Chapter 3: Unwelcome Memories

As they broke through the barrier between the two dimensions, each officer dropped to the roof of a tall granite building overlooking Karakura Town. "Not much has changed, has it?" Renji stated.

Many nodded and murmured in agreement. Others looked around in curiosity and caution, having not been there. Toushirou closed his eyes and breathed in the hot air. Great…summertime. He thought to himself. Oh well, at least we return to Soul Society in a few days.

The humidity was mildly irritating and the hot breeze succeeded in putting him in a testy mood. He had to admit that the night sky was quite breathtaking though. The bright yellows and whites of the billions of little stars dancing and twinkling as they swam around in the sea of navy and cobalt evoked memories that Toushirou could do nothing but push away and shake off for the sake of the mission. He couldn't afford to get all emotional staring at the lunar phenomena.

He shuddered as he shook the memories and thoughts from his mind and fell in step beside his Vice Captain, watching as the fiery red head of Renji bobbed in front of him, an unspoken taunt to they young white-haired captain's lack of height. In truth he had grown considerably, but he couldn't hope to surpass Renji by any means. Renji was a monster of a man, standing at 6'4", as anyone could see in the height difference between him and his walking partner Rukia. Toushirou knew better than to ever get his hopes up to come anywhere near matching heights with that Soul Reaper. He supposed that he could settle for his current 5'7" as it was a considerable change from his previous 5'2". Though he at least hope to catch up to Rangiku's 5'9" sooner than later, even though he knew that he was significantly younger than everyone in this group.

Toushirou had come to terms with the fact that he would never be considered 'tall' or 'built'. He knew that he would never have broad shoulders or an extremely masculine body. If he kept his fingers crossed he might begin to look closer to his age. Though by the time that happened it wouldn't be beneficial to look his age any longer. For the time being he was a seasoned warrior stuck inside a teenage body for God knows how long.

As he concluded his thoughts, he noticed that the group was surprisingly quiet. He turned subtly to his Vice Captain and inquired, "Why is everyone so quiet? It's not as if we could be seen or heard by anyone else walking these streets? Our soul pagers would be going crazy if there was danger around, so why the silence? Shouldn't you all be carrying on about something or another?"

Matsumoto grinned and rolled her eyes. "If you weren't so lost in your own thoughts you would realize what the problem was. Check the weather."

Toushirou diverted his attention to his senses and blushed slightly as he noticed a considerable difference in temperature surrounding the group. "Oops…" he said, not being able to think of anything else to say.

"Why do you care so much that we are quiet? Any other time you would be ordering it or begging for it."

Toushirou sighed and ran a hand through his hair as he looked back up at the sky and replied in a soft, but convicted tone, "When you're quiet I can hear my own thoughts. I can't afford to do that now."

Rangiku frowned for a moment before turning back to her captain. "What has you so concentrated on edge anyway?"

Toushirou breathed a heavy breath and closed his eyes for a moment as he shuddered once more at thoughts that were anything but what he needed right now. "Just unwelcome memories…" he whispered more to himself than to her.

She heard him nonetheless and, knowingly, she nodded and sighed as she tapped Rukia on the shoulder and proceeded to clear the air around them. Toushirou made a mental note to thank her later as they reached their division point.

As the light post came into view, Renji, Yoruichi, and Izuru were already discussing the directions to Urahara's shop and Rukia was pointing the way to the Kurosaki residence. Yoruichi, the designated leader of the group, pulled to the forefront, "Okay all, this is where we part. We're all going meet at Urahara's shop tomorrow at 3:00p.m. Don't be late for any reason other than a Hollow attack. Don't forget to report in to Seiretei at midnight in two hours. Captain Hitsugaya, I'll page you when we arrive at the shop, you page me when you arrive at the Kurosaki's. Be safe everyone."

And with that, her group turned and began to follow her down the dimly lit road.

As Toushirou realized that it was his turn to make announcements, he breathed a sigh and turned to the awaiting faces. "Okay, we're going to the Kurosaki's. You are all aware that Isshin, Ichigo's father is a former captain of my squad, the 10th Division. Furthermore, You know the reasons for summoning Ichigo. Kuchiki, you'll break the news, let him down gently, and explain it to him. Matsumoto, you will handle the siblings. I'll explain it to Former Captain Kurosaki. Then I'll do my private favor for Yamamoto and we will find a place to sleep for the night, checking in with the Seiretei at midnight. Any questions?"

Heads shook in reply as Toushirou turned to lead the way to the Kurosaki residence. This is going to be a long night.