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Bleach: STORY Fallen Leaves

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Fallen Leaves

Now—


"Why am I traveling with you again?"

Ichigo softly glanced over at the unhappy captain that was buckled in on the passenger seat next to him as they drove into the hills through a storm. Seeing the little captain slouched uncaringly with his arms crossed like a stubborn teenager, it made the college boy wonder as well. His chocolate brown hues return to looking at the slender road that led to a cabin where they were expected. The fog was thick, the rain was brutal, and the atmosphere inside the black SUV was dark and gloomy on the captain's side.

"Everyone agreed that they wanted you to come to Ishida's surprise party. They nominated me to ask you, and to bring you along if you agreed." Ichigo's attention flickered to the window wipers before kicking it up a notch in order to see well. "If you didn't want to come, you could have refused, right?"

The white-haired male looked at him with a side-glance before snorting and looking outside of his window, huffing in boredom. His window fogged up briefly because it was freezing outside. It was almost just as cold inside of the vehicle too, but he was not going to let this man know that he was on the verge of turning into a popsicle. Keeping the heater off was Ichigo's way to save gas, and mentioned earlier that talking and making friction would keep one warm. Ichigo had dared to joke that even singing would make him warm if he tried, but it earned him a nice bruise on his left upper arm.

Not even realizing his actions, Toushirou was rubbing his upper arms to create a little friction for himself to stay a little warm. 'I refuse to let Kurosaki know that I'm cold.' If Ichigo knew that the wielder of the strongest ice/water Zanpakutou was cold from the weather, Hell would freeze over. 'Too bad I didn't place on another layer before we left. It's cold enough that there's a chance of early snow, damn it!'

Brown hues shifted to look at the shivering captain. 'Really,' Ichigo sighed with a hint of being vexed by the irritable little man next to him. 'Is it that hard to say you're cold?' He turned on the heater easily.
Instantly, it earned him a glare. "Why did you turn on the heater, Kurosaki? I'm not cold. Turn it off so you can save gas for the trip back down." The captain tried his best not to shiver in front of this man.
"Yeah… well, I'm cold, so deal with it." His lie was obviously on purpose, yet he continued driving. "We have a gas can tucked in the back of the truck just in case." Again, he glanced at Toushirou who glared.
There was no way that Toushirou could not figure out that Ichigo acknowledged that he was cold, and that he would not openly admit it, if only to have him keep his dignity. He sighed angrily, "thanks."
"You're welcome." This allowed him to smile for the moment as they still drove through the fog. "Still, if you didn't want to come to the surprise party, why did you come back with me so we could go there?"

'Because you asked me,' he thought to himself with a hint of happiness inside. His façade remained firm, though, "Ishida Uryuu is one of your friends, isn't he? I should at least give my respects to him, right?"
"Why does Ishida being my friend matter? Are you only making your presence because he means something to me?" With a quick glance, he saw the other tense a bit. "You're a friend, too, Toushirou."
"If I'm your friend, why can't you bother addressing me properly? Is it so hard to say 'Hitsugaya-Taichou' once in a while?" Said captain did not realize the mistake he made until the Strawberry smiled at this.
"Once in a while, maybe." He barely caught sight of Toushirou smacking himself in the forehead at this. His smile grew. "I like calling you as I do, and I know that you're not offending when I call you by it."
"Kurosaki… it's disrespectful to continuously call me casually. It's the same with all the other Taichou, in fact." Right now, he rubbed his temples. "And yes, I am very offending by your casual name-calling."

"Am I being disrespectful, calling a dear friend by their given name?"

Turquoise hues whipped around to stare at him, pondering if he had heard him correctly. The heat was slowly beginning to rise into his cheeks, and he quickly turned off the heater while announcing it was too hot in the truck. Ichigo only smirked as he allowed the knobs to be shifted in order to turn off the heater to make an excuse for the red tints in his cheeks. For some time now, the carrot top realized that the captain had somehow been able to open up to him little by little. However, if Ichigo ever pointed out to him, all the progress over the last five years would go down the drain, and they would have to start all over. Randomly, the soft music was discontinued as the stereo started to ring; earlier, Toushirou had luckily adjusted to the Bluetooth stereo that Ichigo installed.

Ichigo looked at the Caller ID before pushing the volume knob, "Yo, Byakuya… I'm here with Toushirou and we're on our way up in this storm. Is there something you need? Or are you just calling for fun?"
"Do not start with me, Kurosaki. I am only calling to gather information on your process to the cabin. The others are growing impatient and even assume that you will arrive after Ishida Uryuu does with—"
"We're almost there Byakuya, be a little patient. If they're giving you that much trouble, go in my room and lock the door for a while." Ichigo chuckled softly. "I'll talk to you when we get there, until then."

The phone call ended, and Ichigo pushed the button to end the call. He caught a glimpse of Toushirou scowling at the stereo as if it did something unpleasant. It amused the carrot top to think that the little captain could be anything close to being a little jealous about something. "Kurosaki…" Ichigo looked over in his direction, wanting to know what the sudden sulking tone was about. "Can you turn the vehicle around and take me back?" It almost surprised him that the captain was saying this suddenly, but the plea was ignored as he continued driving forth. Toushirou sighed when it was obvious that there was no turning back after being half way there. "Forget it… I'll go to Soul Society when we arrive at the cabin."

At first, the carrot top wanted to ask why Toushirou was so jealous and being obnoxious about it, but he settled with a gentle tone. "If the positions were switched, and you called me, I would tell you the same thing I told Byakuya. When we get there, you can do whatever you wish." He paused to growl lightly. "But don't blame me if Rangiku-san gets drunk and starts doing things with your gigai… with or without your gikon in it…" Recalling the memory, Ichigo started to grip the steering wheel a little tighter.

"Why do you sound as if it's expected?" The captain watched as Ichigo's gaze hardened.

"Your gikon is not bright, so it does as anyone says. Add Rangiku-san, and you get a world of perverted trouble." Brown hues stared at the hard-to-see road ahead. "Why do we have to drive during the fall?"
"Don't change the subject Kurosaki." Toushirou was keen about that. "What do you mean by Matsumoto doing perverse things? What has she done to my gigai? I swear, if she decided to—"
"I stopped her before she got a chance." He interrupted quickly. "Whether she learned her lesson, I have no idea." Ichigo's grasp on the wheel turned his knuckles white. "We had an argument afterward…"
"An argument?" This took him by surprise; he knew the two could get angry from time to time, but to have an actual argument? "Was it that big of a deal, or were you both just angry at the moment?"

"She was going to strip your gigai naked and dress you into something less inappropriate." For a second, he debated on telling him the full truth. He backed out. "You don't need to know the rest. How about you take a nap? We'll be there in twenty or thirty minutes." Turquoise hues glared a hole through the side of his head. "She told me some things that I'm sure you didn't want me to know about, that's all."

It hit him instantly, "she told you my orientation." He watched him not flinch… as if he already knew that answer. "No… you were aware of it years ago." Ichigo looked guilty for a minute before he reached to turn off the heater, and it hit him. "Matsumoto told you who I was infatuated with, didn't she!" This time,  Ichigo face scrunched shortly as a sign of guilt. "Damn that woman, what did she tell you!"

"…nothing I didn't already know." Ichigo looked to him, "Toushirou, I love—"

"KUROSAKI!" Toushirou pointed in front of them.

Ichigo looked to see the deer in the heavy mist, and he swerved to avoid hitting the creature, only to have the truck fall off the edge of the road. The truck rolled down the dozens of meters down until they hit even terrain, but the vehicle remained upside down. The Strawberry hardly remained conscious as he unbuckled himself and checked Toushirou's pulse before weakly smacked away. Being a doctor-in-training, Ichigo asked if he was okay and if he could move all his limbs, but he could not. One of Toushirou's legs was broken because of the impact, causing Ichigo to climb out and help him get out safely. He hurried to the backseats and brought out and emergency heat blanket that happened to be waterproof, then casually placed him on his back.

"What are you doing!" Toushirou blushed furiously.
"The cabin is up ahead." He winced. "We'll die down here."
"I refuse to let you carry me Kurosaki, you've crossed the line!"
Ichigo snapped at him. "Just shut up and trust me to take care of you!"

Either from anger or surprise, Toushirou could not voice the words that were flying through his mind right now, and it was a relief to Ichigo. He placed his hat on Toushirou's head before climbing on his hands and feet to get back on the road while the blanket was still in effect to keep the little captain warm. For an hour, he tried to climb the ninety-yard slope, but the rain and fog made it nearly impossible for him to climb through the mud and rocks with someone on his back. Toushirou remained silent with Ichigo doing his best to get them to the road, but neither knew how close they were—that is, supposing that they were making an advances.

The captain looked at the soaked-headed carrot top… feeling him shiver from the cold. "Let's go back."
"I have no suitable equipment to protect your leg in my truck. I'm taking you to the cabin Toushirou."
He sighed. "It's not my leg that has me wanting to return to the vehicle. You can die out here Kurosaki."
"The truck is flipped upside down and demolished. That's not appropriate shelter." Ichigo winced again.
Not having thought that far, the captain became a little quieter. "…but you're freezing Kurosaki."
"So long as you're safe, I don't care about me." Finally, he climbed up to the road. "You'd be amazed."

"By your stupidity?"

Ichigo shifted the captain on his back to have him grunt. "At the distances I'll go through in order to protect the ones that I love." The captain huffed at him for the supposed teasing. "I'm not lying to you, Toushirou. You mean a lot to me. I would do anything for you." Toushirou opened his mouth to call him on that, but Ichigo cut him off before he could. "Unless you're trying to argue with me for your sake."

"…moron."

He smirked. "Yeah, but I bet you wouldn't have it any other way, right?"
Toushirou's cheeks turned slightly red as he buried his face into Ichigo's neck. "Shut up."
This time, the Strawberry shifted him gently. "We'll be there soon. Get some rest… you deserve it."
"Hmm…" it did not matter what Ichigo told him because he was finding himself falling sleep against him.
Ichigo sighed softly, "we'll get there soon Toushirou." He winced about his sprained ankle. "I promise…"




Toushirou stirred awake due to the grumbling and complaining out of the bedroom; he must have really fallen asleep on the moron's back. His gaze looked around to see where he was since the room did not look particularly familiar to him right now. He gazed to a corner where there was a man sitting at a computer desk, looking at some art, so he sat up on the bed in pain. If Byakuya was here and no one else, then the chances are likely that they were in Ichigo's bedroom right now without Ichigo present.

"Kurosaki is getting treated at the moment." Byakuya stated casually with his noble tone. "He managed to break a few ribs and his left wrist when he sprained his right ankle during the accident. During the time he carried you here to the cabin, he sprained his other ankle and started to become hypothermic."

"Is there a reason you're telling me this?" The question had the noble look at him with no emotion before closing the internet windows and leaving the room without a word. "Well… now I'm alone—"

"Hah! That's what you think!" Kon plopped himself on the bed. "Bastard, you may be a captain, but Ichigo did everything he could to make sure you were safe! You should be grateful to him you jerk!"
"Like I should take advice from a modified soul that is inside of a stuffed animal lion?" He looked at him in boredom, as if to say that he could care less about the information. "I didn't tell Kurosaki to do that."
"When Ichigo dubs you as his friend, you are stuck with him. He does everything for his friends, so don't treat him like trash!" He pointed a flimsy claw at him. "You might be fully healed now, but he almost—"
"Good," the pain most have been from sleeping too long. "That means I can leave." He got up from the bed… only to stare at his unfamiliar attire. "What the Hell am I wearing?" The shirt was huge on him!
"…Ichigo gave you a bath before he dressed you in some of his clothes that could fit you. Then he had that guy heal your wounds." Kon paused for the moment. "You were shaking bad when you arrived."

This had Toushirou stop for the moment to think on things, only to undress and place a robe on that fell to his ankles where as the sleeves covered to his knees almost. He walked to the door to hear Ichigo giving the others grief about trying to heal him and his injuries being well enough to heal on their own. It was not going well for the others, so he walked in after hearing that Ishida Uryuu would not come until tomorrow due to the storm. Toushirou decided to roll his sleeves up before walking out of the bedroom where everyone except Ichigo looked at him.

"All of you, prepare the cabin for Ishida Uryuu's arrival. I'll deal with Kurosaki myself." To his surprise, everyone listened to him. "Now then—" Ichigo vanished from the couch, and into his bedroom. The captain sighed tiredly before following the Strawberry into the room to see him lying there on the end of the bed. "You're making this harder than it needs to be, Kurosaki." He came over and rolled him on his back, and started to heal his ribs. "Why didn't you leave me to get help… you could have punctured your lungs—your heart even." Toushirou watched him start to breathe a little better. "It punctured your…"

"I'm fine now, thanks." Ichigo breathed greedily. As he was about to sit up, Toushirou pinned him down with a firm hold as he continued healing the injuries he was aware of. "About leaving you to get help, you're not as smart as I thought you were." The captain glared. "I would never leave you behind."

"Idiot, don't try to get on my good graces. You almost killed yourself to save me."

"You're not one to talk." Ichigo sat up forcefully and looked at him. "We do what needs to be done if we are to protect the ones that we love." The captain looked away to hide his faint blush. "I was about to tell you something before we fell off the road." This earned him Toushirou's attention. "I love you."

For a moment, Toushirou stared at him, then looked away. "I-Idiot. Talk like that in your sleep. I do not harbor any feelings for men, let alone you!" Ichigo knew everything he said was a lie; making it worse.
"If I talked like that in my sleep, I wouldn't want to wake up." After his wrist was healed, he wrapped his arms around the captain and brought him up on the bed. "Don't fight me, I just want to hold you."
"T-That's exactly my problem! Let me go!" He tried to wriggle away, but he instantly noticed how cold the man was, and he looked at his tired face. "Kurosaki… you're freezing. You should take a hot bath."
"I'm okay, you're warmth is good enough for me…" His face buried into Toushirou's hair. "You should be proud of your height, Toushirou. It kept you alive." Ichigo's grasp began to lighten. "Tell me the truth…"

"What do you mean it kept me alive? You're taller than me and you're—" Toushirou got up quickly to sit at Ichigo's side. The Strawberry did not fight him. "…Kurosaki?" Ichigo was slow to respond to him. He now saw the insanely bruised mark on his forehead. "You hit your head in the accident?!" His hands went to work to suppress the blood flow to Ichigo's head where his skull was possibly cracked. "Don't you dare die on me Kurosaki! There's no guarantee you'll go to Soul Society—or even remember us!"

"Remember us, or remember you?" Ichigo smiled softly. "I'm really tired, and my head hurts. I know I shouldn't ask, but can you help me rest on the bed like a normal person?" The captain was reluctant, but helped him to rest against the pillows. "That's much better…" To his surprise, Toushirou laid with him.
"You wanted to hold me, right?" He wrapped his arms around him, and Ichigo returned the motion. "You can hold on to me until you fall asleep." Toushirou felt sick to his stomach saying this to him. "At least you don't have to fight anymore… right?" His way of cheering him up was not helping him so much.
"Why don't you tell me the truth Toushirou? I won't force you, but I already confessed to you, and you haven't acknowledged it yet." Ichigo sighed softly, bringing a hand up to caress the little man's hair. "If you don't want to accept my feelings, that's okay. At least I told you how I felt in the end, right, Tou—"

"I love you, okay! Stop talking nonsense!" He yelled in frustration, clinging to him tightly. "Just… stop talking… you can go to sleep now…" Toushirou then whispered. "I'll stay here until you fall asleep…" Ichigo's arm fell from Toushirou's shoulders, and the captain buried his face in Ichigo's chest. "I'll stay…"




Toushirou woke up to the light rain outside, and looked at the body next to him. "Kurosaki…" He hated the fact that everything was too fast. There were many things that he wanted to tell him before crossing over, but he did not have a chance. "You're an idiot for protecting me… one who is not human…"

"People do crazy things when they're in love."

Turquoise hues shot open and looked at the man. "K-Kurosaki?!" Ichigo opened his eyes tiredly and looked at him. "I-I thought you were dead! What the Hell is going on!" The bruise on his head was there!
"Can you pass me the pain killers?" Ichigo groaned in pain as he slowly sat up. The captain gave him what he asked for, along with a bottle of water that was on the nightstand. "Ah… thanks Toushirou."
"But… I thought… you were dying…" He could not believe what was happening right now. "Did you set it up to make me think that you were dying?! I'll kill you!" Toushirou leaned over to grab his throat. "Y—"
"You thought I was going to die?" His hands removed the small slender hands from his throat. "Do you really think that I'm that weak, Toushirou?" He smiled softly. "I was exhausted from yesterday is all."

"I can't believe I worried about you!"

Ichigo smiled and kissed him on the lips. "Thank you for worrying."
He blushed in return. "S-Shut up before I really kill you, Kurosaki."
"Hn…" The Strawberry leaned his lips to his ears. "I love you."
"I hate you…" His ear was kissed. "D-Don't do that!"
"I love you, Hitsugaya Toushirou."

"…you too."
For the Fall Challenge at :iconichihitsu-love:

MY FIRST ONE-SHOT SINCE FOREVER!!!

I'll probably post the drawing separately, but, maybe not?

I was going to kill Ichigo, but changed my mind.

Art © *Eli-Ri
Bleach© Tite Kubo
© 2011 - 2024 Eli-Ri
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YamiJay's avatar
I have no shame... *sqeeeeeeeeeeeeeee*