Ice Cubes in the Hot Spring

Chapter 4

The snow flakes continued to fall from the sky, as if they were a gift from the heavens. Well, the word "cosmos" would be a better way to say it, seeing that Soul Society was heaven. Still, there was something about these snowflakes that seemed different the World of the Living's. They were...raining stars. Every time one touched the ground, it purified the soil, the trees, and even the buildings. The Seireitei never really experienced these types of conditions, and it surprised a lot of the Shinigami to say the least. Most of them were wearing extra layers underneath their uniforms, and some were even wearing hats and gloves.

Well, when you've mastered a zanpaktou like Hyorinmaru, the cold doesn't really effect you much. Hyorinmaru was very specific in who he chose as his wielder and Riencarnation. Toushiro was full of immense spiritual power, and was considered a perfect choice for the Ice Dragon.

Speaking of ice and dragons, one particular ice user was on his way to the training grounds of the Special Forces. Toushiro never really took this route, afterall, he had no business with the Special Forces. Sure, the Gotei 13 were all fighting for Soul Society, but not all the divisions were exactly friendly. The 10th Division were definitely not enemies to Soifon's 2nd Division, or the Special Forces, they just never interacted. Kuraime told him the other day that he wanted to go to the hot springs, yet Toushiro was still a bit unsure about the idea. He had only been to the springs once, and that was with Matsumoto. Just mixing her name with the words "hot spring" was a mouthful; one could probably guess what had happened.

Still, he continued to walk towards the entrance to the training fields. The snowy area really did make him look like a true dragon, especially with his white, spiky hair, and the emerald eyes that were so full of will power. With every step he took, Kuraime's face appeared in his mind. He couldn't understand why he was thinking about him so much; it was probably because he was going to meet him in a few minutes to go to the springs.

"Captain Hitsugaya!" A familiar voice called from behind. Toushiro turned around and was met with flaming red hair and unique, black tattoos.

"Abarai?" Toushiro questioned as the red head caught up. Renji Abaria was one of the few Shinigami that had frequently been traveling with Toushiro to the World of the Living. The young Captain had some respect for him as a fighter, for he was very determined and persistent in battle. "Why are you here?"

"I was about to ask the same question," Renji said, panting from the long run he had just finished. "I'm here to give Captain Kuchiki an important message, what about you?"

"Don't worry about why I'm here," Toudhiro said, wanting to ask the questions himself. "Why is Captain Kuchiki at the training fields?"

"He's helping the new captain of Division 5 train with Captain Soifon," Renji answered, fixing the scarf around his neck. "Captian Shihouin is said to be a genius who could even surpass Yoruichi if he keeps training. I was just talking to Rukia about it this morning. He's pretty popular around Soul Society, since he's a noble and Yoruichi's younger brother I guess."

At this point, Renji and Toushiro were side by side, and getting closer to their destination. Toushiro saw Renji's lips flapping, but he wasn't getting any audio. The only thing he could focus on was Kuraime's face...and body.

I can't believe I'm actually thinking about him like that! Toushiro thought in frustration. It's completely childish! Well, he does have a nice figure, and he's as pretty as Yoruichi...or maybe even prettier.

Toushiro could feel himself getting hot, and in more than one place. Renji gave the young captain a curious look; he had never seen him act so flushed before. He always knew the captain of the 10th division to be a no nonsense, all work and no play type of person. However, before he could continue to ponder on the thought, an amazing rupture pulsated through the earth as a blast of kidou sky-rocketed into the sky.

Toushiro and Renji were already at the entrance to the training grounds, and both were wide-eyed. Kuraime was in the center of the training field, craters and smashed boulders were all around him. Blood was running down from the corner of his mouth and his clothes were ripped and cut. Unlike when Toushiro first saw him, Kuraime now had his short white hair tied with a blue hair-tie. Byakuya was standing 40 yards in front of him, and Soi Fon was to his left. As the cloth on Kuraime's chest tore, Soi Fon's mark of the Homonkou appeared.

"Scatter." Byakuya announced as his zanpaktou seperated into thousands of cherry blossoms, all making their way to Kuraime. Just as the blades collided into their target, the new Captain performed a backflip into the air, skillfully evading the attack. Before he could plan his next move, Soi Fon flashed behind him, aiming at his back with her golden stinger. She struck him, and blood flew through the air, but as Kuraime fell, his body became two ribbons.

"What?" Soi Fon yelled as the real Kuraime appeared behind her.

"Destructive Spell #4: White Lightning!" Kuraime yelled. He shot his arm forward, forcing a surge of Kido out his fore-finger and directly towards a surprised Soifon. Soifon was a skilled Captain, but in sll her years, she has never let an enemy view her back. She didn't want to look bad in front of Yoruichi, so she decided to steo it up a level. All it took was a quick shunpou technique to dodge the spell, and with a second shunpou, she cleared the way for Byakuya's Zenbansakura. Before Kuraime could plan a quick move, the petal blades lashed at his skin.

Byakuya remained stoic, even after sensing his victory. As if having some type of realization, he quickly flash stepped just in time to evade a menacing kick from Captain Shihouin. As Kuraime's foot collided into the dirt where Byakuya once stood, a shock wave flowed swiflty through the earth. The attack almost caused Toushiro and Renji to lose their footing. When everyone set theirs eyes on Kuraime again, he was standing a a massive crater.

"A-Amazing," Renji said wiith a gaping mouth. "I've never seen anyone stand up to two Captains before."

Kuraime's ears perked up and he faced Renji. "Don't give me too much credit, Renji-san. Afterall, your Captain isn't even using a fraction of his strength. Not to mention that Captain Soifon could've moved much faster than what she wanted."

"Your training is complete for today, Kuraime," said Soifon as she returned her blade to it's normal form. "You have no obligations with the special forces for the evening, so go finish your errands."

"Yes, thank you for the pardon, Aunt Soifon."

"Kuraime," Byakuya said cooly, starting to walk towards his vice captain. "Work on your shunpou more consistently, and next week will be a zanpaktou session...do not be late."

"I understand, Uncle Byakuya, I will be punctual."

Renji gave Toushiro a final bow before running to his Captain. Toushiro on the other hand, failed to notice this, since he was lost in thought about Kuraime. He had no idea the young Captain had close ties to two of the most powerful Captains in the Gotei 13. He himself was not so close in ties with the noble families, but he did grow up in the best part of Runkogai. It was then that he remembered meeting Kuraime from somewhere, but that "somewhere" was yet to be found.

Emerald eyes looked for Kuraime, trying to find where he had gone. The new Captain was no where to be seen, but Toushiro did feel something warm and fuzzy rubbing against his ankle. The sensation was quite enjoyable to say the least, like a massage was being given. He began to imagine Kuraime doing the action, but quickly dismissed the obscene thought. He looked down and saw a white ball of fur nudging him...it was a cat. It seemed that Soul Society was getting their fair share of dead animals lately. He bent down and picked the animal up, guessing that Kuraime would show up soon. However, before he could even feel it's fur, it ran up his hands and jumped in his arms.

I never cared much for cats.

Within seconds, a blinding flash of light surfaced fron the feline's body, brightening Toushiro's eyes. He never heard of the animals of Soul Society having the ability to teleport or use Kido. The Captain of Division seven crossed his mind then, he was a giant fox after all. A large force suddenly fell on the ice Captains arm, almost dropping whatever was in his arms. When the light dimmed, he was met with sparkling blue eyes and silver eyebrows.

"BOO!" yelled Kuraime, his arms wrapped around Toushiro's neck as the othe boy held him...bridal style. Of course, Toushiro was not one that surprised easily, but right after his face became beat red, a yelp filled the air.

The steam from the springs was invigorating. The smell of fresh oils floated through the air, making evering it couild reach smell of lavender. The slightest breath cleansed the soul, and the air would soften the skin to a wonderful extent. One could say that you didn't even need to step in the spring to feel relaxed.

Toushiro and Kuraime stood silently in front of one spring, which was reserved just for them, thanks to Kuraime and his resources. Toushiro tried to feel as comfirtable as possible, trying not to seem reckless. This was his first time going into a spring, not counting his crazy vice captain, who he would rather not think about at the moment. For one, he wasn't a people person, and he never liked anything that had the word "hot" in it. He never went to any of the invitations he got to attend "Hot Spring Get Togethers" with the other male shinigami, so he had no experience with this situation at the moment.

Why are you acting like this, Toushiro, he thought to himself. It's not like this is a date or anything, we're just here to enjoy the water.

Toushiro looked over at Kuraime, trying to see what he was doing at the moment, but Kuraime didn't notice his stare, for he was in the proccess of stripping off his robes. Toushiro was turning red every second. What made it worse was that Kuraime moved slowly, allowing the ice dragon to take in the moment. The other boy's nicely toned chest was showing, not to mention his tight stomach. His caramel skin was indeed even more beautiful than Yoruichi's, and it matched so perfectly with his silver-white hair. Toushiro was frozen, and continued to watch as Kuraime removed his pants and underwear, making him stark naked and more lovely than anything Toushiro had ever seen. He never felt this way when he bathed with Momo in his youth. Maybe it was because Kuraime had something exotic about his appearance.

At any rate, Toushiro kept staring, eying Kuraime's toned legs and thighs.

Nice ass. He thought before mentally scolding himself for the dirty thought. When he realized how out of place he must've looked he noticed Kuraime standing inches away, turning his entire body to mush.

"Are you okay Captain Hitsugaya?" Kuraime asked, placing his handd on the other boy's forehead. Toushiro could feel a certain area between his legs getting bigger. Kuraime was awfully close to him, but the other boy didn't seem to notice the Dragon's nervousness. "Your face is red and you have a nose-bleed...are you feeling well?"

"I-I'm fine," he responed quickly, wiping his nose free of the blood, begining to shyly remove his own clothes. Before he could respond further, he found himself in the same state as Kuraime. He must've unfastened his clothes too quickly in his scrutiny, and was now paying the consequences for it. Kuraime's cheeks flushed with a hint of red as he looked at Toushiro. When it came to working out, the 10th Division Captain was no stranger; his body was in just as good shape as Kuraime's or maybe better.

"You have a wonderful body, Toushiro," Kuraime said, causing the other Captain to fight another nose-bleed. 'Why are you so shy when it comes to hot springs?"

"I'm not shy," Toushiro protested. "I just feel a certain way when I'm around you..."

"Huh?"

Both boys were in the water by now, facing eachother. Emerald eyes faced Cerulean ones, both were soft, yet held a sharp edge. Toushiro couldn't believe he had just said that, it felt so childish! Still it was too late now.

"What I mean is, I feel like this isn't the first time I've met you, Captain--"

"Please, just call me, Kuraime," The new Captain insisted. "...And maybe it isn't the first time we've met..."

"What do you mean?" Toushiro asked. He was getting a bit more interested now that Kuraime seemed to understand how he felt. Kuraime had moved a lot closer since the last words were spoken. In fact, he grabbed Toushiro around the waist and pulled him forward into a kiss.

Kuraime's lips were soft and his touch was gentle. Toushiro slowly found himself wrapping his own hands around Kuraime's lower back. Kuraime opened his mouth, giving Toushiro the entrance he needed to slide his sweet tongue into his mouth. The feelings that were being exchanged were unexplainable to both Captains. Kuraime's own tongue wrestled with Toushiro's as their members brushed past eachother, making them both moan before pulling away from eachother. They were panting for air and sweating; the actions most likely raised their body heat. Even though their lips were apart, their hands remained in place, and their eyes were inches away. Toushiro never felt this way before, he had never been kissed that way before, hell, he never even had a first kiss. But Kuraime moved and rubbed like a pro, then again, he was the younger brother of Yoruichi Shihouin. He found his fingers slowly rubbing Kuraime's lower back as he stared into his lovely orbs.

"I want to tell you where we first met," Kuraime started, running a caramel hand through Toushiro's hair. Despite it's spiky exterior, the young captain's hair was quite soft. "...But I don't want to do it here, while we're hot...naked...and...wet."

Kuraime couldn't help but turn just as red as Toushiro on that last line, Yoruichi taught him that one whenever he was in a hot spring situation. Toushitro's breathes swept over Kuraime's lips as he pulled him in for another kiss, this one more passionate than the first. Toushiro dominated the kiss, however, and was feeling the walls of Kuraime's mouth with his tongue. Kuraime was more than willing to let him take control, enjoying the feeling of their lips mashing and Toushiro's light touch carrassing his waist. The Captain of the 10th Division wanted to feel Kuraime even more, he wanted to have his entire body to himself. Before things could get further, Toushiro slowly pulled away, trying to control himself. He continued to be captivated by the eyes he thought were so amazing.

"I...want to see you tomorrow night," Kuraime panted softly as he continued to rub Toushiro's hair. "Can you come to mu place at sunset tomorrow, Captain Hitsugaya? I'll have dinner and a couple of other things you might like...than we could talk more."

There was no hesitation, no pause like the one he has when asked to the hot spring. He wanted to see Kuraime again, and find out how he truly knew him.

"I'll be there, and please, call me Toushiro."

//Please leave me a review, they help me continue and finish the next chapters much faster. Also, if you enjoy the story, please leave me requests or pairings you would like me to do in the future!//