Hitsugaya's Nightmare Before Christmas Chapter 2
Cough... Cough... Cough...
"I told you it was a bad idea," Unohana said patiently as she dabbed at Ukitake's long white and very damp hair with a towel.
"It was only meant as a bit of fun," Ukitake replied with a hoarse voice, "How was I to know Toushiro would avalanche us."
"It was still a bad idea," Unohana sighed as she pushed a cup of steaming tea into Ukitake's hand, "You should know better by now," she said crossly.
Ukitake titled his head back to peer at Unohana's face, "You're annoyed with me. You don't have your usual bed side manner," he pointed out.
"That's because usually when you're sick, it isn't self inflicted. How many times have I told you to avoid getting cold and wet whilst outside in the winter?"
"Quite a few times I imagine," Ukitake answered before clearing his throat.
"Try every year prior to winter, since I've known and cared for you."
Ukitake looked at her sheepishly. It was true, she did tell him the same thing every year and not just because she were being a Doctor to him. Placing his cup down on the table he rose to his feet and turned to face her placing two icy hands on her cheeks.
"I'm sorry Retsu, I didn't mean to make you worry," He tilted his head to one side then closed the distance between them, pressing his frozen lips against her soft warm lips. Her warm hands reached up and wrapped themselves around his neck, while his hands travelled from her cheeks and down to her waist, pulling her closer.
When the need for air had them pulling apart Unohana glanced up at him, "I strongly recommend that you have a hot bath Juushiro, it will help warm you up."
"You warm me up too Retsu," Ukitake dropped his head down to rest his cheek against Unohana's soft hair, happy to just snuggle against her, "How long have we got until we go and visit Toushiro, Rangiku and Kotaro?"
"Just over an hour Juushiro," she replied gently. She could feel him shivering against her so she began rubbing some warmth back into his arms.
"Maybe a hot bath is just the thing I need," Ukitake agreed, he then grinned at Unohana and tightened his hold around her waist, "But I feel nice and comfy right here and I don't want to move. Unless of course you decide to join me."
"You do realise we still have Christmas presents to wrap up before we leave," Unohana stated as she began herding Ukitake towards the bathroom, "And seeing as you've gone a bit overboard on the candy this year, we have A LOT to wrap up."
Ukitake smiled back at her, "I just picked up a few extra bits for little Kotaro this year. Its a Grandads duty to ensure his Grandson has a sufficient amount of candy to see him through the holiday period."
"Juushiro! There's enough to last him for the whole of this year, next year and a good several years after I'd have to say," Unohana replied with a small frown, "I know you like to give out candy, but I will not have you giving our grandchild diabetes."
"What if I told you they were all sugar free candies this year, would that make you feel better about it?" Ukitake felt his back connect with the bathroom door. He twisted around and slid the door sideways.
Unohana gave him a little push and he stumbled back into the bathroom, "No it wouldn't. You said yourself that candy without sugar inside is 'pointless.' So forgive me for not believing you," she then reached for the door and slid it shut, "Don't be too long now, we really do have quite a few presents to wrap up still."
As Ukitake heard Retsu gliding back down the hallway he couldn't help but smile. Yes he may have gone a little overboard with the candy this year for Kotaro, but she had also bought Kotaro a few toys more then necessary. He guessed they were both guilty of over indulging their grandson.
Toushiro growled for the umpteenth time as he was bumped into yet again by someone who was considerably taller then him. This time it'd been a woman who'd walked into him, she tutted loudly and shot him a death glare before she went barging past him with three screaming kids in tow.
Never again.
He was never coming to the World of the Living on Christmas Eve ever again.
Everywhere he went there were people, everywhere he looked there were queues, the whole city was crowded. All he could hear were tired and stressed out people complaining, kids screaming and harassed sales people moaning to their colleagues about the same old Christmas tunes blasting out on the stereo for the fifth time that shift.
In the first department store he'd visited for the first part of Rangiku's gift, he been shocked and dismayed to see people queuing just to go up some stairs to the next floor. Which coincidently had been where he needed to go.
Once he'd emerged from the store an hour and a half later with a throbbing headache, he'd decided to grab some coffee. He sure needed it. So when he'd arrived at the coffee shop, he'd been greatly annoyed to find that it was also crammed full of people. He'd queued for another twenty minutes and grabbed his coffee to go, time was against him now and he still needed to visit one more shopping centre.
Rangiku would probably kill him once he returned home, he'd been gone close to two hours now. So much for being quick.
Arriving at the familiar shopping centre, Toushiro hurried past all the neatly lined up shops and headed straight for the escalator to take him up to the top floor. The little shop he wanted to visit was the same jewellers from where he'd purchased the ring he'd used to propose to Rangiku. It'd been custom made especially for her a few years ago and it was one of a kind.
As he entered the small jewellery store, he noticed that quite a few people were milling around and browsing the items within the glass display cases. The bright lights in the store shone down on the various items which twinkled back at him, begging to be bought. He bypassed all of the cases and walked straight over to the front counter which he was relieved to see, was queue free.
Toushiro pulled his wallet out of his pocket and fished inside it for the reserve slip he'd put to one side. He'd chosen Rangiku's gift months ago. Rather then take it home and risk her finding it before Christmas, he'd decided to keep it here at the shop until Christmas Eve just so she couldn't sneak a peek this year.
After the sales clerk had stamped his receipt and handed over the small bag containing his gift, he stashed the bag carefully in the inside pocket of his jacket. He thanked the man and left the store, while checking his watch as he went.
Toushiro had reached the ground floor of the shopping centre and was about to head out the main entrance when his phone rang in his pocket. He pulled it out and glanced at the display flashing away at him and wasn't surprised to see that it was Rangiku trying to call him.
He flipped the phone open and held it up to his ear, "Rangiku?"
"Toshi! Where the hell are you?" Rangiku asked sounding quite cross. "You said you weren't going to be long. Everyone's here already!"
"I know Rangiku, I'm sorry. Its pretty busy here and I got a little held up," Toushiro frowned as his eyes roamed over the huge crowds of people rushing here and there, "Don't worry I'm done here now. I'll be making my way back home soon."
"Where are you anyway?" Rangiku asked with a hint of curiosity, "It sounds really loud there and I know you are no where in the Soul Society."
"I'm in the World of the Living," Toushiro sighed, there was no use lying about his whereabouts.
"I figured as much. You must be two types of crazy to go there on Christmas Eve," Rangiku giggled, "I love shopping Toshi, but even I wouldn't go there on Christmas Eve, its just too busy and crazy."
"Are you mad at me Rangiku?"
He heard a long sigh from Rangiku, "No of course not, although I do wish you were here with us instead."
"How's Kotaro, he's not still upset is he?" Toushiro closed his eyes and sighed.
"Ah, about that. I need you to do me a small favour," Rangiku replied hesitantly.
Toushiro opened his eyes not liking Rangiku's tone, "What kind of favour?"
"Well it took me, Nanao and Momo quite a bit of time to convince Kotaro, but we got him to understand that Santa Claus can only deliver toys and not live animals. Did you know there's just not enough room in that sleigh of his?"
A massive grin broke out on Toushiro's face, "Well of course not, it would be a bit of a squeeze with all those toys."
"Exactly," Rangiku replied brightly, "Well anyway once Kotaro understood that, he were only too happy to rewrite another letter to Santa and ask for something else."
"That sounds reasonable," Toushiro agreed, the odds were Kotaro would ask for something that Rangiku had already bought him. So Kotaro wouldn't be disappointed that Santa had forgotten about him when there was no puppy under the tree on Christmas day. By ensuring his new wish was under the tree, it would prolong his belief in Santa and make Christmas that little bit more magical for him. "I bet you already have what he's asked for, right?"
Rangiku was silent on the phone for quite awhile before she spoke again, "I bought the toys I knew he would like this year, but in his revised letter he hasn't asked for a single one of them."
Toushiro scowled and pinched the bridge of his nose, "What has he asked for and can I get it from here?"
"Art supplies. He's asked for some art supplies instead."
"That's fine Rangiku, just leave it with me," Toushiro turned on his heel and began sprinting back through the shopping centre which was still heaving with people, now in search of an art shop.
"He sees you when you're sleeping. He knows when you're awake. He knows if you've been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake!" Shunsui sang merrily as he strolled through the streets of the Seireitei with Kotaro nestled comfortably on his shoulders. "O! You better watch out! You better not cry. You better not pout, I'm telling you why.."
"Santa Claus is coming to town! Santa Claus is coming to town!" Kotaro sang loudly as he drummed his little hands on Shunsui's head.
"Santa Claus is coming... To TOOOOWNNN!" They both sang together.
Kotaro giggled loudly and pushed Shunsui's straw hat up and out of his eyes, which was far too big to rest on his tiny head, "Uncle Shun-shun where are we going?"
"Oh no where in particular little buddy," Shunsui answered affectionately, "I've always enjoyed going for a nice stroll on Christmas Eve. I enjoy it even more when I have company but," he sighed heavily, "My lovely Nanao-chan wanted to stay where it was warm this time."
"So I came instead!" Kotaro declared raising his fist in triumph.
"And you've been some mighty fine company too," Shunsui grinned up at him, "Are you feeling a bit happier now little buddy? We cant have you feeling upset and gloomy on Christmas Eve now can we?"
When Shunsui had stopped by to visit Toushiro, Rangiku and little Kotaro, he'd been surprised to find Kotaro looking a little miserable rather then all bouncy and excited for Santa's arrival. Rangiku and Nanao had explained to him briefly about the puppy situation and he'd picked up the subtle hint that they needed Kotaro distracted whilst they did some damage control. So he'd made a huge show of wanting to go out and enjoy the fine snow they were having and declared loudly how perfect it would be to have some company. Nanao had sportingly played along with his scheme and had bashed him over the head with a book when he'd tried to pick her up bridal style to carry her off into the sunset. After much whining and another whack around the head, Kotaro had come running over to him and asked if he could come along instead, which he was only too happy to oblige.
"I guess so," Kotaro answered quietly.
Shunsui sighed, "You're still upset about the puppy aren't you?"
Kotaro didn't answer but Shunsui felt his tiny nod.
"I'm curious little buddy, why did you ask for a puppy? Other then just wanting a friend."
Kotaro leant forward and rested his chin on top of Shunsui's head, his little arms draped down and dangled over Shunsui's massive shoulders, "Well at first I did want to ask for a little brother or sister. But then I figured that only Mummy and Daddy could make one."
Shunsui slowed to a stop and tilted his head back gently to gaze up at his tiny nephew, "So its more then just wanting a friend, you actually want to be a big brother?"
"I thought if Mummy and Daddy saw that I could look after a puppy, then they'd let me be a big brother too."
"So you asked for a puppy instead," Shunsui concluded.
"But I don't think Daddy likes dogs and Mummy told me that Santa Claus only delivers toys because there's no room for animals in his sleigh," Kotaro's voice still held a hint of sadness in it.
Shunsui hated to see a kid unhappy, "You know what buddy," he reached his hands up and plucked Kotaro off his shoulders, "There's an awful lot of snow around us and I guess we still have an hour or so of daylight left," he gently placed Kotaro back down on the ground and plucked his straw hat off of Kotaro's head, "If Santa cant bring you a puppy for Christmas, how about you and Uncle Shun-shun make a snow puppy instead!"
Kotaro's face lit up and he bounced up and down on the spot, excitedly clapping his hands together, "Yeah yeah a snow puppy!"
"Well great lets start gathering some snow then," Shunsui watched as Kotaro zoomed away from him and towards a fresh patch of untouched snow. A small smile formed on his face, how he would love to be a Father one day.
Before they knew it, an hour had zoomed by and when Shunsui glanced at the darkening sky, he decided it were time to take Kotaro home. "Kotaro," he called out. He saw Kotaro's head bob up from behind a low wall, "Its time to go," he pointed towards the sky, "Its starting to drop dark little buddy."
Kotaro dropped the mound of snow he was holding in his arms and bounded back over to Shunsui, "What about our snow puppy Uncle Shun-shun?" He pointed a little finger at the impressively large canine they'd managed to create between themselves complete with a tail and floppy ears, "He's going to get cold if we leave him out here."
Shunsui chuckled loudly, he couldn't help it, "Well I suppose we could take it back with us and park it outside your front door."
"Yeah! Lets do that, then we can show Mummy and Daddy it," Kotaro paused in his bouncing and frowned, "How are we going to do that?"
"Its simple Kotaro," Shunsui lifted Kotaro in arms and placed him on his shoulders again and deposited his straw hat on Kotaro's head, "Hold on tightly now," he then crouched down and scooped the snow dog into his arms then straightened back up again, "You know if we aren't quick enough this thing is going to melt before we get it back."
"Cant you go swoosh swoosh again Uncle Shun-shun?" Kotaro asked referring to the sound a person makes when they use flash step.
"That's not a bad idea," Shunsui agreed, "You're going to have to hold on very tightly though."
"Okay," Kotaro threaded his fingers into Shunsui's thick curls.
"Here we go. One. Two. Three."
One more person to go.
One more person to be served before him, then he could get the hell out of this shop.
He was aware he'd been tapping his foot impatiently for the last fifteen minutes, but after the first twenty minutes of being stuck in this queue his patience had abandoned him. It seemed like the cashier had purposely slowed down to a snails pace. Surely it shouldn't take a person THAT long to scan four items through a till and was it really necessary to talk to the customer in depth about each item that they happened to scan? Was it really going to impact anyone's life in anyway knowing that the cashiers sisters, uncles, fathers, grandfathers had brought the item and it worked very well?
Toushiro unclenched his jaw for the fifth time in less then a minute. It felt uncomfortably warm and stuffy in the shop, which seemed to have its heating on full and his head was pounding. His feet were aching from all the traipsing around he'd done and his arms were complaining at the amount of stuff he was clutching in them. When he'd entered the store he hadn't wanted to waste time by walking two steps to the left to pick up a shopping basket. Boy was he regretting that now.
He had considered grabbing one at first before hitting the checkout, but one look at the long queue had made the decision for him. By the time he'd gone back for a basket ten more people could've joined the monstrous queue and he could have been here potentially longer.
He'd amused himself for the first five minutes by awkwardly glancing down at the items stuffed in his arms which included a jumbo tub of crayons, two very large colouring books, a thick pack of plain white doodling paper and a pack with an assortment of coloured paper, pencils, notepads, a little paint set, he'd even picked up two sticker books with cute little animals in them.
Was it because he'd unintentionally upset Kotaro by saying he couldn't have a puppy? Yes. Had his son sent him on a spiralling guilt trip? Absolutely.
"Thank you very much sir and here's your purchases."
Finally! Toushiro thought as he stepped forward towards the till and dumped the stuff down on the counter. The cashier picked up the first item and scanned it through, "These crayons are excellent value for money, they last for ages. Although if you wanted, you could get the next size up for an extra few pounds and you get thirty more colours to choose from."
"Its okay, I'll stick with these thank you." Toushiro sighed, of course he couldn't get the fast cashier who didn't particular like to talk much. He had to get the time wasting chatterbox. Why did the universe hate him so much today? He tuned the cashier out and made some non-committal sounds every now and then, while occupying himself with thoughts about Rangiku's tasty gingerbread men and a nice comfy couch to distract himself from his achy feet. That was until a small comment from the cashier had him crashing back down to reality.
"Aren't you a bit old for a sticker book kid?" The lady asked in a patronizing tone.
Toushiro clenched his teeth together and growled out "These are not for me and I'm not a kid!"
"Oh I understand there for your little brother or sister," The cashier gave him a huge smile, "That's so sweet."
"What?" Toushiro asked horrified, "Its not like that at all," he knew deep down it was silly to get so worked up over a stupid comment, but his patience had been pushed to the limit already today.
The cashier turning a deaf ear scanned the last item and told him the price. He rummaged around in his wallet for the cash and handed it over, "Thank you young man," the cashier grinned back at him like he were some small child whose parent had let him pay the cashier for the first time. It really got his back up, stuff like this only ever happened to him in the World of the Living.
A tall bulky man carrying a large amount of bags who was busy looking at a receipt collided straight into Toushiro, which caused the man to drop several of the bags. He glared at Toushiro angrily before gathering up the bags and yelling, "Watch where the hell you're going kid!" Before he waddled away towards the exit.
Toushiro's face went scarlet before his temper exploded, "I am NOT a kid!" He screamed at the man, "And you bumped into me!"
WHACK!
Toushiro felt something hit him around the back of his head and he spun around angrily on his heels only to come face to face with a grumpy looking old woman wielding a large tube of wrapping paper, "Hey! What was that for?" He screamed at her.
The woman's eyes narrowed and she smacked him over the head with the tube once again, "Children these days have no manners whatsoever."
Toushiro growled, "For the love of- I – AM – NOT – A- KID!"
For his little outburst he was rewarded with two more hits to the head, "That's for being rude and that's for being disrespectful to an elderly citizen," the old woman scowled back at him. She then hit him again and muttered, "And that's just for good measure."
"Erm Ma'am," The cashier cut in loudly, "Can I suggest that you stop doing that. I'll have to call security and you could get charged with Child Abuse."
Toushiro turned and glared at the cashier who was helpfully holding out his bag of goods, "I am not a child!" He stated before snatching the bag of goods and beating a hasty retreat out of the infuriating store. As he walked away he heard the old woman mutter loudly, "Absolutely disgraceful. Children these days. I blame the parents."