Author's Note: Uber cuteness ahoy! XD Man, Hitsu cross dressing scenes make me laugh, and the HitsuIchi scenes in this chapter made me go insane. I don't know if it's because I love HitsuIchi to death or because I love HitsuIchi to death, buuuuuut I suppose it's neither of the above options. I think it's because I love HitsuIchi to death. (Don't mind me, don't mind me…My brain's gone whacky from holiday homework)

Disclaimer: Read previous chapters.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Scroll Five – Midnight of Fate

She was just so beautiful. The yukata suited her perfectly as the bright color of sakura pink brought out the sharp dazzling emeralds she had for eyes. Those mesmerizing eyes…Were they even fit enough to be called something as lowly as eyes? They should deserve something much nicer, like her. 'Jewels' wasn't even the right word for them. They sparkled with such glittering intensity and almost seemed to be brightening up the room, even. And don't even get Ichigo started already; he could think up of even more things to describe a beauty like Syaoshiro. She was just so beautiful. Even her voice was enough to make him feel so horny on the inside (A/N: Ever wonder if Hitsugaya has a knack for putting on Paku Romi-sama's real voice? XD). She sounded so delicate, heck, she even looked delicate. Perhaps he had been so well-hypnotized by the princess's arrival that he didn't realize the disgusted look Ishida gave him.

"…Kurosaki-kun."

Ichigo's jaw fell and he spluttered, "Ureah…?"

Ishida repositioned his spectacles and tried to remain as calm as possible as he spoke, "It would be much appreciated if you could go and find a wet mop to clean up your drool lest you make the other shinigamis present uncomfortable."

"Rioh…M'okie…" Ichigo attempted to take a step to start his mop-finding adventure when he stumbled backwards and fell on top of Ishida, a long trail of icky saliva trickling down the poor archer's face.

＜ブリーチ＞

Ukitake turned to look at the commotion over at the spot at which a drooling accident seemed to have occurred, though he had no idea that it was a drooling accident. The young and oh so feminine Hitsugaya curiously raised an eyebrow when he -ahem- she saw the crowd gathering around the spot. "What is going on there?" he asked, putting on the female voice.

Ukitake, however, didn't seem to mind much about the rowdiness going on as he figured that whatever it was would be done quickly. He turned back to face his cross dressed son who felt a sudden chill down his spine. Man, his father was really good at scaring him with his goofy grins which normally indicated candy-giving sessions. "My dear child, you're really good at being a girl."

Hitsugaya's eyebrow twitched. "When are you going to stop talking about that?"

"Oh, I could go on forever!" Ukitake clapped his hands together. "It sounds like as if you've been practicing a lot."

At that, Hitsugaya blushed as his mind trailed back to when he was ten years old. He thought about his younger ten-year-old self two years ago, when he was really bored out of his mind and trying so hard to find something to kill time. He offered to help out with the chores, but the servants insisted on letting them get the chores done. He offered to help his father out with the paperwork and scrolls, but Ukitake kindly smiled at him for being so considerate and told him to play in the gardens instead. So he did just that, and went out to the gardens, but it was still very boring. That was when a sudden memory of something he had long forgotten struck him at the moment. He remembered a raven-haired lady, cradling a white-haired baby in her arms, and singing him to sleep. My, it was a wonder how he could still remember how his mother sang him lullabies when he was merely a few months old.

Hitsugaya Toushirou shivered. It wasn't because of the cold. It was because he suddenly remembered that he practiced singing ever since.

And when he sang high-pitch, it was then he realized that he was able to put on a female voice, but it was at a price: his voice broke terribly. He couldn't speak for three weeks after that.

＜ブリーチ＞

After the drool had been mopped off the floor, Ichigo went back to his goofy old self and helped himself to all the food, like the super expensive sushi that could not be found anywhere else except the palace, and the awfully nice sashimi, probably the best he had ever eaten in his life. After all, a Zarakian like he didn't have much to eat, for Zarakians were the poorest of the poorest of all the states of Tamashii. Education was, thus, provided free for them, but it wasn't like they really learnt much except for basic math and learning Japanese. As for the food, his father, like any other Zarakian father, would go to the hills and hunt for animals, and about medical help, it would be the mother's job to go to the hills and get some herbs. Yuzu had been given that responsibility because Karin was unwilling to be treated like a mother (being a tomboy and all) and because their mother died a long time ago.

It was quite saddening for them, really. No one knew who killed her. She was found dead one morning and that's it.

"Ah, Ichigo-kun!"

"Eh?" Ichigo stopped eating his ramen halfway and turned. Ukitake and his 'niece' were heading towards him, with Ukitake being quite excited while Syaoshiro was…how to say, a bit neutral. "Ah, Ukitake-san!"

Under his guise, Hitsugaya wanted so much to correct the big idiot, but as what his father had told him when he was putting on the female yukata, he had to act like a decent girl like those girls who serve tea and love playing dolls or somewhere around that. Long story short, he had to act like someone that he wasn't. A complete opposite; a total split personality of some sort. Creepy. "I suppose you know my dear niece by now," Ukitake's voice snapped both Hitsugaya and Ichigo back to reality. He ruffled the hair of his 'niece' who, on the inside was very pissed off about that, showed that he liked it by smiling instead, though it was a bit obvious that the ends of his mouth were twitching. "I was wondering, Ichigo-kun…"

"Yeah?"

"I've already went round introducing my niece to everyone except you, so I'll tell you now. Syaoshiro is ten years old." The comment nearly made Hitsugaya twitch. Looked like time had gone backwards by two years… "She and my son, who has unfortunately fallen sick and is in the toilet as we speak, are very close. My dear niece's parents have died in an accident, and she has nowhere else to go so she came to me." Ichigo was nodding sadly; the story seemed quite tragic to him. Hitsugaya blinked. He had no idea his father was so good at lying. Either that, or Ichigo was a complete moron who was all too gullible. Then again, other people who had heard their story coming from Ukitake also displayed sadness. Hinamori even cried and needed Aizen to comfort her. He could remember because he was busy rolling his eyes before Ukitake elbowed him secretly to stop it. "And so, I was wondering, Ichigo-kun…could you help me with one small tiny favor?"

"Oh, sure, Ukitake-san! Anything!"

"Would you like to have a dance with my dear little Syaoshiro-chan?"

Pause.

"Eh?!?!?!" both Hitsugaya and Ichigo chimed simultaneously, near crimson blushes creeping up on their faces.

"Ah, ah, you see, Syaoshiro is a really good dancer." Wow, that was one good lie. Hitsugaya couldn't help but twitch. He had received royal dance lessons before, but he was never interested in dancing, so he stopped his dance lessons four years ago. Four years. And he still didn't know how to do the grand waltz yet. "You look like you're still sitting for another major exam. So loosen up and release the tension with a little dance, Ichigo-kun. It'll do both you and Syaoshiro some good."

"Uh…" Ichigo blinked twice in rapid motion. "S-Syaoshiro, what do you think?" he stammered. It wasn't an everyday activity to have the girl of your dreams' father – or uncle, for that matter – to suddenly come up to you and ask of you to dance with her. That was the same as telling you that you should go and date her. How embarrassing. Yet, it was certainly a dream come true.

Hitsugaya stared into the nervous but unwavering chocolate brown eyes before his blush deepened and he looked away, averting Ichigo's gaze. "…A-ah…" Holy crap, he stammered! "…I think it'd be…nice."

Amazingly, Ichigo found it very appealing to hear Hitsugaya (in a girl's voice) stutter like that. The way Hitsugaya said it gave him an impression that Syaoshiro was a timid, meek, gentle girl. Yeah right. Hitsugaya was anything but timid and meek and gentle. "Well, what are you waiting for?" Ukitake cooed as he pushed Hitsugaya forward, nearer to Ichigo until his head almost gave a painful headbutt on Ichigo's chest. Thankfully, his head landed on Ichigo's chest softly, and this position made him feel…uneasy. The strawberry felt like he was a volcano ready to erupt any time now. It felt soooo hot.

Hitsugaya moved away, like barely a few inches away from Ichigo, and spoke softly, "Ah…n…Sorry…"

"Hey, don't worry 'bout it," Ichigo replied with a grin. He stretched his arm out, palm facing upwards, and asked, "You…wanna dance?"

Normally, Hitsugaya would snort and pass the chance, but he did agree and hey…maybe it wouldn't be so bad to take this chance to know the doofus better. Moreover, he had to act like a tea party girl so as to not arouse any suspicion that he was actually cross dressing like a girl, and thus, he stretched out his hand and took the palm. Big, beefy fingers curled themselves around the dainty, lanky ones and this contact made Hitsugaya blush even more. Hell, he was acting and thinking like as if he were a girl already!

…Maybe the girl thing was infecting his brain.

Tap, tap, tap they went slowly with their feet, with Ichigo's hands clutching tightly onto Hitsugaya's. The orange head didn't seem to have that much talent in dancing, but he was doing completely fine, other than a few occasional times he stepped on his own foot. Hitsugaya was cautiously trying not to step on his own foot, so he wound up stepping on Ichigo's instead. Though he was slightly wincing at the stepping, Ichigo made it seem like nothing happened. It only made Hitsugaya more ashamed instead. His pride was really easy to shatter…And there goes another accidental step on Ichigo's foot. How nice.

"Damn…why the hell am I acting like a total klutz?!" Hitsugaya thought to himself angrily.

"Eh, Shiro-chan?"

Did…he just call him…Shiro-chan?

"N…nani, Kurosaki-san?" he asked in falsetto.

"Well…wanted to ask ya…" Whoa, he seemed really nervous. "You…wanna grab something to eat later?"

Hitsugaya tried to hide his blush by looking away. Unfortunately, his wisp of white hair that was born to cover one of his eyes was clipped up so he had nothing that would help him hide his blush. Damn. "I've, um, already eaten…"

Growl growl growl

"…But I'm feeling hungry again."

Ichigo's grin widened to the point in which Hitsugaya thought the ends of Ichigo's mouth would reach the tip of his ears. "Ok, Shiro-chan. By the way, what time do you go to bed?"

"Huh?"

"Like, you know, a fixed time when you go to sleep?"

Hitsugaya rolled his eyes to the left as if in thought. "No. Not that I know of. I sleep whenever I feel like sleeping," he answered, and he was very honest at that.

"Ah, I see. Coz in Zaraki, we sleep at midnight sharp."

"…And why is that so?" the white-haired hime (princess) asked curiously.

Ichigo just smiled and shrugged. "Dunno. It was just some dumb ol' rule." When those words came out of his mouth, he wished he could pop back time and stop himself from saying something so informal to the hime in front of him.

"I see." Hitsugaya's reply was probably something Ichigo didn't expect. "So, why the sudden question?"

"Oh. Coz it's almost midnight and it just suddenly came to my head."

Hitsugaya resisted the urge to roll his eyes and sigh. An idiot would be a total idiot to the very core, wouldn't he? Wait, did he just say that it was almost…midnight? How did he know when the watches and clocks that Ukitake personally purchased from other countries were kept in the palace? Unless…there was a clock in the ballroom…and the baka knew how to read time…That was quite a plausible explanation. And hell, it was almost midnight already?! Did they really dance for so long that he didn't even realize it? Hitsugaya tilted his head backwards and sure enough, there was a clock that his father bought from another country hanging on the wall, and it read 11.50 pm. Ten minutes to midnight; it meant ten minutes to his disappearance which his father was trying so hard to prevent. But…he wanted to stay. He wanted so much to stay and dance, just for a little while longer…

…But it wasn't possible. If he truly got captured, there would be no telling when he would ever see the day when he and Ichigo would get another chance to dance again.

"Kurosaki-san," he began. "I…I have to go now."

Ichigo asked in disappointment, "Hah? But why?"

"Because…I just remembered that I have to go help Toushirou-kun with the paperwork since he's sick," Hitsugaya lied. He let go of Ichigo's hands and without saying anything else, he ran towards the door leading to the hallway connected to the palace gardens. From there, he would be able to find his father and just hope that he would be safe…

"Wait! Syaoshiro!" Ichigo yelled, stretching out his hand. Just as he said it, Hitsugaya stepped on the ends of his yukata, which had been proven to be too big for someone of his physical stature, and as he tripped, he felt himself falling and moving closer to the ground…when warm, strong hands grabbed him by the waist and prevented him from falling. Ichigo pulled the blushing koushi back up. "You okay, Shiro-chan?"

For some reason, the young prince felt so…safe in Ichigo's arms. He felt so secure and so protected. It was…nice. "Ah," he replied, almost letting his male voice loose. "Thank you…Ichigo. Now I have to go."

Ichigo sighed sadly. "Alrighty, Shiro-chan. I'll see ya next time."

"There won't be a next time, Kurosaki. If there ever will be, I'll never want to wear something this stupid ever again."

＜ブリーチ＞

Ukitake Juushirou ran around the palace gardens in circles, wondering where his son had gotten to.

＜ブリーチ＞

Hitsugaya Toushirou ran as fast as he could to get out of the horrendously loooong hallway, his hands pulling the yukata up to prevent himself from stepping on it once more, otherwise he'd just slip and fall again. That would be wasting time; he could not afford to waste anymore time. No, never. Suddenly, the country bell in a distance was being chimed, notifying everyone that it was midnight. Oh hell, not now, not yet! He was so close to meeting his father; just give him this one bit of hope that he would not be taken away just yet.

The lights in the hallway, which were lighted torches by the sides, instantly went out, and a shadowed figure jumped down from the ceiling. He felt a cold hand cover his mouth and another cold touch to his chest as if binding him to one spot. As he struggled, a sinister voice whispered in his ear seductively, "'ello there, koushi-han. Ara…ya look beautiful ta'night." The stranger felt Hitsugaya struggle with his might, even feeling quite a bit of frosty naiatsu leaking out as tiny bits of snow and frost began forming on his arms. All it did was make the figure smile as Hitsugaya could see his teeth sparkle in the darkness from the corner of his eyes. This was far worse than locking himself in that dusty closet last year… "Ara ara…I can't have ya strugglin' all 'da way back ta' 'da secret base my taishou (boss) built, can I, ne, koushi-han?"

Without saying anything else, the figure struck Hitsugaya by the area between the neck and the shoulder and knocked him out before he carried the unconscious body and disappeared into the darkness.

The torches lit up once more.

＜ブリーチ＞

"KOUTEI! KOUTEI!!!"

Ukitake spun around from his position, already breathless from worried running about, and he saw his loyal servants running towards him, not in the mood to fight each other for any glory. Something bad must've had happened. He just hoped it wasn't his son. "Kiyone…Sentarou…What…what's wrong?" he asked, panting. Damn, he was suffering from another relapse…

"Ukitake-koutei…Ukitake-koutei…" Kiyone cried, literally. She went on her knees and so did Sentarou. "Ukitake-koutei, please sentence us to death!"

"Yes, koutei!" Sentarou agreed, which would fit the bill into a list known as the Most Impossible Thing that Can Happen in the World. "Please put your servants to death! We have been utmost incompetent!"

Kiyone couldn't stop the tears from flowing out. "Oh, Ukitake-koutei, we don't deserve to serve you! Please execute us!"

Ukitake narrowed his eyes sorrowfully at the sight. They were his precious servants! He wouldn't send them to their deaths even if they had committed something bad. The most that he could punish them if they had committed a sinful act would be to demote them or send them out of the palace grounds but not to execute them! "Please, get up," he requested, trying to hide his breathlessness. "I promise you, on my honor, I will not execute you both. Just tell me what wrong did you commit? I promise I won't execute you. You have served me well for the past seven years. I will not do something so dishonorable to execute you after you have served me for so long." And besides…the two weren't capable of committing anything wrong anyway.

"Ukitake-koutei…we…we…" Kiyone couldn't help it and she moved closer to Ukitake when he pulled her closer to him. She buried her face in his belly area and cried. "We can't find Hitsugaya-koushi anywhere!!!"

Ukitake's eyes widened. "Wh…what?"

"We deserve death, Ukitake-koutei!" Sentarou exclaimed, unwilling to get up from his kneeling position. "We failed in our task to locate and protect the koushi! Hitsugaya-koushi…is gone!"

For a moment, the sickly white-haired emperor felt his heart sinking like the Titanic. His world was spinning quite terribly, and he felt like he was walking on the air. His vision blurred. "Toushirou…My son…" he mumbled quietly before he felt himself knocking against the concrete palace grounds as everything became black.

"UKITAKE-KOUTEI!!!"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

A/N: Things are starting to get interesting from now on. You see…this fanfic is like a serial drama whereby the star couple has to go through a lot of challenges before they can finally be together. Yes. Very cliché. Man, I suck. Anyway, this story will be very long…maybe spanning to about twenty chapters or so. It's like the few story arcs in Bleach. Sigh…how original (note the sarcasm). I really must go and think of better ideas…

Next chapter: Ukitake begins getting anonymous ransom letters and with each more recent one, the ransom just gets more and more demanding, until a certain clue is found in the letters, and Ukitake decides to call in his most trusted shinigami-in-training to go and find his son for him – Kurosaki Ichigo. Is the lovesick strawberry up for the job? And by the way, whatever happened to Hitsu-chan during all this while? -someone randomly whispers in author's ear- Uh-huh? -more whispering- Ok. -more whispering- o.O Oooookaaaaayyyy…

Nope, nope, I can't tell you. Not yet. All I can tell you is that Hitsu-chan won't be appearing much in the next chapter. There's something sinister up my sleeve…Heheheh…-cackles-

At any rate, please review:-)