Yo, minna! How are you doing? Big apologies to BankotsuAngel on having you wait so long for this chapter, but I've been a bit tied up lately. Holidays are starting, so updates should be more frequent. I have two works in-pending after Frozen Memories, one a sequel to Frozen Memories and another AU fic. The only problem is the storyline is a bit shaky since I can't figure out a proper ending. The sequel is definite, but the AU is still in consideration (I only just got the idea for it). If any of you have any suggestion what to write, please tell me. They may give me more inspiration bunnies. Anyway, hope you all like this chapter as much as the last one. Enjoy!

Special thanks to Alliana Lyrena, Shichimaru Gin, Kitti, lucifer, 2stupid, Evil-usagi, BankotsuAngel, Yozora Nozomi, Jay Kamiya, SadisticHumour, Cerulean Soul, LiL DraGoNs2er, Yukiko Tsukishirou, OShayO, stealth67, Jess, Psycho Demon-Witch, soul collecter, Crazy Hyper Lady, oxXxSHoRTy CHaNxXxo and anime-girl98 for reviewing my last chapter.

Disclaimer: Bleach, Hitsu-chan and the others don't belong to me. However, the storyline and OCs definitely belong to me. So ask for permission if you want to use them (if you even want to use them).

Frozen Memories

Arc 2: The Real Key

Chapter 7: Regain Your Resolve

Hitsugaya glared at Aizen the best he could, but failed to do so miserably due the white spots dancing in front of his eyes as unconsciousness settled in. Clutching his bloodied side, he tried to at least sit up, but the last of his strength had left him. The fact he was bleeding heavily didn't help his current predicament.

He was the O-Tenkagi.

His blood was needed to open the door.

The O-Tenkagi was a sacrifice.

As much as he hated to admit it, Aizen had outwitted them this time. The fact that he was lying face down on an eerily glowing dark blue array on the verge of unconsciousness with a bleeding side was proof enough.

Hitsugaya couldn't die now, nor could he allow his blood to continue flowing onto the array, allowing it to glow as it did. He could hear the door behind him open inch by inch, slowly but steady. He couldn't let it open fully either, not with Aizen standing in front of him, waiting to pass through it; because if he did, the whole of Soul Society and the Human world would be doomed.

But no matter how much he willed himself, his body was already too weak to respond. As the bleak dark of unconsciousness took over him, he hoped fervently that Yamamoto sou-taichou would send someone capable of stopping Aizen.

Matsumoto couldn't help but begin to feel panicky. Hitsugaya's reiatsu was getting weaker and weaker by the minute, and by now, he would be unconscious and on the brink of death's door. His reiatsu may still be present-though very weak- at the moment, but it wouldn't be long before it would completely disappear.

When Gin had stabbed him, Matsumoto had wanted to rush to his side and assist him, but Gin had stopped her, attacking her with a little more vigor than before, pushing her further away from her captain and the steadily opening door. She was completely on the defensive, and no matter how much she tried, she couldn't break through Gin's attack long enough to use shunpo and reach her captain. However, even so, he would stop her before she could reach Hitsugaya.

Their fight had been going on for around fifteen minutes, but to Matsumoto, it seemed like an eternity. Dodging a feint and bringing up Haineko to block a thrust from Shinsou, she uttered 'unare' below her breath, invoking her sword's shinkai. Immediately, Haineko burst into a cloud of dust-like tiny razors and flew towards Gin.

Matsumoto was going to show Gin how determined she was to reach Hitsugaya's side.

Even if she had to die trying.

Hitsugaya was sure he had been floating in a never ending darkness.

He hadn't been able to hear, see or feel anything then, but now as he looked around, feeling the wind thug at his hakama, hearing the birds serenade to the red sunset, he realized he had no idea where he was.

He was standing in a garden, in front of an old, lone sakura tree that stood there. A koi fish jumped out of the expansive pond in front of him. Over the pond was a beautifully carved wooden bridge, facing the veranda of a tiny house. Behind the house's shoji door, he could see the silhouette of an unknown person. As the figure drew closer and the shoji door slid open, he was surprised to see Ryuuhara step out from the shadows.

Ryuuhara no longer wore the standard Shinigami's robe and white captain's coat. Instead, she had traded them for more regal looking clothing. She was now clad in a three piece furisode, the first layer being snow white and the second a light blue. The last and outermost layer of the kimono was black in color, decorated with sakura petals that were scattered all over the kimono. All this was held together with a beige obi, its long ends trailing behind her. Her hair had been let down instead of tied up in the usual ponytail he was accustomed to seeing her in, framing her heart-shaped face in a halo of long dark hair.

Hitsugaya shook his head slightly to clear his muddled mind. All of this was coming to him fast, mixing together and becoming a jumbled mess in his mind. It was just a little too much to comprehend in a single day.

Upon seeing his confused stare, Ryuuhara merely smiled. "Surprised to see me, Hitsugaya-kun?"

"Where am I?" Hitsugaya managed to ask in his currently shocked state.

"You are currently at the Kaiya, the dimension house, where spirits that pass away in Soul Society await to be yet again reincarnated into the Human World."

"Then I'm dead?"

"Yes, you are. However it is not your time yet to pass through these doors." Ryuuhara emphasized, waving towards the shoji door behind her.

"Then who are you to be here?" Hitsugaya questioned, folding his arms in front of him and staring at her through narrowed eyes. "And what do you mean by it's not my time to pass yet?"

"To answer your first question," Ryuuhara began, meeting his gaze firmly. "I am the fifth Kashinkami, the spirit god that leads the souls to rebirth."

Hitsugaya nodded his head. Things were starting to get a bit clearer.

"As for your second question," she continued. "You came too early."

"Excuse me?"

"In truth, you should have come to Soul Society later," Ryuuhara explained. "Instead you came one hundred years earlier then the usual five hundred years meant due to unknown circumstances. If I had known, I would have already sent you on your way to rebirth like the other previous O-Tenkagi; unfortunately, I did not. And by the time I found out about you, you had already become known to Soul Society and even held a position in the Gotei 13. Making you simply disappear at this point was clearly impossible."

"At first I was planning to just leave you be and wait for your death. However, with the recent upheaval and Aizen's intentions to enter Senkai-or God's domain- crystal clear, I had no choice but to masquerade as a captain of Gotei 13 and make sure that nothing happened to you. But it seems that the Gotei 13 was foolish enough to send you straight into the enemy's open arms, thus the current situation."

"So now what?" A sudden thought struck Hitsugaya. "Your name is still Kiyoshirou Ryuuhara, is it?"

Ryuuhara smile deepened as she answered his question good-heartedly. "Yes, it was my given name before I become a Kashinkami."

"How did you become a Kashinkami?"

"I have no idea. I was just chosen to be one. However, you are the third O-Tenkagi I will be sending off, or rather back. I will pass on after this and reenter the wheel of life. As for what we are to do, I will send you back to your body."

Walking across the bridge, she took out a gold wooden box engraved with strange markings from her sleeve and handed it to Hitsugaya. Upon opening it, he saw a transparent sphere filled with a strange blue mist. He was taken by surprise when the sphere floated up from its place in the box and disappeared into his body.

Taking the now empty box from his hands, Ryuuhara explained that the sphere would give him the power to see past Aizen's illusions no matter how strong it was. After Aizen's defeat, the sphere would return to the box.

"So how do I get back to my body?" Hitsugaya enquired, looking around him.

"Turn around and walk past the sakura tree," Ryuuhara said, pointing in that direction. "You will then return to your body."

Giving her a curt nod, Hitsugaya made his way towards the tree. As he was about to pass the tree, Ryuuhara suddenly spoke.

"However, there is a condition upon your return."

Aizen watched with elated delight as the door groaned to a halt and opened fully. Ichimaru and the remaining Arrancar would be able to hold off the Shinigami and no matter how much they tried, he knew that he would be safely pass the doors before they could break through the Arrancar.

Looking at Hitsugaya's fallen form, he couldn't help but feel a moment of triumph. It had been by a stroke of luck that Soul Society hadn't found out who the real key was, and had instead sent him to Aizen's waiting arms. Now, even with the help of all the remaining captains in the Gotei 13, there was no way for Soul Society to correct the mistake that was done. After all, what had been done was done; there was no way to neither turn the clock around nor tell time to stop.

As he was about to pass through the door to god's realm, the door to victory and glory, a sudden spike of reiatsu stopped him in his tracks.

This reiatsu was palpably familiar, yet it shouldn't have been here.

It couldn't be true.

The owner of that reiatsu was supposed to be dead by now.

Any hope of that person being alive was a joke. Aizen had made sure of that with his own hands.

But as he looked past his shoulder to look behind him, he was shocked to see that this was no illusion.

Matsumoto was about ready to give up to the growing despair in her heart.

She was no closer to reaching Hitsugaya, unable to get pass Gin even with the help of two other captains. The many wounds she was sporting were not a good sign.

Hitsugaya's reiatsu had disappeared a few minutes ago, signaling his unfortunate death. Even with Inoue's skill and great power, there was nothing she could do for the dead.

The doors had already opened fully, giving Aizen entrance to the God's realm. He was too far away to be stopped by any of them.

All in all, the final conclusion was that there was no hope left anymore.

Looking at Hitsugaya's laying form, Matsumoto couldn't help but feel on the verge of tears. She had lost the second most important person in her life, and she had done nothing to help him at all.

Suddenly a familiar spike of reiatsu filled the air. Aizen was five steps away from the door when he stopped and looked over his shoulder and was shocked at what he saw. All around, the clash of swords ceased as they beheld the miracle that was happening before them.

But the one that was most surprised by what was happening was Matsumoto herself.

Slowly, a figure rose from his fallen state, blood dripping from the gaping wound at his side, albeit lesser than before. His hand was gripping his sword tightly, ready to fight. He faced Aizen with a level glare, reiatsu flaring and ready to charge.

Matsumoto could have cried now. Not from sorrow, but from joy at seeing him alive.

Hitsugaya Toushirou had miraculously risen from the dead.

Alright, how was it? I hope it met your expectations. This chapter is slightly shorter than the last, but I hope it suited your needs. Next chapter's the big fight. I hope I can right it with the good amount of action and suspense. Whilst I do that, I plan for future projects. Until the next chapter, I bid you farewell.