Letters to Father
?Phone Troubles

Anger to sorrows
Things unexpected
The roots of life
Never grows
The way wanted

"Expect to receive something from your granny tomorrow."

The silver-haired preteen honestly knew what to expect from his grandmother the following morning, and yet some kind of excitement welled in his chest, making the night rather restless. Toshiro set his alarm for an even earlier time in the morning. The ten-year-old found himself glad Momo didn't wake him like she did that weekend, and instead sat at the table waiting.

Granny took longer to wake, and at first gave him a funny look. A lilting laugh escaped her mouth. "Normally I'm able to get up earlier than you." The old woman moved to the table, carrying something small with her, hiding the item so that Toshiro couldn't see. A frown spread across her face. "Are you sure though you want to pursue this? I'm not Momo-chan, so my reasons for being worried are a bit different, little one."

Toshiro's eyes blinked a couple of times, his jaw dropping. "Granny, you know who my father is. Who…"

"Shiro-chan, your father and mother's story is rather sad. You though are the one, very beautiful and wonderful thing to have come from that. Sometimes, asking questions isn't the best idea." The old woman pushed the item forward. "He's not a bad person, though, you're father, and really wishes for your best intentions in mind."

The preteen opened up the small box, seeing the cell phone with the teal color matching his eyes. His small, bone thin hand reached out, grasping the item, noticing the piece of paper attached with the phone number for the phone. "That's why he agreed to this then?"

"Yes. I agree with him. You'll have to learn to use it, but I do trust you to handle the phone with care."

The silver-haired child held up his fingers. "The phone is, first of all, emergency contacts, and letting you know where I am rather than worrying you. Second, the phone is also for contacting my classmates for school purposes. I got that."

The old woman stood up, walking over slowly to touch his finger, pulling the third up. "Third, the phone is for making plans with your classmates for socialization purposes. It's time you start making friends."

"Friends…" Toshiro shook his head, setting the phone down onto the table, his mouth pushing together. "I really don't have any friends. It's really hard when nobody at school is my age. Kurosaki though…" Another door in the apartment opened. "… he's kind of like an older brother and treats me like he does his sisters, who are my age. I'd like to make friends with them, maybe, but don't know how."

"No." Momo's words made the silver-haired preteen flinch, his bright teal eyes darting up to look at her, his lips pushing together as Toshiro took in Momo's angry facial features. "I don't like Kurosaki."

"Well, I do." Granny stood up, preparing to start breakfast for the entire family.

Momo's eyes darted to the phone, her voice tightening. "Toshiro, where did you get that?"

The boy froze, his bright teal eyes looking right into Momo's his jaw setting firmly, his fingers reaching out to put the phone into his bag. The teal eyes looked down at the ground, the words refusing to come from Toshiro's mouth. The preteen attempted to look up at the young female teen but quickly found his mouth hanging open, remembering the way his foster sister acted when the young child brought up his parents, accusing him of digging into something which would only hurt him. Quickly, Toshiro tilted his head to look at granny, his eyes widening. The old woman frowned. "The phone? That came from someone looking out for Shiro-chan's well-being."

"Who, though? Also, why does Shiro-chan get a phone before me? He's younger than I am?"

"Shiro-chan asked for one, plus he's quite responsible. Shouldn't you be getting ready for school, dear, so you're not late?"

Momo's chocolate brown eyes blinked a couple of times, her mouth opening before she propelled her thin frame into the bathroom. Toshiro let out a sigh, grabbing a couple of pieces of toast in an attempt to avoid his foster sister, knowing full well Momo'd press the matter of the phone the next chance she got. He stepped quickly, taking his small body down the stairs to take the subway route to the school. The preteen slipped into the room, letting the morning quiet wash over him. Toshiro's bone thin hand reached into his book bag, pulling out the phone, his lips pushing together as he looked at the phone. He set the piece of paper with the phone number on the corner.

Letting out a sigh, putting the phone on the corner of the desk with the piece of paper, Toshiro getting out his notebooks, his lips pushing together, his bright teal eyes wide with excitement. The preteen opened up the phone, wondering what he needed to do next with the device, deciding to ask Kurosaki Ichigo when the teen arrived. Toshiro's mouth pressed together, hoping the orange-haired teen would get to school before his foster sister.

Instead, the young boy decided to write a new letter. A letter waited for him to read.

Dear Toshiro,

First, I hope you got what I left with your granny. Second, I know that you're angry with me, but I have my reasons. That said, you are a smart kid, so I will confirm that I do have connections to the school. Please don't dig any further.

Sincereierly,
You're concerned father

The preteen looked at the letter, remembering how angry he felt the day before, wondering why he felt so angry at the man. His fingers tapped, remembering how granny said his father and mother's story was a sad one and scribbled down on the paper.

Dear father,

I'm not going to pry anymore into who you are, or mother. Don't be mad at granny, but she said something about yours and mother's story being sad. I don't understand things I should, but I think, no, I know that means I shouldn't pry into things. I don't know why. Perhaps you can explain? I am going to have Kurosaki help me figure out how to use the phone. Also, I'm still not sure about playing soccer with his sister. I'm not sure how I feel, but I know that I feel something.

Sincerely,
Your thankful son

Toshiro read over the letter a few times, jumping when someone called out his name. He turned to see Ichigo nearby, and reached down for his book bag, not noticing the frown on the teen's face. He pulled out the teal cell phone and stood up, walking over to the teen, holding it out. The preteen opened his mouth, only to find himself unable to speak. Other students came into the classroom.

Ichigo's eyes blinked a couple of times. "Oh, so you're not ignoring me. I see you're granny got you a cell phone."

"Sort of.." Toshiro looked away, unable to look Ichigo in the eye.

"Sort of. Toshiro, that makes it sound as if you got the phone through a non-legit manner."

"It's legit! I just…" The preteen pushed his lips together.

"You'd like me to show you how to use it?" Ichigo let out a laugh just as the preteen felt his cheeks heat up, his eyes going wide. "I'll take that as a yes." The bell rang, indicating homeroom was starting. "I'll help you after school, alright?"

The two headed to their desks to sit as Gin came in. Toshiro slipped the phone into his bag, freezing upon realizing the paper with the phone number was gone. The color left his face. Ichigo whispered. "Something the matter…"

The silver-haired preteen opened his mouth, but shook his head, hoping Ichigo would understand they would talk about that later. He pulled out his notebook, taking notes, his focus on Ichimaru sensei's voice, his folder of letters tucked safely into his desk. A jarring sound from his book bag made Toshiro jump, knocking his pencil on the ground, his face going red.

The look on the teacher's face made the preteen feel sick, knowing full well Ichimaru didn't like any unprohibited items in his class. It felt like Gin's eyes were right on him, but so was everyone else in the class, as it was obvious where the sound came from. A few of the girls giggled. "Hitsugaya…"

Toshiro swallowed.

"The use of phones during class is strictly prohibited."

The preteen stood, his chair scraping as he made a bow to the teacher. "I'm sorry, Ichimaru sensei. How can I use one, when I don't know how?"

One of the silver-haired man's eyebrows shot up, the corner of his mouth twitching. Ichigo raised his hand up, rather meekly. "I don't believe I asked for your input Kurosaki-san."

"I was just going to say, I promised Toshiro I'd show him how to use it after class. It's meant for emergencies, and such. I promise I'll teach him how to turn it off, sensei."

The silver-haired man still walked over, holding his hand out for the phone. Toshiro pulled it out. "You can have this back after school, and Kurosaki can teach you how to turn it off then."

The man walked up to the front, while Toshiro's cheeks felt hot, the feeling of embarrassment hitting him deep in his stomach. He heard the desk drawer open up at the front of the classroom, but a few seconds later another cell phone rang. Toshiro's bright teal eyes blinked a couple of times, watching as Ichimaru set the teal phone onto the desk before walking over to a couple of other students, holding out his hand.

"The phone please, and however you found out the number to Hitsugaya's phone please."

"But sensei…"

Toshiro jumped, Momo's whispered voice way to close. "This is why granny shouldn't have gotten you a phone."

"Leave him alone," Ichigo muttered, a glare coming their way from Ichimaru.

"If you're going to pull a prank on the class rep and resident child genius, then perhaps you should also learn to turn off your phone as well."

The preteen watched as the student handed Ichimaru the phone, but also the piece of paper. The silver-haired man returned to the front of the classroom, putting the other phone in the desk, before doing something with the other phone, before walking over to Ichigo. "See that Hitsugaya learns to use this properly. It's off now. Since someone in the class though it was a brilliant idea to pull a prank like this on a fellow classmate, I will be assigning the class extra homework.

An audible groan was heard in the class, and Toshiro swallowed, a few looks making him feel like this was his fault. He also still needed to deal with the possible change in his schedule.