Sequel to "Frosted Veil," this story will delve deeper into the bond and new powers of Toshiro Hitsugaya and Hyorinmaru. The whole thing is complete, just needs editing, so here's the first chapter and the others should be along shortly. I would love reviews for this story and the original. Enjoy.

Captain Kurotsuchi sat hunched over the large console in his lab. A strange reading had caught his eye and now he sat fully investigating the matter. A presence had been detected on his newly improved spiritual pressure monitor. It indicated a body exceeding captain rank entering the Seireitei but suppressing its power to disguise itself.

"Oh ho, I've got you now." he chuckled. He tracked it, but it was moving dangerously fast and his eyes kept losing it among the scrolling green numbers on the screen. Then it stopped– right outside the 12 division barracks. More slowly, it began moving again, to his lab. "Nemu!" he cried, rather alarmed now. He swivelled around and drew his zampakuto. "Nemu!"

"Master." her reply came from the shadows, he could only see half her face.

"Oh, there you are. Get ready, something is headed this way."

"Master..." she said again but the words trailed off, her head slumped forward and she emerged from the shadows, a silver glint in her abdomen. He realized at once that he had been tricked. The girl slid from the blade, broken, thudding dully to the floor. Kurotsuchi did not need to see the man, he knew him by the blade, a blade he'd studied much in the last year.

"Aizen. What brings you to the 12th division?"

"No time for idle chat Mayuri. I need your help." He took a step and disappeared before Kurotsuchi's eyes reappearing almost instantaneously at his back. Kyoka Suigetsu slipped effortlessly into his back and he felt dark pulses of energy entering him. "Now, I know your body is custom made, but this should do the trick." A few minutes later Kurotsuchi sat alone on the floor, blood seeping out the back of his robes, his head spinning. What am I doing? He thought to himself. I have important work to do with Toshiro Hitsugaya!

"Captain Hitsugaya!" The 10th division captain looked up from his stack of papers to face the messenger.

"Yes?"

"Sir, Captain Kurotsuchi requests to see you immediately. He's in the 12 division lab."

"Thank you." The messenger left. Hitsugaya stood up. "Matsumoto."

"Yes Captain?" she had been lounging on the couch lazily attempting to finish off some paper work."

"Care to take a break?"

"Of course Captain!" He'd been going easy on her ever since her injury and though it had well past healed in the last two months, she didn't mind playing it up. She did however, suspect (with some hints from Renji) that her captain had worried about her for so long while living in the past, that it was hard for him to stop now that everything was back to normal.

They dashed out of the office and through the courtyard. Hitsugaya set a fast pace: it was unusual to ever be summoned by Kurotsuchi, especially to his laboratory, so he was certain it must be urgent news. They tore though the squad 11 grounds, and landed at the entrance to squad 12. They were hastily escorted through the top corridors of the lab until they came to the central stair case leading down. Toshiro suppressed a shudder, he hated that place.

They were nearly at the bottom when Toshiro sensed something was wrong. He quickly found confirmation: Nemu's crumpled form on the floor.

"Nemu!" Rangiku cried.

"Ragniku wait!" His eyes fell past the still body of the girl to the hunched white form in the corner. Blood streamed freely down the back of captain Kurotsuchi. "Go back up for more help!" He commanded. She bit her lip looking at Nemu's motionless body and flashed away back up the stairs.

Toshiro quickly checked Nemu. No pulse, as he expected. The only one who could help her was her captain so he abandoned her side for the quavering figure in the corner.

"Captain Kurotsuchi, who did this? Can you move?" He lay a hand on the man's shoulder and tried to turn him around

"Toshiro Hitsugaya," Kurotsuchi whipped around in an instant. The boy-captain felt white hot pain in his stomach, and he froze in shock as warm blood spilled down the front of his robes. Kurotsuchi smiled at him, pulling the gold, three pronged blade out

and watching him slump, paralysed to the floor, "We have work to do."