Part 1 The Assignment
A Bleach Story
An IchiHitsu Story
Talking thinking Zanpakutou Narration
Author's Notes: Obviously I don't own Bleach – if I did this would be on the show/in the manga not on here, no offense – but for some reason your supposed to say it, so here I am, saying it. Anyway, this is a Yaoi story, only my like 6th; so if you don't like Yaoi don't read this. This is also my first Bleach story, so the characters may be a little OOC, but I'll try my hardest not to make them that way.
A cold still air filled the Tenth Division office; the soft scratching of a pen as it met the paper was the only sound that permeated the dense silence. Toshiro Hitsugaya, captain of the aforementioned squad sat at his desk, scribbling away on the mountains of paperwork that continued to pour in to his office. The young tendo grumbled as he reached for the next sheet, knowing that had his vice captain not deserted him again, he would be at least a third of the way through the work. Of course, that was assuming that had she stayed, she would have done any work… so, really, he was probably better off with her gone. The white haired boy sighed, bringing his glass up to his lips and taking a sip of the calming tea. No one could get under his skin as fast as Matsumoto… well, almost no one. …Speak of the devil, that idiot soul reaper – because really he was only a substitute – could be felt the moment the carrot-topped teen entered the Seireitei. As much as Ichigo's skills had improved, his restraint had truly not. And now, the only other person capable of interrupting his work was on their way to do just that. Hitsugaya leaned back in his chair and let out a breath. He wasn't even sure why Ichigo would ever consider visiting him; they certainly hadn't had that much of bond or even been around each other all that much. But every time the teen traveled to the Soul Society, he made it a point to visit the tendo. Not that Hitsugaya minded of course… no, he… he rather liked the company, however visits like those seemed to put a complete halt on any work being done. And the inexperienced teen always seemed to get on his nerves within the first few minutes; in fact, he wasn't sure why he didn't mind the visits. But… there was a certain pull he felt from the redheaded teen… a certain feeling that came over him. The white locks bounced back and forth as the tendo's head shook. It really wasn't important the reason, only that he didn't mind the visits and even if he did, he was rather sure that they would persist regardless.
"Toshiro! How've you been?" Said distraction asked, as he entered the room.
"That's Hitsugaya-taichou to you, Kurosaki," The white haired captain replied quickly.
"Yeah, yeah," Ichigo countered, rolling his eyes. "Don't you ever get tired of saying that?"
"Don't you ever get tired of hearing it?" Hitsugaya argued.
The substitute soul reaper laughed lightly, entering the room and taking a seat on the green couch. Toshiro watched silently as the teen ran a hand through the orange mop on his head, his head snapping to the side as he felt his face redden while Ichigo's eyes searched for his own.
"What is it that you're doing here again so soon, Kurosaki?" Hitsugaya asked, clearing his throat before he spoke. "You usually only visit once a month."
Ichigo grinned, as he turned to the white haired soul reaper, his eyebrow raised in suspicion. "You keep track of my visits?"
"N-no! I simply notice certain patterns in these things, unlike you," The captain retorted, cursing under his breath at how he could let something like that slip so easily.
Ichigo's suspicious look did not falter, but after a few seconds of battling stares the teen let the comment go. "If you've gotta know, I came because Rukia's been promoted to Fukutaichou, and I thought I'd show my support. Of course, I couldn't leave without visiting my favorite little taichou."
With a flush of red – both from embarrassment and anger – Hitsugaya glared at the substitute soul reaper. It was things like this that drove him to the brink of insanity. "And what may I ask, is that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing, nothing!" Ichigo insisted as the young tendo took a calming breath. "Jeeze, you don't need to be so touchy… I simply meant that I couldn't leave without at least seeing how you were doing. I mean, we are friends aren't we?"
Toshiro colored lightly at the thought, but his cheeks had lost their pinkish tint by the time he had replied. "Yes… I suppose we are."
"See? Now was that so hard? After all I had a tough enough time getting here," The substitute soul reaper continued, a soft smile gracing his face for but a moment.
"How so?" The tenth division captain asked curiously.
The strawberry rolled his eyes and stood as he paced towards the back of the room. "Well, to get here from Rukia's division…"
"Ah, Zaraki?" Toshiro interjected.
"Actually, with the little suppression of my reiatsu that I can pull off, it's pretty easy to hide from Kenpachi," Ichigo clarified. "But Mayuri is a different subject."
"Oh, Kurotsuchi … I see," The tendo muttered sympathetically.
"Yeah, he almost caught me for one of his creepy ass experiments. I'm lucky I got away," The orange-haired soul reaper continued.
"You braved all of that just to come see me?" Hitsugaya asked sarcastically, a small smirk forming on his lips.
"Oh yes, of course!" Ichigo replied, as he fell into sync with the young captain. "Like I said, I just had to visit before I… s-shit, I don't feel very… very…"
The substitute soul reaper's muscles slacked, his eyes falling closed as he collapsed, completely unconscious. Just before the orange mop collided with the hard, unforgiving ground, a pair of pale arms closed around his waist, pulling the much larger body into his chest.
"Kurosaki! Kurosaki! Are you alright?" Toshiro asked, the panicked look in his eyes betraying what his stoic face tried to hide.
"Taichooou, what are you… Kurosaki-kun?" Matsumoto said, the shocked look on her face that flashed on her face as she entered, quickly morphing into a sly stare. "Taichou? What are you doing with…?"
"SHUT IT MATSUMOTO! Now, get the fourth division immediately!" Hitsugaya shouted, lifting the body with a huff and laying it gently on the couch.
Rangiku smirked as she watched the seen. Ichigo was a sly one. Sure she'd told him to act on his feelings hundreds of times, but she didn't think he'd take it this far! Pretending to be hurt? He didn't have a scratch on him! There's no way he could be hurt! How was the captain even believing…?
"MATSUMOTO!"
"Captain, you can't really believe that-" The strawberry blond started.
"Matsumoto, do you really believe I did not suspect the same thing? Now go! HURRY!" He shouted, his infamous glare poised at her on high gear.
The tenth division vice-captain was shocked, her eyes widening in realization, just before she sped off towards the 4th's barracks.
"Kurosaki? Can you hear me?" Toshiro asked, placing the back of his hand against the orange-headed teen's forehead. "Hot. He has a high fever…"
The white brows furrowed with concern for the unconscious soul reaper. The captain took a deep breath and loosened his control of his reiatsu, letting the frigid air swirl around him and the human who lay before him.
"T-to… shi…" The teen muttered, subconsciously curling towards the tiny captain.
Toshiro's head cocked slightly, his eyebrows furrowing with confusion and uncertainty. Did the obnoxious soul reaper just mutter his name while asleep? That's not… why would he? Hitsugaya shook his head. That's not what needed to be on his mind, right now, he needed to know what the hell was happening to the baka!
"Unohana-taichou, can you please inform us of what you've discovered about this disease?" Head Captain Yamamoto ordered, looking down at her through squinted eyes. "And Kurotsuchi-taichou, I expect a full explanation afterwards."
"Hai Soutaichou. After our evaluation, we have determined that this virus effects body temperature, increasing Kurosaki-san's temperature to dangerous levels. We have cooled him as much as possible, however we have also deduced that this disease is highly contagious through any contact with the subject. Fits of pain due to of muscle seizing is also occurring, but we've managed to treat him little to no spreading of the virus," Unohana answered quietly. "We've found that only those with ice or water type Zanpakutou are able to resist it, and even then most are undertaken rather quickly… I'm afraid Kurosaki's reiatsu is too powerful for them to resist."
The Head Captain sighed as his head shook lightly. "Hmm… and Kurotsuchi-taichou, what do you have to say?"
"Well, all that I can say is that we are working on a cure, however this was never intended as a disease. It was simply… an experiment," The blue haired captain explained, a grin tugging at his lips.
"This is not a joke Kurotsuchi-taichou, and now we are plagued with the task of caring for the substitute shinigami until Kurotsuchi-taichou can create a cure," Genryusai noted, his squinted eyes falling on the youngest of captains. "Hitsugaya-taichou, as you are the only captain with an ice or water-type Zanpakutou and with a reiatsu surely strong enough to withstand Kurosaki's."
The tendo captain paled, struggling not to let his mouth drop open.
"S-soutaichou, is it really necessary for me to go myself? Orihime Inoe might be able to cure this completely," The tenth division captain stammered, talking a step forward to make himself known.
"Yes, and if so then your only job will be only to escort him to the World of the Living," The Head Captain continued, smiling lightly before making his final decree. "Alright then, Hitsugaya-taichou we will leave Kurosaki-san's care to you until Kurotsuchi-taichou can create the cure."
"H-hai Soutaichou…" The white-haired prodigy conceded with a sigh.
"Then the meeting is adjourned."
"Are you sure you don't want me to come Taichou?" Rangiku asked as she watched the doors to the Senkaimon open.
"No, that's fine Matsumoto you wouldn't be able to help anyway… my reiatsu can only protect you for a while," Hitsugaya replied, sighing as he put his hand on Ichigo's stretcher. "At least the baka moved into an apartment. I won't have to disguise myself as some little grade-schooler ."
"Haha, that was hilario- s-sorry Taichou… well then, call if you need anything and I'll see you soon! Bye!" The redhead shouted as she ran off.
Toshiro groaned, but turned away from his fleeing vice-captain facing the entrance that would lead him into his newest charge's apartment. He looked down at the sleeping teen, covered with bags of ice and dosed with high quality painkillers and sighed once again. Ichigo groaned slightly, and the snowy prodigy struggled not to run a hand through the orange mane. This was going to be a long assignment.
