Chapter 7: Tears
Hitsugaya basked in the warmth of the bed, his restful repose disturbed only by the sound of birds chirping outside the window. He felt so comfortable laying there wrapped up in soft warm blankets and surrounded by feather soft pillows. He never wanted to get up. He just wanted to sleep and dream.
CRASH!
"Ichigo, you idiot!"
"Hey, it wasn't my fault!"
"You dropped it!"
"You got in my way!"
"Guys! The baby!"
"He's not a baby! He just thinks he is!"
Hitsugaya poked his head out from under the covers and looked at the door. He could hear people talking. He recognized those voices. His friends. The adults. What were they up to? If they were awake, there must have been something going on. Something interesting.
He had woken up in a good mood. He was feeling happy and frisky. He wanted to see what was going on. He kicked off the covers and leapt out of bed. Wearing a big smile, Hitsugaya made his way happily down the stairs and into the kitchen.
Ichigo and Rukia were grappling over something in their hands by the sink and Rangiku was sitting at the table with her back turned to him. No one saw him come in. That was fine. He wanted to surprise them anyway. He snuck up behind Rangiku and gave her long hair a tug. He ducked behind the chair as she turned.
"Hm." She shrugged it off and went back to watching the two duke it out on the other side of the kitchen.
Since she had dismissed it as nothing, Hitsugaya thought he'd try it again. He poked her in the back and dove under the table. Her body swiveled around in the chair to look over her shoulder. Giggling silently, Hitsugaya grabbed her knee tightly.
"Whaaaow!" she shrieked and jumped out of her seat.
The others turned around. "What is it?"
"Something just grabbed me!"
"Hehehee!" They heard soft giggling coming from under the table. They bent down to have a look. Sure enough, there was Hitsugaya hiding under the table on all fours. "Fooled you!" He giggled. "It's me!"
Rangiku coaxed him out from under the table with a soft smile. "You startled me."
"Sorry." He climbed onto her lap and hugged her.
"Aw, aren't you just the sweetest?!" She rubbed her face against his. "Are you hungry?"
"Uh-huh!"
"Ichigo, get him some food!"
"Why do I have to do it?"
"Because you always make such a fuss whenever I go through your things."
"I cleaned his mess last night all by myself. You feed him." He turned his back on them stubbornly.
"Who wants yummies?" Rukia started to walk over with a candy bar.
Ichigo quickly snatched it out of her hand and slammed it on the counter. "Fine, I'll do it!" Ichigo quickly cooked up some eggs and toast and fed it to Hitsugaya. He happily munched down on the slightly burnt eggs while Ichigo had a talk with the girls. "Look, so far you've done nothing to help him get his memory back or take care of him."
"Oh, really?" Rukia said skeptically. "I think we've done plenty."
"You mean like giving him sugar so he'll destroy my house?!"
"Are you still on about that? Get over it."
Suddenly, they heard a whine from behind. Hitsugaya was cringing and giving them all a scared look. "I don't feel so good."
"What's wrong?" Rangiku sat down next to him.
"I feel bad," he whimpered.
That's when the rest of them felt it, too.
"This spiritual pressure… A Hollow?"
Rukia nodded. "I can feel it, too. We have to go."
"Oh, no!" Ichigo hurried after her. "You are not leaving me here alone with him again!"
"Oh, for God's sake! It's only for a minute!"
"But-!"
"This is a Hollow we're talking about!" Rangiku jumped to her feet. "Let's go, Rukia."
"Right."
"But- but- but-!" Too late. They were already out the door. Ichigo slumped into a chair. "Great..! Why couldn't they have left it to me? They could have stayed behind while I took care of it. They just love torturing me, don't they?"
"Nugh! Nugh! Uh!"
Ichigo turned around. Hitsugaya was currently jumping up and down, stretching his arm as far as it would go, trying to reach something on the far corner of the counter. A single candy bar was within an inch of his reach.
"Whoa, no!" Ichigo jumped up and snatched the candy away from him.
Hitsugaya gave him a sad look and followed after him. "But I want it."
"No, you can't have it."
"But I want it!" he whined.
"But I said 'no', and I mean it."
"Please? Just one? Please gimme…"
"Not after the trouble you caused me yesterday. No way."
Hitsugaya frowned and glared at Ichigo. "I want it!" He made a grab for the candy, but Ichigo held it high over his head where it couldn't be reached. "Gimme it!"
"I said 'no'!"
"Gimme!" He jumped again for it.
Ichigo threw it on top of the fridge where Hitsugaya couldn't reach it. And just to be sure, he also hid it behind a few cereal boxes so it was completely out of sight. "There! Now you can't have it."
Hitsugaya pulled on Ichigo's shirt and screamed in his ear. "I want it! I want it! I want it!"
"I don't care! I don't want a repeat of what you put me through yesterday. Not after what happened when you last ate candy. No way."
That's when Hitsugaya did something he never thought he'd see in a million years. He threw himself on the floor and screamed. "I want it! I want it! I want it! I want it! I want it! I want it!" He was throwing a temper tantrum. Ichigo gave his head a wild shake, convinced that his mind was playing tricks on him. But when he looked back, Hitsugaya was still kicking and screaming, demanding his way.
Growing up with two little sisters, Ichigo was well aware of all the tricks children use to get their way. This was one of them. Kick, scream and beg until you get your way. Well, it wasn't going to work on him. No way. No chance. That's how his sisters got away with everything. That, and his father was a sucker for tears.
Ichigo stood over Hitsugaya's flailing body and got tough. "Look, you're not getting it, and that's final! You can kick and scream as much as you want. You're not gonna get it."
Hitsugaya glared at Ichigo and panted. He wasn't done yet. He still had a few tricks up his sleeve. He wasn't going to give up that easily. Not when there was candy at stake. Hitsugaya then rolled onto his stomach and pounded the kitchen tiles with his fists and kicked the air with his feet. And if that wasn't enough, his demands grew twice as loud as before. "I want it! I want it! I want it! I want it! I want it! I want it! I want it!" He took a deep breath before going on. "I want it! I want it! I want it! I want it! I want it!"
Ichigo covered one ear with his hand and kept the other clenched in a tight fist at his side. This little brat was wearing on his last nerve. But he wasn't giving in. "I don't care! Cry all you want! You're still not gonna get it. You nearly destroyed my house the last time some idiot let you have candy. I'm not going through that again."
This 'adult' wasn't his friend. Forget about the nice laughing man he saw last night. This guy was a big jerk! Hitsugaya's childish mind was convinced of that much. But rather than give up, he started to flail about even more. He kicked, and screamed and pounded the kitchen floor, letting his frustration known without any restraint.
"I want it! I want it! I want it! Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! I want it! NOW!"
Ichigo was fed up. This guy was one big headache. Not only that, but he was also punching the ground with great force. He may have thought he was just a little kid, but he still had the strength of a captain. Ichigo feared that he might put a hole through the floor, or crack the tiles and slice his hand open. He had to make him stop. He moved closer to put a stop to this.
One of his flailing legs swung too far and kicked Ichigo right in the shin.
"OW!" Ichigo leapt back, hopping on one foot, nursing his bruised leg.
Hitsugaya's flails slowed to a stop and he looked up. Did he hurt him? Was that his fault? Did he do something bad? But rather than apologize, a new idea popped into his head. Maybe if he did it again, the other man would give in to his demands. After all, no one liked being in pain, so why let him do it? That seemed like a good idea… At the time.
Ichigo glared at Hitsugaya. "Alright, you little brat…" he hissed. "You're not going to get that candy by being a brat or otherwise. And another thing… apologize for hurting me!"
"No!" he shouted defiantly and aimed a swift kick at Ichigo's other leg. It made contact with a sickening THUNK just below the knee.
"YEOW!" Ichigo fell to the cold unyielding kitchen floor with a thud, holding his leg in pain.
Hitsugaya thought he had outsmarted Ichigo, but he was wrong. Very wrong. He had just unleashed his wrath, was what he did.
Ichigo raised his head giving Hitsugaya the nastiest evil glare he could muster. It sent chills down Hitsugaya's spine. That's when he knew that he was in trouble. Giving a frightened squeak, he turned and bolted. But Ichigo managed to grab the back of his shirt with one hand and pulled him back.
"You little brat!" he hollered. "I don't care what Rukia and Rangiku say about you being cute and needing love! You need discipline!" Following up his lecture, he gave Hitsugaya a good smack in the back of the head.
That oughta teach him!
Hitsugaya was quiet for a moment. But when the pain finally set in, all Hell broke loose. He raised a hand to the bump on his scalp and his eyes started to fill with tears.
Ichigo huffed in anger and sat on the floor next to him. "You can't always scream and cry to get your way. Learn to listen and don't be such a brat. Unlike those two, I know what I'm doing. I can- Hey, wh… what's wrong with you?"
He peered into Hitsugaya's face. His nose was turning red and he could see the sparkling tears forming in his eyes, dangerously close to their spilling point.
"Hey, hey…" he said, keeping his voice low and soft. "Stop that. Come on, it's not that bad. I didn't even hit you that hard." Truth be told, he didn't. He held back for Hitsugaya's sake. But apparently Hitsugaya didn't know that. Ichigo tried to think of some comforting words to tell him to calm him down but all he could come up with was repeating 'come on' over and over again. "C- come on… It's ok. Come on. Come on, don't cry… Come on."
That's when it happened. Hitsugaya threw back his head and wailed. "WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!" It was a very loud, ear-piercing cry that Ichigo didn't think Hitsugaya was capable of. The tears poured forth, showing no signs of stopping. The more Ichigo tried to comfort him, the more Hitsugaya cried, his screams rising in pitch.
He threw his hands over his ears and tried to shout over him. "It's ok! Calm down! Come on, Hitsugaya! Stop it!"
But shouting wasn't helping. If anything, it only made him cry more. To make matters worse, Ichigo then tried to touch Hitsugaya. It was supposed to be a comforting gesture to calm him down, but the only thing it managed to do was scare him off. Everyone knows that when you just hurt a small child, the last thing they want is to have you coming near them again. And Hitsugaya was no different. He took one look at that hand coming towards him and took off. He bolted straight for the front door.
"No, wait! Stop!" Ichigo couldn't react in time. Hitsugaya was out the door and running toward the street.
Halfway down the sidewalk, Hitsugaya ran into something big and soft. This familiar scent… this black kimono… Rangiku. He looked up into her face. She looked back down at his tear-stained face and red cheeks and nose.
"Hitsugaya, what's wrong? What happened?" she asked, sounding deeply concerned.
The answer he gave her came in the form of another loud cry. He latched onto her black kimono and sobbed uncontrollably into her stomach. She bent down and scooped him up into her arms and rubbed his back in a calming way. He buried his face in her shoulder and wailed, letting out all his frusteration and sadness in deep tear-soaked sobs.
Rukia jumped up next to them wearing the same concerned expression. "What happened? Why is he crying?"
"I don't know. I just found him like this. He was running down the street."
They carried him back into the house and paced around the living room trying to get him to calm down. Rangiku bounced him every now and again and stroked his back in a calming way. He was still crying but not as hysterically as before.
Ichigo walked into the room and tried to reason with the crying child. No good. The second he saw his face, he started up all over again. He flailed about and screamed at the sight of him.
"Ichigo, what did you do to him?!" Rukia snapped, grabbing Ichigo by the ear.
"OW! Nothing! Let go of my ear! OW!"
She twisted it this way and that. "You did something! There's no way he'd get like this if nothing happened." She released his ear and hurried over to Rangiku who was in the process of setting him down him an armchair. "Ohh, what happened, baby?" she asked him in a sweet baby tone of voice.
He babbled something incoherent jumbled with hiccups and sobs. Rangiku and Rukia sat on the floor at his feet and didn't take their eyes off him for a second. They handed him tissue after tissue and cooed nonsense words to him, trying to calm him down. It appeared to be working. His sobs and wails had died down to soft whimpers and whines. Rangiku stroked the side of his face murmuring sympathetically, "Aww… better? Huh? Is you betta?"
Ichigo, who was standing off to the side, rolled his eyes. Oh, please… More baby talk? Sheesh! He's never going to get any better if you keep treating him like a baby…
Hitsugaya sniffled and wiped away his tears on the back of his fist. "Sniff… Uh-huh…" he whined.
"Now, tell us what happened? What did that mean ol' Ichigo do to you, widdle sweetheart?"
"'Old'?"
Hitsugaya sniffled again and tried his best to answer amidst his sniffles and occasional sobs. "Well… he- he…sniff! I wanted… I wanted some c- candy… sniff! And he… he… s- sa- said… sniff! N- 'no'!"
"Ohh..? Why?"
"I don- don't know! Then he… he called me a brat and… and punched me in the h- head! Like this!" He demonstrated by hitting himself in topmost back of his head. He sniffled and cried some more.
After 'awwing' sympathetically, the girls rounded on Ichigo. "Why did you do that?!"
Ichigo's head snapped up and frowned. "He was being such a little brat! He wanted the candy after I told him 'no'!"
"So you hit him?!"
"It wasn't even that hard! Look! He doesn't even have a bump!"
"It still doesn't give you the right to beat up little kids!"
"I didn't beat him up!"
His own defense went unheard. The girls were back to showering Hitsugaya with affection. "Oh, poor baby! Poor widdle Hitsugaya!"
Ichigo rested his back against the wall and slid down onto the floor. There was no point in arguing.
The girls did everything in their power to cheer him up. They brought him his blue dragon, tickled him, spoke in baby talk, played with his hair, patted his head, stroked his face and hugged him. Not only that but they also gave him a kiss on the cheek.
"Better?"
Hitsugaya rubbed his cheek with a soft smile. "Sniff… A widdle…" Then he got a mischievous look in his eye. "But this cheek still feels a widdle sad…" He pointed to the opposite cheek closest to Rukia.
She smiled and kissed the lonely cheek. "How's that?"
"Better. It's not so sad anymore."
"Oooh! How cute!"
Ichigo's eye twitched. This was making him sick to his stomach. What were the odds of him faking this whole thing to get kisses? No, Hitsugaya wasn't that crafty. He wouldn't stoop this low to get kisses by acting like a small child. Would he? No, he wouldn't. That wasn't his style.
Then the girls each kissed him at the same time, smooshing his cheeks and giving him 'fish lips'. They giggled and he clapped his hands together. "Yay! These are happy cheeks now!"
"Oh, how cute!"
"Oh, how sweet!"
"Oh, how stupid!" Ichigo tried not to gag as he crawled to the side of the wall, hiding himself from view. This was embarrassing! How could they fall for such a pathetic trick? Playing on their emotions like that… Please! It was making him sick to his stomach.
That's when Rukia went into the kitchen and came back to the living room holding something in her hand. "Here you go!"
Hitsugaya took the candy bar from her hand and quickly unwrapped it.
That he couldn't allow. He jumped to his feet. "Hey! I took that away from him! I said he couldn't have it!"
"Well, I say he can! That's what this whole thing was about. You're being totally unfair to this sweet little angel! If he wants candy and he ate all his breakfast, let him have it!"
"But-!"
"One bit's not gonna kill him!"
Hitsugaya munched down happily on his prize giving Ichigo, what appeared to be, a smug look. He got his way.
Ichigo's face turned red with fury. "Forget it!" He turned and stormed off. "I give up! I just do!" If they want a hyper little brat to take care of, fine! It's their problem now! See if I care! They don't have any idea what they're doing! Being suckered in by a cute face… Tch! He's not that cute, no matter what they say!
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He's a freaking genius! He sure knows how to play them, right? XD
Find out what happens next. I think it's gonna get better ^-^ But what could be better than this? Read and find out!
Please review!
