Hitsugaya layed on the roof of his division with his arms behind his head and his eyes closed. The cool temperature made him let out a soft sigh as he slowly fell to sleep. But uneasy footsteps and grouting knocked him out of it. He sat up and rubbed his eyes then looked around. He crawled to the edge of the roofing and peeked over the side to see Ichimaru slowly limping his way toward his division. Hitsugaya's eyes widened slightly and he was about to call to him but then Ichimaru just fell to the wood floor.

"Ichimaru!!" Hitsugaya shouted as his eyes shot wide. He quickly jumped off the roof and ran to him. He knelt down next to him as gently put his hands on his back.

Ichimaru put his elbow on the floor and tried to lift himself back up off the ground but easily failed and fell back down to kiss the floor as he groaned.

"Ichimaru stop moving! I'll take you to the 4th division and-…" Hitsugaya started but Ichimaru cut him off.

"N-no… please Toshirou…" he said as he tried to lift himself up again. "Just… help me to my… feet…" he said.

Hitsugaya stared at him but then nodded and gently wiggled his way under the other's arm then stood on his knees. He wrapped his arm around the 3rd captain's slender waist and put his other hand on his wrist. "What's wrong with him?" the boy thought to himself as he tried to sneak a peek at his face.

When he did his eyes shot wide. He saw those crimson eyes that he had only heard of seeing but something else bothered him. There were small tears in his eyes and pain.

"Ichimaru…" he whispered.

Ichimaru put his foot on the ground and tried to lift himself up but failed once again and put his full weight on Toshirou's shoulders.

Hitsugaya stumbled a bit at the quickly added weight but then steady himself again. "Hey now…" He said softly "Don't do that. You're obviously hurt Ichimaru. Sense you don't want me the take you to the 4th division… what do you want me to do?" he asked, no louder than a softly whisper.

Ichimaru once again tried to stand up but once again failed. "I…" he started "Anywhere but the 4th division…" he said quietly.

"How about I take you to the 5th division?" the boy asked.

Ichimaru quickly looked at him with wide water eyes "Please! Anywhere but the 4th division and the 5th! Please Toshirou...!" he said.

Hitsugaya's eyes widened again. "Wait… wasn't Aizen-Taichou Ichimaru's taichou once? Why doesn't he want to go there?" the 10th captain watched the fear grow in the 3rd's eyes then his eyes softened. "How about my division?" he asked quietly.

Ichimaru nodded "That would be betteh…" he said.

"Alright…" Hitsugaya said with a nod then he stood all the way up. The height different was going to be a problem for them so the boy sighed. He slowly let go of the man's wrist then gently picked him up bride style easily.

Ichimaru didn't say a word. He just closed his eyes and rested his head on the boy's shoulder.

Hitsugaya looked around to make sure no one was watching then started walking to his quarters. "I'm guessing that he doesn't want anyone to know about his injuries so I best take him to my room… Jeez… What's wrong with him?"

"Toshirou…"

Hitsugaya looked at the other captain "Yes?"

Ichimaru managed a smile "Thank… ya… for helpin' me in all…" he said.

Hitsugaya stared at him then looked forward. "Don't get use to it…" he said quietly.

Ichimaru just smiled at him.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

"H-hey… Toshirou?"

Hitsugaya didn't turn around from his position next to a bowl of cold water. "What is it Ichimaru?" he asked as he dipped a clean wash cloth into the water then ringed it out.

Ichimaru sat with his knees up to his chest and his forearms rested on top of them. "Um… I just wanna thank ya for helping me. I don' know why I just fell out there."

Hitsugaya made a light 'tsk' sound "It was the proper thing to do as the time Ichimaru. I suggest that you don't get use to it." He told him as he stood up and walked to him. He knelt down "Here," he said as he held out the wash cloth. He watched as Ichimaru slowly lifted a shaking hand and reach for it, but his eyes widened when he saw that his fingers were browsed badly, making them a slight blue color.

Ichimaru took the rag and placed it on the back of his neck then quickly tucked them back under his sleeves.

"Ichimaru, what happened to your fingers?" Hitsugaya asked, still a bit shocked.

"I-I accidently closed a door on them…" he said quietly.

"Oh…" the boy said, not really believing in what the other captain had told him. Then he glanced at the rag "You know, you should probably put that on your cheek instead of the back of your neck, Ichimaru." He said as he reached out for it. Ichimaru lifted his hand and caught the boy's wrist just as they brushed the surface of the wash cloth. Hitsugaya's eyes widened at this then widened more when he saw that the browses on the other man's fingers went down the back of his hand then stopped. But there were more large, black and blue browses down Ichimaru's forearm. On his wrists, there were traces of rope burn and marks of it.

Hitsugaya quickly took his wrist back and gently grabbed the other's before he could put it back under his sleeve. Ichimaru winced a bit as he flinched.

"Ichimaru, what the hell happened to your arm?" Hitsugaya asked, still staring at it.

"I-I uh… fell down a couple flights of stairs…" Ichimaru said quietly.

Hitsugaya glanced at him. Surely he did not think that he would believe such a lie! Hitsugaya knew just as well as everyone else in the Seireitei that Ichimaru was the swiftest and had the most agility out of all the captains. He could not have fallen down a flight of stairs. He was much too smart for something so stupid.

Hitsugaya looked back down at Ichimaru's wrists; at the rope burn, "What about the rope burn on your wrist? That doesn't come from falling down stairs."

"W-Well I…" Ichimaru started but Hitsugaya pushed the rest of the other captain's sleeve up to show that he had deep red finger marks on his biceps and yet more browses. Hitsugaya gasped slightly at this but then Ichimaru pulled away and put his sleeve back down. He put his head down so that the boy could not see his eyes then stood up.

"I-I have ta go now." Ichimaru said quietly as he took the rag off his neck then tossed it to the ground. Hitsugaya watched him with wide eyes as he started toward the door but he jumped up and grabbed his elbow. Ichimaru let out a quietly yell which made Hitsugaya quickly yet go.

"I'm sorry." The boy said, "But tell me Ichimaru, did you really fall down stairs or did someone beat you?" he asked.

Ichimaru's head went down more. A tear rolled down his cheek, making Hitsugaya gasped quietly and take a step back.

"I-I have ta go…" Ichimaru said again then quickly left the room.

Hitsugaya stood there for a long moment with his hand reached out toward the door and his eyes wide. Then he slowly brought it to his chest and put it in a loss fist. "What the hell is wrong with him?" he thought.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

From that moment on for the next month, Ichimaru did his best to avoid the smaller captain. Hitsugaya would watch his fake smiles and laughs but wouldn't make eye contact with him. As a matter of fact, Ichimaru would stay away from everyone, even Rangiku. This was very odd for Ichimaru so Hitsugaya decided to sit and watch the other during his lunch break…

Hitsugaya sat at a table somewhat far away from the table Ichimaru sat at as he ate a small bowl of ramen. Nothing seemed wrong with him until Aizen walked up to him. Ichimaru's smile quickly disappeared when the older man walked to the table and smiled down at him. It was too loud in the large room for Hitsugaya to hear what the other man was saying, but from what Hitsugaya could tell, Ichimaru didn't really want to talk to the older man.

Aizen gently put his finger tips on the top of Ichimaru's head as he said something. When he did this, Ichimaru flinched and put his head more. Aizen's smile withered a bit but then perked back up as he took his hand back. Then he put his hand on the younger one's shoulder and it appeared that Aizen had dug his nails into Ichimaru's shoulder, causing him to let out a silent scream then Aizen left.

Hitsugaya's eyes were wide now then he glared at the 5th captain until he could no longer see him. "That bastard…" he cursed under his breath "I bet it was him that did that to Ichimaru…" he started to squeeze his hand into a fist. Tighter and tighter it wrapped around the pale wooden chop sticks as anger grew inside him. "I know that he and I never got along very well, but no one has the right to do anything of the sort to anyone. Not even Ichimaru…" he growled a bit then finally the chops sticks cracked loudly, knocking him out of his trance.

His eyes widened slightly and he looked down at his hand to see that he had stabbed the broken wood into his hand and blood dripped on the table then soon to the floor.

"Hitsugaya-Taichou!" someone cried then rushed to his side. "Are you alright?"

Ichimaru glanced up at him without a smile and Hitsugaya glanced at him.

"Hitsugaya-Taichou?" the person said again.

"I'm fine." The boy said as he yanked the wood from his pawn and slammed it to the table as he stood up. He walked away with his hands balled into fists.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Hitsugaya now sat on the roof of the 5th division, watching Aizen walk around with his stupid smile upon his lips. This made Hitsugaya sneer in disgust. How he hated this man with such a passion now… He would love nothing more for it to be his sword that précised that man's heart. Though he wasn't really sure that it had been Aizen that had beaten Ichimaru, but he was pretty sure it was.

Why did he care so much about what happened to that man? They were never really close or ever made eye contact for that matter. The two of them would always just go their separate ways after meetings. But not Hitsugaya has been catching himself gazing at the other during meeting and thinking about him when he was in the middle of doing his division work. It was a strange thing indeed but he couldn't really ever put his finger on why all it was happening.

Hitsugaya growled more when pictures of the beating flashed in his mind. Ichimaru screaming… Aizen laughing… blood flying everywhere! He squeezed his eyes shut and dug his nails into his hair as he tried to get the terrible images out of his head.

"Hitsugaya-kun?" someone called up to him.

Hitsugaya's eyes widened slightly then he looked down to see that it was Aizen. He sneered quietly at him and glared. "What is it Aizen-Taichou?" he said as he tried to calm down, but just looking at the man now pissed him off to no end.

"Are you alright? It seems like something is bothering you." the 5th captain said kindly with a smile.

"No I'm fine." Hitsugaya said firmly then stood up with his hands in fists. He glanced one more time at the other captain, who had his head tilted slightly in confusion. "You won't get away with it…" he said a bit louder than a whisper.

"Excuse me?" Aizen said, his smile withering a bit, "I didn't catch that."

But Hitsugaya just turned away and Shunpo'd back to his division.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

That night, Toshirou couldn't fall asleep. He tossed and turned in his sheets then finally he sat up. He sighed and looked at the clock. It read 1 in the morning. He sighed again then stood up and got dressed.

"Maybe a walk around the Seireitei will ease my mind…" he said to himself a he worked his way down the steps of his division. He walked from there to the 9th division, to the 8th, to the 7th, the 6th, and then the 5th. He tried not to think about what had happened yesterday so he kept his head low.

But then a scream of pain shot through the air waves to Hitsugaya's ears, grabbing his attention. He quickly looked in the direction it had came from "That… that sounded like Ichimaru…" he whispered then hurried in that direction with a tight grip on his sword handle.

The scream came one after another and they seemed to get louder and more dreadful with each running step that the boy took.

Then they stopped and Hitsugaya quickly pressed his back a wall. He could hear quiet crying and then that heartless man's voice.

"How did he find out Gin…?" Aizen asked.

There was no answer. Soon after then was a bone crushing sound which made the 3rd captain scream in pain again.

"I asked you a question Gin… I expect you to answer me…" there was a ripping sound then Aizen's voice again. "Now tell me… how did that fucken boy find out!?"

"I-I don' know!" Ichimaru shouted.

There was a pause then the air made a whipping sound. Soon after, the stone wall near the two was crashed and Ichimaru screamed then groaned.

"Did you tell him?" Aizen asked as the sound of grass crunched under his feet. "Did you tell him Gin?!" another crashing sound followed by a terrible cough, like those that Ukitake would make.

Hitsugaya couldn't stand listening to the terrible sounds of Ichimaru's bones be broken any longer. He drew his sword and stepped out from behind the wall. He saw the Aizen was holding Ichimaru by his neck against sharp rocks. Ichimaru had his hands on the other man's wrist which made his blood all over it. The poor 3rd captain's face was all browsed and blood as well has his tore clothes.

Ichimaru was the first to see Hitsugaya but he quickly looked away so that Aizen wouldn't see him looking. "N-no Aizen-sama! I didn' tell him! Lil boys are just too smart; nothin' but aces!!"

Hitsugaya's eyes widened slightly when he heard the last sentence that Ichimaru had said; nothing but aces. That was a stupid code that the Ichimaru had made up for Toshirou a while back. It might to get away. Hitsugaya quickly shook his head at the other.

Ichimaru glanced at him. This time Aizen saw it and he turned around fast. His eyes widened "H-Hitsugaya-kun, what are you doing here?" he asked.

Hitsugaya glared at him and tightened his fingers around the handle of his sword. "I should be the one asking that question Aizen-Taichou…"

Aizen looked at Ichimaru then dropped him. Ichimaru fell to the ground and just layed in the grass. Aizen smiled at the boy and put his hands up a bit. "Hitsugaya-kun, you have it all wrong! It's not what it looks like, I promise you."

Ichimaru lifted his head a bit "R-run… Toshirou…" he managed to say.

Aizen glared down at him then drew his sword. Hitsugaya bent his knees, getting ready to block whatever attack Aizen was going to throw at him, but the sword didn't rush at him. Instead it thrust its self right through Ichimaru's side. This made the younger one scream but it broke and he fell limp to the ground.

Hitsugaya stared wide eyed at Ichimaru then glared at Aizen.

Aizen just simply chuckled and chuckled when he looked up at the boy. "Why so many tears, Hitsugaya-Taichou?"

Hitsugaya's eyes widened and he put his fingers on his cheeks to discover that they were soaked with tears. Why was he crying? Was it because of Ichimaru on the ground almost dead? He didn't understand at all.

The boy quickly whipped away the tears on his cheeks and in his eyes, only for them to become damp again. "You bastard!!" Hitsugaya roared as he pointed his sword up into the sky. "Rain over the frosted, frozen skies, Hyouri-…"

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

Hitsugaya looked at him "And why not!?"

"Because if you do, I'll kill him... and it will be a slow and pain full death." Aizen said and he ripped his sword from Ichimaru's flesh and pointed it to Ichimaru's neck. The blood on the sword and Aizen's cheek both shined in the moon light.

Hitsugaya growled "I'll have to be quick…" "Hyourimaru!!" he shouted. Just as Aizen was about to kill the 3rd captain, Hitsugaya threw the chain at the end of his sword at the other sword, making it tangle around it tightly. Hitsugaya yanked it and pulled it up to point at him instead of the man on the ground.

The 5th captain glared at the boy behind his glasses "Shatter, Kyokas-…" but before he could finish the chant, Hitsugaya yanked the sword out of his hand and into his own. He thrust it into the ground then quickly Shunpo'd behind the older captain. Aizen turned around slightly but Hitsugaya was too quick.

"Check mate… Aizen Sosuke…" he thrust his sword through Aizen's flesh and ribs to stab right through his heart then out his back. Aizen's eyes widened as blood slowly trickled from the corner of his mouth then his eyes went blank. Hitsugaya tore his blade from the other then kicked him in the chest, making the dead body fly back and crash into a wall.

"Fucken sick bastard…" Hitsugaya said then rushed to Ichimaru. He put his bloody sword down next to him and gently took the other in his arms. "Ichimaru, can you hear me?" he asked.

Ichimaru didn't move.

"Ichimaru, Ichimaru!" he shouted as he shook him lightly. Surely the man wasn't dead! He… he couldn't die…

Hitsugaya quickly shook his head, trying to rid his mind of the evil thoughts, then looked down at the other man. "Don't worry, I'll get you to the 4th division…" he gently picked the other up and ran as fast as he could to the medical division.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

The 3rd captain awoke to the sound of silence in a white room. He shifts his weight a bit then tried to sit up, but the strike of terrible pain kept him from doing so.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." someone had said.

Ichimaru turned his head to see Hitsugaya standing against the wall with his arms crossed. He smiled a bit "Toshirou…"

"Aizen's dead." Hitsugaya stated plainly as he started toward the other's bed side. He looked down at him. That small soft smile made a couple tears appear in his eyes but he dear not cry in front of his man, though he was just so happy that he was alive…

"He's… he's dead?" Ichimaru asked.

Hitsugaya nodded.

"Oh… I'm not sure on how ta feel about that ta tell ya the truth…"

Hitsugaya looked at him in disbelief. That man had done terrible things to him, and he's not happy that he's dead? "What do you mean you don't know how to feel about it? That man did terrible things to you Ichimaru! He almost killed you! Are you telling me that you-…" but he was cut off put Ichimaru slowly raised his hand to the back of Hitsugaya's neck and pulled him down in a somewhat hug to his chest. This made the boy blush and his eyes widen.

"Silly boy… silly, silly Toshirou…" Ichimaru said with a soft chuckle. "Yo getting worked up over nothing, really."

"Over nothing? Over nothing?! Ichimaru you almost just died and you're going to lay there and tell me that I'm worried about nothing? You're stupid, stupid, stupid!" the boy shouted as he shook his head. He could no longer hold back the tears in his eyes. He squeezed them shut as he cried quietly.

"You had me so worried that you were going to die… so worried that I would never be able to see you smile that damn no good smile that you have… I've noticed, over a long course of a while… that I… that I just…" he started but something inside him won't let him finish the sentence.

Ichimaru could feel his bandages start to become damp and he frowned. "Toshirou, are ya crying?"

"No!!" the boy shouted, but his voice gave it away

Ichimaru chuckled then put the back of his finger under the boy's chin, lifting it up. Hitsugaya looked at him with watery eyes and a sad parted frown. The 3rd captain gently whipped away the tears with the back of his hand but the boys grabbed it before he could take it back. He held it close to his lips as he closed his eyes. Ichimaru tilted his head a bit but then slowly and painfully sat up.

Hitsugaya's eyes widened and he looked at the other. "Ichimaru, you shouldn't-!" but Ichimaru cut him off by taking back his hand and putting it on the back of the other boys neck then pulling him into a kiss, all in one motion.

Hitsugaya gasped and blushed when the other's paler lips touched his own. Then slowly but shyly, he leaned forward and kissed him back as he closed his eyes.

The kiss was like nothing Hitsugaya had felt before. It was like fireworks shot off and his heart started going faster and faster with every passing minute his lips touched the other's. A tingling feeling teased his lips. It was like he couldn't control himself or his body.

Everything happened so fast as this continued. The poor boy's mind couldn't keep up with what he was doing. It was like he wasn't thinking. He was just doing; doing whatever his body wanted to.

Then what seemed like forever pasted and they broke apart; both gasping for air. Hitsugaya found himself laid out across the 3rd captain's sick-bed and the other hovering over him. His cheeks burned under his eyes which stood wide and his stomach flip-flopped around in his torso. His fingers were entwined with the other's and they rested near his face.

"Ichimaru… Taichou…" the 10th said breathlessly and quietly.

Ichimaru smiled down at him "I think I can finish that sentence for ya now… Toshirou…" he said back, also still trying to catch this run-away breath. He chuckled a bit and pressed his forehead to the other's "I love ya too…"

Hitsugaya's eyes widened and his heart sang with joy and happiness. Slowly he smiled back "Are you sure that's not the pain killers talking, Gin?" he asked in a bit of a teasing tone.

"Of course not, ya silly boy. When I saw ya there; fighting Aizen-sama… I realized how much ya meant ta me and I was overwhelmed with fear that I would… not see ya again…" he told the other then took his hands back. He put them on the other's cheeks "But now I have ya in mah hands… I'm so happy…"

Hitsugaya stared at him for a moment but then reached up and cupped his hands behind the other's neck. "And I'll never leave… if you'll stay with me."

Ichimaru smiled softly "Deal…"