Understanding II: School Daze (Bleach Fanfic)

Stepping In

When Isshin told Karin to get back to class she complied despite the fact that she felt her father was a complete idiot. Something felt odd about the old man's behavior though. She headed to her class and stepped into the room, glad to not be noticed by any of the other students in the classroom. She slipped in next to Yuzu.

Her twin sister frowned at her, worry filling her eyes. "What happened to Toshiro-kun?"

"I spoke up for him, so he'll be able to come back to class tomorrow. Hashigami is stuck missing class for three days." Karin set her book bag down on the hook of her desk and then pulled out her schoolwork. She glanced over her homework, double checking to make sure that everything that she needed to turn in was there. She also double checked her work before turning it in.

One of her friends approached her. Kei had one of those goofy smiles plastered on his face. "Karin! Did you hear that Hashigami got beat up by some new punk kid?"

At that, the small female let out a sigh. "I was there when the whole thing happened. I doubt that the rumors you have been hearing are actually true."

At that, Usaka popped up, pushing up his yellow eye glasses. "Oh come on Karin. I heard he pounded him to a bloody pulp."

"Did you see a bloody mess outside the school?" The female sighed, narrowing her eyes in irritation. Toshiro wasn't even there on the first day and he was already causing her problems.

Yuzu though frowned at the two boys. "Toshiro-kun didn't beat anybody into a pulp."

At that, Kei blinked a couple of times. "You know the kid Karin? I haven't ever heard his name before."

"That's because he was going to start class today. Can we please drop the subject?" Karin turned to glower out the window. "I don't like talking about him."

"But..." Her twin spoke up, only to suddenly become silent with a quick glare from the black haired of the duo.

The rest of the class was talking about what had happened and Karin had the feeling that Toshiro would be met with a rather interesting welcome comity when he came to school the next day. A few of the kids were asking what he looked like and Hashigami's friends were chatting about how the kid was this punk they didn't even know.

Finally though, the teacher came in with the attendance seat and the few standing hurried to their desks and sat down, curiosity written on their face. The woman spoke up, a stern look on her face. "I was supposed to introduce you to a new student today, but something came up."

"That's because he beat up Hashigami." The fat one of the ringleaders friends suddenly spoke up, looking at the front with a rather dull look on his face.

"What I saw out there was a mutual scuffle between two boys. I want his classmates not to judge him before you get to know him. Don't assume that he is a bad seed simply because of this little incident or other reasons." The woman then opened her book and rattled out the attendance.

After a bit of time, Karin glanced out the window, only to see her brother and another teenager outside the window. She pretended that she didn't see either male and honestly didn't want to know why they were there. Something told her that she didn't want to know why the two males were there and instead choose to ignore them.

However, one of Hashigami's group of friends noticed them outside. It was the one named Ino, and he pushed up his glasses as he did so. "Sensei! There is a teenager outside dressed weird!"

At that, her teacher and everyone else suddenly glanced up just as the other teenager and her brother disappeared. Karin found herself rather glad that her brother was gone and turned to look at the window so that she wouldn't draw attention to herself by being the only one looking towards the front. The teacher however, was not at all pleased. "Seriously, what is with you three and lying about things."

She went into a lecture on that one student, which was Karin's signal to look back at the front. She simply wanted a normal life, but she got the idea that a normal life was not something she would ever have, considering her ability to see ghosts. She let out a shiver at the idea that another would suddenly start hanging out around her and she swore that if she ever caught sight of one, she would snap her eyes away as if it didn't exist.

School progressed at a normal rate other then that one incident. After school though, her teacher handed Karin and Yuzu the assignments that were given out that day for Toshiro and they both headed home, rather then going out and hanging with friends. While Yuzu headed into the kitchen to prepare after school snacks, Karin was left with the task of handing over the papers to Toshiro.

She headed up the stairs and heard raised voices coming from her brothers room, completely from her relative, not the guest, though she could hear another person speaking. "None of my business why you got into a fight! Toshiro! I am supposed to be keeping an eye on you, keeping you out of trouble! Do you want to be able to get back home or not!"

At that, Karin stepped in, calling out to her brother. Ichigo tried brushing her off. She listened long enough to find out that the reason her brother was upset with the fight that happened that morning before school started. She felt like rolling her eyes at how stupid the male members of her family could be.

At that, he squeezed in between the two, pushing her brother away before it would escalate into a fight. "Ichi-nii, Toshiro stood up for me. That's why he got into a fight."

At that, her brother pulled back, his entire body calming down. He went and sat down in the chair next to the desk and looked at the two. "Why did Toshiro have to stand up for you? I know for a fact that you can hold your own when it comes to fights."

At that, Karin backed away from the white haired youth, not liking the fact that she had gotten close to him in the first place. It was Toshiro who spoke up, saying something he had said before. "I told you Kurosaki, it isn't any of your business."

At that, Ichigo's eyebrow twitched suddenly. "I think it is my business because she is my sister."

At that, the small female found herself opening her mouth, and then closing it. She then walked over to where her brother was and whispered into his ear what happened. Her brother blinked a couple of times and then she pulled away. "Ichi-nii. Understand that the situation is taken care of."

Her brother let out a deep sigh. "So I take it that the two of you are friends now."

There came an answer of no from the two of them simultaneously. Toshiro's had a sound of frustration while Karin's was more adamant about the whole thing. The female preteen swung her backpack off her shoulders and then pulled out the papers and shoved them at Toshiro. "The teacher gave me your homework assignments. The due dates are already written on them,

She watched as the white haired youth's mouth twisted up in a grimace and then she turned and headed out of the door, heading back downstairs. She then flopped onto the couch and put her hands behind her head. Yuzu popped up next to her. "How's Toshiro-kun doing?"

"Fine... not that I really care."