B A Y O – B A Y O :

Hey-lo, one and all, and welcome to my Bleach story. I haven't posted anything here in so long—I'm sorry! Well, yeah, this is a Bleach story I've decided to post on Hitsugaya's birthday (December 20)—but slightly different from most of the storylines I've ever thought of.

This is more focused on the modern sha-bangs of life (high school, the living world, all that fun stuff)—in the beginning, anyway. But that doesn't mean there won't be any action in the beginning—no, there's a lot. xD Just not in this chapter. This is my introduction chapter—the chapter where I introduce some of my main characters before shuffling in the rest. I'm hoping to have fun with this story, and I do hope you guys like it, as well; it'll be a little eventless for the first couple chapters, but I promise it'll get better!

As for pairings… yes, this will contain romance. I'm a romance freak—I love it to death! And in this story, there'll be a lot of triangles, tragedies, heartbreaks… and lots of things to make the whole story twist! I can't wait to stun people with them. :3 My main pairing, however, will most definitely be Hitsugaya x OC. I love canon x OC, don't ask me why. Other pairings will be coming in, as well, so don't fret. xD And don't forget—TRIANGLES. :D After reading this chapter, you should know the Hitsugaya x OC pairing will take a while to build up. So just sit back, relax, and enjoy the show!I hope you guys do like—and if you do, please review! There's nothing I love more than hearing my readers' feedbacks. So please let me know what you think, or if I need to improve on something!

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach. :D I only own this story, my characters, and this here plot.

. F U R A R E T A .
… "reborn"… a bleach fanfiction

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Furareta © b a y o – b a y o
Bleach © Kubo Tite

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CHAPTER 0 N E :
"Meeting Him"

"Hitsugaya Toushirou."

As soon as he stepped into class, the red flag of alarm raised in my head. Toushirou was a new student to Karakura Junior High, and if you judged by first glance, he didn't look at all suspicious—save for the unusually white hair (probably bleached), tanned skin, and big, bright green eyes (and if you didn't notice, I was being sarcastic about the non-suspicious part). Kaminari-sensei, our Geometry teacher (and the meanest teacher yet to ever grace Karakura), instead of exhibiting her nasty mood like she always did on Mondays, looked like an absolute angel as she introduced the boy to class. That was what first triggered my wariness.

Never in my life had I seen old-fashioned, crabby, and squeaky Kaminari-sensei talk nice to anybody. This Toushirou must have brain-washed her or something.

He stood there looking serene and inauspicious in the school uniform—which, unfortunately, looked absolutely gorgeous on him. I guess you can say that he was pretty much all gorgeous. Why, you ask? Using your imagination's eye, take a look at my class: everyone (especially the girl population) had already fallen for him out of default. The hearts in their eyes gave them away. It took a few seconds for his full image to sink in, but when it did, basically everyone was on a field trip to cloud nine. So, according to my calculations (and pure logic, really), Hitsugaya Toushirou looked like he was ripped right out of a models magazine.

I felt a nudge at my side. It was Yukita, one of my best friends. "Isn't he gorgeous, Megu-chan? He looks like he was ripped right out of a models magazine!"

With a small sigh, I stared numbly at my love-struck friend. Point taken. I turned back to our mysterious new classmate. Kaminari-sensei was harping on about some nonsense; we were supposed to have a test today, but because of Toushirou's arrival, it would be postponed until tomorrow. I narrowed my eyes at him. I had been studying for that test for four days—four days of my life, for this climatic conclusion—and he was going to be the reason I'd fail tomorrow. I'd forget everything tonight, and I'd never be able to get it all back.

I didn't like him.

We made eye contact. Teal eyes burned into mine, and we stood (well, I sat) glaring at each other (with me doing the glaring) for a few seconds. He turned away. I supposed you could call him intimidating, too. His form and build wasn't exactly sumo material, but just the way he looked around and stood like that—so well-composed and calm—had already earned him a little respect. I remember the first time I came to this school; I completely broke down stuttering and shaking in front of my class and I was made fun of for months. But not him—Toushirou was perfect.

He was an unusual sight, though. Snow white hair—the purest tint I'd ever seen—sat atop his head with a silky tress of his bangs falling over his left eye. His skin had a surfer-boy tan, which nicely complimented his hair. Muscles were well-defined in his arms and legs, and his build was both skinny and toned. What made his appearance worse (well, better, actually—I'm being mean) was the uniform that flattered his form. It looked like the high school's uniform—in fact, it was just like the high school's uniform, except ours had a long-sleeved shirt for the late fall season. A yellow-striped blue tie, a cotton yellow vest (with the school's insignia in the top corner), gray pants, black shoes—imagine all of it on Toushirou, and he was absolutely darling.

My dislike for him excelled to intolerance. Yellow looked horrible on me.

According to Kaminari-sensei, Toushirou had transferred to Karakura Junior High from America yesterday with his sister, who was going to the college in Karakura. They lived by themselves somewhere in the city. Why he would leave America, where tons of high-ranked colleges and schools resided, for this school was beyond me. I've always wanted to go to America for schooling…

Finally the crabby teacher let the boy sit down. Her glossy, over-gelled black bun shone like the sun under the dim light as she turned to him. "There's a vacant seat behind Nagasuki for you to sit," she spoke in a (FAKE) sweet voice that made me want to gag. Dumb Toushirou and his charm—he didn't even say anything but his name, and the teacher already loved him! I sat with my chin propped over my fist, watching the short lad search around until he found the seat he was assigned. I froze as he came my way—and it was then that I remembered that I was Nagasuki. I wanted to slap myself for my absent-mindedness.

I slowly turned around, and sure enough, no one else occupied that seat. No one except… that one girl. What was her name again? Takara Gina—the shy, sweet, smart, and stunning girl. She rarely spoke a word to anyone but her friends, but she was always there to lend a hand to anyone in need of advice… or tutoring, like me. I didn't notice her leave; when did she transfer out? Surely I would've paid attention to the announcement…

"Nagasuki, please turn around and quit intimidating our new student."

I bit my tongue in surprise. Hitsugaya had already seated himself and was staring at me as if I were an idiot. I blushed in embarrassment and spun back around. The lecture began. Geometry had always been a puzzling thing for me; never did I understand the complex functions of it. Proofs, angles, measurements, theorems—it was like gibberish to me. I was lucky I wasn't put back in the Algebra class because of all the quizzes and tests I've bombed, but I guess it wouldn't help if I were put back in a class that wasn't related to Geometry at all…

With my head in my palm, I scribbled down notes from her monotone teaching. The marker she was using squeaked obnoxiously against the whiteboard and I seriously wanted to snap it in half. The clock above the board ticked too slowly, and I (as well as everyone else) waited impatiently for the hand to hit nine-thirty. One more second passed—and finally the bell rang. Everyone sprung up from their seats as if they were jack-in-the-boxes.

Kaminari-sensei sighed in aggravation, capping her annoying (yet favorite) marker. "I guess that's all for today. Now, to make up for lost time, your homework will be doubled…"

Every one groaned in unison.

I, being the forgetful and stupid girl I was, forgot my messenger bag and I had to resort to carrying all my books from class to class. I would use a locker, but my assigned one was inconveniently located, literally, on the whole other side of the freaking school that I never visited. With a whiny pout I scooped up my belongings (which were a lot—six books, all being about ten inches thick!) and carefully weaved my way down the aisle when everyone else had left—just for their own safety. I noticed Toushirou by Kaminari-sensei, asking her something. His voice was quiet, but it was very easy to pick out in a crowd. Or anywhere, really.

"Nagasuki, wait a moment, please."

I paused at her false kind voice again. Resisting the urge to totally break down in frustration, I turned as carefully as I could to face her. "Yes ma'am?"

She pushed the bridge of her glasses up until they were back far on her nose. "You have History next, correct? Please escort Hitsugaya on your way. We wouldn't want him to get lost."

I frowned. Someone up there must not be happy with me. Couldn't she see that I was about to fall over from all the excess weight? Couldn't she call one of his new fan girls over to help him instead? Biting back my sigh I turned to Hitsugaya; I could see faint amusement in his teal eyes as he noticed my reluctance to do anything—at least, in the state I was in. Nonetheless I blew a strand of hair from my face and carefully branched on my heel. "Sure, why not. Follow me, um, Hitsugaya-san."

As soon as we were out of the class, I fell back against the wall to steady myself. I didn't want to do it, but I knew that if I didn't get assistance, I was going to look like a total dork walking through school. Toushirou stood before me, wondering what I was doing. "Hey, um, can you do me a favor…?" I asked, staring sheepishly up at him.

"What?" For the first time today he was talking to me—and for the first time (well, second, I guess—besides the time he walked into class), I actually accepted how good-looking he was.

I still don't like him.

"Can you help me carry some of my books to class? I wouldn't have asked you if I remembered my messenger bag from home, but it was dirty and I left it in the wash… I woke up late this morning and I had to leave it so I wouldn't be tardy. I'd carry it all myself if I weren't so clumsy, and I'm sure I'd trip or something if I carried them all. If you don't want to, I understand…" I tended to ramble when asking favors from people, sorry.

Hitsugaya answered me by holding out his arms. "I guess," he responded nonchalantly. I stared at him for a few seconds; nope, he definitely wasn't social.

My dislike for the guy subsided momentarily, and I smiled at him and handed him half of my things. He held them all easily in his faintly toned arms. "Thanks."

As we walked down the hallway side-by-side, I tried to ignore the various stares and glares shooting from passer-bys in the area. Whispers were loud but incoherent, and I could here so many 'lucky!' comments that I wanted to shout to make sure no one got any ideas. Why did I have to forget my bag today, of all days? A pout spread across my face and I glanced toward Toushirou; he was just staring ahead. I could only imagine the rumors that would be spread…

I cleared my throat nervously. "Um… so, not very social, are you?" Oh, smooth words, Megumi.

"No," Toushirou responded. He balanced my books in one of his arms as the other caught my shoulder before I fell on my face over a crack in the tile. "Not very balanced, are you?" he asked. There wasn't even a trace of sarcasm in him. This guy was pro.

I held back an annoyed grunt. "No," I mimicked him, making sure I stepped over anything that might cause me bodily harm. Apparently, that was everything this school had to offer. Hitsugaya followed me with a mildly amused expression.

"Can I ask you something?" I inquired suddenly.

"What?"

"Your white hair, your green eyes, your tan skin… is it all natural?"

We both paused at the same time. "Yes," he responded after a few seconds of awkward silence.

"Oh."

We kept walking.

We didn't say another word until we got to Kouji-sensei's History class. Kouji-sensei was my favorite teacher in the school. He was nice, considerate, knew how we kids operated; he communicated with us, and actually cared about us. If I weren't into the whole student and teacher pairing, I think I'd have a crush on him. History was downstairs, and probably the farthest class I had in school. I know that I would get lost my first day here… unfortunately, though, I didn't have a tour guide, unlike our magical new student here, so I ended up getting lost on my first day. But that was a totally different story…

"Thank you," Toushirou politely said as we reached the door. He dropped the remainders of my books onto my growing stack and sauntered inside. His heavy-looking backpack bobbed as he walked. With a small sigh, I followed him.

For some reason, class went by very fast. History was one of my favorite subjects—in fact, probably my only favorite—and it always went by slow for me because I liked it so much and savored every second of it. Kouji-sensei was a great, comical teacher. He'd keep our attentions by telling us his own life story and using illustrations to train our mind's eye; whenever he talked, I could just picture a scene in my head. If it weren't for him, I think I'd hate History, too. But it felt like as soon as I sat down, the bell had rung again. Before I knew it, everyone was getting up and got ready for their next class. I watched, dazed—until I realized I was alone in the class, and I had nothing written in my notebook.

I looked to the front of the class. Toushirou wasn't in his seat anymore—I guess he didn't need another escort.

My sister packed my lunch today. She was only seven (I wonder how pathetic that made me sound?), but she was a fabulous cook; me and my uncle adored her and her cooking. Today she made me her famous pork bao's. I sat quietly munching on my food as my two friends sat chatting across from me. We were a trio—Yukita, Riana, and I—and we were always together. Yukita was the school newspaper editor and she had the scoop on everyone and everything in the school. Popular, beautiful, and possessing a silver tongue, she knew how to get what she wanted all the time. Riana was the opposite; she was a quiet, sweet, and pretty girl. She was very smart and very athletic, much to a lot of peoples' surprises. I loved talking to her about anything, because she always knew exactly what to say. I was just… me. Sarcastic, annoying, and extremely clumsy… you get it.

"So, Megu-chan, what do you think of him?" Yukita asked me, giving me a coy smile. Riana glanced at me with her signature sweet grin.

I swallowed, completely oblivious to who she was talking about. "Who?"

"Oh, you know who!" the chocolate-haired girl responded, arching a brow at me unbelievingly. When I didn't respond, she rolled her eyes. "Toushirou, of course! He's already deemed the cutest guy in the school—ten girls have already fallen for him! Including our little friend here…"

I choked on my food. Ten girls? What was it with this guy? Sure he was cute—but nobody knew him! At least… I don't think… "He's okay… a little strange, though. He doesn't like to talk," I shrugged. I stared at Yukita, who was smirking at Riana.

"It seemed like you were already making moves on him, Megu-chan, asking him to carry your books and everything."

"Did you want me to fall flat on my face and embarrass myself?"

"… Good point." The girl turned to red-faced Riana, nudging her playfully. "See, Ri-chan, Megu-chan would never turn on you!"

I turned to Riana. "Wait. You…?"

"It was love ever since he walked into Geometry!" Yukita exclaimed excitedly, latching onto the blushing girl. Riana, in a panicked frenzy, tried to shush her friend before anyone else heard. I watched them, bemused as I quietly finished my lunch. It was amazing how popular Hitsugaya was already, and he hasn't even been here for a day! With a small smile on my face, I glanced to Riana; she truly did have her first crush. I guess I couldn't judge him anymore if she liked him—surely there must be something good about him. I took the last bite of my bao.

The rest of school time passed by really fast—almost too fast. I enjoyed it though. Soon enough I was on my way home, ready to crash for the night.

As soon as I got home I spent hours on my homework. There was extra from Geometry (ick), a little History, a project for Science that I eventually had to think about (although I'll probably end up doing it on the night before due-time). My P.E. test was on Wednesday, my English quiz was tomorrow (I think I'm ready), and I had my music class taken care of… so I was pretty much set after math and history. It was almost nine o'clock—I was getting ready for bed—before I heard a knock at my door. Slowly it slid open, and a sandy-blonde head poked inside.

"Nee-chan…? Are you asleep?" My sister's timid voice inquired, her milky lavender eyes searching around for me. Metsuki, my seven-year-old sister, was born blind—and maybe that was the only downfall to her. She was adorable with sand-colored hair, porcelain skin, and beautiful lavender eyes, indicating that she was going to be a beauty when she came of age. I was jealous of her especially because of her boldness; she was proud that she was blind. Sure, she's always wanted to see, but she's accepted the fact that she never will be able to and therefore adapted to her life with contentment. Practical jokes centering on her blindness didn't faze her; in fact, she laughed along with them. Metsuki sure didn't act like a child; she was more mature than I was at times, and was basically my best friend.

I smiled and motioned her in. Of course she didn't see me. "Come on in, kiddo," I responded, reaching for her hand when she wandered closer. She plopped next to me on my bed, clutching my hand. The thing with Metsuki was that she loved holding hands—whether it was with a girl or a boy. It made her feel like she could talk to them easier. "What's up?"

"Oji-chan says that you don't like your new classmate," Metsuki laughed, her face turned to me.

I pouted. Loud-mouthed uncle… "Yeah… He's strange, though. I don't feel anything good coming from him," I sighed, folding my arms across my chest at the thought of him. "He's short, has white hair, green eyes… and he smells like watermelonds."

"Ah, you mean Toushirou?" she asked.

I stared at her incredulously. "You met him?"

"Yeah, when I was running errands today after school. He helped me out," she happily responded. "He's really nice. Is he good-looking? I heard that ten girls have already fallen for him." Word really spreads fast around here. Apparently, I couldn't keep up with Yukita's gossip. I didn't even know it extended to the elementary schools…

"I guess he isn't bad-looking," I shrugged, indifferent. "There's something about him, though, that bothers me. I don't know what." With Metsuki, I could talk about anything and everything.

"Your taste is so strange, nee-chan; when will you find a guy you like?" Metsuki laughed, as I pouted. "Or are you still smitten with Hikaru-san?" When I was silent, she giggled again. "Ah, I see."

I blushed—Minamoto Hikaru, Riana's older brother. I'd had a crush on him since last year, when he first came; but only Metsuki knew about that. I made her swear to secrecy or I'd ring her pretty little neck. I never was one for having crushes…

"Have you met his older sister?" Metsuki asked. I shook my head. "Oh…" she grinned silently. "You'll like her. She's very active and sweet; Toushirou and she have rarely anything in common."

I blinked at her. How did she know Toushirou and his sister? Well… Metsuki always was talkative.

"Don't worry, nee-chan; I have a good feeling about those two. I sense nothing bad from them," Metsuki grinned.

"If you say so…" I murmured, unconvinced.

We spent the rest of the night (until bed-time) talking about random things; how our days went, all of our friends, the homework we had, what we had for lunch. She seemed to really like Hitsugaya; when she told me about how they met, she was so cutely enthusiastic. Apparently they met sometime later in the day (which was strange, considering he supposedly left sick during Science; I didn't say anything though) and he helped her gather whatever things needed to complete her errands. 'Kind' and 'mysterious' were the main words she used to describe him. I'd use those words, except for 'kind.'

I'm so mean, aren't I? He hasn't even been directly mean to me… yet.

I don't know; why do I dislike him so much? I usually loved meeting new people. I wonder what was wrong with Hitsugaya? Ah, I'll get over it—it's only the first day. I'll get to know him and we'll be best friends by the end of next week! … Pssh, yeah right.

I don't want all the female bodies of the school wanting to rip my guts out.

When the clock chimed ten o'clock, I bid Metsuki goodnight and prepared for bed. Outside, the moonlight shined in silver rays through my window, casting a square of light on my carpet. I gazed out at the midnight blue sky and smiled; I loved night-time, maybe just because of the stars. It was very dark, and it revealed the presence of the stars. I stared at them for a moment, and sighed dreamily, dropping the curtains. I wandered over to my bed.

I really was exhausted, even after a half-hour nap; I didn't even realize how much until I was immediately sent to lala-land the second my eyes closed.

A/N: That's it for the first chapter. PLEASE DON'T KILL ME! It'll be more un-boring the next time I write, I promise. :D And until that time, I hope you all enjoy this chapter! Please don't be afraid to review! I'll love you to pieces if you do, and thank you personally!

Oh yeah—and HAPPY BIRTHDAY HITSUGAYA!

-- Bayo-bayo, signing out