Part 3 Ichigo's Epiphany

A Bleach Story

An IchiHitsu Story

Talking thinking Zanpakutou Narration

"…Toshiro. Wasn't he here? Wasn't he taking care of me? …Wait, that doesn't make any sense. Why would Toshiro care for me? Why do I need caring for? …Oh, right. I'm sick. But the rest, it… it can't be true. Toshiro Hitsugaya cannot be in my house caring for me. That's… that's just… crazy. It's… I'd have to have luck on my side for that to happen. But then, why do I feel his reiatsu?" Ichigo thought peacefully as the sunlight slowly invaded his room.

"Kurosaki… do you even…? Kurosaki…"

"Whose that? Wait… is that Toshiro? No, that was a dream. Wishful thinking. It' can't be." The redhead assured himself.

The light suddenly flooded through his eyelids, waking the teen from his sleep. The brown eyes cracked open slowly, scanning the room as he moved to sit up.

"Here… let me," A voice muttered, as two arms suddenly found their way around his waist and helped to prop him up.

"Toshiro?" The substitute soul reaper muttered, his eyes focusing on the boy in front of him.

"Yeah, it's me. You act so surprised every time you wake up, why is that?" The white-haired captain asked, walking back into his patient's kitchen and heading back with a glass of water.

"I dunno…" Ichigo mumbled, his cheeks tinted slightly. "I suppose you just don't seem like the caring type. Oh, sorry, I didn't mean…"

"No, it's… alright. I understand. Here, drink," Hitsugaya replied pushing the glass into the teen's hands.

"Thanks… but, umm, why are you here? Why'd they send you… or did you… uh, choose to… ya know." The sick substitute shinigami asked curiously.

"Actually, it was because of the nature of the virus. It effects the body temperature and is extremely contagious…" Toshiro began.

"Contagious!"

Ichigo pushed himself back, completely forgetting about the glass and spilling its contents all over the bed.

"Kurosaki! What the hell are you doing!" The tenth-division captain shouted, running into the bathroom to grab a towel.

"Toshiro, I don't want to get you sick!" Ichigo exclaimed, slapping the soul reaper's hands away as they tried to soak up the water.

"You baka!" The snowy-haired captain yelled. "The soul society wouldn't have sent me if I could get sick! This virus affects the body temperature, making it rise to incredibly high and dangerous levels! But being the master of Hyorinmaru…"

"You're not affected by it and your reiatsu helps keep my temperature down," The teen murmured, his mind clicking as he put two and two together.

"Correct, which I would have told you, if you hadn't freaked out!" His caregiver replied, shaking his head as he sopped up the water. "It's not as if I chose this job…"

"Oh… of course," Ichigo sighed, his face visibly falling. "I didn't… right."

The teal eyes looked up, the owner's eyebrows wrinkling with confusion. Had the teen been… hoping that he'd chosen the job? But… why would he?

"Although… I suppose had they not asked me to, I would have eventually volunteered," Toshiro added softly.

The white-haired prodigy wasn't sure if that was the truth, but he believed it was and if it made his… well, patient feel any better, why not say it right? Ichigo smiled lightly, his eyes leaving his lap to connect momentarily with the teal ones ahead of his. It was only a moment, but it had been enough to convey a single emotion, gratitude. The redhead smiled again, looking out the window on his left as he felt his cheeks tint slightly. He wondered, was Toshiro telling the truth? Did his health really mean enough to the boy that he would leave the Soul Society just to care for him? Or had he just been forced? Was it simply an order? But then… why the lie? It didn't seem like the Captain Hitsugaya he knew to lie, simply to spare the feelings of another. Toshiro may not have been cruel, but sometimes he could be a little too brutally honest. The teen looked back towards the white-haired prodigy that was caring for him, only to have his eyes freeze moments before they'd reached their targeted destination.

"Mom?" Ichigo whispered, staring off blankly into space.

"What?" The young tendo asked, following his patient's gaze only to find it meeting nothing he could determine as significant.

"Mom?" Ichigo said again, his eyes resting on a figure of his deceased mother, who stood only feet away, at the foot of his bed, a displease look on her face.

"Yes Ichigo, it's me," His mother replied, her voice stern and disappointed.

"Mom, what's wrong?" The redhead asked, confused.

"Look at you, Ichigo. Fighting daily, practically living in the Soul Society, and having feelings for this… this… boy! This shinigami!" The woman shouted angrily, his eyes steely and cold as she stared at her shocked son.

"…Mom, I… I didn't… I mean I don't…" The teen stuttered.

"You don't? You think I cannot tell? It's plain as day Ichigo!" She yelled back.

"B-b-but… Mom, what… what happened to you?" Ichigo whispered, sinking back into the bed.

"What happened? Don't you remember? I died. I died because you were to stupid to realize the difference between a live girl and a dead Hollow lure!" The women shouted in reply.

"…Mom… I'm… I'm sorry."

"You're sorry! YOU'RE SORRY! Oh well that just makes everything better! You're just completely forgiven now!" The teen's mother screamed.

"…I'm s-sorry… s-so sorry… I am… I-I…" Ichigo repeated, his voice monotone and frantic repeating his apology over and over like a mantra.

"ICHIGO!"

And then… the figure was gone, and the redheaded teen was sitting curled in his bed, tears staining his cheeks as the white-haired prodigy continued to shake him.

"W-what…?" He muttered, his shaky brown eyes finding their way to the firm teal orbs in front of him.

"You were crying. Whimpering something… at someone, apologizing frantically," Toshiro explained.

"I… my Mom. She was here," Ichigo said, his eyes looking back to where his mother had been only seconds ago.

"No, Ichigo," The tendo replied, forcing the chocolate eyes to focus back on him. "It was simply a hallucination. That didn't happen. Whatever you saw, whatever you heard, it wasn't real."

"But… but it…" The teen began, frantically trying to explain how it must have been. How there was no way that it had been a hallucination. He'd feared… no known that this was going to happen and it looked just like her, down to every detail! It just…

"Kurosaki!" The captain said, shocking the teen out of his thoughts once again. "Kurosaki, don't let the disease play with your mind. It was an illusion, that is all."

"Really?" Ichigo muttered incredulously.

"Yes, I promise," Toshiro insisted.

The orange-haired shinigami said nothing, obviously still shaken by whatever he'd seen. The thought made Hitsugaya cringe. The substitute shinigami always seemed so sturdy, so sure of himself. Anything that could possibly have gotten to him so deeply, must have been bad.

"Would you like something to eat?" The white-haired boy asked.

Ichigo looked up. "Yeah… I would."

"Okay, why don't you try to get up," The captain replied. "It'll be good for you. You have been here five days already."

The redheaded soul reaper's eyes widened in surprise. "Five days? Really? I… I didn't know."

"You've only awoken a couple times. Usually only for a few minutes," Hitsugaya replied. "Now what would you like?"

"Five days…" Ichigo muttered, his eyes blank as they stared down at his shaking hands.

"Kurosaki?"

The strawberry looked up again, pulling the sheets off of him as he replied, "Sorry… umm, whatever you make is fine."

Hitsugaya nodded, but made no move towards the kitchen, opting instead to stand at the doorway, watching intently as the teen began to stand. He wobbled slightly as he stood, but after taking a few seconds to regain his bearings; the recently bedridden shinigami took the first few steps, making it to the doorway without any problems. Afterwards however, was a different story. The redhead's legs gave out from under him, letting him fall straight into the prodigy captain's arms. Ichigo blushed, looking up – which was strange in itself – at the snowy-haired boy.

"Uh… sorry," Ichigo muttered, his deep brown eyes boring into the turquoise ones before him.

The full-fledged shinigami simply hummed in reply, helping the teen back onto his feet. "That's why I'm here."

The strawberry wobbled into his living room, managing to plop himself down on the couch without any incident. He sighed in relief as he felt his face return to its natural color and Toshiro head into the kitchen to start on… breakfast? Lunch? Whatever it was. Speaking of Toshiro, why did it bother him to think that the young captain had simply been saddled with this job? Could his Mom… or hallucination, be right? Did Ichigo Kurosaki truly have feelings for the Captain of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, Toshiro Hitsu…?

"Here…" A voice said breaking him from his thoughts as a slightly pink Toshiro thrust a plate into his hands.

The teen looked down, slightly astonished by what he saw. "Peanut butter and Jelly?"

"Yes, what about it? Do you not like it?" Hitsugaya asked, his eyes still turned away from his patient.

"No! It's not that, just… where'd you learn about these? I highly doubt that they have them in the Soul Society," Ichigo replied quickly.

"No, they do not, but I am not completely clueless about the Human World," The prodigy captain answered indignantly.

"You asked Rangiku-san?" The redhead asked, grinning knowingly.

"Whether Matsumoto had a part in this is not the point. Are you going to eat it or not?" He said, skillfully skirting around the question.

"Yeah, yeah. I am, just give me a second… I'm still kinda dizzy from walking in here," The substitute soul reaper explained, a slight tint glowing on his cheeks.

The white-haired prodigy turned, walking back into the kitchen to hide his triumphant smirk and the slight pink on his usually porcelain cheeks. "It does seem to be truly affecting you. I suppose I can count myself lucky, huh?"

"That'd be a yes on that and…" Ichigo started, the front door bursting open with a loud bang. "What the…!"

"Aizen," Hitsugaya hissed, his eyes flashing to his Zanpakutou and then back to the intruder.

"Ah, hello Hitsugaya. I wasn't expecting to find you here," The brunette said calmly, his mouth playing into a smirk. "I guess there is someone for you to play with."

"…Play with? Who're you…" The tenth-division captain began as an arrancar entered the room, a large tattoo of the number 666 on his chest.

"Ooh! Really? That's great! I've been so bored," He laughed, disappearing and reappearing at the entrance to the kitchen in under a second.

But Toshiro was no slacker either. He leapt over the countertop, rolling once and landing upright with Hyorinmaru in one hand and Zangetsu in the other.

"Here, try not to get killed." The snowy-haired tendo said, tossing the blade to the ill shinigami. "Reign over the Frozen Heavens! HYORINMA-"

The icy dragons release stopped instantly as the arrancar's hand ran through its owner's body.

"TOSHIRO!" Ichigo screamed, swinging his blade weakly in the arrancar's direction.

"Hmm… I was hoping for more of a challenge," The arrancar said, frowning.

"Well, to be fare the boy was weakened by having to keep a constant release on his reiatsu and with the Gentei Kaijo, still activated, his reiatsu was flickering before we'd even reached the building," Aizen said, the satisfied smirk appearing on his face once again.

"I guess so Lord Aizen, because that was truly pathetic," Aileen's companion said, letting the captain's body slide of his arm and hit the ground with a thud.

"TOSHIRO!" Ichigo shouted again, standing quickly only to fall to his knees seconds later. "…Toshiro…"

He gathered the body in his arms, feeling as the two people beside him closed in.

"ICHIGO!" A voice screamed.

The redhead stiffened, his eyes refocusing as he looked down at the body that was… that should've been in his lap. Where was he? Had he already disappeared? But he hadn't even thanked him! He hadn't even fought through his feeling yet! He still hadn't known… if he'd l-loved… no, he had. In the instant that the white-haired prodigy had had his heart broken – literally – Ichigo had decided. He loved the tiny taichou and that was all there was to it. But now… now…

"Kurosaki Ichigo!" The voice shouted again and what the teen had through were sobs racking his body… well they were, but they were also two arms gripping his shoulders tightly shaking frantically. He looked up from where the body should've been his eyes meeting a pair of teal orbs. Wait… teal? How could… he pushed the figure a way to get a better look

"TOSHIRO!" The ill teen shrieked, pulling the startled boy back in, though now into a large hug. "OH GOD TOSHIRO! YOU'RE ALIVE! YOU'RE ALIVE! I THOUGHT… AND AIZEN! BUT YOU'RE ALIVE!"

A pair of smaller hands pressed on his chest, pushing the tiny body he struggled to hold away from him. "Kurosaki, what are you talking about?"

The teen looked back at Hitsugaya, scanning his face, which were full of worry, his soft teal eyes, which were sparking with curiosity and the buoyant white hair, that was as… bouncy as ever. "I… I had another hallucination."

"I noticed," Toshiro replied. "What did you see? This one seemed worse than the last."

Ichigo opened his mouth, but no sound left it. The teen blushed slightly at the thought of telling him, but the slightly reddening of his cheeks were soon replaced by the watering of his usually controlled eyes.

"Hey, it's alright… you don't have to tell me," The teal-eyed boy said, managing a small, but comforting smile.

"Thank you Toshiro… I… I don't know what I'd do if… with out you," Ichigo said, smiling back.

It was true, and Ichigo wouldn't deny it any longer. He adored the frost captain, for all that he'd done and all that he was. He loved Toshiro Hitsugaya.