Understanding II: School Daze
~ Phone Home ~
The smells from the kitchen drifted upstairs as Toshiro and Ichigo heeded the calls from Yuzu that dinner was ready. Karin simply sat at the table, not looking at either one of the males and waited patiently for Yuzu to serve the food. This had to wait though, until Isshin came into the room and sat down himself.
They said their thank yous for the food and began to dig in. Glancing up out of the corner of his eye, Toshiro couldn't help but notice that Karin didn't seem to care what other people thought of her as she shoveled food into her mouth. It wasn't as if she was a messy eater, but she ate rather fast.
Particularly in comparison to the rate that he liked to eat. Truth be told, he couldn't help but notice that he ate slower then even Yuzu did, which was possibly why Karin was now giving him some odd looks. She finally spoke up. "You know, you don't have to be polite and neat when you eat your food Toshiro."
At that, the small taicho found himself suddenly flinching, his face suddenly paling, thinking about what would happen if he did in fact speed up. There was a laugh as the dragon laughed in his ears. "You're afraid of making a mess with your food. You may have been a sloppy eater when you were much younger, but you've learned some control."
"I can't stand getting food on my clothing. It was one thing, I think... when I was living in the Rukongai and my clothes were filthy from running around all day, as was my body from the fact that we didn't bathe everyday, but now it is different."
"Sure it is..." The dragon let out a deep sigh.
"Toshiro..." Isshin suddenly spoke up, catching the small child off guard. "If you don't hurry up and eat, the others won't leave you seconds."
At that, the white haired youth pushed his lips together and his dragon piped up. "You know very well that you need quite a bit of food to keep up your reiatsu levels, even when they're sealed. Do you want Matsumoto to lecture you on that one again? Or how about your former taicho here? He looks like he will give you a lecture later on, if you don't eat enough."
At that, Toshiro dug in himself, his cheeks burning from embarrassment of having to shovel the food into his mouth to catch up. And unfortunately, he had to have bad luck as Ichigo managed to knock over the small taicho's drink, right into his lap. At that, Hitsugaya stopped eating, pulled the bowl of rice away and stared straight down at his clothing.
At that, he set down is bowl, his cheeks flushing a deeper red as he stared wide eyed at the mess. "I won't be finishing dinner. If you don't mind, can I be excused to go take a shower?"
"You... you are a major narcissist." Karin stated, pointing her chop sticks right at Toshiro.
The small taicho opened his mouth to say something, but snapped it shut as his cheeks suddenly flushed red. He simply stood up and began to walk up the stairs, grabbing what he needed to prepare for the shower. He noticed that the curtain had been put back since he had pulled it down the other day.
At that, he pulled of his clothes and got in, letting the hot water pour down his back, while he tried to forget a lot of the things happening to him. "Good grief. I can't seem to do anything right. Spilling food on myself is completely embarrassing. I wouldn't be able to live that down if I was in the company of any of the captains or other big officials. I'd be laughed at and have my abilities questioned."
"It was just in front of your former taicho and his family." Hyorinmaru spoke up, catching Toshiro off guard slightly. "Or is there something else that is bothering you. Think about it carefully."
"She called me a narcissist! How can I be a narcissist when I hate the way I look?" The small shinigami fumed, not knowing how long he had been in the shower.
At that, the dragon let out a sigh of frustration. "You aren't getting what I am saying, little one."
At that, a ringing sound came from the sink area, and the small taicho's head suddenly snapped up. At that, he quickly turned off the water and stepped out, grabbing the phone as he did so, wrapping a towel around his waist. "Hello?"
"Taicho?" The bubbly voice came from the other side, causing him to suddenly jump.
At that, he blinked a couple of times. "Umm... Matsumoto?"
"Who else would this be?" The woman bubbled at him.
"This isn't exactly... the best time." The boy glanced down, his cheeks suddenly turning a bright red.
At that, there came a deep sigh from the female. "Taicho, you just left Soul Society. What could you be doing right now?"
At that, two teal eyes snapped shut, as he hurried to pull his clothes back on. "Actually, its been a week Rangiku-san. There was an odd warp when we went through, so we got sent a week into the past. Can I... umm..."
"Umm... taicho, what are you doing right now?" The busty female suddenly had concern in her voice.
At that, Toshiro suddenly fell into the wall as he tried pulling up his pants. "Ouch... I was taking a shower."
"Ehh... you must look very cute right now. I know if I was there, and considering the loud sound I just heard, I would likely be running in there to make sure you are all right." The woman stated, her voice remaining bubbly.
"Matsumoto!" At that, the small boy hurried to finish putting his clothes on, while she yacked in his ears.
"Oh, don't be such a spoil sport taicho. I've taken care of you when you've been sick and haven't been feeling good. I've got lots of hugs for you when you get back." The woman stated as the boy spluttered into the phone, just as he pulled his shirt on. "Well, when you left it felt like you needed some."
"Matsumoto..." At that, Toshiro glanced out the doorway, looking to see if someone was there to see him. He then slipped out of the door and into Ichigo's room. As he opened up the window to slip outside, he continued speaking. "Look, I have had the most horrible week ever."
"Then you really need a hug. Gosh taicho, I wish I was there." At that, the boy's cheeks flushed up.
"No... well, I won't say anything about your hugs other then you tend to chock me to death and glomp me and embarrass me." Hitsugaya let out a deep sigh. "I'm staying with the substitute shinigami right now."
"Ahh! I saw him before! He seems like a very nice young man. Is he taking care of you?" Rangiku's smile was evident from her tone.
"He's taking care of me, I guess. I'm not liking it if that is what it is called." Toshiro then let out a deep sigh. "I'm stuck in elementary school Matsumoto."
At that, there was a pause on the other side of the phone. "Taicho... did you just say what I think you said?"
"I said that I am stuck in elementary school, rather then going to school with Kurosaki... well, the oldest Kurosaki. Technically, I am going to school with his two sisters." The boy blurted out, his frustrated tone growing.
"So... you are going to elementary school. You are also living with a couple of girls who are physically your age?" The woman's voice sounded curious, not to mention a bit nervous.
"His sister Yuzu is fine, but Karin is driving me nuts. She flushed the toilet while I was in the shower and I pulled the curtain down on me. She saw me naked Matsumoto." The boy continued letting his frustration out.
"Taicho, I was thinking that the reason you are upset right now was because you are having to hang out with people your age, and you aren't being challenged to your intelligence level. But..." Rangiku suddenly paused.
"But what?" The boy muttered, frustrated with the situation.
"I have to wonder if you have a crush on that girl or something."
At that, Toshiro almost dropped his phone to the ground, and he fumbled with it for a few minutes before putting it back to his ear. "Matsumoto! You can't be serious! How could I have a crush on her! She's treated me like a complete freak since I've been here! I had enough of that with the kids where I grew up around!"
"Taicho... I didn't say you definitely had a crush on her, but maybe you want to be friends with this girl in the least?" The woman listened to his silence, then spoke up again. "Did she say something that hurt your feelings? Or did something happen?"
At that, Toshiro let out a deep sigh. "At first, I don't think I did anything except say the right thing at the wrong time."
"It's wrong thing at the right time or the wrong thing at the wrong time." There was a creek, indicating that the woman was leaning back in the chair.
"No, believe me. It was the right thing, at the wrong time." The boy glanced down at his feet as they hung over the edge of the roof.
"I'll take your word for it then." Matsumoto continued to listen patiently.
"Today, I spilled food on myself, and when I went to clean up in the shower instead of finishing dinner, she called me a narcissist." The boy suddenly found the fingers on his free hand tapping on the roof.
"I'm going to say, while you aren't a narcissist, some of your... behavior is obsessive enough that someone might think that. Just be careful about that." Rangiku let out a deep sigh.
"If I eat slow, I won't get seconds, and I'm hungry. If I eat fast, I'll spill more food on myself. I can't stand that... it's... it's..." Toshiro suddenly found his lips tightening up.
"It isn't neat and tidy like your desk in the office. Try a napkin tucked in your collar to prevent a mess." The advice normally would have been sound.
"If I tuck a napkin in my collar, she'll call me a narcissist for that!" The small boy flopped back onto the roof, his hair still soaking wet.
He was about to say something else, when Ichigo popped his head out of the window below. "Toshiro... Yuzu had me bring up a tray of food for yourself. She says if you wish to eat slowly and you don't get seconds from at a meal time, you can feel free to get something from the cupboard or fridge."
At that, Rangiku suddenly laughed on the other side of the phone. "Oh, I heard that taicho. I don't think you have to worry."
"It isn't funny!"