THE DARKER DAYS

chapter one — abysmal

The days were indeed dark in the decade of hurt, anguish, and tension among countries. It had been a century since the fifth World War, and already a sixth was on the rise. Not only was political turmoil thick with inevitability, but humans discovered new and inhuman enemies in their midst a couple of decades ago. Blood-suckers, ogres, wolfmen, wizards, and other unnamed creatures took over and roamed some of the smaller, less exorbitant areas of the world. While they generally stuck to places not inhabited by humans, every now and again, they ventured beyond their allotted boundaries.

And the world couldn't help but feel like every single inhuman was plotting against them.

It was for this reason alone that a universal military boarding school was produced by the World Council, a council made up of leaders from countries who considered themselves "protectors of the world." This boarding school was divided into three buildings, and each was reserved for a specific grade level. The schools were named Sparrow Cut with their respective subtitle at the end: primary school, high school, and college.

These schools were harsh and unforgiving. Children were stripped from their families and forced to embrace their new one. It was lonely for some, but for others, it was all they knew.

While the elementary school classes were divided strictly by age, the high school worked more like a college and was separated by skill alone. This allowed the more proficient younger teenagers to take advanced classes and older, slower ones to remain at a basic level until they learned the necessary skills to graduate. Anyone who couldn't graduate within two tries was sent to Maeryn, "Land of the Devils" as many people called it. Maeryn was a small country heavily overtaken by monsters and creatures of the night, and while there were humans strong enough to live there, most perished within a day.

Rukia Kuchiki stood beside her classmates on the front lawn of the high school, staring at the much smaller group of people in front of the flagpole. The Captain who lead their morning class clapped a hand on a young, red-haired male's shoulder. Rukia knew his name to be Renji.

"It seems as though Mr. Abarai fell asleep during his fifth period yesterday." The Captain's face was far from pleasant. "So we're going to see if that was just a one-time thing or if Mr. Abarai just can't handle being awake that long." The brown-faced man held up Renji's wrist which was cuffed to the flagpole. "Renji is to stand here next to the flag for three days." The Captain's eyes turned to Renji, who bore a sour expression under his attempt to be emotionless. "If you can make it that long, you may rejoin your classmates as normal. If you can't, you'll be expelled." A small, everlasting grin appeared on the Captain's lips. "Tell me, do you think you could take down a family of Giants, Mr. Abarai?"

"No, sir." He restrained his abhorrence.

The Captain smiled slightly. "Alright, class. Everyone, except Mr. Abarai, can follow me to the obstacle course."

Rukia's eyes slid empathetically to Renji once before she followed the group of classmates around the back of the school and to one of the many courses. It was decorated with militarist items such as ropes, tall boards without steps, monkey bars, barbed wire nettings over crawl spaces, and large scoops of sandless pits.

"It's only the second week of school, so I'm assuming you worthless twats haven't made any friends yet. Oh well. Partner up!"

Rukia blinked. He was right; she had yet to befriend anyone because, in all honesty, making friends didn't rank high on her list of priorities. She could tell by the looks of most students that it was true for them as well. Everyone jumped in partnership with the nearest person, and Rukia found herself left stranded with an orange-haired boy she knew by the name of Ichigo.

"Well, guess that means we're partners then. The name's Ichigo." He shoved his hands deeply into his pockets and stared down at Rukia.

"Rukia."

No smiles.

"Everyone partnered up? Good. We're going to do a trial run of the obstacle course. It is your job to push your partner forward. If they are struggling, encourage them. If they are succeeding, push them further. There is no absolute best. You can always do better. If I see anyone so much as stop moving to take a breath, you'll be spending the next three days with Mr. Abarai on that flagpole." The Captain held his hands behind his back. "Get in line. Count to thirty after the person in front of you has went, and then start your timer."

Rukia frowned. She didn't possess much in terms of physical strength. Her advancement through the grade levels resided primarily in her intellect and maneuverability. She wasn't meant to be an infantry grunt, but that didn't really matter today. "Here," she spoke as she handed Ichigo the timer and got in line. "I'll go first."

"Alright." As they stood, Ichigo noticed a blue-haired, slightly taller male in front of them. He knew him by the name of Grimmjow. Grimmjow was a year older, but they had been in the same grade level for years, and they usually partnered together. Today, however, he was paired with a brooding dark-haired man. Grimmjow didn't look particularly pleased to be with him, and he wondered how he had gotten stuck with the depressive sickly-looking kid.

Rukia stood silently next to Ichigo, her eyes staring into Grimmjow's back with an absent mind. She wasn't going to wind up in Maeryn, eaten by wolves. She knew it was a good fear to have, too.

Because more than twice a year, a boat left the island with failure students on it.

As she watched Grimmjow run along side his partner on the obstacle course, she counted in her head and got ready. She tucked the black lock of hair that often hung in front of her face behind her ear before digging her fingernails into her palms. She could hear her heart beating, the blood rushing in her ears. It was deafening. She felt hollow with fear, but no one could tell. Her face was stoic and fearless, just like most of the other's.

When she hit thirty, Rukia was off. Ichigo ran right beside her, holding the stop watch tightly. His face was devoid of emotion as well, and he watched her closely. She hopped over a small wall with surprising grace and then approached a wall four times her size with a rope attached. She gripped the rope and began climbing up. She fumbled and slipped for a second but made it up relatively quick. Once over it, Rukia dropped to her hands and crawled under the wire netting. She used her knees and elbows to push her forward. A piece of barb caught her hand, and she stopped, seething.

"C'mon, Rukia! Move it!" Ichigo saw the Captain looking in their direction. "Rukia, now!"

Rukia cursed in her head and pushed forward, emerging from the crawlspace after a minute or two. The group behind ended up passing Rukia, but it wasn't anything to be ashamed of. Just by looking at the dude, Ichigo knew even he couldn't compare. He was nothing but muscle and adrenaline. But he could see it deflated Rukia a little. Ichigo continued to push her, and by the time she got through the rest of the obstacle course, her time ended up being fourteen minutes and some change.

Ichigo stood in line with his tray of food, waiting to get a bowl of fruits. Once he grabbed it, he emerged into the main room and glanced around. His eyes landed on a lone girl with black hair, and he headed toward her. Setting his tray down, he sat next to her. "Hey, good job today."

Rukia glanced over to him and bit into her apple. "Shutup, Mr. Six minutes, twelve seconds." She was bitter.

Grimmjow plopped down beside Ichigo and grumbled. "New girlfriend? Ain't she kinda flat-chested?"

"Shuddap," Ichigo replied casually and began eating.

"Excuse me?!" Rukia glared past Ichigo and over to Grimmjow.

"Are you fuckin' deaf or something? I said you had no tits. You're flat. You got mosquito bites on you. Nugget boo—."

"Why don't you say that to my face?" Rukia stood up, and Grimmjow stood up, too. Ichigo sat in between them, groaning in contempt. Rukia grit her teeth and held Grimmjow's stare evenly. He only looked bored and unamused, however.

"Can we just finish eating?" Ichigo glanced between the two of them. Unbeknownst to the trio, everyone else's attention was on the corner of the cafeteria where armed men surrounded a teenage boy. The three finally noticed and glanced toward the commotion.

"I swear, I didn't take it!" the boy screamed. His cries fell on deaf ears, however, as the men apprehended him and drug him away. He struggled and yelled until the cafeteria doors closed off the sight and sound of him from the others. Everyone remained silent for a moment, the notion of yet another student being expelled heavy on their minds. But like that, everyone recovered and the cafeteria returned to a bustling room.

"So what was your time, Grimmjow?" Ichigo asked before gulping his juice down.

"Five-oh-two," the blue-haired man replied casually. Rukia blanched slightly, but she didn't allow for anyone to notice. Before anything could be said, the bell rang and everyone got up, dumping their trays.

Rukia's next class happened to be the one she was most excited for: Hand-to-Hand Defenses. It was the perfect class for people who weren't necessarily big or strong, though everyone had to take it. It was only the second week into school, but already she had learned to get out of surprise attacks from the rear with ease.

As she arrived to class, she took her seat which so happened to be next to Grimmjow. Honestly, she had never spoken to him until today. Sitting next to him in the same class for two weeks, she had only glanced his way once. And now, she couldn't stop glaring. He was already on her bad side. When he caught her staring, he raised an eyebrow. "You got a problem, girl?"

"It's Rukia." Her eyes became dull with apathy.

"Cool story." He folded his arms and waited for the teacher to start. Luckily enough, the teacher wasn't some uptight Commander. He was a laid back armyman with newly attained officer status. Though he didn't allow for nonsense, he wasn't a dick. Grimmjow could handle it.

"We've got a decent split in male-female ratio here. Today, I want to focus on smaller versus bigger. Females should partner up with a male. If there aren't enough females, then smaller males pair up with larger males. Sorry ladies, no girl talk today." His chopped red hair made him look younger than he really was. He smiled playfully at the class before him and watched as everyone moved about the room.

Rukia generally partnered up with either Soifon or Momo, but she knew that was out of the question. Her eyes averted to Grimmjow, and the two silently agreed. It would be fun flipping the brute onto his back and teaching him a lesson, anyway. Standing next to him, the difference in size was massive. Grimmjow was tall, over six foot, and well-built in muscle mass. Rukia was barely five feet and weighed around a hundred pounds, if that. But she didn't let it faze her.

"Alright, larger persons — you will be standing behind the smaller person and twisting their arm behind their back. Be careful not to snap it; just make sure there's no escape." The teacher leaned back against the chalk board, staring at the rows of students as they got into position. His eyes traveled to Grimmjow and Rukia.

The black-headed girl's eyes narrowed threateningly as she turned her back to the large male. He grabbed her wrist roughly and yanked it behind her, and though she couldn't see it, she knew a smirk was playing on his lips. She only had to wait until the teacher told her how to inflict some pain on the attacker. She bit her lip to fight through the pain.

"Too much for ya, girlie?" Grimmjow jeered.

"Alright! Smallers, drop down to the knee on the side your arm is twisted, and kick back and into the groin with your other leg, twisting only slightly. DO NOT BREAK YOUR ARM!" It happened all too often, really.

Rukia smirked. She took no vacillation in dropping down and kicking her other leg back and into Grimmjow's unprotected family jewels. He instantly let go of her and dropped to his knees beside her, cupping himself. "Dirty bitch!" The rage in his eyes was evident, but he knew if he attacked her, he would be reprimanded. "Just wait until I catch you outside class hours. Just you fuckin' wait." His eyes dulled, and a clear warning crossed his gaze.

Rukia stood up. "Oh, I'll be waiting."

Author's Note: Thank you for giving this first chapter a chance! I am completely open to suggestions and will be responding to all reviews. If you have questions, hesitations, comments, advice, etc. please tell me. For those who know me for my GrimmRuki stories, I must warn you that this will have a fairly even amount of Grimmjow/Rukia and Ichigo/Rukia facetime. I'm not sure if there will be a definite pairing by the end. I'll see where you guys are at and where this story heads. Thank you once again! —PB