Vietvn: Awww..I feel SO bad for leaving this story for months now! D: I'm apologize 25453613542356 times for the REALLY late update. But a lot of factors affected me from writing; 1. I actually had a writer's block (boo~) 2. holiday homework from every subject I have 3. holiday party mania D:

And now its near exams! Gah! which means crunch time and cramming.

But you can go ahead and read now!

Chapter Three: Kusaka

I don't know how long I was out for but when I came to, I had figures hovering over me in worry. I had to blink a couple of times to recognize them as Ichigo and Rukia along with their friends.

"Reimei! Thank goodness! Are you alright?" asked Orihime, her voice full of concern. I forced myself to sit up and the group backed away from me to give me space. Rubbing my head, I nodded once.

"Yeah, I guess. Minus the headache..." I replied back in a groan, "What happened to me?"

"We felt Toushiro's reiatsu presence around here. It was strong so we figured he was in a fight with shinigamis from the Gotei 13. When we all came here, we found you unconscious, a whole lot of ice and Toushiro's presence was gone before we could do anything." answered Ichigo, hands stuffed in the pockets of his pants as he surveyed the area.

A flood of memory rushed back to me and I remembered what Toushiro had done before I was knocked out. I narrowed my eyes.

'Damn it...I let him get away and I couldn't get him to talk about the reason why he was acting like this.' But my thoughts changed afterwards and I began to recall my abnormal behavior when I was fighting him, 'Why did I have the intention of harming him when I was fighting? I didn't mean to but I just sort of..did..' I felt like slapping myself. If that was how I truly felt about this whole thing then...who am I to kid myself. But I'm not really out to get him; I'm still willing to listen to his side of the story but I can't help feeling hurt.

Argh! I sighed and rubbed my forehead; my head was about to explode. I was starting to get angry with myself for being stupid and-...

"I'm sure you didn't mean to act violently, you were upset. Maybe next time you can try to get him alone so that you two could properly talk."

I mentally agreed; we were after all in the middle of a fight when we encountered each other. And the way he looked at me; so sad and everything, it just makes me want to erase that look forever from my mind. Huh, maybe that's why I was fighting so hard against him.

"Reimei?"

I glanced up at Ichigo, blinking confusedly.

"You were spacing out; we're going back now to rest up since we're all pretty tired. Tomorrow morning we can try to investigate more and figure out where Toushiro is."

I nodded my head, sleep sounded nice. Today's events wore me out a lot and I needed to sleep on my thoughts for now before I could figure things out. Ichigo leant a hand out and I took it, letting him haul me up. I dusted myself and looked at everyone's tired faces.

"But where will I be staying?" I asked quizzically. Orihime smiled and happily replied that she had enough room for me to stay over. I thanked her gratefully and we all parted ways to get a good night's rest.

Unfortunately, my good night sleep seemed to short for me. When I woke up I felt like I hardly got any sleep at all. Maybe I should've checked the time when we got in last night; maybe that might've explained my short sleep. I sighed, staring at the ceiling above me. I was comfortably lying in a futon Orihime had provided me. I was sharing rooms with the nice girl who was still fast asleep in her futon. I shifted my eyes to the ticking clock hanging on the wall.

It read 8:24.

I groaned inwardly, figuring another reason as to why my sleep felt short. Well, at least that means I didn't have to get up. Another hour or two wouldn't hurt. I turned on my side and settled back in my covers, closing my eyes and preparing to put myself to sleep again.

I tossed and turned, finding no sleep and still conscious. I snapped my eyes open and glanced at the clock once more.

It only read 8:45.

Guess the hours of sleep I wanted didn't come to me. I forced myself to sit up and then slowly drag myself to the bathroom to freshen up a bit.

My fingers reached for the tap of the sink. The water ran down freely into the bowl and I cupped my hands under the flow. Gathering the water, I splashed it to my face, letting droplets of water slide off. I stood over the sink for a while, both hands resting on either side of the sink. My long raven-violet hair was in a slight mess; strands of hair misplaced and some slightly knotted.

"Reimei..? Are you feeling fine?"

'I...don't know...'

"Forget it, bird. She's just going through some of the syndromes of heartbreak."

"Shut up. You're supposed to be helping her!"

'No, he's right....' I closed my eyes, 'Even though Toushiro has a reason, it still didn't stop me from feeling slightly heartbroken...I mean doesn't he know how much he means to me? I could've helped him. But then again...He must've felt this way when I left. But it was only for helping Soul Society, Aizen's plans were not known and I was the only close enough to find out what it was. For Toushiro....I don't have a clue as to why this Kusaka guy is important to him. Guess I don't know half of Toushiro...' I paused for a moment. 'Wait....'

I stopped thinking, realization struck me.

'Kusaka...Hey, we never exactly heard from Renji who this guy was.'

"You're right...Maybe that piece of the puzzle is vital to solving the bigger picture."

I agree, and left my perch on the sink to head for the showers. Now I had my mind fixed on something other than Toushiro.

After showering and getting dressed, Orihime had woken up shortly after and had offered to make breakfast. I happily agreed but soon afterwards decided it was more of a lesson well learned; never let Orihime cook. I had to prevent myself from convulsing and dying on the spot when I tried her 'breakfast special.'

I headed back into the room I shared with Orihime. I was dressed in a black and grey striped, long sleeved shirt with a square neck and a white skirt that reached mid-thigh along with high white socks that reached just past my knees. My hair was now neat and tied up in my usual way. I looked around the room and found what I was looking for. Picking up the white flip phone, I searched the contacts book for Rukia's number.

After finding it, I dialed and waited as the tone began to ring. The dial tone stopped as a voice finally answered.

"Moshi moshi?"

"Rukia? It's Reimei."

"Reimei-san? Yeah, what's up?"

"Has Renji found anything about this Kusaka guy yet?"

A sigh came from Rukia, "Unfortunately not. Apparently most of this guy's history has been erased; it's as if he never really existed in Soul Society though we're certain he must've attended the academy."

"Oh..." I said in disappointment.

"But we're bound to come up with something I'm sure." Rukia added in assurance. I smiled to myself.

"Yeah but on other matters, did you find any trace of Toushiro's reiatsu?"

"Not yet, Ichigo and I are still investigating the area where we were last night. If you're ready, you can come with Orihime."

"Okay, we'll be right there. Bye"

"Bye."

I flipped the phone closed and stepped out of the room again.

"Orihime!" I called, not sure where the orange hair girl was. As soon as I called, her head poked out from the living room.

"Hai!"

"I called Rukia, she's with Ichigo at the shrine last night looking for clues. If you want, we can head over there now."

Orihime nodded her head enthusiastically. We both headed towards the door and slipped on our shoes before heading out. We arrived at the shrine again and easily spotted Ichigo with his orange hair and Rukia who was pretty much dwarfed, standing beside Ichigo.

"Did you come up with anything?" I asked upon approaching the pair. They turned and Rukia shook her head.

"There's not much of a trail leading anywhere. It looks like he had taken extra precaution to hiding his presence more carefully because of last night."

I lowered my gaze to the ground slightly, feeling down crested. Everyone must've noticed. When I looked back up, I saw that Rukia and Orihime were looking at me with worried faces while Ichigo had a look of slight understanding. I blinked and quickly waved my hands in front of me.

"Oh no! I'm not saddened by that, it's just..." I trailed off and let out a long sigh.

"It's better to let it out you know. We all know how hurt you probably are because Toushiro left like that." Ichigo suggested, looking far-off into the distance, "You always look like you've got something to think about. So there's no point in hiding it."

"Kurosaki-kun is right; it wouldn't be good to have a troubled mind in this situation. We need to think clearly to be able to figure things out." Orihime piped up. Rukia nodded in encouragement. I smiled slightly but still, a troubled sigh escaped my lips once more.

"It's just that...I'm mad at myself for encountering him but not taking the chance to hear him out. Even though we're in the midst of a battle, I know I could've asked him to follow me to another place where we could talk in private. But even so, I don't think he would tell me still. And I guess that's what sort of saddens me."

A moment of silent swept through, it was sort of awkward for me and I began to shuffle my feet slightly.

"Reimei-san, I'm sure he's doing this to also keep you away from dangers. Kusaka might be a dangerous person to deal with and he wouldn't want to see you hurt because of him." Rukia offered, coming up beside me and giving my arm a gentle squeeze. I smiled slightly, I guess that might be true but even so, that doesn't mean he had to risk his life by himself.

Suddenly Ichigo stretched his arms over his head and made a strained noise following his action.

"Well! Toushiro may be a captain, but he sure as hell doesn't have an idea of what he's putting people through right now. That kid...I'm sure he has a good reason but we just need to beat it out of him." He turned to the rest of us girls and gave a grin, "Let's look around a bit more, maybe there's a trail from his wound or something. He can't get that far with a wound like his."

I nodded slightly and we began to head towards the shrine. We looked around but found no clue whatsoever. It has been a little over two hours of searching but nothing much came up. A little saddened, and a bit hungry, Ichigo suggested we'd take a small break to get something to eat before coming up with a way to track down Toushiro. We went into town and chose to eat at a small cafe. Eating didn't really take long and before anyone could fight over who's paying for the majority of the lunch, we were back outside. The day dragged by slowly for all of us, with nothing to help us with a lead.

We eventually called it a day and decided to hang out at Ichigo's house.

"You know I've been thinking..."Spoke Ichigo thoughtfully. I looked up from my place on his desk, swiveling in the small black chair he had. Rukia was sitting on his bed along with Orihime while Ichigo sat on the floor, leaning his back against his bed.

"Thinking about what?" inquired Rukia.

"Well, I remember that Toushiro said something about that Kusaka guy before he left."

I furrowed my brow in thought too; I had almost nearly forgotten about him. 'Kusaka' was probably the only lead we have as to why Toushiro would 'betray' Soul Society. I urged Ichigo to continue.

"What did he say?"

"Toushiro said that he was someone who he murdered a long time ago."

Murdered? That word shocked me, especially when it was in the same sentence as Toushiro. I thought for a moment, Toushiro isn't the type of person to kill someone unless that person was a threat.

I was cut from my thoughts when a series of beeping erupted in the air. We all turned to the source of the noise and found out it was Rukia's cellphone. She immediately picked up.

"Moshi, Moshi?...Renji? Did you find out anything?....What?!"

We were suddenly startled at the urgency in Rukia's tone.

"What is it Rukia?" asked Ichigo anxiously.

"The Gotei 13 has decided to execute Hitsugaya Toushiro if he resists turning himself in soon. It's been reported that captain of the 8th division, Shunsui Kyōraku, was attacked and is hospitalized. Byakuya-niisama and Renji went to investigate and they found the entire area where the fight was covered in ice." Rukia paused and listened to what Renji had to say but then thought it would be best for us to hear it ourselves. She pushed the speakers on and we listened in on what Renji had to say.

"...Before Kyoraku-taicho and Nanao-fukutaicho were helping me find out more about Kusaka. There was nothing about the guy at all in the records kept in Soul Society. All we really did manage to find out was that he used to be a student at the Academy and by the sounds of it, I'm betting he was Hitsugaya's classmate or something."

"So what you're saying is that he could be a close friend or classmate?" I asked.

"Yeah, maybe that's how Hitsugaya's connected to him. But why Kusaka's existence was almost completely erased, we don't know. I don't even think he graduated. But it's possible that he died before actually graduating."

Renji's information was actually helpful, somewhat. If Kusaka was a close friend of Toushiro in the Academy days, and that he was the man he supposedly murdered....

I groaned; my head was starting to hurt as all the possibilities came flooding in.

"Thanks Renji, keep in touch with us if you find something else." Ichigo said.

"Yeah, and if you ever get the chance, tell Hitsugaya that the Gotei 13 are after his head and they're serious this time."

The line went silent and then clicked, signaling us that he hung up. Rukia closed her phone and heaved a sigh. The exasperation seemed to have affected us all because after her sigh, we all simultaneously slouched our shoulders in dismay.

"Toushiro's got himself in a sticky situation. A big one." Ichigo sighed.

"But now that we have some more information from Renji, we can possibly piece them together and work out an answer." Rukia said, "But we also have to keep a close look out for any signs of Hitsugaya-taicho, with the Gotei 13 out to get him."

"And those Arrancers." added in Ichigo.

I had nearly forgotten about the Arrancer lackys that seem to take orders from this Kusaka guy. I shook my head, lots of thoughts were jam packed into it and it felt like it was going to burst. I stood up and everyone casted a curious gaze towards me.

"I'm going out for a bit...To clear my head." I replied to their stares. Rukia looked worried as did Orihime but Ichigo gave me an understanding smile.

"Just be careful."

I nodded, acknowledging his word of concern and departed the room and out into the rather cold night for a stroll. I sighed, a puff of smoke appearing before me then disappearing. I took a step and let my feet guide me to wherever they wanted to lead me. It's been so long since Toushiro and I have been apart, now that I noticed. It felt empty inside. And it made me sad. Where was he? Was he fine? What does he plan on doing? What is his goal? This loving hate I feel towards Toushiro now, a love that's clear yet not clear at the same time. It all confused me so much. I stopped and glanced up, finding myself in front of the lake near the town. The city lights were twinkling like stars in the night and the moon reflected the surface of the calm water like a mirror.

The scene was tranquil if it wasn't for the jumbling thoughts running around in my mind. Sitting down, I pulled my knees up towards my chest and settled my gaze on the moon in the water. I hate being lost. If Toushiro killed Kusaka who was his former classmate, what was the reason? Rivalry? A conflict? An accident? A misunderstanding? Gah! I shook my head, becoming slightly depressed and frustrated.

"Toushiro..." The name rolled off my tongue in a whisper, "Where are you...?"

'Mistress...I'm sure he is safe...We will find him and have answers soon...' comforted Tsumetai Kaze.

"I hope so..." I shut my eyes, trying to remember the good times before any of this happened. But all I could think of was Toushiro. Even though he is a captain, he still does a lot of reckless things, this being one of them. Sometimes it makes me question his intelligence. Something cold and wet landed on the tip of my nose and I blinked my eyes open. I did so just in time to catch a glimpse of a snowflake and when I looked around there were many falling from the sky.

I stood up, puzzled. It wasn't suppose to snow yet but I guess it can since it was cold enough.

'This isn't snow...He's hiding his reiatsu...'

I nearly gasped. If what Tsumetai Kaze said was true then that meant...

"It can't be..."I whispered to myself, not getting my hopes up. If it was Toushiro's snow then I would know. This snow felt so foreign. My senses had no recognition of the snow so it can't be his.

If it wasn't his then who is it?

"Rei-chan..." A chill ran down my spine as the voice called through the night air. On instinct I flicked my wrist, taking out the gikon pill and popping it into my mouth in one swift motion. I jumped out of my gigai and quickly ordered it to head back to Ichigo's house, but it didn't get very far. An unknown force knocked it off its feet and it lay unconscious in less than a minute. I felt my eyes widened in shock and with instincts kicking in again, I pulled out my zanpakuto and blocked the blade that was coming to strike me from behind.

I pushed away and turned around to face my opponent. It was a masked man who also had the similar looking cloak as Toushiro had. His hair was dark and was tied up in a way I couldn't see in the moonlight.

"Who are you?!" I demanded, holding my blade in front of me in defense. The masked offender just raised his sword and charged at me again. We clashed swords, pushed off and were now in a deadlock. I glared at him but then my eyes drifted to the hilt of the sword. It nearly made my eyes pop out of my sockets.

"That...can't be..." I breathed but apparently my opponent heard me.

"But it is...Hyourinmaru..." With the call of its name, my blade started to freeze over with ice. I pushed away quickly and with a swing of my own zanpakuto, broke away the ice.

"How are there two?!" I demanded. My entire conscious was set into overload. There were two many side stories to keep up with this entire situation! Too many questions! Who is this man?!

"I'll tell you who I am, maybe that'll help." He chuckled, slowly sliding his mask out of the way. It revealed an unfamiliar face; it reminded me vaguely of Byakuya's face except the person in front of me held more expression. Also instead of dark violet eyes, they were a bright orange-red. He must've caught on with the confused expression I was forming on my face, because he merely grinned at me and began to speak again.

"I am Soujirou Kusaka..."

"Ku..saka..." I managed to gasp. Again, this guy nearly made my eyes pop out of their sockets. So this was the guy that Toushiro was after? And they have same zanpakuto but this guy was also the person Toushiro 'murdered.'

"Don't get distracted, especially when you still have a fight going on." I didn't realize that spacing out has become a habit of me now. A bad habit. Kusaka had appeared right in front of me and an instant feeling of pain flooded from my right shoulder. Ice immediately started to spout out from the zanpakuto and rendered me unable to move.

"I've heard of you before Tanaka Reimei. If I'm not correct, you're a person who Toushiro cherishes most, even more than that naive girl. Do you know what that means?" He asked mockingly. I could only grit my teeth and glare dangerously at him. Why would I want to answer a question coming from someone like him?

"It means you're a perfect bait."

'Reimei!'

Before I realized it, I was looking at the world from behind a wall of ice. Or more specifically, I was encased in a prison of ice, that bastard. I couldn't move and I was starting to lose consciousness. Damn it...I can't die now but what can I do, the world around me was already blurring.

Wow, a lot of emotional conflict going on with Reimei but now she got kidnapped by Kusaka -insert gasp- PS. Har Har, I wonder how Toushiro would react to this. teehee

Sorry if this chapter sucks. I'm trying desperately to squeeze as many sentences out of my mind for this story. I worked where this is going afterwards but what I realized about the DiamondDust Rebellion movie is that it's freaking short for a movie D: so dragging out this story to make it longer is going to be a big struggle for me.

I still look at myself as an inexperienced writer but please, R&R. Tell me any tips to make it better or anything as long as it's not harsh and not totally stupid and random :) Thanks to all the reviewers of this story! I really appreciate it! :D