She's Like the Moon Chapter 13: High Maintenance, a bleach fanfic

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She's Like the Moon, an xSilverWingsx fanfic

Somewhere we're landing on a pinhead, calling you an angel, calling you the nicest thing.

-They Might Be Giants

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Eventually, the sun bled over the horizon, sending waves of warmth across a somewhat bored Rukia Kuchiki. Nothing would entertain her now, except possibly divine intervention, as she chewed quietly on her Chappy candy Ichigo had bought her.

Right now, he seemed just as bored as she did; his eyes were glazed over and he looked very far away. Toshiro looked more comical; he slept like a newborn, thumb resting between slightly parted lips. Whenever she'd come see him in Akamori's room, he was usually sleeping. A child who sleeps will grow up, he had told her when asked why. It had better happen soon, he had grumbled.

Rukia sighed and turned on her side, curling up on the long sea. It was softer than it had felt on her behind, but then again, said rump had fallen asleep about an hour before. She folded her arms under her chin and let her eyes close.

She felt Ichigo shift his weight, and one of her eyes slid open to see that he had moved to the other side of the compartment. For some reason, this shook her mind. "Ichigo?"

He was silent for a little while. "What?" his eyes were slightly bleary and warmer than usual – it created an odd sensation in the pit of her tummy.

"You don't just say what! You say yes!" she corrected matter-of-factly, pushing herself up by her hands.

"Huh? Well, that was disturbing." Ichigo opened a magazine.

"…H… what?!" Rukia snapped, rising to her full height in seconds. "That's cruel of you!"

"After that time you smashed my ribs in at the field? Payback," he informed her with that idiotic smirk. She wanted to slap it right off his face. "Well, Rukia. I thought somebody like you'd be a little more… classy."

Her temple shook. "Me?! What the hell!? This is Byakuya! Not me! By-a-ku-YA!"

Ichigo turned back to the magazine, his frown a little less intense this time. "Hey," he said suddenly.

"What's that?" she did not want to deal with his crap right now.

Toshiro cut across Ichigo. "We're here," he announced.

Rukia felt herself gasp, then slide across the seat to the window. On the horizon was a large dark brick building with white railings and polished windows. 'KTHS' was carved in elaborate stone atop what appeared to be the main doorway; 'Opened 2008' engraved into a large plaque near one of the stone entry ramps. She hadn't liked the girls' school nearly as much, with its rusty railings and old shutters, as she liked the building before her. It also excited her that she'd spend her next three years here, as well.

"It's … nice," Toshiro murmured, his small nose suddenly pressed against the glass. Now they were passing a building much larger than the school, more uniform. "The dorm building… good."

Rukia frowned a little. "At least you know where your dorm is, Toshiro."

He mirrored her expression exactly. "Excuse me, but that only happens to people responsible enough to keep track of their things."

"Fine," she sniffed, picking up her bag and plopping back down in her seat. Ichigo had stowed the magazine in his own bag and was now biting his thumbnail absentmindedly, apparently for lack of anything better to do. Good, let the obnoxious orange head get bored. It wasn't her problem.

At last, the train slowed to a stop. Rukia felt much better than she had when getting on it as Ichigo pulled the door open and waited for her in the hallway, for reasons unknown. The blue eyed girl waited until Toshiro departed, a little sluggish since he had been asleep, and made her way to one of the exits.

The morning air was brisk but warm, humidity floating around. Oh, great. Hair? Just poof up now. Rukia sighed and readjusted her bag, bracing her knees and striding along the sidewalk toward what appeared to be the cafeteria entrance. But she surveyed some of the students on their way in there as well.

The group in white and gray were her fellow Green members, most of them quiet but a few joking amongst themselves. Nearby she spotted Orihime in green flanked by – Tatsuki in a light brown blazer and darker shirt, with white clogs and black-navy knee-highs. Orihime was talking softly but quickly about some kind of food she'd been experimenting with lately, and how Tatsuki needed to try some. Tatsuki replied with a swift, "maybe later", and then they were too far in front of her to hear any more.

Toshiro's eyes were shifty as well, but they didn't stop anywhere in particular – of course not, since he had lived in Kimikan for a while. Eventually though, they stopped on a boy with blond hair in a serious side fringe, sided by a girl with chocolate brown hair Rukia remembered as Momo Hinamori.

She noticed. "Shiro!" she called, green skirt waving. Blue Team.

Toshiro nodded to her, but continued walking. Apparently he didn't want to disturb the crowds – that was the only solution Rukia could think of as to why he wasn't running toward his friends. She sighed. Ichigo took note of this.

"What's up with you?" he asked, sounding harried.

"Nothing, Ichigo," she murmured.

"Fine," he replied roughly.

She didn't like arguing with Ichigo, but it came naturally – like Toshiro's love for classical music or Akamori's distaste for order, it couldn't be stopped.

They walked through the door being held open by a thin girl with dark hair in a braid, her green eyes thoughtful. Her expression was unhappy.

"Nemu," Ichigo said.

"Huh?" Rukia didn't know this Nemu person, and felt oddly threatened by the reference.

"She's an Aide for the Blue Team. I read it in my syllabus," he explained, and for some reason this cooled her off.

"Okay..."

Rukia noticed that people were beginning to sit at the tables, and plunked down at the closest possible table. Chatter engulfed the room within seconds as many others began to sit; around her, a few dark haired boys and a girl who appeared to be their sister. She had dark violet hair tinged with lighter shades and large, deep citrus eyes. Her skin was the lightest Rukia had ever seen, even lighter than she, the albino.

She watched her goof around with the brother who looked to be the oldest, throwing mock punches. Her voice was high and oddly charming as she laughed at him.

"Weirdo!" she exclaimed, grinning. "I'll tell Hideki you said that and he'll flip."

"Fine," the brother said with a laugh. "Sen, you know Seicho's gonna care more than him."

She shrugged, unperturbed. "Whatever!"

One thing Rukia noticed was that Toshiro seemed to be oddly occupied with the scene, his aquamarine eyes dark and focused.

"Hey!" said the voice of a girl at the other table, with dark brown hair and big green eyes. "Senna!"

The violet haired girl looked over. "Hey!" she exclaimed. Senna walked over to the other table, and Rukia noted the huge blackish bruise that stretched from her thigh to her ankle with an audible breath. Ichigo appeared to take heed of it as well.

"Must be a klutz," he said with a shrug.

Toshiro shook his head. "I don't think so, Kurosaki." His eyes looked deeply disturbed by the one abrasion on the body of a stranger, and this irked his cousin.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

He shook his head again, teeth coming down on his top lip. "Never mind that right now."

And, as if exactly on cue, a tiny pink-haired girl walked onto the stage. Rukia remembered her from the ice cream stand earlier that summer. Was she like a jack of all trades?

"Hi!" she said into the microphone that was exactly proportionate to her size. She was met by adoring 'aww' noises, but the expression on her face quieted them. "I'm Yachiru! I'll get Kenny … hm… Kenny…" she looked around for a moment, and then shrugged. "I don't know where he is! Anyway… it's a new year and our first year as a school! Thanks for coming!" she grinned, reminding Rukia faintly of the Cheshire cat from Alice in Wonderland.

"Okay! Well! Uhm… This year will…"

Obviously Yachiru hadn't prepared a speech. She rambled on for a few minutes about where everything was… which was unnecessary since they had all been given maps. Then she told them how to buy lunch, also unnecessary because lunch bills were sent home every month.

At last, Yachiru skipped off the stage. There was no one else to take her place, and so, people began to mill around in the room. Senna and her brothers were hanging around near the water fountain, their baritone laughs accented by her bubble-gum pink one. Orihime and Tatsuki were visible near the door, standing awkwardly. For some reason this made Rukia feel smug, but then her thoughts were interrupted.

"Rukia. Office," Ichigo reminded, his amber eyes determined.

She sighed. "Fine."

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The office was relatively plain, with white walls and gray marble flooring. The corners of the room were occupied by large cherry desks, each manned by a receptionist. They needed four? Wow. Rukia approached the nearest one: Ise, Nanao.

"Ms. Ise?" she asked uncertainly.

Nanao Ise was a relatively petite woman with jet black hair pulled back into a neat bun, her blue eyes glaring behind their spectacles. "Yes?"

"I… lost my schedule," Rukia admitted, feeling her face get hot.

"Aren't you an Algebra teacher?" Ichigo questioned, raising a gingery eyebrow.

Ms. Ise glared. "We all wear a lot of hats around here, Kurosaki. Now." She turned to Rukia, fingers poised on the computer's keys. "Your name?"

"Rukia Kuchiki…"

K U C H I K I R U K I A popped up on the screen, along with other various information. Nanao studied it for a few moments, her eyes confused. "You said you're Rukia?"

"Mhm." Rukia was wondering how this could possibly take so long.

"Well, the thing is… we got a new arrival at the last minute, and she is handicapped. Your dormitory is the only one suitable for her needs, so we've moved you." Rukia's schedule printed within seconds, and she grabbed it right out of the printer.

"423B?" she asked with a frown. "I was already here!"

"No, you weren't." Nanao tapped away at the keys, her brows now furrowed. "Go get everything in order, Kuchiki."

Ichigo tapped Rukia on the shoulder with a look of horror etched into his features. He grabbed her schedule and compared them:

NAME: KUROSAKI, ICHIGO GENDER: M GRADE: 10 DORMITORY #: 423B. DIVISION: GREEN.
NAME: KUCHIKI, RUKIA GENDER: F GRADE: 10 DORMITORY #: 423B. DIVISION: GREEN.

It all clicked, and they looked at each other. Ichigo was shaking his head over and over.

"B-b-but!" Rukia said, trying not to hyperventilate. "Boys and girls can't share! My dad will…" she shook her head, trying to imagine any possible way that Byakuya wouldn't empty his shotguns into Ichigo's skull.

"Not my problem," Nanao said in a lax tone, closing Rukia's schedule and opening a document that was obviously much more important. "Go. Get. Settled," she commanded, and her eyes were icy blue daggers. Rukia wanted to slap her, and her lip quivered, but she said nothing. Sharing a dorm with Ichigo!? This meant she wouldn't only have to deal with him in class, but when she went to sleep and woke up too! He would always be there!!!

"Damn," the redhead sighed as they strode down the hallway. "Some luck we've got, Kuchiki."

Her nostrils flared as she took that in. "No, Ichigo, there is no we. It's ME who has the crappy luck here. First Akamori for a sister and now this!? Someone must hate me up there." She tilted her chin toward the sky.

Ichigo made a noise that sounded like he was laughing, but his expression told her otherwise. "Let's get to… our dorm then," he said reluctantly. Rukia nodded, her face solemn.

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"411… 412… 413…" Ichigo counted as the doors continued to zoom by. He walked so quickly she had to run just to keep up, but it was worth it. She wanted to see her dorm and get this stupid bag off her shoulder. She wanted to rest. She wanted to come to terms with the fact that… she would be spending the whole year with Ichigo.

"Ah, Tatsuki! I found it!" Orihime's voice said, momentarily stopping her thinking. The shapely redhead was sliding her student ID through the slot needed to enter, but Rukia couldn't see inside at this angle. Moments later, Tatsuki ran up the hallway.

"You did? Good thinking, Orihime," she praised. Rukia was just getting ready to turn away when Tatsuki gave her a blank look – emotionless as it was, it still hurt on a a level.

"Ahm… Rukia?" Ichigo said.

"Yeah?" she tore herself away. "All right! Let's unlock this sucker!" she said with a bit too much enthusiasm.

"…All right." Ichigo pulled out his ID and paused. "Do the honors?" he asked, extending a powerfully built arm out to hand her the ID. With slightly trembling fingers she slid it through the little machine, which made a pleasant beeping noise and lit up green.

"It's like a hotel," she remarked.

Ichigo shrugged. "I guess." With his foot he nudged the door ajar, showing a large front room and two other doors. There was a couch in the center of said front room, but it was conservative and mostly wooden. A very sparing television sat on a beech wood shelf near the two doors, which were white. Otherwise the room was empty.

"…" She was slightly taken aback by the lack of furnishings, but perked up when she saw her many trunks and bags in the corner. "My stuff!" she exclaimed, running into the room and crouching down near the bags. They were exactly the same as they'd been last week, when Toshiro had helped her pack.

Ichigo's lone suitcase was among them, and he was smirking. "High-maintenance."

Rukia whirled around. "I am not. I act low maintenance all the time!"

"No you don't." He looked solemn, as if this directly impacted him.

"Yes I do." She bit down hard on her lip.

"No you don't." I'm not giving up until she agrees.

"Yes I do." I'm not backing down.

"You only think you do." Ichigo settled down on the couch and put his feet up on the beech coffee table.

"What is this, anyway?" she frowned.

"There are two kinds of girls, but midget, you're the pits. You're high maintenance but you think you're low maintenance."

"I don't see that." Rukia unzipped her bag and began to look for her sheets… they had to be here somewhere…

"Of course not, my point." He stretched out and closed his eyes, looking absurdly casual.

"…Grr!" Rukia let out an oddly feral growl. "Ichigo, you ass."

He opened one eye. "Oh, you're so nice," he said, standing up with no prior warning. "Rukia. You're an ass, too, hello." He rolled his eyes and dragged his bag into the other room, which was basically empty with the exception of an extremely large closet.

"What the hell…?" Rukia said as he pulled two beds down out of the closet. Being a Kuchiki she had never seen such things before.

"They're called Murphy beds," he allowed, sliding a black sheet across his own and dropping a fat, fluffy pillow near the top. "You see? Again, high maintenance Kuchiki. Doesn't know what a Murphy bed is…"

"…Shut up," she said waspishly, pulling her Chappy sheets out and trying to make do by putting them on her bed. Shit… this isn't working for me… shit, shit, shit.

"Need help?" Ichigo asked with a smirk. And when he reached out to pull the sheets over, their hands touched for the briefest moment. Both jerked away as a gut reaction, and Rukia looked off in the opposite direction. Sounds of fabric told her he was still working on them after several minutes had passed.

"Ichigo?"

"Mhm?" said his voice.

She turned around to see all of her stuffed animals on the bed. "Ichigo, what!? I left those in my roo—" suddenly she realized. Damn Toshiro.

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Okay... I know it was way too short. Gosh. But I needed a new chap up, and badly so. Well. Hopefully you've seen Bleach: Memories of Nobody? Senna… well, it's about her. And I guess you can tell why she's in the story now? Those of you who've read Akamori probably already knew before I even put Toshiro into the story. It's funny how things work out that way, huh? Hitsu/Sen. Anywho, I hope you liked the chap… and I might put some Bya/Hisa or Ren/Mori in the next chap, I just don't know about that yet… it depends on how I feel… on the upside the weekend is almost here and I'll get a lot of writing done. I'll put anything in a story (just as long as it doesn't destroy my plot) so if you wanna see something let me know. :D Anyway, until next time,

-SW

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