Familiarity [Karakura High School] (closed)

[Suigintou]

Uryuu glanced around as he walked up the steps to Karakura-cho's high school, surrounded by the enthusiastic talk of his peers. None of them were speaking to him - he wasn't the most popular student - but the familiarity of returning was comfortable.

One class passed, and then another, and by lunchtime the routine of moving from class to class, of taking notes as was expected of a top student like himself, had become as natural as if he hadn't had a break.

Perhaps it was a little too familiar - Kurosaki was still as irritating as ever.

And then lunch was over and he returned to the school, entering his next class behind Inoue.

True, his morning had been rather mundane...but it was better than having a hollow show up outside.

A little.

Kurosaki entered noisily as he took his seat, accompanied by his friends, and irritation crossed Uryuu's features as he opened his notebook.

...Not much.

Sighing inwardly, he allowed his eyes to wander outside. It was a clear, bright day, without a sign of hollow troubles. He should've been thankful for the break, he supposed, frowning lightly as he shifted his arm.

Really, he'd had enough of hollows for a while...

And duty as a Quincy didn't give him a rest for long, so for now, he supposed, mundane was good enough.

[Bishiglomper]

Hamasaki Sayuki entered the builing on her first day of highschool. Her strawberry-blonde hair was a mess, her uniform was a bit loose on her, but gosh-darn it, she was there! She hoped the year would go well for her, she'd hate to have a bad start. In the back of her mind, she wished her brother was here to see her off.
With her good-luck starry charm bracelet hanging on her wrist, Saaya fiddled with one of the more intricate stars before she chose a direction to find her classroom.


Sayuki had to fight her way through the first horde of students just to make it to homeroom. A sigh of relief. She couldn't wait until she hit another growth spurt, not only was she frail, she was short to boot! The average height of her classmates was at least 4 inches taller than she was.

The first half of the day went fairly well; Sayuki had managed to get to all her classes and survive the halls without being too underfoot and making it to lunch.


Saaya got a little mixed up after lunch. She had made it halfway down the other half of the school on accident before she realized she was heading in the wrong direction! Glad that she halls were fairly empty, but knew that meant the bell would ring any moment, Sayuki ran for it, making it halfway down the hall from her class before she caught sight of a clock.

She wasn't sure just how many seconds were left, but she scanned the hall just to make sure no one was around and very nearly teleported into the classroom at the end of the hall within seconds. She made it just as the bell rang!

Unfortunately, her grand entrance was a faceplant into the linoleum.

(She reaaally had to work on her landings...)

[Suigintou]

Pencil slid across paper in Uryuu's sharp, neat handwriting as he waited for class to start. He paid little attention to the other students, focused on his work, said nothing to them and was content not to be spoken to.

Where was their teacher, anyway...? Class was about to---

Snap.

The pencil lead broke, the pencil it belonged to fell to the desk and from there rolled to the floor, but Uryuu didn't notice. He had paled slightly, and was staring at the open doorway leading into the classroom, not quite believing what he had felt. But it was still there, undeniably, that reiatsu...

Quincy reiatsu?

Not possible...

But with a less-than-graceful crash, a girl he didn't recognize entered, and he stared in disbelief. This was the source of it? This clumsy little girl? Every ounce of logic in him denied it, and yet he had seen how she had arrived in the classroom, though he doubted any of the other students were able to notice - hirenkyaku.

In school!?

How foolish was she!?

But before he could express his thoughts, the question of their teacher's location was answered as she walked in, grinning, to take her spot at the front of the room.

Uryuu blinked, composed himself. This would have to wait until later...

He bent to pick up his pencil, returned it to the desk, stared almost numbly at his notebook as the teacher began to speak.

For once, he wasn't listening at all.

[Bishiglomper]

Almost as quickly as her face got acquainted with the floor, Saaya jumped up, her eyes flitting around the room as she did a quick dusting of her school uniform. As far as she could tell, most of the class was too busy greeting eachother after the long summer and wasn't paying any attention to her. She thought she heard a few snickers though. As long as nobody saw how she got on the floor.

'Whoa!' The sensation of concentrated reiatsu hit her senses when she moved in to pick a desk; it made her catch her breath for a second as if the air were heavy.

She couldn't tell what or who it was- it didn't feel threatening though. It seemed to just be permeating throughout the room, and as if it were a mixture of energies or something. She could vaguely tell there were more than one, but one of them seemed to be stifling the others. Just trying to pick it out made her head hurt. She was never good at identifying reiatsu.. She wasn't good at a lot of things. Not that she'd ever expect to feel such a thing inside a classroom... that was just strange.

Saaya slunk toward the back, making it to the desk just as the teacher began to speak. She'll have to investigate this later. Perhaps she could just take an interest in her classmates and watch them for a while. Sayuki was never a people person; she much prefered to take the back seat and observe.

As the class droned on, mostly about first-day rules and such, Sayuki started feeling drowsy.. By the end of the class, she had nodded off, her head in her arms and her drool trailing to her books...

[Suigintou]

Uryuu was unusually inattentive for the remainder of the class, still in a state of mingled confusion and disbelief. He had been certain that the only remaining Quincy were himself and - bitterness flowed into him upon acknowledging it - Ryuuken. There had been no doubt in his mind about it, yet here was living contradiction.

Somehow, though, realizing that they weren't alone didn't bring him relief or happiness. He had been raised to have incredible pride in his abilities and in being a Quincy, but this girl...she would use those abilities in school, just to get to class on time?

Unexpectedly, anger overrode his shock; he was so deep in thought for the rest of class that the sound of the bell signaling dismissal from school startled him. Forced out of his reverie and still distracted, he was slow to gather his things, allowing most of the class to leave before him.

He didn't follow them, however, when he was ready. Instead he stopped only a few steps from his desk, turned to the back of the classroom.

"Hamasaki-san. Could I talk to you? Outside."

[Bishiglomper]

Sayuki hurridly got her things from her desk. The bell startled her awake and it took her a moment to gather her senses. She almost didn't even notice the boy who had spoke to her in the empty classroom.

"Hm?" Saaya looked up. She looked around. Some guy was talking to her?

"Hamasaki-san. Could I talk to you? Outside."

Saaya nodded. Her cheeks tinged pink. Boys didn't usually talk to her, so this was new. What did he want?

Sayuki followed him outside of the school toward the back. She was starting to get nervous, watching behind her as the front of the school was getting farther away, less and less kids around.

There was something oddly familiar about this guy, but Saaya couldn't place it. Finally they stopped in a secluded spot. Saaya fidgeted.

"Um... what did you want?"

[Suigintou]

Uryuu didn't respond to her question immediately. He looked at her, expression indefinable, examining, considering.

"Hirenkyaku," he said after a long moment. "Back there, when you came into class. You used hirenkyaku."

There was a short pause.

"You're a Quincy."

It wasn't a question. He was certain of what he had seen her do, and of the reiatsu that he felt even now.

"...How?" She was standing in front of him, a contradiction to what he had thought his entire life, but despite what he had seen and what he felt, he wasn't sure he could entirely believe it. For his sensei to have been wrong...He knew what she was, and yet...was it true?

Was it possible?

"How did you survive without anyone knowing?"

[Bishiglomper]

Saaya paused. Hiren... how did he know? Could there be kids in town with heightened Reiatsu?
'No one would have been able to see me move if they hadn't! ...Not only that, but one who actually knew what a Quincy was, let alone identify one of their abilities!?

Suddenly Sayuki remembered her mentor saying once that there had been a possability of a Quincy being in the vacinity; at the time she hadn't payed much mind to the idea. She didn't think to actually believe him.

"Are.. you a Quincy too?"


"Uh, w-" She stumbled for an answer, and paused to think about how to explain. Considering he had no idea how she was even there, Saaya had the feeling he was not going to be happy when he found out how it was possible. The Quincy pride meant everything to an actual, devoted Quincy.

"Well... a long time ago when the Quincy were about to die out.. some of them fled. And... just sort of.. let their name die out..." Sayuki started to fidget again, rubbing at her charm bracelet. "But-but some of us down the line wanted to keep it, so they practice in secret."

Saaya winced, 'I guess I wasn't keeping it very secret if the first time I ever used it in public, I was found out to a disturbing detail...'

[Suigintou]

Uryuu's eyes widened. Fled? Let their name die out?

There were Quincy who ran away, rather than acknowledged what they were and tried to reach an agreement with the shinigami? The Ishida family had never lied. They had never run. They hadn't become cowards that abandoned their proud title!

Again, he didn't answer her right away. He needed to think, to process what she was saying; he felt numbed by her words, was unable to take them in at first. At length he met her eyes, then wordlessly, raised his right arm.

From within the sleeve fell a silver charm, dangling by a thin chain around his wrist. The Quincy Cross.

It wasn't her fault what her family had done in the past. He knew that. But at the same time, he couldn't let it go. Not only because it went against the pride of the Quincy so strongly, but because of what he had watched her do herself.

"Why did you use hirenkyaku in school?" His voice was even, no waver in pitch that indicated any sort of hostility, but he could feel anger rising within him. If she had a good answer, he wouldn't hold her family's past faults against her...

But he didn't expect she would, and if she didn't...she was the same as them.

[Bishiglomper]

So he was a Quincy. Well, obviously. 'That explains it.. not everything, but a little...'


....heke? Saaya flushed at the question, forgetting for a moment she had been caught earlier. Now she owed him an explanation for her own recklessness. In her own defense, she only used it so's not to completely screw up her first day attendance! ...she doubt she'd care much any other time of the year.

'Uhh.. what do I say? I.. I used hirenkyaku to escape a hollow in the halls! ....' Saaya mentally kicked herself. Like he'd buy that. As if anyone with an ounce of brain would.

Though the nameless Quincy didn't look particuarly intimidating, Saaya could feel the slightest increase in his spiritual pressure. He wasn't happy... -Not that his spiritual pressure was worn right on his sleeves; she didn't even notice it in class or when he first spoke to her out there behind the school. She had to really be trying to read it.

Sayuki sighed, betting the stranger wouldn't like to be kept waiting. So she opted for her best option; that being the truth. ...it worked on her parents at least. Saaya's head bent low in honest shame and embarrasment,

"Mm.. I was.. just trying to get to class on time. Iknowitwaswrongbut- I didn't want to get in trouble on my first day of highschool..."

She said that part quickly, trailing off timidly, feeling guilty. Sayuki didn't normally feel as timid around strangers. Shy, yes, but perhaps because this was a real full-fledged Quincy.... she didn't want to disappoint him.

[Suigintou]

Though he hadn't expected a sufficient answer, Uryuu almost couldn't believe he'd heard her excuse correctly. He had been right. She was the same. Sayuki may not have been denying what she was altogether like they had, but her behavior showed that she didn't have the demeanor to call herself a true Quincy.

"To get to class on time? Don't you have any pride as a Quincy at all?" His voice had raised slightly, and his eyes had narrowed, his irritation evident. "You don't use hirenkyaku to get to class! Your abilities are for fighting hollows, not convenience at school!"

He lived according to the pride of the Quincy. He had held it in immensely high regard for his entire life, and this girl...intentionally or not, she stepped on it.

She may have had the training to use their abilities, but without pride, training meant nothing. From the way she acted, he wondered if she'd ever fought at all.

Inexcusably presumptuous, to call herself by the Quincy title...

[Bishiglomper]

Saaya cringed. She didn't know how to respond to that. 'Any pride as a Quincy at all? How do you have pride in something your family thinks is taboo?' She has to lie to her parents every day! Sayuki's mentor was the only one who had such pride.. She wished she had half the pride he did as a Quincy.

She couldn't tell him that though. He wouldn't understand that it was difficult to live by something your parents disapproved of. Something that your own ancestory tried to supress.

Sayuki could feel the tears sting from behind her eyes but she tried to keep it together. A small sniffle escaped. Her gaze met the ground again, not brave enought to meet the Quincy's.

"The thing with school, I don't usually use my powers like that. Usually only to fight... like you said. I wasn't thinking today when I used it." Saaya grew quiet, holding her wrist in contemplation. "I guess I don't have much pride."

Saaya's resolve faded as the tears started to burn, trailing down her cheeks. Despite the fact she must look pathetic, she didn't bother try to stop it now.

"I know I'm no good as a Quincy, but I can't stop just because I haven't found my pride. I owe it to my br- teacher to keep trying."

[Suigintou]

If Uryuu hadn't been regarding her with coldness before, hearing her excuses changed that. His eyes were narrow and hard, unflinching despite her tears. She may have thought that saying she wasn't thinking, that she didn't normally do things like that, excused it...but Uryuu couldn't forgive her so easily.

That she had done it at all was enough.

Her teacher? He blinked, hit by sudden memories of his grandfather...but his expression darkened again almost immediately. Uryuu had valued Souken's opinion of him more than anyone else's. He wouldn't have been so willing to throw it away on a whim!

"...If you're doing this for your sensei, act like it. If you keep wasting your powers, you'll only be a disgrace." His voice was unusually cold, and he didn't care if his words stung.

Pushing his glasses up, Uryuu turned slowly and began to walk away, tired of speaking to her. Anger was still mingled with shock inside him, and their conversation had done little to answer his questions. He had only taken a few steps, however, before he paused, though he didn't turn around.

"Pride isn't something you need to find. Either you have it or you don't....and you can never be a Quincy without pride."

Without waiting for a reply, he resumed walking.

He was ready to go home.

[Bishiglomper]

Sayuki watched her classmate's expression change, apprehensive in waiting to hear his reply. Her eyes flit toward the front of the school. ..It was a bit too late to flee. And it most certainly wouldn't help matters. This is what she gets for talking to strangers.

Her attention snapped back at the Quincy's cold reply. His words stung, but it made Saaya rethink her actions, regretting it even more for using her powers for her own convenience. It never occured to her a simple act would be an insult to her sensei's memory. If she didn't feel bad before, she felt pretty cruddy now. As she hated to even think it, Saaya had to admit he was right. Sensei would be dissapointed in her. And that hurt more than anything the Quincy standing in front of her could say.

Saaya watched him leave, starting down the concrete hall, barely focusing on the fact he was just leaving her there. Her eyes were bloodshot and the tearstains on her cheeks were only starting to dry. In the back of her mind, she wondered if her mother would say anything if she noticed she came home like that.


"Pride isn't something you need to find. Either you have it or you don't....and you can never be a Quincy without pride."


Sayuki looked back up at his retreating form, slightly in shock. She couldn't have heard him right. Did he just imply she wasn't a Quincy? She might not be a good one, and have a few misplaced values but Saaya would never think that that didn't make her a Quincy. She had pride! It was only her sensei who could convince her of it though. Without him, she might as well not be a Quincy, as far as this person could tell.

She started to tremble; only in part was it due to her being upset before. Now she was angry. Angry with him for saying all these things, a complete stranger! ...and part angry with herself, knowing he was right. Tears started to burn in her eyes but this time they stayed back; not that it mattered at this point.

Saaya waited she was sure he was gone before gathering her belongings again. She didn't want to go home right away. She mounted her bike in front of the school and headed in the direction opposite from home, promising herself she'd be back in time for dinner. She had some thinking to do.