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."

"Maybe, maybe not," Isshin smirked. "Not everyone took him seriously you know. Maybe you need to find your own reason for learning Bankai?"

"Maybe…" the boy muttered, curling up on the bed, while the tenth division taicho sat on the floor for the night to get through.

M

To have one's own reason for wanting to learn Bankai, got Toshiro to wonder why the different captains had gone and learned Bankai. So, he decided to go and ask them, working his way up from the thirteenth division, skipping his taicho as he didn't want him to know what he was up too.

Ukitake gave him a vague look, thinking about it, then stated that the reason that he had gone and learned Bankai was that he and the eight division captain were always competing to get better, and Bankai was the next step. Toshiro decided to scratch that reason, as the person he would compete with was dead, and he knew that the eighth division captain would have a similar reason.

Twelvth divisions reason was absolutely bizarre, that the man had found it a wonderful experiment. He even bragged about how he had experimented on his zampaktuo, causing Toshiro to want to scream and run away, however, he kept his cool and thanked the captain, then walked away, shuddering as he did.

Kenpachi had a good laugh when Toshiro asked him, and he found out that not only had Kenpachi not learned Bankai, he had never learned the name of his zampaktuo. Toshiro gave him an insulted look and made a smart aleck comment about insulting the zampaktuo, to which the second of that division hit him over the head.

Tousen of the ninth division would have stared at the boy, if he could. When Toshiro asked his question, the man got a look of absolute mirth on his face. The man also told him that a child shouldn't worry about such things, irritating the boy very much. He became even more irritated when he was compared to Gin.

Skipping the eighth division, he found himself over at the seventh division. The captain wore a mask and never said much the times Toshiro had met him. However, his curiosity got the better of him and he went and sat in a chair right in front of the man. "Can I ask why you wanted to learn Bankai?"

Supposedly, the man looked up, but Toshiro couldn't tell through the mask, but the man stopped his writing. "Why do you ask?"

"Sometimes I wish I could hide my face under a mask," Toshiro muttered, then glanced up as there was a jolt of reiatsu.

"I heard that. Why would a child like you wish to hide behind a mask? I think you look just fine the way you are," the man stated.

"I… look at my hair and eye coloring!" Toshiro's reiatsu level began to fluctuate. "Every one where I grew up in think I'm some kind of monster."

"I see that your level is that of a captain's," the man stated.

"You aren't going to comment on what I said?" Toshiro stated.

"Why should I? What you said… rather hits close to home," the man sighed. "So I think… it isn't something you like talking about?"

"No… it isn't," Toshiro sighed.

"I did this because Yamamoto, the general, took me in, no questions asked, and treated me like a person. I would do anything for that person, for I feel that it is my life and my duty to protect that person," the seventh division captain responded.

"I see…" Toshiro muttered.

"Would you like to see my Bankai?" the man suddenly asked. "Since you are so curious about it?" At this, the small boy's eyes had become wide with surprise.

M

The boy was majorly impressed with the Shikai of the man, and then too of the Bankai, he had to admit, but perhaps the idea of seeing this particular captain's Bankai was not such a good idea, as Toshiro soon found out. It had nothing to do with him possibly feeling any danger from the man, nor did it have anything to do with a danger from the Bankai that he was shown.

It had to do with how large the Bankai was, and the fact that even though they were in a secluded area of the Seireitei, that they ended up attracting attention to themselves. After a short period of time afterwards, the captain dispersed the Bankai, noting that the captain of the second division was coming. The man carefully picked up Toshiro and went and hid among the trees that surrounded the clearing that they had used.

While Toshiro felt his mouth muffled, he saw through the trees, the second division captain Soifon appear with her really fat second. The woman spoke up, rather irritated. "Komamura Sajin, what have I told you about making sure that when you train with your Bankai, you let the general know first?"

The helmeted person choose not to respond, to which the woman suddenly used flash step to look around. Thus, she was able to easily happen upon their hiding spot, and had a bit of a shocked look on her face. She then folded her arms. "What is that person doing here?"

"This is Isshin taicho's second. I showed him my Bankai? Is their anything wrong with that?" the man suddenly asked, setting Toshiro down.

"That stupid kid has no respect for anyone… why bother," Soifon's second stated, coming up munching food."

"Says the person who didn't bother to look down when I graduated!" Toshiro pointed a finger at the man. "Says the person who picked his nose during the lieutenants meeting! And so says the person who is munching on snacks while he is technically on duty!"

Soifon at first felt like saying something about this, but her inner self was fighting a battle of whether to burst out laughing, or tan the kids hide for what he has just said to her second. Instead, she settled upon grabbing him around the waist and tossing him over her shoulder. "Come on… I'm taking you back to your captain so you can get back to whatever he has you doing… what ever disturbingly perverted thing that is…"

"Oi… put me down! I can walk!" Toshiro stated, then came an odd comment. "Hold on… you're a captain, right?"

"Yes. Be a little more respectful to your superiors," the woman stated.

"Can I ask you a question please?" he suddenly asked.

"Don't Soifon taicho, he'll ask something really perverted, he is Isshin-san's second," the man munching on food stated, spraying crumbs all over Toshiro."

"I don't see a problem with it, he's just a kid," the woman muttered as she began to walk away, Toshiro still slung over her shoulder.

"Why did you decide to learn Bankai?" came the words from the white haired boy's mouth.

Toshiro suddenly found himself plopped down onto his two feet, then flung over Soifon's arm as she spanked his bottom a few times. She then grabbed his ear, an annoyed look on her face. "Please tell me that a child like you is going to do something like learning Bankai!"

"You didn't have to spank me!" Toshiro snapped, suddenly setting out a blast of reiatsu, which caused the trees to gather a frost on them, same as the seventh division captain. The second of the second however, collapsed from the ground. "Umm… shouldn't he have been able to stand up to my reiatsu?"

Soifon had cocked an eyebrow, her normally emotionless face showing some emotion. "My fuko-taicho, he can't stand up to my reiatsu, a captain's level, when I blast it like that, he is rather out of shape, the moron."

"Shall I take him back to your division for you, Soifon taicho," the seventh division captain suddenly asked.

"Hai, that would be appreciated," the woman gave a small smile. "Go ahead and lock him up in a cell too, I want to see the look on his face when he wakes up."

"Why do you have him as your sub-taicho, if you don't like him?" Toshiro asked, only to let out a protest as the woman flung him over her shoulder again.

"It really isn't any of your business, but I believe he only got his rank because of who his family is," the woman stated. "I doubt that you'll be able to achieve Bankai within five years, but if you were and a captain's spot came up and you needed a vote of yes, I would have to say I would go along with it."

"Why?" Toshiro asked.

"Because… my subordinate might find you disrespectful, but you have more respect then some nobles I know. A smart aleck tongue that you need to curb a bit, but you have a way with words defiantly," the woman stated. "Oh… and I am wondering what your taicho's reaction is going to be?"

"Uh oh…" came the mumbled reply.