The initial shock of being transported into a fictional universe with no trace of who or why they did it has worn off since yesterday, leaving a dull ache in Alicia's head. They didn't attend classes the day before and were able to spend the night in the school.
Alicia was against the idea altogether, but Zee seemed interested enough. They didn't really have anywhere else to stay and Monica promised Alicia that if she didn't get any sleep, she'd be her worst nightmare, which Alicia didn't in the least believe but caved eventually.
After Monica's nosebleed the day before, she rushed to the bathroom, evidently forgetting that the bathroom doesn't exist, needless to say, she came back with no nosebleed, but a lot more blood on her shirt than before, which she didn't mind, proclaiming she was used to it by now.
Zenith and Alicia had gotten to talk with Uryu for a little bit while Monica was away. They were able to get the day of the week, Wednesday, so today was Thursday. Alicia, using her limited knowledge of the show, was able to vaguely decipher what time it was in the show, sometime after they saved Rukia, which wasn't all that easy without directly referencing the supernatural elements of the character's lives.
Back to the present, the girls were now waiting inside the classroom as the teacher introduced them. Just a basic "We have new students, treat them well," and then pointed them to their seats. Zee really wanted to ask Monica why the teacher wasn't questioning anything, but quickly banished the thought, all hope of reasoning lost.
With a quick glance to his right, Zee could clearly see Monica shaking with excitement, it seems she recognizes a few people. The girl was almost turning red with how hard she was trying to contain herself, Zee made sure to remember to congratulate her friend later for not immediately imploding.
When Monica's seat was pointed out to her, she nearly skipped over, overjoyed with the surrounding classmates. Uryu and Chizuru~, she thought to herself, repeating the names over and over in her head in a happy tune. Uryu's self-explanatory, student council president and president of the handicrafts club? How could he be more perfect?
Chizuru's another story completely, of course Monica naturally loves her for her glasses, but her obsession with Orihime? The fact that she's a raging homosexual? It doesn't help that she's always been weak to red hair, either. Being sat between the world's best gloomy glasses-wearing teenager, and a borderline sexual predator lesbian was like a dream come true for Monica.
Alicia's seat was a few seats up from Monica, since her last name was pretty close to Monica's in the alphabet, so she was able to clearly see Monica furiously drawing on some paper the teacher probably handed out before class, where she got the pencil was not on a list of things Alicia cared about.
A few seats behind them was where Zee got placed, Alicia was glad for him that he got a window seat, although she couldn't help but pity him for the students around her. Alicia doesn't remember his name, but clearly remembers he was one of Ichigo's friends, an annoying one at that.
And class begins, the teacher didn't go easy on the new students whatsoever, reprimanding Monica multiple times for not paying attention and calling on all three of them to answer questions. Alicia and Zee don't mind a strict teacher but they knew they'd hear all about it from Monica after class.
Or not.
An ear piercing screech accompanied by a low rumble on the ground hit the classroom hard. The teacher didn't stop the lesson and a good 90% of the students didn't care so that informed the girls another hollow was nearby.
Nearly no time had passed before Ichigo shot up and quickly requested a bathroom break. With a scowl, the teacher reluctantly let him go and he walked a little too fast to be considered casual out of the room.
Alicia turned around in her seat, curious to see how Monica was handling the situation. A frown grew onto Alicia's features as she realized her friend was furiously rubbing her nose, it wasn't subtle in the least, the girl was definitely trying to give herself a nosebleed.
And it worked, of course it did. Monica shot up, proclaiming her nose was bleeding and left the room in a hurry. Alicia was definitely gonna punch her for the stunt she just pulled. A further glance back showed that Zee was silently doing his work, uncaring of the problem at hand. She sighed, whatever.
A rush of energy shot through her the second she heard the roar. Something was off and Monica convinced herself the only reason she thinks a hollow is around is because she wants a hollow to be around. Anything to get her through the rest of class would be welcome. But when an actual hollow appeared, Monica was sure she had sensed it.
She vividly remembered how every time a hollow would appear in the show, Ichigo and Rukia would excuse themselves for some reason or another, leading to rumours about the two. To avoid such nonsense, she decided instead of a bathroom break, she'll take the easy way out: a nosebleed!
So she rubbed her face in the most inconspicuous fashion possible, which even she can admit was a little suspicious and left.
It seemed Ichigo abandoned his body pretty early in the hall, if the collapsed 1st-year was anything to go by, and resumed her pursuit of the substitute soul reaper. She didn't exactly have a plan, the only reason she was racing to get outside was mostly due to the brain numbing class, and maybe a little because of her inability to suppress fangirling, even if it's just a little.
She made it to the place of the hollow attack, this time in the front of the school instead of the back. She was conflicted on how to feel about it already being killed, she was relieved she wouldn't get in the way of the fight, but she really wanted to see the fight.
"Ichi-" She cut herself off, remembering the basic rules of politeness, "Kurosaki!" Why call out to him? She asked herself this as well and didn't quite know the answer.
For a moment, Ichigo froze, like he really didn't expect someone to call out to him, let alone a stranger. He looked at Monica in the face, and turned his head to the side questioningly, "Do I know you?"
A little bit of relief filtered through Monica, she had completely forgotten he couldn't remember names for shit, well, names or faces. Actually, he just couldn't remember anything.
With the little sanity she had left, Monica turned around, ignoring Ichigo, "Man, I really wish I brought strawberries for lunch," She pretended to muse to herself. Yeah, she can admit when she doesn't come up with the best excuses, but she's wanted to make that joke for years (excuse the fact she makes it every second day).
Monica didn't risk looking back so didn't really know how Ichigo reacted, but by the lack of sound made her think the excuse was at the very least passable. Heading back to class, she rubbed her nose without realizing and was met with a hand full of blood, "Oh, right," She said, a little dryly.
She stopped in the hall for a few moments, pondering. The bathrooms weren't an option since they didn't exist in this world. Before she could think of anything else, her orange haired classmate passed by her, he definitely wasn't paying attention until he noticed all the blood.
"Woah, you okay?" He said, a little shocked.
Monica glared at him for a moment, she wanted so badly to insult him, but knew it was for the best to suppress the urge, "Oh, this? It's nothing, I guess the weathers just been dry lately," She said with what she assumed was an obvious edge to her voice.
Ichigo furrowed his eyebrows, "Shouldn't you be in the bathroom or something?" Apparently her annoyance wasn't obvious to someone this dense.
Once more, she glared, this time in thought. Was there any other option? No, she could just ride it out and hope for the best but it'd probably be safer to find a sink and not immediately convince her classmates she was a psychopath on day 1/2. "I don't know where it is...?" Of course she knew where the bathroom was, it's always the first location she memorizes in new places.
Ichigo nodded and started walking, a short nod and a wave of his hand to indicate that Monica should follow him.
They headed to somewhere Monica hadn't been before but was sure it wasn't a bathroom. A short spark of distrust went down her spine, until she realized she knows absolutely anything there is to know about Ichigo, and she's probably fine.
After climbing a staircase and going through a door, Monica was now aware she was on the roof of the school. Oh, right... anime...
Ichigo turned around to face Monica, a serious expression adorning his features. She would've been a little scared too, if not for her existing knowledge of the character. "What do you know about me and the others?" He started, and what a nice place to start too.
Monica squirmed in place for a second, she knew that if she wanted to tell this world about them, Alicia and Jazmine would probably go along with it, but that kind of ruins the fun, "N-nothing," Accompanied by an awkward laugh and you've got yourself a horrible liar.
Well his frown can't really get any worse, she thought, trying to salvage the situation. "Don't play games, I just want to know if you're a threat," His expression remained the same and Monica joined him in the frowning club.
That's when she started to sulk, her hands flopping to her sides and head lolling to the side, "Fine," She groaned out, "Everything, same with my two friends," Her words were all spoken like a kid who didn't get the exact toy they wanted on Christmas.
Ichigo's expression faltered for a moment before he caught himself, "What do you mean?" He seemed a little worried now, but Monica was relieved he wasn't using his 'punch then ask questions' technique.
And so Monica went off and explained the situation, she started off by telling him of the soul society and moved on to quincies, and even vaizards, which will probably show up soon anyways. She made sure to stay away from fullbringers and the quincy army thing but otherwise was telling it as she remembered, she also made sure to assure him throughout the explanation that she was no threat and probably couldn't hurt a fly in this world.
After that, they went back to class, Ichigo deciding to trust her for now and telling her to come back to the roof at lunch. Monica enthusiastically agreed but held herself back from asking if the quincy will be there.
Ichigo pulled something out of his pocket and handed it to her, for a few seconds, Monica just stared at it in confusion, until she realized it was a few tissues, "Oh! My nose," She grabbed it with a small 'thank you' and he left.