TIN MAN

A/N: Holy crap, this has taken me forever to get out, huh...? Life likes to try to eat my face, sorry... which is one of the reason I appreciate your guys' reviews and feedback. I've saved every single email that has a review/favorite author/story alert/favorite story alert in them so I can look back and grin to myself before writing again. So far, I've got about three pages worth in my email, so... I'm thrilled.

On another note... I got my first threat a while back... Someone threatened that if I didn't update, Hichigo would chase me down... So now that I've been threatened for the first time, I am now an official fanfiction author. Heh.

One of these days I'll get the formatting of the stories looking somewhat alike... because if I don't, it'll bug me...

Ah, one more warning, and I'll leave you guys to read on... To me, this chapter seems like one big fluffy filler. Sorry. It just turned out that way... but fillers lead to good stuff... You know, providing that there's not nine trillion of them... which there won't be. (Like Naruto... which... is ran by filler...) In any event, I hope you enjoy the latest installment of Tin Man!

DISCLAIMER: I do not, in any way, own Bleach or any of its characters. If I did, there would be a lot of boy on boy action, more Ishihime love, and Byakuya wouldn't have a stick shoved up his ass. (Okay, make that several sticks.)

Chapter Five: You Aren't Broken, Right...?

It was Shirosaki who had stayed at Ichigo's side while he rested, ensuring that none of his family members could disturb him. They were gone anyway. Apparently the yelling Ichigo had 'heard' yesterday was just a figment of Ichigo's imagination… which left Shirosaki to feel like a failure again. His King was now hearing voices… like that of his sister, concerned for his well-being, and of Kon… who was probably just as concerned, although the Hollow couldn't see why. After all, the rag was calling Ichigo all kinds of profanities as Shirosaki beat the stuffing out of it for answers a while back… So if Ichigo was hearing those sorts of things, then what else was going on in Ichigo's imagination? That rift had to be screwing with his King's head…

…and Shirosaki was not fond of the competition… That was his job, to mess with Ichigo and… Ah, he was getting off topic again.

Anyway, Shiro had noted that the whole family had gone out to go see Ichigo's dead mummy or something, leaving Ichigo to sleep seeing as how sick he looked. (It had been what Ichigo had forgotten when he was tallying off his things to do for the today before he had passed out… which was unfathomable. Ichigo was supposed to be in a deep despair about this day… but he had forgotten something entirely. Something he had never done before. How odd.) Seeing as how everyone but himself and Kon were absent, it was Kon who had first tried to help Ichigo, leaving Shiro to blink in bewilderment. So the stuffed thing was worried after all… Kon may be an ass at times, but he still cared for the teen…

…but not enough to fight a snarling Hollow to the task. Hichigo didn't want Kon touching Ichigo. Ichigo was battered all ready. IF the paws of that mangy rag touched him, who knew what germs they could contain? (He thought that was what they were called… Hollows didn't fall ill.)

Now, if Ichigo got germs, he could get a cold or something, making him even weaker. That wouldn't do… so Kon was promptly locked in the closet, screaming for the Strawberry to save him. The Hollow was the Horse to the King, not the perverted bag of stuffing. Kon was below Shirosaki on this social ladder, and god damn it, he was not giving up his rung to that punk. He'd worked hard (sort of) to get any attention from Ichigo at all, and only recently had that attention been positive. Used to, Ichigo would be frustrated that he had to have anything to do with the Hollow. Nowadays… It was almost as if Ichigo was kinder. Like… Like he actually respected Shirosaki, and while the albino had no idea as to why that was, he sure as heck was not going to let the filthy lion get in the way…

So he had set about to doing what he thought was appropriate to tend to those who were sick, trying to retrieve memories of loved ones taking care of Ichigo from their head to give him something to work with. He found a few, but… Well, his options were limited. Soup? He couldn't fix soup without leaving something out of place (raising suspicion from the rest of Ichigo's family), and he couldn't cook anyway, so Ichigo had to starve… However, he could press those cold hands of his against Ichigo's feverish head, just as Karin or Yuzu would if their sibling looked feverish to check the temperature… but they would get something cold to put there. He only had his cold hands, so they remained at Ichigo's head, neck, and arms. Medicine…? Well, he had no idea what the difference between one and another was, so he had a hunch that might not be good for the already sick Strawberry… and… Shirosaki knew there was something else, but at the moment, couldn't recall what it was. It involved one of the short people Ichigo called his siblings… but beyond that, nothing more came to mind…

Yet, he refused to let the thought go. Shirosaki was not the best nurse, but he certainly was trying. He sat at Ichigo's side, pressing those cool hands to him again and again, deep in thought.

What the heck was that other thing…? Ah, it was killing him. For all he knew, it could be the thing to make his King better…

…so he sat there, thinking and nursing, wary inverted eyes watching that tan face for any sign of life. Slowly, it grew less pale and less hot to the touch and more… well, normal...

No words could express how relieved Sjhiro was when he saw the first twitch of an eyelid… and then Ichigo's eyes fluttered open, a soft groan escaping his throat. His head hurt so badly still… but it was nothing but a dull reminder of the last wave of pain. It took him only a second to realize he was awake, and almost instantly, the teen shot straight up into a sitting position, desperately grasping at his chest, panic-stricken… which effectively stopping the attempted 'nursing', Shirosaki's hand quickly withdrawing, wary of being caught.

Frantically, one sun-kissed hand felt around Ichigo's chest, leaving Shirosaki watching on in bewilderment as to what was going on. Ichigo could tell that his chest wasn't bleeding, but that only surprised him… The dream… It felt so real, he could have sworn that he'd been stabbed overnight…

This puzzled him. That pain was ungodly… but it never happened? Impossible… but… there was no wound. So what could it be…? Something was up… His thoughts at first went to Aizen, but there was no earthly way that could of happened. If one of Aizen's men had been here and he hadn't woken up, he'd be dead or maimed or something rather than confused and unharmed… so his thoughts went to numerous others, but one after another, all leads led to a dead end… Maybe Shirosaki had done something…?

His musing was cut short, however, as Shirosaki's face instantly came back into view, those pale features only an inch from his own, leaving Ichigo to pause, thinking, Wait… What in the…? What the hell is Shiro doing here? And… why was he at my side? Freaking weirdo... Wait… wasn't he hovering a little closer than this before…?

That was unexpected, and Ichigo froze, still clinging to his heart. Shirosaki was closer than Ichigo was comfortable with, the albino watching every single flicker of emotion that dared possess his King's face before grinning sadistically, chirping, "Awwwwwww, Kingy's awake! I thought ya were brok'n fer a bit, there…" There was a short pause before the albino blinked, instantly grabbing Ichigo's shoulders and looking him over. "…Ya ain't brok'n, righ'?"

Ichigo could only gape as his reflection tenderly poked and prodded here and there before the King smacked his hand away, snapping, "Hell no! I'm fine… Just stop poking me!"

Shiro snickered at this before leaning closer, leaving Ichigo to back up to the point where his back was pressed squarely against the headboard. Shiro meant well… for once. He'd listen… but he wanted answers from Ichigo. Asking normally would just get a defensive response from the Soul Reaper, so he'd have to go about it a bit differently. "If ya say so, Kingy… Oooh, hey, Kingy! Wanna play a game? I got real bor'd, waitin' fer ya to wake up… so let's play a game. Ya ask me a question… an' I'll tell ya anythin'… but I get t'ask ya somethin'… and ya gotta ans'er me."

It sounded harmless… and it was better than Hichigo deciding to destroy something in his room to alleviate some of that boredom, so Ichigo agreed. "Fine…"

Delighted, Shiro instantly chirped, "Ya start."

In an attempt to humor the teen, Ichigo thought before pausing. The dream… Of course. If Shiro did something, he'd either get angry or proudly admit it, so… It was a good place to start. "…Hollow?" From here on out, things got dangerous, so the teen carefully carried on. "…Have you ever had a dream where you feel like you're dying…?"

"…Dream?" Ichigo sighed. It must have been a bad question, and Shiro did nothing, apparently… because Shiro looked absolutely clueless. The thing probably didn't have dreams of any form… knowing him. "Naw, I never had a dream, b'fore, so... Wait, ya were dyin'?!" Shiro tensed, leaving Ichigo to frantically try to defend himself before the Hollow snapped.

"N-No! You were! I mean, I was you, but I was dying…!" Seeing as how the pale man was staring at Ichigo like the teen was mental now (a slight improvement rather than the 'kill everything that moves' expression), Ichigo sighed, elaborating. "I dreamt, and I was in your body… and you were babbling damn nonsense like you usually do and kicking the bucket. I was stuck in your fucking dead body for hours. Dying… I mean, you dying hurt more than anything I've ever been through, and I was…" Worried? No, that'd make the Hollow laugh… and he didn't need to be ridiculed today, seeing as how he still felt like shit and had no idea when the feeling would subside… "…freaked out by it. I woke up and my chest hurt… You… are you all right?"

Hichigo leaned back, eyeing him cautiously before blurting out, "Course I'm all righ'! Do I look like I'm a'dyin'? Why t'hell did I die in th' first place, huh? I ain't dyin' any time soon, King. Ya think I'm tha' weak? I'm hurt, King…" As pale features contorted into staged pain, it took all Kurosaki had not to punch those lights out. Oh, he'd regret it later… but he was being serious right now, and it kinda sucked to have to deal with this crap so soon after waking up…

"Ugh, I don't know why I even bother talking to you. I wouldn't worry over this if it wasn't so damn weird. What kind of a moron dies smiling like that? I was just worried… asshole."

Shirosaki sighed, watching the ruler of his world scowl angrily, his entire frame stiffening in anger. He certainly wasn't going to get an answer he wanted out of his King if Ichigo was upset with him… so Shirosaki promptly made amends. It wasn't his fault Ichigo was so easily angered… "Sorry, King. Naw, I'm all righ'… Ain't got any rest lately. Been busy in ya head… Norm'ly, there ain't much t'do, but lately, ya've been workin' me t' the bone."

Ichigo froze, staring at him. He hadn't asked Shirosaki to do anything lately… Things had been peaceful as of late (probably a break in Aizen's attack plan, knowing the bastard…), and every single fight he had been in had ended quickly without any exertion on Ichigo's behalf. Sure, he knew he was getting stronger, but the opposition was weak, and the fights ended as soon as they had begun… and the only time he'd ever talked to Shirosaki was when Ichigo was alone. Even then, no demands had been made.

After all, it was an unspoken understanding that Shirosaki would go about his business, and, in doing so, would make Ichigo's head less frightening. Well… Hichigo knew nothing of it. The Soul Reaper did, however. The more the Hollow was at 'work', the less time he spent inside their world, breaking things to make the place less threatening. If Shiro was bored, he'd do that to entertain himself, but if he was tired and happy from battle, he'd lie about and do nothing until he grew restless again. The solution? Ichigo would just not call on Shirosaki, and then he could rely on him to help. Of course, Ichigo would call on him when the pale man demanded it, like in battles were he needed backup and had none… The last thing he needed was for the Hollow to go on strike…

Anyway, he didn't call on him for fights unless Ichigo couldn't possibly handle it.

Yet, here the Horse was, saying how worn out he was from working. The only work that albino did was breaking stuff and killing things… and perhaps nagging him once in a while for doing something stupid. Shirosaki had huge stamina… and could fight for days, it seemed, without tire. So Ichigo was confused. What was the Hollow doing? And… If Shiro was tired, then…

It was then that fear took over Ichigo, stronger than ever.

This was not good, and Shirosaki almost fell off the bed when Ichigo panicked, grabbing the pale cloth adorning Hichigo's equally pale chest, brown eyes wide in pure, unadulterated fear and hysteria. Now THIS was interesting, Shiro mused, seeing that look of all things. If anything, he'd expected a snarky comeback… but instead, got a panicked, "What the hell do you mean, 'overworked'? I haven't asked anything of you in ages, and…" After that, it grew more and more laced with terror, leaving Hichigo to falter. Suddenly, it wasn't so amusing now that Ichigo was about to rip his shirt to shreds in a lapse of emotion… and even Hichigo had limits on how far that tanned face could be wracked with negative emotion. So…

Shiro calmly removed his King's hands, chirping, "Jus' doin' repairs on ya noggin', my King… Ya have this weird thing a'goin' on in tha' world of yours, an' it ain't pretteh."

Of course, the Horse was not taken seriously, and was pushed away angrily. Trust Ichigo to believe every lie that came from those pale lips, but never the truth until it was almost too late. How naive the Strawberry was… With that, Ichigo almost made it out of the bed before being dragged back to his former position, amber eyes drilling into his skull.

"…Ya need t'rest, King. Get ya ass back 'ere. I ain't done talkin'… and I ain't even answered ya yet, let 'lone ask ya somethin'." One glance at the Horse's face made him sigh. There was no arguing with him right now… Those eyes had a determination only Ichigo could match. Seeing as how he really had no choice… Ichigo sat down, eyeing his captor. What he'd give to wipe that smug grin off of the pale man's face… However, the expression immediately turned into concern, unique eyes staring at Ichigo's chest again. "Ya… said ya heart 'urts." Ichigo could only nod. His Hollow had listened to him for once… so the Soul Reaper would try to cooperate, since Shirosaki was being civil…

The Hollow continued on, eyes never straying. "…Ya sad?" Shirosaki remembered that discussion very well…

'Slowly, Ichigo shuffled over there to him, lightly punching his arm. "You really are a moron, Shiro. Seriously… If my feelings got hurt or something, I'd tough it out… I mean, you might get rained on, but…"

Shiro froze, staring at him. "Hurt? Ya feelin's can hurt?"

"Y-Yeah… They… can hurt…"

"Where d'they hurt?"

"…Your heart, I guess…"

"Ya heart?"'

Yes, Shirosaki remembered. He wouldn't forget something so different and new to what he had known… and if Ichigo was hurting because he was sad, then it would rain. If it rained, Shiro would be forgotten until it stopped… and that was NOT going to happen.

Of course, Ichigo would deny being upset, no matter what… "…No. I'm fine…" That was a lie. Ichigo had felt absolutely devastated. After all, if Shirosaki was gone, then who would keep himself safe from his inner world? He'd felt lost when that pale hand had fell, tainted with crimson… and whether he'd admit it or not, no one knew him better than the Hollow. After all, sharing a body tended to do that to someone…

If Hichigo knew it was bull (which he was pretty certain it was), he didn't call it, choosing to press on lightly instead. "…But ya heart 'urts."

"Yes."

With that, the Hollow promptly pried Ichigo's hand away from his chest, pale irises scrutinizing it, leaving the Strawberry to blink in surprise.

Don't tell me… Is he really worried about me getting hurt? Why? I don't… get it. Feels kind of nice, I guess…

Almost frantically, Shiro searched for damage, lightly tracing his fingers over the aching skin before pulling back, frowning. It seemed to be literally physical. Ichigo would shy away from the touch ever so slightly… but he didn't know if emotions did that or not, so that sort of left him clueless. There was no wound… but… it definitely hurt his King. What was it that humans did to mend aches and pains? Oh, the little brats that Ichigo called siblings used to do it to each other a couple of times. Ichigo'd told him of that… but…

What was it?

And then it dawned on him. Shiro had finally remembered the thing he'd forgotten concerning tending to the ill. It had been bugging him, and he hadn't given up on it… Although, once remembering, he had to wonder just how the method was supposed to work, but oh well…

He was the Horse, and Ichigo was the King… and as the Horse, he was supposed to serve…

Once remembering, Shiro grinned from ear to ear, leaning back with a satisfied gleam in his eye… and immediately, the teen's heart dropped. That was never good… for him, anyway. That usually meant that something was about to be absolutely demolished by those pale hands while Hichigo laughed maniacally. Usually it was something Ichigo'd rather keep intact… like… his furniture. Or his arms. He'd rather they not get broken today, thank you very much…

Instead, Shirosaki tapped Ichigo's noggin, chirping, "Ya know, Kingy, I ain't lyin'. Ya need to come n'look fer ya'self one of these days… at ya noggin', I mean. It's… Well, ya'll see." With that, Shiro pushed Ichigo down, his back firmly against the mattress before the Hollow tossed blankets over the boy, grinning from ear to ear before adding, "Oh, an' ya need t'get some new clothes, eh? Tha' one I foun' in ya closet is jus' weird."

Ichigo almost protested and swore at him…

…but very quickly was silenced when Shiro pressed his pale lips to the teen's forehead tenderly, just like Yuzu and Karin had done in years past when Ichigo fell ill, when they were still young and innocent… rather than the displaying the grown-up façade they tried to pull off now… It was sweet, quick, and innocent…

…but it still left Ichigo speechless and totally confused, watching as his mirror image fading away, quietly adding, "Ya get better, ya hear?"

Hichigo's methods of nursing (or doing anything, for that matter) may be a bit unorthodox at times… but he certainly did try.

So maybe Ichigo would try taking Shirosaki's advice for once…

Just for a change of pace of course…

…and certainly not because he wanted to…

…although he could be wrong…

A/N: Argh, this chapter feels so short in comparison to the others... Sorry guys. I've been busy... and sick... which is ironic, seeing as how Ichigo just was, you know, ill...

Ah, also: Some of you guys tried to predict what the title meant, and I'm happy to say that while most of you are on the right track, none of you guys got it completely. (Well, one got very, very close, but... Not so straight-forward?) From here on out, keep your guesses to yourself... I don't want anybody to ruin it for someone.

See you guys soon, seeing as how I'm almost done with Chapter Six, and... I'm still sorry that seemed like a filler. My deepest apologies to those expecting something utterly amazing...