You were in the same class as Ichigo. You had always thought he was cute but you had never really talked to him before. You were also one of the most intelligent students in the class.

One day, your teachers put together a competition between the classes. They wanted to test the students to see which ones would be eligible for scholarships in the upcoming years and to see which class had the top students. You competed against someone from a senior class and managed to win. Your whole class cheered for you. You even noticed that Ichigo was smiling at you. However, your victory was not without hard feelings. Sure the guy smiled and shook your hand, but he was already planning his revenge.

...

A few days later, you were walking home from school. Deciding to take a short-cut, you took the path through the park. Suddenly, you were grabbed and pulled behind the trees. You tried to scream but a hand covered your mouth.

"Hello there, ____." You recognised the voice but you couldn't quite place it. Whoever was holding you turned you around and held your arm behind your back.

"You! What do you think you're doing?" It was the guy you had beaten in the competition. The older boy had a nasty sneer on his face.

"I'll tell you what I'm doing. My brother and I are going to teach you a lesson about cheating," he said. He walked towards you and gripped your chin

"Cheating? But I didn't cheat."

"Liar!" he snarled. "There's no way girl, especially one that's younger than me, is that smart. You must have cheated, and now you're gonna pay!" Thinking quickly, you kicked your captor in the shin. He released you and hopped on his leg. You just managed to duck as the other boy made a grab for you. You sprinted away as fast as you could, the adrenaline of fear helping your feet to fly. You ran to the other side of the park, hoping to reach the path. The one behind you would have been closer but that would have meant they would have caught you quicker. You were running so fast, you didn't notice the small barrier that separated the grass from the path. You twisted your ankle on the barrier and skun your hands, knees and forearms. You managed to push yourself up and looked further up the road. You could see someone walking up ahead.

"Help!" you screamed, reaching out your hand. By now your assailants had caught up with you.

"There's no-one to help you now," he said picking you up by the front of your shirt.

"Hey!" the guy's brother had no time to brace himself as a foot flew into his face. Stunned by the sudden attack on his brother, the older boy dropped you on your butt.

"Who the hell do you think you are kid?!" The stranger turned around to face him.

"I'm Ichigo Kurosaki. Now what are doing to my friend?"

"Teaching this little cow what happens when you cheat me!" he growled. Ichigo looked down at you and saw how scared you were. Then he turned his attention back to the boy towering over you.

"Hey, I know you. You're the guy from that contest the other day."

"So what if I am?"

"She beat you fair and square!"

"No she didn't! She cheated!" He advanced on you again and you braced for impact... but it never came. You opened your eyes to see the guy sprawled out on the ground.

"Now get outta here!" Ichigo shouted. Scared, the guy's brother picked up his unconscious sibling and ran off. Ichigo then held his hand out to you.

"Did they hurt you, ____?" he asked. Too shocked to answer, you simply shook your head.

"I hurt myself when I tripped," you said. Carefully, Ichigo helped you up. He placed your arm around his shoulders and you put most of your weight on him. You hobbled over to a nearby park bench and Ichigo sat you down. He gently checked out your ankle and looked at your scrapes.

"They look pretty bad but at least your ankle's not broken. My dad'll be able to help you at his clinic," he said. Ichigo knelt down and gestured for you to climb on his back. Blushing, you took him up on his offer.

...

Later, you had reached the Kurosaki Clinic. Ichigo set you down on the front step. By now the pain had caught up with you.

"You better let me go in first," Ichigo explained, opening the door. "I'm home," he announced. No sooner had he stepped through the door, he was attacked.

"You're late!" the older man yelled. "I've told you before that dinner starts at seven o'clock sharp!" You guessed that this was Ichigo's father. He had warned you about his family, but you didn't believe him until now.

"I know, you maniac! I was late because I was helping my friend!" Ichigo shouted back and pointed at you.

"Hello," you said nervously. They all stared at you, causing you to blush.

"A girl? A real girl! Ha! That's my boy! So you were 'helping' her eh? When your mother and I were young, we used to..."

"Knock it off, you old perv!" Ichigo said, silencing his father with a kick. "I brought ____ here because she's hurt!" You held out your bloodied hands so that he could have a look.

"Would you mind calling my parents? They'd be worried that I'm not home yet." Isshin went to the phone and Ichigo and his sisters helped you inside. Yuzu cleaned and disinfected your grazes, while Karin looked for an ice pack.

"So ____, how did this happen?" Yuzu asked.

"Well, I was walking home from school, when these two guys jumped me. One of them claimed I had cheated in the competition we had at school a few days ago. I managed to escape and run but I tripped over. They managed catch up to me. I don't know what I would have done if Ichigo hadn't come along," you smiled at him. Yuzu looked with utter admiration at her brother and Ichigo just stood, rubbing his neck.

"Yeah, well... I didn't want them to hurt you."

...

Later your parents came to pick you up. Before you left, Ichigo stopped you.

"Hey ____, do you maybe... wanna... hang out tomorrow or something?" he blushed. You smiled and hugged him.

"I'd like that. By the way... I didn't thank you for saving me," you said. You gave him a kiss on the cheek, causing him to blush more.

"See you tomorrow at school Ichigo!" you called as you hobbled out the door. Despite the pain you were in (you weren't allowed pain killers because you were under-aged), you were happy. You couldn't wait for school to begin.