Just a little warning, if Ogichi seems a little OOC, its because i wanted him to so he could fit into my story line. But anyway, enjoy :D

CHAPTER 9

Everyone in the tiny hospital room of the Kurosaki clinic became quiet after Ukitake's report. He told the lovers and their group of friends of Yamamoto's orders for the detainment of Toshiro Hitsugaya and Ichigo Kurosaki, sending Soi Fon and Byakuya Kuchiki to carry out the dismal command. Of course Ichigo had become stunned by this, complaining about how the "old geezer" would send two of the most highly skilled taichos for just a simple arrest. All throughout Ichigo's complaining, Toshiro remained silent, looking down at his lap while continuing to hold the strawberry's hand in his own. He had feared that this would happen sooner rather than later, but did not have the heart to inform his boyfriend and strip Ichigo of his last ounce of happiness that he found in the little white haired taicho.

As Toshiro was now looking down at his own left hand that was grasping Ichigo's, he took this time to notice the ring his boyfriend, now fiancé, had given him. It was not intricate or fancy, but simple and original. He knew Ichigo was not rich, so he was pleasantly surprised to see the kind of ring he was given. It was so silver it almost appeared to be crystal. The gem in the middle was not a diamond, but a sapphire, sparkling in the light of the room.

The room was now so silent that one could hear every person in the room breathing if they listened. Ichigo, of course, was the first to break the long lasting quiet. "I still don't get it!" He slammed his free hand down on the small bedside table. "I get that some people don't accept the fact that one can find love with a person of the same sex, but why take it this far? Making love illegal and treating it as if it were treason? This is bullshit and everyone here knows it! I'll betcha a few other members of the Gotei thirteen think this is shit too!"

Ukitake lifted his head from where he was thinking. "Of course. Shunsui and I think this is unacceptable. I know Unohana does not like this decision, as well as Kurotsuchi, but he just wants to experiment to see what makes people choose homosexuality. I also have a feeling that Byakuya might object, but cannot defy Yamamoto. All the others are clearly against homosexuality, including their fukutaichos." The sickly man again took the position of one deep in thought. "The part I do not get is the same as you, Ichigo. Why would Yamamoto send two of the most highly skilled persons to make a simple arrest? It just doesn't sound like him!"

Toshiro looked up and directly at Ichigo. "I know why."

Every person in the room made a confused look at Toshiro, including Ichigo. "What do you mean, yuki no hana? What do you know that we don't? It's okay to tell me. You already agreed to be mine." Ichigo said with a bit of a smirk on his face to make his fiancé feel a bit more confident.

It seemed to work; Toshiro's face seemed relieved and he continued, squeezing Ichigo's hand tighter. "The only possible explanation would be that Yamamoto-sotaicho somehow found out about me and the man I was with before I met you." He closed his eyes in hesitation, reluctant to tell Ichigo who he was with before he had ever met the substitute. "I was with Gin Ichimaru for three years. We were becoming very serious when Rukia had been brought back to be executed and Aizen betrayed us. I was furious when I found out that Gin had chosen to take the side of that bastard, but that was not the only reason I became angry." Tears were starting to come to his eyes, eliciting a squeeze from Ichigo's hand. "Gin came to me while Momo and myself were in the infirmary, telling me that I was trash that needed to be thrown away. He told me that I was unnecessary and meant nothing to him anymore, that I had been very disobedient."

Ichigo froze, recognizing the words that came from his lover's mouth. "Toshiro, you asked me the other day never to leave you because you were trash or being disobedient. Is this why you asked me to confirm my love for you?"

Toshiro's tears began to flow more steadily, but he remained determined not to whimper. "Yes. I hope you don't hate me, but I don't want to lose you, Ichigo! You mean the world to me!"

Ichigo took the tiny form of his lover in his arms and embraced Toshiro like there was no tomorrow. "I'll always love you, yuki no hana, and only you. You have no need to worry." He released Toshiro and lifted the boy's chin with his hand so the teal eyes were looking directly into his brown eyes. "Now you listen to me, Toshiro Hitsugaya. You are not worthless! You are not trash! If you were, I would have never asked you to marry me. Do you understand?"

Toshiro looked into Ichigo's soft chocolate eyes, seeing in them a desperation for understanding. He sighed and wiped the remaining tears from his eyes "Of course I understand. Thank you."

Neither of the lovers was prepared for the attack that came next. Rangiku flew across the room and wrapped her arms around the couples' necks, overjoyed. "That was SO sweet, taicho! I love seeing you two happy, it makes me even happier!"

"RANGIKU! GET OFF OF ME NOW!" the white haired boy yelled, hating when his fukutaicho ruined his moments with Ichigo.

As Rangiku made her way back to where everyone was standing and now chuckling, Ukitake took the opportunity to get everybody back on the task at hand. "We need to start preparing for a fight if need be. I have not heard when Yamamoto will send them, but we need to be ready for anytime at all. We need to get back into shape after five years, especially because of urgent news I recently received." He sighed and stood up from his chair. "We have reason to believe that Aizen is once again becoming active."

This news caused the room to become silent once again. Ichigo's mind suddenly went blank from the news. Does this mean what I think it means?

He decided to take a shot and ask Toshiro. "Yuki no hana, you never told me who did this to you." His eyes became very dark with anger, becoming ready to explode. "It was Ichimaru, wasn't it? He did this to you."

Toshiro was startled by the sudden statement. He did not know how to respond. What will Ichigo do to Gin if he finds him? If I tell him, he might kill Gin. If I don't tell him, he'll feel betrayed.

"Yes. As far as I could tell, it was Gin Ichimaru."

Ichigo's stance did not change as he whispered, his voice full of hate and anger. "Could everyone please give me and Toshiro a minute? I don't care where you guys go, as long as it is out of the room."

As his friends and colleagues filed out of the room in shock, Ichigo totally lost it as the door shut. He started beating himself and hurtling himself against any stable object in the room. "I'LL KILL THAT SON OF A BITCH! He can't just come after five years and do… this… to you! I'LL KILL HIM! I'LL KILL HIM!"

Toshiro backed up as much as he could on his bed as he felt a familiar evil reiatsu spilling from his lover. Oh god, no! Don't you lose control, baka! Don't leave me alone with him!

But it was too late. Toshiro stared in horror as Ichigo's face became distorted and twisted into a psychotic smile.

"Hey there, yuki no hana! Long time no see!"

"Ogichi. What are you doing, taking advantage of Ichigo? You're making his condition worse by appearing!"

"HAHAHAHA! Ya don' remember the fact tha' I'm the only thing keepin' King alive? Without me, your precious fiancé is as good as dead!

What took place next was something Toshiro did not expect to see in a million years. The hollow now possessing his lover made a face that almost looked full of sorrow. Ogichi made his way over to Toshiro slowly, his golden irises starting to become surrounded by the white and red mask.

"I've been watchin you an' King, Shiro-chan. He's so happy when he's with ya that it stops rainin' completely! I've never seen anythin' like it!" He put a cold hand on Toshiro's shoulder, at which the boy shuddered at the touch. Ogichi frowned a bit at this. "Come on, babe, don' be like that. Juss hear me out first. I know this'll sound like bull, but I've come to respect King's genuine relationship with ya. Also, durin' this month, I've grown rather fond o' ya, Toshiro Hitsugaya. And I've gained new respect for the King. I can't argue with love like y'all two got. I'm ashamed to admit it, but King's feelins have softened me a bit, since I'm a part o' him an' all. Now, I'm not keeping King alive cause I need to, but cause I want to."

The hollow sighed. "What I'm tryin to say is, if ya marry king, will ya marry me along with 'im? Will ya accept us both? In turn, I'll protect ya and King with my life. All I want is your love, yuki no hana."

Toshiro couldn't believe what he was hearing! Could this be happening. He stared at Ogichi with wide teal eyes jumping in confusion. His mind fought for an answer to this riddle set before him. How do I respond to this? I just wish I knew he was telling the truth.

"Then why did you take over Ichigo just now? Why did you play on his weakness?"

"Cause I can't communicate with ya otherwise!"

"Prove yourself to me, Ogichi. Let me see Ichigo's mind."

The hollow smiled brightly at this opportunity to prove himself. "Alright! Let's get goin then, babe!"

Toshiro took Ogichi's face in his tiny pale hands and concentrated as hard as he could until his mind and the world around him went completely black.

Orihime was the first to speak when they had been out in the hallway for almost five minutes in pure silence, everyone shocked by Ichigo's sudden request. She tightened her grasp on Uryu's hand, clearly worried. "Do you think Ichigo and Hitsugaya-kun are okay in there? I heard crashing and yelling!"

Uryu looked his girlfriend in the eyes, trying to boost her confidence in their friends. "Of course they are. Whatever they were doing has been resolved now. There are no more noises."

"Yeah, but sometimes silence is a bad thing."

Chad spoke for the first time all day. "Have faith in them, Orihime. They'll set right everything that needs to be."

Orihime smiled at the big man sitting next to her, grabbing his hand and giving him a thankful squeeze. "You guys are right, as always. I need to stop worrying so much!"

"It's okay to worry sometimes, Orihime," Rangiku interjected. "Don't stop being who you are because you are sometimes wrong. In fact, I'm glad I'm not the only one who is worried about what was going on in there."

Ukitake laughed at this. "Well, now that we are all sure that Ichigo and Hitsugaya-kun are fine, let's get a plan together for when they are ready to come out, shall we?"

Everyone nodded at the idea. They needed to be ready for when Soi Fon and Byakuya would show.

They spent the next ten minutes planning and going over ideas when they heard the sound of a shunpo from the next room.

Rukia's raven colored eyes became wide in surprise as the figure came into the waiting room. "Byakuya nii-sama!"

"Rukia, Ukitake, I have come to warn you."

Toshiro opened his eyes to see a strange new world, filled with a city made up of sideways skyscrapers. His mind came to the realization that this indeed was Ichigo's mind. Damn, his mind sure is complicated. No wonder why I can never figure him out.

He then noticed a hand running softly itself through his white spikes. He was startled and jumped out of the touch, ready to defend himself.

"Whoa, Toshiro! It's just me!" Ichigo stood up and walked towards Toshiro, placing his hands on his yuki no hana's shoulders. "I'm sorry about earlier, losing control like that. I should have never left you alone with him without at least a warning. But I was just so pissed about this whole Gin Ichimaru business!" He bent down and brushed his lips against the soft lips of his fiancé. "Forgive me?"

Toshiro scoffed at the orange headed idiot. "Of course, it wasn't completely your fault, was it Ogichi?"

They turned around to stare at the albino version of Ichigo, his black and gold eyes looking like a kid who had just been caught stealing. "Yeah yeah, don't rub it in. Hey king, can ya help me prove my point to Toshiro? I wanna be with 'im too!"

Ichigo thought for a moment before looking at Toshiro. "Well, I can vouch for him. This past month, he has changed drastically. How and why is beyond me, but he does love you as much as I do. I think he's goin' soft."

"Hey, careful, King! I can still kick your ass! But I won't cause Shiro wouldn't like that!

Toshiro wondered to himself if the hollow really had changed. "Ichigo, was he telling the truth about him being the only reason you are still alive?"

Ichigo sighed. "Yeah. At first it was just so he could kick my ass later and take over my body. But now, he's genuine on protecting both of us. I can tell because he's a part of me, so we share everything. Thoughts, emotions, actions, power, and so on. I've been talking to him this past month since the last time you saw him, and I say just give him a chance. Maybe he just needs a little love, as sappy as it sounds."

That elicited a laugh from the small taicho, making Ogichi frown. "Oh, don't worry, hollow, I'm not laughing because I don't like you. I'm laughing because if you told me your predicament a month ago instead of scaring the shit out of me, I would've complied." He walked up to the hollow and quickly pecked the cold, white lips, leaving his arms wrapped around Ogichi's neck when they broke. "If I'm going to be marrying Ichigo, it is my job to love all of him."

Ogichi wrapped his arms around Toshiro's waist, smiling. "Thanks, Shiro. I'll protect ya and king with my life, I promise."

Ichigo separated the two, feeling left out. He turned to look at the hollow, mocking a pout. "What, nothing for me?"

Ogichi complied with a humph and quickly pecked Ichigo's lips. "I'm gunna have fun with this!"

In the middle of his laughter, Toshiro's head snapped to attention. "Ichigo, do you feel that reiatsu?"

"Yeah, it seems very familiar. Who is it?"

Ogichi's head also came to attention, bent on helping his new friends. "Do y'all know a guy named Byakuya Kuchiki?"

Both the lovers' heads turned to look at one another in horror.

"Damn it!" Ichigo panicked. "We have to get back before anything happens!"

You Know What Goes Here

"I told you so, Gin," Aizen chuckled as he and the fox faced man stared into the glass, watching the events in the World of the Living transpire. "I told you that Shiro-kun would think it was you!"

Gin tried to keep up his role and not kill the bastard where he stood. "Wow, you two did have fun, didn't you?" he asked, the smile on his face extremely forced. How long should I keep this up? I wanna help Shiro, but I don't know the right time. Hang in there, Toshiro.

Yay for chappie nine! I'm on a roll! Thanks to all who review! I need the energy to keep going XD