Author's Note:
Ugh, I greatly dislike my family. ... Well, except my beloved daddy. Who's rarely at home. I find it incredibly unhealthy to feel the need to punch your mother in the face everytime she talks. Or maybe I'm just a very irritable person. ... No, actually, I'm a pretty happy person. Except for when I'm at home. Screw home.

On the bright side, I found a very fun Death Note Mello x Near game. :D 'Tis very fun. XD Oh, and my lello laptop came in yesterday. I love the color. S2 Though it also sucks 'cause I have to move everything to this laptop and reinstall all the shit and I can't find my PSP 9 disc, which sucks major monkey butt... but for now I am rather content. Save for my current annoyance towards my mother.

Opening Song : As My Guitar Gently Weeps - The Beatles
Closing Song : I Need to Know - Jekyll and Hyde

Theme #32
Old Habits Die Hard

If there was one thing Rangiku remembered about her previous life, it was that she hated school. And it wasn't because she had to walk six miles to and from school everyday, or because the food was little better than crap, or because the workload was absolutely ridiculous for a first grader. No, it was because of the obnoxious little bastards who felt the need to make every minute of her life hell.

She was never too talkative during school, though she couldn't exactly call herself shy. Her home conditions were poor, and that was quite evident in the frail clothing she wore to class. Her wonderful peers obviously noticed, and they felt the need to point out the obvious. Every. Single. Day. So she certainly could have made friends if she wanted to; the point was that she didn't. Not with the snot-nosed, spoiled little shits she had to put up with everyday.

She certainly had never thought that she'd have to go through that again.

Life at the Shinigami Academy was different from what she had expected. From the way Gin had ranted about it, she'd expected it to be some nice, welcoming place where she could freely converse with those around her. That, apparently, was not the case.

It was easy to point out the two groups that all of the students were divided into: the ones bred in Seireitei, and the ones dumped in Rukongai. Honestly, Rangiku had thought that all tags would have been dropped in an Advanced Class, but that also was not the case. The unfortunate souls who were forced to endure in Rukongai sat on one side of the room while the poised students raised in elegance in Seireitei sat on the other. Rangiku couldn't help but notice how less than a fifth of the class were from Rukongai.

"... Your first test will take place tomorrow ─ study hard. Class dismissed!"

Rangiku was snapped out of her thoughts when the class erupted into giggles and shouts, and the students rushed towards the exit. She looked around, surprised that class had passed so quickly without her realization, and shook her head. "I need to start paying attention or I'll fall even further behind..." She scooped her books up into her arms and wobbled towards the door, still a bit light-headed from her daydreaming. Before she could take one step out of the large classroom, however, she found herself colliding with a large mass who loomed in the door frame. She yelped as she staggered back, all the while trying to keep a hold of her books and her balance.

The boy who had been blocking her way turned around, one brow quirked, and smirked. "Oi, watch where you're goin', eh, 'Jou-chan?"

"Oh right, sorry." She tried to walk passed him, but he had stepped to the side to stop her from advancing. Rangiku looked up, her brows furrowed and a sneer crawling onto her face. "Excuse me. I have to get to my next class."

The intensity of the boy's smirk seemed to heighten as he leaned in so that his face hovered above hers. "Say, we have some time before the next classes... Why don't you say we do something... productive?" She could feel his eyes wander across her body, and suddenly she felt incredibly violated.

She scowled as she pressed her books tighter against her chest. "I'd rather not." She noted the almost accusatory look in his eyes. You're from Rukongai, aren't you?, was what they were saying. She felt a surge of anger in her stomach at the insulting conception. "Now please move."

For some reason unknown to her, a good majority of mankind rarely know when to simply give up. This boy was apparently one of the many numbers. "I'm sure I can persuade you," he said, in attempted suaveness, and inched even closer.

Just as she opened her mouth to protest, the boy was suddenly and violently jerked backwards to where he was no longer obstructing the doorway. Rangiku blinked, unsure of what had just happened, when she saw Gin smiling down at the boy. His lips were moving ever-so-slightly, and a look of sheer horror fell over the blonde's face. He instantly began to nod, and Gin gave his shoulder one last squeeze before he went running down the hall.

Rangiku stood there, dumbfounded, and was snapped out of it only when Gin confronted her. "Are ya alright?"

Instantly she scowled. "Why'd you have to go and do that? I could have taken care of it myself."

He chuckled as he turned and headed down the hall. "But that's what big brothers are for, ya know."

Word Count: 783

Linked to Theme 5.