So full of crack the Columbian drug lords are writhing in jealousy.

SUMMARY: Hitsugaya stumbles across a relic from his past life, and relieves the horrors of said life from in Ichigo's arms.

WARNINGS: yaoi, Chinese foot binding, mentions of rape and suicide, but nothing graphic. Some making out, but nothing below the belt.

PAIRINGS: Ichigo x Hitsugaya

NOTES: This was written in a sad, pathetic attempt to shift my muse's focus from Hitsugaya back to my unfinished Beyblade fic, "China Blossom", which deals with foot binding and which people have been after me to update. Said attempt failed miserably and resulted in this crap-tastic crack-fest.

Oh, almost forgot- no spoilers or anything, but this is set when Ichigo's in his world, he and Hitsu have been a couple for a while- i.e., their relationship is already established- Ichigo is going to sit in on a college class as a visitor to see if he likes it (I did that once when I was in 9th grade) and Hitsu goes with him.

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GHOSTS OF MEMORY AND TIME

By Neko Oni

"Toushiro, you can't wear that." Ichigo swallowed the bite of bagel in his mouth and washed it down with a gulp of orange juice, calmly staring across the table at the smaller, seething shinigami.

Hitsugaya narrowed his large turquoise eyes and crossed his arms, glaring icicles at the bigger boy. "In case what little brain you have has rotted away, this is what students wear to school. Besides, I'm doing this as a favor for you, Kurosaki." The last word came out as a vehement hiss.

Ichigo winced- Hitsugaya only called him by that name when he was pissed. He swallowed his orange juice, then leveled brown eyes at the young taichou. "Not college students. They wear street clothes-"

"You're not in college, baka!" Hitsugaya snapped. Was it just Ichigo, or did the tiny taichou's eyes seem a lighter blue, almost as if they were glowing?

Ichigo scowled around his bagel. He didn't like being interrupted. "I'm going to sit in on a college class today."

"This is all I have to wear!" Hitsugaya snapped again, small hands moving to his slender hips.

Ichigo was about to snarl in reply, but paused. Bickering would get him nowhere with the small shinigami. And he really didn't want to ruin their day together. When Hitsugaya was pissed, he tended to stay pissed, and Ichigo didn't want to deal with a grumbling snowball all day.

To buy himself some time, he stuffed the remainder of the first half of his bagel into his mouth. Cheeks bulging, he ignored the icy blue glower. He calmly, speculatively eyed the frosty child of winter as he leaned back in his chair and chewed.

Under that steady gaze, Hitsugaya's anger cooled. His brows relaxed and soft pink lips eased out of the frown. "What?" He demanded from Ichigo, but the orange-haired boy just calmly chewed his breakfast. After several uncomfortable moments, the strawberry idiot finally swallowed.

"My sister Karin dresses like a boy." Ichigo took a swig of juice.

Hitsugaya shrugged. "So?"

Ichigo eyed him over the glass's rim. "You're nearly the same size- you could borrow some of her clothes."

Sea-foam green eyes widened. "HELL NO!" Toushiro screeched.

Ichigo shrugged. "It's either that, or wear your uniform."

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Ichigo just finished the last of his bagel and juice when he heard Hitsugaya coming down the stairs.

"One word to anyone, Kurosaki, and I swear I'll kill you."

Ichigo turned in his seat, and for a moment was unable to form any words. In fact, his brain temporarily shut off, but his hormones danced in glee.

Even the school uniform never managed to show off Toushiro's gorgeous body like this outfit did. The boy was even more stunning than usual. Dainty feet were clad in a simple pair of black flip flops, lithe legs sheathed in form-fitting jean capris that showed off his gentle, barely there curves, and he topped that off with a black baby doll t-shirt

Under the scrutinizing gaze, Hitsugaya blushed and his teal eyes narrowed. "What?!"

Ichigo smiled dazedly. "Nothing. Just-wow."

Hitsugaya fidgeted. "This looks beyond ridiculous. Forget it, I'm just going to wear the stupid uniform, I knew I shouldn't have come-"

When he turned to go, Ichigo's brain turned back on, and he leapt forward, grabbing a thin, pale wrist. "It doesn't look ridiculous. It looks nice. Very nice."

Hitsugaya still wouldn't look at him, but the substitute shinigami could see his cheeks were still pink. "Really?"

Ichigo smiled warmly. "Really really. You look beyond nice. Hot, infact." He blushed at those words. Bad Ichigo, down boy. Quit thinking THOSE kinds of thoughts now.

Toushiro turned, peering up at Ichigo through a veil of thick, dark eyelashes. The black of his lashes set off his turquoise orbs nicely, making them even more enchanting and enticing. Toushiro really was beautiful. It was a shame he didn't know it, but Ichigo delighted in reminding him.

They stared into one another's eyes for several moments before Toushiro's blush deepened and he looked away, and Ichigo coughed and rubbed the back of his head, messing his spiky orange hair up even more as he struggled to keep his naughty thoughts in check.

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Toushiro stumbled in the flip flops as they walked down the busy sidewalk. He latched onto Ichigo's hand out of reflex to catch himself. Ichigo looked down at him, smiling at the feel of slender arms wrapped around his own lean, lightly muscled one.

"You okay?" The spiky white head bobbed in reply, and Ichigo's grin grew. Toushiro was blushing in embarrassment. The agile taichou wasn't used to shoes that had a habit of falling off one's feet.

Ichigo gazed down at him. "Ya know, I've never noticed how petite your feet are. Must be why you're so fast." He added quickly to soothe the bristling boy.

Hitsugaya snorted, but didn't let go of Ichigo's arm. "Shut up, Ichigo."

Score- he was back to Ichigo now, not Kurosaki. Ichigo slipped his large hand around one of Toushiro's small ones and gave it a light squeeze. "Thank you for coming with me today, Shiro-chan."

Toushiro mumbled something under his breath, then suddenly sped up, unconsciously pulling Ichigo along with him. The bigger boy just laughed and allowed himself to be yanked along.

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"The foundations for foot binding were laid during the Five Dynasties period in Chinese history, and in later dynasties, foot binding became prevalent among the elite."

Ichigo half listened as the professor droned on and on and on about cultural practices of the past. Was this what he had to look forward to? Suddenly, high school seemed a whole lot better. At least at college, he wouldn't have to worry about missing out on sleep. Several students had already nodded off. Bored, he glanced out of the corner of his eye at Toushiro.

The short captain of the tenth division was stiff in his chair. His small back was ram-rod straight, his chest rose and fell rapidly, tiny fists clenched in his lap, and his turquoise eyes were tinged with bright cerulean.

Ichigo raised an eyebrow, but he couldn't ask what was wrong. Instead, he followed Toushiro's stricken gaze back to the front of the room, and the slides the professor was showing while she rambled.

"The feet of young female children were wrapped tightly in bandages about two inches wide and ten feet long. Over a period of time, the four toes of each foot were bent into the sole, and the sole and heel were brought as close together as possible."

That went in one ear and out the other, but the pictures…Ichigo shuddered. No wonder Toushiro looked ill. Pictures showed girls' purposefully crippled feet, their toes folded under, pressing into the sole, and the soles and heels touching. The feet were no more than four to six inches long, the way they were scrunched up, warped, and twisted.

"Those with bound feet, called lotus feet, wore specially made shoes called lotus shoes. These shoes were as beautiful as the crippled feet were ugly. They were intricately decorated with fine embroidery, which was highly prized. And here is one of the finest examples of a lotus shoe."

The professor picked a tiny, tiny shoe off the desk and displayed it in her hand. The shoe was so small, she could cradle it in her hand. It was beautiful; it was made of a snowy white silk and embroidered with a blue ice dragon on the sides.

At the sight of the shoe, Toushiro's eyes popped, his breathing became erratic, and he clapped one dainty hand over his gaping mouth then bolted from the room. Without hesitation, Ichigo followed him. Yes, this was gruesome, but they were both shinigamis. They chopped hollows to bits in their sleep. They'd seen more grotesque things than a bound foot. Something really wasn't right with his little Shiro-chan. That shoe really seemed to upset him.

There was a restroom right across the hall, and Ichigo checked there first. He found Toushiro leaning over a toilet. "Toushiro." The short shinigami wiped the back of his mouth and turned at Ichigo's approach.

Ichigo's brown eyes widened. Toushiro was stricken. His face was a ghostly white and his slender body trembled. His turquoise eyes were bright, large and haunted. He made a strangled sound in this throat, reaching for Ichigo, who gathered him up into his strong arms without hesitation.

Toushiro buried his face in Ichigo's neck and felt the other's warm breath wash over his cheek and ear. "Shiro-chan, what's wrong?"

The small taichou swallowed back nausea before answering. "That's my shoe. Well, it was when I was alive."

Tbc…

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I'm evil- I cut it off at the good part. But that just makes you wanna keep reading, ne? If ya would like to read the next chappie, be kind and review!