Cold Winters's Night
It was a pleasant day in the Seretei, and as a Taichou's Meeting came to a close, the Taichou in charge, Yamamoto-sou taichou, announced that the substitute shinigami Kurosaki Ichigo would need assistance in making sure that Karakura City was safe from the hands of the Espada.
" Will anyone volunteer to help substitute Shinigami Ichigo Kurosaki?"
No one answered. The sou taichou scowled, and let Ukitake-taichou speak.
" I do know from experience that Toushiro Hitsugaya-taichou has been to the world of the living before to work with Kurosaki-kun, so why not let him go again?"
" Me? But I too have a squad to take care of, Ukitake-san."
" Yes, that is true, but you also have a fuku-taichou, do you not?"
" Yes, that is true, but-"
" It is decided. Hitsugaya Toushiro-taichou will be going to the world of the living. There shall be no further discussion. Dismissed."
Hitsugaya nodded, accepting that fact that arguing would be childish and futile against the sou-taichou. He followed the rest of the taichous out the door, planning on leaving immediately.
After a few hours, Hitsugaya finally arrived at the world of the living. It could be pretty dull there, but he accepted the fact, nonetheless. He walked to the Urahara Shoten, and received a gigai upon entry. Switching into it, the taichou wondered if Ichigo had even wanted, let alone needed help with the City's protection.
The orange haired teen walked along the road, toward the Urahara Shoten, where he had to pick up the person the Seretei had chosen to come to his world to help him out. Ichigo rounded the corner and noticed that familiar silver hair. They sent Toushiro. Were they that shorthanded?
" Yo, Toushiro!" yelled the strawberry teen at the short statured taichou. It caught the latter's attention, and he began to glare daggers at the arrogant teen, who couldn't help but roll his eyes. The 'child' walked over to him, still annoyed, and growled, " You know very well that you are not supposed to call me that, Kurosaki-kun."
" So they sent you to help? Wow, are they desperate?" came the mocking retort.
The taichou's eye began to twitch furiously, and Ichigo, reached over and messed up the "kid's" hair. A vein in his forehead began to pulse furiously, and Hitsugaya smacked away the hand, yelling with an irritated tone, " It wasn't my fault I was picked, Kurosaki! And take your hands off of me this instant!"
Ichigo drew back, and spoke calmly in response, " So, where are you staying, Toushiro-kun? Inoue's place again?"
Eye widened, Hitsugaya started at the teenager in disbelief. Like hell he would stay over at that woman's place again; she could transform every food that was good into a horrible-tasting piece of crap. Ichigo sensed the other male's discomfort, and grinned, remembering the odd ways of cooking his friend had come up with.
" Don't worry. You can stay at my place…as long as my sister Yuzu doesn't torture you like she does to Kon."
" NANI?! What does she do to your mod soul?"
"…you don't want to know. And plus, I'm not even sure, but with the complaining from him, I guess it's dress him up in dresses like a doll."
" Does she do that to your guests?"
" No. That'd be giving the Kurosaki Clinic a bad name."
" Then I should have no problem with her. The same with Karin Kurosaki. "
" Nani?"
" Yes, I know your sister, Kurosaki."
The two began to walk toward the Kurosaki Clinic, and soon enough, the tell-tale features were less than 1/3 of a kilometre away. Hitsugaya came to realization.
" What will you tell your nakama and family?"
" I'll come up with something. Don't worry."
"…"
Ichigo opened the door, allowed the white-haired taichou into his house, and closed the door behind himself. Then Ichigo told Hitsugaya the directions to him room, and said that he'd tell his family and friends that his family had to leave to Africa on an important matter, and he had to stay behind because he wanted to live with a friend. Hitsugaya accepted the plan, and walked up the stairs, and heard Ichigo telling his family about why his friend had to stay here.
" All right, then. As long as he doesn't cause too much trouble, I'm fine with him in our house." Isshin said.
"Arigato, dad." Ichigo spoke.
Hitsugaya walked into the dark room, turned on the lights, and took a good look. It was the average room, and it smelled and felt like Ichigo. Hitsugaya then noted that there appeared to be a small rug on the carpet by Ichigo's bed. He walked over to it, and wondered what exactly it was. But before he could get close enough, Ichigo was at the door, a hand stuffed into his pocket.
" Oi, Toushiro. Time for dinner."
At the table, Hitsugaya felt eyes on him as he look suspiciously at his plate. The food smelled good, but so did Orihime's food…rarely. Picking up the wooden chopsticks by his plate and breking them apart, he nudged the nearest bit of rice. He was well aware of the hazards of human food. And was on edge around it, thanks to Inoue's hazardous cooking…or what she called cooking. Examining Ichigo's plate and face, he knew that he was making a fool of himself. Ichigo was nearly done his dinner, and looking at him, face ready to burst into laughter. Yuzu was looking a little worried, thinking that Hitsugaya wouldn't like her cooking. Karin looked as if she couldn't care less, and was really wondering why Hitsugaya-taichou had come back from the Seretei and now lived in their house. Isshin was studying the look on his face, wondering what was going through the child's mind, not liking his daughters food.
" You going to eat? It's not like Orihime's cooking, Toushiro." Ichigo croaked, trying extremely hard to not laugh.
" I have a right to be cautious, Kurosaki." Came the retort, and Hitsugaya began to eat, trying to ignore the teens snickers. He was soon savoring the taste of the rice and chicken, forgetting all else, but his manners.
After they had all finished eating, Ichigo and Hitsugaya went into Ichigo's room, closing the door behind them. Ichigo sat down in his chair and the prodigy sat down on the bed.
" So why did you get sent here, Toushiro?"
" Sou-Taichou ordered me to come, thanks to Ukitake-kun."
Sudeenly, Ichigo noticed what Hitsugaya was wearing. It was a white shirt with a folded collar, a pocket at the breast, and blue jeans with a few rips in them.
"…I didn't choose these. Matsumoto-kun did." Came the embarrassed remark from the white haired prodigy, a his face turning a light shade of red.
" I know how it feels…come see." Ichigo stodd up, and walked over to his dresser and pulled out a drawer, revealing Chappy the Bunny galore and hundreds of pink shirts and Rukia's drawings. Ichigo smiled at Hitsugaya's astonished face. Ichigo noticed something in the little taichou's pocket.
" Toushiro, what's that in your pocket?"
" Nothing."
" Come on, don't lie."
" It's none of your concern, Kurosaki! And don't call me that!"
" Okay…just calm down then." Ichigo replied cooly.
Ichigo sat down again, and cmtemplated on what to talk about with Toushiro when said taichou's Soul Pager began to ring. Hitsugaya whipped it out of his rear pocket and pulled out the item in his pocket Ichigo had asked about. A Chappy the Bunny gikongan. He popped the pill into his mouth, swallowed it, and jumped to the windowsill in his taichou's haori and kimono. Ichigo grabbed Kon and did the same, soon his body was inhabited by Kon, and his soul was behind Hitsugaya's, dressed in his shinigami uniform; the signature black kimono.
" It's a Menos."
" A Menos?"
" Yes. An Adjuchas-level Menos Grande." Came the stoic reply from the ice-cold taichou. The two then jumped out the window, Hitsugaya in the lead, with Ichigo beside.
The two soon reached the Menos, which appeared to be in the park. The hollow narrowed it's eyes at the two guys, and sang a fist down on near them, trying to flatten them. The two were quicker, and jumped away before the fist collapsed ontop of them. Ichigo whispered his plan to Hitsugaya, who didn't take it as a joke, Instead, he glared at Ichigo, mouthing out that he was a dumbass for thinking that plan would work. Suddenly, Ichigo was slapped by the large hand into one of the metal climbing areas, and he fell to the ground, coughing up some blood as a metal rod ripped through his waist.
" Kurosaki!" Hitsugaya yelled at the substitute shinigami, who was now, out cold. The Adjuchas swang his fist down, ready to kill the KO-ed teen, when Hitsugaya jumped in front of Ichigo, and tossed the chain that had been latched to his sword, now in his hand, at the large hollow, it wrapping around the creature tightly. Suddenly, ice sprouted out of the chain, soon engulfing the hollow, killing it. With a swift tug and flick of Hitsugaya's wrist, the ice shattered and disintegrated into the atmosphere. Hitsugayathen took a good look at Ichigo, now lying on his stomach, fainted. He cast an observant eye over at Ichigo's wound, deeming it serious.
Suddenly, Uyrū, Orihime, and Chad rushed into sight, panting heavily.
" Toushiro-kun, what happened to Ichigo-kun?" Gasped Orihime, looking at the injured Ichigo.
"A Menos Grande, right?" Uryū asked, not appearing to care about Ichigo. Chad said nothing, for he was astonished and frightened for his friend's fate.
"Yes." Came the reply from the icy taichou, who was back to looking at Ichigo, his emoticons hard to read.
Orihime set to work, with cahd lifting Ichigo away from the playground, and onto the grass. Orihime called out her Shun-Shun-Rika to heal the teen. The Quincy left, suddenly having to be somewhere. Chad had to go, fore it was soon getting late, and he didn't want to go home in the dark. Hitsugaya waited for Ichigo to be fully healed. Why, he wasn't sure. It didn't feel right to leave his ally there.
" You can leave if you want to, Toushiro-kun."
" I'm fine. You should be worrying more about Kurosaki and yourself than me."
Orihime nodded, and concentrated on healing her fallen friend. Soon enough, Ichigo was fully healed and ready to go home. All he needed was some rest. Orihime was walked home, and the two guys walked home together, not talking.
" Who killed it?" The question had been tugging at Ichigo for a while now.
" I did, not long after you fell."
"Ah, okay."
When the two reached Ichigo's window, the sun had long since gone past the horizon, and their Gigai's waited in silence. After the two climbed in through the window, then entered their Gigais and began to get ready for bed. Ichigo threw a pair of boxers and a long shirt at Hitsugaya, who looked as if he'd missed something.
" You can wear that to bed, you know. That's what us guys in the world of the living wear to bed."
"…What exactly is it?"
"Toushiro, you know absolutely nothing about our customs here, do you? You slip the shirt over you head and-"
" I know how wear a shirt, Kurosaki! What are these?" Hitsugaya pointed at the boxers.
" They're like underwear."
"Hmmm."
Hitsugaya asked where the bathroom was, and received directions. Remembering them and following them, he knocked and opened the bathroom door, closing it behind him. When he came out, he had the clothing Ichigo had lent him on and the oter clothes in a bundle. Ichigo told him to place it in his hamper, near the closet. Hitsugaya did so, and watched as Ichigo, now in a t-shirt and boxers also, reclined on his bed, and looked at the ceiling. Ichigo, feeling the ice cold eyes on him, glanced at the taichou, and their eyes met. Brown and aqua. Hitsugaya shifted his eyes from Ichigo's to the bed.
"You're bed's over there." Ichigo grinned an pointed at the small rug-thing on the floor near Ichigo's bed.
" What is it?"
" It's called a sleeping bag."
Hitsugaya wasn't sure what to do when he came close to it, but Ichigo wanted to see what would happen, and if the taichou asked for help, he'd help.
After a few minutes, Hitsugaya was inside the sleeping bag, and Ichigo was amused.
" Good night, Toushiro."
"Don't call me that, Kurosaki. And good night."