Hey there, first off, I'd like to say I'm very sorry to the readers still waiting on my Shaman King fic. I'm having the most extreme case of writers block, but I'll try to pull through during the next few days. I also watch Bleach, and I thought I'd give a little contribution to the IchiHitsu community, since I'm a fan of that as well. Forgive me.

"Not again."

The spiky white-haired boy stood, arms crossed, as he looked down at a certain busty blonde lady lying on the ground, drenched in sake, accompanied by two other men dressed very scantily to say the least.

"Ooooh, taichouuu! I just had the weirdest dream!" the lady gasped, as she sprung awake very suddenly, startling him.

"I don't want to know." He muttered, exasperated. A vein throbbed on his temple. The other two men were in no physical capacity to say anything, so he resorted to talking to Matsumoto again.

"Just get Shuuhei and Izuru out of here." He turned and left the office, not wanting to witness any more of this tomfoolery.

Damn, he thought. He needed a rest. The captains' meeting that morning was depressing, to say the least. Hollow attacks were becoming increasingly larger in amount, and the Arrancars were multiplying in number day by day. Yamamoto sotaichou had delegated the task of 'keeping an eye' on the Espadas in the Karakura district to him, Hitsugaya, of all people. The last time he'd been there he had been forced into a football game by Kurosaki Ichigo's sister, who had then pestered him about the whereabouts of her beloved nii-chan. She patted his head, for god's sake! Only Hinamori was allowed to do that, and even then, he'd fight tooth and nail to avoid her small hands.

And now he'd returned to his division headquarters to find… this. Three very intoxicated people, one of them his lieutenant herself, renowned for her drinking habits, sprawled on the normally clean wooden floor. In the morning as well. He could not, in all his years being captain, figure out what was so appealing about stumbling around with a buzzing in one's head, making a mockery of the Japanese language, and behaving as if running round Seireitei absolutely naked was an absolutely normal thing to do. Not to mention the splitting hangover that usually accompanied a night of heavy drinking.

A vein pulsed in his forehead as he tried to stay his temper. Things were not going his way. Definitely not. It was summer as well, to top it off. He hated summer. The other captains would invite him to bonfires, barbeques and a day of lazing about in the scorching sun, trying to get a tan. They were mocking him, surely. One more day before he left for the real world. He had better have accommodation there, or someone was going to take the brunt of Hyourinmaru's wrath. He made his way up to his quarters, nodding at the Shinigami who bothered to greet him. He sighed. Half a day's worth of packing followed by the other half doing paperwork (because Matsumoto would be in no condition to do them) was upon him.

"Nani? Why should I put up with a self-centered, title-harbouring, name-calling brat?!" Kurosaki Ichigo yelled at a man with sandals and a boonie hat on, hiding half his face. "My house is already prepped up for Rukia, what if she comes while that kid is here?"

"Don't shoot the messenger, Kurosaki-san." The man replied calmly, a smile playing on the corner of his lips. "I only received this from Yoruichi-san. These are top orders from Yamamoto sotaichou. Also, Kuchiki-san has no need to come here for the time being. She has rejoined her squad and is carrying out missions there."

"Ahh… souka?" Ichigo scratched the back of his head. He would miss Rukia, but at least he'd have some company, albeit in the form of a moody white-haired boy. "Well, I guess there's really no choice in that matter. When is he arriving?"

"Ahh… he was supposed to arrive half an hour ago, Kurosaki-san."

"AND YOU CHOSE THIS TIME TO TELL ME ABOUT IT?! WHAT IF I HAD SAID NO?!" Ichigo bellowed at Urahara. "Then where would Toshirou have to stay? Orihime's? She's poison him with the weird food she always cooks."

"Teme…" They turned round to find Hitsugaya lugging a huge suitcase nearly the size of himself, bristling with irritation. The gate to Soul Society faded out slowly in the background. "You said that on purpose, didn't you? When are you going to learn that the proper way of addressing me is 'Hitsugaya Taichou'?"

"Ohaiyo, Hitsugaya-san." Urahara said, cheerfully. "I'm going to bed, so take care of Kurosaki-san!" he retreated into his shop, sliding the door shut politely.

"Ah… Toshirou, ja nai ka?" Ichigo ignored the captain's 'greeting', as he responded with his own. He didn't really mean all of what he had said back then. Hitsugaya was quite a decent person if he wanted to be, aside from the constant name-corrections. "Do you need help with that?"

He motioned to the absurdly large suitcase.

"Baka. Who needs your help? And it's Hitsugaya Taichou to you." Hitsugaya huffed. With a great grunt, he hefted the suitcase down the few steps of Urahara's shop onto the ground. "So where am I staying?"

Ichigo stared.

"You honestly don't know?"

"If I knew why would I ask, BOGE?!" Hitsugaya retorted. The past day's happenings were weighing him down; he was a little sorry he had to take it out on Ichigo. A tiny bit sorry.

Ichigo sighed.

"Okay, okay." He said, trying not to flare up the temperamental young captain. "Let's go. My house is not too far away. You'll be staying there, or so I've been told."

Hitsugaya's eyes widened for a moment, but seemed to accept his fate.

"Ah." He pulled his suitcase along, trailing in Ichigo's wake. For a while, both of them walked in silence.

"Ano… Toshiro…" Ichigo began, ignoring the sneer that Hitsugaya gave him. "Why were you sent down here? Surely you trust in my ability to dispatch of the Arrancar?"

"The orders came from above." The snowy haired boy replied. "I am not in a position to question Yamamoto-taichou's orders."

"Besides…" he added. "The Espada have been frequenting this area as of late, and rumour has it that Aizen has managed to gather up an unknown number of Vasto Lordes."

"Souka…" Ichigo scratched his chin. His last encounters with the Espadas had been less than enjoyable, although he hadn't seen much of them lately. He voiced his thoughts out.

"I haven't sensed any of the Espada over the past few weeks."

"That's because you could hardly detect the Reiatsu of even Yamomoto-taichou with that lack of kidou you have." Hitsugaya took pride in his remarks, which seemed to rile up the yellow-haired teenager immediately.

"Did you say something?" Ichigo asked dangerously, vein throbbing in his temple.

Hitsugaya thought it would be better not to start off his stay with an angry Kurosaki, so he sighed and shook his head, an expression of dismay and boredom seeping into his childlike features. He could not wait for this assignment to be over, although he knew that it would probably be many months… years even, for Aizen to be fully defeated. They arrived at the Kurosaki Clinic. Hitsugaya could smell the faint scent of food as he entered, and as he removed his shoes, Ichigo suddenly froze in his steps.

"Toshirou, where's your gigai? I can't have my family seeing a suitcase miraculously carrying itself up the stairs. And also the food vanishing without anyone eating it."

Hitsugaya started with shock. He had completely forgotten about his faux body that Urahara had apparently prepared for him.

"Kurosaki, it's all your fault!" he shouted at the teen, exasperated, although he knew it was entirely his own error. "If you weren't talking about me behind my back with Urahara I would have remember to get it from him!"

"Nani?!" Ichigo yelled back. "You were so busy reminding me to call you 'Hitsugaya-taichou' that you forgot to take it yourself! You self-centred brat!"

"Baka!"

"Boge!" Why he had engaged in name calling with Kurosaki Ichigo of all people eluded him.

Their sniping at each other was interrupted when a gigai which Ichigo thought was Hitsugaya's twin, but immediately realized that it was a mod-soul, burst through the door. Quick as lightning, Ichigo whipped out his Substitute Shinigami badge and dealt the gigai a blow with it, forcing the mod-soul out, where it bounced on the floor a few times before Hitsugaya caught it and put it into his pocket.

"You gotta thank Urahara-san for his quick thinking and his methods." Ichigo laughed, as Hitsugaya struggled into the faux body. "Oh, and you might want to fix that shirt."

Urahara had evidently, in his rush to send the gigai off before the cat was out of the bag, dressed it haphazardly. The black polo shirt that Hitsugaya was wearing was turned inside out. He sighed, and pulled it off, revealing a silky smooth body with rippling muscles.

"Oh? And here I was thinking you were a thin little squirt." Ichigo laughed, as he untied his shoes. "You should walk around like this more often; I bet Rangiku-san would appreciate having your company a lot more, although you're still a humor-deprived grouch."

"Urusai." The boy spat, as he donned the shirt correctly. "Have you thought of a cover story for your family? I'm sure they would wonder why you've brought home another guy with you at this time of night."

"Ah." Ichigo replied, a smirk clearly visible on his face. "I'll tell them I was getting some juice, and I bumped into this cute little boy who had been kicked out of his house by his parents because he was too short for them, and also because his hair looked like he had fallen into a tub of bleach."

Hitsugaya's eyes widened. As Ichigo made his way to the living room, Hitsugaya frantically grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

"Kurosaki, don't you dare!" he hissed sharply, trying to contain his anger. "I've been trod on so much in Seireitei and I don't need you to add to the weight!"

Ichigo stared at him for a moment, taking in the wide-open silvery blue eyes, the permanently furrowed brows and the puckered up mouth.

"Don't worry, I was only joking." He replied, shaking his hand free. "I'll tell them you're an exchange student from some other school, and that I volunteered to take you in. Just stick to the plan, okay? And don't go telling them to call you 'taichou'."

"Kurosaki, I'm not an idiot."

"Good to know." He led the way into the living room, where Isshin and Ichigo's sisters were watching television.

"I'm back." Ichigo said, in that all too familiar casual tone. Yuzu rushed from her spot and began setting the table.

"Okairi, Ichi-nii." She greeted him happily. "Eh? Ano… who's that?"

She had spotted Hitsugaya, who stood with his arms crossed over his chest, a frown on his face.

"This is Hitsugaya Toshirou." Ichigo began his story. "He's an exchange student from… ano… ano…"

He tried to think of a name his family wouldn't know.

"Seireitei High School." Hitsugaya completed the sentence for him. Karin looked over with interest, and recognized the captain immediately. She was, however, smart enough not to give the game away, as was Isshin, who instead rushed toward Ichigo and his guest, spouting words.

"Ah, so my son has finally agreed to do something useful for once! All those days of forcing him to help out with the medical procedures and practicing my moves on him have worked!"

He stopped mere millimeters from Toshirou's forehead.

"But… but… but… a high schooler isn't supposed to be this short!" he exclaimed, causing the very familiar vein to throb in Hitsugaya's temple. "What has your idiot father been feeding you?! Come, my daughter will cook a good meal for you right this instant! And then she'll… UGH!"

Karin's foot had appeared out of nowhere and slammed into his face, sending him flying into a heap in the corner.

"You talk too much, old man. Just let him sit down and eat."

"So desu." Yuzu was bringing teriyaki chicken out of the microwave and setting it on the table. The smell of dinner quickly made Ichigo's mouth water as he stood looking at it.

"Toshirou, let's put your suitcase upstairs before we have a late dinner." He tugged at Hitsugaya's luggage, and the captain smacked his hand away.

"I can handle it!" he retorted, struggling with the suitcase as he climbed the stairs. "And I'm not hungry."

The lie was made very apparent by the immediate colossal growling of his stomach.

"Ahh, sou ka?" Ichigo said mockingly, as they unpacked Toshirou's belongings, of which consisted of mostly the same black polo shirt and blue denim jeans, into the closet. "In that case, I'll make sure to finish everything. Ja ne!"

Toshirou bristled as he followed Ichigo down the stairs into the dining room.

"Ah? Nanda? I thought you said you weren't hungry?"

"Urusei." He sat at the table and picked up a piece of chicken with his chopsticks and put it into his mouth. It was delicious. He indulged to his heart's content. Being in the real world made him feel hungry, and he was glad that there was at least something here that made him satiated.

"Oi, Toshirou." Ichigo nudged the occupied boy. "Where do you want to sleep tonight?"

Hitsugaya looked up from his cellphone with a frown. How rude.

"Where did Kuchiki sleep while she was here?"

"The closet. Why, do you want to sleep there as well?"

"No way, baka." That vein pulsed again. "What do you think I am, some stuffed animal?"

Ichigo sighed. Something was definitely up with this 'boy genius' as the people in Seireitei called him.

"Chill out. There's no way I would let you sleep where Rukia usually sleeps. She'd slaughter me for that." He replied. "No offence, though. It could be anyone, not just you."

"Whatever."

Toshirou looked over at Ichigo's bed, and moved from his place at the windowsill to the edge of the soft mattress, cautiously climbing onto it. He lay down, and stretched his arms out, closing his eyes. Ahh, how comfortable this bed was. Definitely a lot more comfortable than the desk in the tenth division's office, where he spent most of nights, laying his head upon it. He was sooo tired, those many hours of paperwork… all those missions dealing with Hollows in Rukongai… all that research in the library with Ukitaki-kun and Kyouraku-taichou, coupled with the food he just had made him feel extremely sleepy. This bed was so comfortable. So soft. So welcoming. So warm that he could almost…

"Falling asleep, Toshirou?" Ichigo's voice startled him.

"Moron. At the rate you're going, anyone would." He shot back, although it was a little hard to talk in his exhaustion. "Forget it, I'll just sleep downstairs in the…"

He was interrupted by Ichigo nudging him to the side of the bed and pulling the comforter from under him in one swift motion.

"Kurosaki, nani…" he was once again cut off as Ichigo dragged him to the centre of the bed again and pulled the comforter over him. "What's the meaning of this?"

"You can sleep here for the night." Ichigo looked down at the sleepy boy. "I can see that you don't really want to move in your current state."

"Baka." The retort came softly. Toshirou was drifting off. "Where are you going to sleep? This is your house."

Ichigo motioned to the futon on the floor.

"I was planning to let you use that, but since you happily went and took advantage of my bed, I'll sleep there for tonight."

"Hmph. If you really want me to…"

"Get some sleep, you little runt."

"It's Hitsugaya taichou to you…" he managed to groan out before he fell into slumber, without even bothering to undress.

Ichigo sighed as he gazed down upon the little captain. Many years of wisdom outnumbering own life were stored beneath those brows. He wondered what had caused the tensai to lose his usually composed demeanor. He tugged the polo shirt off of the boy with some difficulty, and folded it neatly before placing it on the side-table to the right of his bed. For a moment, he looked down upon the smooth, albeit muscular body of the white-haired boy. He actually looked pretty cute, didn't he? Ichigo bristled, and brushed the thought away. For a second, he could have sworn something was stirring inside of him. Feelings for this bad-tempered little uptight brat who thought he had the right to order he, Ichigo, around? Hmph. Not a chance.

He could not, however, resist reaching out and ruffling the boy's silky white locks. Just to see how it felt. In response, Hitsugaya took in one huge breath, and groaned softly as Ichigo's fingers ran through his white tuft. Ichigo stared, mesmerized, until a little sigh from the boy caused him to shake himself mentally and pull the covers over the boy's exposed torso.

His bedroom door slammed, startling him. He turned around, and saw Karin standing at the doorway, arms folded across her chest.

"Ichi-nii, what's going on?" that demanding tone of hers did not help the tense atmosphere.

"Ah, what are you talking about?" Ichigo began. "This is…"

"Why is Hitsugaya taichou in our house? And why is he sleeping in your bed of all places?" the words cut him off.

He stared with wide-eyed shock at his sister.

"Karin… you know who that is?"

"Baka. I can see things as well, you know." She sighed. "If I can see you in your Shinigami form, I most certainly can see him in his form."

For a moment, Ichigo stared at her, aghast.

"It was a soccer match." she explained. If anything, the expression on Ichigo's face intensified.

"Toshirou can play soccer?" he spluttered.

"Don't look so surprised." Karin said, with a frown on her face. "We were attacked by Hollows during the match and he changed into his Shinigami form, which looked exactly like yours, only that he had a white haori on with a '10' sign on it."

"Yeah, that's the mark of a captain." Ichigo sighed. The bubble had burst, the folly had failed, and the ploy was broken. "Listen, don't tell Oyaji and Yuzu, okay?"

"I'm not an idiot." It was uncanny how much she sounded like the gently snoring boy on Ichigo's bed. "I still haven't told them you're a Shinigami yet, so why would I tell on Toshirou-kun?"

"… I'll leave it in your hands then."

"I'm going downstairs to see what our idiot father is doing with Yuzu." A cackle of laughter from Isshin emanated from downstairs.

"Oh, and close the door please. Somehow I don't think Toshirou would take too kindly to oyaji's bantering and tantrums."

"Ah, wakata." She shut the door silently. Ichigo could hear her footsteps padding away downstairs, as he settled in for the night as well. He hoped tomorrow would be a better day for the stressed out captain.

"Oi! It's nearly twelve in the afternoon. Get up!" Something poked him in his side. He groaned, and shunted it away as he scooted to the corner of the bed. Despite his tough looks as a captain, he really was very ticklish. Right now, he didn't want to get up. Not from this warm bed. These comfortable sheets. These…

"OI! Toshirou!" Ichigo jabbed the sleepy boy a few more times before he sighed, and began attacking his ribs and armpits relentlessly. As expected, Hitsugaya woke in an instant, choking from the contact.

"K-Kurosaki!" he gasped, fending Ichigo's hands away. "Kisama! Yamete!"

"Glad to see you're awake. Now get out of my bed and go take a shower."

"Baka. I'll take a shower when I want to." He slid his legs off the bed and headed toward the bathroom anyway, his normally spiky hair tousled by his twisting and turning in bed. "You'd better not look!"

"Baaka! What's there to see? Little Toshirou? Sorry, I've other things to be interested in." he barely managed to dodge the alarm clock that was flung at his face. "Teme!"

The bathroom door slammed, and Ichigo heard the squeaking of the faucets before the sound of high pressured water filled the room. He made the bed, wondering what Yuzu had prepared for lunch. A sudden ringing sound accompanied by a vibration in the sheets made him jump, before he realized that it was indeed Hitsugaya's cellphone, which he groped for. Hmm, it was a text message. What was in it?

"Tenth Squad Captain Toshirou Hitsugaya, you are ordered to provide protection to the Kurosaki family. Persons of interest include Kurosaki Karin and Kurosaki Yuzu. Please do not worry about the substitute shinigami, Kurosaki Ichigo, as he can take care of himself. Ex-captain Isshin is also a non-critical protection subject."

Ichigo stared. 'Ex-captain Isshin'?

"Oi, who told you that it was okay for you to mess about with my possessions?" An annoyed Hitsugaya poked his head out of the door.

"Nanda? You left this on the bed yesterday, when you didn't even bother to undress before going to bed." Ichigo shot back. "It's only a reminder of your duties. Oh, and have you brought a towel with you for your stay?"

"Gck!" Hitsugaya realized his carelessness. He mentally kicked himself. Now what?

"Ahh, mundai-nai." Ichigo said casually. "Look to your left."

The captain did so.

"Do you see a white towel?"

"Ah."

"Don't touch that towel. That's mine."

"Then why did you tell me about it in the first place?!"

"Shut up. You can use the blue towel beside it. Did you bring clothes inside?"

"…"

"They're outside the door on the floor. Yare-yare… is someone not up to his normal standard of intelligence? Maybe being in a gigai has lowered your smartness, taichou. And since when was my father a Shinigami?!"

"Urusai." A hand almost as white as snow reached out and pulled the clothes in. "You'd better not have done anything to the phone."

A minute later the captain exited the bathroom and snatched the phone from Ichigo's hands. He looked the message over, and flipped it shut.

"So… what are you going to do with the rest of the day?" Ichigo asked. "You've already wasted half of it."

"Damare. There's really nothing much I can do for now, since my orders were to maintain vigil over Karakura as well as protecting your family. Becoming a Shinigami was a mistake."

"Nani? Then what would have happened if I hadn't tried to rescue Rukia? Aizen would have destroyed Soul Society!"

"Just who do you think I am?" Hitsugaya shot back. "I'm a captain, and there would have been nine more captains there to deal with it."

He was fighting a losing battle, and he knew it. Kurosaki's assistance during that time had been invaluable that even Yamamoto-taichou had officially recognized him as one of Soul Society's allies. Ichigo, for his part, chose not to embarrass the captain even more and busied himself tidying his room. He pulled out his iPod and stuffed the earpieces into his ears as he went about vacuuming the room. Hitsugaya stared on. What a strange contraption. Did this thing actually clean the room? And how did it work? Further thoughts were dissuaded when Ichigo turned the 'thing' off and sat at his desk, leaning back against his chair and reading a comic, not paying attention to Hitsugaya at all.

"What are these things?" Hitsugaya asked, sitting on Ichigo's bed. He pointed at the earphones.

"These things are little speakers." Ichigo replied, removing one earphone. "They play music into my ears."

"Ah."

"Here." He thrust the earphones into the white haired boy's hands as well as the iPod. "Put those into your ears."

He did so, fully expecting it to be an uncomfortable experience. To his surprise, the earphones were actually quite snug, and settled into his canal neatly.

"Press play."

"Play?"

"That arrow that looks like it's pointing right."

"KUROSAKI!" Rock music blared into his ears at full volume. "Nanda kore wa?!"

"Ah, wari." He turned the volume down a little.

"What noise is this?" this was different from the gongs he heard in Seireitei. Very different.

"It's called Heavy Metal. And if you don't have anything nice to say about it, don't say anything."

"Hmph." The captain crossed his hands over his chest. The day ahead looked to be a very boring one. Or not.

His cellphone beeped urgently, as well as Ichigo's Shinigami badge.

"What is it?"

"Arrancar. Karakura Southern District."

"Ikuzo!"

"Wait!" Hitsugaya grabbed Ichigo's forearm.

"What?"

"You stay here."

"WHAT? WHY?!"

"Someone needs to protect your family. Your father is out gallivanting somewhere in Karakura, but he can take care of himself. Your sisters cannot."

Ichigo realized the truth of the situation. He didn't want to make the captain's job a lot more difficult than it really was.

"Ah. I'll stay here."

"I'll leave my gigai here with a communicator so that if anything happens here, I'll know."

"Wakata."

Hitsugaya swallowed the gikongan and burst out of his gigai in a brief flurry of reiatsu. He was off immediately, shunpo-ing out of sight in a matter of seconds.

Ichigo didn't think it necessary to become a Shinigami, so he simply went back to reading the comic, although his senses were tingling madly. Something wasn't right. Why all the way in the Southern District? It was as if something was trying to separate them. That was it! Why else would Aizen order the Arrancar to appear so far away? He probably knew that Ichigo was a Vizard, and therefore was far too powerful, coupled with Hitsugaya, for his underlings to do any damage. But what did he want with Toshirou?

The communicator in Toshirou's gigai's trouser pocket beeped, and without thinking, Ichigo dipped his hand into it and opened it. When he saw next made his heart skip a beat.

"Hitsugaya-taichou, please retreat immediately. There are four high-levelled Arrancars in the area you are heading to as well as two Espadas. We have confirmed the limit release but the threat level is too high for even a taichou to handle."

The fool had left his communicator here. It was true that he would know what was going on in the Kurosaki household, but how was he to know the trap that he was about to step into?

"Damn!" he switched into his Shinigami form and leapt out of the window, trying to trace Hitsugaya's reiatsu.

"Teme…" Hitsugaya growled at the lone Arrancar that assumed the shape of a dog. "Who sent you? Aizen? What does he want?"

He had already been forced to go into Shikai, and for some reason, the limit release seal had appeared on his chest. This Arrancar was a force to be reckoned with.

"I have no need to tell you what Aizen-sama's objectives are." The Arrancar said in its broken voice, taunting him. "All you need to know is that you must die."

Hitsugaya smirked.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, but the one who will die is you! Sit upon the frozen heavens, Hyourinmaru!"

The icy dragon charged at the Arrancar as the skies turned black. A terrific crash was heard, as the dragon seemingly hit its target. As the mist cleared, Hitsugaya gaped. There were now three more Arrancars in the fray, along with… an Espada? No, TWO Espadas! Damn it, that's why he had had his limit released. He knew he was no match for these enemies. Quickly, he turned to Shunpo away to wait for backup, but his escape was very neatly cut off by one of the Espadas.

"Trying to run away?" Ulquiorra appeared before him in a crackle. "I'm afraid it's far too late for that."

"Kisama!" he grasped his soul slayer. "Ban…"

The Espada was too fast for him. Before he could even release Hyourimaru, Ulquiorra had appeared beside him and his razor sharp hand had found its way into Hitsugaya's abdomen, twisting and turning his innards. The white haired captain coughed up blood, as he felt unfathomable pain.

"Uaaaargh!" he gripped the hand as though pushing against it would somehow lessen the pain. "Uhhh!"

He crumpled to his knees, blood spurting out and staining everything in sight. Was this it? All because he had left his communicator back in Kurosaki's house. Ulquiorra gazed at him with disdain.

"Not dead yet?" he pulled his hand out of Hitsugaya, causing the boy to scream in agony. "Try this for size." He stabbed Hitsugaya in the middle of his chest, fracturing his ribs and puncturing his diaphragm.

"Ungh…" his body wouldn't move. It hurt. A lot. Hyourinmaru would not listen to his feeble attempts at bringing his sword hand up to cut this hateful being. He slowly began to fall from the sky, his unfinished ice wings crumbling.

"Getsuga Tenshou!"

A crescent wave of death narrowly missed the Espada, who had to flash step out of the way. The pale face twisted into a frown.

"Kurosaki Ichigo."

"Ah." Ichigo stood in the air, a limp Hitsugaya slung over his arm. "Six captains have been mobilized to this position, so if I were you, I'd go back to wherever you came from, Hueco Mundo or whatever it's called."

"Damn you, Kurosaki!" The second Espada spoke up, unnoticed until now. "Because of you, we've failed our mission. Kill Toshirou Hitsugaya. I will kill you the next time we meet!"

"Ah, urusai. You say that all the time." Ichigo leered at Grimmjow. "Well, as much as I'd like to stay and chat, I'll let the other captains take care of you. Ja ne."

He flash-stepped away, Hitsugaya tight in his arms. It was a matter of minutes before he arrived back at the clinic and placed the boy onto the floor.

"Oi, Toshirou. Daijoubu ka?"

"B… baka…" Hitsugaya was able to rasp. "I… told you… to stay… here."

His bleeding was getting worse. Ulquiorra had most definitely poisoned his own skin before he had made those fatal attacks. Ichigo pressed his hand on the wound, trying to staunch it.

"God damn it!" It wasn't working. He looked around frantically, and spotted Hitsugaya's communicator.

"Ah, moshi-moshi, Taichouu!" Matsumoto's cheerful voice greeted him.

"Rangiku-san, Hitsugaya Taichou has been critically wounded in battle. He needs a member of the fourth squad, preferably Unohana Taichou to tend to him immediately. He has been wounded by Ulquiorra."

Matsumoto's tone of voice changed immediately.

"Hai. I'll get on it straight away. Tell taichou to hold on." She shouted orders to some unknown member of the squad. "Is there anything else?"

"Yes."

"What is it?"

"Tell them to hurry."

First time writing a Bleach fic, so please forgive me if there are an inadequacies or errors in my Bleach knowledge. Appreciate criticism and/or compliments, make my day :)

And also, many thanks must go to HeukYa, who both indirectly and directly induced my "love" for the IchiHitsu fad, with her stories "Empathy" and its sequel.