Disclaimer: I do not own anything.
"W-Who are you?"
Toushiro jumped, his paperwork falling haphazardly across the floor. The white haired captain swore and bent over to pick them up. "I am Hitsugaya-taichou, captain of the tenth division."
Ichigo nodded.
"You can't be awake," Toushiro stated calmly when he had finished gathering his papers and had sat up in his chair again. At the boy's confused look he explained, "Muguruma-taichou and Hirako-taichou were just kicked out to go get some rest. They will be severely disappointed if they find out you woke up when they weren't here."
The boy's brows furrowed. "Should I pretend to be asleep when they come back and then act all groggy like I just woke up?"
The captain chuckled, "I think they can deal with the disappointment; they'll just be happy to know that you are finally awake."
Ichigo cocked his head to the side, "Finally? How long was I asleep?"
"Not so much asleep as unconscious. Your injuries did a number on you. You've been unconscious for three weeks now. Unohana-taichou was unsure as to whether or not you would ever wake up."
Ichigo sniffed as held Jinta's bat to his chest.
"I need you, Jinta-kun. I can't do this without you."
He took in a shuttering breath and held the bat close, imagining that the red head was standing in front of him, arms crossed and a scowl on his face as he berated Ichigo for being so weak.
"Just because you're the youngest doesn't mean you can be such a pansy. Man up!"
Ichigo chuckled at the memory of Jinta.
"I will, Jinta. I will man up. I will be strong, for you."
"Ichigo-kun!"
Ichigo jumped in fright as he turned his head to the door and smiled at the blur of blonde hair racing towards him. Shinji slowed down as he reached Ichigo's bed, bending over to wrap his long arms around the small child. "I'm so glad you're awake, Ichigo-kun." He gently cradled the boy in his arms and pulled him into his lap as he sat down on the bed. Shinji tucked Ichigo's head into the crook of his neck and began to rock the boy back and forth slightly. Ichigo noticed a faint tremor in Shinji's frame and realized that the man was crying. He carefully wrapped in arms around Shinji's neck and gave soothing strokes to the base of his neck in the hopes of calming down his mentor. Shinji let out a choked laugh at Ichigo's ministrations and carefully pulled back to look the boy in the eyes. "I thought I was going to lose you. After everything Urahara put you through-and I didn't realize any of it!" He pulled Ichigo back into his chest and began to methodically stroking his hair. "And for that I am sorry. I should have noticed what Urahara was really up to and stopped him sooner. Maybe then you could have lived out your human life in peace."
Ichigo shrugged in his arms and began to play with the edge of Shinji's haori. "I don't blame you, Shinji-san," he said, curling further into Shinji's hold.
Shinji shook his head, "Doesn't make me feel any less guilty for leaving you."
Ichigo looked up at Shinji and grabbed the moist cheeks between his small fingers, "You didn't leave me, Shinji-san—not really."
Shinji let out a soft choked laugh and pulled Ichigo tighter against him, "How would you like to live with me, Ichigo? Then we won't have to leave each other."
The tiny shinigami looked up at the blonde with wide hopeful eyes, "Really?"
He chuckled, nodding his head, "Really."
Ichigo nodded his head excitedly and wrapped his arms around his mentor tightly, "Arigato, Shinji-san!"
Ichigo looked around the dirty room, swallowing back the sobs that were threatening to escape his lips.
"This is your home now, Ichigo." Urahara's voice echoed in his head, causing him to flinch in the darkened room. Ichigo slowly made his way over to the worn and blood stained tatami mat. He wrapped his arms around his legs and buried his head in his knees.
He carefully tasted the word on his tongue, his voice barely brushing against the air.
"Home."
He flinched at the foreign feeling it brought, an empty, heart-wrenching feeling that made him choke on his own gasping breaths. This was his home now.
And he couldn't stomach it.
Shinji giggled as he led the small boy into a room in his flat, his long spindly fingers covering his eyes so that he could not get a peek before the blonde was ready to show him. Ichigo was holding onto Shinji's wrists in order to keep his balance as the blonde led him further into his apartment.Finally, the blonde removed his hands and gestured proudly at the simple apartment.
Ichigo looked around with wide eyes. "This is yours, Shinji-san?"
The blonde shook his head, giving the boy a small smile. "No Ichigo-chan. This is ours. It's your home too, now."
The little boy's eyes began to water as he took in his surroundings. "Thank you, Shinji-san," he whispered as he hesitantly wrapped his arms around the blonde's waist as well as he could. "It's been so long since I had a home."
Shinji gave the boy a sad smile, wrapping his arms around him tightly. "You'll always have a home with me, Ichigo-chan. I promise."
Ichigo was bored. Shinji and Kensei had to work and so did the rest of the Vizards. As he was still confined to bed rest in the fourth division with nothing to do, he was bored silly. He had already counted all of the ceiling tiles twenty three times and had twiddled his thumbs into exhaustion. Now he was just plain bored.
The door opened and the small white haired captain came through the door. He gave Ichigo a small smile and sat down next to his head. Ichigo tried to partially sit up but was quickly stopped by a gentle hand on the chest. "Don't try to sit up, Ichigo. That will only make it that much more difficult to smuggle you in things if she thinks that you can't behave yourself."
Ichigo sighed. "I know, but I'm just so bored."
Hitsugaya smiled. "Do you like to read?"
The younger's eyes widened in excitement and he nodded his head enthusiastically.
"I have to admit, they aren't the most riveting books in the world but they should hold your attention for a while."
He took the book reverently, holding it close to his chest as he said, "Arigato, Hitsugaya-taichou."
The white haired captain paused at the door, looking back at the small child in the bed. "You're welcome Ichigo. And you may call me Toushiro when we are in private."
Ichigo quietly made his way through the halls of the tenth division, heading towards the captain's office. The boy had quickly made his way through the ranks and was now the third seat of the fifth division. Ichigo still wasn't so sure he liked the idea of working under Shinji as the man had a habit of treating him like a fragile doll. It hadn't taken long for the blonde to get permanent custody of the boy. The orange haired shinigami liked the idea of having a father again after so many years of not having anyone but he quickly realized that Shinji took the roll very seriously and as such did not let the boy out of his sight for fear of something horrible happening. The third seat had often taken to sneaking out while Shinji was whining over paperwork and going to the tenth division.
He knocked once on the captain's door before opening it and making his way towards the couch in the center of the room, facing the white taichou who was hunched over a large pile of paperwork. Ichigo placed the two bentos in his hand on the coffee table in front of him. "I brought lunch."
Toushiro looked up startled, obviously not having heard Ichigo come in. He gave the orange haired boy a small smile and set down his pen. As he sat down on the couch next to the third seat, Ichigo handed him one of the bentos.
The two began to eat and Toushiro asked, "How is your day going?"
Ichigo groaned and pressed his head back against the couch. "Exhausting. I swear. Even though I've been here fifty years, Shinji still treats me like I'm that scared little kid. I just want him to see me as an adult already."
Hitsugaya laughed, "Good luck with that. I've got hundreds of years and captain status on you and I'm still treated like I'm ten half of the time."
"It's cuz we're short, isn't it?"
The white haired captain huffed and folded his arms across his chest. "I am not short."
Ichigo laughed. "Of course you're not, Toushiro." After a moment more of laughter, he added, "At least you're taller than me."
Toushiro smirked. "That means I'm the seme then."
Ichigo choked and shook his head. "Yeah right, like I hell I would be an uke compared to you."
The white haired captain paused before leaning in and kissing Ichigo on the lips. The shocked third seat froze for a moment before melting into the kiss before Toushiro could second guess himself. He wrapped his arms around the white haired captain and pulled him closer, deepening the kiss. It soon became a battle of the tongues, Toushiro winning after a few minutes as he pulled Ichigo into his lap.
When they pulled apart, Ichigo laughed breathily. "I guess I wouldn't mind being the uke to you Toushiro."
He grinned. "Good," he stated as he leaned in for another kiss.
"Ichigo," Misaki said, holding the sniffling boy by the shoulders, giving him a kind smile as she gently rubbed a tear from his cheek. "You are such a brave little boy and I am so proud of you. When you grow up you are going to so strong because your heart is so big. I just want you to know that mommy loves you so much. Never forget that. And never stop loving, okay Ichigo?" She sighed and pulled the boy into her chest and mumbled into his ear. "I wish you could stay my little boy forever."
"I will be, mommy," Ichigo said, hugging Misaki back. "I promise."
From the shadows, a man in a green and white stripped hat smirked.
AN: -audience gasps- she finished?! No way!
Yup! I actually finished this story. I know that it is probably not as long as you were hoping for and it took waaaay longer than it should have. Last spring my computer died for good and I had to spend my money on fixing my pain-in-the-butt car instead of a new laptop. I only got a new computer about a month ago and have been struggling trying to rewrite this after having lost it on my old computer. But it's done so yay!
I've decided that I will not do multiple chapter fics anymore unless I have completely finished them and uploaded them on my docs on fanfiction prior to posting the first chapter. It is unfair to you to have to wait so long for the next chapter and I am sincerely sorry about how long it has taken me to get this to you.
Also, I've decided to expand my library of fanfics and will be posting some fics in the Fast and the Furious fandom and the Transformers fandom. This does not mean that I am done with Bleach, not by a long shot, however, I have had way too many fic ideas in my head to just limit myself to Bleach. As always, they are super angsty and I am quite proud of some of my done ones.
Oh wow, long author's note. Anyways, please review and tell me what you thought, any and all reviews are greatly appreciated!