Betting it on a Name (Rukia/Shiro)

Well, today was the "fated" day, so to speak. Rukia certainly hadn't forgotten the bet she had made with her most average student, but she still wasn't particularly worried about it either way. She would, however, be a bit amused if all of his bravado came up short.

"Good afternoon, everyone. Today will just be the test, so when you finish, feel free to stick around for free study, or just head home if you have something else going on."

She'd just get right to grading as tests came in, after all, so there wasn't much incentive for her to try and hold a lesson today. That was only more true when she considered how long it took a few of the students to cover all their answers.

"You've got the whole class, so don't rush if you think the answer's rattling around in your head somewhere. The questions are on the board, so just write down your answers and turn them into me. You can start now."

And into the seat at the front of the lecture hall Rukia sat, reading through some material from other classes that needed grading. Man, she might have felt old, but at least she didn't need glasses yet.

Well well well, wasn't this a surprise? Rukia's problem student, the first one to finish the test. It could be a pretty good sign, but it could just as easily mean his answers weren't right in the slightest.

"Enjoy the rest of your day, Mr. Shiroi."

She'd thought of a handful of snide comments to make about him taking a nap, but thought better of it given the rest of the students were taking a test. Damn. Oh well, on to grading then...

...This idiot, he hadn't even remembered to write his name down. Well, that was a failing grade there, but she didn't have any other tests to grade yet. Might as well look through the whole thing for now, right?

Correct, correct, correct... He'd... He'd gotten everything right. Every single question was entirely right. And he'd forgotten to actually put his name on it. That was a zero, of course. But...he must have studied for it. Ugh, she hated this. Grabbing her brush, she marked down her final score at the top: 100. Of course, in the empty margins above, she made sure to mark down the name for him, in quite bold letters so he understood.

大バカ

"Morning, everyone. The class average was pretty good on this one, I'm impressed. I'll run through everyone, come pick up your test when I call your name, okay?"

Rukia listed off each and every name in class, offering a few words of advice or of congratulation to each student as they came by. In the end, only one student went uncalled, one student in the class who had still yet to recieve their exam. Clearing her throat, Rukia held up the test before the whole class, certainly enough that everyone could see the name written at the top.

"Well, there's only one test left, so whoever hasn't gotten theirs, I'd recommend you come claim it."

Naturally, Rukia's professionalism as an educator kept her from joining the class in their bit of amusement at her student's expense, but she also did have to put in some work not to chuckle at it. After all, this had been pretty funny.

"Congratulations on your score, Mr. Shiro. I suppose I'll be seeing you after class to discuss your apprenticeship in the Seventh Division?"

She was, of course, a woman of her word. Rukia may not have won this particular bet, but she wouldn't have made it in the first place if she hadn't been willing to take the loss. That'd just be stupid. Plus, now he had to further own up to all of this. It was a win-win, really.

"Well, I thought it might be a little less embarrassing than a few of the other names I had in mind. At least people know you passed."

Given it was only the two of them in the classroom now, Rukia allowed herself a smug grin at his situation. Even if she had strictly lost the bet, she was very much feeling like a winner right about now.

"I'm impressed at your score, even if you did forget the easiest question of all of them. You have those brains up there all along, or did you just pick them up to make sure you won the bet?"

Resting her chin on her hands, her smile no less present than before, Rukia offered a small shrug, that in some way could maybe be taken as an apology. Not likely, though.

"Well, you did win. Looking forward to working with you."