Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or anything associated with it. Title of owner goes to 久保 帯人. :3 Nor do I own anything related to Hana Yori Dango.

AN: Thanks to those that reviewed for my first chapter! I'm still wondering who those readers are that don't say a word... I couldn't help myself but update this quickly since I spent a lot of time writing this chapter. It's much longer than the first one and I think I enjoyed writing it the most so far because Ichigo finally encounters Rukia.

For those that don't know the Japanese phrases:

Hajimemashite: English equivalent would be something like "Nice to meet you" but it's used as an introductory phrase.

Yoroshiku onegaishimasu: English equivalent to "Please take care of me", used as an ending phrase in an introduction.

Itadakimasu: always said by the Japanese before beginning a meal.

Etto/Ano: English equivalent to use for "uh/um..."

Yosh, let's begin! よろしくお願いします！

Chapter 2

Ichigo ignored the snide remarks and snickers he heard as he walked along the sidewalk outside of Takaimono's gates. School had just been adjourned and any one who recognized his carrot top head from their limousine or European sports car sent a message his way from their open window. It might have been because he was the only one from Takaimono who was actually walking which indicated his poor status. Whatever it was, Ichigo could not hear a thing once he popped in his earphones from his mp3 player.

The mp3 player was a gift from his father and something that took Ichigo a while to accept.

'Dad, I can't take this. My tuition is already taking up a lot of your money.' Ichigo said when his father handed him the newly packaged box. He handed it back to his father who in turn shoved it back to him.

'Son, if you don't take this gift I'll take it as an insult. I want you to have it. Besides once you're in Takaimono this music player will at least make you look a little better, I think.'

Isshin's purpose was full of good intentions for his son. He added that nothing else could make him more proud or happy for Ichigo. In turn it made Ichigo feel guilty enough to accept the gift.

Once Ichigo got to Takaimono the music player was hardly noticeable among the luxurious toys and gadgets the other students possessed. Ichigo didn't give much of a damn any way and treated his mp3 player with the utmost care.

Ichigo headed down to his own workplace, a shop a few blocks from school. He had this job before his acceptance to Takaimono so even if the school's workload was large Ichigo had no plans to quit his job and would balance both evenly. He figured he could also help pay for his tuition and repay his father and sisters that way.

He entered the shop and greeted the store manager who was happily fanning himself while lying on a fold out chair nearby. "Konnichiwa, Urahara-san."

"Ah, Ichigo. Konnichiwa!" Urahara returned the greeting. "How was school today?" He questioned and took a sip of tea from his cup.

"Same old, same old." Ichigo answered and set his things down behind the counter. "Oh, but someone did get a red notice today."

Urahara's eyebrows rose in interest and he set his teacup down on the side table next to him. "That's the second one this week! What did the poor guy do to receive such treatment?"

Ichigo shrugged while he took a cloth and wiped down the counter. "More than likely he did something so insignificant that it was deemed worthy of a red notice by S4. I really feel like my days are getting numbered there, Urahara-san." Ichigo added quite honestly. "I'm the only person there who doesn't own more than one house. Hell, I don't even own a house. I bet they love picking on poor people."

Urahara chuckled, swinging his fan lightly. "You mustn't think like that, Ichigo. Just do what you need to do and avoid trouble at all costs… that is, unless you're forced into the situation."

The store's door opened and in came a tall and built dark-skinned teenager. "Sado, konnichiwa!" Urahara greeted cheerily.

Sado Yasutora entered the shop and gave a short greeting back to Urahara. "Konnichiwa." He joined Ichigo behind the counter, getting ready for work. "Hey Ichigo." He greeted monotonously.

Although a man of a few words, Sado was indeed a good listener. He and Ichigo hung out with each other ever since grade school and it was only until recently when Ichigo went to Takaimono did they separate ways to go to different schools. They were something like best friends and always had each other's back. Whether it was some kid ridiculing Ichigo's hair or some smartass undermining Sado's ethnic heritage, they would defend each other no matter what.

Ichigo told Sado that he wished Sado attended Takaimono with him but Sado remarked on how he was both too dumb and too poor to attend the school with snobby children. Ichigo was a bit surprised at Sado's choice of words but laughed when he couldn't disagree.

Ichigo worked the rest of the day until the shop's closing time at 8:30 PM. It had become his daily routine: get up in the early morning, go to school for six hours, go to work after school for about five hours, spend the rest of his time at home mostly doing homework and sleep at 12 or 1 AM to start the next day at 6:30 AM again.

The only days he didn't have work were Fridays and the weekends. Urahara had commented that these three days were crucial for young teenage boys like Ichigo and Sado to enjoy their youth. Therefore Urahara gladly gave them these three days off to do a "little mischief" as he worded it himself.

Yet at the rigorous pace Ichigo found himself with schoolwork, he hardly found time on the weekends to designate as "free time". His other friends Keigo and Mizuiro who attended the same high school as Sado, would call his home during the weekends wondering if Ichigo could go down to the local video game center.

They were given the same answer each time by Ichigo. "Sorry guys, I won't be able to make it today. I've got an assignment to finish and some other work that needs to be done." It wasn't until the third school week that Keigo and Mizuiro decided to stop calling him on the weekends since they figured the answer would be the same as previous weeks.

So as sad it sounds, the only friend Ichigo kept in contact with was Sado when he was at work. Ichigo truly did want to hang out with all of his old friends again but his conscience would fight back. It constantly told him that he couldn't let his education at Takaimono go to waste. He was putting his family in enough strife. Therefore it would make him feel guilty if he didn't take his studies at Takaimono seriously.

It was a Monday and Ichigo had survived Takaimono Gakuen for almost a month. During that time he luckily never encountered the S4 even though red notices started to pop up every other day. During that time he found solace in reading over assignments and going through books for information he needed until his classmates shuffled themselves back in after the fiasco.

That day his homeroom teacher announced that there was a new student. Countless whispers around the class commenced as every one, minus Ichigo, was curious to who it could be.

The teacher left the room for a moment to get the student. In an instant every person in the class raised the volume of their voices to talk to each other. The girls behind Ichigo were chatting about the student.

"I hope he's hot. I'm getting tired of seeing all the same faces." One girl said.

"Especially since I've already dated all of those faces." Another girl added.

Their talking as well as the other students' talks died down when the teacher re-entered the classroom. Following closely behind him was a rather short teenage boy who wore a timid expression upon his face. The girls behind Ichigo giggled and one of them said, "So not hot."

"Class, welcome your new classmate. Go ahead and introduce yourself." The teacher told the new student and slightly pushed him forward. As a result the new student almost fell over and took a while to balance himself upright. There was an uproar of laughter from the class and Ichigo had to shake his head in embarrassment for the guy.

"Etto… hajimemashite. My name is Yamada Hanatarou. I'm 15 years old and I just transferred here from Yokugin Academy. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu." Almost flustered from all eyes looking at him, he bent his upper body down at an almost 90 degree angle. He didn't get up until the teacher prodded him to.

"You may take your seat there, Yamada-san." The teacher pointed to the empty seat next to Ichigo. "If you find trouble with anything Kurosaki-san will be able to help you."

Oh no, why me? Ichigo thought. He really wasn't planning on making friends but after he saw the funny looks his classmates gave to Hanatarou as he walked in between the desks, he decided he might as well be nice. Hanatarou bowed his head at Ichigo for a split second before taking his seat next to him. Ichigo returned the gesture before focusing his attention back to the teacher's lecture.

Lunchtime came around and the students quickly left the class to dine on their expensive meals in the cafeteria. Ichigo stayed behind to ask the teacher a few questions on the homework assignment. After he left the class to go eat his own modest lunch, he heard someone call his name from behind.

"Kurosaki-san! Kurosaki-san!" Ichigo turned around to see Hanatarou running toward him, carrying a big paper bag with some fancy restaurant's name on it. He stopped in front of Ichigo and took a moment to catch his breath.

"Hanatarou, what's up?" Ichigo asked.

Hanatarou suddenly forgot why he called Ichigo and he scratched his head uncertainly. It took a moment to register. "Oh, yeah!" It came back to him. "I wanted to know if we could eat lunch together. Ano… I have no friends and you're the nicest person I've met here so…"

Although he always told himself that he wasn't here to make friends, Ichigo thought it wouldn't be so bad to have lunch with Hanatarou. He was a rich kid, sure, but Ichigo could relate with him since Hanatarou seemed to be made an outcast among the others.

"All right. Sure." Ichigo answered and they both headed for the cafeteria.

Or rather, they headed toward the dining room as the word cafeteria in no way accurately described Takaimono's eating area. The dining area went through many renovations during the summertime and returning students were always glad to find something completely different in where they ate.

Along with the new ivory plated floors and deep wooden paneled walls, a new section was added to the area that school year. It was the second story part of the dining room and was strictly designated for S4 and any one they deemed worthy to join them at the top.

Ichigo and Hanatarou decided to sit at a table that was a safe distance from the S4's lair but was considerably close to the entrance of the dining area. Once they were seated with their book bags at their sides, Ichigo took out his bento box with a meal that Yuzu had prepared for him while Hanatarou took his meal out from the paper bag he carried earlier.

Hanatarou stared in surprise at the little bento box for a moment, his own feast before him more like a dinner for a king compared to Ichigo's. "Kurosaki-san, you don't eat a lot do you?" He commented after a thorough look.

"Well I can't afford a meal like yours, Hanatarou." Ichigo answered nonchalantly and said a quick "itadakimasu" before using his chopsticks to pick up a piece of meat.

"What? Why not?" Hanatarou questioned. "I usually choose the cheapest meal from Ukitake's Fine Dining and that's only around 4,500 yen."

"Exactly." Ichigo simply put. "I can't afford it."

Hanatarou's mouth gaped open. "That means… y-y-you're…."

"Poor. Yes." Ichigo finished the sentence for him and continued his chewing.

"Wow…" Hanatarou mouthed audibly. "How do you live everyday?"

"Oh, I just find a new cardboard box every two weeks or when it gets too soaked from the rain." Ichigo replied sarcastically and took another bite of the meat in his bento.

Hanatarou didn't get the sarcasm and actually believed what Ichigo said. "That's amazing. I could hardly live for a week when I went on a vacation with my family to the Caribbean. Too much water makes me nervous." He shuttered to himself.

Ichigo couldn't help but laugh. "I was kidding, Hanatarou. I don't live in a cardboard box."

Hanatarou sighed with relief. "Thank goodness. I was about to ask you how you were able to install security measures in the box." Ichigo laughed again and shook his head, amazed at Hanatarou's obviously sheltered life.

For the next fifteen minutes Ichigo and Hanatarou had a conversation on numerous topics, many in which Hanatarou exclaimed in utter surprise at Ichigo's lifestyle. "You wash your own dishes? Don't your hands get all wrinkly?" Hanatarou asked when Ichigo said that he had no maid or dishwasher to clean his plates.

"Heh, well…" Ichigo was going to explain to Hanatarou further but was interrupted when a student came in and loudly announced that the S4 had arrived.

"Damn." Ichigo said to himself quietly. He moved his head sideways away from the entrance but he knew better than any one that his hair would probably get the attention of S4. He wished either way that they weren't in the mood for bullying today.

Several students in the dining area got up to greet S4, foolishly trying to flatter them so that they would have a chance to join them on the second story. It really never worked but people wanted to try any way. Flattery toward the S4 never resulted in violence so there was no harm in trying.

"Kurosaki-san." Hanatarou called Ichigo when he saw him turn his head away. "What's wrong? This S4 sounds exciting. You don't want to see them?"

Ichigo shook his head. "No, not today, Hanatarou."

"Oh, but they're coming this way now." Hanatarou said. Ichigo's eyes widened when he heard this and he hoped that Hanatarou didn't mean that S4 were walking toward them. He looked at Hanatarou and saw his head lift up and stop when someone stood before their table. Too late.

"Hajimemashite. You must be S4!" Hanatarou happily greeted and got up in his seat to bow to them. "I am Hanatarou, 15 years old and-"

"Cut the greetings, newbie." Ichigo heard an authoritative female voice say. "You're the new kid so we wanted to personally come and see you for ourselves."

"Ano… Why's that?" Hanatarou asked incredulously as if he couldn't figure out what was so special that they needed to see him themselves.

"Well normally when new students come in and it's not the beginning of the school year, they have to go through an… initiation process." Rukia explained and smiled, shining her pearly whites at Hanatarou.

"Oh… okay. I'll do my best!" Hanatarou held a fist up triumphantly and nodded his head.

Rukia chuckled under her breath. "Do your best, eh?" Ichigo quickly turned toward the scene when he heard a yelp from Hanatarou. The poor boy was sprawled with his back on the floor, his face plastered with a dizzying expression.

"Ow." That was only word that came out of Hanatarou's mouth.

Ichigo sat there almost helpless, contemplating whether he should get up and help Hanatarou and risk S4 doing the same to him or wait until they left. It wasn't until Rukia placed her foot atop Hanatarou's stomach and made a motion of stomping on him that Ichigo got up from his seat and yelled at her.

"Stop!"

Rukia's foot stopped midway from Hanatarou's stomach. The whole room turned silent and now each student was staring at Ichigo. No one had ever defied the S4 and some held their breath for what was about to come. Rukia slowly turned her head to Ichigo and cocked an eyebrow. "What did you just say?"

"I said to stop." Ichigo repeated defiantly. He stood there with his fists clenched and his appearance seemingly calm. He hid the fact that his heart was racing in his chest, unsure of what the consequences would be.

Miraculously Rukia lifted her foot away from Hanatarou. There were gasps heard around the room as she walked toward Ichigo, her steps echoing throughout the room. She looked him over once and met his eyes as he bore into hers.

To any outsider, the height difference was quite laughable. There was about a foot difference in height between them with Ichigo towering over Rukia. She had to lift her head quite high just to see his face and in turn he had to arch his neck downward to look down at her. But no outsider would know that Rukia was just as strong as Ichigo.

Rukia's eyes formed into small slits as she observed Ichigo's face. "I've never seen you even though that hair of yours is hard to miss… who are you?"

Ichigo didn't want to tell her. He didn't want to get into this mess more than he already was. But when he hesitated for a few seconds, some one from the crowd of students yelled out, "That guy's Kurosaki Ichigo, Kuchiki-san!" Rukia looked back and waved sweetly at whoever said it. The person was another one of those suck-ups who wished to hang with S4.

Great. There's always a snitch who is also a kiss-ass. Ichigo thought. Rukia turned back to him with the same observant expression upon her face.

She walked around him and he turned around to face her again. "Hmm… Kurosaki Ichigo. You're trying to be a hero, aren't you? You do know who you are talking to, right?"

"I can honestly say…" Ichigo paused. "…I have no idea who you are."

More gasps filled the room from the students who were witnessing this. Rukia's face quickly turned into a frown. But in an instant she masked her frustration once she pursed her lips together in a bitter smile.

"I guess it will do you good if I do something that you'll remember me by." She said. Looking at the table where Ichigo sat at, she scanned around until her eyes rested on his book bag. "What do we have here?" In one sweeping motion she picked it up and opened the flap of the bag, looking through the contents inside.

"Hey, take your hands off my property!" Ichigo yelled out.

"Renji." Rukia called out. Before Ichigo could grab his book bag back, he felt himself held back in a restraining hold.

"Keep your cool." Renji said as he held a struggling Ichigo from getting to Rukia.

Rukia threw Ichigo's pencils and papers out haphazardly onto the floor. Once her eyes found something worthwhile, they glinted with trouble. She placed her hand inside and grabbed the object.

"Here's something that's actually worth more then that pathetic bento you have." Dangling by her fingers was Ichigo's mp3 player.

Ichigo's breathing stopped. Dad's gift.

"What the hell is wrong with you? Take your hands off of that!" Ichigo yelled out, already at the point of being panic stricken.

"Take my hands off it?" Rukia questioned, eyebrows raised in mock surprise. "If that's what you want, then… okay." She let go of the mp3 player and as it fell on the floor, the glass of the display broke and the whole thing split into two parts.

Rukia looked at Ichigo's defeated face and laughed loudly. "Hah, don't you dare ever forget that it was Kuchiki Rukia who destroyed your worthless crap."

Rukia expected Ichigo to grovel on the floor and ask for forgiveness. She expected like every other person that pissed her off, Ichigo would break out in tears and apologize for making her reach her limit. But she stopped laughing once she noticed he wasn't doing either action.

Ichigo, still in Renji's restraint, had his head faced toward the ground. Rukia couldn't see his eyes. Strands of his orange hair covered them from her view.

"I'm not going to back down from you." Ichigo finally spoke out loud. "What you did… that was the last straw." In a flash, he got a hold of Renji and threw him down on the ground. Renji was put through a state of sudden shock and the pain traveled up his back at the speed of light.

"What the hell did he just do?" Renji yelled out while Orihime and Toshirou scrambled to help him back up. They were too slow to notice that Ichigo had walked up to Rukia and was now facing her eye to eye at an uncomfortably close range.

Because of the close proximity, Rukia was forced to arch her shoulders back a bit and remarkably kept her balance at it. She stared back into Ichigo's eyes just as hard as he stared at her. "Who the hell do you think you are?" She asked him in an almost raspy voice.

Ichigo smiled in a way that mirrored the falsely sweet smile that adorned Rukia's face earlier before. "I am Kurosaki Ichigo. Whatever you throw at me, I'll just throw back at you ten times more powerfully. Give me your best shot. This is war." He simply ended it at that and stood straight back up.

The crowd's eyes followed him as he picked up his papers and the debris of his mp3 player and placed it in his bag. He proceeded to help Hanatarou up while every one stared in shock that neither Rukia nor any one in S4 tried to stop him.

As they watched him leave the dining area, Renji went over to Rukia in utter astonishment. "Why didn't you stop him? I could have gotten a few punches in if you told me to."

Rukia shook her head. "No. He's brave but he'll get what's coming to him soon." A smile spread across her face. This was going to be fun.

AN: I hope you're following closely! Yes, Ichigo and Rukia start hating each other from the start but don't worry about that. ;D

I would love some reviews with some constructive criticism or just plain love. Hope it was enjoyable for you and thank you so much if you took the time to leave a review! Next update will come soon, hopefully but don't count on it being the next day again.

Thanks again! ありがとうございます！