61. Deception (Part 2)

(Sequel to Deception (Chapter 15) where Starrk is pretending to be a teacher at Ichigo's school to gain information for Aizen. You might understand what's going on better if you read that first.)

"Sensei?"

Starrk cracked open one eye to find the orange-haired substitute shinigami standing at his desk, arms crossed and an unimpressed expression on his face. When the primera yawned and closed his eyes again, Ichigo's scowl deepened.

"What?"

"I finished my homework."

"And...?"

"Sensei," Ichigo seemed to speak through gritted teeth a lot. Starrk wondered if it was a human thing. "You said you would give me an extra credit assignment if I finished."

Oh, right. He had said that. He'd even thought about it a little bit in the week since, although never with much serious consideration. After all, the class had been going on for nearly two weeks and so far, not a single one of the kids had managed to finish their homework, let alone expected him to give them more work. Even after their talk last week, he'd mostly expected the human to let it go.

"Hm." Starrk sighed and opened both eyes, then allowed his feet to fall from the desk to the floor with a muted *thump*. "I guess I did. I said one page, right?"

"Yeah." Ichigo perked up eagerly, glad to see his teacher was finally taking this seriously.

The older man rested his chin in his hand and gazed at his student, silently taking his measure. Ichigo swallowed and unconsciously stood straighter, feeling like he was being analyzed and judged. It was ridiculous that he should feel like this, considering everything he could do and everything he had done (He was a shinigami! He had bankai! He shouldn't care what this guy thought! None of his shinigami friends did!), and as soon as he realized what he was doing, he set his jaw and gazed belligerently back.

An unimpressed raised eyebrow reminded him that this guy didn't know or care what he'd done and he needed the grade regardless of what his peers thought.

"Please?" He muttered reluctantly.

Starrk rolled his eyes. "Work on the attitude, Kid."

He settled back, ready to put his feet back up and return to his nap, but addressed Ichigo one more time. "Authority figures."

"...What?" Ichigo furrowed his brow.

"That's your prompt. Write one page on the authority figures in your life and what authority means to you."

"...You're joking." His voice was flat and annoyed. That was NOT what he'd been expecting.

"Nope. If it's good, I'll give you the extra credit."

"...Right. Okay."

Starrk quirked a brow at the unimpressed tone and responded with a mild shrug.

"Well, if you don't want those bonus points..."

"RIGHT! Okay! I can do it!" Ichigo blustered, putting up his hands. Even if he didn't like the topic, he needed those points! And one page on such a vague subject should be easy, right? "How should I format it?"

"Written."

"Um. Okay. When is it due?"

"Next class." Starrk closed his eyes, putting his feet back up and dismissing Ichigo from his attention. The boy stood quietly for a moment before letting out an annoyed sound and stalking back towards his desk, no doubt ready to take out his irritation on the assignment.

Originally, Starrk had considered all sorts of vague battle and conflict-related prompts to give the substitute shinigami, topics that would give the primera a better grasp of the human's connection to the Gotei 13 and their rigid beliefs, but that could come later. At the moment, this seemed more relevant.

Ichigo sat staring at the blank page in front of him. Rukia and the other shinigami had taken over his bedroom so, in order to work on his homework, he'd been relegated to the kitchen table. Toshiro hadn't understood why he was 'slacking off' by prioritizing his grades over talking about Aizen, but Ichigo had pointed out he didn't actually KNOW anything about Aizen and at this point he doubted THEY knew anything new either. This had backfired horribly when Toshiro started to lecture him on the fate of humanity and the danger Aizen posed, but then Ikkaku had broken something and Ichigo sneaked away while the captain of the tenth was distracted. So here he was.

Writing.

He stuck the tip of his pen in his mouth and furrowed his brow.

Authority figures? What sort of prompt was that? Like, his dad? Adults? Was he supposed to talk about the adults in his life and what they meant to him?

Maybe the prompt was asking what Ichigo thought of his teachers? Or someone Ichigo looked up to, like a mentor? But the teacher also said 'what authority means to you' which meant he was probably looking for something less specific. Maybe what Ichigo would WANT to see in a mentor, traits that would make him respect an adult?

That sounded about right. But who did he respect?

The teenager frowned deeply.

Not his dad. Goat-face was a moron, no matter how much Ichigo loved his family. His teachers at school were so oblivious to the world around them that he barely even considered them the same species anymore...actually, that held for ALL human adults. (Geez, had it really only been a few months since he'd gotten his powers?)

So what about non-humans? Geta-boshi was the obvious choice and there were certain things Ichigo respected about the shopkeeper, but every time he grudgingly admired those sword skills and apparently infamous abilities, he'd remember the stupid grin and idiotic pandering.

Yoruichi...oh, yes. He respected Yoruichi (even if she did constantly embarrass him by transforming in his face), but hell if he knew why.

The shinigami were a mixed bag. They'd been his enemies first so he'd seen a lot of them at their worst already and most of them seemed to be learning to respect him rather than the opposite. Again, there were certain qualities he respected... Byakuya's willingness to admit he was wrong (eventually), the old man's power, Renji's dedication, Kenpachi's focus...but he also remembered Byakuya's willingness to kill Rukia and his killing intent, the old man's refusal to bend the rules even when it was warranted, Renji's bad decisions, and Kenpachi's bloodlust.

Did he see any of them as an authority figure? Not really.

But that worked into the second part of the prompt; WHY didn't he see them as authority figures? What would make him see them as authority figures?

Slowly, he began to write.

"Here."

Starrk raised an eyebrow at the folded, wet, torn, ink-stained...thing shoved into his face at the beginning of next class period. Ichigo's scowl was reaching epic proportions from embarrassment and he was obviously not meeting the espada's eyes.

"What's this?" He took the paper and stared at it in incomprehension. It was so abused it was disintegrating in his grasp.

"It's my assignment." Ichigo muttered. At Starrk's incredulous look, he rushed to make excuses.

"Look, I'm sorry, okay? I got splashed by a bike on the way to school, then my bag ripped and there was this pond in the way...and I got knocked down by-."

"Are these bite marks?" It looked like a very small hollow had tried to use it as a chew toy.

Ichigo flushed. "Yeah, well, when I got splashed, there was this dog-."

"Stop."

Ichigo immediately shut up at the command. Starrk stared at the wrecked piece of paper for a moment. (The teeth were definitely from a hollow; he could still feel traces of reiatsu. Maybe a secondary jaw-set?) Then he glanced back at the student who seemed to be preparing to be blasted for the poor state of his assignment.

Instead, the primera sighed. "I've changed my mind. Type it next time. Print it out at school if you have to."

"Yes, sir." Ichigo blushed, but sagged with relief. "I can re-write this one, if you want...?"

"Please do." He handed it back and Ichigo scrambled away, pulling out a fresh piece of paper and a pen. Starrk watched him for a moment, then shook his head in disbelief and reclined into his usual napping position.

By the end of the period, Ichigo had re-written the page and approached with a legible copy. This time, his teacher was actually awake when he approached, glaring balefully at Ikkaku and Renji who were 'surreptitiously' exchanging punches. (It had started in secret but when no one stopped them it quickly became a brawl. Ichigo was kinda surprised the teacher hadn't intervened.) He turned his gaze on Ichigo as he got closer and accepted the paper without comment. As he glanced it over, Ichigo stood in front of his desk shifting from foot to foot expectantly.

"What?" Starrk grunted.

"Er...is that it?"

"What were you expecting?"

"...Another prompt?" Or a tongue-lashing for the sorry state of his homework, but he wasn't going to bring that up if the teacher wasn't.

Starrk grunted. "We'll see how you do on this one first. Ask me Friday."

"Oh. Um...okay."

Starrk raised his voice slightly, somehow managing to cut through the commotion at the other side of the classroom without shouting.

"Class is over." He leaned back, closing his eyes. "All of you, scram."

Ichigo was swept out by his classmates, off to practice with his zanpakuto once again.

Author's Notes: Original Summary: 'Ichigo struggles with schoolwork as his shinigami friends constantly distract him from his human life. Starrk is just along for the ride.' Another sequel that did not get posted before I vanished off the face of the Earth. Twice.

(I considered making this a full fic but never got far enough into the concept. I think this is enough to stand alone, however.)

(Also, I honestly thought I posted this, like, six months ago. Better late than never, I guess.)

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