Notes: Here's part 2! I'll be going on vacation in 2 days and after that is preparing for school, so it could be a while until another update. But don't worry! I'll be spending any free time I have working on this. Hopefully there will be another part up in a couple of weeks at most.


Part II

The boy stumbled, falling sideways into the sand again, grunting in pain when yet more sand got into the wounds. He knew that he needed to keep his footing, or they could easily track him with the pools of blood that formed when he hit the ground, the impact reopening his wounds.

Those wounds… How had he gotten them?

He couldn't remember anything anymore, like why he was in the middle of a desert at night?

He continued like this for a few hours, walking, falling, getting up again, and continuing walking.

The boy paused, listening.

In the distance there was what sounded like voices. He knew he should run; what if it was more of the Bad People? But something held him back. Those voices, they sounded familiar somehow…

He could see the owners of the voices, small dots on the horizon. They seemed to be coming this way. Maybe… they would help him?

He contemplated this for a long time, until the dots were close enough to actually see them somewhat clearly. The loudest was a man with bright orange hair. Odd.

There was another man with bright red hair; a woman with somewhat short dark hair; a woman with long orange hair; a large, tanned man with dark hair; and a thin, pale man with long, dark bluish bangs.

They seemed to notice him, as well. With a shout from the orange haired man, they disappeared. Looking around, he noticed he was surrounded.

None of them were attacking. In contrast, they were staring with shock visible in their faces.

"T-toushiro?"

The boy clutched at his head in pain. That name!

Finally reaching his limit, the boy collapsed.

The last thing he saw was six pairs of feet running toward him.

"Toushiro!"

And then he finally let go, and slipped into the darkness.

"Dammit! Renji, help me!"

The red haired man nodded after a moment, still seeming shocked to see the former captain of the Tenth. Wasn't he supposed to be a traitor?

"Ne, Ichigo, should we really help him? I mean, he is supposed to be the enemy now…"

"So what, you want to just leave him here to bleed to death?"

"No, no! What I mean is, he betrayed Soul Society. How do we know he won't just attack us?"

"If he really has sided with Aizen, why would he be out here, injured?"

"I don't know, Rukia. I really just don't know..."

ooo

His back was cold. That was the boy's first thought.

Strange. The last he remembered, he was in a desert.

A strange growling was coming from the distance, one filled with pain and anger.

What is that?

'Who are you?'

The boy didn't answer. He was trying to ignore the dragon. It wanted him to remember.

No. He didn't want to remember. It hurt too much.

'Running from the problem won't solve anything, child.'

He kept his eyes determinedly closed.

'Who are you?' the voice repeated.

The boy still refused to speak, or acknowledge the creature.

'Tell me your name.'

I…

'Who are you?'

I don't know!

ooo

"How is he, Captain Unohana?"

"No different."

"I see…"

The two fell into silence, both watching the young captain. The room was silent but for the shallow, irregular breaths coming from the boy.

"…I'll go tell Ichigo. He's really taking this hard."

Unohana didn't answer. She was still watching his small chest rise and fall. Her face portrayed something she didn't usually show: worry. She had harbored a soft spot for Hitsugaya since she had first met him. She had always enjoyed his seriousness that was unusual in someone his age, the hidden sweetness that made an appearance once every blue moon. In many ways, he was like a son to her, not that she would ever say such things in front of the short-tempered prodigy.

Rukia sighed once she was out of the room. She was dreading going back to the Living World to tell Ichigo the latest news on Hitsugaya's recovery. He was taking the young captain's rescue badly especially since he had been proven right about his so-called betrayal. Two weeks ago the Central 46, in a rare show of what could or could not be regret, had told the Gotei Thirteen their role in all this mess.

Captains Ukitake, Shunsui, and Unohana were furious when this was revealed, to the point that the other captains had to hold them back from attacking the Central 46 themselves.

Rukia smiled. Though the situation was still dire, or even more so, she couldn't help but being relieved.

Hitsugaya Toushiro had come home at last.

ooo

"You know, you should wake up soon, Captain. That pile of paperwork isn't getting any smaller!"

Hinamori smiled from her position outside of the room, listening from the crack in the door. She wanted to go in, but didn't want to intrude on Matsumoto.

They smile faded a bit. It wasn't that she disliked the bubbly vice-captain, but she couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy toward her. Matsumoto was pretty and smart, and seemed to always know what to say to the young captain, regardless of whether Hinamori, who grew up with him, did.

"You ok?"

She jumped; she hadn't heard Renji coming!

"I'm fine," she repeated for what felt the hundredth time. Why was everyone asking her that lately?

Renji frowned at her. "You should get some sleep."

Hinamori shook her head defiantly. "I can't! If he wakes up-"

"You'll be one of the first to know."

She scowled. Yes. One of the first.

Renji sighed wearily. "Look, you driving yourself to exhaustion isn't going to make him wake up any faster. How do you think he would feel if he knew you were doing this to yourself?"

Hinamori bowed her head in shame. "I-I know. It's just that…" she trailed off.

"I know."

ooo

The sun was shining to the right, making the water glitter with the warm afternoon glow. Underneath, the koi fish swam in slow, lazy circles. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, and it was fairly warm, but not too warm.

Yes, a perfect evening. But, even so…

Out of the view of his subordinates, Ukitake let his shoulders slump. It had been almost six weeks since Captain Hitsugaya had been found alive, and there hadn't been much change in his condition. Ukitake had actually resorted to skipping the captain's meetings the week before, as they just left him with more questions and more worries than he had to start with.

"Skipping again, I see."

Ukitake looked to the right, a bit surprised he hadn't been able to sense his friend. "And what about you? Aren't you going?"

"I'm afraid that with my current hangover, paying attention would be near impossible." Ukitake smiled a bit shook his head, used to his friend's excuses.

The two fell into a comfortable silence, each lost in their own thought.

"He'll be ok. He's young, I'm sure he'll bounce back before we know it." As always, Shunsui knew what he was worried about.

Ukitake lowered his head, watching the fish. "I know. It's hard not to worry though."

Shunsui didn't get a chance to answer, as a messenger chose this time to appear behind them. The pair spun around halfway to watch him bow into a low, respectful crouch.

"Captain Ukitake, Captain Kyouraku, I'm sorry to intrude, but I have an urgent message from Captain Unohana." The messenger paused.

"Go on," Ukitake urged.

"The message is this: 'Hitsugaya Toushiro, Captain of the Tenth Division, woke up from a coma approximately seventeen minutes ago. Please report to the Fourth Division immediately.' That is all."

The two captain, who had scrambled to their feet at the words "Hitsugaya Toushiro," now glanced at one another, before nodding and shunpo-ing off.

ooo

"Ichigo!"

The orange hair teen turned around from the quickly shrinking pile of what used to be a hollow to see Rukia running toward him. Her eyes were wide, and her hair was a mess from running so fast from one world to the other.

"What is it, Rukia?"

"Ichigo, he woke up!"

"Who?"

"Fool! Captain Hitsugaya!"

ooo

The anxious murmuring of the captains' was unsettling. Ichigo sighed again; he seemed to be doing a lot of that lately. The Captain-Commander had allowed Ichigo to attend the captain's meeting, as well as Matsumoto. He was grateful for them letting him come, but he just wished the stupid thing would start already!

As if on cue, they heard the sharp snap of the Captain-Commander's cane on the floor, and every pair of eyes looked immediately to the old man.

"Captain Unohana, I believe it was you who called for this meeting."

"Yes, I wanted to discuss the matter of Captain Hitsugaya Toushiro. He woke up approximately three hours ago."

"And what are his conditions?" Captain Ukitake questioned for nearly everyone.

"Physically, he has sustained many wounds, but with proper care they should be healed soon. However, his mental state…" She trailed off.

"What about it, exactly?"

"He seems to be experiencing severe amnesia."

This is not uncommon among trauma victims. Sometimes it is too painful or too much for them to handle, and they simply forget everything that happened to them."

"Doesn't he remember anything?"

"Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be the case."

"'Seem'?"

"Yes, unfortunately, we have yet to get him so say anything. Most of this is based on guess-work."

"Then you could be wrong?" Kurotsuchi piped up, seeming to take pleasure in the thought of the Fourth Squad making such a mistake.

Unohana frowned at him. "It is very unlikely that my guess is wrong, though I wish it were."

Ichigo couldn't say he honestly paid much attention to the rest of the meeting. Looking around he noticed that most of the captains didn't seem to find the rest of the meeting as interesting as the update on Toushiro either.

Ichigo sighed once again.

Toushiro…

ooo

The brown-haired girl ran as fast as her legs would carry her. Her feet smacked painfully against the floor and she could barely see through the tears streaming down her face, but she didn't care, pushing herself even harder.

She was strangely numb, having stopped being able to feel the rain stinging her halfway bare arms and face long ago. Still she pushed on, determined to reach her destination.

The few villagers still left outside scrambled out of her way, shocked to see a shinigami this far from Seiretei. Later, when questioned, one brave man said, "Her eyes were full of a strange fire. I've never seen anything like it before."

The only sounds other than the rain were her footsteps and shallow breathing. Her breaths were coming out in clouds of white fog, signaling the nearly below freezing temperatures of mid-winter. Her tears were frozen to her face, still refusing to stop flowing, and she made no attempt to stop them.

At last she made it to an old house and stopped.

Most would say that "house" was an overstatement. Truthfully it looked more like a shack than a house, but it still held a feeling of home, despite the fact that it had been emptied many years ago, the last occupant having died, or whatever souls do, of old age.

The girl walked slowly to the back porch, chestnut eyes roaming the house with a small, sad smile gracing her lips. She chose to sit in the middle of the structure, legs hanging off the edge.

She closed her eyes, letting memories wash over her. Memories of a happy, care-free time. A choked sob escaped her throat, and she curled up in a tight ball, hugging her knees to her chest and burying her face in them, nails digging into her skin until blood started oozing out.

She didn't know how long she sat there. It could have been minutes, hours, or even days, but they eventually came for her, just like she knew they would.

She didn't bother to look up, hoping they would just leave her alone. But they didn't, of course.

She still didn't respond when they said her name, didn't respond at all until they lifted her up bridal style, to which she went limp, letting them. She didn't have the strength to fight back anyway.

They murmured comforting words to her, stroking her soaking hair gently, while the two headed back.

ooo

"C'mon, kid. At least look at me…"

He stubbornly kept his eyes trained to the window, watching the raindrops glide down its smooth surface, washing the grime with it. He heard the other sigh.

"Captain Kyouraku, Captain Ukitake, that's enough for today. He needs rest." The two men got up without a word and followed her out the door. He waited until the door shut quietly behind them before turning.

Secretly, he was thankful to the woman for stopping the near-constant stream of unwanted visitors. They all wanted him to remember, just like the dragon.

The dragon… what had become of it? After being found by that group of people he had lost communication with the beast. For some reason, he felt that it could give him answers if he knew how to talk with it. Perhaps it was just testing him, like everyone else here. Wherever here was.

He could hear there voices drifting in from the hallway and had to restrain a snort. Did they think these thin walls really blocked out their voices?

Another voice entered the conversation and a small part of him was curious to know who it was. The rest was too busy hoping they wouldn't come in.

This hope had little time to live before the door opened once again and four people walked in.

One was the woman that seemed to run wherever he was. He noticed that her forehead was covered in worry lines, and dully wondered if it was because of him. The two men that had just left were with them. They were led by an old man. Though the man looked to be ancient, he seemed to radiate power. He instantly made the boy uneasy.

The man scrutinized him with squinted eyes, giving him the impression that he was looking straight through the boy. He tried not to squirm under the old man's gaze.

After what seemed an eternity the old man looked away. The boy barely held in a sigh of relief.

The old man didn't say anything; he simply turned and walked back out the door. The small part of him that still cared about such things was mildly curious as to why he would do that. The two men followed behind, the one with white hair giving him a worried look on the way out before he was herded out by his friend and the woman.

After a few minutes the woman came back in.

"The Captain Commander wishes for you to attend tomorrow's captain's meeting." She seemed unhappy about this.

Disinterested, he turned back to the window. The woman stayed for a few more moments before turning and walking out again.

He listened to her footsteps fade down the hall as she left.

Just like everyone else.

ooo

"Aizen..."

The man regarded the boy with an amused smile, knowing he wasn't a threat at this point in time.

"I will kill you."

"This sounds familiar."

ooo

The rain was falling again. Aquamarine eyes watched the drops weave between each other on their way down the glass in perfect harmony.

The two men were back too. He frowned. Couldn't they just leave him alone?

He felt numb. When he went to that meeting before it felt as though something was trying to pull loose, but now that it was over the numbness came back. He was glad. The numbness made everything sound farther away, like his ears were stuffed with cotton. It helped block out the voices of the men.

Eventually the men left, just like they always did. Once again the women came to check up on him, and once again she left after speaking in a soft voice.

It was becoming a regular routine.

A flash of lightning illuminated the room for a split second before thunder rolled overhead, vibrating in his chest, as he sat alone in the dark room.

Alone…

ooo

The storm raged overhead, giving no sign of stopping any time soon. Storms - and rain, for that matter - were rare in the desert. In an enviroment where water was scarce any form of precipitation was welcome.

In a small dark room a small figure sat in the corner farthest to the door, listening to the voices outside. One voice in particular was especially talkative, driving its poisonous words into his mind like a dagger until they continued to torment him long after the voice itself stopped talking.

The thunder cracked directly overhead, vibrating in his chest as the boy sat in his own miniature hell, listening to the deadly whispers of a bodiless voice.

ooo