Aizen's Kingdom (Bleach Fanfic)

The Rain Falls Down (Part 2)

A pair of pale teal eyes and a pair of chocolate brown eyes suddenly looked at the small child with shock, as a few tears fell down the boy's face. The color of that particular person's eyes couldn't be seen, as he looked at the ground, his lip trembling. However, he didn't at all attempt to pull away from Ichimaru's arms. "Now you know. Now you both know."

At that, Gin let out a deep sigh and reached up one hand to brush his silver hair away, wondering how best to say what needed to be said to the small child in front of him. "Are you honestly trying to tell me that you think I completely hate you in this world, but completely love you in the other world?"

"Don't you remember the other day? You voiced the fact that you thought I could be a taicho of the Gotei Thirteen, which was based on what you saw of me in the other world. You also asked me if I wanted to be a shinigami, if I could walk." The small boy continued to look at the ground, refusing to look the physically older males in the face.

"Now, why didn't you say anything about this before?" Ichimaru let out a deep sigh, wondering how he would fix this problem. Particularly since Toshiro was a precocious and overly sensitive child in both worlds.

At that, there was a bit of silence from the younger Hitsugaya family member, and then he spoke up. "I didn't want to be a further burden."

At that, Gin buried his face into the crook of the child's neck. "Shiro-chan... you find ways to get on my nerves in both worlds, don't you. I don't want you to be a shinigami until you are older. I didn't want that in the other world, but you becoming one was out of my control. I hated how you couldn't ever be a child and this world is no different because you can't walk."

"I..." At that, Toshiro found himself looking up, more tears falling down his cheeks. "Then I was a burden in both worlds?"

It was at that point, Ichigo's eyebrow suddenly twitched in irritation, and then he moved forward and hit the small boy on the head, hard. To his utter surprise, instead of stopping and listening to him like he had done in the other world, the white haired boy burst into tears. The silver haired man raised up his head, giving Ichigo a look that screamed murder. "What did you do that for?"

"I was trying to get him to pay attention to me, so I could tell him something he needs to hear! It always worked in the other world!" The orange haired youth looked at the man in frustration.

"What exactly did you want to tell him?" Ichimaru narrowed his eyes.

At that, the teenager scratched his head. "I was going to say he isn't a burden, despite the fact that he tends to think of himself that way in both worlds."

"In that world Kurosaki, Shiro-chan was able to easily take burdens onto his own shoulders for large periods of time. He can't do it in this world." Gin snapped the words out.

"And he shouldn't have been doing that, because it got all of us mad at him because he wouldn't ever let us help him." Ichigo folded his arms across his chest.

The sobbing during this escapade began to calm down and the boy turned his body so he could bury his face into Ichimaru's chest, his legs twisting because he hadn't taken the time to move them. As his father did so, Toshiro spoke up, despite the fact his voice was muffled. "I want to be able to play with the other kids. I don't want them to give my funny looks when they see me. I'm tired of being cooped up all day, doing nothing."

"The hogyoku grants wishes my ass." Ichimaru spat the words out of his mouth. "This is the same problem in the other world, but for a very different reason."

"By that you mean..." Kurosaki blinked a couple of times.

"He doesn't want them giving him funny looks because he is an invalid here, but over there they gave him funny looks because of his funny hair and eye color. He is unable to play with them here because he can't walk, he is unable to play with them there because they consider him a freak. He can't go places here because he can't walk, and there because he is shunned."

It was then that the old lady came back. "Oh my! What occurred while I was gone?"

"Toshiro's upset because he has no life beyond this house." Ichigo stated, telling her the truth.

The old woman simply walked over to the child and pulled him from his father's arms into hers. "Shush now, little one. You know that you can't be having attacks like this. Go to sleep before you make yourself sick."

At that, Ichimaru suddenly found his head darting up. "Wait a second, his attacks are panic attacks?"

"They can be very vicious, but yes. That is what they are. One of the arguments you've had with Rangiku in the past is that the two of you have been coddling him too much. She doesn't want to do anything to upset him, but you say he needs to face life experience to understand and grow as a person."

At that, Gin glanced at the floor. "Why is Toshiro taking the medicine? How exactly did that start?"

"When Toshiro was born, Lord Aizen had someone from the Gotei Thirteen come out and check on him due to the fact he wouldn't ever cry even to ask for food. It was Rangiku who brought the worry to his attention though, not yourself. He's been taking the medicine ever since." The old woman then added something in. "It was prescribed by Lord Aizen's own doctor."

"I need to speak with Kurosaki for a second." Ichimaru stated, suddenly grabbing Ichigo's arm and hauling him out of the door, his face betraying the panic and anguish on his face.

"Do you think that medicine is actually making Toshiro sick, rather then helping him?" The young man asked, watching Gin's facial features carefully.

"Everything my mother described to you were things that have happened to that child in the other world. He was a quiet child, and my mother had to feed him using a routine schedule, rather then relying on him to cry. He also had some pretty bad panic attacks, but your father and Unohana only gave him medicine to calm him down when they got really bad. They got better as he got older too."

"Wait a second, what does my father have to do with this?" Ichigo asked, blinking a couple of times.

"We don't have time for that. Aizen played on the fact that Rangiku is very protective of our son, even though she doesn't remember that he is ours in the other world. We might be able to get him out of this mess. I am not a person who likes asking another for help, but I feel that I have to. I also think you'll get some of your answers by the time we are through."

"Urahara wasn't able to answer why I existed in this world, despite the fact I shouldn't." Ichigo suddenly piped up.

"I said some, Kurosaki." Gin stated, then turned his tone down low. "Here is the plan."