12: Study, Study, Study

It is much simpler to buy books than to read them and easier to read them than to absorb their contents. Too many men slip early out of the habit of studious reading, and yet that is essential…

-Sir William Osler

Two days later…

Kagome found it very hard not to watch the various glances, glares, and confused looks being exchanged in her new classroom the afternoon of her first day with her new class. Everyone seemed to sense the tense ambience but the teacher - who was still going on about a chemistry formula she's written on the blackboard. She was failing her attempt to multitask. She was mostly succeeding at trying to be unnoticed where she'd been placed in the back corner of the class near the windows. Though she was managing to keep some track of who was letting off what expressions she was quickly going to be missing the thing she should have been paying attention to - the problem on the chalkboard.

Instead she was idly wondering if a battle might break out right in the middle of the room, desks flying every which way as the high spiritual holding people around here all let loose and attacked her new friend. She had been moved into the class by a request from the principle in the morning and was glad that her marks were high enough that they had decided she could be in the more difficult of the classes. That was until she waltzed unknowingly into the middle of the apprehensive situation around her.

Byakuya was apparently a new student starting today - which was something that she just went along with and hadn't believed for a moment - though she hadn't gotten yet to speak to him at lunch. Ishida was mostly ignoring them and paying attention to the teacher but had occasionally sent superior seeming glances at everyone behind him. A orange haired boy had gaped for the first few minutes from near the windows a couple desks up from where she was now before he finally had managed to look at the teacher but was still sending long looks the soul reapers way. A larger fellow that was in the back row with her was also sending half-nervous glances between the other people that seemed to have spiritual power - though he was doing a better job of covering his stares than the orange haired boy.

Finally there was a girl with similarly reddish hair that seemed almost afraid as she watched, probably sweating bullets if Kagome was reading her face right. Though that just left her to wonder even more as to her new classmates and how they were related to Byakuya-kun. She knew mostly about Ishida and sent him a glare when he glanced at her.

"Rude holier-than-thou prick." Kagome thought at him viciously when he did. "Hope you stab yourself with a needle in your sewing class."

She let her gaze move back to the board for a while but she was so distracted that she quickly found the very slow clock often the center of her gaze as opposed to the teacher. She was only half-hearing the lesson and her notes were mostly babble. It didn't help that Byakuya had been seated directly next to her and while she thought she might have been able to whisper or something he didn't so much as look at her while class was going. He was sitting straight as he watched the teacher and took notes; the image of a perfect student.

"Student my butt…" Kagome resisted the urge to grind her teeth. "Lunch can't come soon enough. You so owe me an explanation for this! Damn it, all this tension - I'm never gonna be able to pay attention in class."

Though it was another hour of it before the bell managed to tear her from the wild possibilities her brain was making and she grabbed Byakuya by the arm to pull him away even as some of the others were moving toward them. No one else was gonna get a chance to talk to him until she did - she was already confused enough.

Once she'd tugged him down a hallway where he followed with a frown and a raised brow, obviously irritated at her directness. Finally speaking when she stopped. "Yes?"

The single word was somehow so insulting and just managed to infuriate her more. She closed her eyes to take a deep breath before opening them again, hands on her hips as she hissed at him in her annoyance - unable to yell. "What are -you- doing here!!"

"I was told to look after you and instruct you how to use your powers." He explained, his tone bored. "This seemed the most expedient way in which to accomplish that goal."

"…" She was shocked into silence at that. She half wanted to yell at him and half wanted to cry at the frustration the gods seemed content to heap on her. "I must be heaven's best joke."

"What the hell are you doing here?!" The orange haired boy had caught up to them and she sighed. "So much for getting a chance to talk."

The boy was pointed and seemed in more shock than she had been…behind him was the large Spanish guy and the timid red haired girl. Ishida hadn't taken it upon himself to bother to learn anything.

"Anti-social loser…"

Kagome didn't want to see him anyway after the event the day before. She instead was surprised when Byakuya just started to walk away - he wasn't all that different from the blue-haired guy she was just insulting.

Ichigo caught the captain by a shoulder. "Hey, Byakuya? What is going on?"

"Kuchiki-san." The frowning soul reaper corrected him. "I am here on business that doesn't require the aid of a substitute. It doesn't involve nor need to involve you so you are hereby ordered to stay out of it else I take you our of it."

After the open threat he knocked Ichigo's hand away and continued off down the hall, leaving Kagome with a few people staring at her for answers.

"I hate you Byakuya…" She thought vaguely as they turned to her. "I should have sneaked away when they first arrived…here to 'look after' me and you just leave me to get abused for information."

"Hi." Kagome offered a fake cheery smile and a wave. "I'm Kagome Higurashi as you probably heard in class. What's your name?"

"Ichigo Kurosaki." the orange haired boy answered, walking back over to eye Kagome. He was pretty intimidating and she just continued to offer the fake grin. "How do you know Byakuya?"

"Ichigo…don't scare her." the large guy interjected. "I'm Yasutora Sado and this is Orihime Inoue. Ichigo has a small history with that guy you could say."

Orihime nodded her agreement.

"Um…was that the bell?" Kagome offered again in a blatent lie. "Guess I should get back to class, don't wanna be late. Study study study."

She tore away after that, all but bolting back to her desk to get away from the questions and new people. Sure she wanted friends here but this was a bit too odd and if Byakuya didn't want to talk about why he was here it seemed un-loyal to tell people behind his back. Even if he was making her angry she wasn't one that tended to betray others. So as the class gathered again and bell did finally ring the tense situation started back up worse than before.

At least last time she'd mostly gotten ignored but now she was involved in the circle of glances and glares (other than when she sometimes sent Ishida dirty looks) much more than before. Though somehow that made her more able to concentrate on the teacher as a way to ignore what was happening. The anxiety had just gotten so bad she had started to use class as an escape - something that was a good thing regardless - her marks this year were the last chance she had at grades that could get her into college.

Though by the time it was getting close for the day to end she knew she wouldn't be able to escape answering questions forever, but was already planning how to avoid them until she at least knew more of what Byakuya was talking about.

She was convinced by the time the bell rang if she dashed at full speed she would be able to avoid everyone and just be contacted later if needed. She was tensed as the second hand made it's way around the clock, on the edge of her seat as the teacher continued to talk and then when the bell rang a hand settled on her shoulder and she was on the floor a moment later.

"Ow…." Her butt hurt from the fall, Byakuya hadn't made a sound when he'd gotten up or when he'd settled a hand on her shoulder and was now staring down at her in that oh-so arrogant manner of his. "You shouldn't spook me like that."

She resisted the urge to try and trip him. "He'd probably just move out of the way."

He offered a hand and she accepted the help up, doing her best not to let her blushing get worse and ignore the stares she was getting. Not only from the people that had gone after her for information before but a few of the girls in the class that seemed vaguely jealous of her position being helped. He was attractive after all - enough to inspire that jealousy.

"I will try not to scare you next time." He said. "Shall I give you a ride home Higurashi-san?"

"Um…that sounds okay." Kagome agreed, surprised he was being so polite to her after earlier. Doing her best to stop the redness in her cheeks and the many whispers that were now going around about her. "Great, now the whole class is gonna think I'm dating this guy…why me?"

He lead her out on an arm and in the halls they got more people staring and she was finally just trying her best to will herself into nothingness - nothingness was better than embarrassment right?

"Look at that guy, wow." "What's that in his hair?" "I don't care he's gorgeous." "Seems a little weird to me." "How'd a girl like that get him." "Maybe it's just his sister." "Yeah right, she's not pretty enough."

The various whispers made Kagome frown and glance at the crowd. "Hey! What am I! Chopped liver! Oooh, if I find out who said that!"

By the time they reached the limo Kagome just got in, still distracted by her anger at the commentary for a bit before she noted the expensive car. She was still blushing and she glanced down at her lap when she noted he was changing out of his shirt.

"Oh god! Why is he changing!" She was staring at her lap, though out of the corner of her eye it was easy enough to make out his muscular frame. "Would it be so bad dating someone that looked like that really? No. Bad Kagome. Bad. Don't think like that. He just wouldn't be interested…all the rumors in the world don't matter. Think about what happened last time you fell for a cute guy from another dimension."

Byakuya took a few moments to switch the uniform top from the school for a nicer long sleeved dress shirt and a suit jacket that was more befitting for the man. Though him being re-clothed was both a minor disappointment and a huge relief for the high school girl sitting next to him, blushing so much it looked like she was sunburned.

"Are you all right?" He asked then, it wasn't uncommon for a man to change his shirt even in front of others or females.

"Good. I'm good." Kagome answered, clearing her throat. "So wa..what was it you were suppose to teach me."

She did a poor job of covering her nervousness but Byakuya chose to ignore it as she obviously didn't wish to speak of it.

"I was sent by soul society to watch over you and to teach you in some degree to begin to control your priestess abilities." He explained, eyeing her as he spoke...it wasn't as if he hadn't had women like him before but generally he didn't have to work with them so directly. "I have been given some texts and items that were being stored for just such an occasion as one such as yourself and sent to guard you while you are learning."

"Guard me…from what? The hollows?" She guessed, hoping it was just the little frog things she shot the other day.

"As well as other people out there that might wish to use your powers for their own gain." He replied with a small shrug. "Regardless, I will deal with them and do what I can to lead you in your studies. If your time permits I would like to work with you at least three hours a day during the week and then more when you have the free time on the weekends. I understand that your schooling is very important to you so your family has been told you were sponsored for a tutor and you will complete your regular schoolwork before we commence any other training."

Her lip twitched a little into a smirk of sorts. "Okay mom."

"Excuse me?" Byakuya raised a brow at her comment.

"Just sound like my mom." Kagome chuckled then, mimicking her mother's serious voice. "You cannot go out and do anything else until after you do your homework. You going to cook me dinner and tuck me in too?"

"I fail to see the humor in this." He said with a frown starting to form. "You are here because of your failure to complete your work in your previous year. You should consider it more fundamental than something to joke about."

"Never mind." Kagome sighed as he failed to see the joke. Digging in her bag to start her homework as he'd said. She had a sinking feeling her prediction that life was going to get very difficult had just come true.

End Chapter

I wanted to get something up for my readers cause it's been a little while sense I've had the chance to update. Sorry if it seems a little rushed - it kinda was. Upcoming updates depends on family deployments and the like so it's hard to plan for. However, I am greatly enjoying this fiction and have many more plans for it yet.

-Aura

P.S. I do like Ishida myself - but Kagome is pretty miffed with him. S.T. Nick - I'm always happy to get some ideas - I think atm I'm putting what time I have into this but I do want to get back to When it Pours one day.