Liking Oneself II: Thank You (Bleach Fanfic)

Home Stay (Part VII) Neighbors

A later point did not see like it would be coming anytime soon. Momo remained glued to the small taicho's side as did the grandmother, thus Kira didn't know when he would be able to approach the old lady about whether or not Gin really was the boy's father, as well as if there had been an incident where Gin had killed a man because said man had tried to kill Toshiro when he was younger. The tension in the air was also thick and he felt as if saying the wrong word would cause things to fall apart completely.

The sound of snoring caused Kira to look over to the side of the room where Renji was only to see that the fukutaicho of the sixth division was taking a nice nap. The red head's arms were tucked behind his head and his sleeves pulled up. Kira let out a sigh and looked around, his lips pushing together. "What did Hitsugaya Taicho and Hinamori do to pass the time why they lived here?"

The blond took a deep breath and was about to look away when his eyes suddenly caught sight of one of Momo's friends looking into the house. "If I remember correctly Hinamori called you Ayumi."

The girl blinked a couple of times before stepping out. In her arms was a bundle and her mouth was twisted up into a frown. "Our house mother asked that I bring this over since your brother isn't feeling well."

Kira watched as the small taicho stirred from where he was sleeping and then sat up on his elbows to look at the girl. Despite being in bed the boy was still in his uniform. His eyes were narrowed with a rather bored look and his head titled to look at her. Momo on the other hand went over to where her friend was, a smile on her face and her eyes lit with excitement. "Why don't you come in Ac-chan?"

The other girl hesitated, but then sat on the edge taking off her sandals. Renji stopped snoring and opened one eye, his mouth pushed shut. The girl then went over and greeted Momo and Toshiro's grandmother. The small boy settled back down into the bedding, his eyes still looking at the girl as if something felt off. He then looked towards the door, his frown deepening. Momo unwrapped the package and found some simple sweets in the package. The fukutaicho of the fifth smiled at the other girl. "This is really sweet of your mother. By the way, where is Tec-chan?"

"Ah... Tatsukichi? He's actually outside. He didn't want to come in." The girl looked at her hands, suddenly startling when Toshiro looked her right in the eye, her eyes darting away almost as if there was fear there. The boy looked away, turning over onto his side so that he couldn't see her.

Momo blinked a couple of times. "Come on Shiro-chan. Be nice."

Toshiro simply remained silent. Kira found himself standing up. "You know, Renji and I are going to step outside and speak with your friend and get to know him."

"That would be nice." The female fukutaicho's voice was quite chipper.

"Wait... we are?" The red haired fukutaicho looked at his companion. Even though he got no response he proceeded to stand up and go out of the room with him to see that the young man was standing there.

Kira frowned, noticing the boy's nervous behavior. "Why don't you like Hitsugaya Taicho?"

Tatsukichi wiggled a bit, before reaching up one hand to scratch his neck while Renji blinked a couple of times at the other male fukutaicho. "So... he really is a taicho? I didn't know there was even a position free."

"So... you told people that he's a taicho?" The red haired fukutaicho shook his head. "How did Momo react to that considering the fact she made a promise to him not to say anything to his village?"

"She was upset, but I reminded her that we hadn't made any such promises. Plus... what are we supposed to call him? We do owe him the respect her deserves."

"How about 'the brat'," Renji piped up, bringing his arms behind the back of his head.

Kira sighed. "You would say that, wouldn't you." He then turned back to Tatsukichi. "There is something that I am wanting to ask you that I can't ask Hitsugaya Taicho and Hinamori's granny in front of them. The man running the candy shop said that there was an incident when he was younger where Hitsugaya Taicho almost drowned. He said that there was a time that he was in fact physically bullied."

The boy blinked. "I don't remember anything about him almost drowning, but I do remember that a man did in fact drown. I also remember before that man drowned that the adults would push him around a lot and sometimes it escalated into something more, but nothing more then a bloody lip. After that, the adults told us to stay away from him. We all figured it was his fault because he brings bad luck with him where he goes."

"So the children around his and Hinamori's age ostracized him because the adults made them believe that Hitsugaya Taicho was dangerous to be around when in reality it was something else." Kira folded his arms.

"What do you mean something else?" Tatsukichi's nervousness lessened.

Renji poked him in the chest. "It really is none of your business with the way that you treated him."

"Yes... well..." The boy looked away. "I'm not one of the ones holding to the idea to treat him differently, but my mother is."

"That's why she sent over the treats." Kira narrowed his eyes. "She heard he was injured and decided to get on his good side because he is a captain. What about your sister?"

"She... Ayumi doesn't like mother's plan anymore then we do. She's simply following proper etiquette."

"Plan..." One of Renji's eyebrows went up. Before they could go any farther an argument came from inside the house, causing them to head into the house to see what the two foster siblings were arguing about.