Ichigo: Are you gonna make Toshiro yell at me again?

Me: I dunno ^^; Maybe?

Toshiro: Oh, you better make me yell. This block head needs to learn some manners.

Orihime: Oh, here we go...Again

Ichigo: ME?! MANNERS?! Pppfffft! I don't go running around, yelling "I'm gonna freeze you for all eternity" now am I?

Toshiro:...Do you want to get frozen, Kurosaki?

Ichigo: NO, PLEASE DON'T FREEZE ME *begging*

Me: *sighs* Anyways, I do not own Bleach-

Toshiro: Good, now shut up.

Me: I just own the plot and story line-

Ichigo: Why are you being so rude, anyways?

Me: So just please read the story without further-a-do-

Toshiro: Do I need to tell you, Nosy Rosy?

Me: WILL YOU TWO SHUT UP SO I CAN FINISH DOING THE DISCLAIMER?!

Ichigo x Toshiro: Yes, ma'am!

Chapter Two: You Don't Need To Take This On Alone

A pair of teal eyes slowly opened and stared at the white ceiling above. He watched the ceiling fan above him for what seemed like hours until he lazily sat up in bed. Out of nowhere, he felt like he was going to hurl. He instinctively gripped the sheets tightly and breathed heavily, tightly closed his eyes shut. Maybe it was working too hard the past few weeks. He's barely been eating because he's been too busy finishing/starting Matsumoto's left behind paper work. That's all he's been doing for weeks! Working non-stop, fighting off the hollows that were reported attacking cities, yelling at Matsumoto for being careless, being a captain...being too young. It all put so much stress on his shoulders. Such small shoulders for big problems.

The young captain slowly loosened his grip on the sheets and opened his eyes. His vision was blurry and hazy for a minute and he shook his head. Bad idea. His world spun and he felt like he was falling for a minute so he forced himself to catch himself. Taking a deep breathe, he slowly climbed out of his bed and managed to take a warm shower. Not that it mattered anyways. His cold skin would easily penetrate the warm water, making it feel icy on his skin. He was used to it. He was used to feeling cold-being cold. He had no reason not to be.

Sudden flashbacks appeared in his head and he screwed his eyes shut. Not now...I don't need this...Not now. Go away! He mentally tried fighting off the memories but the memories got more clear, more easier to see and hear.

"We'll be best friends forever, Toshiro! You can count on that!"

"No!" He shouted and fell to his knees on the bottom of the bathtub. "Go away!" He yelled and gripped the floor mats, breathing heavily.

"Wow, you really are a boy genius, aren't you?!"

"Go away..." He mumbled, feeling weaker and weaker by the passing second. He couldn't find the memories anymore. It was a if they were draining his energy on purpose.

"So, you're the child prodigy everybody's been talking about, right?" A tall figure said, sitting on Toshiro's desk. Toshiro, who was in the middle of gloomily staring out of the window, raised his wide teal eyes look upon a boy. He seemed much older than he was with with shoulder length bluish-purple hair. The boy smiled at him.

"My name is Kusaka Sojiro. You must be Toshiro Hitsugaya! It's nice to finally meet you!" He said.

"Disappear...Fade...Demolish...LEAVE!" Toshiro yelled, feeling a liquid that is always forbidden to leave his eyes. Tears. He forbid himself to every cry, especially in front of someone. It was a sign of pure weakness, something that isn't right to do. He always found himself holding his emotions in, both negative and positive, and pushing everyone else away. Because that's what he thought would be best for everyone. They had their own lives to worry about. Why worry about him and his stupid problems?

"It is impossible to two people to wield the same zanpaktou. You must fight. You MUST fight 'til the death."

Toshiro's small fists clenched the mat tighter, his knuckles turning white as a few small, thin veins would pop out in strain. "Go away...Please... "He said shakily. He let the tears pour down his cheeks, finally letting it all out. "I don't need this. I don't need to be reminded..."

"I am the true holder of Hyourinmaru! I am the true holder!" Kusaka yelled and held his zanpaktou and charged for Hitsugaya.

"Wait, Kusaka! What are you doing?!" Toshiro said and quickly shielded himself with his own zankpaktou, making their swords collide. A huge blast of ice and wind came about, knocking some people over.

"Wait, no, what are you doing?!" Toshiro cried as he squirmed when people suddenly appeared and held him back.

"Wait, why are you interfering?! We're still fighting! I can win this!" Kusaka said, holding his zanpaktou in defense.

"We have decided that Toshiro Hitsugaya will the be the owner of Hyourinmaru. You, Kusaka, must die." A old woman said, apart of the head group that had ordered them both to fight.

"What?! No! I'm the true holder of Hyourinmaru!" Kusaka said as people surrounded him. "I can still win-" Kusaka was cut out when at least 5-6 blades stabbed into him. Toshiro squirmed more.

"NO!" He yelled as he started to watch Kusaka begin to fade.

"Toshiro...Why?" Kusaka said before he faded into nothing.

"KUSAKA!"

Toshiro shot open his eyes and stared at the wall of the tub, shaking as he let the water pour down and continue soaking his hair. He slowly looked down at his hands and gasped softly, immediately letting go of the mat when he noticed his knuckles bleeding. He quickly rinsed his hands off before he got to his feet and turned off the water. It was about then when he could feel it. A pain in his chest. A sting in his heart. A tear in his soul. It was pain. It what heart break. It was loneliness.

He let out a shaky breathe and dried himself off before slipping on the thin white robe then the black one. He grabbed the tie and tied it firmly around his waist. He sat down on his bed as he blow-dried his white hair, sighing deeply. Once he finished drying it, he combed his hair and watched it go into it's natural spiky state. He put on his sandals and turned, looking at his captain's robe hanging neatly on his closet door. Biting his lip softly, he reached and grabbed it before slipping it on. He grabbed his zanpaktou and slipped one arm and his head through the loop, tightening it a little so the case of his zanpaktou pressed against his back. Then, he opened his door and walked out into the fresh morning air.

"Has Hitsugaya-taichou showed up yet?" Ichigo said, walking into the office that Matsumoto was currently in. Matsumoto raised her head from the paper work and shook her head no.

"No, not yet. I think he over slept." She said and sighed deeply, leaning into her chair.

"Oh..." Ichigo fell silent for a few minutes. "Should I go check if he's awake or not?" He said.

"That's not necessary." A serious voice said and they both turned around. Matsumoto immediately got to her feet.

"Captain!" She said. Ichigo watched Toshiro walk over to his desk and set his zanpaktou on it.

"I see you got here early, Matsumoto. And you're actually doing work. That's a surprise." He said. Matsumoto smiled a little.

"Actually, you're late captain." She said. Toshiro paused and he closed his eyes. Ichigo narrowed his eyes, he could sense something wrong with Toshiro. He knew something was both physically and mentally wrong with the young captain.

"I know...I over slept." He said and sighed deeply. "I'll be going to get something to eat. I'll be back soon." He turned and headed for the door. Ichigo thought fast and gently grabbed Toshiro's wrist, making Toshiro stop in his tracks.

"Hitsugaya-taichou...is everything alright?" He asked. Toshiro stayed silent as he slowly turned his head to look at Ichigo. Ichigo gasped softly, his eyes widening when he saw that same look Toshiro had given him during the Diamond Dust Rebellion.

Toshiro turned to Ichigo and suddenly charged, raising his zanpaktou high in the air with a loud yell.

"Hitsugaya!" Ichigo said, bringing his zanpaktou up to meet Hitsugaya's. "What are you doing?!" He yelled as they skid back at the impact. Through the slid dust that was forming between their zanpaktou's colliding, Ichigo could see the expression on Toshiro's face. Suddenly, Toshiro's expression went from serious to begging. His thin eyebrows furrowed together in what looked like hurt. And his teal eyes-oh how his teal eyes glimmered and made Ichigo's heart race-glittered in pain.

"Please." One word. One word from Toshiro was all it took for Ichigo to back down.

Ichigo stared at Toshiro wide eyed before slowly letting go of his wrist. Toshiro stared at Ichigo for a while longer before quickly leaving. The room fell silent for about 10-15 minutes before Ichigo finally found the guts/strength to speak.

"Did you see that look he gave me?" He said and Matsumoto fell silent for a while.

"Yes, I did..." She said softly and sighed. "Kusaka...He's haunting Toshiro still."

"Toshiro..." Ukitake said, walking toward the young captain. Toshiro looked up from his cup of coffee and sighed.

"Came to give me a lecture, Ukitake?" He asked and looked out of the window. Ukitake shook his head no and sat down next to Toshiro. "Then what do you want?"

"I want to know what's wrong with you the past few days. I'm worried about you. Especially today, you're not yourself...Is it Kusaka?" Ukitake asked and frowned at Kusaka's name. "It is Kusaka. What's wrong? You can tell me any-"

"Thanks for concern Ukitake." Toshiro said as he stood, cutting Ukitake off. "But I have to get some work finished." He headed for the door and Ukitake got to his feet.

"Don't be so cold, Toshiro." He said and Toshiro stopped in his tracks. "If you let people in, they can help you!"

"I don't want any help." He said. Ukitake sighed.

"Captain Hitsugaya," He approached Toshiro and put his hand on Toshiro's shoulder. "You don't need to take this on alone, you know that right? We're here for you. If you only could let us in, it'd be a lot easier." He said. Toshiro looked down and sighed.

"I told you, Ukitake. I don't want or need any help, got it?" He said and brushed Ukitake's hand off of his shoulder. "Good day..." he walked toward the door and put his hand on the door knob when suddenly everything blurred. A wave of heat consumed him and he felt dizzy, nauseous. His body felt like a volcano about to erupt and he didn't even notice himself collapsing to the ground.

"Captain Hitsugaya!" Ukitake exclaimed and caught the young captain in his arms. Looking down upon him, he put his hand on his forehead and frowned when he felt an un-normal fever burning up. "That's impossible..." He said and looked up when he heard someone walk in.

"Uryuu," Ukitake took the unconscious captain into his arms. "Alert all medical people immediately. Toshiro has is ill." He said. Uryuu's eyes grew wide but he quickly dashed off into the direction of the 10th Division. He ran past people, apologizing when he would bump into someone, and swung open the door to Toshiro's office. Uryuu stood in the doorway, breathing heavily.

"Uryuu?" Rukia said as she got to her feet.

"Is everything alright?" Renji said, putting the book back into the shelf.

"What's wrong?!" Ichigo said, approaching him. Uryuu looked up at the substitute as Matsumoto came to Ichigo's side. "What is it?!"

"Spill!" Matsumoto said, as eager as Ichigo was.

"There...There is an impossible matter going on." Uryuu said, doubling over to catch his breathe. "I thought my calculations were correct! It's impossible for him to be like this!"

"What are you saying?" Renji said, walking to the opposite of Ichigo. "Who are you talking about?"

Uryuu breathed heavily. "He's ice! I don't understand any of this!"

"So it has to do with Toshiro?" Rukia said, immediately tensing up. "What's wrong? Is he alright?"

"You better spill or I'm gonna cut your head off, Uryuu." Ichigo said, glaring at the boy. Uryuu stood up straight.

"Captain Hitsugaya is being transported to the medical for a reported high-rank fever." He said and their eyes grew wide.

"How is that even possible?!" Matsumoto exclaimed. "He's the Prince of Ice! He's as cold as ice! How in the hell is he able to get a fever?!"

"That's easy." Another voice said and they all looked behind him to see captain Urahara standing there. "His stress and anxiety is building up too fast and too strong. He's still too young, yet he has heavy burdens to carry."

"Burdens? Like what?!" Ichigo said. Urahara raised his head, flicking his hat up a little bit so he could look at the group.

"Like dealing with the fact that he killed his best friend, Kusaka, twice." He said.

to be continued...

Toshiro: Dang it, I was hoping I'd get to yell at Kurosaki this chapter!

Ichigo: That's not important right now, Toshiro!

Toshiro: THAT'S CAPTAIN HITSUGAYA TO YOU, KUROSAKI!

Orihime: You've got a fever, Hitsugaya-taichou! The last thing you need to be worrying about is yelling at Strawberry!

Ichigo: Yeah, what Orihim-Wait, 'Strawberry'? Will people stop calling me that?! UUURRRRGGGGHHHH

Toshiro: It's what your name means, Kurosaki.

Ichigo: No, it does not!

Toshiro: Wow...You're even dumber than you look.

Ichigo: THAT'S NOT NICE!

Me: ^^; Hope you...liked the chapter!