Note: Happy New Year! Yay for 2009~ Here's a chapter very early. xD; I thought I should post this tonight, on January 1st, so I did. :3 Yey~ Well, I hope this chapter isn't too disappointing - this stuff was needed for the storyline to continue on. ;) Please, read and review - I love reading reviews! ^w^ Oh - there might be a bit of a spoiler for Tsubasa, not really sure. I tried to make it so there wasn't, but something might've slipped through my mind. -w-;;
Summary: BleachxTsubasa crossover. Two dense, hot-tempered males, with the two that love them dearly. But the temperamental ones can't seem understand. It's up to Fai and Ichigo to help one another get the ones they love to see it. IchiHitsu, KuroFai.
Warnings: A little bit of OOCness. Some perversion, but only if you get the sword thing. I don't really plan on bringing it up again in this story. xD; Uh... A little bit of loving fluff. Just a teensy little bit, at the end of the chapter. Some Hitsu-angsting. And yeah, I think that's all I need to warn you all about...
Pairings: IchiHitsu, KuroFai.
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or Tsubasa.
Syaoran and Sakura gaped at the blonde man, and the boy swallowed thickly while he stepped forward.
"Urahara-san, please – help Kurogane-san." He pleaded, his amber eyes twinkling with worry.
"Ah, Syaoran-kun – don't worry so much about Kuro-puu. He's a strong man – he can handle a few cuts and bruises." Fai soothed with a calm smile, which widened when the boy nodded.
"Please take Kurogane-kun into the room, down the hallway on the right. Tessai, please go and help Kurogane-kun." Urahara directed in a cheery voice, hiding his fake grin behind the paper fan. Fai, Syaoran and Sakura nodded before carting their friend off to the room, the bulky kidou master following behind them.
Once their figures had vanished through the doorway, and said door had slid shut, Urahara's beady eyes shifted onto the three shinigami.
"Would you care to tell me what happened?" Ichigo shifted uneasily on his feet, and Renji coughed and rubbed the back of his head. Hitsugaya waited impatiently for a few moments, before narrowing his ocean-coloured eyes.
"These idiots allowed him to go off on his own."
"I'm not an idiot!" Ichigo shouted irritably, glaring daggers at the white-haired taichou.
"Oi!" Renji snarled indignantly, crossing his arms over his chest.
"I will not apologize for speaking the truth. The point is, you let him go off on his own, when we were most likely supposed to protect them. That was why we were split up into such groups, am I correct, Urahara Kisuke?" Hitsugaya sighed blandly, gazing up at said shinigami with a criticizing eye.
"Wai wai, Hitsugaya-kun is very intelligent!" Urahara laughed from behind his fan, which he snapped closed with a clicking noise.
"Yes, I split you all up accordingly. I sent one person with a taichou, because Fai-kun would only need a taichou to protect him. Ichigo-kun gained Kurogane-kun, because both of them are able to protect themselves. They are both skilled with fighting. Renji-kun got Syaoran-kun and Sakura-chan because he is a fukutaichou, and is powerful enough to protect them both. It was good that you two continued as a larger group, though." Urahara finished his statement with an eerie note, and an oddly grim smile to match.
"It seemed as though the Hollows were overly interested in destroying Kurogane-san, though." Hitsugaya commented thoughtfully, narrowing his teal eyes even further.
"It does seem odd…" Ichigo murmured, scratching at his head in confusion.
"But why?"
"Perhaps it has something to do with that object… The one that the bastard Aizen is using against us. Perhaps… The reason that they are staying here, and not moving on, is because that object remains in this area. And, if so…" Hitsugaya trailed off as understanding dawned on his face, blanching it.
"Then he might be trying to kill a couple off, and take the remaining two." Urahara finished on a grim note, shaking his head and tipping his hat forward, covering his beady eyes entirely.
"What?! That bastard!" Renji yelled in fury, uncurling his arms and clenching his fists as his eyes flickered with anger.
"It seems like something Aizen would do, Abarai." Hitsugaya commented calmly, watching the fukutaichou out of the corner of his glistening eyes.
"After all – Aizen was willing to betray us, just to raise himself higher in rank. He would be willing to do anything, if it would get him enough power to destroy us all." The taichou added firmly, sighing.
"At least no one is troubling you lately about him, eh, Hitsugaya-taichou?" Renji forced a small grin to come to his face, but it abruptly vanished when he saw the distant look appear in the taichou's eyes.
"Hinamori is just confused right now. She'll come back to her senses." Hitsugaya responded in a dull tone of voice, not even glancing at Renji. Said red-haired shinigami stood in silence for a moment, before he stated he was going to the school and taking off. The tendo stared blankly at the door, before meeting Urahara's intrigued gaze.
"Is your wound alright, Hitsugaya-kun? Or would you like it healed as well?"
"I'm perfectly fine, arigatou. It will heal on its own." The white-haired tendo turned to face Ichigo, his eyes sparkling brilliantly enough that the orange-haired teen's breath caught in his throat momentarily. Thoughts buzzed around in his head, forbidden thoughts about the little white-haired taichou – Ichigo hadn't even heard the words that Hitsugaya had spoken.
"-Saki… Kurosaki!" Said shinigami's sharp voice finally brought him out of his thoughts.
"Huh?"
"Well?"
"Well what?"
"Were you not listening?!"
"I'm sorry, could you repeat what you said earlier?" Ichigo asked sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.
"Boke! I was saying that we are already late enough for school, so it's not worth it to go there. And we have no one to show around this dismal place. What are we going to do?" Hitsugaya crossed his arms in annoyance, glowering balefully up at the substitute shinigami.
"Hm… I… I don't know."
"You could always stay here and train?" Urahara offered, flicking open the fan again and hiding his mischievous grin behind it.
"I think we are going to have to decline your offer, Urahara-san." The tendo replied coldly, before turning away from the other shinigami.
"Come on, Kurosaki – we may as well just go back to your house. Is your father home?"
"Yes, he's working in the clinic, though. I can stop in and just tell him we were feeling ill, and so we came back early." Ichigo's focus remained on the white-haired boy, who nodded reluctantly.
"Fine. I guess that's good enough. Let's go." Hitsugaya replied, shrugging his thin shoulders before moving to stand just outside of the doorway.
"Thank you, Urahara-san, for your help."
"It's no problem, really, Hitsugaya-kun! You're so sweet!" Urahara chimed brightly, waving his fan slightly in the taichou's direction. He received an irritated growl in return, which caused him to chuckle lightly.
"Calm down, Toushirou-"
"Hitsugaya-taichou."
"-He didn't mean any offense." Ichigo glared down at Hitsugaya, annoyed at being interrupted for the slightest thing like 'forgetting' to call him taichou.
"Hmph. Come on." The boy barked in irritation, gesturing for Ichigo to leave the shoten. After much grumbling, the teenage shinigami stalked past Hitsugaya, raising a hand slightly in silent farewell to the shoten owner.
Hitsugaya rolled his teal eyes momentarily before taking a step in Ichigo's direction. Suddenly, a hand fell on his shoulder, and Urahara's head was beside his.
"Hitsugaya-kun. I think something's wrong."
"How long did it take you to figure that one out, Urahara Kisuke?" The taichou sighed.
"Ah, not long, actually. I've only had this moment to speak with you. Keep an eye out for incoming messages from Soul Society."
"Warnings about Hollows and Arrancar?" The tendo's voice took on a confused note, and his eyes shifted to watch Urahara curiously from their corners.
"No. Warnings about traitorous actions."
"What are you talking about?"
"There could be someone still afflicted by hypnosis. Just keep an eye out, alright? This could cause trouble."
"Hn. I thought that Tousen left with Aizen. The only other one is…"
"Sh. Don't speak about it now, too many prying eyes. Wait until you know for sure, and then perhaps speak with Ichigo-kun." Hitsugaya snorted dismissively, shaking his head ever-so-slightly.
"Why speak with Kurosaki? It's not like he would know anything about it."
"Well… He might know what to do about it, or be able to give you advice. Just watch." Urahara flashed the boy an eerie, seemingly all-knowing smile, before patting him twice in succession on the shoulder and vanishing back into the shoten.
Hitsugaya remained where he was for a few stunned moments, his teal eyes staring unseeingly at the air in front of him. Little did he know, there was a pair of eyes staring at him from a nearby roof, the figure disguising their reiatsu with practiced ease. They giggled childishly, and it echoed in his head. His eyes snapped back into focus, and they darted around frantically, searching for the culprit.
"Oi! Toushirou! You told me to hurry up, so I suggest you do the same!" Ichigo's voice carried back to him, and he blinked once.
"I'm coming, Kurosaki! And it's Hitsugaya-taichou!" The tendo snapped back, hurrying out of the gate and turning to run towards the impatiently waiting teenager. Ichigo narrowed his ochre eyes at the taichou, before noticing the somewhat distant look still in those ocean-coloured orbs.
"Oi, everything alright?" His voice took on a concerned note, and all he received in return for his worry was a cold-hearted glower.
"I'm fine. Now let's go."
"You said that before, and then I had to wait for you." Ichigo reminded Hitsugaya with a smirk curling at his lips.
"Shut up, Kurosaki!" The tendo snarled angrily, before stomping off down the sidewalk.
"Oi, wait up!"
"Come on, you're a big boy – you can catch up. Or am I wrong…?"
"Why you little…!"
The pair of eyes, that had winked out of sight for the few moments, reappeared. The figure giggled again, before turning around and vanishing into the cool morning air.
Urahara glanced out at the taichou's rapidly vanishing form through a crack in the door, and grinned amiably.
"That's good… He seems to be okay. Maybe the warning will prepare him…" The blonde turned around, and came face-to-face with a disgruntled-looking Fai.
"Is something wrong, Fai-kun? Is there something going wrong in healing Kurogane-kun?"
"No… I just-" Fai began, but a hand fell on his shoulder.
"It's fine, Fai-kun. You were worried about your friends."
"But now I'm worried about Shiro-chan. He said something to Kuro-wanwan, and I don't know what. But it shocked him. And now, even our little friend seems out of it." Fai murmured, his fake smile cracking at the edges.
"It's going to be fine, Fai-kun! Now… Would you mind telling me?" Fai gazed at the other blonde quizzically, blinking his mismatched eyes once.
"Tell you what, Kisuke-kun?"
"What you know about the object our enemies hold. And why you're still here." Urahara smiled charmingly, and the expression on his face was reflected by Fai.
"Of course, Kisuke-kun. Well… I guess I should start from the beginning… I come from Celes, which is a world that was destroyed when I left it. Kuro-rin came from a place called Japan – there are many other places named Japan, but this is from a different dimension. Sakura-chan and Syaoran-kun came from a country named Clow. Sakura-chan is a princess, and Syaoran-kun is a childhood friend of hers.
"Anyways… The object that your enemies have is one that was used by our main enemy – we have no need for them anymore, for our enemy is dead and our friend retrieved, but they are dangerous in the hands of someone evil. So, that's why we're still here. Your enemies probably have a hold of Sakura-chan's feather – it is a 'memory' of Sakura-chan, and we have found it to be very powerful.
"Does this explain it to you?"
"Of course, Fai-kun. So… If these feathers are powerful, no matter who they are given to, they can still cause destruction?" Urahara quirked a blonde eyebrow underneath his messy bangs, and covered the surprise on his face with the fan when the blonde nodded.
"Yes. It can be a good thing, or a weapon. It all depends on who holds it!" The blonde replied cheerfully, shrugging his shoulders in a seemingly careless way.
Urahara stared at him evenly for a moment, before opening his mouth to reply – but he was interrupted by a knock on the doorframe that led deeper into Urahara's shoten.
"Sir? He's bandaged up, and should be fine by tomorrow at the latest." Tessai bowed his head at the blonde in green, who grinned mischievously behind his fan.
"That's good news, isn't it, Fai-kun?" Urahara chirped, regaining his bright demeanour.
"Of course, Kisuke-kun!" Fai sang cheerily, twirling twice in place before tackling the other blonde.
"Thank you, both of you! Tessai-kun, you did a great job, if he's going to be fine tomorrow!" The foreigner pulled away and grinned amicably at the taller man, who nodded his head politely. Urahara snapped his fan shut and stuck it in the side of his obi, when Fai swiftly latched onto his hands and began to skip around him.
"You're very energetic!" Urahara laughed joyously, easily moving in a circle with Fai's help.
"I'm just so happy!" The other blonde replied, grinning widely. Tessai watched the two for a moment, before he silently exited the room.
"I think… You should call Ichigo-kun and Hitsugaya-kun soon."
"'Call'? What's that?"
"You use a phone – I'll teach you." Urahara laughed at the confused look on the other blonde's face.
"Oh, okay!"
"They should be home – I'd say… Call them in about an hour or so. Just make sure that your little friends aren't worried sick!"
"Of course! Syaoran-kun and Sakura-chan are always worried when we get sick, especially our little hime." Fai released Urahara's hands and gestured loosely in the air around him.
"I know you were worried too." The owner of the shoten winked knowingly in Fai's direction, and said blonde blinked in surprise.
"It's that obvious?"
"Eheh! Some people may think it's just teasing, the way you flirt with him, but I see something different! Don't worry, I won't tell anyone." Urahara giggled darkly, waving a hand in Fai's direction.
"Now go – your little friends need some cheering up!"
The two shinigami were located in Ichigo's room almost an hour later, but not in the way they had planned.
All they had hoped for was a calming silence, where Hitsugaya could sit proudly on the window ledge, and Ichigo could relax on his bed and listen to music.
But Isshin had a different plan for the two.
-----
"I don't think it's such a good idea now, Kurosaki."
"Ah, come on – it's foolproof! It's my dad, Toushirou."
"Hitsugaya-taichou."
"Sure. Now, be quiet – he's in here." The teen whispered softly, before opening the door.
"U-Uh… Dad?" Ichigo slipped into the clinic office, watching his father with wary eyes.
"Ichigo? What're you doing home? School started almost an hour ago." Isshin turned around to face his son, a quizzical look on his cheery face.
"Toushirou and I weren't feeling very well."
"Aw. Your lil' friend isn't feeling well either? Did you get him sick? How cruel…"
"No, he came home with me – he's just out in the hallway right now. We wanted to make sure it was alright we came home." Isshin eyed Ichigo with a speculating gaze for a moment, causing the teen to shift uncomfortably under that intense gaze.
"Of course it's fine! You two are sick!"
"We'll probably be well enough to go to school tomorrow." Isshin nodded, his trademark grin stretching from ear to ear once more.
"But, since you two are ill… March right up to your room right now, mister." Ichigo's father scolded, and Hitsugaya poked his head almost shyly into the room.
"Come 'ere a moment, Hitsugaya-kun." Isshin gestured at the boy, who silently shuffled forward to stand before Ichigo's father. Isshin swiftly reached out a hand, and pressed the back of it to Hitsugaya's forehead. The boy stiffened, and the older Kurosaki's eyes widened slightly.
"Hitsugaya-kun… You're cold – that temperature isn't healthy."
"I-I don't feel cold." Hitsugaya attempted weakly, shifting from foot to foot uneasily. Isshin kept his hand there a moment longer, before stepping around Hitsugaya and pressing the same hand to Ichigo's forehead.
"And you're feeling warm… Alright, both of you up to Ichigo's room. I'll be up in a minute!" However cheery – and no matter if he was singing it or not – Isshin's voice brooded no argument, and with shoulders slumped in defeat, the two shinigami made their way slowly up into the substitute shinigami's room. They stood near Ichigo's bed in silence, the teenager watching the door warily, and Hitsugaya staring out the window in annoyance.
"Great, so much for a foolproof plan." The taichou grumbled after a moment.
"Hey! I didn't expect my father to care so much! Maybe it's because you're a guest or something, so he needs to keep us all healthy?"
"Yeah. Sure." The tendo scorned, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Well, do you have any other idea why-" Ichigo was cut off by the door opening, and Isshin walked in with cold compress in one hand, and some sort of heating pad in the other.
"Alright – Ichigo, down." Isshin gestured at the bed, a goofy grin prominent on his face.
"Hitsugaya-kun, please lay down." Silently, the two shinigami obliged. Isshin strode over to Ichigo's bedside, placing the cold compress on the teen's forehead. He ignored the hiss that escaped Ichigo's mouth at the chill that entered him, and moved towards Hitsugaya.
Kneeling beside the futon, he easily tugged the blanket out from underneath the tendo, and laid it out overtop of him.
"Hitsugaya-kun, please keep this on your head. It will help warm you up."
"B-But, Kurosaki-san, I-I'm not-" Hitsugaya stumbled over his words in a futile attempt to explain, but the miniature pad was dropped on his head. Heat almost instantly began flooding through his body, and he choked back a noise of surprise.
"You two'll be just fine tomorrow! Your fever should go down, my son, and then we can pray to Masaki that you never get sick again! Oh – and your temperature should rise, Hitsugaya-kun." Isshin rose to his feet, and Ichigo could have sworn that he saw a knowing grin come to his face, as if he knew that the two of them had planned this. Though he did seem quite surprised at Hitsugaya's body temperature, which was naturally low because he was an ice-wielding taichou.
"Get some rest, you two!" Isshin winked derisively at his son before slipping out of the room, closing the door.
The two of them waited with bated breath, and heard no noise come from outside their room. Letting all of the breath out of his lungs with a relieved sigh, Ichigo reached up to remove the cold compress when the door reopened.
"Ah-ah-ah, Ichigo!" Isshin chided, tsk-ing.
"You both need to sleep. So I'll be a great father… And stay here until you do." Hitsugaya cursed inwardly – the heat was beginning to make him feel uncomfortable, and even Hyourinmaru was shifting in his mind. How hot were these pads?!
'Sorry…' He murmured to the ice dragon, receiving a calming snort in response. Hitsugaya felt Isshin's bright gaze on him, and forced his teal eyes closed begrudgingly.
"That's better, Hitsugaya-kun. Now, Ichigo, follow your little friend's example."
"I can't sleep."
"Come on, son – you've got a fever. If you're sick, your body will want to rest." Isshin laughed gleefully, spinning the chair at Ichigo's desk around and seating himself on it. He rested his right elbow on his knee, and then proceeded to place his bearded chin in his right hand.
"Fine!" Ichigo gave in abruptly, and closed his eyes, slipping silently underneath the covers of his bed.
Silence was all that remained in the room for quite a while.
Finally, Isshin nodded with satisfaction, and quietly left the room. When the door shut behind him, Ichigo's eyes shot open, relief shining brightly within their chocolate-coloured depths.
"Toushirou, he's gone – we can get up now." No response.
"Toushirou?" Ichigo blinked his eyes, sitting upright and allowing the cold compress to fall into his lap – which was a bad idea. He yelped, and almost chucked it across the room – it was way too cold to sit there for long…
His gaze fell upon the lightly sleeping taichou, whose cheeks were flushed. Ichigo's eyes widened in realization, and he scrambled out of the bed, removing the heat pad from the boy's forehead.
"Toushirou, wake up." The boy groaned in response, and cracked open his gleaming eyes.
"Hn? What is it, Kurosaki?" Hitsugaya's voice was hoarse, surprising them both.
"The heating pad seemed to affect you badly." Ichigo forced out a light-hearted chuckle, gaining a weak glare from the taichou.
"Hmph. Thanks. It'll take me a couple minutes to get rid of this heat… I feel like I've got a fever now." Hitsugaya rolled onto his side, his back facing Ichigo's bed. The teen watched him for a moment, disgruntled, but shrugged and moved back onto his own bed. He rested himself overtop of the covers, and buried his face in his pillow.
More silence.
Deafening.
And annoying.
-----
Ichigo narrowed his eyes at the wall, his head having shifted to the side.
"Seriously – why would he do something like that? We're not kids, that's for sure. Therefore, we can take care of ourselves." He complained softly, watching the sun climb higher in the sky slowly.
"Stop complaining, Kurosaki." Hitsugaya snapped, cracking open an eye and turning his head slightly towards the substitute shinigami.
"I can complain if I want to." Ichigo retorted, watching the taichou roll over to face him. The boy's face had regained its pallor, and his body radiated an odd chill.
"Well, it's annoying."
"Why? Are you trying to sleep?"
"No. I'm trying to think."
"Is something the matter? Are you thinking about something that happened at Urahara's?" Ichigo tried to get the boy back onto the subject, to get an actual answer out of him.
"Why do you think something happened there, Kurosaki?" Hitsugaya's teal eyes narrowed suspiciously in the teen's direction. Ichigo stared at him for a moment, before shifting uncomfortably.
"Well… You just seemed out of it when you followed me. And you stayed behind like, two minutes longer, when you were bothering me to leave quickly."
"… Sure."
"There's something wrong, I know it. Why won't you tell me?!" Ichigo exclaimed in irritation, throwing his arms up in the air wildly.
"You can trust me, Toushirou!"
"Hitsugaya-taichou!" The tendo hissed angrily, his ocean-like eyes swirling with said emotion.
"Would you calm down for just one minute?! Seriously! This is a serious subject – there's something bothering you!"
"I would not like to discuss this!"
"If there's nothing wrong, there should be no reason to not want to discuss it!"
"If there's nothing wrong, then there is nothing to discuss!" Hitsugaya scorned cynically, quirking a white eyebrow as he pushed himself into a sitting position, meeting Ichigo's angered gaze easily.
"Ah, but Toushirou." Ichigo's lip curled victoriously, and his eyes glimmered brightly, causing Hitsugaya's heart to flutter for a moment. He shoved the feeling aside, and intensified his glare.
"By saying you didn't want to discuss it… There's something wrong." Hitsugaya cursed inwardly, realizing his own mistake.
"I'm amazed you figured that out-"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"-What with your brain size."
"Eh?!" Ichigo all but flung himself off the bed and landed in a crouch beside the white-haired taichou.
"Are you insulting me, shorty?"
"What did you just call me?!"
"You heard me!"
"Don't ever call me short, you-"
"BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!"
Ichigo stared at Hitsugaya, bewildered.
"I didn't know they could censor people for swearing in real life… Must've said some pretty bad things…" He mumbled to himself in astonishment, before noticing that the taichou looked just as confused as he did.
"I didn't swear…"
The offending object finally began letting out multiple beeps in succession, alerting Hitsugaya to a new message. The taichou lifted the phone and flipped open the lid, his eyes scanning over the information.
"There's more Hollows." The taichou grunted out the message, before a tapping came on the window.
"Renji or Rukia can get it." Ichigo muttered as he glanced up – Hitsugaya was preoccupied with memorizing the locations of the creatures – and noticed a Hell Butterfly was pounding furiously on his window.
"A-Ah!" The orange-haired teen scrambled frantically onto his bed, and slid open the pane of glass.
'I didn't clean this…' The substitute shinigami thought for a moment, before the butterfly flitted quickly past him, hovering in front of Hitsugaya's face.
"Taichou! This is an urgent message!" Said tendo watched the Hell Butterfly with interest, leaning forward to hear the rest of the message. Matsumoto's voice was frantic, which may have been a cause for concern.
"Hinamori-fukutaichou… She vanished. Her reiatsu was still in Seireitei after she left, but we're guessing that she left around the same time you did. Taichou… Keep watching for her. Unohana-taichou was saying something about her mental state… Please be careful." Both shinigami in the room gawked at the butterfly, before the tendo cleared his throat gruffly.
"Ah. Matsumoto, I will heed your advice. I have not seen any trace whatsoever of Hinamori. I will keep an eye out in case she appears." He spoke in a monotone to the Hell Butterfly, which stayed for a moment before fluttering out the window. Ichigo stared sadly at Hitsugaya for a moment, before moving himself back down onto the floor. He crossed his legs and positioned himself on the futon, right beside the white-haired taichou.
"You still wish to hear what the problem was, Kurosaki?"
"Finally! You admit you have a problem! Alright, tell me." Ichigo ignored the weak glower directed at him, waiting eagerly
"That… That was the problem, Kurosaki… Urahara Kisuke had warned me, and I didn't want to believe it. That's all." Hitsugaya's voice was still strong, yet held a tinge of remorse. He stared dejectedly at the ground, his teal gaze worried and… Was that fear?
Ichigo sighed, and patted the boy's shoulder comfortingly.
"Everything's going to be alright. She's probably come out to check on you, what with you two being childhood friends and all." He laughed with fake cheer, forcing a calming grin onto his face.
"Hmph. I know everything's going to be alright." Hitsugaya straightened his spine and stiffened his posture, staring boldly out the window. Ichigo sighed and shook his head at the miniature taichou, narrowing his ochre eyes as the boy lied through his teeth.
The phone rang before Ichigo could reply. The orange-haired teen glanced at the door, both shinigami straining their hearing so they could understand what Isshin was saying on the phone.
"Did he just say he'd come and get you?" Hitsugaya muttered softly, understanding dawning in his eyes.
"Back into your bed! Now!" He hissed urgently, placing a hand on Ichigo's shoulder and shoving him away. The teen tilted backwards and struck the ground with a distinguishable 'thud' before scrambling to his feet, chucking himself back onto the bed and hurriedly tugging the covers onto himself. He lay on his back, closing his eyes and willing his breathing and heart to both slow down.
Hitsugaya calmly laid himself back down on the futon, pulling the blanket tightly around himself as he hid the pager underneath the blanket.
'Just in time!' Ichigo thought to himself proudly when the door burst open, and Isshin jumped in, grinning cheekily.
"My son, are you awake?"
"… I am now."
"Ah – someone's on the phone for you! I think it's a girl!" Isshin winked at the teen, who slowly forced himself into a sitting position. Ichigo sighed, before throwing off the blankets and sliding off the bed, frowning at his father with brows furrowed tightly on his forehead.
"Oh! Your friend, the one on the phone, also asked if your little friend was around. Hitsugaya-kun!" Isshin sang happily, throwing his focus down onto the white-haired taichou.
"Yes, Kurosaki-san?" Hitsugaya cracked open an eye, and shifted it in its socket to stare up at the man.
"Someone's on the phone for you two." The man spun around and pretty much skipped out of the room.
"After that, it's back up to bed, both of you!"
"Eh… Let's go, Toushirou."
"Hitsugaya-taichou." The boy muttered in irritation, sweeping past the orange-haired teen and stalking down the stairs, vanishing around the small corner and continuing into the other room.
"O-Oi!" Ichigo scrambled after the taichou, hurrying down the stairs.
"Yes, they're both coming. Don't worry!" Isshin laughed, before turning to face the two shinigami that had almost tumbled down the stairs.
"Ah, my son – here's the phone." Isshin handed off the phone to the teenager, who swiped it grumpily.
"She sounds pretty hot." Isshin winked for the second time, causing Ichigo and Hitsugaya to both let out a reflexive growl as the man flounced breezily out of the room. The substitute shinigami raised the phone to his ear, sighing.
"Who is this?"
"Ah! Ichigo-kun!"
"F-Fai-san?!"
"Hm? Is something the matter?"
"A-Ah, no – my dad… He thought you were a girl."
"So… You're interested in girls now?"
"That's not what I meant!" Ichigo felt the heat rising in his cheeks, staining them a light, rosy colour. Hitsugaya quirked an eyebrow at this – he could only hear Ichigo's side of the conversation clearly.
"Ahaha! I'm just teasing you!"
"Hmph. So, what did you want?"
"Well, Kuro-sama's going to be fine! He should be all healed up by tomorrow."
"That's good news."
"Yep! And, it seems you two got out of having to go to school, eh?"
"Well… My dad is under the impression I have a fever, and Toushirou-"
"Hitsugaya-taichou."
"-Is going to be hit by hypothermia and die."
"Excuse me?!"
"Ah! Is it because of his… Um… Saanpakeyouta type?"
"Saanpakeyouta?"
"Yeah – the long, sword things all you guys have." Ichigo heard snickering in the background that was becoming more distant – probably Urahara. Only that old man would make something perverted out of a perfectly normal statement...
"… Do you mean zanpakuto?"
"Yeah – that thing. Is it because his was ice?"
"Ah, yeah."
"So, he doesn't know what you two are?"
"No, and I don't plan on him finding out."
"Hyuu hyuu, he won't find out from me! Oh – would you mind if I spoke to Shiro-chan for a moment?"
"Of course. Toushirou?"
"Hitsugaya-taichou."
"Fai-san wants to speak with you." Ichigo handed the phone down to the tendo, who took it gingerly and held it up to his ear.
"Hello?" His voice sounded bored, and he shifted his position slightly to turn away from Ichigo's prying eyes.
Suddenly, static blotted out Fai's voice, surprising the white-haired taichou.
"Fluorite? You there? Fluorite!" He hissed into the phone, ignoring the substitute shinigami's questioning gaze.
"Hello Shiro-chan." A child-like voice spoke into the phone, the static still interfering somewhat.
"Who is this."
"Don't you remember me, Shiro-chan?"
"I don't know who you think you are, but-" Hitsugaya was interrupted by a series of seemingly uncontrollable giggles.
'Wait a minute…' Teal eyes widened in understanding.
"Oi! Wait!"
"Bye-bye Shiro-chan."
"Wait!"
"Sh… Ro… An? Shi… Han? Shiro-ch… Shiro-chan? Are you there?" Fai's voice broke through the static on the phone, which almost instantaneously cleared up.
"A-Ah, hai, Fluorite. What do you want."
"Well, I wanted to thank you for what you did. You saved Kuro-tan, and I can't thank you enough."
"It's fine, don't bother thanking me. It had to be done – it was the duty of a shinigami to save people from Hollows."
"Of course, Shiro-chan."
"Hitsugaya-taichou!"
"Can you please put me back on the phone with Ichigo-kun?"
"Hmph. Fine. Kurosaki." Hitsugaya tossed the phone up at the orange-haired boy, who struggled for a moment to catch the thrown object.
"Oi! You don't throw a phone at someone, baka!"
"Shut up. I'll be upstairs if I'm needed." Hitsugaya cast one final glower over his shoulder before stalking across the floor, and vanishing up the stairs.
"Ichigo-kun! I found some things out about Shiro-chan!"
"Did you now?"
"Well, I did a little interrogation… He didn't like it much. But I got some answers!"
"Maybe that wasn't such a good idea…"
"Aw, come on – you need to know some things, in order for you two to get together!"
"But he's straight."
"No he's not." Ichigo's eyes widened in shock.
"What?! But, I always thought he was!"
"Nope! And I didn't even have to ask him if he was or not. Did you ever wonder why he didn't seem very interested in his vice-captain's physique?"
"I guess I never really thought of that…"
"Anyways. He doesn't like anyone as of this moment, but that can change! He seemed a bit lonely when I asked him about his old friends in Soul Society, so maybe use that?"
"Alright, that's good enough for now. Talk to me later, alright?"
"Okay! Bye-bye, Ichigo-kun! Feel better!"
"… I will?" Ichigo blinked three times when the only answer he received was a dial tone. Sighing forlornly, he hung up the phone and made his way quietly up the stairs.
Fai stared at the phone that lay back in its receiver. After a moment's silence, Urahara poked his head back into the room, a charming smile still visible on his face - he had left during the conversation.
"Is everything alright, Fai-kun?"
"Hai, Kisuke-kun! There was just some static on the line, and I could've sworn I heard a voice – a girl's voice. Shiro-chan seemed a little bit out of it when the static cleared up." Fai shrugged, spinning around to face the suddenly solemn blonde.
"I see. Maybe you should go check on Kurogane-kun?"
"I thought you said he was fine?"
"He's awake."
"Kuro-min!" Fai immediately shot past Urahara, racing down the hallway for the ninja's room.
"… I don't want to say it, but… Hitsugaya-kun, I told you so…" Urahara sang softly to the window, where sunlight streamed brightly through.
Ichigo listened intently, and upon only hearing silence from the room, he opened his door as softly as he could.
"Toushirou?"
Said taichou was sitting cross-legged on the futon, staring silently out the window. The teen shut the door behind him and made his way over to the tendo, crouching down behind him.
"What happened? Did someone else take the phone from Fai-san?"
A mumbled 'no' was the only answer he got.
"Well, then who was it on the phone?"
"Her."
"Who is this 'her'?"
"Take a wild guess."
"Who was it, dammit?! Just tell me!" Ichigo snarled in exasperation, and the tendo finally spun around to face him.
"Hinamori!" Hitsugaya's ocean-coloured orbs glimmered with unshed tears, and he unconsciously clenched the fabric of his jeans tightly enough that his knuckles turned white from the pressure he exerted.
Ichigo could only stare blankly at the boy. For almost half an hour, the two of them sat in those positions, Hitsugaya's always masked pain on display for the world to see, and Ichigo the only one present to see this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The taichou's eyes drooped a tad, betraying his weariness.
"You didn't get much sleep last night, did you."
"… No."
"Were you awake when Urahara-san's message splattered all over my window?"
"Yes."
"Did you ever fall asleep?"
"No."
"How long has it been since you've had a good sleep?"
"… I don't know. But it has been a while." Hitsugaya gave a short, sarcastic laugh – that turned into a yelp of surprise as he was dragged unceremoniously into Ichigo's lap. A tanned hand was pressed to the back of his head, which in turn was shoved into the teen's chest.
"Mmrph!"
"Well, you're going to sleep now. Come on." Ichigo kept his arms wrapped tightly around the tendo's shoulders, and he lifted them both onto the nearby bed. The teen rested his back against the small headboard, and brought his knees up a little bit. Hitsugaya was now resting on his abdomen, with his right cheek pressed against Ichigo's collarbone.
"Kurosaki! What is the meaning of this?!" He hissed vehemently, attempting – and failing, I might add – to glare at Kurosaki from the angle he was on.
"Sleep, Toushirou."
"Hitsugaya- Mmph!" Hitsugaya's face was rotated and pressed into Ichigo's chest again, silencing any other words.
"Please, just get some sleep. You're going to be grumpy – well, grumpier than usual – and that's going to affect all of us sometime. So do us all a favour, including yourself, and sleep, dammit." Hitsugaya stiffened considerably.
'Well, at least he stopped struggling…'
"Fine." Hitsugaya mumbled, and finally managed to turn his head to the left side, his body facing the same direction. His legs hung off Ichigo's thigh, feet lightly touching the fabric of the blanket. He was turned on his side, with one hand hanging off of Ichigo's chest, and the other in front of his face. Teal eyes slowly slipped closed, as Hitsugaya fought against the weariness that threatened to overtake him.
Ichigo kept his arms wrapped tightly around the small body, waiting almost breathlessly until the tendo's own breathing evened out. The orange-haired teen sighed heavily, and tensed as Hitsugaya turned to bury the side of his face into his chest.
It was only then that Ichigo realized what he had done – and his cheeks flushed a bright red. His mind began working overtime, brightening the shade of crimson that decorated his face.
A knock interrupted his embarrassing thoughts, and he forced the heat down from his face.
"Ichigo!" Isshin danced in through the door, and blinked in surprise at the sight in front of him.
"Uh… Since I've got a fever and he's cold, we're helping each other?" Ichigo attempted in a feeble voice, swallowing thickly.
"My son! This is so cute!"
"Shut up, old man, you're going to wake him up!"
"Masaki! Our son has found love!"
"Eh?!"