Chapter 12
The next morning Buffy woke up snuggled into a warm and muscular chest. She breathed deeply, taking in the scent of the skin beneath her. Whoever she was getting all snuggly with, he sure smelled good. She snuggled deeper, throwing an arm across her human pillow's stomach as she sighed in contentment.
It would have been perfect, except for the fact that the human pillow didn't want to be used as a human pillow anymore. Before she could comprehend what was happening, Buffy was rudely awakened by being pitched onto the floor, landing painfully on her bottom.
"What the hell was that for?" Buffy asked, glaring up at the bald-headed man who was still laying in her bed.
"You were getting to comfortable," Ikkaku replied grumpily.
"Grump," Buffy shot at him, getting up and rubbing her sore bottom.
"Lush," Ikkaku shot back.
"Stick in the mud," Buffy retorted, grabbing her clothes from off the floor.
"Lightweight."
"Party pooper."
"Shameless flirt."
"Someone jealous?" Buffy teased, her eyes sparkling.
"No," Ikkaku replied stubbornly.
"I think someone's jealous," Buffy said with a teasing smile. "Now why would you be jealous, considering weren't even talking to me? I had to find someone to talk to, and Iba seemed to fit the bill. He's nice, too, and I would have known more about that if someone hadn't carried me off like a jealous caveman. You were, like, one step away from knocking me unconscious and dragging me out by my hair."
"You were drunk, I was helping," Ikkaku replied. "Remember Cavewoman Buffy? Beer bad, tree pretty?"
"Did I look like some heavy browed cavewoman to you?" Buffy asked. "And I wasn't drinking beer, and whatever I was drinking definitely wasn't cursed."
"I was protecting you, then," Ikkaku replied. "Didn't want that creep to try anything on you."
"Sounds like someone's jealous to me," Buffy sing-songed. "Besides, there was no way he was going to try anything. He kept a respectable distance between us the entire night, although he did come to my defense when some guy came over and started talking to us."
"What guy?" Ikkaku asked. "I didn't see a guy."
"Dressed in black, black and white face paint, blue hair?" Buffy asked. Ikkaku shook his head and she stared at him, surprised. To miss someone like that would make them blind. "Well, anyway, he asked if we could talk in private, we chatted, he said stuff that reminded me way too much of Professor Walsh, I tried to walk away, he grabbed my arm, I told him to let go before I broke his arm, then proceeded to almost break his arm until he let me go. I handled it, it's over, no big deal."
"Professor Walsh?" Ikkaku muttered under his breath, trying to remember where he had heard the name. Oh right, the name had come up when Buffy had been explaining her past. Then he remembered what part that woman had had in Buffy's life. "Wasn't she the crazy scientist who experimented on demons and stuff?"
"Uh huh," Buffy replied.
"And this guy said something to remind you of her?" Ikkaku asked.
"Are you deaf or something? Because I think I just said that," Buffy replied with a roll of her eyes. Surprisingly, she wasn't hungover and wondered what she had been drinking the previous night.
"He didn't say he wanted to experiment on you, did he?" Ikkaku asked.
"Uh, maybe?" Buffy said.
"I'm gonna go and kick his ass," Ikkaku growled, moving to leave, only to be stopped by Buffy standing in his way. "Get out of my way, Buffy."
"No," Buffy replied. When Ikkaku glared at her, she just crossed her arms across her chest and raised an eyebrow. "Do you really want me to slam you into the floor again? Because as much as I hate using my superior strength and skill to lay the smack down on humans, I'll do just that if it means you're not out kicking some poor, pathetic person's ass because he said something you didn't like. I handled it, it's dealt with and I doubt I'm ever going to see him again."
"I don't like it," Ikkaku grumbled, glaring at the wall.
"You don't have to, but unless you want me to tie you up and keep you here, you're just going to have to do as I say," Buffy retorted with a nod before a look of horror crossed her face when she realized what, exactly, she had just said. "That so didn't sound that naughty in my head. Ick, ick, ick!"
"So, the thought of tying me up and having your way with me doesn't appeal to you?" Ikkaku asked. "At all?"
"Oh, hell no," Buffy replied, the blush rising in her cheeks.
"I think it does," Ikkaku said, his voice dropping an octave as he took a step closer. Buffy gulped and took a step back. Ikkaku took another step towards her. Buffy took another step back. "I think you want me. I think you've always wanted me, even though the good girls aren't supposed to like the bad boys."
Buffy closed her eyes and shivered, giving Ikkaku a chance to close the distance between them. He paced around her, close enough that Buffy could feel his body heat and smell him, bending low so that he could whisper in her ears.
"I know why you were talking to that guy," Ikkaku whispered in her ear, nipping on her earlobe. Buffy whimpered. "You wanted to make me jealous. You wanted to make me want you. Well, I got one thing to say to you."
He stood behind her and bent so that his lips were right by her ear, so close that his breath tickled the hairs on her neck. Buffy gulped, trying not to shiver at his nearness.
"It's not going to work, girlie," he breathed in her ear, nipping on her neck before moving away from her. Buffy's eyes opened, only to narrow at Ikkaku in annoyance.
"That was evil," Buffy said, her voice a growl.
"If you want to play the game, you're gonna have to learn how to play it properly," Ikkaku replied with a triumphant grin. They stood there on opposite sides of the room, Buffy glaring at Ikkaku and Ikkaku smirking smugly at Buffy when Yumichika came back, his arms full of food.
"You know, I'm not going to be doing this for you two forever," he said, putting the food down on the unused bed before he actually looked at the scene in front of him. "What are you two fighting over now?"
"Nothing," Buffy replied with a shrug, just as Ikkaku said, "She started it."
"I don't want to know," Yumichika said with a grimace. "By the way, our room mate and class assignments are posted. You can go and check them out after you've eaten and dressed."
"Yes, Mom," Buffy said with a roll of her eyes and a good-natured grin.
"What did you call me?" Yumichika asked.
"I called you a Mom," Buffy replied. Yumichika looked confused. "Oh come on, you're so totally acting like one."
"When you're the only mature person surrounded by a couple of children, it's only natural to assume the role as leader," Yumichika said.
"Who are you calling children?" Ikkaku asked, outraged.
"I think he's talking about us, Ikkaku," Buffy replied with a roll of her eyes. "So, did you see who I was bunked with?"
"No, sorry," Yumichika replied. "But Ikkaku and I are roommates. Just like old times, right Ikkaku?"
"What, you mean before this crazy chick dropped into our lives?" Ikkaku asked. "Yep, it'll be just like the good old days, just you and me."
"Well, not exactly like the good old days," Yumichika said. "We've got a couple of room mates, too. Some guys named Ichimaru and Iba."
"Well, as long as it's just us guys," Ikkaku said with a smirk.
"Nice to know I'm so loved," Buffy said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.
"You're loved," Ikkaku replied. "Just not by me."
"Meanie," Buffy said with a pout.
"Hey, I've never been accused of being nice," Ikkaku replied with a shrug. Buffy's pout deepened as she grabbed a bun before moving to gather her clothes, which had been dropped when Ikkaku had staged his little scene. With a huff, she stalked across the room and hid behind the privacy screen to get dressed, eating her bun as she did so.
Emerging several minutes later, fully dressed and her hair pulled back from her face, Buffy grabbed her socks and shoes from off the floor, sitting on a bed to put them on.
"Where are you going?" Yumichika asked.
"I think I'm going to go for a walk," Buffy replied. "I'll see you guys later."
Buffy left the cabin then, not quite sure where she was headed but not really caring so much. She'd make it back eventually, and a little time away from Ikkaku would do her some good.
Walking down the lane, Buffy spotted a rather large group of people gathered around the same message board where the exam results had been posted the day before. Wondering what was going on, she made her way to the crowd, nudging her way through to see what was going on. A sign, reading "Dormitory and Class Assignments" was tacked across the top of the board, and many sheets of paper were tacked underneath with everyone's class and room assignments.
"Buffy!"
Buffy sighed, turning to see who had called her name although there was little doubt who it could be. Rangiku fought her way through the short distance that separated them, and she soon was standing next to Buffy.
"Do you know what class you're in or who your roommate is?" she asked, searching the pieces of paper pinned to the board.
"Nope, I was just trying to find out," Buffy replied, going back to searching. "How about I take the room mate list and you take the class list? It'll probably be faster that way."
"Good idea," Rangiku agreed, and they set about looking for each other's names on the lists. It didn't take Buffy long to find either name because they were in the exact same place; she and Rangiku were room mates.
"You're in first class, I'm in second class with a chance to move up to first class," Rangiku replied with a shrug once she was finished searching the lists. "Who's your room mate?"
"You are," Buffy replied.
"Get out! There has to be some kind of mistake," Rangiku exclaimed, surprised. She went over to check the list.
"Am I really that bad?" Buffy asked, crossing her arms.
"No, I was just thinking that it would be way too good to be true if you ended up my room mate," Rangiku replied. She found her name and squealed happily when she saw Buffy's name next to hers.
"And why would that be too good to be true?" Buffy asked, curious.
"Well, you're cool," Rangiku replied. "Way cooler than any of the other girls I've talked to."
"You do remember that you laughed at me, right?" Buffy said, arching an eyebrow.
"When did I do that?" Rangiku asked.
"Before the entrance exam, I couldn't see the guy and was straining to see over other people's heads and you laughed at me," Buffy replied. "And you said you didn't think I looked like much of a fighter."
"But you don't," Rangiku replied. Buffy narrowed her eyes. "But you know what, it's a good thing. You'll be able to surprise attack people because they'll expect a woman who can't defend herself and they'll get a girl who can totally kick butt!"
"I suppose," Buffy replied. It had worked with vampires, but then again vampires weren't the smartest creatures on the planet.
"Do you want to go and see what our room is like?" Rangiku asked.
"Sure," Buffy replied. "I just want to go pop my head in and tell my brother where I've gone. Really don't want him worrying and sending Ikkaku to go and find me. That could lead to badness."
"I'll come with you," Rangiku said, looping her arm with Buffy's.
Smiling slightly, Buffy led Rangiku down the lane to the cabin she had shared with Yumichika and Ikkaku. It was a quiet walk to the cabin, and it wasn't long before she reached it.
"Hope you guys are decent, I'm bringing someone in with me," Buffy said as she poked her head inside, covering her eyes with her hand. She peeked through her fingers and, seeing that both boys were fully dressed, removed her hand and entered, dragging Rangiku in with her.
"What's up?" Yumichika asked when he saw Buffy. "And who's your friend?"
"Nothing much," Buffy replied. "Just getting to know my room mate. Guys, this is Rangiku, Rangiku, these are the guys. I know I pointed them out to you earlier, but the bald guy is Ikkaku and the nice-looking guy is my brother, Yumichika."
"I'm not bald, I'm shaven," Ikkaku replied testily.
"Sure you are," Buffy replied soothingly. "I'm going to go and check out our room and stuff. I probably won't be back tonight. Just letting you know so that you won't get worried or anything."
"That's fine," Yumichika said with a smile. Ikkaku was glaring at the wall, determined not to make eye contact. "What class did you get into?"
"First class," Buffy replied. "You?"
"First class as well," Yumichika said. "Ikkaku too."
"Well, I'm feeling totally left out," Rangiku said with a pout. "I'm in second class."
"But with the opportunity to advance to the first class," Buffy reminded her. Rangiku shrugged.
"Anyway, that's all I really needed to tell you guys. I'll see you later, 'kay?"
"Have fun, Buffy," Yumichika said, waving. Ikkaku grunted and Buffy rolled his eyes.
"Grump," Buffy shot at Ikkaku before turning and leaving, her arm linked with Rangiku's.
"Is he always that grouchy?" Rangiku asked.
"Only when it comes to me," Buffy replied. "I seem to bring it out of him. It's weird."
"Well, you don't have to deal with him and his downer attitude today," Rangiku said brightly. "So, did anything happen between you and that guy last night?"
"Who, Iba?" Buffy asked. Rangiku nodded. "No, and I don't think anything will. He was nice and all, tried to come to my rescue when some guy wanted to talk to me, but other than that I think we'd probably be friends if anything."
"Well, I suppose that's all right," Rangiku replied. "What happened with the creepy guy?"
"He was just... creepy," Buffy replied with a shiver. "I don't want to talk about it, though."
"Fair enough," Rangiku said sympathetically. "Come on, let's go and see what our dorm is like. Can't be any worse than where I came from. How about you?"
"District 78, so yeah, it'll definitely be better than where I came from," Buffy said.
"I came from 77, so I know how you feel," Rangiku replied with a grin. "We're on to a bigger and better life here at the Academy."
"It definitely looks that way," Buffy agreed.
"Did you get the name of the residence hall we got put in?" Rangiku asked.
"Yeah," Buffy replied, telling her the name of the residence hall.
"Now all we have to do is find where the residence halls are," Rangiku said, looking around. Her gaze settled on a young boy with silver hair standing alone. She raised her hand and waved at him, and he waved back. "Hey look, it's Gin! Let's go say hi. Hey, GIN!!"
She practically dragged Buffy over to the teenaged boy standing a short distance away. He was taller than Buffy, but shorter than Rangiku. He tilted his head curiously at Buffy, as if trying to figure her out, smiling all the while. It was beginning to creep Buffy out a bit. And those eyes… he kept them practically closed. What was up with that?
"Gin, this is Buffy Ayasegawa, my room mate," Rangiku introduced her. Buffy waved, as did Gin. "Buffy, this is Gin Ichimaru, my best friend."
"Nice to meet ya," Gin said.
"Likewise," Buffy replied, smiling at him.
"So, where are you headed?" Rangiku asked.
"Accepted into the first class, of course," Gin replied. "What about you, Rangiku?"
"Second class," Rangiku said, rather glumly. "I swear, I'm gonna be the only person in the second class at this rate.
"But you have an option to advance to the first class," Buffy reminded her. "Hard work will get you to up there."
"But I don't wanna work," Rangiku said with a pout.
"I'll help you out," Buffy reassured her, erasing Rangiku's pout and replacing it with a smile.
"What about you, Buffy?" Gin asked. "What class are you in?"
"First class as well," Buffy replied. "Should be interesting, my brother and his friend are in the first class with us."
"Good for you," Gin said. "Anyway, I gotta go find my room and hopefully meet my room mates. Some guys named Ayasegawa, Madarame and Iba. Hey, do you know the Ayasegawa guy?"
"Yeah, he's my brother," Buffy replied. "He's a decent guy, pretty easy to get along with. It's Madarame you need to worry about… he can be a bit of a jerk."
"I'll keep that in mind," Gin said gratefully, that creepy smile a constant on his face. "Anyway, I gotta go. I'll catch ya two later!"
With that, Gin turned and left Buffy and Rangiku where they were.
"Well, that was interesting," Buffy said diplomatically.
"I know he's a little strange, but he's a good person," Rangiku said defensively. "He saved my life."
"Yumichika saved mine," Buffy offered. "It was after Ikkaku nearly killed me and left me for dead, but that's another matter entirely."
"Ikkaku tried to kill you?" Rangiku asked, alarmed. "And you let him come near you?"
"I challenged him to a fight, he beat me," Buffy replied with a shrug. "It wasn't like he came after me with a knife in a dark alley or anything. And he hasn't tried to hurt me since."
"I think you're nuts," Rangiku said warily.
"And you're totally free to think that," Buffy replied with a shrug. "I've never been accused of being sane."
"I still think you're nuts," Rangiku said.
"And some days I'll readily agree with you," Buffy replied. "Hey, I wonder why there's only two people in our room, but the guys have four?"
"Probably because there's fewer girls than guys at the academy," Rangiku replied. "It looked like they outnumbered us two to one. But hey, it just means more guys to ogle!"
"You're completely boy crazy, aren't you?" Buffy asked.
"Is that a bad thing?" Rangiku retorted.
"Nope, and I gotta admit, there's some very nice hunks of man candy around here," Buffy agreed. "But first, we should probably go and check our room before anything else."
They started walking again, finding their building in no time, and their room on the top floor of the rooming house shortly after that. It was a Spartan room, with two of everything. Two beds, two lamps, two dressers, two closets. There was a door on one wall, and Buffy went to investigate.
"Hey Rangiku, we've got our own bathroom!" she said excitedly.
"And hey, we've got presents on our beds, too," Rangiku remarked. Buffy ran from the bathroom and crashed onto her bed, grabbing the package on her bed. She eagerly unwrapped it, and was immediately disappointed.
"Books?" Buffy asked with a pout.
"And more uniforms," Rangiku said helpfully. "And our class schedule, too."
"Well, I suppose it's better than nothing," Buffy said with a sigh. "Say, do you have any plans this afternoon?"
"I was just planning on exploring," Rangiku replied with a shrug. "You?"
"Well, I was going to go and explore too, but it looks like we've got a bit of reading to get through," Buffy said. "I think I'm going to stay in for now."
"I suppose that's the smart thing to do," Rangiku said with a sigh.
"It'll get you in the first class faster," Buffy said. With another sigh, Rangiku flopped down on her bed and opened one of her new books. Settling in, Buffy grabbed one of her new books and mirrored Rangiku's position, reading for the rest of the afternoon.
***
The next morning, Buffy woke in an odd position, the book still open on her stomach. Yawning, she checked the clock on the wall, her eyes widening when she saw what time it was. It was their first day of classes and she was already running late.
"Rangiku, get up!" Buffy exclaimed, jumping out of bed to go and shake Rangiku awake. "We're running late, it's time to go!"
"Huh… wha?" Rangiku said, startled as she wiped a trail of drool from her chin. "What's going on?"
"We're gonna be late for class, we gotta go!" Buffy exclaimed.
"Please tell me you're joking," Rangiku said as she leapt out of bed and grabbed her books.
"Wish I were," Buffy replied, rushing to the bathroom to check her reflection in the mirror. She straightened her clothes, thankful she had worn her uniform the previous day and would therefore be set for class.
"How much time do we have?" Rangiku asked, sounding worried.
"Fifteen minutes," Buffy replied, coming out of the bathroom and gathering her books. "I think I saw some signs yesterday to direct us to our classes, so it shouldn't be too hard to find."
"Good to hear," Rangiku agreed. "Come on, let's get out of here. I don't want to be late on my first day."
"Neither do I," Buffy replied, making sure she had all of her books. "Ready?"
"As I'll ever be," Rangiku said with a deep breath.
They walked quickly out of their dormitory building, stopping briefly to make sure the signs were still up before they broke into a dead run, following the directions presented to them. They made it with only a few minutes to spare. Thankfully, their classrooms were right next to each other.
"See you later," Rangiku said as she slipped into her own classroom. "Good luck."
"Same to you," Buffy replied, slipping into her classroom just in the nick of time. There were no chairs or desks, just an open room with plenty of room to move around. She spotted Yumichika when she saw the light bouncing off of Ikkaku's head. Smiling slightly, she elbowed her way through the crowd and stood next to Yumichika, startling him slightly.
"I thought you weren't going to make it," he whispered through the corner of his mouth.
"I overslept," Buffy hissed back as the teacher stood in the front of the class. At least, Buffy assumed the teacher was standing at the front of the class, because everyone was turned in one direction. Buffy stood on her tip toes in an attempt to see over the heads of everyone in front of her.
"Want to get on my back?" Yumichika asked.
"No, I'm okay," Buffy replied, craning her neck.
"Good morning everyone," Chiba said. He had a deep, rumbling voice, and Buffy surmised he was a large man. "I see we have some new students in the class. Good, good, maybe we'll have some even numbers finally. For those of you who are new, this is your combat class. I am Kazuma Chiba, your instructor. You will be learning all kinds of bare handed and weapons combat in this class. You will be assigned a partner. This will be your partner until the end of the year, so you'd better learn to get along. You, the silver-haired kid, you pair up with the new guy with the long dark hair. Bald guy, you pair up with the guy with the flat top. Where's the tiny girl I was told was gonna be here?"
"Um, over here," Buffy replied, raising her hand and jumping a little to make sure she was seen.
"Should have taken me up on my offer to hop onto my back," Yumichika teased with a smirk.
"Shut up," Buffy retorted.
"Ah, there she is," Chiba said. "Ayasegawa, is it? Get up here, your partner's over here."
Buffy elbowed her way through the crowd to get to the front. Chiba looked her up and down before his face broke into an amused grin.
"When they said you were tiny, they weren't kidding," he said with a laugh. "Come on over and meet your partner. Byakuya-sama, meet your new partner."
The boy appeared younger than her. He had long, black hair pulled back from his face in a ponytail. He was taller than her, but then again everyone seemed to be taller than her, and slim. His shirt was sleeveless, showing off a pair of skinny, pale arms. The thing that really drew her gaze were his eyes; they were a curious shade of grey-violet, and large.
"A girl?" he asked, arching an eyebrow. "You're pairing me with a girl?"
"You either duel Ayasegawa, or you sit out and she duels me," Chiba replied with a shrug. "And I really don't want to tell your grandfather you refused to participate."
"Fine," Byakuya said with a sigh. "Let's get this over with."
"Sounds like a great idea," Buffy replied.
"Excellent, it's settled," Chiba said with a grin before grabbing two wooden swords and tossing them at Byakuya and Buffy. "You two can go first."
"Don't expect me to go easy on you because you're a girl," he said, getting into position.
"Don't expect me to go easy on you because you're a snot-nosed brat," Buffy retorted. Byakuya's eyes narrowed before he launched a ferocious head-on attack.
It was a fast, furious and relatively short battle. Byakuya attacked with anger and frustration, Buffy blocked with cool calculation without actively fighting back until she felt that the fight had gone on long enough. Finding an opening when Byakuya raised his arms to strike her down, Buffy's leg shot out and kicked him in the stomach, sending him crashing into the wall.
"I think we can see who won here," Chiba said with an impressed smile. "Good work, Ayasegawa. You and Byakuya can go and join your classmates."
Buffy smiled brightly and Byakuya scowled as he sulked and she skipped back into the crowd. Buzzed from her win, she watched the rest of the class fight, not really paying attention until it was time for Ikkaku's fight. He and Iba came to the front of the class; Ikkaku was snarling and Iba was looking at him in trepidation.
"What'd Iba do to Ikkaku?" Buffy whispered to Yumichika. "He looks about ready to kill."
"Not kill, but seriously maim is a possibility," Yumichika replied with a grim look. "Your friend Iba mentioned meeting someone at the party last night and said that he rather enjoyed her company and would like to do that again. He didn't mention any names until Ikkaku asked, at which time he said it was you. Ikkaku started snarling before turning and leaving the dorm. Obviously, his night time stroll didn't calm him down a bit."
"Jealous butthead," Buffy muttered under her breath, a pleased smile crossing her lips.
"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" Yumichika asked. "You're not going to rub it in his face, are you?"
"And have him get all pouty because I'm making fun of him?" Buffy asked, arching an eyebrow before grinning slightly evilly. "Maybe I'll do a little teasing, but nothing too strenuous. I'd rather have him talking to me than not."
Ikkaku and Iba faced off, wooden swords at the ready. It looked like they were sizing each other up, holding completely still. Buffy was sure that the fight wouldn't happen, until Ikkaku finally sprang into action, attacking Iba head on.
She wasn't able to say anything else because at that moment the fight was on. Buffy hadn't seen Ikkaku fight someone on his own level before; the first time she had seen him fight was the tail end of one, where his opponent was about to get gutted. The second match, Ikkaku had been sorely outmatched and was nearly killed. All of the other times he had fought, he had scuffled with her, and it was rather difficult for her to see his style when she was in the thick of it with him.
They fought for what seemed like ages, their attacks and counter attacks forming an intricate and deadly dance. It was mesmerizing to watch.
"Was that what me and Ikkaku looked like when we fight?" Buffy asked, unable to take her eyes off the pair in front of them.
"Yours fights are prettier, somehow," Yumichika replied. "You moved so fluidly together, it was like you two could match each other's movements without thinking. It was like you two were made for each other. I hadn't seen anything like it before, and I doubt I'll ever see the exact same thing again."
"Ah," Buffy replied, not really sure how to make of what she had just been told. It was strange, having someone tell her that Ikkaku, the same Ikkaku that made fun of her, the same Ikkaku that provoked her to violence, the same Ikkaku that pushed all of her buttons, was made for her.
Yumichika had to be completely and utterly insane.
"What's wrong, Buffy?" Yumichika asked, curious.
"Nothing, nothing," Buffy replied, still transfixed on the duel in front of her. Iba wasn't actively going on the offence unless he had to, allowing Ikkaku to lead the attacks. It wasn't until a gong sounded in the distance that they stopped fighting, sweating and breathing hard.
"That's time, people," Chiba said. "Good work. I've seen a lot of improvement in the older students. The new ones, you need some work but with some training you'll catch up in no time. See you in a couple of days."
The class dispersed then, making a mad dash for the door. Buffy kept getting pushed further to the back of the crowd until she was straggling behind everyone. She wanted to catch up to Yumichika, wanting to know how he was holding up rooming with Ikkaku and Iba, when she heard someone calling her name.
"Ayasegawa!"
Buffy turned, recognizing the voice but wondering why he was calling her name. As she expected, she saw Byakuya standing behind her.
"What can I do for you?" Buffy asked, arching an eyebrow.
"Wait a moment," Byakuya said. He waited until the rest of the class and Chiba had left before he spoke again. "I need your help."
"Pardon?" Buffy asked, a little surprised.
"Don't make me ask again," Byakuya said sullenly. "I want you to teach me how to fight."
"Why me?" Buffy asked.
"You're good," Byakuya replied.
"There's people way better than I am," Buffy replied.
"Yeah, but you don't look like you're going to kick my ass because I'm asking for help," Byakuya shot back. "You're not going to kick my ass, are you?"
"No," Buffy replied, a small smile on her face. "But first, I need your name. I'm Buffy Ayasegawa, but you can call me Buffy."
"Byakuya Kuchiki, future head of the Kuchiki noble family," Byakuya introduced himself, bowing. "When we're alone, you can call me Byakuya."
"What do I call you when we're not alone?" Buffy asked.
"Byakuya-sama, of course," Byakuya replied as if it were common knowledge. "It's only fitting that someone like you would give someone like me the respect due."
"Uh… huh," Buffy said slowly. "What do I get out of our little arrangement?"
"The pride that you taught the future head of the Kuchiki clan how to fight," Byakuya replied haughtily.
"Wow, a little full of yourself, huh?" Buffy asked, arching an eyebrow. She couldn't believe this kid's attitude. "I'm out of here, you can find yourself another tutor."
Buffy turned and tried to leave, only to be stopped by Byakuya grabbing onto her arm. What was with guys around here manhandling her? Did she have a sign on her back that read, 'please touch me'? Sighing, she turned to see what he wanted now, and was surprised to see a pleading expression on his face.
"Please," he said, his voice a quiet plea. "I need your help. There has to be something I can help you with in return. I'm really good at kido and flash steps, I can help you with that. Even trade."
"Are you going to treat me as an equal?" Buffy asked.
"I'll try," Byakuya replied.
"I guess that's all I can ask for," Buffy said. "When do you want to do this?"
"Meet me in the courtyard after classes and we can go to my manor to practice," Byakuya replied. "There's a lot of room to move around there."
"Sounds like a plan," Buffy said. "See you then."
"I'm looking forward to it," Byakuya returned, a slight smile on his lips. Buffy grinned back before turning and walking quickly out of the classroom, hoping to catch up to Yumichika before he got too far ahead of her.
She had a feeling this was going to be an interesting year.
***
Here we go, an extra long chapter for you all. ^_^. I was feeling rather inspired to write this chapter and words just came out. It kind of helps that I'm working on the sequel for this for my NaNoWriMo project this year. Almost halfway to the goal word count, woohoo!
Anyway, please review, I'd really appreciate it ^_^.