A/N: AU. No Shinigami. All characters are around the same age and in the same grade in High School.

Momo Hinamori was an orphan who was recently adopted and is starting at Karakura High. There she meets an interesting boy named Toushirou Hitsugaya, who seems cold and distant and has no friends by personal choice. Can Hinamori melt the ice that envelops his heart, especially with all the drama that High School brings surrounding them? Hitsugaya/Hinamori, Ichigo/Rukia, and more.

As a side note, the title is Latin for 'Truth and Happiness'. I just think it sounds cooler in Latin.

Veritas et Gaudium

Chapter 1 – A Crazy First Day

Despite it being a hot September morning, Momo Hinamori pulled the long sleeves of the shirt under her school uniform all the way down her arms. She figured it would be harder to make friends if they saw what was on them, and she didn't know how…he'd react. Shifting her bag on her shoulder so it felt more comfortable, she turned the corner of the street, and the school she was now attending came into view.

Momo was very excited—today was her first day attending Karakura High. It was also the first day back for the returning students. She walked into the school ten minutes before class started and was assaulted by noise. Lockers slamming, students laughing, and friends telling each other what they did over the summer.

Momo was in class 3-1, so she headed up to the third floor, making sure to avoid being knocked over by the wild hand gestures her peers were making as they told extravagant (and most likely a bit exaggerated) stories. When she got to the third floor she looked for her locker, which turned out to be a couple rows down from her classroom door.

"Okay," she said to herself just loud enough for her to hear over the cacophony of her fellow students. "Go left to twenty-nine," she turned the dial left to the little mark that signified 29, "right to seven, and back left to eighteen."

She pulled on the locker's handle but nothing happened. She put the combination in again and pulled, but it still didn't work. She tried for a third time, and now a bit frustrated, pulled on her locker repeatedly. She looked at the clock above the classroom and nearly had a heart attack—she only had two minutes to get to class. The school had stocked all of the lockers with each student's set of books, so she really needed to get in it.

"Do you need some help?" an unnaturally deep voice asked.

Momo turned around and looked up, and kept looking up, and looked up a bit more, until she saw the face of a student who was extremely tall. Well, that certainly explained the deep voice. "Yes please," she said timidly.

Momo handed him her locker card and he began fiddling with the dial, speaking as he did so. "Are you new?"

"Yes," Hinamori replied simply.

"My name is Sado Yasutora," he said. "But everyone calls me Chad."

"Thank you…Chad," said Momo. "I'm Hinamori Momo."

Chad had finished putting in the combination and said, "Watch." He hit the locker right above the lock and pulled, and the locker miraculously swung open to reveal Momo's books.

"Oh, thank you so much!" exclaimed Momo, reaching in and grabbing her books.

"It was no problem at all," said Chad as he closed Momo's locker after she had finished. They walked into class together and sat in the last two empty seats, which were on completely separate sides of the room, just as the tardy bell rang.

"Good morning, class," said a man who was wearing a flowered kimono and a sakkat (straw hat) standing in front of the class, whom Momo figured was her teacher. The teacher scanned the seats and after a satisfied nod, plopped into his seat as if he had been standing for several hours straight. "Well," he said lazily, "it looks like everyone's here. To our new student, my name is Kyouraku Shunsui, and I will be your teacher for the year. As it's the first day of school, I think I'll start you off with something easy. All of you turn to page five of your math textbooks and do all of the problems on it, then you can have free time until your first break."

"Kyouraku-san, I must object," said a young woman no older than twenty from the doorway. She was wearing a pair of glasses and had a notebook clutched in her arms. "This is the eleventh grade, not kindergarten."

"Come on, Nanao," said Kyouraku to the woman, whom Momo thought must have been his assistant teacher, probably studying to become a teacher herself. "I'm the teacher here, and I think that not overloading their brains at first the best approach possible."

The Nanao woman stamped her foot and fumed silently as Kyouraku said, "This is Ise-san, everybody. She is studying to become a teacher herself and will be my assistant this year."

Everybody got out their textbooks happily and Momo pulled hers out. This seemed a little odd. At her previous school everything had been work, work, work. Was this some sort of joke on the new kid? But then why was the teacher in on it?

She knew at the very least that she should do the assigned work. So she got out a piece of paper and a pencil, flipped to page five—which seemed to be review—in her math textbook, and began working.

There were only 30 questions and they were relatively easy, so Momo finished fairly quickly. She looked up at the clock and saw that it was only 8:30. School had started at 8 and the first break wasn't until 10:30, which meant that she had two hours of free time…if this isn't just a joke, Momo thought to herself.

Momo had finished before most of her classmates, so she took to studying them. The first thing she saw when she looked in front of her was messy orange hair. Momo wondered if that was its natural color.

To her left sat a girl who seemed to be much more physically mature than she was, for she was well-developed, which was heightened by the fact that a few of the top buttons of her school uniform were unbuttoned.

Momo then took a glance behind her to find a boy with glasses and shoulder-length black hair. He too was finished with the school work and working on sewing what seemed to be a stuffed lion.

And on her right sat a boy who couldn't have been any older than 13. If he stood up, Momo would've guessed him to be 5'1". Momo wondered if he was a boy genius that had skipped a few grades. Then the boy looked over at her—obviously she had been caught staring. She only met his eyes for a second, but when she did, she could tell that despite his short stature he probably had the biggest presence in the room.

Within the next five minutes all work had stopped and everyone in the room was talking, probably all still talking about their summers. Momo sat in silence, her hands folded on her desk, unsure of who talk to. She didn't want to go up to someone only to find out that they were mean and end up being teased.

Eventually Momo received attention, but not quite in the matter she had been expecting. "Oh my gosh!" exclaimed a brown-haired boy while clasping his hands in front of him. "Who's the raven-haired goddess that graces me with her presence?"

Momo only had time to blush before the orange-haired kid that sat in front of her punched the brown-haired guy in the stomach, sending him to the floor in pain. The orange-haired kid said, "Sorry about that. He falls in love with every girl he sees. We're not all pervs like him."

"Ichigo, you wound me with your words!" the kid exclaimed from the floor.

"I'm Kurosaki Ichigo, and the perv is Asano Keigo," said Ichigo.

"It's nice to meet you," Momo said politely. "I'm Hinamori Momo."

"Oh! A new student!" gushed the voluptuous student to Momo's left. "I'm Matsumoto Rangiku."

"Oh, hi," said Momo unsurely. This girl seemed to ooze popularity. "Hinamori Momo."

"Hey, Toushirou!" called Rangiku. "This girl's new!"

"How many times have I told you, Matsumoto, to call me Hitsugaya-san?" asked the kid with the white hair coldly. "We definitely aren't on a first-name basis." He turned back to his book. Momo decided she didn't like him very much.

"That's Toushirou Hitsugaya," said Rangiku loud enough for Toushirou to hear. He didn't seem to notice. "I wouldn't really try talking to him. Everybody's tried to be nice to him, but he doesn't seem to want to be friends with anybody."

Momo could believe that statement but decided not to voice her agreement out loud. She thought it important to be nice to everybody unless given a reason not to. "I'm sure that's not true," said Momo back to Rangiku.

Rangiku just raised an eyebrow at her and said, "Toushirou, you don't want any friends, do you?"

"Not particularly," he replied. "And stop calling me Toushirou." Once again, he went back to his book.

Rangiku just looked pointedly at Momo, then glanced down at her attire. "Momo, how can you be wearing long sleeves when it's so hot out?"

Momo nervously darted her eyes around the room, looking for a way to avoid the question. "Um…why's that kid bald?"

"Oh, that's Madarame Ikkaku," said Matsumoto. "He says that's the way he wants it, but between you and me," she lowered her voice, "I think he's already gone bald naturally."

Rangiku pointed to a kid with red hair. "That there is Abarai Renji." Then to a blond boy. "Kira Izuru." Then to a tall girl with silver hair. "Kotetsu Isane. She's going out with Chad. Kotetsu Kiyone. Soifon. Kuchiki Rukia. Ichimaru Gin. Kojima Mizuiro. Ayasegawa Yumichika. Inoue Orihime. Arisawa Tatsuki. Hirako Shinji. Sarugaki Hiyori. And sitting behind you is Ishida Uryuu."

Momo's brain hurt trying to remember all of the information coming at her. "Thank you, Matsumoto-san."

"Oh, don't be such a fart," said Rangiku. "I'm not like Toushirou, you can just call me Rangiku."

"If you call me Toushirou one more time…" Toushirou said menacingly.

"Oh, whatever," said Rangiku, waving her hand at him. "I'm telling you, Momo, you're going to love it here. Where did you say you were from?"

"I didn't," said Momo. "I'm actually from around here, but the orphanage homeschools. I'm only coming here because I was adopted about six months ago."

"Oh," said Rangiku, obviously a bit unsure about what to say. "You know what, Momo, I think we're going to be great friends! You stick with me, and everyone'll know you by the end of the day!"

A bell sounded and the students began filtering outside for their break, most of them heading for the rooftop. Rangiku, Momo, and the boy named Ichimaru Gin all walked up there together, with Rangiku and Gin talking the whole time.

During the break, Momo met and talked to Isane, Rukia, and Tatsuki, all of whom she liked and thought she could eventually be friends with.

When break ended, the group headed back to class and sat back in their seats. "Alright class, this year you have Physical Education right after break, so go on down to the track," said Mr. Kyouraku.

The group headed down to the track, Momo dreading each step. Sports definitely weren't her forte—she was all brain and no brawn. When they arrived at the track, a dark-skinned woman with purple hair was there to greet them. "Hello, class. In case you've forgotten me or if you're new, I'm Yoruichi Shihouin, and it'd be great if you all just called me Yoruichi. Today we'll just be having a friendly game of soccer with…let's see…Hitsugaya-kun and Kurosaki-kun as team captains."

Toushirou sighed and walked in front of the class while Ichigo seemed only slightly more enthusiastic about his captain position.

Toushirou, with the first pick, chose Renji, while Ichigo chose Rukia, who seemed very excited to be with Ichigo. The remaining prospective players slowly dwindled—oddly enough it seemed that people were more excited to be with Toushirou than Ichigo—until Toushirou had the last pick with only Momo left.

Toushirou seemed to study Momo with his cold, intense eyes with a quick glance before saying, "You can have her, Kurosaki. You'll need the extra player anyway."

Momo, who now disliked Toushirou even more, jogged over to where Ichigo's team was standing. Rukia, seeing the disgruntled look on Momo's face, said, "Don't worry about it, it's not you. He's like that to everybody."

But Momo wasn't so sure. Once the soccer match started, Toushirou seemed to make it his personal mission to make her look like a fool. He was there to steal the ball away whenever she got it, and once or twice he went out of his way while he had the ball just to do some fancy trick with it to get past her.

After he did a rainbow over her head and scored a magnificent goal by hitting the top-left corner, Ichigo came up to her with a scowl on his face. "Stupid Toushirou. Thinks he's all that just because he's the captain of the soccer team."

After the soccer game, in which Toushirou scored nine goals to help his team win 11-3, the class headed back to their classroom to grab their lunches. Momo ditched Rangiku, who was chatting with Gin again, and found Rukia, who was currently making her way through the crowd toward Ichigo. "Hello, Rukia."

Rukia glanced back at her. "Hey, Momo."

"Do you mind if I eat with you," she asked nervously. "I mean, it's okay if you say no, I'll understand, but—"

Rukia grabbed Momo's hand, cutting her off. "Stop babbling. Of course you can." And with that, Rukia was dragging Momo with her towards Ichigo.

The three found a spot on the rooftop and were joined by Mizuiro, Keigo, Chad, Isane, Kiyone, Renji, Yumichika, and Ikkaku. Momo felt someone staring at her back and turned around. The first person she noticed was Toushirou, who was facing her, but he was looking at his food.

"So, Hinamori-chan," said Keigo, "what's with the long sleeves? It's like one hundred degrees out here!"

"Oh," replied Momo, "I'm really not hot at all. I never really get hot, period. I think I'm cold-blooded." She chuckled weakly.

"No," replied Isane thoughtfully. "You're too nice to be cold-blooded."

Momo smiled at her gratefully. "You guys are all so nice!"

"We try," said Renji with a chuckle. "More than Rangiku's group anyway. Watch out for them—they'll be nice to you at first to reel you in but then they'll just be cruel to you and use you."

"I'll keep that in mind," said Momo with a grateful smile as she nervously pulled a little on her sleeves. They'll reel you in by being nice to you, then be cruel and use you. Reminds me of…him, she thought to herself.

Then she felt a pair of eyes boring holes into her back. "Hey, Kurosaki-kun," Momo said quickly. Ichigo was sitting opposite her.

"What?" Ichigo asked.

"Is Toushirou…staring at me?" she asked.

Ichigo discreetly shifted so he could see if Toushirou was staring at her. "Yeah," he said. "Why?"

"I don't know," said Momo. "But I think he really doesn't like me."

"Well," said Ikkaku. "He doesn't really like anyone."

"That's what I've heard," said Momo, "but I think he really doesn't like me! Did any of you guys see what he kept doing to me in the soccer game?"

"No," said Rukia. "What was he doing?"

"I never held the ball for more than two seconds. He always stole it. Nobody came near me but him," said Momo.

"He's the soccer captain," said Yumichika. "Isn't that to be expected?"

"I don't think you understand," said Momo. "How many times did he get the ball from you guys?"

"Um…twice?" said Ichigo. "I don't know, I wasn't really keeping count."

"After the fourth one, I did start counting," said Momo. "He stole the ball from me thirty-seven times!"

"That is a little weird," said Chad thoughtfully. "Maybe you should watch out for him."

"Good idea," said Ikkaku.

"You just tell us if he does anything to you," said Ichigo. "We'll take care of him."

"Thank you," said Momo gratefully with a big smile on her face. She could feel herself getting more comfortable with this group.

Next to Ichigo, Momo noticed that Rukia was staring up at him in admiration.

The rest of lunch passed normally, and by the end of it Momo felt that she could truly call all of them her friends. When the bell rang, she grabbed Rukia's hand and held her back as the rest went on. "What is it?" Rukia asked her as they began walking towards their class together.

"Do you like any boys?" Momo asked out of the blue.

"W-what?" Rukia asked, blushing. "N-no, of course not!"

"Oh, come on," said Momo, nudging her in the ribs with her elbow. "So you wouldn't mind if Ichigo got a girlfriend?"

"Of course not," said Rukia stubbornly. Momo just kept smiling at her. "I…I…how did you know?" she asked, resigned to defeat.

"The boys may be oblivious," said Momo, "but I know, and I think Isane and Kiyone know. To us girls, it was pretty obvious."

"Oh well," sighed Rukia. "You won't tell anyone, will you?"

"Of course not!" said Momo earnestly. "But when are you going to tell him?"

"Never," replied Rukia. "We've been best friends since second grade. Our friendship is too valuable."

"Oh," said Momo understandingly. But she thought to herself that with a little bit of help from Isane and Kiyone and maybe one of the other guys, she might be able to get those two together—after finding out if Ichigo felt the same, of course.

They turned into their classroom, where Kyouraku seemed to be sleeping with his hat pulled over his eyes. "Well class," said Nanao, "since Kyouraku-san seems to be taking an afternoon nap, it looks like I'm in charge." Half of the class let out little groans. "Since you're in eleventh grade, you are now going to be studying the history of western culture starting in the year 1300." More groans. "Kyouraku-san and I came up with a semester-long partner project together to help you through this." More groans, then heads turning as friends met each other's eyes. "Like I said, it is a partner project, but…the partners have already been chosen by Kyouraku-san and me." Now the friends were staring open-mouthed at each other.

Nanao opened her notebook and said, "The first pair is…Matsumoto Rangiku and Ichimaru Gin." The pair smiled at each other. "Sado Yasutora and Kotetsu Isane." More happiness. "Kurosaki Ichigo and Kuchiki Rukia." Ichigo gave Rukia one of his seemingly-rare smiles, and Rukia looked like she was about to faint from happiness.

Nanao continued on, and Momo found her heart rate picking up as neither her nor Toushirou's name was called. As long as she didn't end up with Toushirou, she would be fine. But, as her luck would have it, the last pair called was…"and last but not least, Hinamori Momo and Hitsugaya Toushirou."

Momo silently cursed her luck while Toushirou glared daggers at her with those cold eyes like it was her fault.

A/N: So, what did you think? I know Hinamori may have seemed OOC for most of the chapter, but that's just because she's new and let's face it, who isn't even a little shy when facing a new school? But don't worry, by the next chapter or two she'll be back to her good old self!

And just to let you know, I'm not sure yet whether the rest of the chapters are going to be this long. I usually only type about 2,000 per chapter, but I kind of got carried away with this one. But I don't know, I kind of like this length. Oh well, I guess we'll see what happens.

Please Review, it really means a lot to me!