Bleach, Infinite Stratos/IS 1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or Infinite Stratos.**

* * *

_"Chifuyu!"_

_"...Eh? Why are you here?"_

_"I wanted to drop by. I want to see your face before I leave, a-"_

_"What? What do you mean?"_

_"Chifuyu...I'm...I'm moving-"_

_"What?! Why?"_

_"My dad got promoted in his job. We're moving to Karakura Town. He's now head doctor at a hospital there."_

_"...but, but what about us? What about me? You and Tabane are the only friends I had. I-"_

_"Hey there, relax. We could still be in touch by letters. We'll still friends no matter what."_

_"...ood frie..."_

_"Excuse me?"_

_"Good friends! Not just a friend, good friends. Can I be your good friend?"_

_"...No."_

_"!"_

_"Because we already are _best_ friends, aren't we?"_

_"...Thank you *sniffs"_

_"Hey, don't go emotional on me now. Now who are you and where is the tough and serious girl I met in kendo class?"_

_"*chuckles"_

_"You still have Tabane to accompany you, y'know? Even though she's really hyper *sweatdrops...Promise you won't feel lonely?"_

_"I...I promise..."_

_"...*smirks *hugs, We'll meet again, Chifuyu. I...I'll miss you."_

_"...Yeah, we'll meet again someday. I'll miss you too...Ichigo..."_

* * *

"Urrrgh..."

That's the umpteenth time Orimura Ichika groaned today.

And he has a good reason for it.

He is now sitting in a desk at the middle of the classroom, surrounded by girls, and the word 'surrounded' is already an understatement. He could feel all the intense stares from practically all of them as he is THE only male in the classroom. Not only that, the whole student body is compromised of females. Even the staff members, the academy teachers and the janitors are all female.

Yup, that's right.

He is THE only male student and possibly the only male in the whole IS academy.

And how did he enrol there?

Well, let's just say that he got lost finding the room to take his high school examinations and accidentally stumble into a room containing an IS. He touched it out of curiosity and discovered he can pilot one, despite only women can operate it.

With the academy consisting of a female population of 99.9%, he felt isolated. Not to mention there are a lot of cute-looking girls here in the academy. He may be a dense as a block or possibly denser than that, but he's still a hormonal male teenager.

It's hard not to get hard in here...

Well, there is a positive thought as his childhood friend, Houki Shinonono is in the same class as her. Its been six years since he did seen her, so he was looking forward to catch up with her. Glancing towards her at the corner of his eyes, he caught her staring at him as well. Having been caught, she huffed and look towards the window, avoiding his gaze. Great, now his childhood friend is ignoring him as well. He groaned again and started to fell into depression.

"...ika-san? Orimura Ichika-san!"

"H-Hai?!" he yelled unintentionally, breaking out from his thoughts as he heard someone called his name loudly. Lopking up, he saw Maya Yamada-sensei in front of him. He realized that she was the one that called out his name. He could hear quiet laughter from some of the girls behind him. Great, is his first day at school and he's already making a fool of himself.

"S-sorry for calling your name out so loudly but Orimura-san wasn't responding earlier... Are you angry at me? I'm really sorry! B-But we are doing self introductions now and we are at the surnames starting with O's now... So, c-can you introduce yourself? P-please?" Yamada-sensei pleads as she bows in apology.

In an attempt to calm his frantic teacher, Ichika quickly replied, "Y-You don't have to bow, Yamada-sensei! I-I just zoned out for a while back there. I'll introduce myself now!"

That made Yamada-sensei perked up and stood real straight. Well, that worked well.

Sweating slightly now, he stood up and turned around to face his female classmates, who're anticipating his introduction with full concentration. Seeing all the stares directed at him, he swallowed a lump on his throat before introducing himself.

"Um...ano...My name is Ichika Orimura, I look forward to working with you." That's all he could think about in his introduction, because his mind is a complete blank right now. Looking around the class, he saw everyone is still having their full attention on him. They want him to say more?!

Having no idea what to say, he ends it with a "...That is all."

Cue facefault.

Well, that was awkward...

_TWACK!- "_Gepoh!_"_

"Can't even make a simple introduction, Orimura?"

Out of nowhere, a blunt object suddenly hit his head. Rubbing his head to soothe the pain, he looked over towards the doorway to see his sister standing there wearing a formal white shirt, with a black overcoat, black skirt, green tie, stockings and high heeled shoes, holding a thick book in her hands. And was that a slight happy glow surrounding her?

"Chifuyu-nee?"

_TWACK!_

And another blow hit his head.

"It's Orimura-sensei to you." Chifuyu said in a cold and serious tone.

"H-Hai, Orimura-sensei..."

"Orimura-sensei," the voice of Yamada-sensei called out to her, "Is the meeting over?"

Turning her attention towards her, Chifuyu said, "Yeah, Yamada-kun. I'm sorry for making you greet the class." Then she turns her attention towards the class and said out loud, "Ladies, I am Orimura Chifuyu. Within the next year, It'll be my job to train you to become pilots. I shall be your guide until you become capable. You can oppose me, though listen closely to what I say. Understand?"

And all hell break loose.

"KYAAAA! Its the real Chifuyu-sama!"

"She's too beautiful!"

"I love you so much!"

"I have always been your fan!"

"You are the reason I came to this school!"

"I could die for you!"

Chifuyu just stared at the fanatical students before pinching her bridge of her nose in annoyance, "Its amazing how many of these idiots come every year. Should I be admiring them, or is it only because that they're in my class?"

She looked over to her brother, who was still crouching and rubbing his head from her hit on the head. She then scowled at him and ordered, "Sit back in your seat, you idiot."

Ichika cringed from her tone. Quickly stood up and scramble to his seat, he said, "H-Hai! Chifuyu-ne-"

_TWACK!_

"Again, It's Orimura-sensei to you!"

"Hai...Orimura-sensei,"

And so starts the life of the first male IS pilot.

...Or so that's what Ichika thought.

Unbeknownst to him, he lost that title to someone else four years ago.

And he's at the academy.

But not as a student.

...

Ten minutes before the SHR ends.

Unlike class 1-1, class 1-2 is an all-female class. All the students are chattering here and there and befriend each other as they waited for their homeroom teacher to enter the class.

Of course, the gossip of the day is about the only male student in the academy called Orimura Ichika who is in class 1-1. Apparently, he is the second male IS pilot to emerge after four years. The first male IS pilot took the position as the IS Representative of Japan almost a year after Chifuyu retired and went on to be the finalist of the third Mondo Grosso, only to lose to the IS Representative of Italy, but he didn't go down without a fight as the final of the Mondo Grosso was the longest and most intense in history.

The noise of incoming footsteps and the opening of the classroom door quieted all of them down as turn their attention to the person walking into the class. What they saw was surprising as they went wide eyed at the unexpected newest arrival.

Walking into the classroom is apparently a tall, lean-built young man with peach skin and brown eyes standing at a cool 5'11. He's wearing a fitting dark grey suit over a formal white collared shirt with with dark grey pants and a black tie. What really distinguished himself from the others is his spiky orange hair that screams out 'I'm a target ready to get killed!' and that scowl that is somehow naturally etched on his face screaming 'I'll kill you If you touch me.' The class was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

The young man proceeded to slam the book he brought together on the desk, breaking every students' daze in the class, and said, "Now that I've finally get you brats' attention, lets get this over with. I'm Kurosaki Ichigo and I'll be training you to become true pilots. I would be expecting discipline from you brats. Pay close attention to what I'm teaching and there would be no talking and no interruptions while I'm teaching unless you raise up your hand to ask a question or there will be hell to pay. Understand?

"..."

Silence.

And _more_ silence.

Until one of the girls suddenly break the silence with a loud shout of, "Its...ITS THE REAL KUROSAKI-KUN!"

""""""""""""KYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"""""""""

"Its him! ITS HIM! KUROSAKI ICHIGO-KUN! THE FIRST MALE IS PILOT!"

"THE BLACK SAMURAI! IN THE FLESH!"

"He looks so hot in person!"

"He's such a hunk!"

"Please marry me!"

"I love you!"

Ichigo silently groaned in annoyance as he watched the scene unfold in his class. He hated the fame he got from being the first male IS pilot as he always get harassed by a number of fangirls, which he really despised so much. Now his class as well?! Seriously?! "Urgh, fangirls. Why the fuck did I accept this job again?"

It all started when he visited the sweets shop of one Urahara Kisuke, whom he knows personally as he is a close friend of his dad, at the age of 18. As Urahara was out for an errand, he walked around the shop out of curiosity and stumbled upon a secret futuristic laboratory and a few IS in there located under the shop, which greatly shocked Ichigo. He knew about the IS as his childhood friend, Shinonono Tabane was the one who created them and his other childhood friend, Orimura Chifuyu was a IS pilot and a famous figure in Japan, winning the first Mondo Grosso and finalist at the second before retiring.

Ever since being an IS pilot, Chifuyu very rarely replied his messages. Ichigo understood why as he knew she was really busy as an IS Representative of Japan, but he couldn't help but feel a little depressed. He wouldn't admit it, but he actually missed her since he moved out of Tokyo, especially his father being oh so annoying as he often screamed to the poster of Masaki about 'missing his daughter-in-law', a remark rewarded with a beating from Ichigo. He even thought of trying to be an IS pilot to be reacquainted with her and be close to her again, but he knew that was impossible as only women are capable of piloting an IS.

Now back to the story. Entering the room, he couldn't help but feel fascinated at the state-of-the-art technology the laboratory provided. How Hat 'n Clogs successfully keep this laboratory in secret he don't know, but from what he saw, he guessed that Hat 'n Clogs was researching and gathering information about the IS and possibly succeeded in making a few. Seeing enough, he pivoted on his heels and walked towards the exit, but something caught his vision at the corner of his eyes.

Looking back over his left shoulder, he saw what looked like a normal IS in its inactive form, but he felt this particular IS is different somehow. This IS was fully black with red trimmings on its armor. He couldn't help but felt a pulling sensation between him and the IS, like the IS was attracting him towards it. What's even weirder was that the IS looks like it was kneeling before him waiting for him to wear it. Deciding to follow his instincts, he slowly walked towards it and placed his right hand on it.

The exact moment he touched it, his brain was suddenly flooded with information, startling him. As it stopped, he quickly took a step back and wondered what did just happen. He flinched as he heard a familiar voice at the doorway.

_"Ah, Kurosaki-san. I see you found my secret lab! What's more you unexpectedly activated an IS!" A chirpy voice said at the doorway._

_"Gah!" Recognizing the voice, Ichigo shouted as he whirled towards the door to see Kisuke standing there with his fan opened. "H-Hat 'n Clogs! T-This isn't what it looks like! I-"_

_"Relax Kurosaki-san." Kisuke said with his rarely heard serious tone as he closed his fan and walked towards Ichigo, "I'm not mad. Plus, it was also my plan letting you in anyway. Why do you think I left the floor hatch slightly opened? OW!"_

_Hearing that made the strawberry snapped inside him as he send a fist onto the mad scientist head, "Why don't you just bring me here by yourself?! You think that I'll run away after I saw all this?!"_

_Kisuke was silent for a while. He then suddenly perked up, opened his fan and replied in a cheerful manner, "Why yes I do! OW!" and getting another blow on the face from Ichigo's elbow._

_"Fuck you. Now that just pisses me off even more." Ichigo growled before he took his time to calm down. After a long silence, he then asked, "Why the heck are you researching about the IS? I know you're a science freak but I never thought it would be in such a large scale."_

_Once again, Kisuke was silent. Moments later, he walked over to one of the control tables and pulled out two chairs. He then sat down on one of them and motioned to Ichigo to sit down, "Sit, it would be a long story." Ichigo just shrugged and went on to sit, opposite of Kisuke._

_"So tell me Kurosaki-san. How much do you know about IS?" Urahara asked._

_Blinking a few times at the question, he then snapped at him__, scowling, "What the hell?! Of course I know a lot about IS! Both of my childhood friends created them and piloted one of then for God's sake! Which...I didn't see them for a long time..."_

_"Jeez calm down. You don't have to blow your fuse at that question," Kisuke calmly said, "Just answer the question, Kurosaki-san."_

_Still growling, Ichigo answered back, "T__hey are powered exoskeletons, which were originally meant for out space exploration. Designed by Shinonono Tabane, they possess technology and combat capabilities far more advanced than any other weapon system. Only women are capable of piloting them."_

_"That is correct," Urahara confirmed, "What about the Gotei Corp.?"_

_Ichigo was confused at that question, but still answered, "They are the biggest IS development and production corporation of Japan, with Genryusai Yamamoto as the CEO. They are funded heavily by the Japanese government to continue build and develop IS." He then deeply scowled, "What is that damn company gotta do with your smartass laboratory of yours?"_

_Urahara took a deep breath and answered him, "I was the former Head of Research and Development of the Gotei. Corp. And this lab is my personal lab to develop my own IS after quitting."_

_Ichigo went wide eyed at that, _This _Urahara Kisuke, a sweets shop owner and a freaking mad scientist, was actually a former Head of Research and Development of one of the largest company in all of Japan?! Well, no wonder he was a science-freak..._

_"I was the most the knowledgeable scientist in Japan. As the IS emerges, before other countries could hire me, I was hired by the Gotei Corp. as Head of R&D. The pay was real good so I accepted it. During my leadership, We successfully develop and produce the first 2nd-Generation IS in the world, and we're already started to experiment on the 3rd-Generations. The company was impressed with my work and ability. It was going well, until..." he trailed off._

_"Until what happened?" Ichigo pressed on._

_"...Two years ago, our laboratory building was trashed. Equipment was broken. Computers and controls were sabotaged. IS which was still in-progress were destroyed. The company loss billions because of the incident. And when the incident was brought out to the public, it brought the whole countries in Alaska Treaty into high alert. You know what's the Alaska Treaty right?" Ichigo nodded, he continued, "They wanted the person who did it to be captured immediately and sentenced to death as they see it as a terrorism act. Because of me being the last person to exit the building, I was immediately accused, even though I didn't do anything wrong."_

_"Did you?"_

_"Of course not. Other that that CCTV footage, they have no other proof. It was found out more than a month later of intensive investigation that it was my deputy, Sosuke Aizen was behind all this and was sentenced to death. I was released from all charges, but the damage had already been done. I immediately quit as Head of R&D and went into hiding, moving from Tokyo to Karakura and own a sweets shop ever since. Since I went into hiding, I became two of the most wanted scientists in the world, along with Shinonono-san."_

_"...And no wonder you opened a sweets shop, to keep a low profile."_

_Kisuke nodded._

_"BUT that doesn't explain this big-ass laboratory hidden under your damn sweets shop!"_

_"Even though I quit, I'm still interested in the fundamentals of IS, especially the cores. Since Shinonono-san only created 467 of them, my goal is to unlock the secret of the cores and built one myself. And just recently, I succeeded. Furthermore, from the core itself, I think I've fixed the side-effect of why only women are capable of piloting an IS."_

_Ichigo went wide eyed._

_"H-How did you fixed it?"_

_"____As you know, __the core is a mixture of an AI and a power source. Without the core, there would be no IS. So I suspect that the reason of why only women are capable of piloting them lies within the core itself. And I was right. Using the core given to me by the Gotei Corp. as gratitude for my success before I quit, _I finally succeeded in hacking into the core components. I found a really miniscule error in the core's algorithm, making the IS to only respond to the touch of a female."

_Ichigo was silent, eyes was still wide in shock._

_"And I plan to keep this information as top-secret and not to be released to the public. And yes, one of the terms of the treaty stated that __any and all information and technology related to IS is to be disclosed to the world and shared openly, but if I released this, the whole world would go heaven to hell just to find me and get my signature. I don't want that. I just want to live my own life as a humble shopkeeper!"_

_"Pfffft, humble my ass."_

_Kisuke chuckled at his response before saying, "Ah, if you're wondering, that IS you touched, is a 2.5-Gen IS equipped with the very first IS core built by me. And I programmed this particular IS to be your personal IS."_

_If Ichigo's eyes couldn't get any wider, it was popping out from his eye sockets. Stiffly standing up and walked towards the IS, he then turned his back at it and positioned himself to the pilot seat and the holding mechanics locking around his stomach, holding him in place. The IS was fully black. The chest wasn't covered for maximum mobility on the arms. A black gauntlet with red trims each covered his arms from the fingers to the elbows with the fingers sharply pointed with three diamond-shaped armor plates layering from the wrist to the elbow. The legs were layered as well, giving better mobility and nice aesthetics. Two diamond-shaped wings with red trims were hovering behind him. And finally on his right hand, he was holding a black daito with four prongs bent out to form the shape of the manji on the cross guard and_ _a short length of chain with a broken link at the end dangles from the base of the hilt. _

_"Skin Barrier activate. Thruster Status green. Close-range Blade activate. Hypersensor optimum capacity," Ichigo announced without thinking. He then went wide eyed as he realized what he just said, "How the fuck did I know all that shit?" Then, it suddenly dawned on him, oh, that influx of information..._

_"But I never said I wanted an IS."_

_"You never said it but from your eyes, I know you do," Kisuke said, "I've visited your house often and sometimes when you watch the news regarding IS, especially when Orimura-san is on TV, you got this faraway look-"_

_"Oh hell I did not!"_

_"Wow, what a quick denial. You look cute when you're flustered, Kurosaki-san."_

_"Fuck you Hat 'n Clogs! And that sounded so gay!"_

_Urahara just chuckled at Ichigo's reaction before getting back to his serious tone, "Besides, I wanted someone to test out my creations, and the only people I believe in is your family or Yoruichi-san. Other than your father, you are the only male in your family. I built this IS with you being the sole focus around it, hoping that it will respond to you, and it did. Keep it as your personal IS as a thank you gift from me. I know you want it." _

_Ichigo couldn't help but feel honoured. Hat 'n Clogs built this IS with him as the main focus to pilot it? What's more, he actually believed him enough to actually let him into his laboratory. He let out a small smirk on his face and said, "No, _thank you_ for having faith in me...Urahara-san."_

_Urahara just smiled as he went on to make a few adjustments to the IS to fit Ichigo's body properly. After a few minutes, he moved away and asked, "How are you feeling now?"_

_Ichigo lift his left hand near to his face and clenched it a few times before saying, "I still feel a little stiff. Its still at its default settings anyway, so its manageable."_

_Kisuke nodded and walked over to a steel door with Ichigo following him. He then typed the password on the digital lock before the steel door opened upwards, showing a large room. Ichigo was stunned. It was __a large room with a ceiling and walls painted to resemble a cloudy sky over a floor of desolate, brown, craggy land dotted with dead trees. It looked so realistic._

_"This is a test ground I built by myself," Kisuke claimed, "What do you think, Impressive, ne?"_

_Ichigo's silence answered the question._

_"Now why don't you get in there with your personal IS? I would like to see it to take off. Plus, It would be important to get familiar with the basics of controlling your IS as it is your first time piloting it. So what do you say? Wanna experience spreading your wings and fly?"_

_Breaking out from his daze, Ichigo shot him a smirk. "Heh, fuck you again, Hat 'n Clogs," Roaring the IS thrusters into life, Ichigo flew into the test ground at incredible speeds. Whipping up and down, he swing his sword down onto a large boulder and the boulder crumbled into pieces. He hit a few more boulders and started to make a few flying stunts. He was having fun, "Heh, I'm starting to get the hang of it," he muttered, but he still felt a little stiff, "Now how should I initiate the first shift?"_

_"Answer my one and only question, and only if I'm satisfied with your answer,"__ A male voice said in his head, making him widen his eyes, "Do you know who am I?"_

_"You're the voice of the IS?!"_

_"Excellent, you figured it out on your own,"__ The voice said, "So enlighten me, what do you fight for?"_

_"Huh?"_

_"Why do you fight? Why do you want power? What is your purpose of piloting me? What do you fight for?"_

_"That's four questions, not one," Ichigo sweatdropped._

_"Four questions but all of them have one similar meaning,"__ the voice replied back, "So what is your answer?"  
_

_Ichigo pondered that question for a while before his face hardened, his eyes full of determination, "I fight...for my friends! My name is Ichigo, the one who protects! I swear by my name, with power, I will protect those who are precious to me!"_

_The IS was silent for a while before replying, "Good answer. As a reward I shall give you my name," Ichigo's eyes slightly widened as he heard his name in his brain. He regained his composure and hardened his gaze as he crouched down mid air in a stance and placed his sword at his left side, the wind picking up around him, (A/N: Play Number One by Hazel Fernandes) __"Abandon your fear. Look forward. Move forward and never stop. You'll age if you pull back. You'll die if you hesitate. Shout! My name is-!"_

_"ZANGETSU!"_

_A bright light shone around him and the lit the whole room, making Kisuke shielding his eyes with his right arm. As the light dimmed down, Kisuke put down his arm and was slighty surprised at Ichigo's new appearance._

_The armor of the IS now is much more angular and more deadly looking, and the large hovering wings with was two previously two has now split into four, with two on each side, and an extra wing between the four wings directly at the middle of his back. His sword, or swords, has also changed. The one on his right hand is __in the shape of a large cleaver knife, with the grip at the base of the blade and a handle extending back from this about roughly the width and length of Ichigo's forearm. The one of the left hand though is relatively small, about the size of Ichigo's arm, and is similar to the first blade, but resembles a trench knife more than a sword. Unlike its counterpart, it has an enclosed handle, with a portion acting like a hand guard._

_Ichigo lifted both of his swords and inspected it. He could feel the power inside him. And he felt so light he feel like the IS is just an extension of his arms and legs. He smirked as he thought, _'Heh, Chifuyu, looks like we'll meet again soon.' _(A/N: End song)_

And that's how Kurosaki Ichigo became the first male IS pilot in the world.

Somehow, that information was leaked out and Ichigo was immediately thrown into the spotlight, appearing in every news in the world on the TV and the newspapers. Isshin took the news even more crazily as he kept shouting "My son has grown so much to be living in a large harem!" getting a beating from Ichigo. Fortunately, the discovery of the defect by Kisuke wasn't leaked out. And of course, a few days after the information was made public, Ichigo received an unexpected message from Chifuyu. Even though it was just a simple 'Congratulations', Ichigo was thankful she made time in her really busy schedule to at least send a message.

The Japanese initially forced Ichigo to enter the IS Academy, being the only male to pilot an IS, but Ichigo wouldn't budge, muttering along the lines of "I'm too old to be going back to a damn high school". So as compromise, the Japanese government ironically sent the strawberry pilot to Gotei Corp. in Tokyo and be thought by private tutors to finish all the IS courses in the curriculum. Due to him being able to absorb knowledge fast like a sponge, he graduated in over a year. Eventually, he was chosen as the IS Representative of Japan, succeeding the retired Chifuyu, though his delayed appointment due to him being the only male, thus creating debate at the UN as to whether he is allowed to take part in certain operations.

As the IS Representative of Japan, he took part in the third Mondo Grosso tournament. Being the only male, he was deeply underestimated by most competitors, but he proved everybody wrong. From over 100 countries participating in the tournament, against over 100 IS pilots around the world with more experience, he defied everyone's expectations and went on to made it into the final, eventually losing to the IS Representative of Italy, but he didn't go without a fight, considering his two swords are the only weapons he had and the Tempest piloted by the Italian Representative has cannons, rifles, laser beams and missiles in its arsenal. His mastery in kenjutsu was shown as he was able to deflect countless laser beams and bullets fired by the Tempest. The fight was legendary as it was the longest and the best IS fight in history.

Due to his IS being fully black and his mastery in kenjutsu, he was given the epithet as the Black Samurai.

Even Chifuyu, though she was busy even after she retired, made time to give him a call to congratulate him and they talked for a few minutes before Chifuyu unfortunately had to excuse herself. The strawberry couldn't stop grinning on that day.

And due to that fight and that fight alone, Ichigo rise up to the highest peak of fame. Men view him as the saviour to regain their rightful position in the society while women view him as the 'perfect bachelor', much to Ichigo's chagrin. Heck when he returned home, the front of his house was filled with thousands of admirers. How they know his house location Ichigo don't know.

Few years later, Ichigo was tasked by the Japanese government to be an IS Academy instructor to monitor and guide Orimura Ichika, who was revealed to be the second male capable of piloting an IS. The pay was good enough to support his family and himself so Ichigo accepted it. What he didn't expect was that Chifuyu was also an instructor at the academy. During the meeting between homeroom teachers before SHR, he was slightly surprised to see Chifuyu there. Even said female's emotions were no different. After the meeting, they looked in the eye and made a silent agreement to meet on the rooftop after SHR. And now, he's here as the homeroom teacher of class 2.

Seeing his class still fawning over him, he scowled before putting his thumb and middle finger into his mouth and whistled loudly to quiet them down. As expected, the girls all quiet down to listen to their sensei. Ichigo then sternly said, "I already mentioned that I will be expecting discipline and no noise during my class, but since today is you brats' first day at the academy, I'll let you off the hook. Now listen to what I'm gonna say. Being your homeroom teacher, I would be drilling the basics of the IS into your mind till you master them. As the saying goes, training a kick a thousand times is more deadlier then training a thousand kicks one time. If you don't grasp the basics well, keep dreaming of piloting an IS. After you're master the basics, then we'll begin with the real IS training. If you don't understand anything that is thought to you, ask me and I would be glad to give my assistance. Understand?"

"Hai! Kurosaki-sensei!" the whole class chorused just before the school bell rang. Ichigo then announced loudly, "Alright! SHR is over! Use this time to get acquainted with all your classmates. We'll resume in twenty minutes." With another chorus of "Hai! Kurosaki-sensei!" he exited the classroom.

...

The strawberry pilot is now on one of the rooftops of the IS Academy buildings as he lean over the railing of the roof, looking out at the scenery. The IS Academy in Ichigo's opinion, is downright beautiful. It is built on an offshore island which could only be reached with a monorail connecting it to the mainland. It has a decidedly futuristic look, with all its domes and a branch-like tower in the middle of it. There are plenty of trees and parks to tone down the metallic look. The buildings are designated in different places to differentiate their purpose. There are also various "shimmering" holograms that appear all over the academy. There is a large moving holographic strip alongside the school building to broadcast pretty much everything, like weather, temperature, etc.

He was glad he finally left the nest and live on his own. Not to mention getting away from his eccentric father, who was crying loudly at his mother's poster shouting along the lines of "My baby boy has grown up!" or "My son wants to leave us and live a new life!". Yuzu took the news not so greatly and keep crying at Ichigo's arms while Karin was happy for him, even telling him to introduce his girlfriend to them when he got one, which made Ichigo blush and lost his fuse.

Even better, he could finally see Chifuyu again, who was one of his childhood friends along with Tabane before moving to Karakura. Its been like, what? 14 years since he saw her in person? He lost count already. He had to admit, she had grown so much into a beautiful woman. But still, her presence is still the same as before, stern and serious. He sighed, some things just didn't change.

He stiffened a little as he heard the door of the roof entrance opened, but he relaxed as he immediately recognized the presence without turning his head at the door. He heard the door closed and footsteps coming towards his direction. His lips twiched upwards slightly to a small smile as he awaited the presence to come nearer and lean on the railing beside him. But what he didn't expect was the presence to come behind him and wrap her arms around his torso and lean her face on his broad back.

Chifuyu looked stoic on the outside but on the inside, she was doing a happy dance. She was shocked when she saw Ichigo entering the meeting hall, and he didn't even change a bit. That scowl he always had on his face every single time was still there. His orange hair is still as spiky as ever and he has grown so much taller than her, since she only reached just above his shoulders. And she could see how well-built and muscular his body is from his suit. He looked so...handsome. And with that thought, Chifuyu slightly blushed before suppressing it.

Now, she was on the rooftop, hugging the strawberry, emotions running high. She may not admit it, but she really missed him a lot. When she saw him on the news as the first male capable of piloting an IS, she was ecstatic. She was even more happy when he was a finalist at the third Mondo Grosso. She watched Ichigo perform on TV as he steamrolled on his way to be the finalist only to lose to the Italian Representative. She was impressed with his skill of piloting an IS, not to mention his mastery of kenjutsu, which is possibly better than hers.

Now she doesn't care about IS and what not. What matters now is she is finally with the person who was able to open her shell, the person who is her first friend ever made, the person who inspire her other than her brother. And she is happy.

"Its been too long, Chifuyu," the husky voice of Ichigo spoke, breaking out form her thoughts, "Its been around 14 years..."

Chifuyu just hugged him tighter as she shifted slightly to lean her right cheek on his back, and softly said, "Yeah, too long. I really miss you, Ichigo."

Ichigo responded by placing his arms over Chifuyu's who was still hugging him, making her blush slightly, and said, "I miss you too..." he slightly smirked and looked over his shoulder to look at her and said, "We've a lot of catching up to do. So tell me what had you be-"

"NO!" Chifuyu suddenly shouted in response, much to Ichigo's surprise. Realizing what she just did, Chifuyu quickly hid her face on his back, trying to suppress her blush which is as red as a tomato. Noticing this, Ichigo thought how this woman with a serious and stern personality, could look so cute when she... Cute? Where did that come from? The muffled voice of Chifuyu broke out from his thought as she said, "Le-Lets be like this, u-until the bell rings. W-we could talk l-later after class. P-Please?"

Blinking a few times at the request, Ichigo just shrugged, "Sure, why not?" Of course, he couldn't deny being hugged by Chifuyu felt nice. Chifuyu smiled as she hugged him tighter and lean her right cheek on his back while Ichigo held her arms that are around him.

And so, they enjoy each others' presence as they embraced on the school rooftop until the bell rings.

...

"I OBJECT!"

That's the voice of one Cecilia Alcott objecting the appointment of Orimura Ichika as the class representative of Class 1.

"I can't agree with a selection process like this! First of all, having a male as our class representative is an embarrassment! Are you asking I, Cecilia Alcott, to bear this kind of humiliation for an entire year?! Just by skill, without a doubt, I should be the one who should be class representative!"

Pissed by her remark to his own country, Ichika stood up and glared at her, "Hey! Your country doesn't have much to brag about either! How many times has the British won the worst cuisine award?!"

"W-What?! How dare you! How dare a lowly monkey like you has the audacity to insult my honourable country!"

Just before Cecilia could continue with her rant, a bold girl told her loudly, "Hey! don't you forget Kurosaki Ichigo-kun! He is a male and rather than a class representative, he is the IS Representative of Japan and the finalist of the third Mondo Grosso!"

The mention of Kurosaki Ichigo, perked Chifuyu up as she smirked slightly.

"Hmph, I bet his progress to the finals was just a fluke," Cecilia claimed loudly, "I couldn't believe this island country of the East had actually chosen a monkey as their representative. This is a humiliation to the world of IS."

And the whole class just exploded in outrage.

"Hey! Don't you insult Kurosaki-kun!"

"He is a inspiration!"

"He is what inspires me to be an IS pilot!"

And Chifuyu is trying to suppress her huge urge to strangle the IS Representative Candidate of England here and there.

"I think someone's full of themselves."

The new voice suddenly spoke up behind the class as everybody quieted down and turned their heads at the voice behind them. Leaning near the doorway with his hands is his pockets, is one scowling Kurosaki Ichigo.

And rather than outrage, the whole class exploded into fangirlism.

"KYAAAHHH!"

"ITS KUROSAKI ICHIGO-SAMA!"

"PLEASE TAKE CARE OF ME!"

"YOU'RE MY BIGGEST INSPIRATION!"

**"Silence!"**

That one shout of a fuming Orimura Chifuyu resounded around the whole class. Not wanting to face the wrath of their sensei, the whole class immediately quieted down. Then, matching Ichigo's scowl, she asked him, "What are you doing in my class, _Kurosaki-sensei?_ Don't you have a class to teach?"

Ichika was surprised. There was another guy in the academy, and he's actually a teacher? Being a teacher, he should know how to pilot an IS. So that means he wasn't the first male to actually pilot an IS! He mentally sighed in relief, he wasn't alone.

Said strawberry just smirked slight at how Chifuyu emphasized his name and replied, "Oh yes I do, _Orimura-sensei_. I asked my assistant to handle my class while I went to do my business. After I finished, as I went back to my class, I overheard a certain English representative candidate insulted me by calling me a monkey." he finished and shot a death glare at Cecilia, who visibly flinched at the intensity of the glare. Not to be outdone, Cecilia weakly replied.

"Y-You! H-How dare you barge into the class! This is blasphemy! I can't believe this! I challenge you both to a duel!"

"Fine," Ichika accepted, "Its better than arguing anyway."

Cecilia then turned her attention towards Ichigo who was dumbfounded by her challenge, he slowly asked, "You, a first-year student, is challenging me, a sensei, to a duel?"

"Don't you heard me correctly?" Cecilia retorted, "And I'm confident I would pummel you to the ground."

The class was silent as they wait for Ichigo's answer to her duel. After a few moments, Ichigo replied with a simple, _"No."_

Cecilia was about to brag about him being a scaredy-cat but Ichigo continued talking, "Because as a sensei, it's a crime to pummel their students to the ground."

"WHAT!"

"Let me be frank to you, _Cecilia Alcott-san._" he said her name coldly, which made Cecilia flinch, "When I fight, I have the tendency to never hold back, scratch that, I don't know how to hold back. I always show no mercy to my opponents. You fighting me would be suicide, heck, I even doubt your IS would survive. Check my records, there were two IS I fought against until they were rendered unusable to fight at the previous Mondo Grosso ." As he finished, Chifuyu closed her eyes and smirked.

Cecilia was about to retort loudly at his proclaimation but the strawberry cut her off, "But, if you really wanted to see my skills to be put to the test with your own eyes, I would gladly do it." He then turned to look at Chifuyu, who raised an eyebrow, and smirked, "How about I show you my skills, by having a mock-battle, or a demo if you will, with the legendary Orimura-sensei?"

Audible gasps of shock and surprise and murmurs of excitement were heard in the class immediately after Ichigo's proclaimation. While Ichika, Chifuyu and Cecilia, all of them wasn't expecting that, just went wide eyed.

"Its fitting, right?" Ichigo said, turning his attention back to Cecilia, "Me, being the finalist of the previous Mondo Grosso and current IS Representative of Japan, by proving my skills to you, will have a mock-battle with Orimura Chifuyu, a legend in IS history, former champion of Mondo Grosso and former IS Representative of Japan. While you have your fight for the class representative with Orimura. What do you say? Do you agree?"

Cecilia can't think of a better offer as she considered it, so she grumbled, "Fine."

"Are you sure, Kurosaki-sensei?" Chifuyu asked, but Ichigo detected a challenging tone in her words, "Because I have much more experience than you."

Knowing her intentions, Ichigo slowly walked towards her, who was behind her desk, and said, "Sometimes skills prevails experience."

"And how do you know that?" Chifuyu smirked slightly while Ichigo closed the distance between them.

"My head-to-head record against you in kendo. I have more wins against you than you against me." Ichigo smirked back and is directly in front of her now.

"That was a long time ago. Who knows, I've improved till maybe I could defeat you hands down." Chifuyu, with her hands on the desk, slowly lean towards him.

"Have you forgotten I was the given the epithet as the Black Samurai?" Ichigo lean towards her as well.

"Epithets are pointless. I was the champion of Mondo Grosso while you're not," Their foreheads almost touched.

"And I succeeded you in being chosen as the IS Representative of Japan," They could feel each others breath on their lips now.

But apparently, they have forgotten they are in a class full of female students.

"KYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!"

That particular shout break the moment.

"OMG THAT WAS SO HOT!"

"CHIFUYU-SAMA AND ICHIGO-SAMA FLIRTING AT EACH OTHER!"

"THEY MAKE A PERFECT COUPLE!"

Both of said IS pilots immediately pulled back and suppressing a blush, glared at the whole class and shouted simultaneously, "We're not a couple!"

"OMG THEY'RE SO IN SYNC!"

"THEIR PERSONALITIES ARE SO MUCH ALIKE!"

"THEY REALLY DO MAKE A PERFECT COUPLE!"

Chifuyu proceeded to take her five-inch attendance book of hell and walked towards the shouting fangirls and hit them on the head, making them quiet down. As Chifuyu walked back to her desk, she sighed and said, "Anyways, looks like it has been decided. The duel for the class representative position will take place on Monday a week from now. Time will be after class at the 3rd Arena. Both of you prepare yourselves."

"Yes ma'am!" Both chorused.

"And to prove his skills to Alcott," she continued, "Kurosaki-sensei will be having a mock-battle against me after your duel at the same arena."

And the whole class exploded into cheers. How can they not? Two IS legends of Japan will be squaring off in a week's time. This is big! Everyone knows it would be an explosive fight to the finish. It would be crazy to miss out on their battle.

Chifuyu smirked at the class response. Inside, she was glad Ichigo challenged her to a mock-battle. Ever since he watched him fight in the Mondo Grosso, she wanted to test her skills against him. Not to mention they would rekindle their old rivalry from their kendo days. She noticed Ichigo was looking at her with a small smile. Soften her expression for once, she smiled back.

Ichika watched the two interacted with slight curiosity. Seeing Chifuyu have a soft expression towards Kurosaki-sensei slightly surprised him. She rarely shows her soft side to the public, but he's showing that side to a person he barely knows. He couldn't help but looked in wonder. Who is this man and what is his relationship with Chifuyu-nee?

* * *

**And Chapter 1 done!**

**Hey guys, this is my second fanfic I wrote! But I would be focusing more on my first fanfic, "The Shinigami Of Fairy Tail" so don't expect really fast updates. Oh and FYI, chapter 13 of "The Shinigami Of Fairy Tail" is halfway done, so please be patient. Not to mention my finals are still ongoing and I'm here writing my ass off.**

**Pairings for this fic would be quite obvious now, don't you think? Both of them so stoic, so serious, scowls most of the time, has a short fuse and hates being made fun of. Its a match made in heaven! Ichika's harem are still intact if you're wondering.**

**So, please R&R!**

**albert27 out!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or Infinite Stratos.**

* * *

_Fourteen years ago at playground_

_"Tabane! Oi Tabane!"_

_*stop her swing *turns towards the sound *smiles *run towards the voice owner *hugs him tightly "Hi Berry-kun! How did you find me?"_

_"*hugs her back *sweatdrop "Its easy to find you with your bunny ears y'know? And please stop calling me by that name."_

_"Mouu~, the name really suits you y'know?" *laughs cutely *release each others hug "So why did you find me?"_

_"Tabane...I'm moving out..."_

_"What?! Why?!"_

_"My dad got a new job. We're moving to Karakura Town. He's now head doctor at a hospital there."_

_*frowns *sniffs *cries loudly "Uwaaahhhh! Berry-kun's gonna leave me!"_

_"*frantically grabs both of her shoulders with his hands "Hey hey! Don't cry. We still can be in touch through letters y'know? Our friendship won't break off like that." _

_*sniffs "B-But you're leaving. O-Other than Chi-chan, y-you're my o-only friend..."_

_"Hey, don't be like that. I would still keep in touch with the both of you. You and Chifuyu please take care of each other while I'm not around. *Wipes her tears from her left cheek. __Promise you won't feel lonely with Chi-chan?"_

_"I...I p-promise..."_

_"...*smirks *hugs, You know I'm gonna miss you right, Tabane?"  
_

_"...Yeah, *hugs him tightly. I will miss you so much, Berry-kun._

* * *

Orimura Ichika had lost count on how many times he had groaned in frustration as he read the IS reference textbook. Staying back after class, he had read the basics on IS countless times but he still couldn't understand a single thing. There's too much technicalities going on in here! He wondered how the female students could understand all this, how Yamada-sensei, Chifuyu-nee, Houki, Kurosaki-sensei...

_Kurosaki-sensei..._

Speaking of Kurosaki-sensei, he never thought there would be someone else like himself, being a man to pilot an IS which only women could operate, and he's a homeroom teacher to be exact, meaning he's already an established pilot. Though he haven't see what he is capable of, he could feel the strong aura around him. How he never heard of him even though he is a prominent figure in Japan he don't know, but that doesn't matter now.

What's even interesting though is his interactions with Chifuyu-nee, who as Ichika knows of, doesn't have a lot of friends to begin with other than Shinonono Tabane, Houki's sister, because of her cold personality. Her presence was, as Ichika put it, 'a blade so sharp, it would cut anyone who got close to her'. So he was slightly surprised when her expression soften upon seeing Kurosaki-sensei. Who is he to her? She never once mentioned about him, though he faintly remembered she once told him about 'a guy to settle the score with in kendo'. Is she talking about him then? He made a mental note to see him later, wanting to know more about him.

"Ah, Orimura-kun! I'm glad you're still in the classroom!"

His thoughts were broken when the sweet voice of Yamada-sensei called out to him at the doorway.

"Yamada-sensei! Can I help you?"

"No no, I'm here to pass a message to you. It seems like your dorm is ready." Yamada-sensei said as she walked over to him a placed the dorm key on his hand. "Your room number is 1025. Dinner will be served at the cafeteria from 6 to 7pm. All rooms has a built-in shower but there is a large communal bath available. The time schedules differ by year- Ah! B-But Orimura-kun is not allowed too use it yet!"

"Eh? Why not?" He asked, since he liked large baths, so he felt a little unfair for that to be taken away from him. What's wrong with the current schedule? Going to the bath in the first-year time slot seems perfectly fine for...oh yeah, every student besides him is a female. He blushed profusely at the thought of bathing in a large bath full of girls, "...Oh..."

"I-It seems you understood," Maya stuttered as she knew what Ichika was thinking, making her blush, "Please get along with your roommate."

"H-Hai. Thanks, Yamada-sensei," Ichika said as Maya smiled and nodded happily at his gratitude and left the class. Ichika stayed back for a little while as he ponder his thoughts before getting up from his desk and left the class to go to his dorm and have a good rest.

As he rounded a corner of the school corridor, he realized he was walking along the staff office, which is coincidentally along the path towards the students' dormitories. He thought this could be the right time to talk to Kurosaki-sensei, who is an enigma to him, thinking there would be no other chance later. Taking a deep breath and gathering his thoughts and courage, he walked towards his office and knocked on his door. A few seconds later, he heard a shout of 'Come in!' from inside. Opening the door, he walked in and saw Kurosaki-sensei completing his paperwork at his desk.

Ichigo was tackling every teacher's nightmare known as paperwork when he heard a knock from his office door. Telling him to come in, he looked up and saw Chifuyu's younger brother entering his office, seemingly nervous about something, making him raise an eyebrow.

"Ah, Orimura. What can I do for you?" He asked.

Ichika immediately averted his gaze and looked at the floor sweating as his nervousness came back back in full force. He was fine until he looked at the strawberry sensei's scowling face, which scared him slightly and reminded him of how Chifuyu-nee looked when she was annoyed. Saying one wrong word could bring hell to him.

Gulping a lump stuck in his throat, he found his voice and stuttered out, "Um...ano..." Ichigo was slightly irked at him as he waited for him to say something. Why is he being so nervous for? "What is your relationship between you and Chifuyu-nee?"

That made Ichigo raise both of his eyebrows at his question. It wasn't after he said that that Ichika realised how he asked the question sounded a little ruse. Bowing quickly, he muttered apology after apology, "I-I apologize! What I asked sounded inappropriate! Plea-"

"Jeez, calm down a little there," Ichigo interrupted, making Ichika stopped his ranting and bowing in the process, "I understand where you're coming from. Being a younger brother to a sister who Japan sees as royalty, you rarely seen her at home. Because of that, you do not know much about her. So you're curious when you saw me being with her. And because of that, you want to know about me."

Ichika jaw-dropped as he realised Ichigo actually said all his thoughts spot-on. Knowing what he was thinking, Ichigo added, "Well, I'm an older brother to my twin sisters. So I know how younger siblings feel. They admire their elder sibling, wanted to be like him/her, and wanting to protect him/her. Its not hard to guess it all actually considering Yuzu admired me like I'm some sort of God and Karin wanted to be strong like me." He muttered that last part to himself.

And Ichika was wondering how everyone always know what he was thinking.

Standing up from his office chair, Ichigo put his right hand in his right pant pocket, walked around his desk and lean on the edge of the desk. Smiling slightly, he said, "And to answer your question, Chifuyu and I are childhood friends. We were at the same elementary school though we weren't in the same class and trained at the same kendo dojo before I moved out. You really have grown, Ichika."

"Ehh? Did we met before?" Ichika asked, noticing he called him by his first name.

"Chifuyu sometimes brought you to my house for my family to babysit you a year after you were born. You were such a small toddler back then. Heh, I never expected that you're able to pilot an IS being a male like me. Like sister like brother huh?"

_'Wow, he looked like a delinquent on the outside, but he's actually a friendly man at heart.' _The male IS student thought in awe at the strawberry teacher, before he asked, "Ano, Kurosaki-sensei, how do you-"

"Ichigo."

"...Huh?"

"Call me by my name, Ichigo during off-school hours," he repeated, "I'm not into all the formality crap. Unlike your high and mighty sister," he muttered that last part softly so Ichika didnt heard it, but he did. Ichika chuckled lightly at that. Ichigo continued, "So don't call me sensei after school hours end."

"E-Eh?! But-!" He quickly shut his mouth and flinched when Ichigo scowled and gave him the death glare, _'Just like Chifuyu-nee.'_ "Um, ok, Ichigo-san. H-How did you and Chifuyu-nee become friends?"

Ichigo was silent for a while before he smiled and his eyes had that faraway look as he said, "Chifuyu was very much lonely during elementary school. She had no friends, in fact no one wanted to be friends with her due to her cold presence, making them afraid of her. I was just like her, being alone and had no friends."

"Why were you alone, Ichigo-san?"

Ichigo just snorted as he point his left index finger at his hair. Ichika wondered what did he mean by that before he came to a realisation and made an 'o' shape in his mouth, "...ohhhh,"

"Yup, so that's that." Ichigo continued, "Due to this, everyone including the teachers saw me as a young bad student with no manners, so they always avoid me, not wanting to befriend a 'young delinquent'." He said with distaste.

"Then why don't you dye it black?"

"For the society to accept me by changing what makes me 'me'? Not a chance, plus this hair colour is my natural hair colour, inherited from my mother. Why should I change it?"

Ichika just 'oh' in understanding.

"Now back to the story. When I was in 1st grade, I started to train in kendo. Coincidentally, I trained in the same dojo as Chifuyu. Both of us were the strongest in our age group. It was a matter of time before the instructor place us to spar against each other."

"It was that spar that made me wanna befriend her. During the spar, I saw the look in her eyes. It was cold and emotionless, but I could see the loneliness in there. It wasn't readable from a normal person, but with me knowing how being lonely feels like, I could see it. I was curious about her and I wanted to know her better."

"So since then, during recess, I would look for her to eat together and during kendo training, I'll choose her to be my sparring partner. She was cold towards me, but I wasn't afraid. I kept striking up a conversation to open her up, but she kept ignoring me no matter what. Until one particular day..."

_Flashback starts_

_"Hey, Chifuyu!" Ichigo called out to her who was sitting under a tree eating her lunch. "Can I sit here and eat with you?"_

_"Hn."_

_Ichigo scowled slightly as he walked towards her and sat beside her, "Jeez, you really have to open up, y'know. Its not nice being all high and mighty and all."_

_"Hn."_

_Ichigo deepened his scowl for a moment before he sighed and unwrapped his bread and ate it. While eating, he tried to strike up a conversation again, "Ne Chifuyu, what are you eating?"_

_"...None of your business."_

_"Oh come on, just telling me what you ate can't be that hard right?" Ichigo asked but Chifuyu ignored him and continued eating, much to Ichigo's chagrin. He grumbled a few words to himself before he thought of something. He then asked the cold girl, "Hey Chifuyu, do you know the meaning of your name?"_

_He knew he got her attention when the spoon that was held by Chifuyu that was digging up her food in her tupperware stopped moving as she seemingly thought about it, before replying a few moments later with the same emotionless tone, "No, never thought about it."_

_"Eh? How can you not? My parents even told me mine." Ichigo closed his eyes and furrowed his brows as he thought out loud, "Let me think...Chifuyu...hmm...it means thousand winters..." He looked as her for a while before grinning, "I like it! It really suits you! Its a pretty name! Just like you!"_

_That particular comment made Chifuyu widen her eyes and surprisingly flushed as she felt her cheeks heating up. No one, even her parents, actually complimented her before. So to be complimented by someone for the first time made her slightly giddy inside, though she never show it. _

_She acted cold towards the strawberry because she thought he would just befriend her for a while and then play with her feelings by disappearing from her just like the others. But she was wrong, he actually really want to be her friend, and the honesty he showed in his compliment proved that even more._

_She turned her away from his gaze as she stuttered, "Y-You think so?"_

_Ichigo wanted to reply back but before he could, the school bell rang. Wrapping his unfinished bread, the young strawberry stood up and said, "Well, second period is going to start. I really don't want to be late. I'll see you later, Chifuyu." He smiled at her before turning on his heels and walked back to the school building. Before he could go any further, he was stopped by a shout of, "W-Wait!"_

_Ichigo looked behind and saw Chifuyu closing the lid of her tupperware and stood up. After dusting the dirt off her clothes, she looked away slightly as she said, "Is...Is it ok for me to walk back to class with you?"_

_Ichigo went wide eyed for a moment before he smiled and answered, "Sure, why not?" He waited as Chifuyu ran towards him and stopped as she was beside him. Then they walked back to class together. If Ichigo turned his head to look at her, he would see a small smile on Chifuyu's face._

_Flashback ends_

"And that's how Chifuyu and I become friends," Ichigo smiled before scowling slightly as he criticized, "Though we were already friends, during the times she was happy, she would never admit it. Such a tsundere she is," Ichika just giggled at him. That very attitude is so really his sister alright.

"Um, ano Ichigo-san?" Ichika called out, to which the strawberry just responded with a 'Hmm?'. The second male IS pilot asked, "There's another thing I wanted to ask you. How…how did you become so strong?"

Ichigo raised an eye as he conveyed the silent message to Ichika on what did he meant by that. Getting the message, Ichika elaborated, "Since I rarely watched TV or the news, I never heard of you until when I entered the IS academy. Other than Chifuyu-nee, I always heard your name being a topic among students, which to me was weird at first because it was a boy's name. I never heard another man pilot an IS before so I paid it no mind. Until I saw you interrupted the class during my argument with Cecilia then I realized how much of a famous figure you are. Every student was squealing of you being the IS Representative of Japan and the third Mondo Grosso finalist. Hearing all that stuff you had achieved made me can't help but being in awe at you. You're a man but you were able to exceed expectations and be successful in a woman-dominated IS society, which is not an easy feat. So I want to know, Ichigo-san, how did you become so strong?"

Knowing what is the answer to that question, Ichigo replied without hesitation, "I want to be strong to protect what's precious to me. Ever since my twin sisters were born, I wanted to have the power to protect them. So I trained my ass off in kenjutsu, taijutsu, anything to make me stronger to protect them, but it wasn't enough. When I found out I was able to pilot an IS, I finally have the power to do just that. I trained and trained to be strong, to protect everyone from danger when the time comes."

_"So, he became strong to protect his sisters and his family, just like how Chifuyu-nee became strong to protect me..."_

"And let me ask you a question, Ichika," Ichigo said, making said man broke his mental monologue and placed his full attention on him, "Do you want to become strong?" the brother of Chifuyu's face got serious and nodded without any hesitation, so Ichigo continued with a single word question, "Why?"

"I want to repay what Chifuyu-nee had done for me," Ichika answered truthfully, "She has taken care of my well being and protected me since God knows when. I want to be strong because its my turn to protect my nee-san. I don't want to be a burden to her any longer. I-!" He stopped his speech as he felt a hand on his head. He looked up and saw Ichigo wasn't leaning at his desk anymore, instead he was at arms length and his hand was on top of his head.

"Nonsense, you idiot," Ichigo chided, "Chifuyu would never see you as a burden to her. It's natural for the elder sibling to take care and protect the younger one from harm. A younger sibling's job is to be his/her elder sibling's support. Take a table for example. If a table has no stand, it will fall. Its the same case as siblings. If Chifuyu sees you getting hurt or worse, what do you think she will feel?"

Ichika's eyes were wide open as he continue to listen to the strawberry teacher's words.

"Your purpose of getting strong should be like this: to be your Chifuyu-nee's support and always stand by her side no matter what happens. And to be strong, you need help. No one can be strong without any guidance." Ichigo's smirk widened as he continued, "In fact, I could help you with that."

Ichika's gasped audibly as he heard that. Did he really heard what Kurosaki-sensei was implying? "B-But Ichigo-san! Won't that be the case of favouritism towards students?"

"Not quite," Ichigo assured, "Actually, I was hired to be an IS Academy instructor by the Japanese government to keep an eye on you and guide you along the way. Its understandable since I was the first male to pilot an IS. It made my job easier since you are Chifuyu's younger brother. I can train you everything about piloting an IS, from the basics to the advanced. I can also train your body to cope with the demands of piloting an IS. Plus you have that little duel with that Alcott brat, are you sure you'll going to fight empty handed?"

Ichigo never away his hand from his head and curled it into a fist and brought it in front of Ichika, showing a wide smirk as he said, "So what do you say? Wanna be my apprentice and become a badass IS pilot under my guidance?"

Ichika chuckled at that last sentence. He initially had some doubts as being Kurosaki-sensei's apperentice will attract unwanted attention from jealous students and be accused for favouritism, but since Kurosaki-sensei was hired by the government to watch him, plus Kurosaki-sensei's attitude and personality which is so similar to Chifuyu-nee which made him feel like he had known him for a long time, all those doubts had flown out of the window. He curled his own right hand into a fist and bumped it on Ichigo's and said with determination, "I accept! I won't disappoint you and will train hard to stand by Chifuyu-nee's side and support her! Please take care of me, Kurosaki-sensei!"

Ichigo just grinned widely at his response and use his other hand to ruffle his hair, much to Ichika's chagrin and said, "Heh, that's the spirit." He placed his hand back into his pockets and continued, "We'll start tomorrow. Classes end at 1 so eat your lunch immediately and come to the kendo dojo at 2. There will be no shin, arm or body guards involved, only full body contact. Since you had some experience in kendo training, this should be fine for you. We'll be training for two and a half hours to train your body into tiptop condition suitable for piloting an IS with no breaks. Is that understood?"

Ichika robotically nodded as he was mentally shivering while listened to Ichigo's training schedule. Is he a freaking slave driver or something? He started to doubt this was a good idea...

"After that, we would be taking a short five-minute break," the strawberry continued, "Then we'll go onto the real IS training. The training will be held at Arena 1 until 7. I will teach you how to fly, control and land properly and IS without fail. I'll ask permission from the higher ups to lend an Uchigane training IS for your use in training as your personal IS hasn't arrived yet."

"E-Eh?! I will have a personal IS?" Ichika asked in shock.

Ichigo nodded and said, "I heard from the government that they've asked the involved designers and engineers to develop and build a personal IS for you in order to gather data for the government."

Ichika was surprised. The government has requested to build a personal IS for him? He never thought being the other male to pilot an IS can be so significant.

"Well, your IS is obviously hasn't complete yet, so you had to make do with the training IS," Ichigo said, breaking lchika's mental monologue, "And that's the end of it. Any questions with my training schedule?"

"No sensei!"

"Good," Ichigo said as he walked back to his seat, but before he could sit down, he remembered something and turned towards the male student as he said, "Ah, seeing both of you are close, you can bring Tabane's little sister along to watch you train, or she could help me in training you in kendo since she's a national champion."

"You know Tabane-san as well?"

"Yup, she is, you can say, a second childhood friend of mine, and also Chifuyu's. She was one hell of a firecracker back in the day, always all hyper and bouncy. I still can't believe she was the same freakin' genius that build the IS..."

Ichika chuckled slightly at that.

"But how do both of us know each other is another story," Ichigo said, "Now why don't you go back to your dorm room and get some rest? Its almost the end of evening. You need to recharge your batteries for tomorrow's training."

"Ah, sure," Ichika smiled which the strawberry smiled back. Before he could exit through the door, he turned towards Ichigo and said, "Ano Ichigo-san?"

"Hmm?"

"Thank you."

Ichigo just smirked as he replied back, "Don't mention it."

And with that, Ichika exited the office and walked towards his dorm room with a small smile on his face. Though it was only their first meeting, he knowingly added Kurosaki Ichigo into his list of people he greatly admires, putting him alongside Orimura Chifuyu.

...

Urahara Kisuke yawned audibly as he walked down the stairs towards his underground lab after he closed his shop. It was relatively a small sweets shops which has a slow but still profitable business as they sell candy with a really low price, a great hit for elementary students who have a sweet tooth. No one knows that the true purpose of the sweet shop is actually his hideout. He located the shop at Karakura because it is a relatively small town in Japan, where nobody recognized him as the Most Wanted Man in the World for his vast intelligence in everything science and IS, rivaling Shinonono Tabane.

As he walked closer towards the entrance door of his lab to continue his newest project, he heard the unmistakable sound of his computer keyboard being used which alarmed him greatly. The only people who knew his lab are Yoruichi, Tessai, Ururu, Jinta, Ichigo and Isshin. Yoruichi is out on an errand, Tessai, Ururu and Jinta had went home, Isshin is working his shift in his hospital while Ichigo is at the IS Academy as an instructor. So now he should be alone at the shop, but there is someone else in here and that someone had found his secret lab and is using his computer. That could only mean one thing.

Someone is trying to hack into his database.

Luckily, he knew and trained under a number of martial arts, including kendo. After unsheathing his sword from his seemingly normal cane, he typed the PIN code of his entrance door. As the red indicator turned green, he slowly and quietly open the door to prevent the intruder from being alert. Entering the lab tip toed, he looked around and saw one of his holographic computers was activated and in use at 2 o'clock. Looking closely, he saw the intruder was still typing on his computer, which means the intruder hasn't detected his presence. And through the holograph, he could see two long ears protruding through the intruders head, which made him face palmed.

Oh yeah..._she _also knows his secret lab. How did he actually forget about _her_?

Regaining his composure, he sheathed his sword, knowing there won't be any danger and quietly walked and sneaked behind her. Brandishing his closed fan from inside of his dark green haori, he hit her on the head number of times, making her whine cutely at the unexpected pain as Urahara said, "Ah, Shinonono Tabane-san. Have I told you countless times that breaking in to someone else home is a crime?"

Yup, Urahara Kisuke and Shinonono Tabane, the two Most Wanted Scientists in the World, know each other.

"Mouu~, Ki-kun! This is not breaking in! Every laboratory around the world is my home!" Tabane whined with a cute pout as she turned around and face Hat 'n Clogs, "Plus, I'm still curious on how you hacked inside my IS core and made Berry-kun pilot an IS!"

"You're still trying to gather my data on how I do those since you broke into my lab a few years back? I told you my computers have state-of-the-art security firewalls installed. It's practically impossible to hack into my computers."

"I won't give up! Nothing can stop Tabane the Genius y'know! And I broke three of your firewalls before you disturbed me!"

"You still have four more to go."

"What?! Uwahhh! Ki-kun you big meanie! You don't wanna share my Berry-kun's secrets! I really wanna know how you made Berry-kun pilot the IS, which is my creation! Its been so long since I talked to him! I miss him so much! UWAAHHHH!"

Seeing her starting to cry louder and louder, Kisuke frantically waved his arms around, trying to stop her crying as he said, "W-Wait! P-Please! Don't cry! W-We'll meet him soon after we've finished building the Akatsubaki together for your little sister. You planned to gave her the personal IS on her birthday, if I remembered correctly of what you've told me, its on July 7th, right?"

Tabane nodded as she continued to sob.

"I've checked into the this year's academy schedule. It seems that they are planning to have a beach study session at the seaside school around that particular day. So, not only little Houki will be there, Kurosaki-san will be there too as well. So why don't we finish building the IS first before the deadline, and you can dream about your little crush all day long?"

Something just flipped inside her brain as Tabane changed from a sobbing child to a really happy child who looked they just won a ton of candy in just under a second as she squealed out, "YAY! Not only I can deliver the Akatsubaki to Houki-chan, I can also see Ik-kun, Chi-chan and most importantly, Berry-kun as well! You're a genius, Ki-kun! Be grateful that you're the only person who I acknowledge to rival my intelligence."

"Hai hai, I'm really grateful, Shinonono-san."

"And plus, I don't have a crush with Berry-kun! I love him! I love him really really _really _much!" She finished with a cute giggle.

"Yeah yeah, I know." Kisuke shrugged it off.

And yup, Tabane has a serious crush...correction, she's really _in love_ with Kurosaki Ichigo.

It all started sixteen years ago when Ichigo, Chifuyu and Tabane were in 2nd grade and were placed in the same class in elementary school. That time, Ichigo and Chifuyu were already close friends while Tabane was quite lonely due to her really explosive happy energy, overwhelming other students which made them uncomfortable and don't want to befriend her. One day, while recess, Ichigo and Chifuyu were eating at their usual spot, which was under a large tree, Tabane approached them and asked them with a cute and cheerful voice, "Hi hi! Can I sit here with you guys?"

Unsure of what to do due to her social awkwardness, Chifuyu just looked over to Ichigo to see what will he do. Seeing no problem with it, Ichigo just shrugged and patted the sit to his right. His left is already occupied by Chifuyu. "Sure, why not?" he said. Tabane squealed in happiness of the possibility of making her first friends and happily sat down on the spot Ichigo patted.

And that how the the group known as The Unusual Trio was known throughout the elementary school. The orange-haired delinquent, the cold-blooded girl and the bouncy, hyperactive, bubbly child. All three of them are really different than the others, its quite a fitting name for the group really.

During those times, the three of them had grown real close to each other, to the point where they were practically inseparable. They would study together, play at the park together, heck they would visit the Shinonono Shrine or go to trips with the eccentric yet kind Kurosaki family together once in a while. Of course, due to his soft and kind side under he seemingly tough skin, Chifuyu and Tabane eventually started to develop feelings for him, which the both of them realized after he left at the end of 4th grade.

A few weeks after he left, Chifuyu and Tabane confronted each other about their feelings towards the strawberry, as they still felt sad about his departure and classes were never the same without him around. At first, they argued about who should be Ichigo's beloved, but seeing the argument was going nowhere and it would break their friendship if they fought for him and one of them would be hurt if Ichigo chooses one over the other, they decided to confess to him together and share him once the three of them met each other again.

They were really odd having that kind of conversation, considering they were still kids.

After Tabane found out that Ichigo was able to pilot an IS, saying she was surprised can be quite an understatement. She wanted to call him about it so badly but she didn't have his contact number. So so did what she does best.

Hacking.

After hacking Japan's citizen database, she found Ichigo's contact number and called him immediately, telling him she missed him so much and how did he pilot an IS. Ichigo, not really surprised that she found his number considering she could just hacked the government database to get it but caught off guard by her calling, said that he misses her too and a friend of his helped him to achieve that. Tabane kept pressing him on to tell her who is that friend, but Ichigo kept saying no because that would betray his promise towards his friend. Being his concerned and caring self again, he told her to hang up as the government could be finding and detecting her phone signal considering she went into hiding. Tabane was touched by that and agreed to talk with him again someday. That was what she loved about him, always care about others more than himself.

She even saved his phone number with a personal ringtone like how she did with Chifuyu's, Ichika's and Houki's numbers, with a chibi Ichigo hugging a large strawberry with a yellow background wallpaper as the caller ID and a "Berry-kun~ 3 " on top. The personal ringtone she set for him is the intro of "Number One" by Hazel Fernandes. For some reason, that song really suits him a lot.

After that call, Tabane hacked into Ichigo's personal IS which she never remembered building before. So she was surprised when she found out from the database that the IS core Ichigo used wasn't the one she created. That meant someone had successfully replicate her IS core, and a flawless one at that. Tracing the creation of the core back to its origins, she traced it back to a sweets shop at Karakura called Urahara Shoten, which was odd at first, but then she connected the dots of the reported disappearance of Kisuke Urahara, the renowned scientist and Head of R&D in Gotei Corp. and the shop that she realized the obvious.

The shop is actually Urahara Kisuke's hideout.

So, to prevent any detection, she broke into the shop at night and it wasn't long before she found the hatch that led to the basement and to the secret lab. Using her hacking skills, she cracked the PIN code of the entrance door and entered the lab. She was astonished that the size of the lab is almost as big as hers. Not wasting time, she quickly activated a holographic computer and hacked into the multi-layered security firewalls. As she was halfway there, the lab lights unexpectedly switched on which made her squeal in shock as she saw a smiling Urahara Kisuke standing by the switch, fanning himself and catching her red-handed.

And that's how the two Most Wanted Scientists in the World know each other.

Since then, Tabane sometimes broke into his lab once in a while to obtain the data and kept pestering Kisuke to tell her how did he replicate the IS core and made her Berry-kun pilot an IS. She also acknowledged him as quoted by her, 'the only person who can rival my great intelligence', which flattered Kisuke slightly. She even asked his help to develop and build the Akatsubaki, the one and only 4th Generation IS for her little sister, Houki. She reasoned that she asked for his help was to save time and energy. Kisuke was slightly surprised to be exact. She wasn't asking him to help her build a 4th-Gen prototype, which was what he was doing, but a fully-functional final design. Being the IS creator, she could do it all by herself, but she was asking for his contribution as well. Kisuke was honored to say the least. Tabane will handle the IS core components, the application of the Fold-Out armor and the Equalizers for the IS while Kisuke will work on the electronics, VR simulations to gather data, and the final configurations. He will also assist Tabane to work on the application of the Fold-Out armor.

"Now why don't you be a good little child and go back to your own hideout? You and I got some work to do." Kisuke politely asked.

Tabane clapped her hands as she said, "OK~! As soon as I finished the Akatsubaki, I can rest and dream about Berry-kun all day long... _Ahhn, Berry-kun~..."_ She finished with a slightly perverted face and some drool was hanging at the left corner of her lips. What the heck is she dreaming about? "Ow! Ow! Ow!"

Her dirty imaginations about how Ichigo will ravish her in bed was interrupted when Hat 'n Clogs hit her on the head with his cane and smiled, "Now now, don't you get all hot and bothered in my lab. Why don't you just leave immediately and go back to your own lab and dream about you having a threesome with your Berry-kun and Chi-chan?"

Tabane put her index finger on her chin in a cute thinking pose before snapping her fingers as she squealed happily, "Kyahh! That's a really good idea! You're a genius, Ki-kun!" And she proceeded to run towards the door, but before she exited the lab, she screeched into a halt as she turned around and pointed at Kisuke and said, "I will be back, Ki-kun! I won't give up till I get that IS core data!"

"Yeah yeah, see you again Shinonono-san." Kisuke smiled and he waved goodbye at her.

Tabane just gave him a toothy smile before she took off again and disappeared from sight. It was only until moments later Urahara let out a long sigh. That girl could be the death of him. He never felt so overwhelmed by other people before until she came along. He wondered how Ichigo actually handled her when they were little kids.

"Jeez, Kurosaki-san," Urahara muttered with a amused tone and smile, "I salute you. I really hope you can teach me how did you handle her really explosive energy."

...

Orimura Chifuyu walked down the school staff's dormitories with a extra skip in her step and a really rare smile on her face, completely going against the image she always portray to everyone as she walked while carrying a plastic bag containing a bento. She is now wearing a black tank top, white track pants and white sneakers. Her track jacket is tied around her waist.

During dinnertime at the cafeteria, she realized that Ichigo wasn't present. Being worried about him, she ordered the head chef of the cafeteria for a takeout meal for him after all the students had went back to their dorms to prevent them from gossiping. Before she brought the food to his room, she went back to her dorm to have a shower and have a change of more comfortable clothes. Now she's walking towards his dorm, feeling excited about spending the night with him, reliving their childhood days when she had come to his place to have a sleepover with him, with Tabane joining her once in a while.

_"Finally after so long, I would be able to spend the whole night with Ichigo. Take that Tabane," _Chifuyu happily thought as she can't help but jab at her second childhood friend, _"I hope he likes the food that I brought for him. I wonder what will happen later. If I confess to him then maybe...__"_ She had a really glazed look on her face before she shook herself from those thoughts as she reaffirmed herself, _"__No, now's not the time. I've promised Tabane that we'll confess to him together when the three of us are together again. So I'll try to hold my urges...for now."_ As she finished her thoughts, she finally reached the door of Ichigo's dorm which has the number "15" on it.

After taking a deep breath, she knocked on the door a few times, awaiting for a response, but she heard no voice coming out from the room. Slightly disappointed and the possibility of him taking Zs, she was going to turn around and leave before she heard footsteps and a voice saying 'I'm coming!' from inside the room, and the door finally opened. What Chifuyu saw made her blush like a tomato.

Standing at the doorway was a topless Ichigo who was just wearing brown shorts with a towel hanging around his neck. His hair was slightly damp, which means he had just finished his shower. What really made Chifuyu speechless was his well-built body. He has a body of a true martial artist, his muscles were distinctively toned and has a ripped and defined six-pack, a perfect body in every man's dreams and every woman's desire.

Seeing Chifuyu's reaction, Ichigo couldn't help but tease her as he stretched out his arms, giving her a good view at his body, "Like what you see? Blood is dripping from your nose."

Instinctively, Chifuyu quickly reached out to her nose with her left hand to stop the supposed bleeding coming out from her nose, only to feel there was nothing there. Realizing she was being teased at, she punched Ichigo hard at the chest, making him stumble backwards as she turned her head to the side, trying to hide her embarrassment of getting caught red-handed ogling at him and huffed as she said, "Hmph, as if. I've seen better ones than yours."

"So you're implying that you're some pervert who checks out the body of every man you see, including your little brother?" Ichigo teased even further, which made Chifuyu whipped her head at his direction, anger and embarrassment filled in her face.

"I'm not a pervert! And I definitely not have a brother complex!" Chifuyu shouted.

Ichigo guffawed loudly as he can't take it anymore, teasing the cold woman was always fun ever since they were little, and that fact hasn't changed. "pfffft-AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! You should see the look on your face! That was priceless! If only I have my camera with me."

Chifuyu couldn't help but feel so embarrassed right now at the teasing as she turned her back at him and crossed her arms, and said the three simple words, "I hate you."

Ichigo stopped laughing immediately as he detected a hint of sadness in her declaration. Had he gone too far at his teasing? His expression softened as he walked towards the cranky woman and placed his calloused hand on her shoulder, trying to soothe her, "Hey, I was just teasing. If I had gone too far them I'm sorry. You come here to talk right? Why don't you come inside?"

Said woman turned her head slightly as she looked at him at the corner of her eye. Moments later, she slightly pouted as she said, "I won't let you get away with this. Tell anyone else about this and I will kill you."

"Yeah yeah, whatever floats your boat," Ichigo just shrugged and waved it off in acceptance. Removing the hand from her shoulder, he grabbed the plastic bag she was carrying and held her hand, making Chifuyu blush at the contact, and pulled her inside his room as he said, "Just sit down and wait for me. I'll go and get changed."

Chifuyu just nodded as Ichigo let her go, which made the cold woman frown a little bit at the loss of contact, sat her down on the edge of his bed, placed the plastic bag on his desk and grabbed a few of his clothes before entering the bathroom. She took the opportunity to look around his room. His room is essentially the same as the other teachers' room with a luxury hotel-like design, with large queen-sized bed, a large desk beside it, bookshelves on the desk, a balcony and a fully-functional kitchen in it. Its interior is slightly different than the students' dorms. His laptop, wallet and his iPhone is placed on the desk.

As she looked around the room, something gained her attention at the corner of her eye. Looking at his desk, she saw three picture frames stood upright on his desk. Standing up and walk over to his desk to take a closer look at the pictures, she couldn't help but smile. The first one she saw was a smiling Ichigo standing on the podium posing for the camera holding his silver medal hanging around his neck, justifying his position as the runner-up of the third Mondo Grosso. The second one is a family photo of him with his parents and his twin sisters. The third picture is what really caught her attention. It was a picture of Ichigo, Chifuyu and Tabane posing in front of a Ferris Wheel, with Tabane's arms around their necks smiling widely, Ichigo was scowling slightly from her grip and a smirking Chifuyu with her arms crossed. Holding op the picture frame and trace the picture with her fingers, she smiled, reminiscing the memories made with the two of them.

"I still remembered how Tabane giggled non-stop while riding on the Carousel and how dizzy you are riding on the tea cup. That was a fun day we had together. Ah, good memories." She was startled by the voice and turned around to see Ichigo fully clothed, wearing the same brown shorts and a purple t-shirt with a small number "15" on it. He walked over to where she was standing as he said, "It would be great if she's here as well huh? The Unusual Trio will be running riot again."

The pilot of Kurazakura chuckled at his words as she placed back the picture frame back onto the its original position on his desk as she said, "Yeah, but I would rather keep a cold and strict image as a instructor to the students rather than running riot."

"I know right?" Ichigo agreed with a laugh, "Can't say the same for Tabane though."

"I second that," Chifuyu said, then motioned to the plastic bag she brought, "I brought you dinner. Since you didn't come down to the cafeteria, I asked the chef to pack one for you."

Hearing Chifuyu's reasoning made Ichigo smile as he replied, "I didn't come to the cafeteria because I wasn't hungry and I'm dead tired and want to sleep after my shower, but since you took the trouble of bringing dinner for me, looks like I have to delay my sleep for a while." he finished as he took out the packed meal from the plastic bag. He then sat down at his desk and opened up the food lid. The meal consists of a few rice balls, teriyaki beef and tempura prawn. Ichigo snapped the chopsticks apiece as he said, "Itadakimasu!" and dig into the meal.

"So, anything interesting happened in your first day as an instructor?" Chifuyu asked as she sat back onto her original position on the bed.

"Nothing much, other than that encounter with the Alcott brat in your class and my challenge of a duel against you," Ichigo said, "Though my class is a class full of noisy fangirls, which I really hate a hell lot," he continued in distaste, making Chifuyu chuckled at his misfortune, he continued, "So what about you, have you planned on how to defeat me in our duel?"

"A fighter never tells his/her opponent his/her secrets," Chifuyu smirked.

"Heh, fair enough," Ichigo smirked back as he placed the rice ball into his mouth. "For your information, your little brother came to talk to me after class."

Hearing that perked the 'thousand winters' slightly as she leaned in and asked, "Oh really? What did you two talked about?"

"Nothing much, just asked how did you and I know each other since he never heard from you about me before," Ichigo shrugged, "You never mentioned to him about me before?"

"W-Well, m-maybe because I was really busy so I rarely got to talk to him or it just slipped out of my mind," Chifuyu said as she turned away slightly and scratched the back of her head in embarrassment.

Seeing nothing wrong with that reasoning, Ichigo just shrugged it off as he continued eating and said, "He even asked me on how to become strong since he wanted to become one, with the reason of repaying you and protecting you."

Upon hearing that, Chifuyu just sighed in amusement as she muttered, "Heh, that idiot of a brother. Always wanting to protect me even though I don't need any. Its an elder siblings job to protect the younger ones, not the other way round."

"I know right?" Ichigo smiled at that, "I also offered to train him which he accepted."

"Won't that be favoritism?" Chifuyu asked in concern.

"I was hired to be an IS Academy instructor by the government to guide him and keep an eye on him, so technically, its not favoritism." Ichigo reassured.

"Well, with you being the other male to pilot an IS, that was expected." Chifuyu said, then smiled at him, "You know, if I wanted Ichika to be trained by someone, there would be only one person I'm comfortable with and believe in to do that job, and that would be you, Ichigo."

"Well, I'm honoured that you think that way, Chifuyu," Ichigo replied back with a smile of his own as he finished the packed meal and throw it into a small dustbin underneath his desk and patted his stomach, "Ah, that really hits the spot." He then stood up and walked towards his bed, opening up the covers and lay down on it on his back, "Better go back to your dorm and sleep now Chifuyu, tomorrow will be another tiring day at the office."

"Um...okay." Chifuyu said as she untie her track jacket and hung it on the desk chair, making Ichigo raised his eyebrow. After taking out her sneakers and placed it near the door, she walked towards the bed and open up the covers and lay on her side beside him at his left, with her head on his shoulder. This action made Ichigo really confused and nervous.

"Erm...Chifuyu?" Ichigo prodded, getting a 'Hmm' from the said woman, "I told you to go back to your dorm and sleep, not to sleep _with_ me."

In a really unexpected twist, Chifuyu curled up slightly as she used the 'Puppy Eyes' technique and her lower lip trembled, making Ichigo comically flinch in surprise as she said, "B-But, I want to sleep with you, l-like when we're kids. D-Does that trouble you, Ichigo? Do...do you hate me since you moved away?"

"N-No! It doesn't trouble me! I will never hate you either! Y-You can sleep here if you want!" _That look was cheating. Damn! I never expected Chifuyu to actually use that damn face. She looked real cute like that...Wait, WHAT THE HELL AM I THINKING?! She's just a friend, a_ childhood_ friend._

Unknown to him, while Ichigo was having his mental monologue, Chifuyu was smirking and was doing a happy joy dance in her mind as she thought, _"Just as planned." _"Well, what are you waiting for? Turn off the lights then." she said. Ichigo complied to her request and snapped his fingers, switching off all the lights at once. Chifuyu shuffled again as she placed a hand on his chest and her legs were intertwined with his, with Ichigo wrapping an arm around her.

"Ichigo?"

"Hmm?"

"I'm...I'm glad that we're here together." Chifuyu muttered, her tone surprisingly soft and sincere.

"Yeah, me too Chifuyu." Ichigo smiled to her and placed a chaste kiss on the top of her head before succumbing to his fatigue, surprising Chifuyu and making her blush.

_"He-He kissed me! Ichigo kissed me! Oh my Kami!_"Chifuyu squealed mentally in delight before sleep overcame her, a uncharacteristic wide smile on her face.

Its safe to say that the both of them had their best sleep so far in their lives.

* * *

**Annnnnnd Chapter 2 done!  
**

**Sorry for the lack of real action in this chapter. I promise the next chapter will be much better. And about the first chapter, I apologise for the grammar mistakes I made. **

**Well, seeing most of the reviews saying that they want an Ichigo harem, I decided to give him one! Chifuyu and Tabane are definitely in it, with Maya as a possibility.**

**And please R&R!**

**albert27 out!**


End file.

Bleach, Infinite Stratos/IS, Romance, Sci-Fi