Katsuko's disrespectful behaviour toward her father had toned down a bit after the incident but that didn't mean anything, she still felt the same contempt for him. Interactions after the incident were never the same as there was no attempt of communication on both parts. Her mother had tried to kick him out on several occasions which included packing all his clothes in a garbage bag and leaving it in the hallway before she and Katsuko went out to eat somewhere. Her mother had told her that they would be fine and that she was going to be fine if her father were to leave. It would hurt because it would feel like a piece of her world was leaving, but she was going to be alright.
However, he wouldn't leave. He was insisting that he would finally stop his affair. He was staying at home the same way he used to prior to his affair. He stopped everything and even admitted to adultery in an attempt to show that he wasn't trying to hide anything anymore.
She let him stay but she never slept in the same room as him since she didn't want to feel like a piece of garbage next to him. She chose to sleep on the living room couch, it was comfier anyway.
Her mother now had full control over the money ever since she found out funds were disappearing during the affair.
Katsuko never contacted Jun, Haru or Ichigo to vent as she felt fine again. But she did let it slip bluntly again when they hung out at the park.
…
…
…
It was time for the next semester to begin.
Katsuko and Jun were together since they were lucky enough to run into each other on the way to the bus stop.
"Did you finish the homework?" Katsuko asked curiously while scrolling for a song on her phone.
Jun sighed heavily which made her quirk an eyebrow and look at him from the side. "I forgot we had one so I stayed up late doing half of it." he lamented pitifully, making Katsuko snicker.
"Next time, write it on your forehead."
"Why?"
"So you'll see it every time you walk in front of a mirror." She chuckled.
"Ha. Ha."
When they were on the bus, Katsuko and Jun were not fortunate have a seat. They had to stand next to each other and hold onto something. Katsuko was holding onto a vertical rail while Jun held onto the horizontal one above their heads. The girl plugged in her ears with her earphones as the bus started moving.
One of her favorite things to do when she listened to music was daydream. Depending on the music, she'd create a fun fantasy-like scenario. There would be times where she imagined herself as a sort of sword-class fighter that was beating up a monster to protect her friends, her swings becoming more powerful as soon as the beat picked up. It was a fun way to pass the time.
When the song ended, Katsuko blinked as if she returned to reality. She turned her head to the right and looked at Jun without any thought in mind. Then she looked back out the window in front of her. She blinked and scrunched her nose. Her head whipped back towards Jun and she removed her right earbud.
"Jun." she whispered.
The boy looked at her. "Hm?"
"Can you lower your arm for a sec?" she patted his left arm next to her. Confused, he lowered it down to his side.
Katsuko's eyes widened in pure shock. "What the fuck…" she whispered.
Jun's shoulder was not at the same level as hers anymore… in fact it was above hers. He… He grew taller than her during the summer break!
"You're taller than me?!" she whispered.
Jun's mouth formed a circle when he realized this fact. "Yeah. Pretty much, I guess."
Katsuko slowly looked back in front of her. She couldn't believe it. Jun was taller than her… Out of the three of them, Katsuko was always the tallest one. The only one who came close or was already a bit taller than her was Ichigo.
…
…
…
"Oh what the hell?!" Katsuko scowled.
Ichigo and Haruki also grew during the summer with the first now being the tallest in the group.
"I guess this is our growth spurt?" Haruki shrugged while scratching the back of his head. He pointed at Ichigo. "You got a major one by the way, it's almost unnatural man."
"You're short now." Jun said bluntly while looking at Katsuko and sipping juice from his box.
Katsuko narrowed her eyes at him. "I'm not short."
"Well, I mean shorter than us." Jun clarified.
Ichigo put a hand on her head before moving it away and holding up her height in front of him. "Seems like an average height to me."
Haruki put his arm on her shoulder and ruffled her hair much to her horror. "You're still pretty tall."
"Dude, not my hair!" she groaned while trying to flatten it, not bothering to push his arm away.
This was their circle of friends. Katsuko, Jun, Haruki and Ichigo had solidified their friendship throughout the school year. Katsuko spent a lot of time with Ichigo working on their assignment and he would often keep her company on the way home since Haruki and Jun had joined the basketball club, meaning that they spent a lot of time practicing after school during the week.
When the time for the presentation came around, Katsuko was literally pacing back and forth during the break while Ichigo just watched, his eyes following her figure. They were standing somewhere in an isolated corner in the halls where Katsuko could freely expel some nervousness.
"Just relax." he said bluntly. "It's just a presentation."
Katsuko glared at him. "It's just a presentation." She imitated him in a childish voice. "Put a sock in it." She growled, making him pull an irritated face.
"Oi…"
"I'm freakin' nervous. My heart is beating fast and I think I can hear it echoing in my head." She took out her phone from her pocket. "And it's like… three minutes until we're up. Why the hell did we have to be the ice breaker?!"
Ichigo sighed and just scratched his head. "You'll be fine." He reassured. He held up the paper that had their ideas for the presentation written on it. "I mean, we rehearsed several times at your place and you had a pretty good grasp on what to say."
"I-I know b-b-but it's still nerve-wracking…"
Ichigo lowered his hand. "You're starting to stutter." He pointed out with a flat tone.
"Shut up!" she stomped on his foot.
Ichigo yowled and glared at her. "Hey! Don't get mad at me!"
"Stop making fun of me!"
"What?! I didn't even— I just pointed out the freaking obvious!"
"Then stop pointing the obvious, you damn carrot!" she tried stomping on his foot again.
He retracted his foot hastily. "Stop calling me that!"
"Does dumbass work then?!"
"Don't call me that either!"
By now, the two were face to face with each other with irritated expressions on their faces. A pair of students walked by them and stared curiously until they disappeared around the corner.
No one said anything until a few seconds passed.
"You good?"
Katsuko frowned and moved away from him to play with her sleeve. "I guess." She grumbled.
Ichigo grabbed her shoulder and guided her back to the classroom. "Just remember to breathe or something. We just need to get this over with and we'll finally be done."
"… Even if I flunk this presentation, the grades I get on the papers are better." She muttered loud enough for him to hear.
Not really going to be a big deal if doesn't go well.
"By the way," she pointed her finger at him. "You nearly stressed me out when you came to school late this morning!"
"It wasn't my fault."
"Something happened?"
"Yeah, there was an accident. A girl came to the clinic right before I was going to leave and she was carrying her older brother who was injured from a car accident."
Katsuko cringed. "Was there blood?"
"Well, yeah, the accident was pretty bad."
"I'd hate to see something like that early in the morning."
Ichigo looked ahead. "It definitely wasn't a pleasant sight."
…
…
…
The first batch of students doing their presentation for that day were finally free from the chains of the long assignment while the rest still had time to prepare and adjust now that they witnessed the first students' presentations.
Katsuko held her head in her hands while she walked next to Ichigo. It didn't exactly go as she thought it would. All their information was presented but the only problem was that the teacher kept asking Katsuko to speak louder since she was sitting in the back. She either said it or made hand motions for her to raise her volume. Katsuko could have sworn she felt Ichigo staring at her silently while she maintained a straight face.
She nearly wanted to scream her presentation and then ask the teacher if she was loud enough.
"I don't get what you're getting all upset over the teacher asking you to speak louder. Be glad that was the only issue."
"Still! She wouldn't stop asking and I felt like throwing the chalkboard erase at her head!"
Ichigo gave her a look of disbelief. "So that's why you were reaching behind your back during the presentation?!" he nearly yelled, pointing a shaky finger in her direction.
"What?" she quirked an eyebrow. "You thought I was just scratching my back for a whole minute?"
The teenage boy next to her was about to say something but he just gave up and shook his head a little to the side. This girl could seriously be something else at times.
2ND YEAR
It was fall. Fall was known to be quite the rainy season with its mood swing-like weather. It could be sunny one minute and then raining the next. Katsuko was a fool for not bothering to check the weather when she decided to hang out with a friend from elementary school. His name was Tenma. He had asked his little brother, Tetsuya, to contact her and invite her to hang out at the park. Katsuko was quite fond of Tenma, considering him one of her favorite friends. When she got there, she found the two brothers including their little sister, Kana.
They were able to chat and play around for at least thirty minutes before they starting noticing how chilly the air was and how dark the clouds were getting. Tenma and Katsuko quickly decided it was best to just return home. Lucky for them, Tenma and his siblings were fortunate enough to be able to get home just before the rain came down too hard. Katsuko's house was, unfortunately, farther away, which meant that she was going to get drenched in rain.
Katsuko panted when she ran. The rain was sort of hurting her head and shoulders from the cold and the endless and merciless pelting. Of course, she was cold, but it didn't really matter if she just went home and changed out of her clothes as soon as possible while drying herself off with a towel.
She needed to catch her breath.
Her feet dragged her towards a house that looked like it provided enough shelter from the rain. The girl let out a sigh of relief before letting herself lean against the glass. Wait. Glass? She turned around and noticed that she was indeed leaning on a giant window. Curiously, she peered inside to make sure no one was watching her. She didn't want people looking at her while she looked like a cat that accidentally got splashed by a truck. She couldn't quite make out what she was seeing due to the natural light's reflection but she knew the lights were off, indicating the lack of people inside.
"If I'm lucky, the rain will get lighter." She muttered to herself before crouching down and staring up at the sky. "Why didn't I bring a sweater this one time?" she whined.
To make things worse, her number of choices for picking out some clothes were going to be limited. Her mother was at the laundry mat with basically all of her clothes. The ones she had in her drawers now were the ones that stayed buried at the bottom since they were older. She wasn't sure if she had any shirts that were going to fit her without squeezing the life out of her.
Meh, I'll manage.
Katsuko wiped the rain away from her eyes and brushed her bangs away from her face.
I'll just wait a bit more...
Katsuko pushed herself up when she felt her feet feeling the strain of carrying her weight. She put her hands on her thighs and stared at the ground while twisting around her ankles.
"This seriously sucks."
"Um, excuse me?"
Katsuko looked up but her hair fell in her face, blocking her eyes.
"We're closed today but is there something you need help with?"
It was a girl's voice.
Katsuko brushed her hair out of her face and saw two people in front of her. A young girl with light brown hair and kind dark brown eyes. She was carrying grocery bags. The moment she looked at the other person at her side, her eyebrows shot up.
"Katsuko?!"
"Oh. Hey, Ichigo."
He was holding an umbrella to protect him and little sister from the rain while carrying another bag of groceries.
"What are you doing here?" he asked her while he and his sister walked closer to Katsuko.
"I… er… got caught in the rain. I wanted to get out of the rain for a bit before running back home again."
"Onii-chan, you know her?"
He looked at her. "She's my classmate." He shifted his gaze towards Katsuko. "Why don't you come over to my place for now." He offered without hesitation.
Huh?
"Uhhh…"
Yuzu gasped in realization. "Is this her, the one whose house you go to?!"
UM.
"It's not like that." Ichigo said immediately before his sister's imagination went off.
UM…
Katsuko waved her hands in front of her. "No, it's okay." She quickly turned him down. "I'll be fine. Thanks. I'll be heading home like… right now. Besides, there's barely any space left under that umbrella."
I can't just step into your house like this! I… I'm too freaking shy for that!
Ichigo pointed upwards. "You're literally at my family clinic. My house is here. It's not that much of a walk."
"What?!"
Katsuko moved away and stepped into the rain to look up at the sign.
Kurosaki Clinic. How fucking blind am I?
"Um, but I don't want to intrude…" Katsuko said, her voice kind. She moved away from the rain.
Ichigo blew out some hot air in annoyance. "You wanna get sick, then you can stay here if you want."
"Onii-chan!" Yuzu gave her brother a pointed look before looking back at Katsuko with a reassuring smile. "We really don't mind!"
"You can hang in my room for now." He said after thinking a bit. She was probably just being shy again after all.
His room? Away from anyone else? … That seemed okay, it feels less awkward that way.
"… Um… o-okay." She surrendered.
"Let's get you inside, you must be freezing!" Yuzu said while gently tugging Katsuko under the umbrella. Ichigo had to move around to make space. It seemed like Ichigo's little sister was dead set on showing her older brother's friend some hospitality.
Ichigo entered his room with a tray in his hands. "Yuzu took care of your clothes. You'll get them back later." He closed the door with his foot.
Katsuko, who was sitting on his floor in a rather stiff position, watched him come in. "Oh thanks." When she spotted the two tea cups on the tray she ended up frowning a little. "You didn't have to make some tea…"
"You'll feel better after drinking something warm." He walked to his desk and lowered the tray. "You were caught in the rain for crying out loud."
After letting her enter the house, she was able to get acquainted with the other Kurosaki child of the house named Karin. Yuzu had provided her with a fluffy towel and gave her some slippers to borrow. Ichigo lent her some of his clothes since his sisters' clothes were obviously not going to fit her. He gave the smallest shirt and pants he had in his closet. She changed her clothes in Ichigo's room, which he obviously gave her privacy for by staying in the living room with Karin, and Yuzu took care of her wet clothes. She kept her undergarments since they were surprisingly not so soaked like her shirt and pants, just a bit wet.
Katsuko felt so bad that his little sister of all people was taking care of her things. She felt bad for even being in his house so suddenly. She felt freaking bad for having tea prepared for her. She felt bad.
She didn't want to sit on his bed or desk chair. She wanted to avoid doing too much during her stay, which explained her sitting position; knees up and arms wrapped around her legs while she leaned back against his bed with a towel on her head.
He raised an eyebrow at her fetal position.
"You could sit on the bed if you want."
"…"
Silently and hesitantly, she decided to sit on the edge of his bed.
Ichigo eyed with a weirded out look on his face. "What's up with you?"
Katsuko frowned, reaching back to scratch her neck. "Nothing… I guess I'm a little nervous."
"Of what?"
"Being in your house, or just being at a friend's house? I dunno."
"… You haven't been to Jun or Haru's house?"
She shook her head.
That was surprise considering how close they were.
…
…
Ichigo had a smug smirk on his face. "Oh? Katsuko's shy about being at a boy's house?" he teased her just like how her friends did to him a year ago.
Katsuko's right eye twitched. "Shut up." she pointed at him.
"Are the clothes okay, are they too big?" he asked while taking one of the cups and handing it to her which she muttered a quick 'thanks' for.
Katsuko lifted her head and tugged the front of his long sleeved shirt. "It actually kind of fits." she told him while stretching a leg out to prove her point. "I've never worn guy clothes but I expected some baggy shirts and baggy pants. You like wearing slim fitting clothes?"
Ichigo put his arm on the backrest. "Yeah." He held up a chocolate bar. "You want some?"
The boy saw how her eyes lit up a bit at the sight of the treat. He noted how child-like it was.
"Sure."
Ichigo opened the wrapper and split off the first row of bar to give to her. "How come you didn't ask your friend to let you stay at his house when it rained?"
Katsuko chewed. "I didn't really have time to ask. We were literally racing out of the park to avoid the rain while his younger siblings struggled to keep up." she said before pouting a little as she looked out the window. The sound of rain hitting his window was pretty harsh. "I seriously hope the rain will stop soon… I don't even have my phone."
Ichigo looked outside as well, watching how the rain messed up his view. "I'll walk you home if it doesn't let up."
He knew her mother would start wondering where she was if she didn't return home soon without saying anything.
The first time her mother saw Ichigo was when he was hanging out at her place, she gushed about how tall Ichigo was. Her mother was pretty relaxed and not as strict as he imagined her to be considering how Katsuko was inviting boys over to her house frequently. She trusted Ichigo just like how she trusted Jun and Haru as Katsuko's friends when she saw that he wasn't a bad influence or something.
Jun and Haru had the habit of referring Katsuko's mother as 'aunty'. It was Haru's idea to make Ichigo call her the same way, he was just teasing though. Ichigo didn't really want to call her that since he felt a little strange about it. At first, it was seriously just a joke. But after Jun and Haru's insisting, and Katsuko's constant prevention of not letting him go home unless he said it, he just gave in and started calling her 'aunty' as well. It wasn't as bad as he thought.
"Bless your soul." Katsuko put her hands in a praying motion. Then she immediately lowered her hands when she remembered something. "Oh crap, what happened to you and Chad yesterday? I saw you and Chad fighting after school."
After summer break and little into the second semester, Katsuko and her friends were introduced to a friend that Ichigo made. His name was Yasutora Sado but Ichigo said to just call him Chad. He was a tall dark guy that seemed like a foreigner. Turns out he was half Mexican.
Having Chad around also helped with bullies who tried to pick on Katsuko to irritate Ichigo. Honestly, they always try some cheap tricks just to harass Ichigo.
She got along well with Chad since they were both kind of quiet together sometimes. He was actually just a gentle giant. She came to that conclusion when she found him playing with a small street cat behind the school. A surprising sight to say the least.
"Meh, they just kept whining about their 'brother' who got a broken nose or something. His name was Aki… Akino… Aki-something…"
Katsuko scoffed. "Yeah, don't even bother remembering his name since you won't even remember that dude's face. Your memory can be crappy sometimes."
"Hey, I don't need to remember their ugly faces. They'll just waste memory storage." he drank his tea.
"If you even used up any…" Katsuko muttered with a chortle.
"I heard that."
Katsuko just grinned cheekily.
To pass the time, they just started talking about stuff that happened during the summer break.
…
…
…
"Oh right, before I forget…" Ichigo got up from his chair and went to his shelf that was situated near her. "I finished reading that manga I borrowed from your house."
"Oh thanks." she held up her hands and noticed a brown smudge on her fingers, making her frown. She went to his desk and pulled tissue from a kleenex box to wipe her fingers.
"Here." he handed it to her when she cleaned herself.
When she sat back down on the edge of his bed, she peered at his shelf and saw several books lined up. She knew that Ichigo liked to read manga like most teens and she was aware that he liked spending his time reading novels. But he wasn't a bookworm, that she was sure of.
Katsuko's eyes widened when she saw something specific on the shelf.
It was a Shakespeare book! That was something she really didn't expect out of him. Seriously, that was the last thing she expected out of him. She turned her head to look at him and pointed at his shelf, he just quirked an eyebrow and held up his hand as if to ask 'what?'.
However, before she could even ask him about it, there was loud yelp outside his door. Ichigo and Katsuko looked at each other for a brief moment after looking at the door. Recognizing the groaning outside, Ichigo pushed himself out of his seat and marched to his door. He ripped his door open and then a choked noise escaped him.
"The hell are you doing?!" Ichigo shrieked.
"See? What did I tell you." that was Karin's voice.
"Dad went racing up to Onii-chan's room when I told him we had a guest." Yuzu's voice came next.
"My son invited a girl into his room and you expect me to believe his hormones aren't raging?"
Ichigo's face turned red from the embarrassment. "Wha-What?!" he sputtered before his face contorted into one of anger. Embarrassing a growing teenage boy was never a good idea. "How long have you been there?!"
Katsuko was wondering how the hell this situation was going to conclude.
"That, my son, is a secret." Isshin said with the most serious face.
"That is so not cool— oof!" Ichigo stumbled to the side when Isshin pushed himself inside his room with a smile on his face. "Hellooo! I'm Kurosaki Isshin, the father of Ichigo!"
Katsuko blinked. She nervously played with her sleeves.
"H-Hello…?"
…
…
"… Katsuko-chan?"
"D-Doctor Kurosaki…"
"Look how big you've grown—!" his attempt to get closer to her was foiled.
"GET OUT!"
Isshin flew out of Ichigo's room after the orange haired teen kicked him. The last thing Katsuko saw was Isshin's body slumping to the floor after slamming into the wall. Ichigo slammed his door shut before taking a few steps inside, huffing in annoyance. Then he opened his door again. "Yuzu, are her clothes dry yet?!"
"A-Almost!"
Ichigo scowled. "Tell me when they're done!" he said before closing his door again.
Katsuko laughed shakily, still a little startled by the sudden appearance of his father. "Daddy ruined your cool vibes?" she teased him with a smirk when she picked up her cup. She resisted the urge to laugh when she saw his blushing face, it seemed like he was really embarrassed.
Must be tough being a teenager with a wild parent.
"This isn't the first time he's done this; I swear he can seriously piss me off." He grumbled as he dropped himself back in his chair.
Katsuko chortled in her cup.
3RD YEAR
As she thought, her father's affair had no affect whatsoever on her schooling as she treated it as something that was irrelevant to her studies. She was no model student but she was still able to secure her throne as the top student in her class for the past three years.
Her third year teacher told her mother during the parent-teacher conference that she was such a good student that was super nice and respectful. At the time, Katsuko was talking with Haruki via messenger call to kill time while she waited for her turn. To be respectful, she removed an earbud but kept one just hanging around her ear in a way where she could still hear Haruki. Apparently, he wanted to hear what her teacher was going to say about their top student.
The moment her teacher showered her with comments that made her seem angelic, she nearly burst out laughing right after Haruki yelled 'BULLSHIT!' in her earphone.
The teachers would never catch on to the fact that she was literally two-faced at school.
She accumulated so many certificates for excellence and efforts for her grades during her time in middle school. Her school even held a merit ceremony for the studious students of the school. Each year, Katsuko had been nominated as best student of her year, earning her a fancy honor that her mother happily displayed in the house. In those ceremonies, one student out of the nominated three received another fancy award based on the total number of certificates that were given based on efforts and excellence. That student would be nominated as the best student out of all the three years. It was a pretty big deal. As much as Katsuko would love to try and earn that award, she knew it was pretty much impossible. She was just glad to be the best of her year, that was already a big thing.
It was also enough since she got to hear her mother brag so proudly about her achievements, something that gave her a big head when she was with Haru and Jun. Her mother often talked about how, when she attended the ceremonies, other parents would be so shocked that the same person would keep going up on stage to snatch a certificate of honor.
It was a great feeling.
Jun found someone that he liked that had mutual feelings towards him. Her name was Mayuka. She was the first female friend Katsuko had made during her time in Mashiba middle school. She was very responsible, thoughtful and funny at times. While she did have feelings for him, she told him that she wasn't ready to get into a relationship yet, not until Jun fully got a good grasp of who she was. Jun was fine with that. He would wait until she was ready. For now, they would be (as Katsuko liked to call it) testing the waters.
Haruki and Katsuko didn't think Jun would be such a devoted guy when it came to someone he liked. They liked seeing this new side of him.
At first, Katsuko felt uneasy about the whole situation since she knew getting into a serious relationship might or might not end up with her being seen as some sort of villain in the eyes of her friends' girlfriend. After all, that was the reason why Tenma broke up with his girlfriend in his second year of middle school, she didn't like the fact that he was so friendly with female friends from his elementary school.
Mayuka might have sensed the unease since she asked Katsuko if she would be okay with the possibility of her going out with Jun. Katsuko had answered her question by saying she would be fine with it but she wouldn't like it if Mayuka disliked the fact the Jun was friends with her. Mayuka just responded with hugging her with one arm, saying that she would never to do that since Jun is one of her precious friends. She understood how Katsuko felt.
Katsuko had nothing to worry about when she said that.
…
…
…
The doorbell rang.
With an annoyed click of her tongue, Katsuko dropped her pencil and removed herself from her desk where she was drawing. She looked at herself and judged her appearance. She was wearing black leggings and a loose red hoodie on top of her blue t-shirt. It seemed appropriate enough, she just needed to hide her messy hair with her hood.
When she arrived at the door, she opened it and peeked outside.
"You should really check before answering the door like that." a nasal voice chided her.
Katsuko gaped. "Whoa… what the hell happened to you two?"
Ichigo and Chad were outside her door and they didn't look in tip-top shape. Ichigo was poorly trying to cover his bleeding nose with a tissue that looked like it couldn't absorb anymore blood while Chad looked beat up with the red marks on his face and the messed-up hair. The taller student held up his hand to greet her.
"The usual." Ichigo replied nasally.
Katsuko pulled off her hood and frowned. "Just stay in the living room and try not to bleed on my couch." she said before walking into her house.
"Thanks. Come on, Chad."
"Hm."
Katsuko sighed exasperatedly when she went into her bathroom to get a towel.
At the age of fifteen, it seemed like the fights were just getting worse. Katsuko never understood why those thugs couldn't just get a life instead of doing pointless things.
She went to the kitchen and grabbed two ice packs.
Needless to say, Katsuko got worried when she first saw the worn out state Ichigo was in the next day after a fight. Jun and Haru were wondering if he was going to end up in the hospital one day since it was a major step up from his previous injuries. Ichigo just brushed it off and played it cool, Katsuko didn't buy that for a second, she was right because he stiffened and hissed when she mildly thumped his cheek.
When she went into the living room, she tossed a towel at Ichigo's head and then gently handed Chad an ice pack. He took it and thanked her. "Sorry for intruding."
"Nah, it's fine. It's nice to get some company when the house echoes with my breath."
"I see."
"How come he gets the nice treatment?" Ichigo complained. Katsuko glanced over her shoulder and just gave him a look similar to disgust. "Because I bet you purposely taunted those guys to look like this. Chad's obviously your babysitter at this point."
"No, he's not, the hell." Ichigo switched the tissue with the towel. "Chad just has my back, right?"
Chad gave him a thumbs up. Katsuko sighed at that, she walked over to the orange haired boy and pressed the other ice pack on his forehead, hard.
"OW! Stop!"
"Just run away next time or something."
Ichigo pushed her hand away and held the ice pack, glaring at her. "I'm not about to run away from a fight."
"Sometimes it's better to just avoid confrontation, stupid!"
"If I do that I'll look like a chicken!"
"Who cares what they think!"
Ichigo stubbornly looked away from her when she just narrowed her eyes at him.
"You should have just dyed your hair like I suggested."
Ichigo scoffed. "We're past the point of my hair giving me abuse with those guys."
He had a point. Those guys just hated his guts now, orange hair or not.
"You better be grateful my door is open to help your dumbass." Katsuko huffed before sitting properly next to him and crossing her legs. Ichigo was going to question her hospitality but he chose to keep his mouth shut.
There were times when Ichigo and Chad got beat up and needed to clean themselves up, mostly Ichigo than Chad since he didn't want to go home right looking all beaten. He thought of Katsuko's place since he knew she welcomed company and she didn't mind helping. The first time he showed up, he nearly opted to just returning home since he felt bad for taking advantage of her kindness, but she just didn't mind at all.
Chad just smiled a little at their little banter. Despite Katsuko's tendencies to be quite mean, it was obvious how much she cared for her friends. She was caring. The bonds she shared with those close to her were deeply treasured.
…
…
…
"Mashiba's Chad, Kurosaki and Hiragi?"
"That's right!" Keigo said fearfully. "It seems all three of them enrolled at this school! Seriously!"
Mizuiro just stared at Keigo. "So, why are you crying?"
"You moron, Chad and Kurosaki are pedigreed super juvenile delinquents! I heard they're close with the Yakuza, that they're smuggling in drugs, that they go into bookstores and browse porno books for five hours at a time! And that Hiragi, I've heard that she's a cyber master that's capable of hacking your IP address for the Yakuza. She could seriously ruin your life with a single click of the mouse! The dark rumors about them are countless!"
"Those are just rumors. You've never met them, so you don't know what sort of people they are."
"What're you saying?!"
…
…
…
Katsuko stared at her sleeves while she climbed up the stairs. The uniform for high school was pretty good compared to her middle school uniform. Like in middle school, she wore the shorts underneath the skirt and the high knee socks.
All five of us are in the same class this year, that's good.
She had a small smile on her face when she made it to her floor, mouthing '1-3' as she walked in the hallway with her ears plugged with music. She couldn't help but feel funny at the stares she received from a couple of students in the hallway. Katsuko was aware of the rumors, it was her fault they existed. It happened around the second semester of her final year in middle school. She accidentally got dragged into one of Chad and Ichigo's scuffles on the way home, something that wasn't intended since it came from a dude's elbow that rammed into her arm when he reeled back.
In the end, she threatened to share information about the thugs' questionable actions with the police while also warning them that she'd have the Yakuza on their ass once she spread false information.
It was a bluff, but they seriously looked scared when she said it.
Jun guessed that they knew they were messing with a smart person who could actually mess with them through technology, he also that little bruise slide since he knew that it was an accident.
She remembered when Chad and Ichigo looked at her. They were so shocked at how scary she was that day. It was the first time they saw her look so pissed.
Unlike Chad and Ichigo, the rumors only convinced people not to get on her bad side.
Ah, found it.
Katsuko opened the door in the back.
"You damn pervert!"
She nimbly side-stepped when she saw a student flying her way. They just caused a breeze when they passed her. Katsuko waited until she heard a thud before glancing over her shoulder apathetically. Whatever is going on… it's way too early for it.
Behind her was a student with short red hair and glasses, she was groaning in pain. Katsuko was about to enter the classroom but she saw another girl marching her way with a face that could be described as rage. Silently, Katsuko made way for her and just slipped inside after she passed.
Yeah, it's way too early, especially for a half day.
During the opening ceremony, Katsuko was next to Jun who was sitting next to Haru. Ichigo ended up slipping into the crowd and staying next to her, he was late with Chad since they were caught up with something. Katsuko had a pretty good idea what it was since she heard some students yelling about students fighting in front of the school gates. After it was over, the five of them left the auditorium together.
Katsuko yawned into her sleeve.
"Tired?" that was Chad's voice. She saw him peering at her silently.
"Yeah…" Katsuko drawled while blinking away the little tears. "We have to wake up early again for school… my body isn't ready for that."
"That's because you keep sleeping late." Ichigo said flatly while opening his jacket, revealing a shirt that wasn't part of his uniform.
"I'm not gonna sleep early when it's the break." Katsuko covered another yawn, causing Jun to yawn as well.
Haruki laughed. "You made him yawn." He patted Jun's shoulder who just shook his head with a small smile. "You guys wanna get something to drink on the way home?" Haru said with a grin.
"Yes! I want." Katsuko raised her hand.
"I'm down. I didn't eat this morning." Jun stretched his arms.
Chad and Ichigo also decided to get some but then the group was stopped by someone calling Ichigo's name. The said boy turned around with the others doing the same. There was a girl that Katsuko saw prior to the opening ceremony. She was waving at Ichigo.
"Oh, Tatsuki. Hey."
"I noticed you were in my class but I didn't see you in class before the opening ceremony."
"Yeah, well, something came up. I was late."
Katsuko snickered softly which made him glance at her silently. Tatsuki's attention dropped on Katsuko when she heard her snicker. Immediately, she remembered what happened earlier. She moved around Ichigo so that she could get a better look at her.
"Hey, you're the girl from this morning, right? At the door."
"Um, yeah."
"Sorry about earlier." she put a hand on her hip and rubbed the back of her neck. "You nearly got hit because of me."
The image of that short red haired girl flying towards her flashed in her mind.
Yeah, I nearly got taken down by that chick if I didn't move. Concussion on the first day of school? No thank you.
"It's fine."
The encounter with Tatsuki didn't last very long since Ichigo cut it short since he had plans with his friends. They spent an hour together with the commute and the drinks before parting ways. Katsuko was walking home alone while listening to her music and drinking. Jun went to meet up with Mayuka somewhere near her school since they had plans after her orientation was over. Haru parted ways with her when they reached an intersection.
It was already lunch time by the time she arrived in her area. She figured that she should also buy a snack at the bakery near her house just in case she got hungry while her parents were still out.
Without a word, she picked up a pastry that was enveloped in plastic. It was a small hot dog wrapped in some type of sweet bread. After she took hers, there was only one more left. She was considering on buying the last for herself.
"Oh, you're here again?"
Katsuko pulled out one of her earphones when she heard someone speak next to her.
"Oh... Hirako."
The guy standing next to her had jaw-length blonde hair that was cut straight. He was carrying a plastic bag in one hand. She knew this guy. During the summer when she was fourteen, her house went under renovation. He happened to be working for the guy leading the renovation with a friend of his. There were times where she would run into Hirako at the bakery since he liked the bread they had to offer. The last time she ran into him, he got upset with her. Why? Because she took the last pastry he liked.
Hirako looked at the last one of the batch and gave her a look. "I'll thank you for leaving the last one this time." he said before hastily grabbing it before she could change her mind.
"You holding a grudge for some bread?" Katsuko quirked an eyebrow.
"You have to be considerate about other people who want to buy the same thing." he scolded her comically, wagging his finger. Katsuko just stared at him in a blasé manner.
"I doubt the store owner cares about that. They just want to sell their stuff." she before walking off to the counter to pay for her item. When she was done, she passed by Hirako who just waved at her with a grin. She just waved back.
When she stepped outside, she nearly dropped her bread when she froze and stumbled a little. It was another cloudy figure, it scared the hell out of her when it moved past her. She quickly shook her head and began walking home, trying to calm her nerves.
Geez, I hate it when that happens... they always freak me out...
...
...
...
Katsuko was unaware of the gaze of Hirako that watched her leaving form.
This was a pretty light chapter compared to the previous one. Things in this chapter moved pretty quickly for the sake of the next chapter.
I don't know if japanese schools had merit ceremonies (I had them) so I was a bit hesitant to add that bit. But since it's my story, I decided to just go with it.
When I watched episode 227 to get an idea of how to write this chapter, I thought it would be funny to add Katsuko to Keigo's fears to make their initial interactions fun.
When I found out that Chad liked small animals the first thing I picture was him making a box for some cat behind the school XD. As for Shinji, I like to think that the Vizards took on all sorts of jobs during their stay in the human world.
Beck: Yes, an affair story is really complex and it's one of the things that can easily give an emotional scar to someone. I really wanted to give a normal type of backstory without any sort of supernatural influence that could happen to anyone. It just makes Katsuko a normal person going through issues in life.
I look forward to reading reviews! See you in the next chapter!