Of Birthdays and Siblings

Strange Feelings

Everyone on the training field was staring at Toshiro and he honestly didn't like the feeling. The student teacher's lips were pushed together almost as if he wasn't sure whether to punish Niklous simply for fighting or to put forward a punishment for attacking on of the royal family. The young man in question had a horrified look on his face while some of the female students began to whisper to themselves.

None of this caught Toshiro's attention as something had occurred that outweighed the discomfort of having people stare at him and the worry that they thought he was a freak was pushed aside. The presence was there briefly, but he felt the poisonous snake like reiatsu coming from a very particular direction and his instinct was to defend. His eyes were staring forward at the door.

"If you want to help me then show me back to my... the place I've been staying the last few days. I'm starting to get a head ache." The head ache wasn't a lie, but it wasn't simply caused by the stress of being among children his age, but the stress of not knowing what that person was up to.

Bambietta grabbed his sleeve and tugged him towards the door. "All right."

They had gotten a few doors down when Toshiro spoke up again. "Actually, I don't need you to take me back to the room I've been sleeping in. I need you to take me somewhere else."

The small female frowned. "Don't worry, I'm taking you to the infirmary."

"No." The small white haired male suddenly crashed into his sister's back.

The small dark haired female turned to look him in the face. "You are not feeling well."

"It is an emergency. I need you to take me to wherever they're keeping Hyorinmaru."

The female's frown deepened. "So you can attack Gabrielli? Even I wouldn't do something like that."

"Not him, someone else."

"You're making no sense at all." Bambietta's normally cheerful tone became suddenly serious. "While you may be my brother and a member of the royal family, your zampaktuo was taken away because you may feel ties to Soul Society and feel we are for some reason a danger to you."

"The person I need to go after isn't a Quincy, he's a former Shinigami."

The small female paused. "I do not understand." Her small hand let go of his sleeve before reaching up to push on the back of his neck so that their foreheads were touching. "You aren't running a fever Toto-chan."

"So, you didn't feel that particular spiritual pressure back there?"

The girl shook her head at him. "I didn't think I gave you this bad of a head injury."

"Look, the person in question is very dangerous. I have to stop him before he gets closer to the palace or any of the villages. He's not a nice person."

"Why?"

"Duty." Toshiro spoke up.

"Except I didn't feel this spiritual pressure." Bambietta grabbed his sleeve and proceeded to tug him towards the infirmary. "The head nurse will see to you and give you a sedative."

"No." The small boy tugged his sleeve away. "Maybe the reason you didn't feel his spiritual pressure is because you don't know him, but if he is here he can't be up to any good. He never was up to any good in the past. If you won't help me find Hyorinamaru I will find it myself." He watched the look of disgust his sister gave him and then turned to leave. "Fine, I will find it on my own."

"As if you could find your way around here. So I'm not worried that you'll find it and take off to do something stupid." There was a moment of silence before she spoke up again. "I'll just find you when you either pass out form your head injury or you become to hungry to continue your search."

The small male choose to ignore her, placing his hand on the wall before heading down a certain path. "Hyorinmaru... you felt that as well, did you not."

"I did." The zampaktuo spoke up.

"Will you help me find you before he gets to close to this place. I have to protect Baba-nee."

"She may not need to be protected."

"I feel there is a danger, so please help me." Toshiro then found the zampaktuo's reiatsu suddenly flare out coupled with an exploding sensation. He hurried forward and made a few twists before finding a hole in the wall as a few guards gathered. They stared at him in confusion before glancing at the zampaktuo spirit that was in human form in front of them. Their faces had a clear look of confusion on their faces.

"Young master." Toshiro moved forward in order to get to his zampaktou, only to have the guards step between them. Hyorinmaru raised an eyebrow. "If you do not step from between me and my shinigami I shall be forced to hurt you. Of course, he could easily defeat you on his own."

The white haired child watched as they stepped aside. The small boy himself stepped forward and caught the blade as it transformed again. He then turned and used flash step. "You know where my winter clothes are?"

"Yes... we have to hurry. The palace is going to be in an uproar over this despite the fact your intensions are good. Actually... it seems that some were starting to make a move. Someone must have felt his spiritual pressure."

"Yeah... but while they may know he is a threat, do they know what they are in fact dealing with. Ichimaru is not someone who can be understood by many." The boy hurried into his room and grabbed his clothing, hurrying to put it on. He then flash stepped away in the direction he had felt the rieatsu in. As he hurried along, he suddenly found himself crashing into someone.

He found himself falling on his bottom and looking up at his uncle. The man's face was twisted up in anger. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Defending Baba-nee."

"Excuse me?"

"I'm going after him. I don't know who else felt his reiatsu, but he is dangerous and I'm not going to let him harm my sister." Toshiro got up on one knee watching his uncle carefully.

The look on the man's face was still stern, frowning at him. "I forbid you."

"You can't make me." The boy slowly stood up, suddenly feeling his uncle's spiritual pressure flare out. "I'm not going to be negatively effected by your spiritual pressure this time around."

"And how are you going to get out? You're far from the exit and I can easily have you captured and jailed for your own protection."

Two bright eyes suddenly narrowed. "Protection? You seem to be forgetting that I am... was a captain of the Gotei Thirteen for good reason. I can easily protect myself and I'm the only one who knows what everyone is going to be up against."

"Don't kid yourself. Stop acting like an egotistical brat." His uncle glared at him and Toshiro realized that his path back was now being blocked.

"I can also make my own exist to go after him and stop him." A small hand gripped the blade, before muttering something. A suddenly blast was felt as he released his zampaktuo and the wall came crashing down. Snow came into the room and fell at a fast rate. His uncle covered his face and began to shout out orders while Toshiro took off.

"That look on uncle's face... I don't think he is ever going to forgive me for this stunt, but..."

"I know. Protecting your sister is important, though I don't think the threat is as big as you think it is."

"How so?"

"It isn't my place to explain it."

Author's note – I had originally planned on this chapter being Gin and company entering the place, but it didn't work and felt more like filler on top of being just to short. So, I skipped to this part.