Disclaimer: I do NOT own the Bleach series nor their characters in any way. All copyrights go to Tite Kubo.

Author's Note: Hey everyone! I'm back with another update of Unforgettable. Thank you to everyone for being so patient especially my awesome reviewers: Shirraz78, TUranzaRE711, Vicky-chan16, Guest, squirtlepokemon215, Reader-Favs, skylark dragonstar, TheFayrinaTale, becomeafan, Syl The tWins, toshirolovehim, Orchid, Guest 2, ShiraChan-Desu, Cody (x2), and Sabel.

Re-cap of the previous chapter: After a lot of thinking, Momo finally confesses her feelings to Toshiro only to receive a kiss from him. Confused whether his actions are geunine or a lie, he gave her a choice to follow him.

What is going to happen next? Well, read and find out! Enjoy!

LEGEND

"Talking." "Thinking." Written Code. Flash Back. Short Flash Back.

Unforgettable

Chapter Nine: Place of Memories

As they observed members of the twelfth division investigate every single inch of the detention room, Captain Yoru and Lieutenant Matsumoto turned their attention to the decapitated bodies of their prisoners which are being carried out. The strawberry orange haired woman narrowed her eyes before she asked, "Do you suppose one of us had a grudge against Shin and his army? Then, he acted on his own accord to kill them?"

"That's nonsense," Yoru answered. "Since the last group of traitors, we made sure no one else would try the same thing. I think there is internal conflict within Shin's group. This is an opportunity for us to strike back."

"Even if you're right, we still don't know where to find them," Rangiku said. "Also, what if it is a trap?"

"You have a point," he quickly replied. "We need to think about this calmly."

After she nodded her head, the female Soul Reaper noticed her superior raise his hand to bite on his thumbnail. In all her years serving him, she knows something is bothering him whenever he does that habit. "Captain, you're a bit riled up. Is there something wrong?"

At first, Yoru gave Rangiku a look. However, it didn't take long for him to drop the expression and approach her. Once he is close enough, he put his hand into the front of his kimono and pulled out familiar item. "Actually, I found this."

After a closer look at the accessory, Matsumoto recognized who it belongs to and snatched the item from his hand. "Wait a minute; this is Hinamori's hair clip. How did she get involved in this?"

"I don't know," her captain replied. "She was supposed to head back to her division."

Rangiku offered a small smile. "Don't beat yourself; let's go and look around for clues of her whereabouts."

Yoru sighed in defeat. "Alright."

Quietly, they watched their orange haired student draw red circles around certain areas on a map of Karakura Town. Once she is done, Orihime pulled back and happily exclaimed, "Okay, I'm done!"

With that said, Ichigo; Uryu; Chad; Kisuke; and Yoruichi leaned over to get a closer look at the laminated paper on the table. Urahara said, "So, these are all the places you found traces of Hitsugaya's reiatsu."

"Yeah, that's right."

Everyone then pulled back to their seats. "I see."

"Inoue, can you pass me the marker?" Ishida asked. After giving him a short nod, Orihime gave him the writing utensil. Using it, he drew X's over two of his schoolmate's circles. He explained, "Out of those places, these two are the presence are the most strongest."

"Karasu River and Kurosaki-kun's house," Inoue said.

"It is likely that he usually visits these areas."

"For what reason?"

Ishida folded his arms over his chest. "It's easy to determine why he's usually at Kurosaki's, but I'm still trying to figure out why he's usually at Karasu River."

"He's there to do some plotting," replied a voice.

Recognizing who it belongs to, heads turned to see the familiar face of the former third division captain. Ichigo jerked back and exclaimed, "What the hell? Since when were you standing there?"

"Oh Ichimaru, you're back already?" Urahara asked.

Gin let out an amusing grin. "That's right; I learned a lot during my trip back to Soul Society."

"What did you mean Toshiro-kun was plotting whenever he's at Karasu River?" Inoue asked.

"After some research, the Gotei 13 discovered Shin's army once lived in Rukongai and died due to Hollow attacks."

"That explains their motive to take revenge on the Gotei 13," Chad said.

"They were revived by Shin, who used forbidden kido on them."

"It explains everything except about Toshiro's visits to Karasu River," Kurosaki replied.

"Hold your horses," Ichimaru said. "I was getting to that part. According to Kurotsuchi, Shin altered their memories so that they only remember about their deaths. When I fought him in our second encounter, I noticed his strange movements."

"Strange movements?" Yoruichi asked.

"At the time, one of his allies came to rescue him after Hitsugaya-kun was captured. While they were escaping, he allowed me to kill his ally."

"That is strange," Ishida said. "Why would he do that?"

"It's obvious," Ichimaru replied. "He wants his allies dead. For him to have that motive, he must know something that they don't. In other words, it's possible that he remembers his past life."

"I see," Urahara said. "Then, the reason he's usually at Karasu River was to stay away from his allies in case they discover the truth about him."

"How did you know all this, Ichimaru-san?" Orihime asked.

"I gave it some thought..." Gin took a moment to stuff his hand into his right kimono sleeve and hold out a thin piece of paper. "...after reading this."

Wondering what's written on it, everyone got on their knees and leaned over.

wottn kaurkuaar, tpoar ksmaes dni pilp stirsiph

Then, they looked at the former Gotei 13. Ichigo asked, "What in the world do those words mean?"

Ichimaru merely grinned. "Hitsugaya-kun is one sneaky genius."

"Oi Kurotsuchi," Kyoraku hollered as he and Ukitake entered into the twelfth division captain's laboratory. "Are you in here?"

"Uruse," Mayuri retorted as he is typing away on his computer. "You're too noisy. If you have some business with me, spit it out. I'm busy."

"Now now," Shunsui said. "There's not need to give us the cold shoulder."

"We're here to see if you have discovered anything new about Shin and his army," Jushiro replied.

"After inspecting the two bodies, it is just as we speculated. Shin indeed revived his followers using forbidden kido," Mayuri explained.

"Anything else?"

As pressing a few more keys, Kurotsuchi pressed the enter button. "This."

He then raised his head to see the large monitor change screens. Following his lead, the elderly captains did the same. Then, a short clip began playing. Though it was considerably damaged, they can see a hooded figure leaving the tenth division detention room.

Mayuri turned around to face the other captains. He folded his arms and retorted, "If he didn't destroyed the camera, I would have gotten more footage of the event."

Ukitake turned his attention to the scientist. "So, this is all you managed to recover?"

"Much to my dismay, it's a yes."

"At least this clip will help us identify the one responsible for killing the prisoners we captured."

"Kurotsuchi, did you see this clip yet?" Kyoraku asked while watching the monitor.

Mayuri gave the older captain an annoyed look on his face and replied, "I just spent the past three hours trying to recover the damn thing."

"In that case, I have something to show you." With that said, the eighth division captain pointed his finger at the screen. "Look."

Wondering what he meant, the two captains turned their attention to the clip. They saw the murderer of Eriko and Hibiki about to escape, but was stopped by a certain raven haired lieutenant. Ukitake's eyes widened. "Wait a minute, isn't that Hinamori-kun?"

"Hn," Kurotsuchi said. "It seems we have a traitor on our side."

After Ryoga shuffled back and forth several times, he stopped to face his allies who are busy watching Tetsuya type away on his laptop. "Argh, are you done yet?"

He stopped for a moment and shot him a glare. "I'm not a miracle worker."

"Well, hurry u-" All of a sudden, he noticed Tetsuya and his other acquaintances ignoring him. "You guys aren't even listening!"

"There, I finally hacked into Mayuri Kurotsuchi's so called secret camera network."

"Great job!" Miyu said.

"Let me see!" Ryoga exclaimed as he quickly got behind Sai to get a good look at the laptop screen.

"Now, let's find out where Toshiro is at the moment." After pressing several keys, pop ups began appearing on the screen. Tetsuya said, "I don't see hi-"

"Wait!" Jun interrupted as he pointed his finger towards the top right of the laptop screen. "Over there!"

They saw their hooded ally navigating through the underground sewers beneath Seireitei.

"He's not with Hibiki or Eriko," Sai said. Following close behind Hitsugaya is another hooded figure. Sai narrowed his eyes suspiciously before a thought dawned to him. "He's with that hostage he brought here a few days ago."

"What?" Without any warning, Angel forcefully pushed over Jun and Miyu off their seats so that she can get a better look at the screen over Tetsuya's shoulder. Once she noticed the fifth division lieutenant walking behind her beloved, she hissed between her teeth. "Why is she with him?"

"Relax," Jun said. "Toshiro is just messing with her feelings. That way, it will be easier for him to fulfill our mission."

Feeling frustrated, the pink haired girl bit onto the side of her pointer finger. She grumbled, "Yeah, but still...I hate her."

"They just got out of the sewers and passed the black ridge gate to North Rukongai," Miyu said. "We won't be able to watch him anymore."

"Damn, why couldn't that scientist put up cameras all over Soul Society?" Ryoga complained.

"Even he has his limits."

"That's bullshit!"

"What's bullshit?"

Recognizing his voice, heads turned to the side where their leader is standing. They said in unison, "Shin-sama!"

"When did you come back from your wa-" All of a sudden, everyone noticed a strange vibe coming out from the old man's body. It sent chills running up their spines. "...w-walk."

"Not too long ago," Shin replied with a smirk. "I heard enough to give one of you an order."

"What is it?" Jun questioned.

He then turned his attention to the pink haired female. She let out a high pitched squeak, intimidated by his presence. "Angel, go escort him back."

Suddenly, she blinked. Though it took a while to register the request in her thoughts, she cheered, "Really? Yay, I get to pick up my cutie!"

She jumped off her seat and happily skipped towards the exit of the warehouse.

"I can't wait!"

Before long, she left her remaining nine allies behind. Shin sighed in defeat and shook his head. "I didn't even finish giving her orders."

"Don't worry Shin-sama," Ryoga said. "She'll be back with Toshiro in no time. Otherwise, she'll try to go on a date with him."

Suddenly, the other male allies snorted. Sai said, "Angel can try all she wants, but what are the chances of that happening? Never."

With that said, the males burst out in laughter. In the meantime, Shin turned his body to the side and began walking away. He has better things to worry about than hang around with his followers. Under his breath, he muttered, "Idiots..."

"We can go back to those peaceful days we cherished so much." Once more, he didn't answer. "Are you even listenin-"

All of a sudden, Hitsugaya turned around and grabbed her shoulder. With considerable force, he pushed her all the way to the wall. She winced in pain. By the time she raised her head to see what is going on, he leaned over to capture her lips with his own.

Her eyes widened with astonishment.

As she blankly stared at her childhood friend, who is walking ahead, Momo placed her fingertips over her soft lips. Despite how much time passed, she could still feel a warm tingle there. "It's not a dream, but..."

She put her hand down and continued walking.

"...I still don't know if his actions are real or a big lie."

Hinamori closed her eyes and sighed in defeat. Even though she took up on his offer to leave Seireitei with him, she is starting to have second thoughts. The last thing she wants is to get hurt again by someone she cared about.

She glanced over her shoulder to see the path she came from. "I wonder if they realized I'm gone."

Suddenly, she heard some laughing voices nearby. Hinamori stopped for a moment to see two children (each holding a bag of rice) running towards them: a girl and a boy. As she followed them with her eyes, Momo saw Toshiro. He also stopped to watch the children. The moment they passed by, her eyes widened. She began seeing the familiar faces of their younger selves. "I'm going to beat you!"

"Not by a long shot!" the boy exclaimed.

They ran until they stopped in front of a young woman. The girl raised her arms and cheered, "Yay! I win again!"

"No, you didn't!" the boy complained. "I won this time!"

"I was here a second earlier than you!"

"How would you know that?"

"I saw you!"

Seeing them bicker put a smile on the raven haired lieutenant's face.

"Shiro-chan, are you thinking the same thing as I am?" she wondered. "We were just like them once."

Momo then turned to see her childhood friend only to lose the expression on her lips. She saw deep sadness and pain in his emerald-teal eyes; the same eyes she looked into moments before she lost him many years ago.

He slowly raised his right hand up. Feeling the warmth of her hand placed around his, he weakly said, "Bed...Wetter..."

Feeling the hot tears swell in her eyes, Hinamori hastily raised her arm and wiped them away with her sleeve. She couldn't understand: why did she truly believe she was with the boy she remembered in that moment?

All of a sudden, she felt something grab onto her wrist. She gasped and lowered her arm to see white haired male pull her into a nearby forest. Once they are out of public view, he turned around and pushed her against the tree trunk. With his arms over her shoulders and their bodies pressed together, Momo blushed. Even though he did this once before, she still can't get used to the intimate contact.

She looked over to see the serious Hitsugaya looking out for something. He said, "Lower your reiatsu and do not mo-"

All of a sudden, the two childhood friends widened their eyes in astonishment. Sensing the familiar spiritual presence nearby, Toshiro glanced over his shoulder to see a large two headed chimera-like Hollow. The masked beast roared as it raised its claw high above their heads. Just as the fallen soul commenced its attack, Hitsugaya and Hinamori jumped out of the way and back onto the streets. The Hollow ended up breaking several tree trunks instead.

As they are both on one knee, they brief glanced to see the surrounding citizens running for their lives. Momo and Toshiro then removed their zanpakutos from its sheaths, getting ready for battle. Together, they watched the masked beast come out from the safety of the forest. It let out a fierce roar which generated enough force to blow their hoods down to their shoulders. However, it didn't faze them.

Momo quickly stood up. With both her hands gripped onto the hilt of zanpakuto, she exclaimed, "Hajike, Tobiume!"

Once the blade transformed, she swung her sword across and sent several fireballs towards the enemy. It made contact and exploded in the Hollow's face. As the beast cried out in pain, Hitsugaya launched himself towards his opponent.

With both hands on his sword, he prepared to give the Hollow the finishing blow. However, he sensed a surge of spiritual energy rapidly coming at him. Thinking quickly, he planted a foot on the ground. As he is braking, Toshiro turned around to see the lightning type spiritual energy. He raised his zanpakuto and redirected the attack to hit his side. With his eyes on the one responsible, he heard his initial target cry out in pain until its voice died out in the wind.

Wondering what he is looking at, Hinamori glanced over to see a pair of familiar faces. She gasped. "Rangiku-san!"

"Hinamori!" the strawberry orange haired lieutenant called out.

Before she could say anything else, Matsumoto watched her captain draw his sword and point its blade towards the white haired male. He said, "I should have known you are responsible for kidnapping Hinamori, Toshiro Hitsugaya. Let her go!"

Hitsugaya hissed between his teeth. He raised Hyorinmaru up in prepare to retaliate if necessary.

"If it's a fight you want, you got it!"

Suddenly, everyone heard a series of roars. They all looked over their shoulders to see many masked beasts in their presence. As the Hollows approached them, the sword wielders turned around and slowly stepped back. Before long, their backs made contact with something soft. Rangiku and Momo glanced over to see that they all are now back to back. Matsumoto drew her Haineko and resumed her attention to the front. She said, "Well, this is a funny predicament."

Yoru hissed between his teeth. "They just had to interfere. Now, we have to get rid of them first."

The older lieutenant looked over at Momo and asked, "Hinamori, are you alright?"

The raven haired girl slowly nodded her head. "Yeah, I am."

As he listened attentively to the girls, the tenth division captain to see Toshiro focused on the Hollows in front of him. He looked down at his zanpakuto and then back at him once more. Afterwards, he glanced at the young fifth division lieutenant. He leaned further back and whispered in her ear, "Hinamori, we'll keep him busy; use this opportunity to escape."

In response to his words, Momo's eyes widened. After all she went through, is she really going to leave her childhood friend's side? She lowered her head, covering her eyes with her bangs. "I-I'm sorry, Yoru-taicho...but I can't."

Surprised to hear her say that, Rangiku and Yoru looked at the Soul Reaper from the fifth division. "Why?"

"Because..." She glanced over her shoulder to look at them directly in their eyes. "I lost him once; I'm not losing him again."

As a result, a grin appeared on Toshiro's face. Yoru then turned his attention to the white haired male and exclaimed, "You bastard, you manipulated her!"

"What makes you think I manipulated her?" Hitsugaya replied. "I didn't do anything to harm her."

"Your tricks don't work on me. You are the enemy."

"Even if I am the enemy, it doesn't mean I'm a liar. What if this is what she chooses?"

Then, he turned his attention to what the Hollow in front of him is doing. Unable to accept it, the tenth division captain said, "Hinamori knows better than to betray Soul Society. She'll be labeled a traitor!"

"I-I understand the consequences of doing this," Momo replied. "However...t-this is something I have to do!"

"Hinamori."

Yoru was at a loss for words. Her words, her actions, her feelings; what she is doing is just like what happened when she was still serving under the former fifth division captain. He glanced over to see the back of his white haired enemy. The grip on his zanpakuto tightened as ever. Convinced that he is responsible for her actions, Yoru removed a hand from his sword hilt. After changing grip on it, he thrust the sword down his side.

As he expected to feel the blade tip pierce into something, he felt something grab onto his wrist. He glanced over his shoulder to meet Toshiro's glaring eyes. "Just because my eyes are somewhere else, it doesn't mean I don't see what you're doing."

Yoru narrowed his eyes in response. Though he failed this time, he's not going to let the younger male get away. Then, he heard a noise.

Hitsugaya looked over to see one of the Hollows about to slam its claw down on them. Using flash step, he quickly disappeared from the group and got in front of the attacking masked beast. With a fast swing of his sword, he sliced the Hollow in half. However, his attack didn't stop there. Toshiro quickly took a sidestep and got in front of the Hollow Momo was facing. Then, he turned around to face his childhood friend.

At that moment, Hinamori became confused. Why did he turn his back on the Hollow when he had the chance to kill it? However, her thoughts were quickly interrupted at the sight of the masked beast raising its claw to strike Hitsugaya. Her eyes widened as a memory from long ago flashed in her mind.

"Run Hinamori!" Upon hearing his voice, she looked over to see her bleeding friend calling out to her. "Run!"

However, she didn't. Her eyes were too focused on another Hollow that is standing behind the white haired boy. Just as the beast raised its claw, she immediately cried, "Shiro-chan!"

Determined not to relive the horrible experience, Momo quickly launched another fireball from her blade. It flew past Toshiro's shoulder and exploded in the Hollow's face. As the beast agonized in pain, Hitsugaya placed the palm of his hands down on the ground. "Bakudo Number 21: Sekienton!"

As a result, red smoke burst from the point of contact and engulf the surrounding area. Rangiku and Yoru raised their arms up to prevent themselves from inhaling the smoke. Seconds later, the smoke blew away with a strong gust of wind. Once they looked again, Hinamori and Hitsugaya were nowhere to be found. The tenth division captain suddenly cursed under his breath. "Damn, he got us."

"We'll go after him once we finish dealing with the Hollows," Matsumoto said as she raised her sword to defend against the masked beasts. "Okay, Captai-"

When she glanced at her superior, the vice-captain suddenly sensed strong spiritual pressure emitting from his body. After years of serving under him, she could tell that he's very angry.

"Captain..."

"No matter how long it takes, I'll find and personally kill you," Yoru threatened. "Toshiro Hitsugaya."

"Hinamori, I'm not trying to make fun of you or anything. Please think about this carefully. Right now, are you really just thinking of him as your childhood friend?"

Rangiku looked over at the spot where the fifth division lieutenant once stood. "It seems like you have made your choice, Hinamori."

She panted, seeking for breath each time she took another step forward. Before long, Momo couldn't take it any longer and collapsed on her knees. As she is catching her breath, she raised her head to see the back of her childhood friend. Judging from the motion of his shoulders, he too is out of breath from glanced over her shoulder to see the direction they came from. "We must have ran about ten or fifteen kilometres away from Yoru-taicho and Rangiku-san."

Then, she heard a sound. She resumed her attention to the front to see Hitsugaya put away his zanpakuto back into its sheath on his back. After putting his hood over his head, he looked back at her. The moment their eyes met, Momo blushed and looked away. She could feel her heart pounding against her chest in response to the vivid image of their first kiss that burned into her thoughts. After taking another look at him, she saw the taller male started walking again.

"I've followed you just like you wanted," she wondered. "Isn't that enough for you to tell me what is really going on or...am I just a fool for falling into your trap?"

Slowly, she got back on her feet. She put her zanpakuto back in its sheath and pulled up her hood. When she's ready, Hinamori took a deep breath and started following him again.

After a few minutes of walking, Momo became aware of her surroundings: the roads, the people, and the building structures. "This place...it looks familiar."

Suddenly, a thought dawned to her. As a result, she looked back and forth.

"That right; this is Junrin'an. We got out of Seireitei through the black ridge gate to North Rukongai. After our encounter with Rangiku-san and Yoru-taicho in District One, we ran all the way here."

Then, she turned her attention to Hitsugaya. Hinamori folded her arms and took a moment to think. Shortly, she sighed in defeat.

She asked, "W-Where exactly are we going?"

All of a sudden, Toshiro stopped to glance over his shoulder.

"I-Is it Shin's hideout?"

He just turned his body to the front. After a brief moment of silence, he slowly raised his head and answered, "Our place of memories."

Momo blinked. Wondering what he meant, she too raised her head only to meet with a familiar structure which stood on the other side of the bridge they are about to cross. It is the place that connects her to the past; the wonderful memories that she and her childhood friend once shared.

"Obaa-san's house..."

Japanese Word Translations

Reiatsu - Spiritual Pressure, Kido - Demon Arts, Uruse - Shut Up, Zanpakuto - Soul Cutter, Taicho - Captain, Obaa-san - Grandmother

Author's Note: Interesting development, huh? What is going to happen next? Well, stay tuned to my next update! Until then, please review! Thanks a bunch!