Sequel to Dino Crisis. This story is short and kinda rushed so sorry if it seems 'weird'. I wanted to get this one done fast cause the next few stories that follow it are fun, so bare with me.

Back From The Dead

Life holds many surprises and nothing is concrete. That's a lesson that Toushiro Hitsugaya has not yet fully learned. What he did know was that life is fragile. It can be taken away just as easily as it was given. That he knew and knew well from the two incidences with his old friend Sojiro Kusaka. An ancient law of the Soul Society was that no two Soul Reapers could wield the same Zanpakuto, and both Toushiro and Kusaka obtained the same sword, Hyorinmaru. For that, they were ordered to fight each other to the death to see who was worthy of wielding Hyorinmaru. Kusaka lost that match. Having to fight his friend and then watch him die once was bad enough, but when Kusaka had come back and stolen a treasure from the royal family, Toushiro had to suffer the same thing for a second time. That's why he had never really gotten close to someone like that again. His fear was justifiable. He didn't want to suffer watching another close friend die again. So he had put up an invisible wall of ice to prevent himself or anyone else from getting too close to him emotionally. But despite his efforts, one person had managed to melt that wall of ice and walk right through on four feet. Vegeta was the first person to ever get as close to Toushiro as Kusaka did and vis versa. But there was still that underlining fear for Toushiro. He'd try to protect Vegeta if he could, but the dangers that the great saiyan prince could face head on were far from what Toushiro was capable of. But that still doesn't stop him from trying. The fear of Vegeta sharing the same fate as Kusaka has made Toushiro do many dangerous and reckless things, things that have come close to killing him himself. He's taken on Coge, his fellow captains, vicious dinosaurs and Vegeta's own father. And when Vegeta was being controlled and manipulated by a mind-control device, the young captain refused to fight back at all, even when Vegeta was inches from tearing into him. But life holds and gives many surprises, even surprises that aren't expected and Toushiro was about to learn that lesson. Unfortunately, he was about to learn that lesson through the hardest way he could, where a set of events that led to the biggest chance meeting ever...

The day had started out nice. The sun was bright and the sky shined blue. But the sky suddenly turned dark as rain clouds came in. A gentle rain was coming down in the Soul Society. There were no storms or anything. The sky was a shade of dusty gray. The rain was gentle. But most still retreated inside. But at a graveyard, the young captain of Squad 10 and his second lieutenant were visiting the grave of the boy's old friend. The rain didn't bother Toushiro, but eventually, it did bother Vegeta enough to make the saiyan uncomfortable. He just shook the water off with a huff.

Vegeta: "Ok. I don't know about you, but I've had enough. I'm going back."

Toushiro: "Tired already, Vegeta?"

The saiyan just huffed at the prodigy's sarcastic comment.

Vegeta: "No. I just hate standing in the rain. Don't know why but it's depressing for me."

Toushiro chuckled softly.

Toushiro: "Ok, Vegeta. You go on ahead, I'll catch up in a little bit."

And Vegeta started off for home without Toushiro. He understood why the boy wanted to stay a little longer. The young captain had told him many times that he still blames himself for what happened to Kusaka. It also felt like a good time to give the boy some alone time. Vegeta understood. He's lost many friends too, albeit they all get wished back in the end. After watching his second lieutenant head back, Toushiro turned his gaze back to the gravestone marking Kusaka's grave. The rain continued to come down as the young captain stood there. He stood there for minutes. Thirty minutes later and the boy decided to head back too. It was getting late and he was starting to get cold from being soaked. He said his goodbyes to the grave and began to head back. But tonight... He wasn't going to return.

?: "It's been awhile, hasn't it, Toushiro?"

Toushiro gasped and turned around, but no one was there. He searched for their spiritual pressure, but they were hiding it from him.

Toushiro: "Who are you? Show yourself!"

?: "Now, now... Is that anyway to treat an old friend?"

Toushiro: "What?"

There was a short moment of silence before a man walked out from behind a gravestone. He had his face covered by a mask that looked much like a Hollow's mask and he had his body covered by a light brown cape. Toushiro knew he had seen this outfit before, but where?

?: "What are you doing out in the rain? Don't you know that you can catch a cold that way?"

And then... Toushiro's eyes slowly began to widen with shock, horror and disbelief as he remembered where he'd seen this man before.

Toushiro: "I... It can't be..."

The mysterious man then took off his mask. The scar covering the whole right side of his face was unmistakable. Life has just thrown Toushiro the biggest surprise ever, for this man was none other than...

Toushiro: "K-Kusaka?..."

Sojiro Kusaka.

Toushiro: "Y... You're alive?"

Kusaka: "Surprised to see me, Toushiro?"

Toushiro: "Well... Yeah, I mean... I thought you were-"

Kusaka: "Dead. I was, but now I'm back!"

Toushiro was still in shock. The last time he had seen Kusaka was when he stole the Oin. Although he felt horrible for doing it, Toushiro could have sworn that he had killed Kusaka! Yet, here he was once again!

Toushiro: "I don't understand... How is this possible!"

Kusaka: "What? Are you not happy to see me?"

Toushiro: "I am but I'm confused too! I watched you die, how is it that you're alive again!"

Kusaka: "To be honest, I'm not sure myself. But that doesn't matter now."

Toushiro: "Kusaka... You have to get outta here! If you're discovered, you'll be executed!"

Kusaka: "I will, but first I came here to do something..."

Toushiro: "What's that?"

And in the blink of an eye, Kusaka was charging towards Toushiro! The young captain had seconds to draw his sword and block Kusaka's attack! Both Hyorinmaru's came together in a flash! Kusaka was attacking Toushiro.

Toushiro: "Why are you doing this?"

Kusaka didn't answer. He just pulled away and attacked again. Poor Toushiro was only defending himself. He was so confused and scared that he couldn't summon the strength to fight back. Kusaka kept swinging his sword at Toushiro, clearly using the boy's confusion to his advantage.

Kusaka: "What's wrong, Toushiro? Aren't you going to fight back?"

Toushiro: "Stop this, Kusaka! Please!"

With every attack, Toushiro was further injured. With every swing, his confusion grew. Their fight has now been going on for at least 3 minutes. With every clash of their swords, the likelihood of someone noticing grew. Toushiro's mind wavered for a moment. What if Vegeta noticed? The saiyan prince had a habit of just charging in at full speed and unleashing his anger out on anyone who was hurting Toushiro without second thought. But then, with his mind distracted, Toushiro sustained a vicious strike to the head! The young captain fell to the ground and then looked up at Kusaka as his vision began to get blurry.

Toushiro: "K-Kusaka..."

And Toushiro blacked out. Kusaka gazed down at the unconscious form in front of him. The fight had taken its toll on the young captain and he was injured. In the distance, Kusaka heard the distinctive sound of the alarm echoing though-out the Seireitei. The fight had indeed drawn the attention of the others. It wouldn't be long before a number of the 13 Court Guard Squads arrived. Working fast, Kusaka opened a Garganta, similar to a Senkaimon, to Hueco Mundo. But he wasn't going alone. The exiled Soul Reaper bent down and scooped Toushiro into his arms. He then carried the unconscious boy through the Garganta and into Hueco Mundo.

Kusaka: "This is for your own good."