Ichigo has epiphany. What's going to be his conclusion? Are things happening too quick or too slow? I'm not very good with long stories, you see… I rarely write more than 2,3 chapters for one story so it's kinda hard to know if I'm moving on at right pace. Will be glad to know what you guys think.

I say this every chapter, but thanks again to everyone who reviewed and to those who added this story to alert/favourite list. They are what keep me going with this story; how I'm managing to actually continue is surprising myself as well since I had never been able to finish any story longer than three chapters. And the chapters actually get longer and longer as it goes, I'm continually breaking my most-words-for-a-chapter record nowadays.

Please continue to read and review, they really are writer's bread and butter, or should I say, rice.

Enjoy!

Empathy by HeukYa Ch.6

Ichigo was sitting on the sofa alone in the living room which was lit only by the moonlight. Toshiro had gone to sleep some time ago but Ichigo couldn't sleep. In fact, he couldn't even stay in thesame room with Toshiro at the moment. He was confused; the sudden realisation had hit him hard. He had been so caught up with it that he even forgot to give his own present to Toshiro.

'……………Since when……………?'

Was it when he saw Toshiro sleeping for the first time?

When he saw Toshiro smiling at dinner?

When they shared that moment in snow?

However hard he thought, he couldn't remember. He couldn't remember how, when or why it began. It wasn't pity for the boy or just simple attraction. He wanted to be the one who madehim happy, be the only one that could relax the prickly captain, be the one who stood next to him in battles, and be the one who cocooned the small body and protected the peaceful slumber at nights. That much, he knew.

It was true that he had been getting intrigued by the young tendo more and more but he never realised how much it had escalated. He stared into the darkness, trying to clear his head.

Hitsugaya Toshiro was a shinigami, a captain of Gotei 13, no less. Kurosaki Ichigo, himself, was a human however much power he held. And Toshiro was staying at his place only until he recovered. After that, he would have to return to Soul Society, to his duties as a captain. Ichigo closed his eyes and sighed. And they were guys. Ichigo had never really given much thought about it, it was his opinion that everyone should live how they want to live, but Toshiro was an exemplary captain who had certain images and authority to uphold.

'…….Kaa-san… What should I do…?'

He had never felt like this before. He cared and loved his family and friends but this was different. Could it be called possessiveness? He couldn't tell. Right now, he just longed to see that serene face of the white-haired boy while he could. As he thought of Toshiro's tranquil face, Ichigo suddenly opened his eyes.

Had the empathic captain picked up on anything yet? He had said nothing so far although he seemed to have noticed the confusion in Ichigo tonight. Ichigo tried to push the thoughts away while Toshiro was around in case it would make him ill again but it hadn't been easy with those white eyes staring at him. In the end, complaining that Ichigo had spent too much time out shopping, Toshiro had retired to the bedroom early, leaving Ichigo out here alone.

Even if the boy was not there, Ichigo could clearly see Toshiro sitting next to him in his mind, scoffing and glaring as he read through cards from various people. He ran a hand through his messy orange hair and closed his eyes.

'………..Hitsugaya Toshiro… huh………'

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-IchiHitsu-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Hitsugaya slowly opened his eyes and his brows furrowed in the usual expression of irritation although he didn't move from the bed. The bright white eyes showed no signs of having been asleep. He kept his eyes on where the door was even if he couldn't really see it in the total darkness. He closed his eyes again and groaned. There was something going on with the substitute shinigami and it was preventing him from falling asleep, messing with his mind.

In the middle of the'birthday celebration', Kurosaki had abruptly gone quiet and seemed to have lost all interest in his presents. Shock, panic and confusion ran through Hitsugaya but when he turned to look at Kurosaki, something told him he should not ask anything about whatever he had sensed from the orange-haired boy. It did feel like Kurosaki was trying to control or at least hide the emotion but he was failing pretty miserably, not unlike the control over his crazy reiatsu. The fluctuation in the intensity of Kurosaki's feelings actually made things worse so Hitsugaya decided to give the substitute shinigami some time alone. After all, having someone (especially an empath) around all the time would have been hard for Ichigo who was usually straightforward to level of stupidity and ruthless tactlessness.

When Kurosaki opened the door abit later, he feigned beingasleep. His host had simply closed the door without coming in and since then, had not returned yet. Hitsugaya was feeling slightly nauseous and a little dizzy but it wasn't something he couldn't cope with. He just bit down his lips and tried to think what could have got Kurosaki's emotion to go haywire like this; despite his outer brashness, it turned out that Kurosaki Ichigo was actually a hard-to-shake person inside. In his own words, it was 'as long as I don't have Renji or Ishda to bite my head off and my dad trying to break my neck first thing in the morning'.

It hadnow been well over a month since he came to the human world and it was that long that Kurosaki hadn't seen his friends or his family because of him. But from what he had overheard when Kurosaki was on the phone, there were no problems with any of them.

Was it something he had done? But he couldn't really think of anything either. They had only been out for Christmas shopping today and then the birthday party. Hitsugaya scowled and got out of the bed. It had been three hours now and was getting late. He decided he had given enough brooding time to his host and he was going to find out what was happening. He didn't usually interfere with other's business but he wasn't usually empathic either. And probably it was the least he could do as payment for the surprise birthday celebration. It had been nice, after all, to hear from those in Soul Society again in such manner.

He opened the door silently to find the living room shrouded in darkness but he could make out Kurosaki on the sofa from the dim moonlight seeping in through the window. Hitsugaya leaned against the door frame and called him out quietly.

"Kurosaki."

Ichigo startled out of his thoughts when alow voice he had now gotten familiar with echoed in the silent room. He turned his head around to find the subject of his confusion standing at the doorway of the bedroom, dressed in white yukata that matched the spiky mane. The eerily white eyes were looking at him directly into his eyes.

"Toshiro, I thought you were asleep."

"That's Hitsugaya-taichou to you."

"…….Yeah. I guess it is."

Hitsugaya's brows furrowed as he sensed sadness from the answer. Kurosaki was now getting him baffled as well. As he watched Ichigo falling into deep thoughts again, he ran his hand through the hair in a slightly irritated way and then went across the living room to stand by the window. Acrescent moon was shining brightly alone in the sky that was too polluted to see any stars. It had been a long time since he had enjoyed the night's cold and silent air on high altitude that he loved so much. He continued to gaze at the moon even as he felt Kurosaki's eyes falling on him.

Ichigo watched Toshiro as the captain gazed out to the sky. The faint moonlight fell on the young genius, granting him mysterious air about him, and the gravity-defying white hair glowing like snow reflecting sunshine. It was different from the time in thesnow but this was another picture he would never forget. He didn't even realise he had smile on his face; a smile that showed exasperation, acceptance and sadness. A smile that came with finally finding the answer.

It was clear to him now. He had somehow fallen to the frosty bite of the master of Hyourinmaru. There was no denying in it. It didn't matter why, when, or how it began because no matter what, the answer was always same.

Hitsugaya took his eyes off the moon and turned to face Kurosaki when he felt resolution that could only be described as odd coming from him. Suddenly all the confusion and panic were gone, replaced by sadness, happiness, strong will, and more, all mingled with each other. He frowned. What on earth was going on? But before he could ask anything, Kurosaki stood up and walked up to him. Hitsugaya didn't even need the empathic ability to be able to see the determination which was obvious in those soft brown eyes.

They stayed silent and looked at each other. The perplexity on Hitsugaya's side was clearly visible on that face which usually wore ascowl although his demeanour was clearly saying he would not actively reach out to comfort Ichigo in any way. Ichigo looked down at him. Although it wasn't the tranquil face that soothed his mind, seeing Toshiro in front of him helped him to realise something important and make up his mind.

Since when did he think so hard about these kind of things? Worrying about possibilities and unknown future was not how he lived his life. He lived following his heart, he walked forward with belief in his decision and dealt with any problems that stood in the way.

His wish was to make Toshiro happy and to protect him. For now, it was okay if he didn't receive anything in return. It was okay if Toshiro didn't know how he felt. He actually hoped Toshiro wouldn't pick it up with his empathy, he didn't want things to get awkward between them or make Toshiro feel pressured. For now, he would do what he could. He would take care of the little boy and as to what would happen when he hadrecovered, well, he would think of that when the time came.

Hitsugaya was now seriously confused. Sadness disappeared as quickly as it had come and there was now only the strong determination, both from his empathy and Kurosaki's hazelnut eyes which were fixed on him. He was pondering what his next move should be when Kurosaki first cut in.

"You were never asleep, were you?"

"…………….."

Toshiro simply crossed his arms across the chest and looked out to the moon again. Ichigo grinned sheepishly at Toshiro's silence, a hand rubbing back of his neck.

"I'm sorry."

"Doesn't matter."

"It's late now. We better go to sleep."

Hitsugaya wondered whether he should say something or not but at the end, he decided against it. His empathy was strongly telling him there was nothing more to whatever it had been and Kurosaki had made a decision that would not be faltered by anything apart from Kurosaki's own conviction.

And something else. Something more gentle, soft, subtle and warm. Something Hitsugaya couldn't quite understand was tenderly flowing through him like a tranquil stream of crystal clear water.

Hitsugaya gave up on interpreting the empathic feed, it perplexed him to no end and now that the emotional waves died out, he could feel the drowsiness creeping in. He took the last look at the moon then returned to the bedroom, followed by Kurosaki. No words were spoken, Hitsugaya simply got back into the bed and Kurosaki pulled out the spare futon and spread it on the floor. Then just as silence settled in, Ichigo broke it in a hushed voice.

"Arigato."

"…………There's nothing to say thank you for."

Ichigo smiled and lied down. From where he was, he couldn't see the boy on his bed at all but he could clearly imagine the face in his head. He closed his eyes and waited for the sleep to take him. He will have to be careful with his feelings but he would keep the promise he had made on his soul.

He had made his decision and he would live up to the true meaning of his name.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-IchiHitsu-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

The next morning, neither of them acted any different nor did they mention anything about last night. It wasn't totally unexpected considering Toshiro's personality, but Ichigo had still been alittle worried and couldn't help feeling relieved. Realising his own feeling was one thing but he wasn't ready for the other one to know yet. Only problem was, well, the other one was empathic.

Hitsugaya did have to think for afew moments when he woke up. Kurosaki had already woken up and he could hear him moving around outside the room. When he tried to feel if there were any emotions out of place like last night, he felt nothing. The only thing worth noticing was a slight tension and something very subtle. He couldn't quite grasp what it was but it was like agentle calming wave in the background and warmed his heart.

'Maybe that idiot had some kind of sudden epiphany last night.'

Scratching his head, Hitsugaya got out of the bed. The clock on the desk told him it was already 11am, although it wasn't that late considering the time they went to sleep last night. He lightly shook his head, his hand running through the white mane, then opened the bedroom door. Simple brunch was already laid out on the table and Kurosaki was watching some random comedy show on TV. He turned around when he heard Toshiro coming out.

They looked at each other only for afew seconds then Ichigo smiled.

"Yo. Ohayo."

Hitsugaya snorted.

"Ah. Ohayo."

Then another day began.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-IchiHitsu-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Omake

Ichigo: Oi, do you even realise what my name means?

HeukYa: Strawberry!

Ichigo: …….Tensa Zagetsu.

HeukYa: EEEKK!! I'm kidding! Protect the one until the end! ………Is it not…?

Toshiro: Guess you are not a complete idiot.

HeukYa: ………….You keep insulting me, Shiro, and see what happens…………. (evil smile with black background)

Ichigo: So? I finally had epiphany, is it? When do I get to ki…….

HeukYa: Shh! Patience is virtue Longer you wait, sweeter it shall be, strawberry! Hey, why not have someone else come in next chapter? Things should get moving now, shouldn't it…… kekeke…

Ichigo: ……Toshiro, we better get away from her.