"Oto-san?" The voice from behind the curtain was overly familiar and Ichimaru found himself moving over to the place and pulling the cloth aside. Some of the left over light fell upon the child that lay on the futon. A smile spread across his face, and then two arms reached up, indicating that he wanted to be held.

Gin found himself swallowing hard, confusion spreading across his face. "Shiro-chan, aren't you a bit old for me to hold you?"

At that, two dark teal eyes blinked a couple of times, frowning as he did so. "Are you trying to tease me oto-san?"

In his mind, the silver haired man found himself flinching, because the situation honestly didn't feel right. Hitsugaya Toshiro, who had pulled himself onto his elbows to maneuver himself into a sitting position was smiling at him. The adult male's Adam's apple bobbed down, trying to fight back the emotion that was overtaking him. The last time he has seen this particular child smile had been when he was very small, a lot smaller then he was now.

The boy suddenly let out a deep breath, his mouth up turning into a frown, a look that Gin found more characteristic of the child he knew. "Oto-san, the sun is setting right now, and I can't see it unless you help me over there."

At this, shock suddenly spread across Ichimaru's face, a pained look coming to his face. "Chibi taicho, are you able to walk?"

At that, the boy frowned, letting out a soft laugh that was similar to Rangiku's, another trait that Gin hadn't heard in years. "I don't know why you are so apt to tease me today. You know full well that I can't walk, I never have been able to. Please, if mama comes home, she won't let you take me outside. She is very peculiar about this kind of thing."

At that, Gin blinked a couple of times. His pale teal eyes reflected a great deal of worry, while his mind still tried to wrap around the information it was receiving. "I am not sure that is a good idea."

"Tou-chan, you're acting funny. You've been acting funny for awhile now." The preteen let out a deep sigh as he brought his arms back down. "You've also been calling me chibi taicho, despite the fact I'll likely never be a captain of the Gotei Thirteen."

"You have the spiritual pressure to be one." Ichimaru's eyes were rather wide, his voice contorted into a frown as he tried to fight back the feelings that bothered him.

At that, Toshiro glanced at the ground. "It honestly doesn't matter if I have enough spiritual pressure to be a captain, which I don't. It's likely only at the level of a eighth seat, if even that. I can't be a shinigami if I can't walk."

"Shiro-chan, if you had the ability to walk, would you want to become a shinigami?" The silver haired man bent down, his right hand reaching out to touch the child's shoulder.

At that, a half smile came his way. "I don't see the point of asking that question, but I've always looked up to you and you're a shinigami, so I guess so."

Inwardly, Gin found himself flinching as he remembered that in the other world, this small child had wanted to never be a shinigami. However, he carefully placed on arm behind the white haired youth's back, and the other under his legs. Now wasn't the time to worry about the young ones health, not when his behavior had been different before and he was drawing attention to himself.

Upon lifting the younger male up, Gin felt suddenly sick to his stomach mentally. Last time he checked, Toshiro weighed just over sixty ponds, yet it honestly felt as if there was a ten to twenty pounds difference from what he remembered. He could also feel a few of the boy's ribs sticking out, which again caused him to mentally flinch.

Carefully, he moved out to the porch area of the house and sat down, holding the boy in his lap. Two bright teal eyes looked up at the sunlight, a nice smile spreading across his face as he watched the changing warm tones. As Ichimaru wrapped his arms across the child's frail chest area, Toshiro reached up to hold onto the arms.

Glancing down at the white haired youth's legs, the man had problems figuring out what was wrong with the boy. "Shiro-chan, can you humor me."

"I don't see why not." The boy continued to watch the sky, his body lacking any tension in the muscles.

"Let's say I am having problems remembering things about granny, your mother, you... could I ask you questions about... certain things." Gin's chin suddenly rested on top of the small child's.

"I'll play this game." The boy let out a half laugh, though the sudden tension in his body made it clear that his father's behavior of late honestly bothered him.

"Have you really never been able to walk?" Ichimaru let out a deep breath, the entire scenario frustrating him.

"My bodies always been weak. My upper body is stronger then my lower body, simply because I have to use my upper body to move what little I need to do on my own. I've been sick off and on since I was an infant and I've never been able to do things like a normal kid. I prefer you to mama, truth be told." The boy's voice began to slip away, almost as if he was falling back asleep.

"Why would that happen to be?" The silver haired man thought carefully about how Matsumoto had always been the child's favorite.

"Until recently, you always let me do things, like coming outside. One time, you took me to the river, so I could see the Fireworks that were being launched for one of the captain's birthdays. When she found out, she threw an absolute fit." Toshiro let out a laugh, and then a yawn.

"If you're tired, you should just go to sleep." Ichimaru let out a deep breath.

"Not tired." However, this response turned out to be a false answer.