Admiration (Bleach Fanfic)

Rain Comes Down

Isshin taicho lay on his bed in his room. The whole mess with the Shiba clan had been quite draining, to say the least, and after a few days, even he hadn't recovered properly. There was no telling how it was going with his small second, as the boy would be the last person to go and tell anyone if something was bothering him.

As he slept, he heard the same noise above him that he heard every night, the boy going and moving from his room to sleep above his taicho's room. Isshin couldn't help but smirk at this, even though it likely meant that the kid was having problems sleeping. No matter how much the kid acted like an adult, deep down, he was still a kid. Also, he found this to be comforting, helping him to sleep lately.

About a couple of hours later, he awoke to another noise, the pitter pattering of rain falling on to the roof, becoming thick and heavy. This caused him to open his eyes wide, realizing that the small boy was still up on the roof. He frowned at this and hurried to the door, sliding it open, only to find Toshiro standing there, sopping wet, his eyes still filled with sleep.

"Shiro-chan… you're soaking wet?" the man stated firmly.

"Oto-san…" the boy suddenly latched onto the man's sleeping kimono, almost falling over. "Cold…"

"We'll fix that soon enough," the man stated, glancing at the door, realizing that it was pouring so hard that he wouldn't be able to get the boy to his room, let alone any change of clothes from it, which caused him to let out a sigh. He quickly stripped the small boy and rubbed the water off him, then went and grabbed one of his own kimonos for the boy.

"How are we going to do this now…" the man muttered. "I am rather bigger then you, aren't I Toshiro? I'll just have to wrap you up."

Isshin then wrapped the small boy up, and then pulled the blanket off his bed and wrapped it around the boy again, rubbing the boy's hands, trying to warm them. The glazed look on the boys face slowly left, and he began to wake up. He blinked a couple of times. "Taicho?"

"You got stuck out in the rain Hitsugaya," the man gave the boy a weak smile. "You came to my room by mistake. I don't think you'll be able to get to your room tonight, so get some sleep here."

Toshiro watched as the man began to hang the boy's wet clothes over something so that they could dry out. A thought popped into the small boys head, and he chocked it out in panic. "Taicho… am I wearing any underwear!"

Isshin paused at this, then turned towards the small boy. "I couldn't leave you in wet clothes, lest you get sick and I didn't have any for you."

"Erk…" came the reply, not to mention that the small boys eyes had gone wide and his cheeks flushed a bit, causing Isshin to go over and feel the boy's forehead for a fever, only to find his body still chilled.

"Toshiro… get some sleep… we'll worry about that in the morning," the man stated.

"I don't think I can sleep," the boy muttered.

"All right, then let's talk about how that Bankai training of yours is coming," Isshin smiled.

"I quit," Toshiro muttered, closing his eyes and bringing his knees up to his chest.

"What do you mean, you quite?" the man muttered.

"I said I quit… what is the point of learning when Kaien-san isn't here. I don't know what to do… I…" Toshiro closed his eyes.

"Did Kaien tell you his reason for learning Bankai?" Isshin suddenly asked.

"Yes… what of it?" Toshiro stated firmly.

"Think about it… why someone would want to or need to learn Bankai," Isshin stated.

"I think his reason was a good one… but…" Toshiro folded up. "I don't think anyone would take me seriously like they did him."