10th division captain Hitsugaya Toshiro was lying in bed, and he had a fever of over 102 degrees. His zampaktou, Hyorinmaru, was sitting next to the white haired boy on the floor.

"Master, You should not push yourself so hard." the ice dragon muttered to himself.

Toshiro's soft expression soon changed to a slightly tormented cringe as he moaned in his sleep. Hyorinmaru looked worriedly at the young boy, his master. He pressed his cool hand up to Toshiro's head and he instantly calmed and nuzzled into the dragon's touch. Hyorinmaru smiled at how child-like his master could be. Toshiro slowly opened his eyes, he felt hazy, his body was aching, and his head felt like someone had been smacking him in the head. He looked over with blurry eyes and noticed his zampaktou next to him.

Hyor...in...maru?" Toshiro asked in a slightly pained and dazed manner.

"Yes master, I am here. Are you feeling better, is there something you require?" the dragon asked worriedly.

Toshiro forced himself up, much to the protest of his zampaktou, and put his head in is hands. He was sweating like crazy, 'how can it be so damn hot in here' Toshiro thought to himself ' so infuriating'. Hyorinmaru looked at Toshiro quizzically,

"Master? Are you alright?"

Toshiro's attention focused on his zampaktou to which he replied,

"Yes, everything's fine, there's no need to worry." Toshiro gave the ice dragon a weak smile. Hyorinmaru however did not by it, he knew his master had been pushing himself harder than usual because of all the chaos in the world of the living and the soul society. Toshiro removed the blanket by which he was draped in and went to his desk to finish the last of the paperwork that Rangiku left unfinished. As he was walking he found it hard to focus on his destination, his eyesight was blurring and he felt dizzy, but that couldn't stop him. As a captain he has duties he must fulfil regardless of the fact he was sick or not, and he refused to believe he was. He finally reached his desk and began finishing the paperwork best he could in his condition. Hyorinmaru was watching Toshiro cautiously, a little irritated and not surprised that even in his master's condition would still push himself to finish work.

The dragon was snapped out of his thoughts by the coughing of his master, it sounded horrible. He went over to comfort the silver haired boy, and when he was done with his coughing fit he turned to Hyorinmaru and said,

"Hyorin...maru, I n-need you to go f-find Rangiku for m-me." Toshiro said in between gasps. The dragon didn't want to leave his master when he was in this condition, but whatever he needed Matsumoto for must be important so he left to find Rangiku.

After his zampaktou left, Toshiro got up from his chair and walked over to the window beside his desk and opened it, he couldn't take the feeling of being too hot anymore, he felt as if it was literally melting him away to nothing. He motioned to walk back to his desk but the sudden movement made him dizzy and he collapsed now sitting on the ground unable to get up,

"Damnit, I c-can't get up. I-I hate thi-is feeling, o-of be-being weak." feeling dizzy once again everything went black and he fell unconscious.

's-shit' was the last thing Hyorinmaru heard from his master's mind before he fell unconscious, he had only just begun looking for Matsumoto, and he never got the chance to finished because he found himself rushing back into his master's office finding him sprawled unconscious on the floor. Hyourinmaru rushed over and picked up the white haired boy and held him close, he felt Toshiro's forehead and recoiled at how hot it felt. He walked over to where Toshiro had been resting not to long ago and did the only thing he saw fit to do in order to calm the feverish child.

"Rain over the frosted heavens" Hyorinmaru said in his calm, deep, asserting voice while holding Toshiro closer to himself and they were both encased in a protective and cold ice barrier. They sat there for what seemed like hours, Hyorinmaru holding Toshiro tighter whenever he would have a brief coughing fit or have trouble catching his breath. The ice dragon felt as thought he'd tried everything but Toshiro's fever hadn't gone down from what Hyorinmaru could tell. They both sat there in the prism made of ice, Toshiro nuzzling closer to hyourinmaru trying to obtain more of the coolness he so desired.

"Hy..orin...maru." Toshiro said hazily.

"master you should be trying to rest, please, if you do not you will not get better, I am already becoming more worried seeing as how your condition is not improving." Hyorinmaru said.

"So hot" Toshiro murmured as he snuggled closer into the ice dragon.

Hyorinmaru simply held the boy tighter, looking over the child before him he remembered that is exactly what his master was, a child, the one he had sworn to protect. Toshiro moaned and shifted unsettlingly in his sleep, which made Hyorinmaru com back to reality, he rested his hand for a fourth time on his master's damp cheek, and sighed in relief as the fever was going down.

Toshiro awoke sometime later in his bed still a bit hazy only to notice his zampaktou, Hyorinmaru lying next to him with his cool arms wrapped around Toshiro protectively.

"Hyorin...maru?" the young white haired boy asked hazily,

"Yes master, do you feel better now?"

Toshiro gave a slight nod, then nuzzled himself further into Hyorinmaru's grasp. The dragon kissed Toshiro's temple and said in his deep stoically calm voice,

"sleep a bit more master, when you wake up again you'll feel better."

"mmm." Toshiro nodded and rested his head perfectly in the crook of Hyorinmaru's neck, and felt the cool touch of his zampaktou's icy fingers running through his hair lulling him back into sleep.