"When you said now, I didn't think you meant… NOW!"
I looked up to Ichigo, whose hair was dripping wet; a loose shirt stuck to his wide shoulders and torso and his boxers clung to his hips. "Did I get you at a bad time?" I asked sarcastically.
"Hell yeah!" Ichigo replied. "I was in the middle of a shower when you knocked!"
I narrowed my eyes. "Wow, way to be a jerk when you open the door," I muttered.
Ichigo sighed, covering his face with the towel. "I'm sorry… I've kinda had a bad week..."
"You didn't sound bad on the phone," I replied.
Thin lips, a nose, and chocolate eyes peered out from under the wet towel. "Well, after you hung up, Rukia called to tell me that Yamamoto freak-beard won't allow me to come to Seireitei until I get control of myself."
Control? Of what? Could it be the Hollow?
"What happened?" I asked. "What did you do to make the chief taichou question your abilities?"
To pawn off the question, Ichigo pulled open the door further. "It's nothing, don't worry about it. Come on, get inside. Aren't you cold?"
I stepped inside, the warm air of the house almost overwhelming. "I preferred the cold…" I muttered, unstrapping Hyourinmaru and setting the katana against the wall.
"I'm sorry, I like it hot," the red-head replied as he tossed the towel into the laundry. "You can wear some of my stuff, if you get too hot."
"… Ichigo, you're bigger than me…"
"Then wear something of Karin's… or Yuzu's, even."
"They're girls…"
A smug grin spread on his face, his eyes glittering as he whispered, "Well then, I guess that means you have no other options left."
I smirked, reaching into my sleeve and pulling out a credit card. "Just because I'm younger than the other taichous doesn't mean I don't get paid," I replied. "If you're up to it, I need to get some gifts for the others while I'm here."
Ichigo's eyes watched the card, a strange expression spreading on his face. "I never knew you were one to shop," he stated.
Scowling slightly, I placed the card back in my sleeve. "I'm not. It's just a tradition for the Gotei Thirteen to give gifts to the other squad leaders; does your family not celebrate Christmas?"
Shrugging, Ichigo looked away to the tree set up in the living room. "We do, it's just… interesting. I know the girls like the presents he gets them, but I think it saddens Dad that Mom's not there to give them her own presents; Dad… he doesn't really understand Karin or Yuzu that well."
"… because they're girls?"
"Yeah."
I sighed, removing my sandals and setting them by the door. "I don't blame him; his oldest child is a son, and man can't understand woman; trust me, I gave up on comprehending Motsumoto a long time ago," I muttered. "It's just a natural balance of life."
Ichigo slumped by the kitchen counter, propped up by his elbows. "Except it's worse in this case; the girls and I don't have a mother to look after us, so Dad has been trying to make up for that missing piece for years," he replied, his eyes cast down to his feet.
A missing piece?
I closed my eyes in deep thought, the phrase echoing through my ears.
That missing piece… was there some way to fill up that hollow place? Could I help, after he helped me to conquer my own fears and hurts?
"Neh, Ichigo."
His eyes looked up from the floor to me, muttering, "Hm?"
"Did you or your Dad get the girls presents?"
He sighed, craning his neck to look up to the ceiling. "Well, I haven't yet, but I don't know if Dad has. Why?"
I shook my head. "Nothing, just curious. What're you gonna get them?"
Ichigo smiled, nodding to a magazine flipped open on the couch. "I'm ordering Karin a pair of boxing gloves and Yuzu some designs for her sewing kit… don't tell me I don't know my sisters."
"So…" I mumbled, crossing my arms, "Karin is the athletic type and Yuzu the epitome of a girl?"
"Yep."
"…I need to change…"
Ichigo's brow furrowed and his arms tensed. "Eh?! After I just told you half of my family's issues, you want to go change?!"
I silenced him by pressing a finger to his lips. "You'll understand later on."
Honestly, I couldn't tell him I was going to help… If he knew, would he be angry?
His brow unfurrowed and his eyes softened. "Sorry…" he whispered when I pulled back my hand. "I shouldn't have yelled at you; it's just…"
"You've had a bad week… I understand," I interrupted. I hesitated slightly before reaching behind his neck and pulling his face down so as to lightly press my lips to his. "Let me help…"
Strong arms wrapped around me as Ichigo drew me into his chest, his face burying into my shoulder. "God… I missed you…"
"I've missed you too…" I whispered. "Now… let go of me… You're getting my haori wet…"
"Sorry…"
In the downstairs bathroom, I balanced my phone between my shoulder and ear as I slipped off the white haori and black kimono. I grumbled in annoyance as the phone dial tone vibrated in my ear. "Motsumoto, answer the frickin' phone…"
"Oi, taichou! I didn't expect you to call this soon!" came the high pitched sqee of my fukutaichou.
"Why, were you not doing paperwork or something?"
"Well… you could say that…"
My eyes narrowed as I studied myself in the mirror, straightening out the creases of the outfit I had on under the kimono. "Motsumoto… I thought you said you'd take care of things."
"I am, I'm just… having a short break."
Twitch. "Izuru and Shuuhei are there, aren't they?"
There were some mutterings in the back ground as the two other fukutaichous swore under their breaths. Motsumoto chuckled nervously. "Honestly, taichou, I thought you wouldn't know…"
I sighed as I tightened the belt around my waist. "I actually had a reason for calling you, you know."
"Hm? What's that?"
"What do girls like? For presents, I mean."
"Hmm…" came the drone of my fukutaichou's thinking tone. "Well… dolls and makeup… new clothes… nail polish… perfume, things like that. Why?"
"One, those aren't exactly what I need, and two… I'm surprising the Kurosaki girls for Christmas."
"AWW! That's so sweet, taichou! Doing everything to impress your Ichigo…"
"Shut up! No, that's not what I'm doing! I… just need help understanding things like that, that's all…" I muttered.
"Well, knowing Karin… maybe boxing gloves?"
"Ichigo's already getting that for her."
"Damn, I thought I had something… She likes soccer, doesn't she?"
"Yeah," I replied, thinking back to that day I joined Karin's team against the group of older kids.
"Maybe she'd like a new soccer ball. Something with color! Maybe something with red flames, or even dragons on it. She'd like that, neh?"
I smiled at the thought. "She would. What about Yuzu?"
"Taichou, exactly who are you doing this for?"
"…Ichigo's Dad."
"Ooooh…" Motsumoto muttered. "Because he doesn't understand girls?"
I couldn't help but smirk. "Motsumoto, you read my mind."
"That's a good thing, right?"
"No, not really."
"Yuzu…. Hmm… I don't know her as well… maybe… a plushie!"
"That's Kon's job."
"Eww… she likes that perverted little freak as a toy?"
I sighed. "I know, she has strange interests… I know she likes to cook… maybe some cooking ware?"
"Not just any cooking ware, taichou," my fukutaichou stated slowly, "but a formal Japanese tea set, with flowers. Like the set Unohana taichou has."
"Do you know how much that'll frickin' cost me?!"
"You're doing this for Ichigo, so it doesn't matter. Tata!"
Click.
Damn it, Motsumoto, you're costing me a fortune.
Though, maybe she's right… maybe I am doing this for Ichigo, and only using his father's lack of womanly thought as a cover up. I smiled gently as I stuffed the phone in my back pocket. What would Ichigo think… to know that I cared this much for his well-being?
And that's when I thought this to myself: How long had I been caring?
"Damn, I didn't think you could take any longer changing; who were you on the phone with?" Ichigo asked as I waltzed back into the living room. He was leaning against the couch, wearing faded cream colored jeans, a maroon t-shirt, and an open black sweatshirt rolled up to his elbows
I played stupid. "No one," I lied. "I had to piss, got a problem with that?"
"Whatever…" he sighed, turning his head towards the door. "So are we going, or what?"
"Yeah. But do you think we could stop by Urahara's? I need to pick up my gigai."
Ichigo smiled down to me as he opened the door. "Sure, but I really want to see people's reactions to their merchandise floating around the store."
I narrowed my eyes. "Haha, very funny," I stated as I lightly punched his arm.
He drew back quickly, but I could still feel it. The turmoil of his soul. Something was wrong… Even though the contact between his arm and my knuckles was weak, I felt as if I was about to be thrown back against the wall. Wrong… something was wrong with him… His spirit had rejected me, but I knew Ichigo the shinigami wanted me there. But what of Ichigo the Hollow?
"Toushirou, are you okay?" he asked, bending down to my height when he noticed my wide eyes and the paralyzed state I was in.
"Yeah…" I gasped. "It's just… cold…"
Ichigo looked outside and smiled as snow fell from the cloudy sky. "Yeah, it is," he replied, zipping up his sweatshirt and rolling down the sleeves. "You must be insane, walking out there without only jeans and a t-shirt."
I looked down to my clothes and shrugged. "So? I like the cold."
"But you said you were freezing."
"I didn't say that. I just said it was cold," I replied.
He rolled his eyes playfully and walked out. "Have it your way."
