"Please wait!" He yelled after him before the boy left the office. But he was fast, and soon he disappeared behind the door, Toshiro did not wait, he ran after him. The boy finally stopped feeling two hands hold him by the shoulders. He refused to look back, so Toshiro came in front of him to face him. He kneeled down to look the boy in the face and was surprised to see tears. The boy was crying because of him. This boy needed him, he suddenly realized. That thought was the impulse to do something he should have done the day Toshio was born, he took the boy into his arms and held him tightly showing all the love for this child he never knew he had within him.
"I'm sorry I didn't want to disturb you, I didn't want Ms Hinamori to cry…" Toshio cried. "I don't want Mom to be sad… It's all my fault!" He cried and held onto his father.
Toshiro did the only thing he could, a thing he could never admit even to himself. "It's not your fault, it's all my fault…" He told the boy. "I'm so sorry…"
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Matsumoto was just coming back from one meeting and was heading towards another. She decided to stop by the office to see if her Taicho had managed to do all the paperwork and to get one more bottle of sake from her stash behind one of the bookshelves. She entered the office without knocking and stood there dumb folded. Have I drank so much that I'm seeing double? She asked herself. But then she took a closer look, one was her Taicho as she left him this afternoon, the other was his version like from when he started his work as her superior.
"Am I interrupting anything Taicho?" She asked stupidly.
"As a matter of fact you are just in time to do your share of the paperwork." The older Toshiro replied while the younger Toshiro glared at her with curiosity and some kind gravity.
"My paperwork? I don't know what you mean Taicho! I just came by to take…" She began explaining hastily. Two pairs of eyes looking coldly at her stopped her in mid sentence.
"You forgot the pile of papers you hid behind the curtains." The older Taicho replied.
"Weren't they your papers?" She replied not totally sure what he meant and hoping he didn't find her other special stashes for papers…
"What about those papers under that table father?" The young Taicho pointed out. Father? Matsumoto thought, What the hell is going on! Am I that drunk?! She noticed in horror.
"Yes those papers too, I'm glad you noticed them Toshio." The older Toshiro replied. "So what are you going to do about them Matsumoto?" He asked his lieutenant.
Matsumoto was still in shock, and the sake she drank before was making her thinking go very slowly… He looked at her two Taichos and decided to do her favorite maneuver, she leapt, grabbed her bottle of sake from behind one of the shelves and with several quick moves she was gone…
I think this is the right day to stop drinking sake… She thought sitting in one of the gardens trying to catch her breath. Or maybe it's a day to really start drinking… The world has gone mad…
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Toshiro was watching his son, the boy was smart he had to admit, and he surprised him by proposing his help with the paperwork. He decided it was worth a try, and he was right. The boy learned fast, and by sorting his papers in a new order he made the work go very quickly. He did not want to force him to anything, he still barely knew the child, and was patiently waiting for any symptoms of boredom or tiredness, but Toshio contrary to his expectations was showing a lot of diligence and interest.
Since his breakdown Toshiro did not even try to touch those difficult subject, instead he tried to occupy the mind of the child with something else. He asked about the school and subjects and was surprised to learn that Toshio could give so much information even on very difficult topics like Kido. He asked about his zankaputo and its abilities and was surprised to hear that his zanpakuto thought of itself as the daughter of his Hyorinmaru and Muzumaru.
"What are your plans for tomorrow?" He asked his son.
"I have lesson till three o'clock, then dinner with mom and probably training with Ichiro." The boy replied.
"What would you say that tomorrow I would train with you?" Toshiro asked unsurely.
The boy smiled widely. "I would like that very much father."
