After the other had left the room Toshiro found himself looking at the pencils, curious about how they would work. He glanced away with his teal eyes and worked away at the paperwork but finally the temptation proved to be to great. He cleaned out his brush and placed the papers to the side before picking up the sketchpad and pencils.

He pulled his knees up to his chest and then flipped open the cover. The sound of the paper scraping against the spiral binding was inviting, but even more so was the scratching sound the pencils made. He soon found himself loosing track of time as he sketched away. Eventually though, his head began to nod off and a soft snore came from his mouth.

Rangiku stepped into the office, her shoulders tensed up. A smile spread on her face and she stepped over to the small taicho, taking the sketchpad from him. She took a few minutes to look at the various pictures he had drawn before letting out a deep sigh. Her hand then carefully removed the pencil that was in his hand and picked up the others that were on the desk, putting them back in the container.

When Toshiro woke up the next morning, he found himself asleep on the small couch that was in the division office. Sitting up, he stretched his muscles and let out a deep sigh. "She moved me again."

His teal eyes caught a glimpse of her desk.. All the papers that were on her desk were in the spot where her finished pile went. Normally the stack was small, but everything was already finished. The small shinigami stood up and walked over to the desk and flipped through some of the papers. "She really did finish her work. I wonder where she is right now... drinking?"

Shaking his head, he headed for the door having noticed the paper work on his desk was already finished. Letting out a deep sigh, he went looking for a division member that had an idea where the busty fukutaicho might be. Toshiro finally found one that knew where she had gone. "She went to speak with Ichimaru Gin in the forth division."

Letting out a deep sigh, his mind wandered to the fact Rangiku had been obviously upset with the man just a few days ago. His worry got the better of him and he headed on over to the division. A member of the fourth gladly told him which room Gin was staying in and the boy headed towards the room. As he approached he heard a heavy handed conversation.

"Matsumoto must be letting her frustration out on him." A small hand reached up to scratch his white head of hair. "Wonderful..." However, as he got closer he realized that the two people talking t each other weren't Matsumoto Rangiku and Ichimaru Gin, but two silver haired men. "Why would Ukitake want to speak with Ichimaru?"

"Please understand that I don't want to see that person hurt. I am not sure of your intentions in this matter so I hope you understand my questioning your actions." The taicho of the thirteenth division said just as Toshiro walked through the door.

Gin was sitting in the window, his composure calm. He glanced up when the boy entered and let out a deep sigh. "Chibi taicho's here."

Ukitake glanced up and placed a hand behind his head. "Ahh... Shiro-chan. I haven't given you the gift from your Secret Santa yet today have I?"

"I can wait. I was wondering if any of you have seen Matsumoto?" The boy barely stepped in the room despite the fact he didn't feel uncomfortable around Gin. You weren't supposed to feel comfortable around that man at all.

"You actually missed her." The man smiled, his eyes open for once. "What is this about a Secret Santa?"

Shock appeared on Ukitake's face, but his mouth then clamped shut. What ever he wanted to say didn't come out, but it was rather obvious he wanted to say something. Toshiro let out a deep sigh. "Someone decided to give me a gift every day, but I don't know who it is. It is as simple as that. Why are you interested?"

"I guess it has to do with the fact Unohana Taicho has told me I'm not to leave this room." Gin let out a laugh. "You seem to be doing well."

Toshiro's eyes widened in surprise at the last comment but then his mind focused on the first thing the man had said. "Why is Unohana keeping you in here?"

The former taicho of the third division's smile suddenly faltered. Letting out a deep sigh he turned to look out the window. "You want to tell him Ukitake-san? I personally don't want to talk about it."

"Shiro-chan, why don't we go for a walk. I can give you today's present while we talk." The man stated.

Toshiro followed suit, glancing back at Gin. Something about the situation bothered him, but he couldn't place exactly what it was he was feeling. "I'm not supposed to like the man."

"Do you know what depression is?" Ukitake asked.

"My fukutaicho has bouts of depression. I don't like it when she gets depressed because it makes me worry about her." Two teal eyes blinked from confusion.

"I'm thankful she knows how to deal with her dark moods properly. Gin on the other hand does not." The man paused short and handed Toshiro a package wrapped in ugly pin striped paper.

Two small hands opened it quickly, a smile appearing on his face. "Watercolors. I've heard Hinamori talk about these before." However, the smile quickly faded before he looked up at the older male. "What do you mean by him not being able to handle his dark moods properly?"

Ukitake frowned at this point in time. "Unohana has him on a suicide watch. I can't exactly blame her as he isn't at all acting like the person we know so well."

"When it comes to Ichimaru isn't that a good thing?" Toshiro's own frown deepened. "I mean, if he is acting different that means he's acting like a better person. If he was acting like a worse person he would be locked up."

"While it is true that Gin's behavior has improved, I was actually referring to his demeanor. He's no longer smiling. He's not cracking any jokes. I've heard that they've been having problems getting him to eat even when they remind him that it is time to eat."

"This doesn't explain why he is on a suicide watch though." The small taicho let out a deep sigh before folding his arms.

"I honestly don't know the details myself. I just know that both Yamamoto and Unohana had a good long conversation with him before making the decisions they've made. I trust them, but..." Ukitake placed a hand on he top of Toshiro's head. "I don't have the right to tell you to stay away from him, but I do advise spending as little time with him as possible, at least until we figure things out."

"Because I'm not an adult?" A small hand moved the bigger hand away.

"Toshiro, I don't even think it is good for me to spend much time with him. I'm not saying I won't be visiting him though. He's dealing with some dark things and he has never been really comfortable around other people." The man began to walk again.

"He isn't comfortable around you Ukitake?" Toshiro found himself confused again.

The man smiled over his shoulder. "You aren't exactly comfortable around people either. I think you of all people would understand how it would feel to have people constantly invading your personal space while you're in the fourth division."

The small taicho glanced to the side. "I also don't like it when I am left all alone for long periods of time."

"That's why I didn't say you couldn't visit him. You just need to restrict your visits with him." The two then went their separate ways. Toshiro couldn't help but feel like Ukitake was purposefully trying to hide something from him.

Chapter Management