Stitch by Stitch Chapter 9

Continuation of Chapter 8

"Uryu Ishida. Quincy**," the boy answered. Uryu looked back at Ichigo and Rukia with a certain look in his eyes. "I hate shinigami!"

"...What...?" Ichigo asked Uryu.

Uryu turned fully to face Ichigo and Rukia. "Don't you get it Kurosaki Ichigo? What I'm saying is, I... hate you."

Karakura High School

Hoshi, Orihime, and Tatsuki stood together to see what place they recieved on the Semester Final Exam. "HOOOOOOOH!" Tatsuki exclaimed when she saw the ranking of both Hoshi and Orihime. Hoshi recieved first place along with her friend Uryu, while Orihime was close behind in third place. "First and third place, huh. As usual, you two did great." Tatsuki patted Orihime's head as she said this. Orihime giggled.

"Thank you, Tatsuki," Hoshi smiled at her friend.

Another girl came up to the three girls. "Amazing! Orihime is that smart?! I mean I knew Hoshi was smart but not Orihime too!"

Tatsuki pointed to Orihime whom was just smiling happily. "She doesn't look it, does she. But since Middle School, this kid could really study." Chizaru also joined the conversation. The girls began to talk about Ryo, the girl who got second place on the final exam. When Chizaru mentioned that Ryo was going to the National competition with her track team, Tatsuki surprised them by news of her own. "Well, I'm actually entering the Nationals too."

"EH?!"

Hoshi giggled at the two girls. "You two don't know do you?"

"Know what?"

Tatsuki looked at them questioningly. "Huh? Didn't I tell you guys? In May, I won the competition in Tokyo. Our karate club this year is great! The boys' team is also joining the competition. After all, I, "The Girl Who Will Win 3 Consecutive National Championships" has joined!"

A few feet away, Hoshi noticed Keigo going through the list of names as well with Miziuro standing just behind him. Ichigo was standing just a little further away from the two. Hoshi also saw Chad walking up to them more than likely check the list. "HO - Once again it seems no traiters who ranked in the top 50 are among us!"

"It's as you say, Captain!" Miziuro played along.

Suddenly, Keigo saw Ichigo's name at the twenty-third spot. "Don't look Comrade Kojima!" Keigo placed a hand over Miziuro's eyes. "Reality is always so cruel and vulgar! This will only serve to sully our naive hearts!"

"Yes, Captain Asano!"

Keigo turned to look at Ichigo. He pulled down an eyelide with one finger and started to slap his ass with his free hand. Hoshi honestly thought he looked rediculous. "Ichigo, you dummy, we're not inviting you to playtime anymore!" Keigo turned to Chad, who was looking at the list. "Idiot. Idiot. Right, Chad? Let's hang out together, Chad." Chad said nothing as he pointed at the placement list. "EH..." Keigo and Mizuiro were shocked to see that Chad had placed eleventh. "Away with the both of you! I didn't think you guys were such devils! Oh, I didn't think!" Then Keigo and Miziuro ran away.

"Still as noisy as ever over there," Tatsuki stated as she, Orihime, and Hoshi watched the scene.

"Those two will never learn," Hoshi sighed.

Orihime nodded her head. "Yeah," she agreed with her two friends.

Hoshi glanced over at Ichigo when she heard him say, "...What was his name again...? Ishida...Uhhh...Willy? No that's not it. That one's a failed entertainer..."

Hoshi walked over to Ichigo with Orihime right behind her. "Why are you talking about Uryu?"

"Uryu?" Ichigo asked as he turned to face the two girls.

Hoshi nodded, "Yes. Ishida Uryu."

"You two know Ishida?"

Hoshi and Orihime both nodded. "I know all about him. He is in our class after all."

"He's also a good friend of mine, Ichigo."

Ichigo stared at the girls in surprise. "EHH?!"

Orihime pointed to the top of the exam list. "Ishida Uryu, right? Here, look!"

Ichigo looked to where Orihime pointed and indeed found Uryu's name at the top of the list with Hoshi's own name.

"See? Our class, group three, remember?" Orihime questioned the orange haired boy.

Tatsuki came up to Orihime and rested her elbow on her shoulder. "It's no use Orihime. This guy can't recall people's faces and names at all. He probably doesn't recall half the class still."

Hoshi nodded in agreement. "As sad as it is, it's true Orihime."

Ichigo sent a small glare towards them though it was softer than most glares. Mainly because of Hoshi. "Shut up."

Orihime shrugged, "Oh well, Ishida doesn't really talk. In fact the only person I've ever seen him really talk to is Hoshi. Anyways, he doesn't stand out like Kurosaki's group, so he might be hard to remember."

"You know him pretty well, Inoue. Are you two close?"

"Not at all," Orihime replied. "We're just in the same handi-craft club together..."

"Handi-craft club!?" Ichigo deadpanned.

Hoshi and Orihime both nodded. "He's very good at it, Ichigo. He's even helped me fix a few things around the house that needed to be stitched up," Hoshi revealed to her best friend.

Ichigo's eyes widened slightly. "He's been to your house!? When?"

"Well yeah...He is a friend of mine Ichigo," Hoshi blinked in surprise at Ichigo's reaction. "As for when...oh he comes over every once in a while to check up on me."

Ichigo frowned but said nothing more on the matter. He would get more information about that later. Ichigo turned his attention back to Orihime. "Can you show me where he is?"

"Yeah!" Orihime agreed.

Hoshi shook her head at her friends. "I would love to tag along but I have errands to run." Hoshi gave a hug goodbye to Orihime and then turned to Ichigo. She pulled him into a hug as well and when she pulled back, she gave him a soft sweet smile. "I'll see you two later." Hoshi began to walk off but before she got to far,she turned back around and called out. "Oh, and Ichigo! Don't do anything stupid and make Uryu upset." Hoshi then walked away before Ichigo could reply.

After School, Somewhere in Karakura Town

"Do you intend to follow me home, Kurosaki Ichigo?" Uryu asked as he stopped walking. He was getting tired of having Ichigo follow him around since he left school.

Ichigo came out from his hiding place. "Dang, you found me out, huh. When did you notice?"

Uryu looked back slightly at Ichigo. "When you were spying on me from the classroom doorway with Inoue."

Ichigo began to clap as if he were impressed with Uryu. "Oh, good, good. That's really something."

Uryu sighed, "It's due to your foolish inability to restrain your spiritual power. Even a monkey would know.

"What did you say?" Ichigo growled in annoyance.

"You are like that. You seem to lack the ability to sense people with high spiritual strength." Uryu finally turned to face Ichigo. "The evidence is that you didn't even notice my existence until today."

"My bad! I suck at remembering faces!" Ichigo grumbled.

Uryu turned away. "That's not it. I noticed. Since I've entered this school, I noticed how your spiritual power is unusually high. How in mid-may, you acquired the power of a shinigami, and Kuchiki Rukia's true identity." Uryu turned back to face Ichigo with spiritual threads surrounding him.

Ichigo stood in surprise. "...That's..."

"Yes. It's "Reiraku". Something that compresses and vizualizes the spiritual auras in the atmosphere. Only upper-level shinigami can vizualize them and only upper-level shinigami can touch them. As a shinigami, you should have heard of that. However..." Uryu reached toward Ichigo and snatches something just beside his head. He pulls back to reveal a red ribbon. "Did you know? The color of a shinigami's reiraku is different – it's red." Uryu let's go of the red ribbon.

Before Uryu could finish his speech, Ichigo interupts after a specific reiraku catches his attention. "What does that one mean? The rainbow one?" Uryu and Ichigo both look at the colorful ribbon for a moment.

Uryu narrows his eyes slightly. He knew exactly who is belonged to, but he had promised her long ago that he would keep her abilities a secret. "That is none of your concern." Uryu resealed all the reiraku so they were no longer seen. "Now where was I...? Oh yes... I am a quincy. One who holds the power to kill hollows. Won't you fight me, Kurosaki Ichigo? Between a shinigami such as you and a quincy such as I, which would surpass the other? I'll make you understand that shinigami are unnecessary in this world."

To be continued...