-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-
"You have a class with the Vampire, huh?" one of the students walking with Karin and Yuzu said as they walked toward the observatory for their first night class of the year. He was a red-haired boy that tended to watch Yuzu intently. His name was Jinta, but neither girl remembered what his last name was. Tōshirō walked beside them. He rolled his eyes at the other boy.
"The Vampire?" Karin asked curiously.
"Yeah, Professor Cifer. He's a vampire, we all know it, just can't prove it," Jinta said with a smirk and put his hands up behind his head as he walked in some not so subtle attempt to appear cool.
Tōshirō snorted. "He's not."
"Oh yeah, prove it?" Jinta said with a smirk. "You never see him outside during the day. He won't let the churchy people in the observatory to do stuff, saying that he doesn't want to mix religion in school stuff, and have you ever seen him standing near a mirror? I bet he hasn't got a reflection."
Yuzu and Karin exchanged exasperated looks. "I highly doubt that he's a vampire," Karin muttered.
"Hey, how come you never ask anyone to your place anyway?" Jinta asked with a frown. "My sister, Ururu was asking why we didn't all get together with your family and ours, since your father seems to know Uncle Kisuke and our adopted father, Tessai. And how come Uncle Kisuke hasn't been around as much anyway? What's he up to?"
Yuzu and Karin exchanged a nervous glance as they entered the observatory. They both enjoyed it and they took seats as everyone else came in talking and chatting. Jinta made sure to sit between Yuzu and Karin, much to both of their annoyance. Tōshirō rolled his eyes and sat beside Karin on the other side. After a few minutes, a dark-haired man with very pale skin walked up to the board set up in the front.
Jinta leaned over to Yuzu. "Look at that; his skin's even white."
Yuzu rolled her eyes in response and shushed him.
"Good evening, students. Welcome to the first night class for astronomy 101. Now, because of the fact we have a special class, we only meet six times during the semester, and each class is four hours, with a thirty-minute break in the middle. For that reason, unlike other classes, you will not be able to slack off or mess up in this class. I will be available for any that do miss class for illness, however, I request you notify me in advance if you will be absent. Now, for the first hour, we're going to go over the basic terminology. Please log into the classroom document site, and like your other classes, you will be permitted to write communal notes as we progress. I warn you, the end of the first two-hour period, there will be a pop quiz on terminology, so I suggest you pay attention."
One of the reasons that Seireitei University had been such an attractive option was that the entire school was technologically advanced. All students got a netbook at admission, and every class had classroom "boards" that students could log into during class and make notes with each other. Of course, it was monitored by a teacher's assistant in the class to ensure it wasn't used improperly. Anyone found abusing the system would be booted from the board and not allowed in until the professor or TA unlocked their account. Assignments could all be submitted electronically, and all testing was done on the net books. In seemed on the surface to cost more, but in the end the school actually saved a lot of money and time by doing things the way they had.
By the time the first hour was done, everyone was ready for their first ten-minute bathroom break. When Karin came back, she rolled her eyes again because Jinta was still trying to impress Yuzu. Tōshirō walked up behind her. "He doesn't get that she's not interested, huh?"
Karin shook her head. "No, Yuzu is a sweet, gentle thing. He's way too forceful. He hasn't got a shot in hell," she muttered.
Everyone resumed their seats and continued class, and Karin, at the long half hour break opted to go speak with the professor.
"Professor?" she asked as he sat at the desk looking at his own laptop.
He looked up. "Karin Kurosaki. How may I assist you?" he asked with an utterly emotionless expression. Karin blinked.
"Ah, um, I just wanted to tell you I'm very pleased to be in your class. The work that you've done since you began working in astronomy always fascinated me, more than sports even," she said with a smirk. "Um, but yeah, I read the paper you wrote at my age in high school. I can't imagine doing such work at seventeen or eighteen. You were really a child prodigy."
Ulquiorra smiled at her and nodded. "Oh, yes, it was difficult, but I loved it, honestly. The work made me happy, and it still does. I still do some research, on my off nights."
Karin nodded then blushed a bit. "Um, Professor, would you maybe be okay with me coming to the observatory some nights, just to do some research on my own?"
Ulquiorra looked up and cocked a dark brow at her. "Um…of course, Miss Kurosaki. Please, if you wish to come by, email me, and I'll ensure that the entrance is unlocked, or if you plan to come by often, I can provide you with a card key to come and go as you wish. What is your field of interest?"
Karin smiled. "Well, little of everything, but I really want to get into birth and death of stars."
He nodded. "Ah, well, I'll gladly help."
She stopped, noting that her phone was in her pocket. "Oh, um, Professor, I need to let you know, I have a cell phone that I have to keep on, but I put it on vibrate in my pocket so it shouldn't disturb anyone. If I get up and leave with my sister Yuzu in class, I apologize in advance. My brother…um…he's kind of in a rather…delicate state, and if anything happens…"
Ulquiorra nodded. "Does he have an illness?"
Karin chewed her lip in thought. "Um, well, not really, ah…I don't know how to explain it. He's…ah…" She paused. "Never mind, I'm sure it won't come up."
She turned on her heel and headed back to her seat, leaving the pale professor confused. He continued the class, though and found that most the students took things seriously, which was a pleasant change from last year. He was the youngest professor on staff, barely twenty-two, and he often was hassled by some of the kids that were new because of it. He sighed as he shut the door behind the exiting students and headed up to the big telescope, sitting down and watching the stars.
-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-
Ichigo was pouting and Nnoitra was not in the mood. He'd had a rough night, and it seemed that it coincided with Ichigo's foul mood. He'd gotten through the lessons for the day, pleasing Nnoitra and his father. Thus, far he'd hit high school knowledge levels already, but he had taken a distinct distaste to reading for English Literature or anything like that. At first, Nnoitra was amused by his whining when he had to read stories or books for those areas. Then it started to become less amusing when he started failing the reading comprehension testing and Nnoitra realized that he wasn't really reading the material. He had no lack of reading skills, those had come along nicely, and he read for other subjects just fine. He simply did not seem to enjoy the literature side of things. He hated poetry, and he refused to read anything except science books in his free time.
"Chiquito, you cannot just read what you want. You need to do this work."
Ichigo sat on the sofa with his arms crossed defiantly. "I don't wanna," he muttered and snorted.
Nnoitra sighed deeply and shook his head. "I don't care if you 'don't wanna'. You're going to do it because you have to. You are almost caught up and ready to take the first round of pre-tests for the GED work. You won't pass them without doing the literature work."
Ichigo growled and shook his head. "Then I don't need a GED."
Nnoitra didn't expect the reaction he had to those words. He stood before he knew it and had snatched Ichigo up by the arm. Ichigo, even, had a surprised and shocked look on his face as he was stumbling after Nnoitra. Isshin, who had been sitting on the other sofa and listening as Nnoitra tried to reason with him, watched them go, somewhat worried since Nnoitra seemed really angry. Kisuke put a hand on his arm and sat down beside him.
"Let him handle it."
"Are you sure he won't go too far with him?" Isshin asked quietly.
"Tell me what you would do," Kisuke asked and handed the other man a cup of tea.
Isshin licked his lips. "I…I don't think I could make him do something he doesn't want to do," he said with a sigh. "I would let him stop there if he insisted."
Kisuke sipped his own tea. "Exactly why you need to let Nnoitra handle it. He's not going to let him stop just because he got into difficult material. The reason he's resisting doing the literature is because it isn't easy. He has to think and extrapolate answers. There's no right or wrong like with everything else. There's no neat checkbox. He has to analyze things and really think about them. He doesn't want to do it because it's hard. That doesn't mean he shouldn't do it."
Isshin listened carefully and heard voices now and then but nothing that indicated that he needed to intervene. He was realizing that Nnoitra really cared for Ichigo, and despite how quickly they'd fallen together, Isshin knew he wanted what was best for him. He sipped his tea and picked up his book and waited to see how long it took Nnoitra to convince his son that he had to work hard to succeed.
Not far away Nnoitra had taken Ichigo into their room and sat him down on the edge of the bed. Ichigo still looked surprised at Nnoitra's reaction. Nnoitra stared at him where he sat for a long time before he spoke. He had to calm himself before he said anything.
"What do you mean by that?" he asked through clenched teeth.
"By what?" Ichigo asked, his eyes wide and on Nnoitra.
"By saying you'll just give up on it. That just because the work got harder you're going to quit and not finish your GED requirements."
Ichigo hadn't even come close to realizing how upset this would make Nnoitra. "But I don't need it anyway. What do I need it for? I mean, I'm not going to college or anything, right? There's no way I could do that, not like my sisters. I can't even think about doing that right now. I couldn't handle the people, and there's no way that I could even consider…"
Nnoitra was holding his calm quite well. Perhaps it was the fact that he had been raised to believe that education was the key to success, and that his mother had told him for as long as he could remember that he needed to improve himself. Now, Ichigo was saying he was just going to give up and that he couldn't go any further.
"Who said you'd never got to college? Just what are you going to do with your life?" Nnoitra asked as he leaned back against the wall and crossed his arms.
Taken aback a bit, Ichigo stared at him. "I…well…I don't know…I can't…how can I even think about a future," he said sudden with a sigh. "I'm not going to be able to do anything, so what's the point."
"What do you mean you aren't going to be able to do anything?"
Ichigo looked up, tears brimming in his eyes already. "Look at me, Papi. Look. How can I even think about living a normal life? How? I can't be around people I don't know. I get nervous just thinking about leaving this place, and that's not even counting the fact that…that…h-he is out there…that's just leaving here makes my body freeze up and I can't think. And what am I going to do? I've looked online. I can't do anything with a stupid GED. Like I can go to college and be a doctor or something like that. They won't even take me when they see that. I'm worthless and useless, and when they catch him, I won't…I won't even be worth your time…" he said and turned away from Nnoitra.
Nnoitra breathed in and out a few times and then controlled himself to avoid exploding at him. It wouldn't help. "Listen here. You are not worthless and useless, and you will do something with your life. Just because that puta did something horrible to you, and kept you locked away from the world does not mean you cannot be a happy, productive member of the world. You are very much capable of making something of yourself, and if you are going to be with me, like this, you are going to work hard. You are going to listen to me when I give you instructions, and you are not going to give up just because it got more difficult. Do not think I haven't seen what you're doing."
Ichigo looked at him with a confused expression. "What do you mean-" he started.
"Ah!" Nnoitra said and lifted his hand to point at him. "You learned all your lessons quickly until you got to having to really think about this stuff. You figured out math and science and history because there was only one right answer, now you have to think and it isn't as easy. You memorize things, and if I'm not wrong, you've got an eidetic memory."
Ichigo blinked at him for a long time. "Um, that means to remember what you read, right? Word for word."
Nnoitra nodded. He'd noticed it but hadn't brought it up because he wasn't sure until now. "Yeah, Chiquito, and that's why you find the work so easy. You read it once and remember it, don't you?"
Ichigo nodded. "Yeah…that's why I can't forget the other stuff," he said with a sigh.
Nnoitra nodded. Ichigo had horrible flashbacks at night, he knew. He'd suspected for a while that the reason was his mind wouldn't let him forget the events. The details in some of his stories of his time with Ryūken were a little too clear as well, especially for someone as traumatized as he had been. Uryū couldn't remember with the clarity that Ichigo had been able to remember. This just confirmed what Nnoitra had believed.
Nnoitra looked at him. "Up, and in the corner. Put your nose in the dot and stand there until I tell you to come back," he said and went to sit on the bed.
Ichigo turned and looked at him with wide eyes. "Papi?" he asked.
"Now. You are not going to neglect your studies simply because it got a little bit difficult. Now."
Ichigo wanted to tell him no as he looked to the corner of the room where there was a tiny little circle drawn at a spot just high enough that he had to stand on the balls of his feet to reach it with his nose. Not all punishments were fun, and this had been something they'd agreed on for actual punishment rather than the things that Ichigo enjoyed in punishment.
"If you do not do it, I will put you on the sofa for the next few nights to sleep alone," Nnoitra said as he picked up his tablet and started looking through his eBooks.
Ichigo swallowed and got up, heading to the corner and lifting himself up to put his nose on the dot.
"Bell," Nnoitra said without looking up.
Ichigo had been hoping he'd forget as he reached on the nearby bookshelf and picked up the ribbon with a bell on it. He tied it around his waist and put his nose on the dot. He wondered how long he'd have to wait. After about five minutes he let his heels down and the motion caused the bell to jingle. He growled under his breath and returned to the spot. Every time he let the bell jingle, Nnoitra would add two minutes to the time. He was trying to hold it as much as he could but he was about to tip backward when he felt Nnoitra put his hands on his hips.
"Okay, Chiquito, that's fine," he said and untied the little bell. Ichigo turned and looked up at him. "You did a good job, but you understand why?"
"Yes, Papi," he said with a sigh. "I do, I'm sorry. I'll do better, I promise."
Nnoitra caressed his face and planted a kiss on his forehead. "Now, silly little Chiquito, we'll start tomorrow with the stuff you neglected, okay? I'll help you with it, and you will do fine. And if you mouth off to me again to say you're giving up, I will put your little ass in the corner again for twice as long. Do you understand me?" Nnoitra's smile didn't cover up the seriousness he spoke with.
"Yes, Papi," he said with a nod.
Nnoitra leaned over a bit more and planted a chaste kiss on Ichigo's lips. Ichigo flicked his tongue at Nnoitra's lips, though, and it turned into a passionate kiss that left them both panting just as there was a knock on the door.
"Five minutes for dinner," came Kisuke's voice.
"Alright," Nnoitra called out as he smiled at Ichigo. "We'll finish this after dinner, si?" he said.
Ichigo nodded. "Yes, Papi, please," he said.
Nnoitra took his hand and led him back out so they could eat with the others.
-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-
"No, that's ridiculous, he's not a vampire," the young girl said with exasperation as she rolled her eyes. She was extremely pale with black hair, and an extremely "pastel goth" look about her.
"He is so!" Jinta was saying.
Karin and Yuzu had gone for a walk after class and ran into a group from the free school setting up to do a movie for one of their classes outside a rundown house. Wonderweiss and Tōshirō had wanted to come along, but Jinta had ended up following, seeming to think that he was going to increase his chances with Yuzu. Wonderweiss had his Fura with him, which Yuzu had spent the entire walk cooing over. Jinta, of course, was a bit annoyed because she wasn't paying attention to him. That's why then ended up coming to see the kids over by the building. Jinta apparently knew some of those in the group because he'd run to say hi to them. A girl with dark pigtails rolled her eyes at Jinta.
"Jinta's Ururu's brother," Lilynette explained when Karin and Yuzu were watching as they started picking on each other. "We're making a horror movie, though. This is Giselle Gewelle, she's into horror makeup and stuff, and we're making a ghost story movie."
"And he is so a vampire!" Jinta said, glaring at his sister and Giselle.
"Give me a break! Vampires don't cast a reflection, dummy, and I've seen his reflection before," she said with a shake of her head. "I know these things!"
"You don't know nothing! You're in high school!" Jinta said with a snort.
"I am only three years younger than you, Jinta. And besides, I've seen Mr. Cifer outside in the daylight, and I've also seen him handle a Bible!" Giselle commented. "Anyway, we're checking out this place to see if it works for our movie."
"This looks good," a boy's voice said, and Karin and Yuzu saw a blonde boy coming out of the house. "Looks like the place is stable, and a lot of good dusty corners, but easy to light."
"Yay, thanks, Yukio!" Lilynette said. "Start filming in the morning? We're losing the light today."
Giselle nodded. "Yeah, I'll call Gremmy and Riruka and have them meet us here. Time to get home for dinner!"
Karin and Yuzu looked at each other. "Oh, no, we're going to be late," Karin said. "We should hurry back. You two want to come with us? I'm sure you could come to dinner if you wanted?" she said, looking between Tōshirō and Wonderweiss. Jinta was arguing with Ururu again and didn't notice as they left.
"Sure, I don't need to do anything tonight, lemme let my roommate know I won't be in until later," Tōshirō said and texted quickly.
Wonderweiss nodded. "Yeah, I'd like that. I'll tell my brother," he said and took out his phone as they walked to message Szayel.
"I think my brother might know your brother, isn't he the one with pink hair or something?" Yuzu said as she walked closer to him.
"Yeah, he's got pink hair," Wonderweiss said with a smile.
Before long, the four had arrived at the building and Karin realized she'd forgotten to check with her father about them coming. She winced as she opened the door.
"Um, Pop, we brought guests tonight," she called out.
Isshin, who was sitting in the living room got up and came to see who they had with them. "Oh, hi there boys," he said and smiled.
"Tōshirō," she said and pointed to the white-haired boy. "Wonderweiss," she said and pointed to the blonde. "This is my dad, Isshin Kurosaki. Oh, Pop, Wonderweiss has a little donkey, too."
Isshin started to say something then realized that the boy had a literal miniature donkey. He shook his head and let them all into the house.
Both boys nodded and looked around. "I've never been in one of Ms. Harribel's rentals before," Tōshirō commented as he walked in.
"Kisuke, we have two extras!" Isshin called as he led them into the dining area. He turned toward them. "Boys, sit anywhere except that end," he said as he headed back to get the extra table settings.
Tōshirō sat down in the center and Karin sat beside him. Wonderweiss sat on the opposite side, putting Fura under the table at his feet and Yuzu sat beside him. Kisuke came out and said hi as he started setting out the family share meal.
"Oh, well, ah, two more isn't a problem, I make plenty," he muttered as he left and returned. He paused at one of the doors and knocked. "Uryū, Chad, dinner."
He saw Kira already coming in front the other room and he guessed Gin was out for the evening. Kira sat down near Karin, and a few seconds later, Uryū and Chad emerged, sitting down on the side with Yuzu and Wonderweiss. Uryū seemed off in another world and didn't seem to note the new guests. After a minute, Isshin came back and sat on the side with Karin and Tōshirō, and Kisuke sat at one end.
"They coming?" Kisuke asked as he started passing around some of the dishes.
"Yeah, they are. I don't know what mood Ichigo will be in, depending on what Nnoitra said to him about his studies…" Isshin said still worried about that whole thing.
A second later Nnoitra came in with Ichigo clutching his hand and trailing behind him, studiously staring at the floor like a child that had been reprimanded. Nnoitra sat down and pulled Ichigo's chair closer and let him sit down. He looked up.
"Oh, we have guests," Nnoitra said with a smile.
Ichigo looked up and stared between Tōshirō and Wonderweiss with wide eyes. Nnoitra sighed.
"Chiquito, stop staring and say hi. I know Wonderweiss well, remember Szayel? Wonderweiss is his younger brother," Nnoitra said as he started putting food on Ichigo's plate. "And I know Tōshirō here in passing from classes at the school."
"Hi," Ichigo said and turned his eyes on his hands, intending fully to ignore the newcomers.
"Ah, Anaki, I'm sorry, we kind of decided on the spur of the moment to invite them, otherwise we would have told you," Yuzu said, biting her lip a bit.
"S'okay," Ichigo said as he took his plate from Nnoitra and began to play with the food immediately.
"No," Nnoitra said as he put a hand on Ichigo's. "None of that, comprende?"
Ichigo nodded. "Yeah, Papi," he whispered and started tentatively taking bites of the food.
Tōshirō kind of stared but tried not to because he didn't know everything about what had happened to Karin's brother. "Ah, so, it's nice to meet you all. Karin talks about everyone all the time."
"We're not a conventional family at the moment," Isshin said with a smile. "But we are a family."
Uryū looked up and smiled. "Ah, yeah, I'm sorry, it is nice to meet you two. Wonderweiss, right? And I heard your name was Tōshirō?" he said.
Tōshirō nodded. "Yeah," he said as he ate.
"I'm Uryū, their cousin," he said with a smile as he looked back at his food. "This is my friend Chad, he's staying here with us."
Things were quiet for a long time as everyone ate. Tōshirō hadn't asked about the blonde man that sat silently eating. He wondered who he was but he didn't want to be rude. "Um, so I'm here for school," he said to break the silence. "I used to live in Washington state."
"I've never been there," Isshin said with a smile. Is it nice?"
"Wet."
"New Mexico is dry," Wonderweiss said suddenly, getting everyone's attention. "My brothers and I used to live there."
Nnoitra smiled. "Yeah, Szayel said that you guys used to live there. I'd like to visit sometime. Szayel talks about you all the time, he's very proud of what you're doing."
Wonderweiss smiled. "Szayel said that you like his shows. Sometimes I listen and get a laugh out of them. They say funny things."
"Shows?" Isshin asked.
Nnoitra smirked at him. "He runs a sex talk show at night with our friend Luppi."
Isshin nodded. "Ah, I see."
Ichigo suddenly yelped in surprise and stared at the floor between his legs. Nnoitra looked over and snickered.
"Ichigo, meet Wonderweiss's pet, Fura. She's a miniature donkey," he said with wink at Wonderweiss.
Ichigo stared for a moment before reaching down and scratching the little creature's head in wonder. He'd never seen anything like it…