Frostbitten Mistletoe
Politics at Christmas

The young taicho found he couldn't brush the Shiba-clan celebration from his mind which in turn put him into a poor mood. He found upon arriving back at the tenth division offices that Rangiku had spent her time decorating the place instead of working on paperwork. The woman had also lit scented candles that made the room smell like gingerbread and shortbread cookies. Toshiro found himself snapping at her while she simply grinned from ear to ear. He then attempted to bury himself into his paperwork to avoid the fact Christmas Eve was approaching.

The mind of the white haired child couldn't focus on what he was doing and he found himself wandering off in order to try and think. He jumped at the chance to go on a mission to the world of the living when he cropped up simply to get away from Soul Society and his troubles. The mission took little time to take care of as a captain level Shinigami and he found himself standing in the air outside of a family home, his throat tightening at what he saw as a soft snow fell because of his powers.

Toshiro's teal eyes could clearly see the entire family decorating Christmas tree. He took a deep breath as he was unable to pull his eyes away, only to feel a hand placed on his shoulder. He jerked his head around at the comforting feeling and words came out of his mouth without realizing what he was saying. "Taicho, Kaien-dono... which one of you..." The child's eyes blinked a couple of times before swallowing as his cheeks heated up from his mistake. "Kurosaki..."

"Toshiro, it's the day before Christmas Eve. Kukaku asked me to come and get you."

The next words that came out of the young taicho's mouth came in a shaky tone of voice. "I don't want to."

"I was told haul you back to Soul Society over my shoulder if I had to."

A deep breath came out of the child taicho's lungs. "The Shiba way of doing things huh..." Toshiro flash stepped to the ground and popped back into his gigai. "There are a few things I need to do first."

"Toshiro..."

"Could you do me a favor Kurosaki?"

"If it involves not taking you back... the answer is no."

"No." Toshiro took a deep breath and headed to the shopping district of Karakura Town. The young taicho stopped outside of bookstore and stepped in as the door let out a jingle. The scent of Christmas candles filled the air again and Christmas music played. "Could you stay here?"

"And let you run off?"

"Just... don't look at what I'm looking at." The young taicho snapped as he placed his hands in his pockets. He headed to the section selling the old classics and found himself drawn to the Don Quixote book. He glanced over his shoulder to make sure Ichigo wasn't looking before grabbing the book and heading to the cash register.

"Do you need this gift wrapped young man?"

"Yes. I don't have the time to do it myself." Toshiro turned his head to see Ichigo's head snapping forward. This caused his teal eyes to narrow into a glare. He pulled the wrapped package into his arms as if he didn't want to let it go.

The orange haired teen let out a sigh. "I thought you didn't like Christmas."

"I don't. I'm not against getting gifts for the people I care about though." The door jingled as the two stepped out and Toshiro headed to the next place. "You still can't look."

Ichigo let out a sigh and folded his arms across his chest only to have the young taicho shove the package into his arms so that his own arms were free. He picked out two stuffed animals that looked like they could be twins, but without looking like each other. The two stuffed animals were decked with holiday frocks and cloth peppermint candies. For some reason Toshiro still didn't feel like he was getting into the holiday season.

He also picked out a wind chime for Kukau and a pig ornament for Ganju. He then headed to a flower shop and picked out a poinsettia plant. He turned to Ichigo who was still holding onto the wrapped packages with mirth. "I can go back now. I need to drop off this at the office for Matsumoto. I can get those gifts to Kukaku-dono and Ganju-dono, so would you make sure your sisters get theirs?"

The mouth of the orange haired teen twisted up at the corners. "Sure Toshiro."

The young taicho felt his shoulder muscles tightening as he stepped through the gate and headed to the office. Rangiku was nowhere in sight, so he left the plant on her desk. Letting out a sigh he followed Ichigo to the first district of the Rukongai. The first thing he saw upon arriving at the Shiba-clan home was the statues of Ganju dressed as Santa. Two white eyebrows went up before he shook his head. He followed Ichigo down the steps. The smells of baking told him they were heading to the kitchens. He expected Miyamoto Taichi to be giving the orders. Instead...

Ichigo stepped through the door. "Yuzu... can you go ahead and put these presents under the Christmas Tree?"

Toshiro blinked a couple of times as his cheeks flushed with embarrassment. He also felt his throat tightening. Kurosaki Karen was standing at one of the counters looking at a cookbook in a rather bored fashion while Kurosaki Yuzu ordered people around in the kitchen. The smell of flower, sugar and eggs filled the air. Yuzu blinked a couple of times as she tugged at her apron strings. Upon seeing the young taicho her frown turned into a bright smile. "Toshiro-kun!"

The four friends of Shiba Ganju looked up in surprise before turning to whisper the fact Yuzu had called the young taicho by his first name. Toshiro took a deep breath. "What are you doing here?"

Karen looked up. "We're spending Christmas with family. What are you doing here?"

Yuzu's brown eyes blinked a couple of times as she looked at her sister. "Ichi-nii invited him because he's your boyfriend. Pick out a cookie he'll like as well!"

Toshiro felt the color drain from his face as his throat tightened. The darker of the Kurosaki twins looked up at him with a frown on her face. "Yuzu... Toshiro and I aren't dating."

A sigh of relief was heard from Ganju's friends causing the young taicho to tense of even more.

"I'd also rather not be here." The words came out of Toshiro's mouth causing the others to stare at him. "Look... I don't like this time of year."

"Toshiro! If you're not careful... then three ghosts are going to visit you!"

The young taicho stared at her. "Visit me? What sins have I caused in the past to make it so three ghosts would come and visit me? And isn't that illogical as we're in the..." The white haired child paused wondering if Yuzu knew where they were. "... I mean, we're able to see ghosts. What is three more? And last time I checked there is no ghost of Christmas present, past and future."

"You know the Christmas Carol?"

He swallowed and looked away. "Kurosaki... where is your father."

Ichigo looked towards the ceiling in annoyance. "If you can call Kukaku and Ganju by their first names you certainly can call us by our first names."

Yuzu blinked a couple of times. "He's in a meeting and he's not to be disturbed. Aunt Kukaku said so. Well... Ichi-nii is supposed to go to the meeting when he gets back."

"The meeting hall then." Toshiro spun on his heels and made to take off.

Karen came over and grabbed his arm while Ichigo left the presents on the counter. "Toshiro... didn't you hear what my sister said? Dad is in a meeting. We're not allowed in."

The young taicho blinked a couple of times as she tried to look him in the eye. More color drained from his face as he looked away. The young taicho yanked his sleeve out of her grip before turning to speed off. While his feet made no sound the feet of Ichigo and Karen as they followed him did. So did the doors to the meeting hall as he threw them open to look at the man who had been missing from his life for a good deal of time. There was no more color to drain from his face and his stomach clenched.

Isshin looked up from sitting in front of the elders of the Shiba clan as Karen grabbed his sleeve again. Kukaku and Ganju both sat behind him looking at the three while the female Kurosaki looked at the adults with worry. "Come on Toshiro. We're not allowed to be in here."

The white haired youth again pulled his sleeve away as he continued to stare at the man. The hurt he felt was reflected in his young eyes. He watched as Isshin quickly stood up and walked over. The next thing Toshiro knew the man had grabbed him under the arm pits and lifted him up into the air. "Taki! Taki!"

The young taicho's cheeks flared up as he stared at the man in horror. One of the elders went to one knee. "Shiba Isshin! Such behavior is uncalled for! You are the head of the Shiba-clan, so for once act like it."

Isshin cocked his head towards the men with a large smile on his face. "Come on! Toshiro is so cute I can't resist!"

Karen voice rose in a threatening manner. "Dad! Put Toshiro down! You're embarrassing him."

The man titled his head to his daughter. The motion of lifting the small Shinigami up and down was finished despite the fact Toshiro remained dangling in the air. "Why? I haven't seen my dear nephew and former third seat in such a long time!"

"Nephew?" Karen blinked a couple of times as Isshin finally set the young Shinigami down. "What is that supposed to mean?"

One of the elders spoke up as he glared at Karen. "The young captain of the tenth division is the son of your father's twin brother. He was as such the head of the clan after his father's death. As such he is allowed to be here both as a former head and the representative of his branch family. You on the other hand are not."

Toshiro watched as Karen bowed to the elders with a hurt look on her face. "I apologize. I'll be heading back to the kitchens to help my sister."

The door slid shut as Isshin moved to sit back down on his cushion. Ichigo moved to sit on his father's right. Isshin patted the cushion to his left. "Toshiro... come sit by me."

Toshiro didn't move away from the door, nor did he look back towards the adults. "I'll only do so if it is an order."

The young taicho could hear a muttering from the clan elders about him being rude. Isshin of course brushed it off. "Pray tell me why? You owe me that much?"

"Doesn't it bother you that one of the clan elders was disrespectful towards your daughter?"

"Pray tell why you think that Toshiro."

The young taicho spun around then as his eyes flashed with anger. His hands clenched at his side.

"Karen only came here because she was trying to prevent me from getting in trouble. Neither one of us knew I would be allowed to stay. The only reason I came was to confront my former taicho for what should be obvious reasons. On top of this she feels she's been regulated to a stereotypical role for females by being asked to go back to the kitchens. I've too much respect for her to let this slide. I should also mention the fact I never acted as head and I was adopted into the clan, so it isn't appropriate for me to be here."

Isshin let out a laugh. "You're right. That particular elder does in fact owe her an apology for the way he put things. And yes Toshiro... I'm going to give you an order. Go have fun and be kid. There are some things we're going to be discussing that I don't want you to worry about and may even bore you to tears."

Toshiro looked at his former taicho for a few minutes before slipping from the room. The white haired youth headed to the kitchen as he placed his thin hands behind his back. As he walked down the hallway he stopped short when he saw Kuchiki Taicho and his sister. The boy's bright teal eyes widened with surprise. The captain of the sixth division looked him right in the eye. "You aren't going to be at the meeting with the Shiba clan members Hitsugaya Taicho."

"No... I'm not exactly comfortable being there."

He turned his head to watch them pass before heading off to the kitchen where Karen and Yuzu were speaking with each other.

"It's incest though..."

"Yuzu... can it, it isn't incest."

"... and he didn't stand up for you when..."

"Yuzu..." Karen walked away from the girl leaving her sister in a fussy mood. "I thought you were going to be at the meeting with everyone else."

"Is she talking about Kuchiki and Kuchiki? It isn't as if they are blood related. Plus, it's besides the point when they think of each other as siblings."

The dark haired twin shoved a mixing bowl into Toshiro's arms. "I'm not sure what you're talking about. Help me with this batch of gingerbread cookies. If I try making the cookies they'll end up ruined somehow. I think Yuzu brought to much from the world of the living."

"If that isn't what you meant, then what did you mean? I thought you meant the Kuchiki clan as they are joining the Shiba clan in the meeting hall for some reason."

Karen leaned on the counter. "Yuzu means us. I told her that cousins are forth rung and there is nothing wrong with them marrying."

"Dad and Uncle Kaien were identical twins. That's like marrying a half-sibling."

"Yuzu... we're not even dating, so it doesn't even matter." Karen shook her head. "Still... which one of us is right?"

"Neither."

Yuzu's bag of peppermint candies burst open and scattered on the floor. "Neither? You don't defend Karen and then can't even side with her!"

Toshiro glared at the female as the darker haired Kurosaki twin gathered the ingredients. "Taicho said that elder owes your sister an apology, so what ever is that matter with that? Plus... neither of you are right in this situation. I'm adopted into the Shiba clan, not a member by blood."

"That can't be true." Yuzu blinked a couple of times while the other two stared. "You're implying that your parents didn't want you. You're a wonderful person, so why wouldn't they want you?"

"Yuzu..." Karen shook her head as Toshiro tried to ignore the two and instead started on the batches cookies.

"I didn't say anything wrong. By the way... I don't recollect meeting dad's twin brother and his wife? When are your parents going to get here Toshiro? They aren't busy working are they?"

The young taicho let go of the spoon and it clattered against the edge of the bowl. His hands reached down to grip the counter. "They're dead. Could we change the subject?"

"How about we just not talk? Christmas is supposed to be a fun time, not a damper."