Finally got this up. Glad? To the readers of the first version, have you been thinking of good names for this? Because I still have nothing...
Notes: I'm posting the parts I've already written based on the number of reviews.
Prologue
"All captains and vice-captains, report to the northern gate."
No…
"There have been a number of arrancar spotted. It has been determined that two of these are of espada level."
Not again…
"Taicho! We have to go!"
I won't…
"Call for the Forth Squad! Hurry!"
I won't do it…
"You!"
I can't…
A hand outstretched, pale against the blood splattered over the ground.
…but I have to…
He, in turn, stretched out his hand, and placed it in the other's.
I don't have a choice…
The grin on the other's face, if possible, grew even larger.
Matsumoto…
He heard the shocked exclamations from the other shinigami.
Hinamori…
The shock wore off quickly, to be replaced with screams of outrage.
Everyone…
"Why?" He turned at the loudest voice, trying not to let her see the pain in his eyes, while really wanting her to. Wanting her to understand, to forgive him. But she couldn't understand. She couldn't know. It would drag her into this bottomless pit of hell as well.
Please…
"Let's go." He turned and, though no one else could see it, at that moment, the life left his eyes. This was it. There was no turning back now.
Forgive me…
As the portal closed around him, he allowed himself one last look at Seiretei. At the blood coating the floor. The blood of his friends, his subordinates. And at the look on his vice-captain's face, one of pain and shock. Her eyes were searching his, looking for an answer. He turned his back on those eyes, and didn't look back again.
Goodbye.
Part I
Hitsugaya sighed, lying down on his back. It had been almost a month and a half since then. So why couldn't he forget?
He already knew the answer to that, of course. What he really couldn't forget was the look on Matsumoto's face, the betrayal shining in her eyes as tears that she refused to shed.
At least the dreams weren't coming every night now. He probably would have lost his mind during that first week if it weren't for knowing that this would save many shinigami's lives. At least his suffering was balancing the scales of power a bit. Though, of course, not nearly enough.
He sighed again, rolling onto his side. Aizen would be calling for him in a few hours, and it would be best for him to be fully alert; he was, after all, in enemy territory, and most of the arrancar didn't seem to trust him yet. Those particular arrancar appeared to be much smarter than Aizen in that particular matter. Smirking at the thought, he let himself sub come to sleep, and didn't dream for the rest of the night.
ooo
Ichigo was woken very early the next morning by the usual shouts of "GOOOOOD MOOOOOOORNING, ICHIGOOOOOO~!" by his father and, after beating him to the floor, went down to the kitchen.
"Good morning, Ichigo," his younger sister Yuzu chirped, ever the chipper one. His other sister, Karin, just grunted something that vaguely resembled a "Morning." She was reading a book about soccer, which she just managed to lift in time to avoid it being chucked out the window alongside the food as their father slid across the table; Ichigo had dodged his second attack.
"Now what are we supposed to eat?" snarled Karin, slamming her book down on the table. Ichigo, sensing danger, took this as his cue to slip out of the house.
Once he got out of the house, he sighed. This was ten minutes before he usually left. Ok, two choices… One: go back and wait. A well-timed crashed, followed by a howl of pain, however, decided for him. Ok, to school it is.
ooo
Matsumoto groaned and threw her arm over her eyes when dawn ambushed them. She rolled over, trying to remember the dream she had been having. It was such a good dream. There was someone in it, and she had been so happy to see them. But why…?
Her eyes widened, and she shot up. Had… had she just been dreaming about Toushiro Hitsugaya?
ooo
Hitsugaya was woken rather rudely at dawn by a pounding on his door. He groaned, struggling to sit up.
"What is it?"
"Lord Aizen requests your presence immediately."
"Very well. Tell him I'm coming."
"Yes, sir."
He sighed. This was going to be a long day.
ooo
Ichigo sighed. Compared to his second life as a substitute shinigami, school was indescribably mundane. He caught himself, as had become habit lately, staring out of the window. And, as expected, his thoughts drifted once again right to one Toushiro Hitsugaya.
Why had he abandoned Soul Society? Ichigo didn't know, but he had the strangest feeling that not all was as it seemed. He, of course, kept this to himself. As he was obviously fond of the short ex-captain, no one in Soul Society would believe a word he said on the matter, and would most likely take their frustration out on him.
He sighed again, this time out of sadness. He had trusted Toushiro, helped him get his name cleared during Kusaka's would-be revenge on Seiretei. How could Toushiro have just thrown that away? How could he just forget about that, and turn his back on them? There were so many questions surrounding Hitsugaya's betrayal, and nowhere near enough answers…
"Kurosaki! Pay attention!" His eyes snapped back to the teacher, aware that everyone else's eyes were on him. The teacher, seeming satisfied, turned back to the blackboard.
"Kurosaki, I'd like to talk to you after class." He glanced sideways to see Orihime looking at him sadly. She, too, had obviously been thinking about Hitsugaya. It was no secret that Orihime was good friends with Matsumoto Rangiku, and therefore was worried sick over her friend, as well as Matsumoto's small ex-captain. They both turned back to the blackboard, and Ichigo sighed, out of boredom again.
He busied himself in writing down every word the teacher said the rest of the period, and successfully distracted himself.
Mostly.
ooo
The voices echoed around the chamber, merging together. It was disorienting. Just as the boy was feeling nauseous, they abruptly stopped. He waited, but they remained silent.
The silence was pressing in on his eardrums, and he could hear the blood pounding in his ears. He longed to say something, to break the silence, but he couldn't open his mouth. He was frozen in place. Frozen with terror at what he knew was coming. Any second, they were going to say it… his death sentence.
Only one thought went through his head, playing over and over until he was all but saying it out loud.
They know.
Of course they knew. How could they not?
And after all that trouble I went through, it seems they still found out. What a waste.
After what seemed like an eternity, but was in truth only a few seconds, he heard one of the shadows take a breath. He waited, still frozen, for what he knew was coming…
And stared in shock when it didn't.
"Hitsugaya Toushiro, you have been called here for a reason of utmost importance."
"It seems that Aizen has taken an interest in you."
"Of course; he would truly be a fool to not."
"Silence!"
The shadows immediately quieted themselves. It seemed that this particular voice held more power than the rest.
"As I was saying, the traitor Aizen seems to have taken an interest in you. Now tell me, how can we use this to our advantage?"
The voice didn't give him time to answer, let alone think before it continued.
"Hitsugaya Toushiro, Captain of the Tenth Squad of the Gotei Thirteen Protection Squads. We have a special mission for you."
His muscles were burning from being tensed so long, but he didn't care. All his attention was on what the voice said next. His future…
What he heard next sent him to his knees. He heard a dragon growl in the back of his mind, but ignored it.
Even as he protested, he knew there was nothing he could do. No one could defy the Central 46.
No one.
'Get up'
I can't…
'Yes you can! You're stronger than this! Or did I overestimate you?'
Hyourinmaru…
And so he stood, with head held high, as his world fell apart around him.
ooo
The small white-haired boy gagged, tasting iron in his mouth.
Blood.
And, with an odd feeling of de ja vu, repeated the same thing over and over in his mind.
They knew.
He looked down in horror at the tip of a zanpaktou protruding from his chest where it had ripped through him. Felt the searing pain from below his right shoulder blade where it had entered his flesh.
They knew from the start.
He looked up into the cold, cruel eyes of Aizen, which danced with pitiless humor.
They've been toying with me since I first stepped foot here.
He turned his head slowly to follow the path of the blade. At the end, he could see a pale, bony hand. He didn't need to see the owner's face. He knew who it was.
This was just a trap. A game.
His vision was beginning to darken, and he struggled to hold on.
And I walked right into it.
His body was starting to go numb, and he fought the strong desire to let go. To slip away and not have to feel this agony anymore.
I'm such a fool…
The blade receded, and his knees buckled, unable to support him anymore. His palms hit the cold, hard floor with an echoing smack. He didn't even have the strength to lift his head.
His body swayed, and he heard a sickening crunch when his head hit the floor. He felt something warm and wet trickle through his hair, heading toward the floor. His head was bleeding.
That's not good. He thought vaguely. He could see a pair of feet walk to him and stop, but his vision was so blurry that he could hardly make out what it was.
A sharp kick to the gut sent him sliding across the floor, leaving a streak of blood as he went. He gasped for the lost air, vision going completely black.
He could hear voices, the voices of the two tormenters, but it sounded like his ears were stuffed with cotton, and he couldn't make out what they said.
A dragon roared in the back of his mind, but even it sounded muffled and distant.
The next second he was picked up roughly and slung over someone's shoulder. He felt them move and start walking, heard them converse with a few others.
Somewhere along the way he must have finally passed out, because the next thing he knew he was thrown roughly into what appeared to be a cell. He winced as the dirt and filth got into his shoulder wound.
He heard the door close, the loud click of the lock, before he finally gave in and slipped into unconsciousness, body finally giving out.
ooo
When the boy awoke, he was laying in a pool of dark black. After a moment, he realized it was blood. It had apparently been sitting there a long time for it to turn black, and parts of it were starting to peel.
He looked around in confusion. Where was he?
The room he was in was almost completely black, but for the tiny slivers of light that slid from around the door. It took his eyes a moment to adjust.
He was in a small square room. The corners appeared to have been subjected to water damage, and there was what looked to be a green mold growing there. There were no furnishings in the room, and he saw the dim outline of chains hanging from the ceiling.
He blinked. Why was he here? What happened?
'Child… have you forgotten me?'
Wh-who are you?
He heard an irritated growl. It didn't seem to be coming from the room. It seemed, strangely enough, to be coming from inside him.
'Have you forgotten yourself?'
What do you mean?
'What is my name?'
I-I don't know…
'Listen closely. My name is-'
An unearthly shriek drown out the voice. The boy clutched his head, crying out against the pain ripping through his skull.
I can't hear you!
'Remember, little one…'
Please, come back!
'I will do what I can to help you, but you must call on me.'
How do I do that? Wait! Don't leave me!
The boy gasped, sitting down with his back to the wall and pulling his knees to his chest, careful to avoid the strange injury that went through his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around his legs and buried his face in his knees.
He felt so alone, and that scared him. Something, some unknown part of him, told him that he should be angry, to try and break out of here and make whoever did this to him pay. The thing was, he didn't know where "here" was, or who did this to him.
The small room was suddenly filled with light, and he looked up, squinting to see who it was.
The man standing in the doorway was tall and lanky, with silver-white hair. His eyes were closed, and he had such a wide grin on that the boy wondered why his face didn't split in half. The boy was immediately reminded of a fox, and his senses were on high alert.
"Who are you?"
The man stopped, before grinning even wider and tilting his head to the side, much like a puppy regarding a small animal.
"Why, don' 'cha 'member me, Shiro-chan?"
"Who are you?" he demanded again, much firmer. Something about this man didn't sit right with him, and he intended to find out what.
"Well, this is cert'inly interestin'" he turned on his heels and started walking out the door.
"Hey! Answer me!"
The man paused, as though contemplating whether or not to answer. After a few seconds, he turned back around, still grinning widely, "M' name's Ichimaru Gin," and turned around, walking out and locking the door behind him, shutting out the small glimpse of freedom that lay beyond the dark, mold-smelling room.
The boy lay his head back down so only his eyes were showing, and stared at the wall, not really seeing it.
This is the part I'm not the happiest with... oh well.