With the conclusion of the Quincy Blood War, the realm of Hollows, Hueco Mundo, was left in ruin. Though Tier Harribel, the former third Espada, has taken up the role of Queen, Hueco Mundo remains an anarchic land of savages where the strong eats th...
"Excuse me?" The teacher asked, her eyebrow raised in confusion.
"I said my mommy's magic! She can do spells, she can fly, she can-"
All the children in the class erupted into laughter, heedless of how the girl standing in the front of their classroom shrank from their their mockery. They pointed fingers and joked to each other, all at the expense of the little girl.
"It's true!" The girl protested, even as her small voice was lost in the laughter. "I swear!"
"Oh yeah? Then bring your mom here and show us!" One of the boys in her class demanded, raising his voice to be heard over the noise. The girl stepped backward until she was against the blackboard behind her. Everyone felt too close. "I... I can't," the girl said weakly. The laughter got even louder. The teacher loomed over the little girl. Though the grown-up was silent, the little girl could tell that she didn't believe her either. No one ever did.
"You shouldn't lie," the teacher said, bending down closer to the girl. "It's not-"
The girl turned around and ran for the door before the teacher could finish, unable to spend a second longer in the classroom. She struggled to push it open, but eventually she got through. Running down the hallway, she wiped away the tears that had started streaming down her flushed cheeks. Tears that she were all too familiar with.
"Koike? Kasumi Koike?"
Kasumi snapped back to reality. Looking around, she saw that some of her classmates were looking back and staring at her. Panicked, she raised her hand and said, "Present!" Nodding in acknowledgment, the teacher wrote something on his clipboard and called the next student for attendance. Kasumi slumped into her desk, resting her face on her arm. Why do I still remember that? She thought, groaning softly.
"Didn't get enough sleep?" The boy sitting next to Kasumi asked. He was facing her, head resting on his hand and a grin on his face. He brushed his black hair away from his dark eyes. "You totally zoned out." Kasumi turned to face him so that her speech would not be muffled by her arm.
"Yeah, I'm still half asleep," answered Kasumi, not wanting to say that she was lost in her thoughts. It happened more than she liked to admit. The boy shrugged and reached into his bag to pull out an overstuffed folder which he handed it to Kasumi. "Here's your homework back," the boy said as Kasumi sat up to take it. "Thanks for letting me copy it." Kasumi took it, a grin forming on her face. "You did make sure to make yours different, right? If Mr. Okimoto notices then it's both our asses, Shin."
"Yeah, yeah," Shin assured, waving a hand dismissively. "If anything, that's the one thing I can do well in school." Kasumi shook her head as she stifled a chuckle. This guy's hopeless, she thought to herself, sighing. She closed her eyes again, letting her teacher's voice fade into the background as she fell back into her thoughts. Unconsciously, her hand wandered to the golden star that hung from her neck. She felt it with her thumb, picturing the shape of the object in her mind. It almost felt like a part of her body after having it for so long. For a brief period of time back in middle school, she considered throwing it away or pawning it off since it looked so gaudy, but she eventually decided against it. Kasumi was glad she didn't. It was the only memory of her mother she had left.
The door opened with a distinctive squeak, and Kasumi opened her eyes. A balding man in his thirties wearing a pale grey blazer walked in. Kasumi sighed. She forgot that calculus was first period today.
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