Disclaimer: I don't own the beauty that is Toshiro (or Bleach).

I'm sorry I made Toshiro get hurt! I just always picture him as a klutz, and you have to admit that he is drop dead adorable when ever you picture him in this story. I want you all to know that Toshiro is always going to be fine. I would never permanently hurt him, but I will make everyone around him worry and fawn over him. Now, on to the story that tells the cuteness that is Toshiro Hitsugaya!


Toshiro's Outer Child

Chapter 9: Fevers and Visitors

Renji was sitting up now with a small boy in his lap. Renji looked down worriedly at Toshiro, his soft cheeks pink with fever. Renji placed his strong hand against Toshiro's forehead, and didn't have to leave it long to realize that he had a fever. Renji's brow was folded with worry, and he started to get a look of fear in his eyes. He didn't know what to do, but he did know who did.

Renji stood up with Toshiro held securely to his chest. Toshiro just continued to breathe with Renji's heartbeat, which Renji had to keep calm for Toshiro's sake. Renji swiftly moved to Ukitake's office, because this is where everyone had gone. Renji stepped quickly, wanting to get help as soon as possible.

Renji opened the door to Ukitake's office, and four pairs of eyes fell upon him. Ichigo was about to make a smart remark about Renji being nervous with Toshiro, but he saw the small boy in Renji's arms and the look of slight fear in Renji's eyes. Something was wrong and Ichigo had a feeling it had to do with Toshiro. "What's wrong?" Ukitake asked realizing that Renji was a little panicked. Renji looked down at Toshiro and whispered four words that none of them wanted to hear.

"Toshiro has a fever," Renji whispered in a voice just loud enough for them all to hear. Rangiku and Rukia shot up and went over to Toshiro. He didn't look like he was in any pain, but his cheeks were growing red with a fever. Rangiku put her gentle hand on Toshiro's right cheek and noticed it was warm. She turned to Ichigo with a desperate look. Ichigo stood up and walked over to Renji, the girls stepping out of the way.

Ichigo took Toshiro from Renji and held him to his chest. Ichigo took his hand and put it on Toshiro's forehead with as much gentleness as he had. Ichigo made a sigh of relief; it was only a small fever. But, the fever just started otherwise Unohana would have been able to treat it while they were at the forth division building.

Ichigo turned to Ukitake and asked," Do you have any rags we can use for Toshiro? We can get them wet and put it on Toshiro's forehead, that will bring down his fever." Ukitake perked up and ran to the bathroom. Ichigo never thought he would see a sick person run that fast. He looked down to Toshiro's sleeping face and smiled. Toshiro looked so calm, so peaceful, and so adorable. Ichigo was glad he wasn't in any pain anymore.

Ichigo was slightly blinded when Rukia took a quick picture of Toshiro. Rukia giggled as she looked at the picture of Toshiro sleeping soundly and Ichigo smiling at him. Ichigo blushed and yelled," Rukia! At least warn me next time!" Rukia huffed and looked annoyed.

"Well, if I told you I was going to take a picture you would have scowled instead of looking at Toshiro like a big brother!" Rukia yelled in one breathe. Ichigo blinked and was about to shout back when Rangiku grabbed on to Rukia and Renji put his hand on Ichigo's shoulder. The looks in their eyes were murderous.

Ichigo and Rukia sweat-dropped as Rangiku and Renji seemed to tower over them. Rangiku and Renji began to scold the two teens, causing Rukia and Ichigo to blush in discomfort and embarrassment. "Would you two keep it down," Rukia and Rangiku hissed in sync," Toshiro needs to sleep so his fever will go down." Ichigo and Rukia nodded, completely terrified of two angry soul reapers.

Toshiro squirmed in his sleep, drawing all of the attention onto him. Everyone started to smile as they looked at Toshiro, watching the unusually small boy sleep. He squirmed in Ichigo's arms and his eyes started to open. Everyone looked disappointed that Toshiro didn't sleep very long.

Ukitake came running into the room with about twenty rags and a bucket full of ice cold water. Ichigo and the others were trying to hold in laughter when Ukitake asked," Ichigo, did I get enough rags for Toshiro?" Ichigo nodded his head, unable to speak. Ukitake noticed that Toshiro was sleepily looking at him. Ukitake smiled at the boy, but Toshiro just blinked his eyes slowly.

Toshiro weakly tugged on Ichigo's kimono and in the most adorable voice he had," Ichi, I wanna take a nappy." Everyone awed at this, even Renji and Ichigo. The fact that Toshiro said "nappy" was the most adorable part. Ichigo turned to Rukia and was relived to see her taping Toshiro. Rukia gave Ichigo a geeky thumbs up that caused Ichigo to smile and roll his eyes playfully.

"Ichi," Toshiro started to whine," nappy time, 'm tired." Toshiro was rubbing his eyes and made a high pitched yawn. Ichigo smiled and they all headed to Toshiro's futon. That's when they noticed what a mess their beds were. The futons were all over the place, along with the blankets.

Ichigo gently placed Toshiro on his futon and tucked him in. Toshiro looked so tired, so vulnerable, and so innocent it almost hurt. Ukitake placed a cold, wet rag on Toshiro's forehead. Toshiro sighed in pleasure and closed his eyes. There was a small smile on his face as his breathing started to go in a rhythmic pattern.

Ichigo stayed by Toshiro's side and watched the small boy sleep. Ichigo couldn't help but allow a small smile to creep onto his lips. Rukia placed the video camera right next to Ichigo, causing the teen to scowl and glare at Rukia. Rukia giggled," Who knew you could be so caring Ichigo?" Ichigo scowled more and turned away from Rukia, trying to hide the blush on his cheeks.

Ukitake came skipping into the room as he pronounced," I sent a Hell Butterfly to Captain Unohana telling her about Toshiro." Rangiku smiled at the man, he was so kind.

"Nice thinking, Ukitake," Rangiku congratulated the, older, white-haired captain. Ukitake flashed a smile and went to sit next to Toshiro, the opposite side of Ichigo. Renji got up and stretched. He realized that he hadn't been out in a while.

"Hey guys," Renji asked," do you think it would be okay if I go out for a bit?" Rangiku perked up and asked if she could go out to, she could use a drink.

"I guess it would be fine," Ukitake smiled at the two tall soul reapers. "Rukia, Ichigo, would you like to go out too?" Ukitake asked politely. Ichigo smiled and shook his head. He had to be here incase something happened. Rukia also declined, stating she wanted to video tape Toshiro some more.

"Okay then, bye guys," Renji said walking out the door. He gave Toshiro one last look and smiled, just like a big brother.

"Bye-bye," Rangiku whispered, not wanting to wake Toshiro," Bye-bye Toshiro, sweet dreams." Renji snickered at Rangiku as they headed out. Rangiku hopped to Renji's side and they went to find their drinking buddies.

Rangiku happily ran to the eleventh division, wanting to see her friends soon. Renji called her to slow down, but she giggled and ran faster. Renji noticed her game and ran to her side with ease. They kept running until they reached the doors of the eleventh division. They walked in, asking a few soul reapers if they had seen Ikkaku and Yumichika. Their answer was obvious: training room. The two clueless soul reapers quickly went to the training room, growing with more excitement.

"HI!" Rangiku busted into the room. Seeing Rangiku distracted Ikkaku, and he accidentally hit the person he was up against with full force. The poor victim was sent through about three walls. A moan was heard, but no one really cared. A forth division member, who had to be sure no one died, went to o treat him. Ikkaku just chuckled.

"Hey, Rangiku, Renji," Yumichika called from his spot on the wall he was leaning on. Ikkaku just muttered a "hey." Suddenly Ikkaku and Yumichika were very confused. Weren't Rangiku and Renji supposed to be taking care of Toshiro? Certainly Toshiro wouldn't willingly let them go and leave him alone; he didn't even like it when they left.

"Why are you guys here," Ikkaku asked," Aren't you guys supposed to be playing with Toshiro?" Rangiku and Renji looked solemnly at the ground, their good mood suddenly crushed. Rangiku looked at Ikkaku and Yumichika with a sad smile. Ikkaku and Yumichika knew something happened to Toshiro, but they didn't know what.

"Toshiro's running a slight fever, and is sleeping it off at the moment," Rangiku stated sadly. Ikkaku and Yumichika looked worryingly at the ground. They didn't want him sick, and neither did anyone else. Yumichika suddenly had a couple of more questions for their two visitors.

"Wait, didn't Toshiro just go to the hospital with a burn?" Yumichika asked. He recalled the screams he had heard when they ran by. It sent shivers down his spine still. He had heard from a Hell Butterfly that Toshiro had gotten burned. Somehow Hisagi had found out and told him and Ikkaku.

"Yes, but he didn't have a fever at the time though. He got the fever once we got back to Ukitake's house," Rangiku stated almost matter-of-factly, but there was too much sadness in her voice.

"If you don't mind, can you tell us how Toshiro got the burn?" Yumichika asked. He didn't want to make Rangiku relive something she didn't want to.

"Yeah, but not until we go out," Rangiku stated with a grin. Rangiku had completely removed the sadness in that room with one clean swipe. Everyone grinned and they quickly left for the bar.

On the way there they passed Hisagi and dragged him along. Rangiku and Renji were planning on having a lot of fun.

"So," Hisagi asked," how did Lil' Shiro get that burn? I heard it was pretty bad." Hisagi set the drinks in front of his friends, waiting for the story. Rangiku looked like she was going to cry if she told the story, so Renji decided to tell it.

"Toshiro was going to get the pan we cooked breakfast on off the stove, but Ichigo had forgotten to turn the stove off. Toshiro thought it was off, so he wasn't all that careful. His hand and a little bit of his arm touched the stove. Toshiro jumped back and fell off the chair; he hit his head on the floor. Ichigo said we had to go to the forth division, and at first we didn't understand. Ichigo told us that kids can get scars or fevers from a burn like the one Toshiro got, and we went to the forth division," Renji paused hear, he didn't want to explain it completely, but he went on. "We got to the forth division and it was almost empty. Captain Unohana led us to her office and went to go get supplies for Toshiro. We tried to calm him down, but nothing was working. Toshiro just kept on screaming. When Captain Unohana got back she got Ichigo to give Toshiro's arm to her. The burn looked horrible. I won't go into detail, but it was on his fingers, palm, and a bit of his arm. She had to clean it so we had to hold down Toshiro. Once she started, I thought I was going to get sick. I have never heard a captain beg like that before. It was hell. Anyway, we got the burn cleaned and bandaged and Captain Unohana started to calm Toshiro down. She asked Toshiro if he forgave her and he said yes. He actually called her "mommy." We got Toshiro home and tucked him in bed, and next time we checked he had a fever," Renji finished the last sentence quickly, as if he was hiding something.

Rangiku had tears in her eyes, but she looked at Renji with a smile. "You're forgetting to mention that you had to lay down with Toshiro because you tucked him in bed and he wouldn't let go of you. You also forgot to mention that you were the one to find his fever first. You were so worried about him weren't you Ren-Ren," Rangiku teased Renji with Toshiro's nickname for him. Renji blushed as the others just laughed. Renji was going to kill Rangiku later, but Toshiro probably wouldn't let him.

"When did people start calling you Ren-Ren?" Ikkaku asked as he started to laugh. Renji blushed and turned away.

"Shut up!" Renji yelled embarrassed. The blush on his cheeks growing.

"It's a nickname Toshiro gave him," Rangiku chirped, enjoying teasing the red-head. Renji's face was now the same color as his hair as he looked down trying to hide his face.

"Aw, I bet you're a total push-over when it comes to that little captain," Yumichika cooed as he laughed. Renji realized he hadn't had anything to drink so he picked up his sake bowl and looked at it. He thought about it, and it turned out that he didn't want to drink. He wanted to stay sober so he could play with Toshiro when he got better. Renji sat his bowl down and stood up.

"We're you going Renji," Hisagi called to Renji. After Renji sat down his bowl everyone realized that they hadn't taken a drink either, that was odd. Renji turned to the group and he suddenly seemed so mature.

"I don't' want to drink, and I'm going back to take care of Toshiro. If I show up there drunk Toshiro might worry, and that would be bad for his health," Renji stated matter-of-factly with a serious look on his face. Everyone looked at their drinks and decided Renji was right. They stood up and followed Renji to Ukitake's house. Renji smiled, very proud of his still sober friends.

Renji, Hisagi, Rangiku, Ikkaku, and Yumichika walked into Ukitake's house. Renji and Rangiku both called, "We're back!" Rukia poked her head into the entrance way and put her figure to her lips. Everyone looked confused and Rukia motioned for them to follow her and they did, very curiously. They walked into the living room with all the futons laid out and Toshiro curled up in one of them. Ichigo and Ukitake waved at the visitors from either side of Toshiro's futon. The others walked up to Toshiro's futon and couldn't help but aw at what they saw.

Toshiro's cheeks were barely pink with a very low fever and his face was very smooth without any worry or care. His thumb was in his mouth and he was lightly sucking on it. Toshiro was also hugging his Chappy stuffed toy. Toshiro was on his side, and he actually looked like he was comfortable.

Rangiku went to the head of Toshiro's bed and planted herself there. She giggled at the sweet sight of her captain. She brushed a strand of hair out of his face and kissed his cheek lightly. Toshiro smiled at this and snuggled up against Chappy. Rangiku used all of the will power she had not to squeal.

They all sat around Toshiro and whispered for a while, until Toshiro started to squirm. Everyone got quiet and started to observe the small boy. Toshiro rolled on his stomach and stretched his arms out with a yawn. He got up rubbing his eyes, as the blanket rolled off his back. He weakly held unto his Chappy and looked around the room. His eyes fell upon the three visitors, and he suddenly woke up. His eyes shinned bright blue with delight, and he started to jump up and down on his futon. He flung himself into Hisagi's arms laughing.

Toshiro wasn't going to be bored this afternoon at all.


Tada! See the next chapter to see if Toshiro's fever is gone completely. I think it is though. I really want to thank you all for reviewing, and please stop being mad that Toshiro got burned. I mean how many of you haven't accidentally gotten your hand burned on the stove. I have, and it does hurt, but Ichigo and they others will always be there to comfort the cutie we know as Toshiro.

Toshiro: I'm a cutie?

Ikkaku: Are you clueless at this age, kid?

Toshiro: I don't know (twirls around cutely).

Nikki and all the other girls in Bleach: Ahhhh! He's so cute! I love you Lil' Shiro!

Toshiro :( makes a heart with his hands and puts it on his chest) I love you too.

Girls: (faint from cuteness)

Toshiro: Are they okay?

Ichigo: Who knows?

Everyone who is still conscious: Bye ya'll, keep reading, please!