Hi Hi People! Guess where I'm uploading from? My cousin's computer! Guess I was wrong about them using the PC alot (It's actually the PS2 :p)Oh well...Here it is! The fifth chapter! It's a little short but don't worry. Next chap will be longer. For now, please enjoy!

Special thanks to Sleeve of White Snow, Shichimaru Gin, Lea Cat, Nyu Kitsune, Naien, Iudex Arcebus, OShayO, yuki-tenshee, phppsmss, Rasgara and Pork Bun for reviewing the last chapter. Now for the questions. Same as last week, there's not much.

Shichimaru Gin: Yes, Hinata and Hyuuga can both be found in Naruto. However, there is no relation whatsoever. The kanji where the same. That's all.

Naien: Sorry it's not very long. I'll try writing a longer one next time to make up to you, kay?

Disclaimer: Bleach and all its characters are rightful property of Kubo Tite. However, the plot and storyline of this story plus the OCs belong to me.

Reincarnation of Ice

Chapter 5: New Teacher

Toushirou opened his eyes with a start, closing them soon after to protect them from the bright light that stung his eyes painfully. Willing his muddled head to clear, he blinked a few times to adjust his vision to the light. Looking around his surroundings, the first thing he could only see were the thousand bouquets of flowers and fruit baskets that crowded and overshadowed the white of his hospital room. Looking at a card on the nearest fruit basket, he could see it was from Hinata. Toushirou could have bet that there were about close to a hundred of each and wondered painstakingly what he was going to do with them.

"Tou-chan, you're awake!" cried Soraya as she entered the room and swiftly embraced him in a tight squeeze. A stinging pain erupted from his side and he soon found it hard to breath.

"Haha-ue, you're killing him," Shihou stated, as she too entered the room, carrying with her a tray of food.

Upon realizing that she was suffocating him, Soraya immediately released her grip on him with a start, giving him air to breath. At that moment, Hiro and Hecate entered the room as well.

"Well, nii-chan, it seems that you have finally woken up from your sleep," Hecate commented, a sly smile evident on his face.

"Welcome back, nii-san," Hiro said, flopping onto a sofa at the far corner of the room. "I hope you had a wonderful stay there in slumberland."

"As sarcastic as ever, aren't you." Toushirou said, taking sip of tea from the glass Shihou offered him.

Hiro just grunted and continued. "You're lucky, while we're are out slaving our butts off…" He waved his hands in a dramatic gesture… "You get to be babied on. Sometimes, nii-san, I envy your good fortune."

"Very funny…and pray tell, what are you doing that is making you 'slave your butt off', eh Hiro?" Toushirou asked, looking as innocent as he possibly could.

Hiro said nothing at that and just glared at him.

"He's upset because he had to do all your chores while you where stuck here." Shihou explained, while refilling his glass with more tea.

"How long have I been here?"

"Three days."

Toushirou almost spitted out his tea, but managed to gulp it down quickly. "Three days!" he repeated, all but screaming out the words.

An affirmative nod came from everyone currently in the room.

"It's not that long," Hecate said. "According to the doctor, this is quite a quick recovery considering the wounds you have."

"Come to think of it, why am I…" At that moment it dawned on him- the monster, Hinata, the ice dragon, everything. It all came back to him in a rush.

"It was a hit-and-run accident," Hiro said before Toushirou could say anything. "Someone phoned the ambulance and told them about the incident. It seems that person had been passing by and saw it all. You three were ferried here and we were contacted. Haha-sama almost had a heart attack and fainted."

"Then Hinata…"Toushirou began.

"Don't worry," Hecate butted in. "She only had a few bruises and scrapes and a minor concussion. She was dismissed on the same day. You did well in pushing her out of the way."

"How did you…?"

"It's what you would do and it explains why she wasn't injured badly," Shihou said with one of her rare smiles. "Oh yes, the other boy –Nagaya, was it- is going to be dismissed today. He had a few stitches done here and there and a concussion, but other than that he should have came out quite well."

"I see." Toushirou said softly. He wondered whether the both of them remembered anything about what had happened that day.

Soon Soraya and the others left, promising that they would be back tomorrow-and that they would find someway to clean out all these flowers. They'd just have to give them away or something. Lying down on the bed, Toushirou wondered whether it had all been just a dream.

Toushirou sat down at his desk on the third row by the window, hanging his bag on the side hook. Staring out the window, he allowed his mind to wander to the accident and what he had decided about it.

He had asked Hinata whether or not she had remembered anything strange about the incident as soon as he had gotten out of the hospital a week ago; she had just stared at him and asked him if he was feeling all right. From the way Nagaya was acting –he couldn't bring himself to ask him- he was just going about his daily business like nothing had ever happened and showed no signs of having received any trauma at all.

He was about ready to dismiss the whole event as what was said by that unnamed witness. The rest would have more likely been a dream or hallucination and he was just being paranoid. But something bothered him about the incident, and no matter how much he denied it; he knew something was off with it all.

He was broken out of his daydream-like trance when he heard Hinata's voice. "Ne, Shirou-chan, did you know that we're going to have a new history teacher? I heard she's quite a pretty one too."

"As if I would be interested." Toushirou snorted, looking annoyed at Hinata.

"But all the other boys are hopping mad about it." She pointed out, her brown eyes shining in defiance.

"But I'm not like other boys, silly bed-wetter."

"I'm not a bed-wetter!"

Toushirou just grunted at that.

Suddenly, the door slid open and the class quieted down. Toushirou heard heels click onto the floor as the teacher stepped in. The lady made her way to the center of the class and turned to address them.

"Good day, kids," she said with a grin. "I'm Matsumoto Rangiku, your new history teacher. Nice to meet you all."

Toushirou was shocked to say the least to see her.

"Now, originally we were supposedly going to study about the Bakumatsu era and the fall of the Shogunate but let's do a little Q&A instead to get to know each other."

The class practically cheered at that.

Through out the lesson, Toushirou wondered silently what she was doing here. As little as he knew about her, he couldn't comprehend her as the type to teach. When it came to his turn to introduce himself, he just briefly told her his name, age and school position, sitting back down soon after. He could have sworn seeing her wink at him, but she soon turned to face the next student and her was unable to clarify whether it had been a trick of the eye.

He would have to talk to that woman later during lunch break.

"What are you doing here?"

Even now he didn't pretend to be polite to her, Matsumoto mused. It had been lunch break when he had come to the teacher's office demanding what she was doing here, wearing a scowl on his face and eyes shining with annoyance. Crossing his arms in front of him, he waited patiently for her answer.

"You could at least be a bit more polite," she said with a pout. "After all, I'm your teacher."

"You don't seem like the teaching type," he retorted, eying her suspiciously.

"You could a least be grateful," she sighed. "After all, I'm the one who called the ambulance for you guys."

"Wait a minute, you were the one!"

"Oops, I shouldn't have said that."

There was silence for a while before he said anything.

"Are you sure it was a hit-and-run?" he asked quietly, eyes hidden so that she had no idea what he was feeling. His voice was barely audible, but Matsumoto heard it well.

"What makes you think otherwise?" She asked softly.

"I don't remember anything about a car." He said in return, not looking at her.

Matsumoto sighed. So he remembered.

"The monster you saw that day…"she said, catching his attention. "…Is called a Hollow. It is a soul that turns into a monster due to grief and loneliness, or just because they are plain evil. There are many souls that die everyday and a lot of them deny that fact, preventing them from being able to pass on. Hollows target those souls and devour them. Do you get me so far?"

Toushirou just nodded dumbly, as if trying to comprehend what she had just told him.

"When souls are unable to pass on, that's when a Shinigami-or death gods- comes in," she continued. "We send the souls to Soul Society, where all souls go after their life here. They live there in that world, waiting to be reincarnated. We also cleanse Hollows and make sure there is balance between the two worlds. I am a Shinigami, and so are you."

"What do you mean?" he said, clearly confused. 'And what are all this suppose to mean? All these stuff, they don't exist."

"They do," Matsumoto replied firmly. "You will understand in time."

"Okay…So why am I a Shinigami?"

"Remember…the sword, the robes?"

His eyes widened slightly at that.

"I think I get that part," he said slowly. This was a bit too much for him to comprehend- Hollows, Shinigamis, wandering souls, all of it.

"Don't think about it too much," Matsumoto said, patting him on the head and earning a scowl from the boy. "As I said you'll understand in time."

He just grunted at that. So alike, Matsumoto mused. "Hey, lets get something to eat. Mind leading the way to the cafeteria?"

"You still haven't answered my question you know." He mumbled under his breath. She just smiled at that.

"In due time, Toushirou. In due time."

Alright, how was it? Is it good? Bad? Totally off? Review and tell me. Until the next chapter, I bid you farewell!