I made it to the gate just as the bell rang. Several students moved in crowds into their homerooms. I slipped into the large crowd and headed over to mine. Being late always made me more fidgety than usual. I guess I was raised to be an early bird.
I sat down at my desk. I looked at my knees; they were slightly scratched. "Good morning, Neddy-Chan!" I looked over to my side, seeing the busty orange hair beamed. She smiled for a minute before her expression changed, "Neddy, your face is dirty," she muttered, taking out a tissue.
"Oh," I replied as she wiped my face with a wet tissue that smelled like lavender. "I fell down the stairs earlier," I laughed sheepishly, "I was in a rush and I missed a step." She patted my messy hair down and wiped the lens of my glasses as well.
"You should be careful..." Orihime muttered, "Is the leg okay?" She asked.
I nodded, "It hurts a little," I looked over to the bandages, "But at least it isn't bleeding."
My eyes went to the front row, seeing Ishida seated at his desk, peacefully reading a book. I tried to look at the cover of his book, curious about what he was reading. His head looked up from his book and turned in my direction. I smiled at him, giving him a small wave. He returned it with a smile.
"I didn't know you were friends with Ishida-Kun, Neddy!" I looked back to Orihime, whose eyes were on the Quincy.
"We hang out yesterday," I muttered, "We had a word or two with each other."
Orihime paused, blinking, "Was it just the two of you?"
"Yeah," I replied, "It was pretty casual, though."
"I didn't know you were interested in Ishida-Kun!" Orihime beamed suddenly, "You two do look cute together! Both of you have matching glasses too!"
I blinked at her, "Eh?!" My cheeks burned red, "N-No! Orihime, you got it all wrong!" I laughed nervously, "We're just friends!"
"Keeping it a secret, Neddy-Chan?" She winked, "It's okay, I got your back."
"Orihime, we're not a thing," I insisted, "We're just friends!"
Everyone became silent when the teacher entered the classroom. Orihime winked at me before heading over to her desk. I covered my face in embarrassment. And also, Orihime looks so cute winking. I swear if she winks again, I will melt!
My mind brought me back to the festival three days ago. Surely, my room was filled with all sorts of accessories. I was wearing one at my collar. It was a small pink bunny hairpin. Though, I couldn't forget Hirako Shinji. His straight blonde hair. And the way he just kissed my hand. Not to mention how he just straight up flirted with me and I was flustered over his words.
We only met each other for a few minutes, but damn, I was catching feelings even faster than my ability to catch a cold.
"Ned? Is Neddy here?" I heard the teacher ask, which snapped me out of my daze. "Y-Yes, I'm here!" I raised my hand and then quickly placed it behind my head, "Sorry..." I laughed sheepishly.
The teacher shook her head, "You should pay attention to class," she sighed, "Well, at least you're still here compared to the other transfer students we had."
After checking attendance, she proceeds to explain about school events, breaks and exams. The exam part made me tense up. The standards in my home country and the standards in Japan were very different. I was afraid I couldn't achieve their expectations. I shouldn't overthink it. Just listen to what the teachers have to say and study like usual. Or maybe a little bit more than usual.
I was on the roof. I thought it was going to be another silent lunch. But Renji had other plans. He sounded like an Asian mother boasting about her child's achievements. I was completely red, unsure if it was from the spicy rice ball I was having or the embarrassment as the lieutenant spilt the tea about my abilities.
"But she can't use it on herself. And it drains her energy really quick," Renji muttered, which caused a few eyebrows raised.
"She can't use it on herself?" Rangiku asked, obviously confused, "Her abilities are similar to Orihime and she can use them on herself!" She looked over at me as if I know.
I gave her a shrug, "I tried it this morning," I paused, "Didn't work."
The silver hair which was known as Hitsugaya Toshiro looked over to me, "Well, since your powers are similar to Orihime's, you might want to be careful about it," he muttered, "Make sure the enemy doesn't discover it. Otherwise, they'll be after you, too." I would be lying if I wasn't scared by that sentence alone. From Orihime's traumatized look, I figured it would be beyond horrible to be taken by Aizen.
I nodded, "I can still use it, right?" I asked.
"Yes, but never in the presence of an enemy like an Arrancar," he answered.
I nodded, looking away from him. If I ever met an Arrancar, my life would have ended where I stand. Thankfully, I haven't been so far and I preferred to stay that way. "Wait, what's her Reiatsu colour?" Yumi asked, sounding interested in it.
Renji sucked on his teeth, "I'm not sure precisely, but it was like purple or pink," he scratched the back of his head.
"Magenta," I corrected him, "It's magenta to be precise."
"Say..." Baldy or Madarame Ikkaku suddenly spoke, "Could you demonstrate it?" He asked.
I looked around, "Uh, I need something..." I muttered.
Orihime handed me an apple, "Here. You can use that," she said, smiling.
I nodded. I looked around again, ensuring nobody else was watching. Everyone looked at me. I let out a small silent sound of discomfort from the amount of attention I was receiving. I placed my hand over the green apple, seeing my palm gently glow magenta.
I tried doing something new.
My hand remained above the apple as I thought about rewinding it. Slowly, the apple shrank and morphed back into a seed. I continued rewinding it as it disappeared from existence. Literally. I stopped for a minute, getting a vision of an apple farm and how it was growing on a tree before a farmer collected it. I brought it back into a normal apple.
I looked at them, their eyes still trained on my hands and the apple. I thought about forwarding the apple's age. The apple wilted and turned brown under my hand as it began to rot. I stopped and bought it back into a normal, healthy green apple. I gave the apple three pats before looking back at the group.
"Interesting ability you have there, angel."