Chapter 04

Blooming Narcissus

Now—

Brown hues stared at the boy that fell flat on his face with a shinai in hand, this kid had a long way to go with his mobility and strength… not to mention his offensive and defensive skills. It had been three long months since he was thrown into this world that was sixty years in the past, and Gin was taking his sweet time with those reports he asked for. Toushirou got up slowly and attacked him while believing that he was not paying attention, but Ichigo merely moved aside. While the boy was being careless, the Strawberry was trying to figure out why he would not take this seriously as he usually would.

"Don't take me lightly, Toushirou. Come at me with intent to kill." He knew that Toushirou was very smart, and he would think things through in a pinch, this boy was the same way. However, everything else that did not involve mentality as a main route, he lacked it. "Oops, almost got me." Ichigo mused.

"How about you stop moving around so I can hit you then!"

There was an idea.

Doing as told, Ichigo stood in place without moving as Toushirou charged forth and hit him across the chest, shattering the shinai. The attacker stared wide-eyed at the aftereffect of striking the man, staring at the hilt that he held in his hands tightly. He looked up to the man that was looking away as if it was not his fault even though he looked as guilty as sin right now. With a brief hand movement, Toushirou watched at the man revive the busted weaponry back to its previous form before it met his body.

"I guess that was a bad idea." Ichigo scratched his head. "How about we work on your footing and combat moves for a while, okay?" He went into position, as did the boy. "Bend your knees a little more, Toushirou." Said boy did as told, only to bend them too much. "No—well, just stay just how you are. You have to learn what works better for you." Walking over to him, he merely poked his shoulder, causing the boy to fall over. "You're too stiff, try a different stance that you're comfortable with." Toushirou got up and tried again. He was too lose. Ichigo poked his head, and the boy fell over once again. "Try again."

They tried to figure out the best way for him to find his balance in the stance that he wanted to use for at least an hour until he finally felt comfortable, and sturdy towards Ichigo's pokes and pats. To be fair, after Toushirou mastered his stance, the Strawberry allowed him to find any weaknesses in his stance, and the boy enjoyed shoving him around. He was purposely making errors in his stance so Toushirou could have fun watching him collide into the dirt for a while. Seeing the smile on his face was something new to him—Toushirou hardly smiled like this, and a thought crossed his mind.

As soon as Toushirou was about to shove the man, Ichigo stepped out of the way and grabbed him by his sides. The boy squeaked in surprise at the ticklish spots being touched, causing the other to let him go immediately in surprise. There was no way that Hitsugaya Toushirou was actually ticklish, right—it must have been a fluke when he was caught off guard. Either way, Ichigo could not help but grin widely at the discovery, only to be suddenly chased by the embarrassed boy to be told to stop laughing.

It was funny at first, until Ichigo looked to see Toushirou on his heels.

"That's what you needed, huh! You needed—" It clicked in his mind; Toushirou needed a drive. Before he knew it, the other impaled him, and they fell over. The boy shoved the other into the ground, and Ichigo grunted in slight discomfort. "So that's what it is." He whispered. Toushirou slowly at up on the man's chest to see what he was talking about. "You left to protect your grandmother, but other than that, you don't have any motivation to take things seriously." Ichigo sat up with the boy sliding into his lap. "Toushirou, you need to be motivated to become a Shinigami. Don't you want to protect Hinamori?"

Eyes became slightly larger at the question, and he nodded slowly.

"Then, from here on. I'm not going to play around with you. We'll make you strong enough to take on anyone who even looks at her suspiciously." For the moment, Toushirou was still looking at him in surprise. Then suddenly, in a blink of an eye, the fighting glint appeared. "That's the Toushirou I know."

Once they got up, Toushirou took things very seriously as he went into his fighting stance as a sign of being prepared for combat. Ichigo went along with it, watching Toushirou suddenly become more gifted that he let him to believe, and this was because of motivation. Would this boy have gone throughout his life as a regular Shinigami with no reason to exceed his limits if Ichigo was not here to push him? He was so entangled in his thoughts that he did not see the boy jump up and kick him down in to the dirt hard.

"K-Kurosaki!" The boy ran over, checking up on the man. "Kurosaki, are you okay!"
"Ah… I'm fine. I forgot that you tend to kick me a lot." He sat up slowly with a bruise on his cheek.
"I didn't mean to hurt you! I was just—" When he saw Ichigo's hand lift, he cringed.
Ichigo merely rustled his hair. "You meant to hit me, and that's how it's supposed to be, right?"
"Yes… I suppose you're right. But… what distracted you while I was attacking you!"

This made him blink curiously before shrugging. "I was just thinking, would you have been like this, if I hadn't come in this world to be at your side right now?" The other looked at him curiously. "Anyway, with your mind now set on protecting Hinamori, this makes things go faster. You don't need my help."

"That doesn't mean I don't want it." Toushirou frowned. Voices were approaching nearby. "Hurry, go."

Ichigo did not want others to know who he was or why he was there—the handful that he already told was dangerous enough if he were to stay safe and possibly born in the future. He turned his hair black as he watched from the trees; watching Renji, Momo, and Izuru approaching Toushirou casually. They all asked what he was doing out in the middle of a field alone, but Toushirou did not reply to the two males because they meant nothing to him. Momo told him that she was glad about him participating in the Academy, but it was too sweet for the redhead's taste.

"Why are you even friends with this pipsqueak?" Renji sneered as he pointed to the short boy. "I mean really, one glance at him, and I already know that I can throw him into the ground and have my—" in a flash, a hard force hit him against his face, punching him into the ground hard enough to create a crater.

"I don't like the implication as to where your comment was going, Renji." The Strawberry scowled at the redhead. "Just because your homosexual does not mean that you can harass other males, understand?"
"Abarai-kun!" Momo knelt down to his side to see if he was okay."W-Who are you?" She stuttered.
He thought about answering her, but it was probably better off that she did not know who he was. "It doesn't matter. Keep that dog on a leash Kira-san, Hinamori." With that, he turned and left the scene.
"Kurosaki!" Toushirou started to go after him. Paused and looked to Momo. "Sorry, I have to go."

The three watched the boy follow the man, wondering what was going on.

Toushirou stared intently at the man that was training.

He watched as the Strawberry work hard on his form, disappearing and reappearing with his flash steps with training with his Zanpakutou that he materialized. His every move that was made was something that etched into Toushirou's memory to remember for him to learn and use in the future. The stances, the punches, the kicks, his perfect movements as a fighter was being processed into the young boy that was given a purpose. It was true that he wanted to protect his grandmother, and protect Momo… but he also wanted to be the man that Ichigo wanted him to be.

If being Captain of the Tenth Division was what he wanted, so be it.

A watermelon was suddenly in front of the boy, catching him off guard. "You must be hungry." Ichigo stated quietly. He cut it in slices and served the majority of it to the puzzled male. "I know you like it, so don't bother denying it like everything else." With that, he took a bite of the juicy insides. "It's sunset." Turquoise hues gazed up at the man who now sat next to him. "I know you like watching them up high."

A thought occurred to him as he looked at his meal. "Kurosaki," he started quietly. "In the future, are we in some sort of intimate relationship?" The man froze at the question. "Is either of us involved there?"
Mind swirling at the question, he tried to think things through after finishing his one slice. "No, we're just good friends, Toushirou. Right now—well, in the timeline I'm from, I'm with the redhead I punched."
"You punched your own boyfriend? Wait—Abarai Renji is your boyfriend in the future?" Sadly, due to the shock, he dropped his watermelon in the grass. Ichigo nodded. "Then why did you punch your b—"
"Because he has no right talking badly about you." He lied back on the grass, sighing in frustration. "I've been thinking about breaking it off with him since I found out he's been going around with another."

"So you're gay?" When Ichigo looked at him, he gulped. "S-Sorry."

"…I don't know what I am, I just go with the flow. Life is too short for me since I'm actually human. Yet not many people in my world know that I'm a hero in Soul Society after defeating A—" no, he should not say anything about that, Toushirou was not strong enough to handle him yet. "After the war." His head turned to the side to look at the boy. "I've been with both genders, but girls are loud and nosy. Guys are more complicated in their own way, I suppose." Saying it like this made him chuckle. "Maybe I am then."

"Am I involved with anyone?"

"No, you keep yourself distant from others to be honest. When you have problems, you come to me because you don't want to trouble Hinamori, and Rangiku-san normally makes things worse." A thought came to him, making him smile. "Actually, my sister wanted to date you a few years ago, and you ran!"

Hearing him talk… hearing him always telling him all these stories about himself, how he was friends with this man? It was making him believe that everything he said was the truth, but, he already knew why he kept himself single in that world. This man was everything anyone would ever want, and he can almost feel that desire flowing through him—to want this man. No doubt that he was someone that the boy could put into the category of the few people that were not afraid of him now.

For this, he was very happy.

"You must really be an idiot, then." Toushirou sighed softly. "From the stories I've heard, there is a man that I have taken interest in, in your timeline." He could feel the heat rising to his cheeks. "It sounds like I met that man long ago, and never wanted to give him up." The other blinked. "Are you really stupid?"

"Who knows," his form propped up on his elbows to be eye level with the boy. "I'm hoping you're not implying what I think you are, Toushirou." This made the boy look away. "I can't… I can't do that to you."
Cheeks reddened so much that it was no longer easy to hide now. "I-I'm not saying that I want to h—"
"No, I understand that." Ichigo interrupted for Toushirou's own security reasons. "What I meant was. If I were to be involved with you, here and now, I would be betraying the Toushirou in the other timeline."

"Isn't it obvious that for sixty years, I would be waiting for you? And you go off to be with Abarai while I wait patiently?" Toushirou knew that he had him on the ropes now. "It's something that I wanted."
"Toushirou, if you don't stop talking like this, I'll leave. When I do, I won't return, ever." He was serious.
This did not faze him at all. "Go ahead and leave, I'll meet you again in the future anyway, won't I?"
He opened his mouth to argue, but smile weakly. "You're always rash when you put your all into it." His fist came up and bonked the boy on the head. "I guess you would, but that Ichigo wouldn't know you."
"So then you're willing to admit that you'll never be able to return to the future that you came from?"
The boy was a strong fighter all right, but he could see that he was still innocent. "You're still a kid."

"If you're human, then I bet that I'm older than you by at least two decades! I—" Lips met his, causing his turquoise hues to widen in surprise at the kiss that he suddenly received from the man. He slowly pulled away to look at him in confusion, only to see that he was tired of fighting him. "What does this…"

"It means I'm tired of fighting with you. Whenever you set your mind to something, you won't let up until you have it." Ichigo answered softly. "If having me is what you want, then go ahead and take me." He was done arguing a lost cause. If Toushirou was that determined to be with him after these three months, then there was nothing he can do to stop him. "I forgot how mature you always are, but," he shifted the bangs from the boy's eyes, "I never forget that you give your all to the ones you care about." Toushirou face could not turn any redder. "So then, you have me. What do you want to do about it?"

In the end, the boy chickened out, and they took a bath at the resort.

Ichigo knew that he would cave in like this.

With the boy's feelings somewhat acknowledged that night, Toushirou decided that to stay the night with him and his grandmother before having to return to the Academy. Instead of sleeping within the contents of his futon, he checked to make sure that the carrot top was deep into his dreams, and snuck over. He was going to get what he wanted, even if that meant getting close to this man before he had a chance to disappear for the rest of his life. Checking again to make sure that he was asleep, he carefully sat next to him and attempted to fall asleep against his shoulder, but he was cold. An arm wrapped around his body to bring him closer to share the warmth that was desperately needed for the boy.

"If you want to rest on my lap, it's okay." Toushirou immediately took the offer, grinding up against his pelvis. "Y-You brat." He wrapped his arms around him to keep him from wiggling around. "Stop trying to get me excited. You want Baa-chan over there to wake up to your cries of bliss?" The other stopped instantly in worry of waking the elder. "If you keep playing with me, I'll start playing with you, got it?"

Toushirou's cheeks turned bright red in the bonfire to reveal it; his mind began fantasizing things.

"You're making it hard for me to resist exploring." Ichigo whispered into his ear teasingly as he brought a hand up towards the boy's chest. "I saw how excited you got at the resort, so I can't exactly call you a kid anymore since you're going through puberty." He licked one of the boy's ears to show him what he was getting himself into. "Do you still want a part of me, Toushirou? Can you see that I'm very possessive?"

"E-Even if you are p-possessive—" his voice hitched to a high note that was covered by Ichigo's other hand. He removed the callused hand to continue. "But I can see you're very protective, and careful."

Ichigo was not happy about the words that slipped through the young boy's lips; they pierced him right through his soul without his consent. Three months… one, two—maybe even three times a week would this white-haired male return to the hut to be with him and the grandmother. So why did he believe that he was infatuated with someone that he barely knew… was it because the Strawberry was not family? A hand touched the soft lips of the boy that were not abused by a lover; this boy was too innocent to play with in any manner, let alone kissing. Their minds united briefly, long enough to push forth towards each other to press their lips together in a gentle kiss with nothing serious at first.

If he was doing this with Toushirou right now, then the Toushirou in his world… Toushirou wanted him.

"I can't go any further than kissing you." His brown hues turned away quickly. "This is too fast—I've never seen you open up to anyone so quickly, and you're already saying that you have feelings for me?" Ichigo shook his head, trying to think things through a little more. "I'm still in a relationship with Renji."
"You were going to break up with him because he betrayed you. But I never have—nor will I ever, right Kurosaki?" Said carrot top nodded. Toushirou turned around to sit in his lap with his legs around his waist. "There you have it, I am more loyal than that ungrateful man will ever be. So choose me instead.
Things started to hit him. "Even though you say that, you're terrified about the thought of having sex. Yet you want me to be with you." If he was right about this… "Are you trying to have me stay committed to you in the future? For whenever I manage to return—well, if I ever manage to return to that time?"

"Perhaps you're not as dumb as I thought."

A vein popped as he glared while he opened the robe to reveal a pale, petite chest. "You asked for it."

His head lowered to lick the small nipples that were instantly erected to his surprise—it seemed almost a sin to play with him at this age. Small hands clung to the hair on his head, grasping tightly as his leaned his mouth against his head to muffle his moaning. Kid or not, Toushirou was Toushirou, and the noise that he was making was too arousing for him to simply pass off as nothing. A tent was already formed down below, so he untied the obi to let the lower half of his clothing fall in order to keep them clean. He knew that the future captain was a control-freak, and a tidy one at that, so he would not risk having the boy soiling his own attire from pleasure.

As soon as he felt the partner shivering, he knew he went too far, and he dressed him back up.

"Toushirou, it's okay." The Strawberry peeled him off his head. "I won't go any further." He witnessed the shameful tears in his eyes, so he licked them away to show him that he was not upset with him. "If anything, admitting that you're not ready for this, makes me admire you even more." Turquoise hues looked amazed at the words, having him smiling at the boy. "Go to your futon and sleep." The boy had opened his mouth to object, but then Ichigo continued. "I will lie down beside you. Now go to bed."

He was wrong, and he felt horrible.

Toushirou may be Toushirou…

However, this Toushirou was still a kid.

'And I scared him.' Ichigo watched as the boy slowly returned to his futon. 'I'm such a pedophile now that it's not even funny.' What was he supposed to do? How could he shake this boy off when all he could see in him was the Toushirou that he knew? 'I need to go back, soon.' He came over and lied beside the futon. Toushirou scooted over to nuzzle up against him, falling asleep fast. "…goodnight."

The boy was already sound asleep.

"Kurosaki!" Toushirou cheered after two months passed, hurrying to the hut to tell him the good news. "Kurosaki, Kurosaki!" He skidded in front of the hut and poked his head inside to see his grandmother. "Baa-chan, have you seen Kurosaki?" The boy acted as if he had earned an honor roll in the Academy.

"He's in the fields, dear." She smiled softly; glad to see him so thrilled.

Heading to the fields in quick flash steps, he found the man training himself intensely with his bankai materialized for whatever reason. He did not mind though, he had something far more exciting tell him, but he knew to wait until the training session was over. The last time he attempted to interrupt him, he almost lost his head to the Zanpakutou in Ichigo's hand, and that was just last week!

Ichigo sensed him, so he turned to look. "Toushirou?"
"Kurosaki, I made a friend at the Academy today!" He cheered.
"Oh?" The man blinked. Terrified to see the boy so happy. "What's—"

Shit… he completely forgot about—

"His name is Kusaka Soujirou!"

…crap…