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Chapter Nine - Someone to Confide In

"Did you hear what happened Jyuushirou?" Kyouraku asked as he barged into Ukitake's office, not even bothering to knock. Not that he ever bothered to knock. He was certain that his best friend hadn't heard the news that he had came to relay however he posed the question anyway.

Ukitake was used to the fact that his flamboyant friend never knocked and he calmly glanced up as Kyouraku casually made his way across the office toward the spot where he was sitting. "What are you talking about Shunsui?"

"The kid was brought back to the Seireitei today," Kyouraku explained as he sat down on the floor across from his friend.

Ukitake's eyes widened as he heard this news, not needing any explanation as to who the kid was. There was only one person that it could be, Toushirou. "Is he okay? What happened?"

"Apparently he just collapsed," Kyouraku said, noting the anxious look in Ukitake's eyes. His friend had always held a soft spot for the young prodigy, ever since the day that he first entered the Shinigami Academy, and Kyouraku had known that he would want to know that he had been brought to Squad Four. "Rangiku-chan brought him back to the Seireitei and Aizen took over his assignment in the world of the living."

"I should go and see him," Ukitake muttered, more to himself than to his friend.

Kyouraku started to speak however he could tell by the expression on his face that Ukitake was no longer paying any attention to him. With a laugh Kyouraku thought to himself that his best friend was probably making a mental note of all of the sweets that he was going to take to the young Captain of Squad Ten.

"The poor guy," he thought to himself.


Hitsugaya could still feel his eyes burning and he slowly reached up and rubbed at them with the back of their hands. Groaning softly the young captain pulled himself to a half-sitting, half-lying position, still groggy and somewhat confused as to where he was. The last thing he remembered was being told by Matsumoto that Midori, his mother, was a Shinigami.

The Squad Ten Captain gasped and attempted to pull himself into a fully upright position.

"Take it easy Captain Hitsugaya," a soft, soothing voice said.

Hitsugaya glanced sideways out of the corner of his eye and saw that it was Captain Unohana who had spoken. Now realizing that he was in the Squad Four barracks, Hitsugaya glanced down and saw that there was an IV tube in his arm, it's other end leading up to a bag of fluid that was hanging from a pole at his bedside. "How did I get here?"

"Matsumoto-san brought you here after you collapsed in the world of the living," Captain Unohana informed him.

"I can't believe I allowed this to happen," Hitsugaya said as he made a move to remove the IV line from his arm. He had a mission to complete and didn't have time to spend in the infirmary. Angry at himself for this display of weakness the young captain scowled. "I have work to do."

"Hold it," Captain Unohana said, her voice firm as she walked the six steps over to the young captain's bedside and grabbed his wrist. She pulled his hand away from the IV line, a stern expression in her normally kind and passive face. She didn't show this side of her personality very often however she was determined not to allow the young captain to jeopardize his health just because he was determined to be stubborn. "You're still too weak to leave Squad Four Captain Hitsugaya. Whatever you feel you have to do will just have to wait."

"But. . ."

"No," Captain Unohana said, her tone telling the young captain that she would accept no arguments.

Hitsugaya growled low in his throat but he realized that he wouldn't be able to win this argument so, giving up, he once again placed his head on the pillow. He wasn't happy about the situation that he now found himself in but he was resigned to it. After all the Squad Four Captain could be very scary when she wanted to and Hitsugaya had no desire to evoke such wrath. He'd heard horror stories from other Shinigami who had pressed their luck and regretted it later.

"Thank you," Unohana said, turning to leave the room. "I have other patients to see to but if you need anything someone will be close by." The Squad Four Captain took a couple of steps across the room and then turned back to the young prodigy. With a knowing look in her kind eyes she pointed a finger in his direction. "And don't even think about getting up."

"Right."

Hitsugaya gazed up at the ceiling and listened to the sound of the door closing. He couldn't believe that he was in this situation and found himself irritated all over again. Grabbing the sheets, the young captain once again growled low in his throat.

"Wow," a voice called out. "That was harsh."

Startled by the voice, not having heard anyone enter the room, Hitsugaya glanced toward the door. His eyes widened as his teal-eyed gaze fell upon Captain Ukitake of Squad Thirteen. "What are you doing here?" the young captain asked.

Ukitake walked over to the young prodigy's bedside and sat down beside him. "I heard that you had been brought back from the world of the living and I wanted to make sure that you were alright."

"I'm. . ." Hitsugaya started to tell the older captain that he was alright however for some unknown reason he pasused. Then, with a long sigh, the young boy said, "I need to know something Ukitake."

"What is it?" Ukitake asked, picking up on the strange behavior of Hitsugaya.

"To your knowledge is there any way for a Shinigami to gain the powers of a Hollow?"

Ukitake gasped as he heard this question from the boy. "Why are you asking me this Toushirou?"

Hitsugaya briefly debated his answer and then decided on the truth. Or at least part of the truth, the part that he was willing to share with others. Other things would remain solely his. "The enemy that I was sent to stop, the person attempting to breech the barrier into the world of the living, is a woman named Midori. She has a piece of a mask on the side of her head but she also has a zanpaktou, Gaka no Tamashii."

Ukitake gasped as he heard the name of the zanpaktou. It couldn't be. It simply wasn't possible.

Hitsugaya noticed the change in Ukitake's expression and he knew that the older captain knew something. "What is it? What do you know Ukitake?"

A vision of a lovely young girl flashed into Ukitake's mind and he smiled ruefully at the memory. "Midori was the third seat of Squad Ten and a member of one of the four noble clans. Extremely gifted she rose quickly through the ranks however she disappeared during a mission to the world of the living. She was listed as missing in action and we all presumed her dead although we could never confirm her death."

"So you knew her?" Matsumoto had discovered the name on one of the registeries in the library however it had been obvious that she hadn't known the woman. But here was someone who had actually known his mother, someone who remembered her from her days as a Shinigami.

Ukitake nodded. "She was a sweet girl, always laughing. Midori had a tremendous sense of duty and would do anything to uphold the honor of her family."

Hitsugaya nodded, shocked by the words that Ukitake had spoken. Most of his memories were of his mother's abuse and it was hard to reconcile those memories with what Ukitake had just told him. What had happened after her disappearance to change her from the woman that Ukitake remembered to the woman that Hitsugaya had known? To the woman who had ended his life.

Ukitake noticed the distant look that had appeared in the young captain's teal eyes and he leaned forward, speaking to the boy in a quiet voice. "Are you alright Toushirou?"

"I'm fine," the young captain said quickly.

Ukitake knew immediately that Hitsugaya wasn't being completely honest with him and he gazed at the young captain intently. "You know that you can talk to me Toushirou. Everyone needs someone to confide in and trust me you aren't any different."

Not wanting Ukitake to know that something was wrong, striving to maintain the distance that he had always kept between himself and others, Hitsugaya nodded. The young captain forced his features into their normal, stoic appearance and gazed at Ukitake. "I have to find out what's going on. You say that Midori was a Shinigami once but now she's something different. I saw the mask but I don't understand what it means."

"Don't worry Toushirou," Ukitake said, getting to his feet and placing a comforting hand on Hitsugaya's shoulder. He gave the boy's shoulder a gentle squeeze, to let the kid know that he didn't have to go through everything alone. "We'll find out what it means."

Hitsugaya was confused, he hadn't asked for Ukitake's help, but the Squad Thirteen Captain merely smiled at him with a knowing look in his kind eyes. "You don't have to go through everything alone Toushirou. You have friends that you can count on if only you will."

At a loss for words the young captain could only watch as Ukitake made his way toward the door. The older captain paused after only a few steps however and quickly walked back over to Hitsugaya's bedside. There was a look on his face as though he had forgotton something important.

"I can't believe that I almost forgot," Ukitake said, reaching into one of the long sleeves of his captain's haori.

"What is it?" Hitsugaya asked, a curious expression in his teal eyes.

As though in answer to the boy's question Ukitake began pulling an assortment of candy from his sleeve, piling it on the bed beside Hitsugaya. "I thought that these might cheer you up," Ukitake said with a smile as the stunned Captain of Squad Ten watched the pile grow larger and larger.

Then, once he'd emptied his stash, Ukitake offered Hitsugaya another wide smile and quickly left the room.

Hitsugaya rolled his eyes as he gazed down at the large pile of sweets that Ukitake had placed on his bed. Shaking his head he ran a hand through his unruly white hair. "Why does he always insist on doing this to me?" he muttered. This had been an ongoing phenomenon since the day that he'd first met the Squad Thirteen Captain and no matter how many times he told the older man that he didn't like candy Ukitake still insisted on giving it to him.

"Oh come on captain," Matsumoto said, peaking her head through the opening of the door as though afraid to step foot inside the room. "I think it's kind of cute."

A bowl, which had once contained water, went sailing past and barely missed colliding with the side of her head. This was exactly why she had chosen not to enter the room before making the comment however, despite the fact that she had obviously irritated him with the comment, she couldn't help but smile as she watched him fold his small arms over his chest like a petulent child.


The smile disappeared from Ukitake's face the moment he closed the door of Hitsugaya's room and, with a sigh, he began to make his way down the hallway. Walking briskly he made his way to an office that he was very much acquainted with, being a frequent visitor to Squad Four. When he arrived at the office he knocked lightly on the door and almost immediately recieved permission to enter.

Ukitake slid the door open and stepped inside the office. His searching gaze immediately fell upon Captain Unohana and it appeared as though she had just recently returned to the office. Her arms were still laden with a large stack of paperwork and she was standing beside her desk. As her gaze took in her visitor she offered Ukitake a smile. "Hello Jyuushirou," she said in her customary, quiet voice. "Did you come by to visit Captain Hitsugaya?"

Ukitake nodded, his thoughts briefly returning to the young prodigy, who had appeared troubled. "And I learned something interesting during my visit."

"Oh?" Unohana said as she placed the stack of papers down on her desk. "And what's that?"

"Do you remember Midori Hara?"

Captain Unohana's eyes widened at the mention of the name. "The young member of Squad Ten who disappeared?"

Ukitake nodded. "According to Toushirou she's the one who's attempting to breech the barrier between Soul Society and the world of the living. And what's worse, she seems to have somehow acquired the powers of a Hollow on top of the Shinigami powers that she already possessed."

"Are you sure that it was really her?" Unohana asked.

"Toushirou knew the name of her zanpaktou," Ukitake said in a serious voice.

"This isn't good," Unohana said.

"No it isn't," Ukitake said, completely agreeing with her. Then, after a brief pause and a moment's thought, he changed the subject. "Since I'm here there's something else that I would like to ask you. How is it that you knew about the sealing kidou when Shunsui and I did not?"

"Simple," Unohana said, an expression of deepest shame appearing on her face. "I was there when the kidou was performed. Most of Squad Four are adept at kidou, since our powers are healing, and I was recruited to help with the ceremony. I'm not proud of what I did however I was given an order and I had no choice but to obey."

"I understand," Ukitake said. "It's not your fault, I just wanted to know."

Unohana nodded.

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"I can't believe that you've continuously failed to infiltrate Soul Society," the masked figure snapped, glaring at Midori. The only part of his body that was visible through the mask that he wore was his eyes. Normally so cold they were now snapping with fire, which was a sure sign that the man was irritated over the sitation.

For her part the former Shinigami merely stared at the man who was helping her to break through the barrier that separated the worlds. She had to fight the urge to tell the man to take a hike however she realized that she did in fact need his help so she corraled her tongue and didn't turn the thoughts into words. Unfortunately she couldn't keep the scathing look from her teal eyes as she stared at him.

"I suppose that I'm going to have to help you or else it's never going to get done."

A/N - poor Toushirou, again with the candy. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, please review and tell me your thoughts. Til next time this is Hitsu-taichou signing out.