Chapter 96

Karakura High School was always rowdy. Even on the first day of the new semester, the students were noisy. It wasn't a surprise though. 

After all, it was their first meeting in two months, since the beginning of summer break. There were a lot of things they wanted to talk about.

However, the students strangely became slightly quiet and whispered among themselves this morning after seeing an unusual pair of people walking to school together.

It was Tatsuki Arisawa, one of the strongest people in the school and Kurosaki Shirou, the school janitor. It wasn't a surprising sight to see them walking to school. Both of them had known each other since they were children, after all.

But to see them walking to school together, that was new.

"Mizuiro! Look at them, d-d-d-do you think they have-"

"Calm down, Keigo. Don't jump to the conclusion so fast."

"But look at them, Mizuiro! They're walking to school together!"

"I see that. And I am as surprised as you are. It's a good sight, I have to admit. The delinquent girl walking together with our janitor."

"Oh, they're going to be so popular! Especially Shirou." Keigo excitedly exclaimed. "Isn't that right, Ichigo?"

Both of them looked at the orange-haired boy in interest.

Who knew more about Shirou than his own twin brother?

When they turned to him, they saw Ichigo look as surprised as they were.

"Really?" He muttered in disbelief.

It wasn't that Ichigo thought that Shirou was a loner, quite the opposite actually.

The boy was friendly and kind, someone that could easily be friends with everyone he met.

Ichigo thought his twin brother was like a cat, making friends easily with everyone. But it was the first time Ichigo saw Shirou walking with a girl without putting on an invisible wall.

Even with Tatsuki, his childhood friend, it was rare to see them walking together.

"Since when?" He looked dumbfounded as he said that. "Did something happen?"

The two boys just shrugged. It seemed Ichigo was just as clueless as they were.

On the other hand, Orihime looked pretty happy. She clasped her hands and smiled warmly as she watched the pair walk to the school.

"Tatsuki and Shirou-kun... How lovely..." The girl said. "They look like a real couple."

"I don't know. They're just friends in my eyes." Ichigo said. "But what I do know is..."

Ichigo looked around, noticing that everyone's gaze was focused on his brother and Tatsuki, "Their relationship will become the talk of the town soon."

***

"Ah! Shirou!"

Shirou's first impression when he saw the students reaction was a simple, "Huh?"

The students looked at the janitor with a curious and gleaming gaze. Their interest was piqued, especially after seeing Tatsuki with him. The atmosphere in the class was full of excitement, like there was something interesting waiting to happen.

He was wondering if they were up to something. He couldn't think of anything else.

But then, he realized what the students were looking at.

'They are mistaking us for having a relationship with each other.'

Somehow he felt a bit awkward around Tatsuki now. He wasn't used to the stares he received.

The stares were especially clear when they entered the classroom. Everyone looked at him with wide grins and smirks on their faces, making it hard for Shirou to ignore. He sighed, and walked to the back of the class.

He noticed that Tatsuki seemed to notice their gazes and frown.

"What are you looking at?" She demanded, her voice filled with annoyance.

Everyone quickly averted their eyes and tried to busy themselves with something, avoiding Tatsuki's sharp glare.

"Ah, it seems they're just misunderstanding." He said, chuckling.

The girl raised an eyebrow and asked. "What are you talking about?"

"They think that we are dating." Shirou answered simply.

"..."

Tatsuki froze and looked at him.

Looking at her blank face, Shirou wondered if he had said something wrong.

Then, after a long while, she turned to face the rest of the class, and said in a low and threatening tone, "... Who wants to die today?"

Her aura was thick and intimidating. Shirou felt like she could kill someone with her eyes.

However, he noticed that her cheek reddened slightly before she threatened the class.

"Hahaha, sorry." Some laughed, scratching their heads sheepishly.

Meanwhile, Orihime approached her best friend with sparkling eyes and grabbed Tatsuki's hand with her own hands.

"Tatsuki-chan! Congratulations!" Orihime cheered happily, "I'm happy for you!"

Tatsuki's blush deepened.

"W-Wha-What?!" Tatsuki stuttered. Her face turned red as she realized what her best friend was saying, "N-No! You misunderstood it! We're just friends!"

Orihime giggled. "Yes, yes. You don't have to be shy! I am really happy for you!"

"No, I mean..."

Shirou sighed and approached his seat. It seemed that the misunderstanding was far from being cleared up. Rather than that, it ran deeper than before.

'Now that's something.'

His life would be harder from now.

"Shirou, you bastard." The voice of Keigo, his friend, snapped Shirou's thoughts.

He turned his head to face Keigo. The boy looked very displeased as he stared at Shirou.

"Is it true? You and Arisawa are a couple now?"

"We're not. I just met her on my way here, that's all." He replied. He knew the answer to the question, but it was still nice to be honest. Especially with friends, it would help to clear things up faster. "Why?"

Keigo narrowed his eyes, looking at him with suspicion and distrust. "Liar. There is no way that a hot and popular tomboy girl would be willing to walk to school together with someone like you. I don't buy it."

Shirou blinked. It took him a few moments to register what the boy meant, "You think I'm lying? What are you talking about, Asano? I'm telling you, there's nothing between us. I just met her on my way to school."

"I don't believe you," Keigo replied, "You must have used some kind of magic to make her your girlfriend."

"Don't talk nonsense!"

"Argh!"

Tatsuki suddenly appeared and kicked Keigo on the stomach.

"You! Don't go and make a fuss!" Tatsuki growled at the boy, glaring down at him. Her eyes were narrowed in anger and her fists were clenched tightly, "Just shut your trap and go to your seat already!"

Shirou winced when he heard the sound of the kick, but he understood her frustration. He smiled awkwardly and scratched his cheek. It would seem that this would be another normal day in the school.

Chaos happened all the time here, but at least he was getting used to it.

Only when the bell rang and the teacher entered the class, everything calmed down. It seemed like the teacher's appearance was enough to make them remember their position. The class became silent, and everyone sat down at their seats.

And then...

"There is a new transfer student today." The teacher said, looking at the class, "Come in."

A blond-haired man with bowl cut and misaligned bangs entered the room. He smiled in a silly way and introduced himself in a cheery voice, "Hello everyone! My name is Hirako Shinji, nice to meet you."

His eyes scanned the whole room until they stopped on Ichigo's place. His grin became bigger and he looked like a Cheshire cat, like he found something amusing and worth of interest. His gaze made the boy feel a chill down his spine, like the man could read him.

"Um..." The teacher coughed awkwardly before speaking, "Hirako, you can sit down in that empty seat." He said while pointing to the empty seat that was near the window. It was close to Ichigo's place, just two seats beside him.

"Hooh." He grinned. "Alright, I will sit there then."

He went and sat on the seat, looking outside of the window as the class went on. His eyes occasionally shifted to Ichigo's direction.

When he passed by, he stopped for a second and grinned.

"Nice to meet you."

"Yeah. Kurosaki Ichigo." He replied, nodding at the boy.