she just happened to find in there. And finally, after such a long eternity of boredness and loneliness, Ashley heard the front door creak open; a sure sign that Uryu was home at last. "It's about time!" Ashley said to herself, as she skipped excitedly toward the front door, where she would, hopefully, meet Uryu there; she has not seen him since yesterday, after all, so why wouldn't she be excited to see him now?

"Uryu!" Ashley chimed as she saw Uryu walk in the house, in all of his glory, carrying a few grocery bags in both of his hands. Uryu smiled a heart-breaking smile over Ashley's way, which made Ashley want to faint from where she stood. "Hey, there." Uryu greeted kindly, as Ashley offered her kindness and took a few bags away from him and placed them on the kitchen counter; Uryu did the same. "Sorry about leaving you before. So, how was your day today?" Ashley thought it over for a minute or so, wondering if she should tell the truth: Her first day in his house was as horrible as it gets, for all she did was worry and worry over if Uryu was okay or not. That, and she even thought of slapping Uryu for making her worry so much for nothing. But, really, what good would that do? It would just make her more of a burden toward Uryu. Ashley smiled then, snapping out of her thoughts. "It was good! Very good, thanks!" Uryu laughed by Ashley's sudden enthusiasm, as both of them began emptying out the plastic grocery bags. "I'm glad to hear that. I was afraid that you'd panic when you found out that I wasn't here." A smile began to creep up on Ashley's face, feeling a bit relaxed from Uryu's sudden worryment over her. But Ashley started to remember Rukia's words that she told her from last night at the restaurant, "Ishida-san...he seems to have taken a liking to you...it's really not like him to be so close to someone so fast."

So fast, she had commented. Ashley knew that everything Rukia said to her was true; too true. But, why has he been acting this way toward her? So kind, so gentle, so sweet, ever since she arrived in his world? Ashley knew she should not ask him straight out on why he was doing this, but she couldn't help but wonder why. Never had he ever acted so kind and sweet to anyone he didn't know, or even to someone he's known for a while. But, Ashley could only think of one person he's ever showed such kindness to...

"Um, Ashley?" Uryu called out to Ashley, looking down at her with confusion, as Ashley imediately snapped out of her thoughts and came back to reality; she looked up at Uryu in bewilderment. "I asked you if you were hungry, but you kind of...zoned out on me there. Is something wrong? What's on your mind?" Ashley opened her mouth, as if she was about to say something, but soon closed it shut, letting out a sigh as she did. "Um, no, no. I'm fine, really. And no, I'm not hungry at all. I just had a few bowls of ramen before you came." Ashley turned her head over the table she was just eating at, staring at the untouched bowl of ramen and chopsticks, and the closed book beside that, that Ashley borrowed from Uryu's room; Ashley cursed at herself from seeing that. What will Uryu say or do when he knows that Ashley went snooping in his room without permission?

Shockingly to Ashley, Uryu laughed that harmonical laugh that she loved so much. "Ah, yes. I see that you've had yourself a little snack while I was gone, right?" Uryu's tone in his voice sounded so amusing to Ashley. Ashley watched Uryu closely, as he went over to the table, and picked up the book by the spine. "And entertainment as well, I presume?" Uryu did not seem mad at Ashley for intruding in his personal belongings, which made Ashley wonder about that. "Um, yeah. I'm sorry about taking your stuff without asking you first, but I-"

"Hey, don't worry about it," Uryu said to Ashley reassuringly, whenever she gave him a skeptical look. "You're a curious person, I can see that. It's just a book, after all. Nothing too rash. It's fine." Ashley wanted to apologize to Uryu once more, and probably beg for his forgiveness, but from seeing Uryu's half smile, she could already see that she was already forgiven before she even knew it.

"It's getting late now," Uryu said, looking over at the wooden grandfather clock in the far corner; the pendelum in the glass door swang rhythemically with the time. "I think the both of us should go to bed now." Even though she was exhausted, Ashley was disappointed by this, just wishing to stay up with Uryu alittle more longer, just to talk about meaningless things. But she smiled in the end, knowing too well that Uryu was way more exhausted than she was. "Yeah, you're right."

"Wait a minute," Uryu called out so suddenly, before Ashley could take a step on the first step of the staircase; she looked over at Uryu, quizically. "You were wearing that yesterday, right?" Uryu determined, as Ashley slowly nodded in agreement, wondering what he was going on to. "Um, yeah. I didn't bring anything with me, you know. If I knew that I was going to come to this world, then I would have packed up some clothes." Ashley explained, while she looked down at what she was wearing: her favorite black hoodie that she never leaves behind, a plain dark purple shirt, a pair of blue jeans ripped at the hems, and a pair of black socks; her pair of black converses were stuffed inside the closet, in the room which she will be staying in for a while. "Yeah, you're right," Uryu began in such a thoughtful way, that it made Ashley wonder what he was thinking so hard about. "You don't mind if I...make you a few pairs of clothes, do you?"

"Huh? Really? Are you serious?" Ashley asked a multiple of questions at him, wondering if he really was serious or not; that, and she was feeling unsure about this idea. Sure, she thought it would a marvelous idea for him to design and make her some clothes for her to wear; she did not know how long she will be staying in his world, so it wouldn't hurt. But, to Ashley, Uryu has a sort of...preppy-ish personality when it comes to designing clothes: pink, white, blue, other bright colors, lace, flowers, preppy stuff that Ashley was not accustomed to. Ashley wanted to ask him not to make anything of his taste for her, but how will she, without hurting him in any way? But she had to at least try to, right? "Um, well, that's very awesome of you, Uryu, but...um..."

"It's okay. I'll have a week's supply of clothes for you by tomarrow, don't worry." Uryu reassured Ashley, but it just made her feel worse; from Uryu's glowing face, Ashley could tell that he wanted to do this, not that he has to. This was a can't-say-no-to sort of situation she was in. But Ashley knew that he wanted to do this since it was his general hobby to sew. Ashley didn't think it was stupid or anything, she actually thought it amazing and extremely cool that he could sew so well; she could not think of one guy in her world that could sew like Uryu can. Just thinking of Uryu making clothes only for her, it made her smile by such a thought. "Yeah. That's cool, Uryu. Do what you want."

"Oh, great!" Uryu said with relief in his voice, as if he knew that she was going to decline his idea. Ashley started to wonder if this was okay or not, since her's and Uryu's taste in fashion were as opposite as book ends. "But, um..." Ashley began, deciding it was the right time to tell Uryu, rather it hurts his feelings or not. "Our sense of fashion is totally different, I hope you know. And I, um...don't usually wear skirts or dresses, usually only on special occasions, and whenever I have to. And my favorite colors are: blue, black, purple, white, and um...green, I think. I think that's all the exceptions I have for this. Is that okay?"

Ashley dunked her head down, her face flushing a deep red, fearing she may have actually hurt his feelings somehow. But, to her surprise, Uryu let out a soft chuckle; Ashley looked up at him, quizically. "That's okay," Uryu smiled, kindly. "We all have differences; it just makes us all human." Just that one statement, just his voice being heard, just the way his eyes sparkled as he looked down at her, made Ashley's heart flutter inside of her. Ashley wished she knew why she felt this way, but she could not comprehend it at all.

"Um, Ashley?" Uryu called to her, as Ashley looked up at Uryu with bewilderment; she was still trying to figure out why she felt what she was feeling. "Are you...feeling alright?" Ashley thought it over for a minute, wondering if she really was alright: her stomach was turning, her heart was pounding fast, and she suddenly felt warm. What could it be? But despite that, Ashley said, "Oh, no. It's alright, Uryu. I feel fine, really." Uryu had asked her a couple twenty times and up if she was really okay, if she really felt fine, and Ashley did it all in her trying to convince Uryu that she was alright. Uryu decided to call it quits on his dispute to make Ashley admit what was really wrong, as he sighed in defeat. "Okay. If you say nothing's wrong, then I guess nothing's wrong. I won't push you any further on this."

"Thank you, Uryu." Ashley smiled, relieved, that Uryu didn't continue his constant questions on her health. Uryu nodded and smiled half-heartedly by Ashley's gratitude, as he started to walk up the stairs; he stopped on the third step, looking over at Ashley, from his shoulder. "Oh, I almost forgot to tell you. I'm sorry to say, but I won't be here tomarrow when you wake up, unfortuneately. I'll be at school the whole day, and I won't be back until at least six. I'm going to bed early, so I'll have to work on your clothes another time. I'm really, really sorry, Ashley." Ashley was disappointed by this, feeling sad that, again, she will not be able to see Uryu when she wakes up. She could try and get up early, but no matter how early she goes to bed, she always seems to get up late in the afternoon. "Oh, well," Ashley sighed, trying her best to find a way to become her perky self again. "It's alright, Uryu. You need to go to school after all; everyone does-"

"Including you." Uryu stated, before Ashley could finish what she was saying. Quickly, Ashley forgot everything that she had said, as she looked up at Uryu with confusion in her eyes. "Um, what?" Uryu let out a soft chuckle from Ashley's skepticalism; he returned to his previous spot from before, infront of Ashley. "I mean," Uryu blocked a cough on the back of his hand, trying to control his laughter from Ashley's confusion. "I mean for you to start school here, in Karakura. You don't know how long you're going to be here, right? Just because you're in a whole different world, doesn't mean you shouldn't be acedemically successful and thoughtful. Am I right?"

Silence followed by after Uryu finished, as Ashley was still looking up at Uryu with a blank face. Uryu sighed in agitation, wondering if she had spaced out on him or something. It couldn't be that hard to understand, could it? Nah. Uryu knew that even Ichigo would understand it, fully. (And that's saying alot there.) But finally, at long last, Ashley blinked a few times but still looked up at Uryu with more confusion. "Oh, um, sorry, Uryu. Did you say something?" Uryu couldn't help but stare down at Ashley in shock. She really did space out on him. (But that shouldn't be a surprise, since she spaces out on everyone.) "Oh, boy," Uryu sighed desperately, slapping his hand over his forehead in frustration. Uryu mumbled under his breath, "She really wasn't listening to me?"

"Huh?" Ashley looked at Uryu's frustrated figure closely, wondering what he had said to her in the past minutes when she wasn't listening. "I was saying," Uryu grumbled annoyingly as he lifted his head back up toward Ashley. "That I think it would be a good idea for you to enroll in my school, here. In Karakura. Since you're here, anyways." For a short second, Ashley thought it wouldn't be a great idea, since it's a Japanese school and she's fully American. She would not understand anything that's going on. But then, she saw the good side of this: she would be able to spend more time with Uryu. She never thought of anyone else to hang out with. Not Ichigo, or Orihime, or Rukia or anyone else. All she wanted was to be around Uryu, for some reason. Even back in her world, that was one of the many, many dreams she had of him. (Even though she knew he was an anime character and nothing else, before this.) She snapped out her thoughts quickly then, fearing Uryu may be angry again, "Oh, that sounds like an awesome idea, Uryu! I'd love to! When can I go?"

"How does tomarrow sound?" Uryu asked her, knowing full well what the effect will be on her. "Tomarrow? Really? Cool with me!" Ashley shouted, with a large amount of enthusiasm. But, there was a problem about it that suddenly ocurred to her, "But, will you be able to get everything ready by that time? My uniform? My bag? My books? My schedule? My classes? M-"

"Hey, hey, don't sweat it." Uryu laughed harmonically by Ashley's sudden panic attack; he could actually see a few sweat drops form on her forehead. "I'll have everything ready for you by tomarrow, I promise. I'll call the school first thing when I get up, and tell them to enroll you, I'll even pursuade them to make you have the same homeroom as me, if you want." In her mind, Ashley was jumping for joy and excitement by just thinking of being in the same class as Uryu Ishida. And the thought of sitting next to him made her want to faint. "And don't worry about your uniform. I'll make you one before I go to bed. And your bag. Don't worry about that, either. I have an extra one that you can have. Me and you will be ready for school, and we can even walk together, if you want."

"O-Oh..." Ashley mumbled very low under her breath, that she only felt her breathing out, let alone speaking. The thought of herself and Uryu walking together, alone, beside each other...so close that their arms are touching. It took Ashley's heart on a heavy adrenaline ride, like it always did when she thought of Uryu. But, in the end, she smiled, "Yeah, okay. I can't wait then!" Uryu felt a hint of pleasure deep inside of him, glad that he once again made Ashley feel happy and at peace with herself; he found himself enjoyed to make her happy. No one knew why, not even Uryu himself. "Well, now that that's settled, I think you should go to bed now and get a good night's rest."

"Yes, yes!!" Ashley squealed excitedly, as she skipped happily up to her room and closed the door shut. In seconds Uryu saw, from under the door, that the lights were turned off and Ashley was already asleep. Uryu couldn't help but smile by that, and Ashley's sudden enthusiasm to go to school. Uryu couldn't help but laugh at the thought. You'd think that she was a little toddler jumping up for joy for her first day of first grade. But, it IS her first time in a foreign school, so I don't blame her. She should be happy while she's here. I think it's good that she is, no one knows when she'll have to go and leave. Uryu thought it over, as his face suddenly fell in a sort of depression-like state. Uryu sighed sadly, "Yeah, that's right. She'll have to...leave..."