Chapter 11: Playtime and Owie

There standing in the front door was a tattooed man with red hair. He looked from one person to another until his eyes finally rested on Ichigo. When they did, he frowned.

"What the Hell is he doing here?"

"I can be anywhere I want, Renji!"

"I wasn't asking you!"

Kisuke greeted him with a casual wave. "Hey, how's it goin', moocher?"

Renji cringed. "Don't call me that! I get enough of that from those two kids!"

"Ooh! Somebody's in a bad mood."

"Ren-chan!"

He jumped and spun around. A ball of white fluff was flying straight at him and tackled him in the gut. "Ack!"

Hitsugaya hugged Renji around the middle and purred. "Ren-chan!"

Renji tried to desperately pry the little captain off his body. "Rangiku, did you give him a swig of your sake or something? I think he's a little tipsy."

"He's not drunk," Rukia explained.

"Then what the HELL is WRONG with him?" Renji grunted as he focused all his energy into prying Hitsugaya off his torso.

"He thinks he's a little kid."

Renji pushed Hitsugaya away and panted. "Duh! Tell me something I don't know. He's like the youngest captain we got in the Soul Society."

"No, no, no. He thinks he's a really little kid."

Renji gave them all a quizzical look. "I don't follow. What does that mean?"

"It means that he got hit in the head and now thinks he's a little kid. A toddler, actually."

Renji snickered. "Seriously?"

"Why does everyone do that?!" Rukia growled. "Why does everyone think that's funny?"

"Because it is!" Ikkaku, Yumichika, and Ichigo said at once.

Renji got down on his knees and grinned at Hitsugaya. Hitsugaya handed his leftover lollipop to Rangiku and hurried over to Renji, believing it to be playtime. Renji laughed and shook his head. "Oh, man! This is too good to be true!"

"Yup," Kisuke said from his seat near the opposite wall. "He seems to be able to recognize everyone he already knows, but believes that he's a young toddler. Go figure."

"Oh, this is so awesome!" Renji was going to have fun with this; they could tell. He crouched down on all fours and leapt at Hitsugaya with a small playful growl. The little captain squealed happily and ran for cover. Renji laughed and chased after him. Hitsugaya bolted from his hiding place and climbed onto Renji's back and rode him like a horse. Renji bucked and growled in a playful manner and tried to shake him off. Hitsugaya clung to his shirt for dear life as the ride got even bumpier. He was having the time of his life.

Rukia gave an impressed smile. "Wow, Renji. I had no idea you were so good with kids."

"Ah, what can I say? They love me!"

"Yeah, right…" Ichigo muttered under his breath. That explains why all these kids disrespect you, calling you 'moocher' and 'freeloader' all the time, and your wonderful disposition. Especially when it comes to being within ten feet of me and picking a fight. Yeah, kids love guys who complain and have a bad attitude.

But it was clear that the only reason why Renji was in such a good mood was because of the fact that Hitsugaya, for once, was acting less than his age… and was actually happy! When was this ever going to happen again? He may as well enjoy it before the opportunity slips away.

Renji bucked and wriggled this way and that, and Hitsugaya giggled and squealed in delight. He was having a blast. Their game went on until Kisuke informed them that it was time to go.

"You guys can't stay here. I have a business to run."

"Then where are..?"

"Oh, they went out for the morning. They're coming back in an hour. Too bad, really. Then Hitsugaya would have a couple playmates, you know." Kisuke crouched down to Hitsugaya, now dancing in circles around Renji. "And this is for you, little guy." He handed him a small box of watermelon flavored lollipops.

Hitsugaya snatched it from his hand and jumped up and down. "Wow! Thanks!" He handed the box to Rangiku for safe keeping and bounced over to Kisuke again. He opened his arms as if to ask for a hug, but when the man bent down on one knee to do so, Hitsugaya snatched the hat off his head and ran away giggling.

The long blond locks fell over the man's face. He flipped them to the side with a flick of his head. "Playful little scamp, ain't he?"

"You're the one who gave him sugar…" Ichigo muttered.

Hitsugaya hid behind Renji's back and place the green striped hat on his head. He giggled as it slid over his eyes. It smelled of cotton, wood and sweat. He danced around the room with the hat on his head. Rukia whipped out the camera and took a few snapshots. This was pure gold! When was he ever going to do this again? Might as well take as many photos as possible.

Hitsugaya returned the hat to its owner a minute later and held onto Rangiku's hand. "Bye-bye!" he waved with his free hand and kept a tight hold on her with the other.

Kisuke waved back. "That little runt is kinda cute…"

~*~*~

"Wee! Higher! Higher!!"

"OK!"

Renji was throwing Hitsugaya up in the air and catching him in his open arms in the living room. For some odd reason, Hitsugaya seemed to really like Renji. And, for another odd reason, seeing Hitsugaya like this seemed to bring out the best in Renji. No one had ever seen him so happy and playful before.

"Hey, how come he likes you best?" Ichigo had to ask.

"I don't know. Maybe I'm just good with kids. Ever think of that?"

"You never were before."

"There's a first time for everything."

"Except that. Come on, do you have candy stuck to you or something?"

Hitsugaya giggled and hugged Renji around the neck.

Renji held him and shrugged. "Well… he gets along well with Rukia, right? Maybe he senses that we've known each other for a long time and, I don't know. Maybe he likes me because of her or something. I can't explain it."

Rangiku snapped a few more pictures of Hitsugaya hugging Renji with a big smile and agreed. "That could be a possibility. Maybe he's getting a good vibe from him."

"From Renji? Come on! The kid's afraid of Ikkaku but not Renji? What gives?"

Hitsugaya traced the lines of Renji's tattoos with his finger curiously.

"Or maybe he just likes you for your body art..?"

Renji helped Hitsugaya onto his shoulders and pranced around the room. "You holding on?"

"Uh-huh! Faster, faster!" Hitsugaya sat on Renji's shoulders and reached for the ceiling. This horsy-ride was fun! Renji held onto Hitsugaya's ankles and trotted faster around the room. He made a fast turn and Hitsugaya started to fall backward. He yelped and reached for the closest thing to grab onto- Renji's hair. He grabbed a handful of red hair and pulled himself back up.

"OW!"

"Oh! Sorry!" Hitsugaya immediately let go. "Did that hurt?"

Renji had every intention of yelling back 'yeah, of course it did! Why else would I scream like that if it wasn't painful?' But one look at Hitsugaya's sweet, innocent face and big aqua eyes filled with concern and Renji just couldn't bring himself to do it. His stone heart melted. "Nah, not too bad. Just try not to do it again, ok?"

"Ookie-dookie!"

Renji grinned and went back to trotting around the room. Having Hitsugaya like this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and Renji had every intention of milking it for all it was worth. After all, when was something like this ever going to happen again? Renji might as well enjoy it while he could, and if that meant acting like a playful big brother then so be it. But after a while, it was starting to take a toll on his mind and body. Carrying Hitsugaya around like a horse was pretty exhausting work. Plus the little 'bundle of joy' kept kicking him every time he slowed down. Renji was getting tired. Fighting Hollows was one thing, but entertaining children was another thing entirely. It was almost crippling.

He staggered over to a chair. "Ok, Hitsugaya," he said breathlessly. "Let's take a rest."

"No! More ride! More!" He dug his heels deep into Renji's ribs. "Play! Play! Play!"

"Ok, ok… I have an idea. Let's play Give-Renji-a-break-for-once-and-let-him-rest-in-a-chair-for-five-minutes?"

"No! More play! Now! More! More! More!"

"Come on, kid…" He was cute and all, but enough was enough. Renji still wanted to tease him a little more and get a few more incriminating photographs but his body was aching. Hitsugaya rocked back and forth on his shoulders and tugged on his hair, demanding more. This was starting to get on Renji's nerves. Ok, now I'm getting annoyed. If he keeps this up I am going to hurt him! "Hitsugaya, knock it off!"

Hitsugaya refused and kicked harder.

Ichigo, who was leaning against the arm of a nearby chair, smirked at this.

"What the Hell are you smiling at?" Renji barked, noticing this.

"Nothing…" Ichigo said slyly.

"Don't give me that! If you've got something to say then say it! What's so damn funny?"

"Nothing…"

"More!" Hitsugaya pulled and kicked his 'horse' and whined loudly. "More!"

"Come on! Knock it off! You're starting to piss me off!"

"Ride! Ride more! Go! Go! Go!"

"Ragh! Ichigo, you take him!"

"Huh?"

"You heard me! Take him offa me!"

Ichigo grinned devilishly. "Aw, but you guys look like you're having so much fun! I'd hate to ruin it."

"Get him off me! Just take him for five minutes!"

Maybe it was out of pity, but Ichigo got to his feet and walked, very slowly, over to Renji. Renji couldn't wait to be rid of his burden. But before the exchange could be made, Hitsugaya did something that was unexpected. Seeing Ichigo approaching, he decided to leap into his arms. It didn't work out as planned. Renji still had a hold of one of Hitsugaya's ankles when he leapt. His small body lunged forward towards Ichigo, but was held back by Renji's hand. Feeling a yank, Renji instinctively released his grip… just as gravity had taken its effect on Hitsugaya's descending body. The result wasn't pretty. He fell from Renji's shoulders and landed face-first on the carpet with a loud thud.

Everyone in the room gasped. Ichigo and the girls knew what was going to happen next.

Sure enough, it did. Hitsugaya slowly lifted his head and sat there facing the ground. He stared at the rug in shock for a few moments before it happened. His small nose turned red and his eyes began to fill with tears.

They held their breath.

Hitsugaya's lower lip began to tremble and he started to whine, voice rising in pitch. Then he let it all out. He threw back his head and screamed.

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!"

Everyone threw their hands over their ears and cringed at the high-pitched wails.

"Hitsugaya! It's ok! Calm down!"

He wouldn't listen. He just screamed louder.

"What's wrong with him?!" Ikkaku shouted over the screams.

"He's hurt!" Rukia shouted back. "When he fell off of Renji he must've hurt himself!"

"Impossible! I've seen him get hit with much more than that without so much as a little scratch! He couldn't be hurt that bad!"

"Well, he thinks he is."

"What?!"

"I said he thinks he is!"

"Think about it," Yumichika shouted over Hitsugaya's cries. "At a toddler's age, they always make a big deal out of everything! If it looks painful, that means it is!"

"But I've never seen him cry before! Especially if he's hurt! He's tougher than that!"

"Not as a toddler he's not!"

Rangiku rushed over and scooped Hitsugaya up in her arms. She rubbed his back in an attempt to calm him. "Shh! Shh! It's ok! You're alright! Please, calm yourself!"

He wouldn't listen. He continued to cry and scream at the top of his lungs. No one knew that his voice could ever reach such a pitch. It was loud, long and shrill. She bounced him and paced the room, but nothing seemed to be working. It had worked before… What happened?

He screamed in her ear and wailed loudly, showing no signs of stopping.

"Someone do something!" Ikkaku shouted. "I'm about ready to rip my own head off!"

"I'm with you!" Renji agreed. "That kid's giving me a headache! Someone shut him up!"

But Rangiku was doing her best. He just wouldn't calm down. "Someone get me Flamy!"

"Who?!"

"His toy dragon! He calls it Flamy. Hurry!"

Ichigo knew exactly where it was. He bounded up the stairs, grabbed the toy off his bed and ran back downstairs. "Here! Here it is!"

"He calls that Flamy?" Yumichika observed. "But it's blue. I thought he would name it Icy or something like that. Does he have a red one he named Icy or something?"

No one paid him any attention while Ichigo handed, or rather shoved, the dragon to Hitsugaya. "Here, here! Take it!"

But Hitsugaya turned away and scream even louder. He didn't want it.

It was Rukia's turn next. He tried handing him a lollipop. To everyone's surprise, he knocked it out of her hand and flailed about. Not even candy worked.

He coughed and sobbed uncontrollably, face red and soaked with tears. Yumichika rushed over with a tissue in hand. "Here, use this." Hitsugaya coughed and sobbed again, and again. On the third sob he coughed and cried at the same time, spraying the other Soul Reaper with tears and snot. He jumped back and exclaimed, "Oh, GROSS! Ugh! Oh, oh! And he got some of it in my mouth, too! Ugh!"

Ikkaku snickered.

Rangiku paced the room and tried rocking him again. He carried on like there was no tomorrow, kicking and screaming with no restrictions. He could care less who suffered because of it. They could all go deaf for all he cared.

"Try something else!"

"Like what?!"

"Anything!"

They opened up the floor for ideas. Everyone took turns shouting suggestions.

"Wanna go for a walk?"

"WAAH!"

"Are you hungry? Do you want to eat?"

"WAAAH!"

"Uh, do you want to play?"

"WAAH!"

"Do you want teddy? I can get him down for you. Believe me, it's no trouble…"

"WAAAAHH!"

"What do we do?! He won't shut up!"

Ichigo tried to think on his feet as best he could, but it wasn't easy to concentrate with all the screaming.

Rangiku tried to calm him down with her words, but that, too, did nothing to help. He was really worked up. He screamed and wailed like a banshee, stopping only to hiccup and cough. Then he started right back up again, choking on his sobs.

"I think he may be overtired," Rukia observed.

"How do you figure that?"

"He didn't have a substantial nap today, he was up at like the crack of dawn this morning, and he's probably worn out from all the excitement from today."

Rangiku turned her head toward her captain. "Is that true? Are you tired?"

He just screamed and cried some more, his voice beginning to crack. He was, even if he didn't realize it. But he certainly couldn't sleep if he was worked up. They still had to figure out a way to calm him down.

Finally, Ichigo had an idea. It was just a guess, but at this point he was willing to try just about anything; even if it didn't work. At least they'd know what worked and what didn't.

"Come on, calm down, Hitsugaya! Toshiro! Hitsugaya Toshiro! Aw, come on!" He has to respond to one of these names… "Calm down, Toshiro! Come on, Little Shiro!"

With one last hiccup, he stopped screaming. He looked at the one who called him by that name. "Wh… What did you just c- call me?"

Ichigo blinked. "… Little Shiro…"

He sniffed and coughed, choking back more sobs. "Ma… Momo calls me that…"

They all looked at each other in silence.

Hitsugaya sniffed and cried a little more, though a bit softer and not quite as hysterical. "Momo calls me Little Shiro." He allowed Rukia to wipe away his tears with another tissue.

"Do you miss her?"

He sniffed and nodded. "Uh… Uh-huh. And Nana, too. We all live together."

"Nana?"

"His grandmother, I think," Rangiku answered. She rocked him back and forth rubbing his back. He sniffed and whined again, while Rukia headed upstairs for something else. "Ikkaku, Yumichika, do you two think you could return to the Soul Society once he's calm and inform everyone that he's ok? Just don't tell them about his situation. Oh, and see if you can get in touch with Momo. Perhaps he should visit her."

Yumichika shook his head. "I'm afraid we can't do that. Yes to the first and second, but not the third request. I'm afraid Momo, from what I heard, is either out searching for him herself or still out on her own mission. She was given an assignment two days ago and it was supposed to take a while. I'm sorry."

Rangiku looked away disappointed. "Oh, well… It was a nice thought at least…"

"I wanna see Momo," Hitsugaya whined.

"Ok, you will, just not now."

"No, now!"

"She can't play right now. She's busy."

"I want Momo!"

"Ok, ok… But you don't want her to see you looking like this, do you?" She brushed a stray lock of white hair from his eyes. "Don't you want her to see you as a big strong man? Hmm? Wouldn't that be better?"

He sniffed and rubbed away more tears. "I am a big strong man! I'm super tough!" He puffed out his chest trying to fit the role better.

She chuckled and patted his head. "Yes, yes, I'm sure you are. But even strong, tough men need their sleep. How about we try after your nap, ok?"

He pouted. "I don't need a nap! I'm fine!"

"Oh? Just one little nap?"

"But I'm not… sleepy…" A yawn interrupted him in the middle.

"Got it!"

Everyone turned as Rukia came running back downstairs holding something in her hand. She hurried over to the group, panting.

"Hey, that's Yuzu's!" Ichigo looked at the object in Rukia's hand. It was a small pink heart shaped box with a cherry blossom design covering it. The top had a large moon design in the middle. "What are you doing with my sister's music box?"

"Using it on Hitsusgaya, of course," she turned her back on him and moved closer to the overtired captain. "Since he's being so stubborn, I thought he could use a little help."

Hitsugaya looked at the strange object "What is that?"

"It's a music box. It's going to play a song for you."

Hitsugaya frowned. "Ew! I don't want that! It's too girly!"

"Don't worry… Little Shiro." She almost laughed out loud as the words left her mouth. "It's just a little song to help you go to sleep."

"Hmph!" He pulled away from it with a sour expression. "You mean like a lullaby? Ha! They don't work on me! Lullaby's don't effect strong tough men like me!" He lifted his left arm to show off his muscles. The girls giggled at this.

Rukia opened the music box and faced it towards Hitsugaya. Soothing lullaby music filled the room.

Hitsugaya smirked. "Told ya! Told you it wouldn't work! I don't even feel sleep…y…" He blinked, suddenly realizing that his eyes had gained a little weight. He rubbed them and blinked again. They still felt heavy. He never realized it before this moment, but his whole body felt strangely relaxed and he himself was feeling much calmer. He let out a yawn and turned back to the music box. He watched the dancing ornaments spin around in the small wooden box. One was a pink bunny and the other was a little raccoon. They kept spinning and spinning slowly to the music. It was strangely hypnotic. He couldn't stop watching them, but the more he did, the heavier his eyes became. He rested his head on Rangiku's shoulder and allowed all the energy to drain from his body. Feeling warm and comfortable, Hitsugaya finally closed his eyes.

Feeling his whole body go limp in her arms, Rangiku smiled at Rukia and she closed the music box. Now the only sound that could be heard was the sound of Hitsugaya's soft snores.

"He's asleep," she whispered to the others.

"Thank God…"

"Told you he was tired. Good thing I found this in your sister's room, huh?"

"How did you know she had that anyway?"

"I didn't. I just went upstairs to find something that could calm him down. That's when I found this on her dresser."

Rangiku tiptoed upstairs with the slumbering Hitsugaya in her arms. "I'm going to put him to bed," she whispered to the group. "You two go back to the Soul Society and give them that message. Oh! Hang on a few minutes. I have something for you guys, too. Just a second." She disappeared up the stairs.

Ikkaku breathed a sigh of relief and chuckled.

"What?"

"Nothing… I'm just glad it's over. And we found out something new about Hitsugaya."

"What? That he can screech like a banshee?"

"No. That lullabies actually work on him."