Day 19 - Breakfast

[repolarization]

As Ginji was ushered through the halls towards the cafeteria he felt a little dizzy. He felt like something was very, very wrong but he wasn't sure what. It wasn't just the fact that he had woken up in the middle of some strange place, or the fact that Ban was no where to be found. Something else was wrong. Something important. Something that he

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[soul_defender]

While the cafeteria quicly began to fill, each patron seemingly more strange than the last, the sour berry-head did his best to look disinterested. Resting his chin in the upturned palm of his hand, the young man stared off with soft, quiet eyes into the distance while idly chewing his food. Yet, any hopes of remaining aloof he might have had disappeared instantly; clearly surprised, Ichigo had a mouthful of strawberries the moment Elena appeared, and nearly choked on it immediately, his head bobbing forward with the jam in his throat

[soul_defender]

She seemed to be calming down, a sign for Ichigo to lean back again, but not until after giving her a light nod, as if to ask All better now? He had always been one more inclined to a style of non-spoken communication, rather than waste a lot of words.

"There we go." he said, smiling faintly as he settled back into his chair. "Since there's nothing going on, let's just enjoy the rest of breakfast." It was good advice, advice that he intended to follow. For once, a calm conversation hadn't been interrupted by someone he disliked. More importantly, if every night at the institute was going to be a nightmarish gauntlet, Ichigo was going to savor every moment of peace he could.

"Oh...if you want, I could...maybe get you some juice?" he posed clumsily. It was his own little way of trying to make sure she was taken care of; not only did she have the look of an unfortunate fight, she looked as if she might be a little under the weather as well.

[soul_defender]

"Oh! Right, then you'd better just try and relax." Ichigo replied concernedly, offering a sympathetic look for Elena's poor spirits. Seeing her so down made him feel a little guilty; even though he had suffered his own misfortunes in the scuffle last night, a mind-numbing spell and a fresh bullet wound, he'd never once slept better since his introduction to the institute.

"In that case...well, I'll just keep you company." he added, chuckling.

[soul_defender]

"My home? Well

[soul_defender]

Though a few words didn't quite click, and noticeably so on Ichigo's see-through features, it wasn't hard to understand the real message behind it all. Quickly, Ichigo nodded in affirmative to assure Elena that she hadn't simply started ranting again as she had feared before, and laughed gently.

"So, it's kind of a military academy. That's fine." he responded. "And there are probably other tracks for other talents." It wasn't unlike the Gotei 13, different divisions depending on your abilities. Briefly, Ichigo could envision her wearing a shihakusho and wearing the emblem of the 10th division, a though that brough a quick and unexplained smile to his face that he quickly shook away.

"You seemed pretty talented to me." he noted, completely serious. "With that gun. You took out that Kadaj pretty fast, and the only reason I tried so hard to get it away from you was because you were handy with it."

[soul_defender]

"You're welcome." He may have normally worn a terribly sour expression, but Ichigo was surprisingly polite, and he knew very well that anyone with a little pride in their work responded well to a little acclaim, especially when they were down.

His own response to her praiseful reply was slightly different, though; perhaps he wasn't used to it, or simply found it to be fairly fulfilling when it came from her, but Ichigo actually began to blush faintly, a tiny twinge of red appearing on his cheeks. In moments, he realized it, and his embarassment only made the flush in his face more intense. All he could do to save face was look away with a mortified stare. "Er, it's nothing...I've been training since I was a kid, too. It's a little something we call 'karate' back home."

"Plus, I get into fights a lot. Like, a lot, with guys from school who just think they pick on anybody they want." he added, the hue in his face finally dying away. There was also the matter of his shinigami duties, of swordplay and kidou, but maybe it would be best

[soul_defender]

"Yeah, it does sorta suck, doesn't it? But you get used to it after a while." Ichigo agreed in full, his eyes drifting aside with a certain sullen reserve. After a moment, the humbling redness had fully gone from his face, leaving behind only the fair shade in his skin, a perfect constrast to the vernal shade of his hair.

"So, what, you can't...fight-fight?" His eyes blinking questioningly, Kurosaki looked almost puzzled over the idea; she had conducted herself so well last night, so it only seemed strange that something like martial arts would be foreign to her. The question had piqued his interest, prompting him to lean forward over the table with a very expectant look in his eyes.

[soul_defender]

"Don't worry about it." he injected, waving a hand in a dismissive fashion. "You can't be good at everything, I guess. There are plenty of people that can do things much better than me where I'm from." Speaking from experience, Kurosaki knew very well what it felt like to be outclassed in different fields.

"Oh, geez...I'm sorry." he suddenly said, frowning sharply with a sudden realization; taking her sudden, quiet smile as a sign, Ichigo felt that he might be placing a bit too much emphasis on an awkward subject. "Didn't mean to pry or anything. I guess if you want some pointers, I could show you a few things...if we ever get a chance around here."

[soul_defender]

Lightly, Ichigo scratched at the back of his head, his fingers lightly gliding across the ruffled orange mane. "Alright then. I'm probably not the best teacher around, though, but I'll give it a shot." Unfortunately, he didn't have much experience giving lessons, just taking them from others. Quickly, the berry-head mustered a smile, one still perhaps a little uncertain, but definitely willing.

"You can't talk like that, though." he suddenly declared, giving her a firm stare. "If you don't have a little confidence, you're just gonna strike out anyway."