A/N: Here's Chapter 2. Reviews please?

Enjoy!

Last Time:

His eyes began to flicker and the last thing he heard was his annoying lieutenant screaming, "Taicho!" before he blacked out.

He suddenly found himself in a dark, quiet world, where there seemed to be no one but himself. Am I dying? He wondered, and then allowed himself a small laugh. What a stupid thought. If he died, wasn't he supposed to be reborn? But something was nagging him. He walked in the utter darkness for some time, not really sure where he was going or what he was doing. A sudden burst of energy surprised him. Looking up, he saw woman dressed in flowing black robes walk towards him, a black swallowtail butterfly fluttering along, and both seemed to be outlined in a soft glowing white light, illuminating her face. He looked on with a confused expression, then opened his mouth to speak, but the strange lady beat him to it.

"You are Hitsugaya Toshiro, right?" Her voice was smooth and kind, yet they seemed to reflect a thousand years of wisdom, and had a ring of harshness to it.

"Who are you?" he asked, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. He reached back before realizing that his trusty sword wasn't there. Craning his neck back, Hitsugaya saw that the sheath was gone. Toshiro swung his head to face the stranger, who was holding the turquoise sheath in her hands, running them along the smooth, glistening surface.

"This is useless without the blade, which is the heart, is it not?" she inquired, tilting her head a bit.

Toshiro was very quiet, silently dreading what was going to come next. The woman spoke again. "I can grant your wish, for a price." Or not.

"What price?" Maybe there really was a way to get Hyourinmaru back.

"A zanpakuto is simply an extension of its wielder's soul, correct? Put simply, to gain something very important, you must lose something of the same value."

The captain grit his teeth. His intuition warned him that something bad was going to happen.

"Your…your memories. Your memories of Hyourinmaru. That will be the price."

Toshiro's eyes widened. "You can't be serious! Then…" he faltered for a moment, then met the strange woman's eyes. They were hard and unwavering, yet they also held some pity and kindness. Toshiro clenched his hands tight. "Is there any other way?" He asked desperately. Toshiro didn't want to finally get his soul companion back, just to find out that he didn't recall him at all. The woman shook her head. The captain went quiet again, his white haori swaying in a soft, strange breeze that had entered the dark void. He could hear someone calling his name, but the voice was too faint to make out. It was familiar somehow, and it urged him to make a decision. Not that he liked the choices.

"All right," he decided. "All right, I'll do it. But…but will I remember him in time?"

"If your bond is strong enough to break the spell. Will you?" A small smile graced her face, as if she was implying, yes, yes you can and yes you will.

"Yes I will," he said with difficulty.

She began to walk away, slowly fading into the folds of darkness.

Toshiro was content to let her go until a sudden thought struck him hard. "Wait!" the captain suddenly called, reaching out. "Wait! You haven't told me your name yet!"

The lady stopped and turned, a mysterious smile on her face once more. "Names are powerful things, little one." As she left, another gentle breeze blew through, and as Toshiro's vision began to flicker, he heard a whisper, The Witch of Dimensions. The Wish Granter, before everything disappeared.

FIN Chapter 2