Fluffy Ball Of Winter.
A Bleach Fanfiction
By xxLilMizCaityxx
Toushirou Hitsugaya eyed the fluffy ball of white nestled tightly in his lap and frowned, deeper than usual. He sighed and glanced up at the snowy sky.
If he kept frowning like this, especially in this winter weather, he was going to give himself severe wrinkles. Not that he cared about such petty things as tiny creases to signify one's moving on through life... or rather, the afterlife in his case.
But he'd never hear the end of it from Rangiku if he wrinkled. She'd be moaning constantly about how much of an old fogey he was becoming, and claim that he had always made her look old enough but this was beyond a joke.
His lips curled into a smirk.
Maybe that's exactly what that witch of a lieutenant deserved.
This birthday present was ridiculous after all.
A snowflake fell on his nose, and he sighed, as the ball of fluff shivered. He wrapped his haori around it tighter, deciding this probably wasn't the best place for his new birthday present. But, his winter haori was lined with fur and besides, he thought better when he was surrounded by snow.
He sighed again and absently scratched his present behind the ears so it purred.
Stupid Rangiku and her stupider sense of humour.
What a Captain of the 10th division of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads could do with a kitten for his birthday, was a mystery to him.
But that wasn't why he'd come out here to think. If the kitten was going to be his, he'd have to name her. And as much as he was praised for being a child prodigy when it came to Soul Reaper duties, his imagination was somewhat... lacking.
Just as Toushirou was about to stand and return inside, a voice called out to him, making him hurriedly hide his kitten away. He didn't want Momo throwing a fuss about how cute the animal was- it bothered him when she made so much noise.
"Shirou-chan!" she called delightedly, her fluffy pink earmuffs a stark contrast to her dark hair. Her scarf was pink too, he noticed raising his brows at her.
"Captain Hitsugaya. Momo, why are you running around in the snow like that?" he inquired, watching her skip towards him at a dangerous pace. Knowing Momo, she'd probably slip and hit her head or something ridiculous. She rolled her eyes and sat down next to him.
"I almost didn't see you for all the white," she laughed, her pink cheeks reddening as she did. He frowned at her, hands protected from the cold by leather gloves, reaching up to self consciously scratch at the back of his snow white head. She giggled and her eyes widened.
"Ah, Shirou-chan, are you looking forward to your birthday? Rangiku said she was going to give you her present a little early, but I think she was drunk at the time so she might not have been being serious... But did she give it to you? What did she get you?" Momo asked excitedly, earning a grin from Toushirou. She was more excited about his stupid birthday that he was.
"Ahh... no. No present from Rangiku as of yet," he said seriously, praying that the kitten would stay still. Momo would undoubtedly yelp and start a riot over the 'cuteness'. Momo narrowed her eyes.
"Shirou-chan..."
"Captain Hitsugaya."
"You're not trying to lie to me, are you Toushirou...? What? What could Rangiku have gotten you that it was so bad?" Momo asked. Her eyes suddenly widened. "Uh... it's nothing embarrassing is it, Toushirou? Because I thought she was kidding about the-"
"No! Well, yes... but... gah, Momo, what was she going to get me? And it's Captain Hitsugaya!" he said incredulously, wondering why he had ever doubted the slyness of his lieutenant. Momo blushed a dark red and shook her head.
"It doesn't matter. What did she end up getting you?"
Toushirou closed his eyes and sighed, deciding Momo was going to find out at some point or other. He braced himself.
"Promise you won't freak out," he said sternly, earning a wide eyed look and nod from Momo. He groaned, and pulled back his haori and scarf to reveal the sleeping, snow white kitten.
Momo's eyes went from wide to wider in an instant and she gave a sharp intake of breath.
"Shirou-chan, she's SO cute!" she exclaimed, causing the kitten's eyes to jerk open, and for her to yawn widely. Toushirou scowled.
"Shut up. She's just a cat. I'm trying to think of a name for her, so I came out here for inspiration," he explained, reaching down and rubbing the kitten's head. She purred and stretched out against his leg. Momo reached over to stroke her, but she shied away further into the warmth of the captain's leg. "She doesn't seem to like people. She bit Rangiku this morning which is kind of how she won my favour, and she refused to get off my lap when Renji came by to get some paperwork."
Although, admittedly, Renji was pretty scary the first time you laid eyes on him, Toushirou thought wryly as Momo retracted her hand.
"How about... Momoka? After me?" Momo asked happily. Toushirou rolled his eyes.
"I am not calling my cat Momoka. What a stupid name. Come up with a decent name or leave me alone, Hinamori," he grumbled, secretly hoping she didn't take that to heart and leave. As much as he hated to admit it, the young captain rather enjoyed Momo's presence. The lieutenant grinned and caught a snowflake that was on his ear, blowing it in his face.
"You always say such harsh things, Shirou-chan. I'd have thought you'd be in a better mood what with all this snow around. Seems like your sort of thing. I mean, if I didn't know better, I'd say you were born in snow... or at least in an icy place," she remarked, blushing as she spoke. Toushirou was about to open his mouth to bite back a retort, when something struck him.
A name.
For his kitten.
"I've got it!" he said proudly, revealing the kitten once again and raising her little head with his forefinger. He grinned as she opened her eyes, finding they were a pretty sort of turquoise colour.
Momo gasped.
"Just like you, Toushirou! Only, she has less shades of blue in her eyes," she said, as Toushirou set the kitten down on the snow for just a moment to see if she liked the feeling beneath her paws. She mewed happily as she soon as she touched the snow blanketed ground and rubbed at it with her nose. Toushirou picked her up again, and held her to his chest as he stroked her head.
"Yukiko," he said finally, as though she had always had that name. Momo smiled.
"'Snow-child'," she said in agreement with him.
Yukiko purred in the cradle of her master's arms and allowed Momo to stroke her head, if only for a moment.
"Thank you for the inspiration, Momo. It was better than your first option," Toushirou said dryly, his smirk as chilly as the air. Momo shook her head crossly and knelt down to pick up a thick ball of snow in her mitten covered hands. Toushirou turned to enter the 10th division's quarters again, when he felt an icy substance connect with the back of his head.
Yukiko hissed over his shoulder. He turned to Momo, frowning again at her childishness.
"You'd better not do that again unless you want frostbite, Momo. And trust me, it won't be from the snow," he said warningly, as the lieutenant stuck her tongue out fiercely at him.
"I'm too cold to fight, Shirou-chan," she replied cheekily, edging up beside him.
"Then you'd better come inside, bed-wetter," he told her, marching past her now annoyed form to the door.
As soon as they were inside, and Momo had put the kettle on for tea, Yukiko leapt up into her master's lap beside the fire, sprawling across him in a comfortable mess of white fluff. After she had fallen asleep Toushirou sipped his tea carefully.
"I think," he said, setting his cup down, "that Yukiko is a perfect name. It was nice to choose it." Momo giggled and set her tea down too resting her head on Toushirou's shoulder, mimicking Yukiko's sprawled form.
"You just wait, Shirou-chan," she yawned. "Picking her name is nice, but fatherhood is a whole other deal entirely. And she may need a mommy at some point. After all, every female likes to have another girl she can relate to."
Toushirou scowled, then remembered about his wrinkles and wondered what on earth Momo could mean by that.
Baby steps into the Bleach fandom. This one's for you my darling Shiro-chan! *weeps* I heart him. Please review! Thank you for reading! :)