Disclaimer: Bleach belongs to Tite Kubo. I am just playing in his sandbox.
Prologue:
The icy winds blew harshly, whipping the thin, tattered kimono around his lean body. He breathed in deeply, emptying his mind as he settled into the familiarity of his inner world, feeling the cold, yet comforting physical manifestation of his blade come to rest beside him.
Neither master nor blade said a word, for they hardly ever needed words to communicate now. Both revelled in the familiar presence of the other at the moment. This was their time to connect again before they started their training for the day.
"Master, someone is headed your way." The low rumbling voice of his blade broke the silence, startling him a little, and making him frown. This was an unprecedented break in the schedule that his guards kept, and he could not help but feel a hint of trepidation.
Nodding an acknowledgement and thanks, he quickly withdrew from his inner world.
The first thing he became aware of was the soft clicking sound of the locks disengaging and the heavy metal door swinging open slowly. Alert, not to mention wary and apprehensive – the guards usually had the most annoying habit of announcing their presence by throwing the heavy metal door open with a resounding crash – he quickly rose from his cross-legged position on the mattress and got his back against the wall, muscles tense, ready to fight if necessary, regardless of how futile his previous efforts had proved to be.
Teal eyes narrowed as the two figures stepped into the room, the light from the corridor casting their faces into shadow, making it impossible for him to make out who they were. There was no mistaking, however, the Shinigami Vice-Captain badge tied around the left arm of one of the figures and the distinctive black garb of the Shinigami.
"Toshiro!" The voice of Kurosaki Ichigo was unmistakable, and Hitsugaya found relief flooding through him, and quickly suppressed the feeling, not relaxing his stance in the slightest. He had one too many disasters with illusions to let his guard down now.
"Captain Hitsugaya," Kuchiki Rukia greeted him, before touching the headset she had clipped onto her left ear. "We've found Captain Hitsugaya, I repeat, we have located Captain Hitsugaya. Location: Corridor 10, Sub-Level 3."
Ichigo levelled his gaze on Rukia, and there seemed to be a bout of silent communication before she shook her head slightly.
"Damn," Ichigo cursed, worry and annoyance flashing across his face. Rukia laid a staying hand on his arm, stopping him before he could rush out of the cell and inclined her head towards Hitsugaya, who had yet to respond or move from his defensive position against the wall and was watching them with a guarded expression.
"Captain Hitsugaya?" Rukia's violet gaze probed his cold, impassive teal gaze. "Captain Hitsugaya, do you recognize me?"
Hitsugaya suppressed a flash of irritation. Of course he recognized her. The problem was in figuring out whether she was the genuine article or an illusion. He nodded sharply to her query.
"Captain Hitsugaya," she repeated, her voice low and calm, "we are under the Head-Captain's orders to retrieve you from this dangai pocket dimension and bring you back to the Soul Society. Please stand down and come with us."
Forcing himself not to react to the flicker of hope that had blossomed in his chest, Hitsugaya allowed the glimmer of suspicion to enter into his eyes.
"We don't have time for this, Rukia!" Ichigo hissed fiercely, frustration colouring his tone. He looked ready to bolt from the cell. Quick reflexes honed from years of battle allowed him to dodge the elbow that was aiming a wicked jab to his abdomen.
"We need him to come with us, idiot!"
"Well, I need to find my –"
"Momo." Hitsugaya's voice, deepened and raspy from the lack of use startled both parties out of an imminent explosion of tempers. He had seen these petty arguments before and was not interested in a repeat performance. All that mattered to him was the knowledge of Momo's current status. He met both their gazes levelly and spoke again, forcefully. "Have you found Momo?"
Both of them looked surprised and confused at the question. Hitsugaya frowned inwardly. He had been perfectly coherent, hadn't he? What kind of reaction was that? "Well?" he barked, annoyed at the reaction and lack of answer.
A burst of static from Rukia's headset distracted them before Hitsugaya could get an answer.
"Rukia! We found her. Meet you at the rendezvous point in five."
"Got it. Thanks, Renji. Over and out."
Ichigo visibly sagged in relief and Hitsugaya's stance relaxed a little even as he wondered at the Subtitute Soul Reaper's odd reaction. He did not remember Momo and Ichigo being close enough friends for him to have that sort of reaction. "They've found Momo? How is she?"
"She is doing well, as far as I know," was Rukia's vague answer and Hitsugaya could have snarled at her in frustration. That was not the reassurance he was looking for and the petite Shinigami knew it.
"Take me to her."
Ichigo and Rukia exchanged glances and yet another bout of silent communication that had Hitsugaya gritting his teeth angrily. Only years of acquired self-control prevented him from spitting out a biting retort at their obvious subterfuge.
Finally, Rukia looked at him again and nodded. "If you'll follow us, Captain Hitsugaya, we have your blade waiting for you."
Hitsugaya gave a curt nod and gestured for them to lead the way. He still did not trust them enough to have his back to them, not when they were keeping information from him.
The two Shinigami exchanged glances again, before Ichigo nodded, turned and left the cell, with Rukia following close behind. Satisfied that they had complied with at least that, Hitsugaya straightened and, without a backward glance towards the cell that had been his prison for months, marched out behind them.
They made their way through short, dimly lit corridors, some with doors that had been thrown open, revealing dark chambers, eventually reaching a wide, open space where a Senkaimon was open and waiting.
"Captain Hitsugaya," Abarai Renji greeted, and Hitsugaya could only make out a slight, dark-haired figure cradled in his arms before he turned and entered the open portal.
"After you, Captain Hitsugaya," Rukia said, as Ichigo ignored the both of them and hurried after Renji.
Hitsugaya nodded and once the Hell Butterfly guide fluttered above him, stepped into the Senkaimon, and out into the... brightly lit underground basement of Urahara's Candy Shop? He frowned. Shouldn't they be headed back to the Soul Society? What were they doing at Urahara's?
"Shiro!" an all too familiar voice rang out and then he was holding on to a peach-scented, dark-haired female as she clung to him and wept into his chest.
"Momo?" Stunned, he searched the people gathered in front of the gate for the unconscious girl that he had seen Abarai holding moments before. If Momo was crying in his arms, then who was the girl Abarai had rescued along with him?
A sense of unease creeped up unto him, even as he patted Momo's back in an absentminded gesture of comfort. Abarai was carefully transferring the girl into Ichigo's arms now, and her dark, long hair covered her face, making it impossible to discern her identity. However, Ichigo's gaze was uncharacteristically soft as he looked at her unconscious figure, and Kurosaki Isshin, his father, was now hovering worriedly next to them, with the Vice-Captain of the Fourth Division, Kotetsu Isane, standing over to the side, waiting for them to allow her access to the girl for medical treatment.
Kotetsu finally managed to persuade father and son to make their way to the tent where a makeshift healing bay had been set up and Ichigo carefully lay the girl down on a futon.
Hitsugaya's heart pounded in his ears as he reached a conclusion on the identity of the girl. There was only one dark-haired girl that could make both Isshin and Ichigo worry like that, and as Isshin gently brushed back her dark locks, revealing her face, Hitsugaya felt his heart drop.
For the girl whom he had been incarcerated with, whom he had been forced to commit unspeakable horrors to, was not Hinamori Momo – it was Kurosaki Karin.