A/N: First fanfic, yo.

IchiHitsu 3 Don't like, don't read ^^

Disclaimer: I doesn't own bleach. But I haz skittles :D

"Orrrriiihiiiimmmeee!"

The ear piercing wail sent shivers down Ichigo's spine, followed by cold wind as the enthusiastic red head charged past him towards her said target.

"Hime! Wanna come over and have dinner with me tomorrow night!" Chizuru exclaimed; her eyes sparkled with excitement, with a slight hint of mischief present. "We can spend Valentine's Day together!"

There was another gush of wind as a familiar figure flew past to drag the open lesbian away by her flaming hair before Orihime could respond to the invitation. Chad, Uryu, Rukia and Ichigo watched the girl struggle to free herself from Tatsuki's firm grip. Slowly they made their way to class, un-amused by the usual commotion. The day had just begun.

The cold winter morning drained all energy out of students and with a sea of heads resting on tables, nobody noticed Ichigo blushing deeply from gazing away at the silky-white head in front of him. For a long time now, Ichigo had a secret haunting him more than his Inner Hollow ever did. At first he ignored these strange feelings he got every time he laid eyes on the young captain, but after a few months, the fast pounding of his heart was just too much to deny. He was in love with Hitsugaya Toshiro.

Ichigo sighed; no matter how physically strong he was, when it came down to love he was as weak as the next guy. His courage had deserted him every time he tried to confront the dragon wielder leaving him completely defenceless. Even something as simple as glancing into those frosted blue eyes would make his stomach drop into an endless pit.

Oh how he would love to smother the icy captain with kisses and suffocate him with generous hugs, but most of all he wanted to tell the smaller boy how he felt. It was an itch he couldn't scratch.

An unexpected sharp movement caught the carrot top by surprise, making him bolt five feet out of his chair. The tenth division captain had swiftly jumped out of his gigai and shunpo'd to the school grounds where a large hollow appeared. Making no attempt to get back up, the substitute soul reaper remained with his backside glued to the floor, absentmindedly staring out the window.

With no effort, the small captain gracefully leapt up. Both hands on the hilt of Hyorinmaru, he skilfully brought down the sword, slicing the un-dead creature neatly in half. Admiring at how cute the captain was, a small smile crept onto the carrot-top's face, fitted alongside with a light pink blush.

Carried away by his own thoughts, Ichigo hadn't realized the puzzled looks directed his way, confused at what he was so fascinated by outside the window.

"Uh, Ichigo?" asked Rukia, bringing him back to earth.

Ichigo groaned at his careless behaviour. Mentally kicking himself, he quickly made his way back to his seat. Frustrated, he tapped his pen on the side of his desk when Chizuru nudged him to pass a note along to Orihime.

'Man, does that girl ever know when to stop? She sure is determined...' Ichigo thought, feeling a tad envious of the red head. 'At least she's not afraid to show it.'

Ichigo did a slight double-take when he remembered her suggestion from earlier on. Tomorrow was Valentine's Day. Glancing back out to the icy captain, his stomach was invaded by a swarm of butterflies. This was his chance.

The substitute soul reaper wasn't pleased with himself. For the rest of the day, he had rattled his brain in hope of finding an idea on how he would express his feelings towards the small captain. However, the best he could come up with was grabbing a box of GyuLian chocolates – Les Exclusives Assortment from the supermarket after school.

He ran a large hand through his shaggy orange hair, imagining how Toshiro would react to the box of sweets.

'Oh, great.' Ichigo groaned, 'what was I thinkin'?, Toshiro doesn't like candy!'

He glanced over at the white box that sat on his table. The assortment included truffles, sea-shells and a range of other chocolates. Passing up on how pathetic his efforts were, Ichigo shuffled to bed trying not to think about the rejection he was going to face the next day.

'Least it's better than nothin' I guess.'

The following morning had come too soon. Ichigo woke up earlier than usual and decided to head to school before anyone else got there.

Quietly, the carrot-top slipped the Valentine's present into Toshiro's desk. He couldn't help but feel nervous and a little excited at the same time. And for what happened next, he would just have to wait patiently.

Ichigo was disappointed, he buried his hand deep in his pocket and started to make his way home. The day had ended and nothing, nothing had happened at all. He ruffled his hair, trying to shake off the unwanted feeling of his miserable failure.

"Kurosaki." A voice cried out from behind.

Ichigo turned around and was surprised to see the small captain standing a few feet away.

"Toshiro!" he gasped.

"You should know better, Kurosaki, that a captain doesn't take much interest in a box of sweets." The small captain said with a low voice.

He slowly made his way towards the taller male and Ichigo felt his stomach drop when the smaller boy held out the same box of chocolates he had given him.

Ichigo choked on his words, "yea, sorry."

He held the box tightly in sync with his tightening heart; he felt nothing more but emptiness. Sour hurt poured over his open wounds as he watched the cold captain walk away without another word.

For the rest of the evening, the carrot-top locked himself up in his room. He had no appetite for dinner and was in no mood for his crazy father's greetings.

Ichigo sighed, he turned to the box of sweets he was about to glomp one by one to mend his sorrowful heart.

'How ironic.' He chuckled to himself.

Half-heartedly, he opened the lid only to find a piece of chocolate missing. The truffles and sea-shells were untouched, however only the mould of where a heart shaped chocolate remained.

Ichigo turned the lid over where his eyes skimmed the list of content's description.

He blinked.

Cappuccino cup. Hazelnut praline.

He blinked again.

Chocolate mousse. Orange, dark chocolate.

His heart stopped beating.

Strawberry cream.

Toshiro had stolen the piece of strawberry cream and stolen the strawberry's heart, he had.

A grin spread on Ichigo's face. He chose a piece of chocolate and contently plopped it into his mouth. Mint cream.

The icy coolness melted in his mouth, his heart warming as he as peered at the two empty holes adjacent to each other in the box.

On the other side of town, Hitsugaya Toshiro sat on the rooftops. Staring up at the night sky, he reached into his pocket to pull out heart shape wrapped in gold foil.

'Baka strawberry' He said, barely audible. A rare smile appeared on the stern captain's face. With a chuckle, he devoured the sweet with satisfaction. Toshiro closed his eyes and let out a sigh. He remained on the rooftops as it began to snow more than usual that wintery night.