A/N: Hey guys! Sorry for not updating for like... a week. Been quite busy lately... but I hope you can enjoy this chapter! ^^ Oh, warning, this chapter has not-so-mild HitsuHina-ness, so beware! ^_^

Chapter 4: Unexpected Advice from... Him?

January 8th; Six days to go -

Ichigo woke up to the sound of a roaring snow blower around 9:00 the next day. He slammed his hand to his head and caused searing pain. Then he remembered his little episode in the shower last night. Damn I forgot all about that, he thought to himself. His forehead was bruised and he gave him an incredible headache. Three advil aren't going to cut it for this...

He got up and opened the shades to see a blinding cover of white snow everywhere. It had snowed more overnight, it seemed. He saw Isshin in the front yard with his John Deere snow blower clearing the drive way, side walks, and the places where the usual visitors would park. It looked like he was having way to much fun with it as well. He walked over to his closet and opened the door to see if Rukia was still asleep. He found her curled up into a ball with a pool of drool next to her mouth. That's... pretty disgusting. But at least she gets to sleep later than me...

After he got dressed, he went downstairs to find Yuzu's morning meal cooking. It was blueberry pancakes topped with strawberries and bananas with powdered sugar with a glass of orange juice and a side of bacon, just what he needed to get himself awake. He took his seat at the head of the table and waited patiently for his breakfast.

"You seem awfully eager for breakfast today, Ichigo," Yuzu said happily. She was always happy to see someone who wanted her cooking. He's been in an awfully strange mood lately... I'm glad this'll cheer him up!

Ichigo just sat there quietly staring off into space.

"I-Ichigo, are you all right?" Yuzu questioned.

"U-Uh, yeah I'm fine. What were you saying?" He stuttered as he came back to his senses.

"Oh, it's nothing..." she trailed off. Yuzu had a sad expression on her face as she worried for her older brother. I hope he snaps back to usual soon... "Anyway, breakfast is ready!" She cheered trying to change the subject.

"Great!" He stuffed it down quickly and ran back upstairs quietly, grabbed his wallet, jacket, and was out the door. "Yuzu, if anyone asks where I am just tell 'em that I went out for a little while and that I probably won't be back till later, okay?" He shouted from outside.

"Yeah, sure Ichigo!" And with that he was off.

Man, I hope I'm not going to be late... He'd give me a lot of grief if I was!

-Flashback-

"Hello? Rangiku? This is Ichigo, can I talk to Inoue for a few minutes?" Ichigo asked over the phone.

"Yeaaahhh, shurrree *hic hic* thangggg...." she slurred and trailed off as a sure sign of having way too many bottles of sake.

"Hello, Kurosaki-kun?"

"Hey Inoue. Do you think it would be all right if you, Renji, and I all met up in town square tomorrow? I need your guys' advice on a few things," Ichigo asked of her.

"U-Uh, yeah sure. What time would be best?" She asked

"How does 10:00 sound to you?" He suggested.

"Sounds good, I'll see you there!" And with that she hung up and it was settled. He had already called Renji and talked it over with him, the conversation going as quick as that one.

-End Flashback-

They're probably the best ones to ask... Renji, the best friend and Orihime, the girl-friend, would probably know the perfect present for her... 'cause somehow I don't... Ichigo thought to himself. He didn't want something cheesy like Chappy the Rabbit pajamas like he knew someone was bound to get her. Something special, something meaningful, something she'd remember for a long, long time. But... what? He took a quick glance at his watch which read 9:53 and he was about 15 minutes away from town square. He started running faster and faster. He was on the corner where an ice cream shop and a flower store met and as he ran passed the people on the street and turned the corner, he bumped into someone.

Ooof!! Another bruise, and this time it would be on his shin (he hit shins with the person he bumped into).

"Hey, what's the big idea, Kurosaki?!" He heard a familiar voice scream at him.

"T-Toshiro...? What're you doing here?" Ichigo asked, puzzled.

"That doesn't matter right now! And would you try to be a little more careful next time? You practically knocked Momo into the street!" He said as he helped Momo up. "And it's Hitsugaya-taicho!"

Ichigo got up off the ground and tried helping Momo up as well, but Hitsugaya shot him an evil glare which screamed "She's mine, stay away".

"Shiro-chan, you don't have to be so hard on him. It was an accident after all, right Kurosaki?" She asked in a sweet voice.

"Yeah, I'm really sorry. You're not hurt, are you?" He asked.

"No, but I can see you certainly are. What happened?" She was referring to his bandaged nose and bruised forehead and he didn't feel like explaining either at the moment.

"Um, I'd rather not talk about that right now, to be honest, it's kind of embarrassing... Anyway, what are you doing here in the world of the living, Hinamori?" He tried changing the subject.

"Oh, Shiro-chan was just showing me around a little bit, that's all," Momo said grabbing Hitsugaya's arm with a little tug. She looked at him and blushed. Ever since Aizen was defeated, she had had some more time to relax a little more and was spending more time with Hitsugaya, and what do you know? They weren't just childhood "friends" anymore.

"Not to sound rude or anything," Ichigo began, "but are you two like... a thing now?" Ichigo questioned curiously.

"W-What right to you have to ask something like that? Mind your own business!" He was blushing so hard that with his white hair and red face, it was like Christmas colors.

"Sorry, gosh, I was just asking. Besides, if you walk around like that people are going to get suspicious," Ichigo defended.

"Why you..." Hitsugaya began but was cut off.

"Shiro-chan, you don't have to hide it. I mean, what's the big deal?" Momo said. If she didn't stop him, things may have gotten ugly. Ichigo looked over at Momo with a look on his face saying, "Thanks a bunch, you just saved my ass." She returned with a quick smile that said, "You're quite welcome! After all, it's my job."

"Shiro-chan, do you think we can go over to that ice cream shop for a treat?" Momo asked happily.

"Uh, sure, if you want to," Hitsugaya said with the regular "cool-guy" expression. "See ya, Kurosaki," Hitsugaya said as he walked off with Momo.

Then, Ichigo had another question pop up into his head. "Toshiro! Hey, Toshiro, I have one more question!"

"What is it?" He asked. Momo stopped in front of him and turned around. Hitsugaya signaled that it was all right for her to go on in without him, so she did.

"You heard about Rukia Kuchiki's coming of age ceremony, right?" Ichigo asked.

"Of course I have. All captains and lieutenants are ordered to come, so it's only natural for me to have heard about it," he said in a smart voice.

Man, is he ALWAYS this stuck up? Ichigo asked himself.

"Well, have you ever done something for Momo's birthday?" Ichigo asked. You never know, asking someone with a girlfriend from Soul Society might be better than asking Renji and Orihime.

Hitsugaya scratched his head and thought for a minute. "Well, when we were little I would always make her home-made things like cards... and when we got older, I, well, started buying things for her."-

"Like...?"

"Why do you want to know?" He questioned Ichigo.

"U-Uh, well I'm not really sure what kind of presents Soul Reapers get each other, you know?" Ichigo said trying to keep a good resolve.

"Oh, I see," Hitsugaya said as a wide grin spread across his face. "Is it that you're trying to... Oh, I don't know, impress or flatter Kuchik-san?" He said with a little laugh.

"Of course not, what would give you that idea?!" The situation had just been completely reversed. Now it was Ichigo who was being teased by "Shiro-kun."

"Well, my suggestion would to be to get something that would definitely mean a lot to her... I know that's pretty 'general' and all but... Try something that she likes, and just... take it to the next level."

Momo walked out of the ice cream parlor and yelled, "Shiro-kun, come on, it's almost our turn in line!"

"Right, coming!" He yelled and walked away. "Hope that helped."

"Yeah, it sure did. Thanks a lot, Shiro-chan..." Ichigo was damn lucky he didn't hear that, or that time he definitely would've been a dead man.

A/N: Well... that was a pretty sad attempt at another chapter. It was told entirely from Ichigo's point of view, wasn't it?! (Well, third person, focusing on one person... you get what I mean! And is it just me or does the title suggest that "Him" is Byakuya? O_o Cause that's what it seemed like to me... Anyway, I wanted to get something out for you guys and I planned to make this a lot longer (as in not ending where it did) but if I did then the chapter would be like... a lot longer compared to the rest and I like to keep it a little bit balanced, so... yeah. I always add more detail than I plan to! O_o But I don't think that's necessarily bad. xDD Anyway, review, rate blah blah blah, and thanks so much for reading! ^.^ Next chapter I will TRY to make a lot better!

-RozenPitch, a.k.a. Bree