Note: Ehehe~ Late chapter much~? 8D! Anyways, it's probably really shitty. I kind of lost inspiration for this story after some certain shit happened~ But yeah. I'm going to try to get back into updating quickly, but I don't know how that'll work. But yeah - ignore it's shittiness, and hopefully you'll enjoy chapter six~!
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 (what else is new, eh?), some swearing, as well as a bit of angsting, and some fluff (barely, but it does exist in this chapter! Can you spot it?) And that should be about it.
Pairings: IchiHitsu, KuroFai.
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or Tsubasa.
"You seem stressed, young one."
"Yes, Hyourinmaru… How do you know me so well?" Hitsugaya sighed blankly, closing his teal eyes momentarily.
"I live in your mind, Toushirou. I would know you almost as well as you know yourself." The dragon pointed out, with icy laughter drifting over the white plain on which they both resided.
"… Hmph. Then wouldn't you know what was wrong?"
"Ah, little one – do not be mad. Wouldn't it be better if you could explain the problem to me, to get it off your chest?"
"Well… That had to have been Hinamori's voice. When she giggled, it sounded just like before, when she lived withGrandma and me. And now..."
"There's something wrong."
"Yeah. I guess we'll just have to see if we can find her."
"Of course, little one. Keep your chin up for now – it's been a little while since we've had this long of a conversation. You don't sleep much anymore, and when you do, you get nightmares." The ice dragon pointed out in a calm voice.
"Yeah…"
"Don't be distraught. We-" Loud noises began to interrupt the dragon, and Hitsugaya's eyes glanced around in bewilderment.
"What…?"
"You should return for a moment. Come back soon, Toushirou. Very soon." Hitsugaya could have sworn he saw a large grin split Hyourinmaru's spiked maw before he closed his eyes and fell back into the darkness.
Ichigo watched them with wide, chocolate-coloured eyes.
Four pairs of eyes stared in astonishment back at him.
"Uh… When did you get here, Rukia? I thought you went back to Soul Society with Rangiku-san."
"I was sent here because of the odd attack this morning. The soutaichou wants quite a few shinigami to be stationed around Karakura Town, to keep an eye out for possible Espada attacks." The girl blinked her dark, violet eyes in surprise at the sight before her.
"Aren't we cozy." Renji snickered, covering his mouth with a hand.
"How cute." Ikkaku's wolfish grin widened considerably – but both of the male shinigamis had their chuckles cut off when a hand swung up, striking both of them on the backs of their heads.
Hard.
"Oi!"
"What the Hell?!"
"Both of you are brutes." Yumichika huffed, crossing his arms over his chest haughtily.
"Personally, I think it's adorable!" The narcissist continued with a dreamy sigh, gazing down at both the substitute shinigami, and the Juuban tai taichou sleeping in his arms.
"E-Eh?! It's not like that! I was sick of him n-not gettin' any sleep, s-so I pretty m-much had to suffocate him until he w-went unconscious!" Ichigo stumbled frequently over his words, his ochre eyes blinking continuously at the embarrassment of being caught in such a position.
Hitsugaya's eyelids flickered, and the taichou let out a soft groan.
"A-Ah! Toushirou, you're awake." Ichigo laughed sheepishly, absently tightening his hold around the boy.
"… Kurosaki?" Teal eyes glowered up at him, filled with malice – even though they were still slightly clouded by sleep.
"Hm?"
"Two things. One, it's Hitsugaya-taichou. And two… What time is it?"
"It's around four, Hitsugaya-taichou."
"… Kuchiki-san? What are you doing here?"
"The soutaichou ordered another shinigami to come, to patrol in case there are more Arrancar attacks." The white-haired tendo nodded after a moment, attempting to move into another position.
But, of course, he couldn't.
"Kurosaki…" Hitsugaya growled out, from between gritted teeth.
"Yes?" Ichigo sighed, holding Renji's gaze with a vicious glare.
"Let me go."
"But-"
"Now." Ichigo's arms almost immediately unwound from the boy, who slid silently onto the bed and stood on somewhat weak legs. Forcing himself to regain his normal, stoic stance, he turned to face the other shinigami in the room.
"So, this is why you made me get up…" He muttered under his breath, narrowing his ocean-coloured eyes at the three males and one female in front of him. Ichigo moved himself into a cross-legged position, placing his hands on his knees.
"Hm? What did you say, Hitsugaya-taichou?" Yumichika smiled pleasantly down at the tendo, who waved it off roughly.
"Nothing, just remembered something. But, moving onto more important subjects... Have there been any attacks since I have been… Resting?" Hitsugaya watched calmly as the goofy looks dropped off of the shinigamis' faces.
"Well, there've been some Hollow attacks, but they're the weaker type. There haven't been any Arrancar or Espada so far."
"But it's only a matter of time." Hitsugaya muttered in irritation, nodding thankfully at the red-haired fukutaichou of the sixth division.
"Well, we should be going now." Yumichika's warm smile widened slightly, and he rested a hand on Ikkaku's shoulder. "That idiotic brown-haired boy is waiting for us." Something clicked in Ichigo's brain, and he gawked at the narcissist.
"Keigo? You guys are rooming in Keigo's house?!"
"Yeah – and his crazy-ass sister loves me." Ikkaku grumbled in annoyance, crossing his arms childishly over his chest. Ichigo chuckled at this, grinning toothily at the bald man.
"Why are you annoyed? I mean, with your looks, it's probably pretty easy to get someone to fall for you." The orange-haired teen teased sarcastically, quirking an eyebrow.
"Shut up, Strawberry! She's in love with bald guys."
"So you admit you're bald?"
"Who's bald?!"
"Both of you shut up." The two males glanced at the irritable tendo, before Yumichika spun the bald man around.
"Come on, let's all go – we've got some work to do, and Urahara-san wished to speak with you." The man glanced at Rukia as he finished his statement, who nodded briefly.
"Alright, let's go."
"Make sure you two cuddle up tonight to keep warm – the temperature's dropping a little bit!" Renji turned around and leaped out the open window, a gleeful expression showing up at the priceless look on Ichigo's face. The other shinigami quickly exited the room, sliding the window shut just as-
"It's not like that!" Ichigo thundered.
Silence was his only answer.
"… Oi. Wake up."
"Five more minutes, mommy…"
"I'm not your damned mother!" Fai blearily opened his mismatched eyes, and forced his gaze to focus on the blurred face above him.
"Oh, hello, Kuro-wan!" The blonde stated cheerfully, reaching up and patting the tanned ninja on the cheek.
"How the Hell did you fall asleep while the idiot was talking? He was practically yelling out every single freakin' word." Kurogane bristled with clear indignance.
"Well… I didn't sleep much last night. I know you didn't either, Kuro-tan, so don't deny it! But now you've gotten more sleep than me, because of this morning!"
"I was unconscious, dipshit!"
"Same thing!"
"No it's not!"
"Yes it is!"
"I don't want to argue right now, Fluorite." Kurogane snarled balefully, glaring coldly at the blonde magician.
"Actually, Kuro-pon, we're attempting to contradict each other. It's not really an argument." Fai's fake smile widened at the vein that began throbbing in Kurogane's forehead.
"It is an argument, bakayaro!"
"No it's not."
"Yes it is!"
"See? Contradicting~" Fai sang gleefully, leaping to his feet and dodging the fist that was originally aimed at his face.
"I swear, Fluorite-" The raven-haired man began, fury coating his already rough voice, his hands clenching into tight fists as he moved into an upright position.
"Ah! Gomenasai, Kurogane-san, Fai-san." Sakura blinked her innocent, emerald eyes at the two men in front of her – Fai was standing with his hands up, palms facing Kurogane, whilst said ninja had a fist cocked, ready to strike.
"Now now, Kuro-pon! You wouldn't hit me when poor, innocent Sakura-chan is in the room, would you?" Fai grinned amiably, waving his hands back and forth in front of him.
Kurogane watched him with a calculating gaze for a moment, before he turned to Sakura.
"Mind leaving the room, hime?"
"O-Of course not, Kurogane-san! I'm sorry!" Sakura bowed before hurriedly leaving the room. Kurogane let a wolfish grin creep over his face as he turned to face the mage again.
"Oh look. She's gone." He chuckled, before lunging at the blonde man.
"Now bring it on, idiot!"
Crashes and yelps were the only things that could be heard from the room.
"Hitsugaya-kun? Are you alright?" A soft voice interrupted Hitsugaya's muddled thoughts.
"Hm?" The white-haired taichou turned his head slightly to look at the owner of the voice – Kurosaki Yuzu stared right back at him, concern clear in her bright, brown eyes.
"Is something wrong, Hitsugaya-kun?"
"No – I'm fine, thank you." The tendo replied in a short voice, inclining his head slightly towards the young girl.
"Hm… Well, if you need anything…" Yuzu responded hesitantly, her brow creasing ever-so-slightly. Hitsugaya raised a hand and waved it slightly at her, shaking his head.
"I'm perfectly alright, Yuzu-san. You don't need to worry about me. Instead, make sure your older brother isn't getting himself into more trouble." Yuzu blinked her eyes in confusion, when a loud crashing noise was heard from downstairs, followed by a long string of profanities and a scolding.
"Nii-chan! 'Tou-san!" Yuzu's hands flew up and clapped over her mouth. She turned and raced out of Ichigo's room, racing down the stairs. Hitsugaya watched her leave silently, but when the noises did not cease from downstairs, he slowly made his way towards the source of the problem.
"Dad, what the fuck?!"
"Language, my son! Do not use such profanities in this household!"
"I wouldn't have to if you would just let me go, damn it!"
"Ichigo!"
"They're not stopping, Yuzu…"
"What the Hell?! Lemme go!"
"Ichi-nii! Tou-san! Please stop!"
"Dad!"
"What is it, my son?"
"Damn you! Let go of me!"
"Ahem."
Isshin froze with his arm hooked around Ichigo's neck in a headlock. Said teenager was doubled over at the waist, snarling angrily – he, too, fell silent at the arrival of the taichou.
"May I inquire as to what you two are doing?" Hitsugaya asked in a somewhat pleasant tone of voice, placing his hands on his hips and regarding both of the Kurosaki men with an intrigued gaze.
"T-Toushirou, go back upstairs."
"It's Hitsugaya-san."
"Alright, Hitsugaya-kun! We're having a father-son fight!"
"Let go of me!" Ichigo's arm suddenly struck Isshin in the stomach, sending him backwards with a pained grunt. The father's arm unwound from Ichigo's neck, and the teenager took advantage of his freedom to bound over to the white-haired boy.
"…?" Hitsugaya gave both of them separate looks of confusion, and Isshin grinned predatorily.
"Dad, no. Leave Toushirou out of this."
"It's Hitsugaya-san." Hitsugaya reprimanded sternly, casting a cold-hearted glare up at the orange-haired shinigami. Ichigo kept his gaze with a powerful stare of his own, but their staring contest was interrupted when Hitsugaya vanished from Ichigo's sight.
"E-Eh?"
"W-What?!" Hitsugaya's eyes were wide, and all he found it hard to regain his breath. He was currently being crushed in a painful, suffocating bear hug.
By Ichigo's father.
"Tou-san! Please let go of Hitsugaya-kun!"
"Dad! Let go of him!" The substitute shinigami roared in anger, flinging himself forward and striking his father in the face. Hitsugaya began to thrash, squirming feverishly in an attempt to escape from Isshin's hug.
"K-Kurosaki… San…" Hitsugaya ground out in anger, somehow managing to bury his petite fist in Isshin's already bruised midsection. Said man yelped and released the boy, who immediately collapsed onto the floor, breathing heavily.
"Dammit, Dad! Why the Hell would you do that?!"
"He's living in this house for the time being! I consider him a son! He needs to be loved! And if you won't, I have to!" Isshin cried out, waving his arms frantically before bouncing over to the huge poster of his deceased wife.
"Masaki! Our son has found love, and it has made him cruel!" He sobbed, clutching at the material. The teenager stiffened, and Hitsugaya raised his head slightly, eyes narrowed.
"… Wha-"
"Come on, Toushirou. Let's go back upstairs." Ichigo reached down and took hold of Hitsugaya's wrist, tugging him up onto his feet and leading him up the steps.
"Ichi-nii, Hitsugaya-kun, dinner will be in a couple hours." Yuzu called after them, and Karin sighed.
"Dad, you might want to behave more around Toushirou-kun." The black-haired 'twin' muttered, glaring daggers at her father, who was still crying and yelling to his beloved wife about how cruel their son was.
"He's so annoying!"
"Kurosaki…?"
"Sorry, Toushirou." Ichigo released Hitsugaya's wrist slowly, as if relishing the feeling of such smooth skin against his own. His ochre gaze remained focused on the somewhat dazed white-haired taichou, and he sighed in irritation.
"Are you still tired?" The orange-haired teenager asked bluntly, fixating the shorter shinigami with a somewhat harsh gaze.
"W-What?" Hitsugaya turned to face him, a somewhat incredulous look painted on his boyish face. Of all the things Ichigo could have said in that moment - including explaining why the hell his father was such a basketcase - he decided to ask if he was still tired?
"Ugh..." Ichigo impatiently lifted the boy under his arms and deposited him on the bed, glaring out the window. The taichou gave an uncharacteristic yelp as his body bounced slightly on the mattress, and he propped himself up on his elbows. He turned his head to the side and watched in silence as Ichigo spun around and moved over to the desk, pulling the chair out and plopping himself down on it, glaring down at the piece of furniture.
"Keep silent for a while – just pretend you're asleep, if you're not. I need some time to think."
"… Kurosaki…?" Hitsugaya ventured tentatively, but he got no response. Normally, the tendo would have been irritated – he barely ever started a conversation for a reason other than something important. And finding out what was wrong with the orange-haired shinigami was definitely important.
Ichigo shifted his eyes in their sockets, watching the tendo give him an indistinguishable look before he allowed his arms to give way, and fall back on the bed. Ichigo heaved an inward sigh before he drew a small book from the drawer of his desk. He flipped it open to the page that was bookmarked and his eyes began to skim quickly over the words.
Silence reigned over the room for a long period of time, and the smell of food began to waft its way up the stairs. Ichigo started suddenly, and glanced out his open window – the sun was beginning to go down, signifying the fact that it was nearing seven o'clock.
"Oi." He shifted his gaze down from the window and blinked. The white-haired taichou was still laying on his bed – in fact, he hadn't moved from his original position. Well, with the exception of his arms being behind his head. But the bright, teal eyes were closed as the tendo seemingly dozed on the bed.
As silently as he possibly could, Ichigo raised himself from the chair and snuck over to the boy. He looked over the somewhat peaceful face, and raised a hand, brushing the white bangs away from a closed eyelid. He slowly began to lean over, preparing to plant a kiss on the taichou's forehead, when a noise from the open window caught him off guard.
It was someone clearing their throat.
"What are you doing, Kurosaki." Hitsugaya's cold tone took the boy off guard, and the orange-haired shinigami's head snapped up to stare in shock at the tendo.
"I-I tripped, sorry, Toushirou. I didn't realize you'd left your gigai – it's almost dinnertime."
"Hitsugaya-taichou." The tendo snarled angrily, before jumping onto the bed, making Ichigo move away from him.
"I thought you were still in your gigai, so I was gonna be nice and wake you up for dinner." Ichigo grumbled in his defense, turning back to his desk.
"If you had paid more attention to things around you, perhaps you would have heard me leave." The substitute shinigami winced slightly, and glared at the white-haired boy out of the corner of his eye.
"… You didn't say anything, so I didn't hear you."
"No, actually. I said that I was going out for a while, to visit Urahara-san and our new… 'Friends'." Hitsugaya responded in irritation, stretching his thin arms as he readjusted to being within the confines of his humanoid gigai.
"… Oh."
"Yeah, genius."
"Oh shut up, shorty."
"What did you call me?!"
"You heard me!"
"Why you-" Hitsugaya began, his teal eyes flashing with anger. He would have continued his sentence if a banging on the door had not interrupted him.
"Ichigo! Hitsugaya-kun! Dinner's going to be put on the table in a couple of minutes – you might want to come downstairs~" Isshin's voice sang in a terribly off-key tone, and the two shinigamis could only glare balefully at the door.
"Of course, Isshin-san." Hitsugaya sighed after a moment of silence, and he heard a weird giggling from the other side of the door.
"Just call me tou-san, Hitsugaya-kun!"
"I think I'll stick with Isshin-san, thank you." Ichigo snickered behind his hand, noticing the clearly irritated look on the taichou's face.
"Suit yourself, my soon-to-be son-in-law!" The man's heavy footfalls were heard going back down the stairs.
"Isshin-san, I'm not your son-in-law-" Hitsugaya's eyes widened comically, and Ichigo doubled over laughing.
"What the hell are you laughing at, you idiot?!"
"Y-Your face… Looked so funny!" Ichigo wheezed in between chuckles.
"Yeah?! And what exactly did it look like?" Hitsugaya snapped, narrowing his teal eyes.
"Y-You looked constipated!" Ichigo snickered, wiping tears of laughter away from the corners of his eyes.
"So you think that's funny…?"
"Yes!" Ichigo grinned widely, taking a deep breath. Without warning, Hitsugaya's foot lashed out, and struck a manly place that probably wouldn't be manly much longer, at the rate things were going.
Ichigo wailed in pain, his hands flying down to said area as he collapsed in a howling pile of groin-kicked teenager on the ground.
"Hah!" Hitsugaya released a short, barking laugh at the whimpering substitute shinigami.
"Now that's funny, Kurosaki." Hitsugaya stepped over the writhing, orange-haired teen before opening the door and exiting the room. After a few moments, Ichigo could feel breath returning to his lungs, though his special place throbbed. He forced himself to his feet, clenching his teeth as he hobbled to the stairs, and began his very slow descent down them.
Conversation from the kitchen drifted up to him, and he distinctly heard Hitsugaya telling his father to release him immediately. Ichigo stumbled down the remainder of the stairs, and glared at Isshin, who had his arm around the tendo's shoulders.
"Just let him go, Dad." Ichigo grumbled in annoyance, limping slightly over to his father before punching him across the face.
"Why Masaki?! Why is our son so cruel?" Isshin cried loudly, his bruised cheek turning an ugly purple colour already.
"Idiot!" Ichigo snapped vehemently, before a tug on the bottom of his shirt had him glancing down at the tendo.
"I'll tell you what happened at Urahara-san's after dinner, alright?" Hitsugaya whispered softly, receiving an affirming nod from the teenager.
"Alright, my children! Let's eat!" Isshin danced back over to the table, a cheery smile on his face.
"Shut up, Dad!"
"Aw come on, Ichigo! Be happy~!"
"Just shut up!"
"Ichi-nii! Tou-san!"
"Just leave it, Yuzu… They will never stop, even after they're dead – I can guarantee you of that."
"Hehh…"
"What's so funny, Hitsugaya-kun?"
"It's nothing, Yuzu-san. Please do not look further into the subject."
"O-Oh. Okay, Hitsugaya-kun – whatever you say."
"Toushirou?"
"… It's Hitsugaya-san to you. And what is it, Kurosaki?"
"… Nevermind."
"Idiot."
"Eh?!"
"You heard me!"
"You wanna go?!"
"It's worthless to fight you."
"Yeah, cause I'll win!"
"No. It's worthless to fight you because with one kick you're a wailing heap of stupidity on the floor."
"…"
"Hahaha! That's my boy! Always was a weak one!"
"Dad!"
Dinner came and went, and the two shinigamis returned to Ichigo's room.
The orange-haired teenager sat down on his bed, and watched Hitsugaya carefully.
"Alright... So what happened at Urahara-san's?"
"Well..." Hitsugaya began, before clearing his throat and continuing.
"Welcome, Hitsugaya-kun!"
"Yeah yeah… I came over to see how they're doing." Urahara gave the boy a small smirk, before hiding it behind his fan.
"Oh ho ho! How sweet of you, Hitsugaya-kun, coming over here to see how our new friends are doing~!"
"Drop it, Urahara-san." Hitsugaya snarled, sidling past Urahara and entering the shouten.
"They're just down the hallway – Fai-kun was having a pleasant chat with Kurogane-kun when I left, so I wonder how that's going…" Urahara snickered, leading the way down the hall towards the door. A loud argument met the pair of shinigamis, followed quickly by Fai's cheerful laughter. Silence reigned a moment later, before an enraged roar echoed through the hallway.
Hitsugaya and Urahara quickened their paces, and an odd sight met the shinigamis' eyes.
"F-Fluorite?! Kurogane-san?!" Hitsugaya could feel a light blush tinting his cheeks as heat rushed to his face in embarrassment.
"Hello, Shiro-chan!" The blonde smiled cheerily, glancing at the white-haired taichou out of the corner of his eye. He was straddling the ninja's hips, his hands pinning Kurogane's wrists to the ground beside his head.
"W-What are you doing?!"
"Get off of me, you idiot!" Kurogane shouted, thrashing wildly on the ground.
"Ah-ah-ah~! Bad Kuro-wanko." Fai tutted, shaking his head briefly.
"Fai-kun, be nice to Kurogane-kun! And you two might want to be quieter – your rough-housing could wake Moko-chan, Sakura-chan and Syaoran-kun. They passed out after we drank some warm tea while you were spending some quality time with Fai-kun." Kurogane's face lit up with a bright blush, and he glared in fury at the blonde shopkeeper.
"Now now, Kuro-tan. You may glare, but your blush shows me you like this~!" Fai teased, leaning closer to Kurogane's face, whose blush deepened to a bright crimson colour.
"G-Get away from m-me!" The ninja stammered uncertainly, trying unsuccessfully to pull away from the magician's oddly strong grasp.
"Ahem." Hitsugaya cleared his throat, and the blonde magician suddenly remembered his existence in the room. With a swift movement, he had released the ninja and tackled the white-haired tendo to the ground, hugging him tightly.
"Shirou-chan~! You came to visit! I'm so happy!" Fai cheered, tightening his hold on the boy.
"K-Keh?! Let go of me this instance, Fluorite!"
"But why, Shiro-chan? You're so cuddly!"
"I came here to discuss important information, you idiot!" Fai almost instantly sobered up – he released the tendo, stepping back before sitting down beside the still blushing ninja. Urahara snapped his fan closed and sat down as well, followed by the white-haired taichou.
"What exactly is it that we need to discuss, Hitsugaya-kun?" Urahara smiled pleasantly, but it was not mirrored by the other shinigami.
"What is the reason that you foreigners remain here? What exactly are you looking for?"
"Well… We're looking for Sakura-chan's feathers." Hitsugaya blinked in confusion, before narrowing his eyes.
"Feathers?"
"Yes, feathers – they're memories. We don't need them anymore, but… In the wrong hands, those immense powers are dangerous. We must regain the final feather, before we can finally settle down from our dimensional journies."
"… I see. What exactly can a feather do?"
"Oh lots of things! Someone was using it to terrorize a town – he was a bad man… Really, if you have power, you can do a lot of bad things with it." Fai stated seriously, clasping his hands together before resting them in his lap.
"Ah… Well, Kurosaki and I will help you in any way we can, and I'm sure that his friends will assist you as well. We'll try to figure out who has this… I might even have an idea yet of the culprit." Fai's eyes widened in surprise, and he gave the tendo a small grin.
"Really? Who?"
"… Are you thinking of that man, Hitsugaya-kun?" Urahara asked in an unnaturally soft voice.
"Of course. Who else?"
"… I see your point. It appears our friends are being targeted by the present owner of Sakura-chan's feather…"
"Now that you know all of this, can you get out of here, shrimp?" Kurogane grunted in irritation, narrowing his red eyes.
"Actually, all of you can get out of here."
"Nah nah, Kuro-min! I'm quite sure you want me to stay, don't you?" Fai purred seductively, unlacing one of his hands and pressing it to Kurogane's cheek. The ninja turned beet red – again – and slapped the pale appendage away, growling at the mage.
"When I say 'everyone', I mean everyone! You, the other blonde idiot, and the midget!"
"Who are you calling a midget, you ass?!"
"You!" Hitsugaya stood up and spun on his heel, stalking towards the door. He opened it slowly, before glancing over his shoulder.
"There's one thing that stands out about you, Kurogane-san." He sounded somewhat thoughtful, and the ninja narrowed his vermillion eyes dangerously.
"And what's that, kid?"
"You're about as straight as a circle." The tendo's form flickered before vanishing, and Hitsugaya had exited the shop before a howl of pure fury echoed through the town.
Ichigo remained silent for long moment, contemplating what Hitsugaya had told him. He snickered slightly at the shinigami's parting comment for the ninja, but returned his mind to the present problem.
"So…"
"Whoever has the feather is probably targeting them."
"That's terrible!"
"Relax, Kurosaki!"
"But if what Urahara-san says is true… There's something wrong with this picture. Why would somebody be targeting them?" Hitsugaya ran a hand through his white hair, closing his eyes.
"I don't know, Kurosaki. But we're going to have to keep our guards up for quite some time, until we can somehow decipher the intentions behind this..."
"Hmph." Ichigo rolled onto his back, the bed creaking ever-so-slightly.
"This is stupid! They haven't done anything wrong – they're just foreigners that have come to retrieve something that belongs to them in the first place, according to your statement-"
"Maybe that's the reason they're being targeted." Ichigo pushed himself up on his hands, and blinked at the tendo in curiosity.
"What do you mean, Toushirou?"
"It's Hitsugaya-taichou. But… Perhaps, what they're looking for is already in the hands of the one that is targeting them. I wouldn't be surprised if he got a hold of this 'feather' they spoke of, but we cannot be sure. But why would this person want to get a hold of them, when they already have the immense power that this feather holds?" Hitsugaya crossed his arms over his chest, pursing his lips in annoyance.
"Yeah yeah, Toushirou." Ichigo shrugged carelessly as he clambered off the bed, gaining a somewhat half-hearted glare from the tendo.
"But I see your point… If this feather is as powerful as they say it is… Then we're in deep shit."
"Kurosaki!"
"What?! I'm just telling the truth!"
"Feh! You're still an idiot!"
"Take that back!"
"Why should I?"
"Because I said so!"
"Oh, I'm so sorry, I went against your orders!" Hitsugaya scorned.
"Why you-!"
"Tee hee!" A childish giggle echoed through the room, and the two shinigamis turned to look out the window in shock. A figure dressed in a shihakshou was grinning maniacally at them from the roof of the neighbour's building, and she giggled again.
"It seems you two are having fun! Too bad your silly little games will be over soon, neh~?" The voice sang gleefully, and Hitsugaya lunged for the window.
"W-Wait!" He yelled, as the figure vanished into thin air with a bought of high-pitched laughter.
"Don't go…" Hitsugaya could only stare in hopelessness at the roof across from them.
Little did he know that Ichigo was watching him the exact same way – a hopeless look hollowing out his ochre eyes as he turned away from the little taichou.