Wish 21
Health Land with Gin!
Note: This chapter involves public bath houses. If you are not comfortable with the subject, please do not read.
Toshiro wasn't paying attention to where they were going, and he didn't really care. That was... until Gin stopped in front of Health Land. The boy's eyes went wide.
'Health Land...? Does he-does he intend-?' Toshiro stumbled in his mind. He felt Gin begin to move forward. Toshiro brought his other hand up to where Gin held his hand, grasping it and tried to pull away.
"No! No! I don't want to go there!" he yelled at the man. Gin stopped for a minute, turning around to face his struggling son.
'He usually loves to go to Health Land. He thinks of it as a small pool area.' Gin thought to himself. He sighed and shook his head. He put Toshiro's arm around his neck and lifted him up over his shoulder.
"No! Stop! Put me down!" Toshiro screamed, beating his small fists with as much force as he could against the man's back. Gin continued walking towards Health Land.
'Why isn't anyone stopping him?! Can't they see this is kidnapping?!' Toshiro yelled in his head.
'Master, it's sort of hard to see a parent kidnapping their own child. I don not think that this is kidnapping either...' Hyorinmaru told him.
'He's not my parent though! This IS kidnapping if I don't want to go somewhere with him!' Toshiro rebutted.
'Or it could be considered a child throwing a tantrum to get his way.' Hyorinmaru said.
'Are you implying something there, Hyorinmaru?' Toshiro asked the zanpakto icily.
'No, I am not. It is just a possible way people may look at this situation.' Hyorinmaru replied calmly.
"Ah! Hitsugaya-taicho. Welcome. Your Wednesday usual?" the woman running the front asked.
"Yep." Gin said, walking straight into the men's side.
"Stop! Put me down! I don't want to bathe here!" Toshiro continued yelling. They entered the shoe lockers and Gin kicked off his sandals. taking Toshiro's sandals off his own kicking feet. Gin eventually set him down in the locker room. Toshiro made to bolt, but Gin held him back by the his obi.
"No! No! No!" Toshiro yelled, flailing about. Gin looked at his son oddly.
"Why don't you want to bathe here? You love to bathe at Health Land." Gin commented, head tilted slightly.
"It's a bath house!" Toshiro said, still struggling to escape.
"So?" Gin asked.
"It's a PUBLIC bath house!" Toshiro yelled, starting to blush.
"Excuse me, sir? Please keep your child under control." the men's bath attendee said, stepping into the room.
"Ah. Sorry." Gin said to the man and he left. Gin plopped down on a bench in the changing area and pulled his son into his lap, one arm around his stomach, the other around his chest. He sighed and waited for Toshiro to cease his struggles. The boy did stop...a half an hour later. Toshiro was panting slightly and weakly trying to still escape.
'This isn't go to work, will it?' Toshiro asked Hyorinmaru, already knowing the answer.
'It won't work. It seems as though you have no choice in the matter.' the zanpakto replied.
Toshiro scrunched his eyes up and jerked one last time in Gin's grip, saying, "Damn it!"
'Master... Try and make this easier for yourself. Just agree to bathe here.' Hyorinmaru advised.
Toshiro grit his teeth before saying, "Fine. I'll take a stupid bath here. Just don't touch me, got it?" Gin released him, neither agreeing or disagreeing with Toshiro. The white-haired boy cast a glare at Gin before moving over to a corner in the changing room and grabbing a towel along the way. Once he started to undress, Gin did so as well.
Toshiro hastily undressed and wrapped the towel around his waist. He placed his clothing into a locker like...thing. He waited facing the wall, until he heard Gin close the door to where he put his clothing in. He turned around and was thankful that Gin had a towel on. Although Toshiro was blushing, and wanted nothing more than to grab his clothes in run, he followed Gin into the bath area. He sighed in relief when he saw no one else there.
Toshiro waited for his supposed father to sit down at a washing station so he could sit at the opposite wall, but Gin was waiting for him to sit first. Toshiro gulped and blushed more, walking over to the left wall to rinse off before soaking in the bath. To his dismay, Gin followed him.
'Hyorinmaru? Can I tell him no?' Toshiro asked his zanpakto.
'What do you mean?' Hyorinmaru asked.
'Can I tell Ichimaru to not sit by me?' Toshiro clarified.
'He is your father here, so I doubt he would obey you, master' Hyorinmaru said. Toshiro sighed and sat down on a stool. He bit his lip and eyed Gin out of the corner of his eye. The man squatted down next to him, and he pulled away a little.
"Can I wash your hair for you, Shiro-chan?" Gin questioned.
"Do I have a choice?" Toshiro inquired, looking away from him.
"Well, we're trying to make things the way they were, and I usually wash your hair when we come here. I'm asking though, because you seem rather uncomfortable with me touching you. So, can I wash your hair for you?" Gin explained. Toshiro slightly gaped at the man before regaining his snarky attitude and looking away.
"Since when were you a considerate person? You do what you want without asking or thinking about other's feelings. Why are you so considerate? Are you trying to convince me you're a good person? Like that will ever happen." Toshiro remarked snidely. Gin furrowed his brow and frowned at the boy.
"Toshiro, to be frank, you're acting like a little brat." Gin began.
"I am neither little, nor a brat!" Toshiro yelled, turning his hed to scowl at Gin.
"You didn't let me finish. I am being nothing but patient, thoughtful, and accommodating, but all you're doing is acting disrespectful, rude, haughty, and arrogant. If you keep acting this way, I can be the man you described if you want me too. Now, are you going to keep acting this way, or not?" Gin said calmly.
"Why would you care if I continue acting this way or not? Why should I be nice and respectful to you? You never treated me with respect. You're an idiot. A bastard, a traitor, an immoral, dishonorable, depraved, traitor!" Toshiro yelled at him. Gin sighed and looked at the tiled floor.
"Do you really want me to treat you that way?" Gin asked,
"Why would you care what I want? You never care what anyone wants except yourself. You don't even care about Matsumoto at all. You just abandoned her and broke her heart!" Toshiro shouted. Gin looked up at this remark. He glared at him with open eyes, red eyes. Toshiro's breath hitched and his eyes went wide.
"Don't you dare ever say I don't care for your mother." Gin growled. Toshiro fell backwards off the stool he was sitting on in fright. Gin paused and took a deep breath, closing his eyes. He opened his eyes and they were a pale teal again. They were both silent for minutes, just staring at each other. Gin looked away and stood up, walking to the opposite wall to wash himself.
Toshiro remained on the floor for a minute, watching Gin. He gulped and slowly got back on the stool. He sluggishly began to wash himself.
'Master? Are you alright?' Hyorinmaru asked.
'I-I don't know... His eyes were like that time when he tried to kill me...' Toshiro responded, washing his left arm with soap. He brought the soap up to his shoulder and washed it, fingertips skimming his skin. He paused. Toshiro dropped the soap and grasped his left shoulder, trying to find something. He turned his head to look at his shoulder and his eyes widened. The scar he had from the winter war was gone. He looked down to his left knee, the scar that should have been above it also gone.
'How?' Toshiro asked himself.
'Master. This a different place. The winter war never happened here since Aizen does not exist here.' Hyorinmaru said.
'Wishes don't come true though. It's impossible.' Toshiro said, letting his right arm drop to his side. His breathing began to pick up.
'Master. Calm down. Isn't it good that your scars are gone?' Hyorinmaru said, trying to calm him down.
'Yes. No. I don't know!' Toshiro yelled in his head, gripping his hair in his fists, his body shaking. He jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder.
"Are you alright, Shiro-chan?" Gin asked with concern. Toshiro bit his lip, refusing to look at him.
"This...is real. But it can't be. Yet it is..." Toshiro mumbled, bringing his legs up to his chest and balancing on the stool.
"Toshiro. Toshiro. Are you alright?" Gin asked again.
"No." Toshiro said, shaking his head. After a few minutes, he said, "I want to soak in the bath."
"Have you washed all of your body?" Gin questioned.
"Yes." Toshiro said, nodding his head.
"How about your hair?" Gin inquired. Toshiro kept quiet at the question. Gin sighed at getting no response.
"Do you want me to wash your hair for you?" Gin asked quietly. The boy hesitantly nodded. Gin stood up and walked back into the changing room.
'If I deny that this is real, will it go away? Hyorinmaru?' Toshiro asked hesitantly, tears threatening to spill as realization hit him hard.
'No, master. This won't go away if you deny it.' Hyorinmaru replied just as sadly, upset he couldn't do more to comfort his master. Gin walked back in and set a bucket down next to them. He filled up the bucket with warm water and dumped it over Toshiro's head. The water washed over his face, dragging the tears away with it.
Gin put some shampoo in his hand, and began washing his son's hair. The only sound that could be heard was the sounding of the lathering of hair with shampoo. The sound of the door between the changing room and bath opened, causing Toshiro to jump a little. Both the silver-haired males turned their heads to the door. What Toshiro saw made his eyes go wide again, mouth agape. The person in the doorway, was Shiba Kaien.