Author's Notes: Oh god are we happy for all the reviews we've received this far, you guys rock! Thanks a lot because it's really fun to see that people are enjoying our first real multi-chapter attempt, your support means a lot! And now, a new chapter is done! Flashbacks in this one, enjoy and don't forget to review please!

DISCLAIMER: We (sadly) don't own Bleach.

Day 4

"Alright, this is a Hollow extermination mission. Apparently, the Arrancar's preparations for battle is affecting the Hollows of Hueco Mundo, causing them to visit the real world more frequently. Because of this, we are meant to carry out our duty as Shinigami and take care of them. Use this mission as an opportunity to train and don't let your guard down. Got it?" Hitsugaya instructed in front of the Senkai Gate in Soul Society.

Matsumoto Rangiku, Kuchiki Rukia, Abarai Renji and Hisagi Shuuhei were the officers meant to go with him since the Hollow attacks had been increasing in strength and Kurosaki Ichigo wouldn't be able to protect all of Karakura Town at this rate. All of them nodded in agreement.

"Captain, if we get this over with quickly, do we get free time in the real world?" Matsumoto asked, her excitement radiating from her pale blue eyes.

"Matsumoto, this is no field trip. It's a mission so stay focused!" He hissed, unable to comprehend how many times she had asked that very question and how many times he had answered in an annoyed tone.

"But Captain-!" She whined instantly.

"No buts!" He interrupted her with authority in his voice. Why had he chosen her as his vice-captain to begin with? He found himself unable to recall the reason sometimes yet let his irritation slip away as the Senkai Gate opened.

"Okay, let's go." He mumbled and was the first one to take a step inside, accompanied by a Hell Butterfly.

Hitsugaya managed to take a total of five steps inside the Severing World before the Senkai Gate slid shut behind him, hindering Matsumoto and the others from entering.

"What the-"

"Captain!" Matsumoto's voice could be heard from the other side.

"It won't budge!" Hisagi exclaimed, Hitsugaya could imagine Hisagi and Renji pulling the door handle with all their might and he made a try to help from the inside but nothing happened. The door wasn't moving an inch.

Just what is going on?

"How come it closed?" Rukia said, perplexed.

"I have no idea..." Hitsugaya's voice trailed off as Hyourinmaru stirred, that was usually a warning and the young Captain sharpened his senses, something seemed to be lurking there.

"Captain, what's wrong?" Matsumoto demanded to know and joined Hisagi and Renji in an attempt to get the door opened.

"I'm not sure, there might be something wrong in here." He mumbled. "I'll try to reach the real world, you report this to the 12th Division. I'll contact you once I get through."

"Captain Hitsugaya, please be careful. We don't know what this means." Hisagi said, none of them doubted the Captain's fighting or analysis ability but the fact that Senkai Gate closed all of a sudden was unnerving.

"I'll contact you later." With that goodbye phrase Hitsugaya started to run through the tunnel, all of his keen senses at maximum alert and one hand ready at Hyourinmaru's hilt. He had run a 100 meters when an eerie sound made him stop in his tracks in order to listen carefully.

Slowly it got closer, only to soon gain in speed, a grinding sound that sent shivers down his spine.

Realizing what the sound was he broke off into sprint again and quickly glanced over his shoulder.

The Cleaner was operational and it chased him with greater speed than he could ever recall it using.

If that hits me, I'll be erased from existence! Hitsugaya tried to conjure up a plan as he ran as fast as his legs would allow him without the aid of shunpo. He could see the light of the exit another 100 meters away, perhaps he wasn't completely doomed.

The grinding sound got louder and a quick glance backwards revealed that it was gaining on him, far too fast for him to be able to outrun it or reach the exit in time. Hastily Hitsugaya drew Hyourinmaru, slashing the Cleaner in order to make it stop temporarily if possible.

His attack stopped the device in its tracks, he could hear its engine overworking in order to get forward but Hyourinmaru's might and ice kept it held in place. He felt lucky that all of the current wasn't operational yet because he probably would have been captured by it if it had been.

When he started to think that he might get away without a scratch, a big tube appeared next to the golden eye upon the machine's head. He quickly switched to an retreating strategy once more, yet the air inside the Severing World was suddenly filled with a weird smell, a fragrance of death. His mind was getting foggy, his vision blocked by a cloud of purple smoke about the same colour as Kurotsuchi's Zanpakutou Ashisogi Jizou.

Coughing he tried to keep running, the sound of cracking ice filling his ears together with the grinding sound that told him the Cleaner had managed to break free.

A hard thud suddenly sent his body tumbling through nothingness like a ragdoll.

When he started to regain his senses he was falling towards the ground of a small alley in Karakura Town, only a few foot above the ground.


Hitsugaya hastily opened his eyes, panting slightly from the dream and winching at the pain that shot through his arm. It didn't really feel like it had been a dream, it was more like a memory than anything else and it gave him a perplexed feeling inside.

If his dream was correct then that would explain why the Senkai Gate had been closed if the Cleaner attacked people.

But why had it assaulted him in the first place? He had sent information to the 12th Squad about their departure and usually the Cleaner was only operational when it was supposed to clear out unwanted intruders inside the Severing World.

Had it reacted to his reiatsu? How could that be possible if the 12th Squad were supposed to keep it in check when they knew that his group was going to enter? Plus, his Hell Butterfly should have completely eliminated the risk of the Cleaner charging.

It didn't make any sense to the young Captain, sure he knew that the Severing World could get unstable from time to time but hearing of the Cleaner going haywire and releasing weird smoke was definitely a first.

Hitsugaya sighed quietly which made his throat hurt, he couldn't help but feel a little disappointed when he saw that the glass of water next to the couch was empty. His teal eyes found the figure of Ichigo sleeping with his arm on the living room table and his head resting in his palm, a few drips of drool was traveling down his chin. He also had a blanket over his shoulders.

Perhaps it's better to let him sleep. Hitsugaya figured and slowly got up from the sofa, he felt like he really needed to drink something cold, or his body would soon burn up. His arm was of course cursing him with its outstanding pain as well and in his weakened state he couldn't help but hiss through gritted teeth.

His sluggish pace made it take a while before he got to the kitchen and found a clean glass in a cupboard and filled it with fresh cool water from the tap. He didn't really notice that the tap took on a slightly frosty appearance when he turned it on, the water freezing inside it when he turned it off. Hitsugaya gulped the water down in one go and glanced out the window, now snow had built up in front of it so seeing the scenery proved pretty much impossible.

It's been snowing that much? He thought, slightly absentminded and put away the glass at the counter. He wandered into the living room, slowly realizing how nice the cold felt against his burning skin.

Ichigo shivered and woke up, surprised at the low temperature in the room, cool mist and a pile of snow gathering in the corners. What surprised him the most though, was that it was all originating from Hitsugaya. The boy's reiatsu was filling up the room, making it feel as chill as a freezer.

"Toushirou?" He asked quietly, the young Captain's turquoise eyes slightly widened as his sluggish mind took in the image of the room at the sound of Ichigo's voice.

"What... the hell?" Was his reiatsu doing this? He wasn't even noticing it until now but there wasn't really any other explanation.

"Hey Toushirou, it's okay. Could you suppress it a bit?" Ichigo asked gently, making Hitsugaya agitated wouldn't really help and Ichigo tried to keep the worry out of his voice but in reality, if Hitsugaya wouldn't stop his reiatsu from slipping out like that soon he would probably freeze everything, perhaps even himself.

"Am I... doing this?" Hitsugaya couldn't believe it, this reminded him of how he had almost freezed his grandma to death in Rukongai, when he had been sleeping. Now he was awake, maybe not at the top of his awareness but he noticed it now, his reiatsu was slipping out, a lot of it as well. Worst of all, he couldn't seem to make it stop. It was out of his control, forcing its way out of his damaged body.

"I... I..." The words stuttered, confusion creeping into them like venom through a open wound. "I can't make it stop..."

Ichigo's eyes widened and he quickly got up from where he had been sitting on the cold floor, carefully putting a reassuring hand upon Hitsugaya's shoulder but the warmth that radiated off the ice-wielder's body quickly made him withdraw it. Hitsugaya's body was on the verge of burning up while his reiatsu was making the room freeze over.

"This doesn't make any sense! Come on, you can suppress at least a little, right?"

"I can't!" Hitsugaya roared, icicles forming at Ichigo's fingertips as he cried.

Hitsugaya was struggling to hold his own reiatsu back but it was like hitting a wall with a pillow in order to break it down, it seemed futile.

What's going on? Hyourinmaru! Even though he practically shouted inside his mind, the dragon didn't reply which just made Hitsugaya even more shocked and – he would never really admit it, scared.

All of a sudden, the environment shifted in front of his teal eyes, the staircase and most of the rooms disappeared as the house seemed to shrink in front of him, the structure of the walls slowly turned to wood as if time went backwards. Ichigo's presence faded and three figures appeared before him.


A small boy with white hair, almost to the edge of his tiny shoulders shivered beneath a thin blanket on the floor. His turquoise eyes were watery and reflected emotional as well as psychical pain in his flushed face. His breathing was quick, sounding a lot like strained gasping and his left arm laid motionless at his side, clothed in a bloody bandage and with one of the bone-pipes sticking out, the wound had clearly been infected.

A thin, gentle hand placed a wet cloth upon the boy's burning forehead, a white dog sat beside the sick boy, quietly whining at its master's weak state.

"Sorry Shirou-chan..." The boy croaked faintly, pain accompanying every word. "I don't think... I can play today."

The dog wiggled its tail at him and barked once, as if it understood the boy and wanted to reassure him that it was okay.

The hand that had placed the cloth on the child's forehead carefully brushed the bush of white hair.

"It's okay Toushirou, don't talk." The hand's owner said quietly. "You'll be fine in no time. Then you and Shirou can play outside again."

A faint smile resided on the white-haired boy's face as he nodded, he was looking forward to that.

"Nii-chan... is it still snowing?" He whispered after a few minutes of silence.

The figure beside the bed slowly got up and walked over to the window with a small hole in it in another room.

"Yes, it's snowing." The older brother informed when he sat down alongside the boy again.

"You really like snow, don't you Toushirou?"

"Yeah, it's so pretty..." His weak voice broke out into a cough that made his small body shake violently.

Finally, the fit passed, making the boy collapse, breathing heavily as he tried to fill his hurting lungs. His beautiful, yet tired turquoise eyes rolled, and his breath caught in his throat every time he tried to take air in.

The man beside him glanced sadly upon the tormented frame of his little brother before he helped him sit up in order to drink a little water, the boy gulped it down slowly, some of it escaped from his mouth and flowed down his chin. His head slumped towards his bigger brother's chest, he could clearly hear the other's heartbeat beneath his ear. The man let him sit like that for a while before he carefully put him down again.

"It'll be alright Toushirou, just try to get some sleep." He whispered gently, brushing away a few stray strands of hair from the teal eyes yet his calm voice seemed strained, Toushirou could hear that much.

"Nii-chan, we'll always be together right?" He whispered affectionately, his voice raspy from the coughing.

Shirou, the dog licked the boy's flushed face.

"Toushirou... of course we will. I promise." His older brother said, his voice thick with tears that Toushirou couldn't see, his mind fading from the realm of consciousness.

"Just rest, Toushirou." His brother begged, but Toushirou barely heard it.

Darkness had descended upon the tiny white-haired boy, claimed his flickering life for its own.

Shirou howled through the night.


Ichigo was on the verge of slapping Hitsugaya in order to bring him back to reality, the boy was just standing there, watching something in the distance that Ichigo couldn't see with turquoise eyes devoid of almost all emotion, just chock was markable in his young, currently red face. His reiatsu was still slipping out, every breath became a visible cloud of smoke in the chill.

Ichigo was starting to feel desperate, he had no idea what was going on.

"Toushirou? Answer me!" He received no response and found no other way than to try to slap him awake since shaking him seemed hopeless but Ichigo froze his hand inches from Hitsugaya's face, chock taking its place among his confusion.

A single tear was travelling down the ice-wielder's cheek, turning to steam before it reached the edge of his chin.

Hitsugaya blinked with a expression that Ichigo had never seen upon the small Captain's face before, a grimace of incredible sadness and sorrow etched into the lines of his fever-ridden face, making him look at least twenty years older.

"Toushirou, what's wrong?" Ichigo almost shouted in worry. Hitsugaya opened his mouth and was trying to say something but the words wouldn't come, they caught in his throat, refusing to be revealed. Ichigo had his hands on the small Captain's shoulders and was slowly leading him to the sofa, the same spot where...

...Where I died.

Hitsugaya's head was spinning, whatever he had seen, it was tugging at his heart and somehow, he knew it was true. How it could be or why he was able to remember it was irrelevant, he just knew it was the truth of how he had died.

"I... can't believe it..." He whispered weakly.

Sudden pain embraced all of his body and mind, it felt like it was piercing his inner being with a thousand blades, all from different angles but each one of them aiming for his heart.

Hitsugaya didn't even have time to scream out his agony before he passed out, falling to the floor before Ichigo managed to catch him.

The desperate cry didn't reach Hitsugaya's ears:

"TOUSHIROU!"

To be continued

A/N: This chapter was really fun to write because of the drama, hope you enjoy our vision of how Hitsugaya Toushirou ended up in Soul Society!

The reason for Hitsugaya using the suffix "-chan" is that he uses "Oba-chan" when he speaks about his grandmother in the anime episode 239, thus he uses it here as well towards family members.

Now stay tuned for the next chapter of "The Purgatory!" Until we update, please review! We apologize beforehand in case the next chapter will be late!