Author's Note: If I'm super bored some days, you guys can expect multiple-chapter updates every now and then, but they probably won't exceed three at a time. And thanks to all of you who still have the patience to be reviewing! I went back and read the whole story so far over again, and was thinking to myself, "Wow...This is cheesy." So thanks to all of you guys, and I have no idea how you've managed to get this far without ranting at me for my pathetic attempts and making plot twists.
As Hitsugaya returned to the tenth division, attempting to ignore the oppressive heat, he suddenly became aware of a commotion coming from the area near his office.
Raising an eyebrow, he stepped around a building, entering the tenth division's territory and approaching his office. Upon reaching his destination, he discovered Ichigo on the ground, screeching in terror and attempting to shield his head as a group of subordinates yelled at him and whacked him furiously with the flat sides of their blades.
"What's going on?" the young captain demanded, motioning for his subordinates to lay down their swords before crossing his arms over his chest in an irritated fashion. "What is the meaning of this?"
Ichigo had never been happier to see him.
"This guy was trying to get into your office," one of the shinigami explained. "He was screaming your name and saying that he had been dreaming about you…"
"I-I saw him!" Ichigo yelled, cutting the shinigami off as he spoke. "I saw him, Toshiro, I saw Sojiro and you in my dreams…"
"Kurosaki-kun, what on earth are you blathering about?"
"I saw him die."
Hitsugaya stopped abruptly, unfolding his arms. There was a moment of silence before he spoke again. "What…What happened in your dream?"
"The two of you, you were both in the first division office. It was something about your zanpaku-to's, I wasn't completely sure of what was going on…But then he took your katana and stabbed himself through the stomach, and then they took him away, and then…and then…"
"That's enough."
"I'm sorry…"
The expression on Hitsugaya's face was more than enough to tell Ichigo that everything in his dream had actually happened in the past.
"Toshiro, are you alright?"
"Y-Yes. I'm fine. If there's nothing more you need to say to me, then you are excused."
Getting to his feet and dusting off his robes, Ichigo looked back up at Hitsugaya. There was something, though he didn't know quite what it was, that was causing him to worry about the boy. He just seemed too preoccupied with something else. "Um, we'll see each other again…right, Toshiro?"
At these words, Hitsugaya stopped, before turning around to face Ichigo, a hurt expression on his face. "Actually, Kurosaki-kun," he answered quietly, "I think it's best if we didn't."
Ichigo froze.
"…What do you mean?"
"I'm sorry, but I can't really explain. Let me just tell you this, Kurosaki-kun. From this moment forward, every second you spend with me will put your life in danger. Please don't make me suffer the same guilt twice."
"Toshiro, I don't understand, why…?" His voice trailed off as Hitsugaya simply turned away, disappearing into his office moments later.
"Maybe Abarai-san was right…Eh, King?"
Ichigo's eyes dilated for a moment as he heard the familiar voice inside his head, and what seemed to be a second presence in his mentality.
"Freakin' Hichigo. Shut up," he growled. "I'm sure he's got a good reason."
His hollow's mocking laughter echoed throughout his mind, sending chills down his spine. "It'd be a shame to lose such a pretty little creature, wouldn't it? I'll tell you what, King…Let me out of here. If spending time with him is indeed 'dangerous,' then I'll get rid of it all."
"No way. I'll handle it by myself. Shut up and…"
"Ah, King, don't be selfish. I'm the reason why you're so powerful. This is your chance to thank me. Let me out."
"What do you want with Toshiro?" Ichigo demanded angrily.
"Don't tell me that I'm the only one who's noticed his reiatsu by now. I imagine that you're still seeking power, King, and I'm more than positive that the boy is just what you need to give your own reiatsu a good boost."
"What the hell!? I'm not going to let you eat him, if that's what you're thinking!"
"Oh, for the love of all things good, just let me out. I'm bored."
"No! If you're bored, then go hang out with Zangetsu! You guys can go spar or something or whatever it is that you do when I'm not fighting! Hold on, you're not manly enough to spar! How's about a nice game of tiddlywinks, eh!?"
"Fine, King, I'll shut up for nows…But you'll have to let me out sooner or later, and you know it…"
With another peal of sinister laughter, the hollow's presence slowly faded from Ichigo's mind.
Good timing, too. Ichigo had made up his mind that there was something very important he had to do. And it involved snooping around in Soul Society's archives.
"Hmm...Kusaka Sojiro, Kusaka Sojiro..."
After having bribed the key to Soul Society's archives from Ukitake (with the little white lie he had made, stating that the research he was about to conduct was to find the cure for lung cancer), Ichigo had found himself in the massive room with no idea where to start.
He supposed searching the records first would be a good idea, and now, he was looking through a long list of names of all the shinigami that had ever existed and/or still do. Unfortunately, that was one big-ass list, and he wasn't having much luck.
He had already spent hours inside, and not a single file he had found contained anything relevant at all to "Kusaka Sojiro," and he had double-checked as well.
He had gone through academy rosters, obituaries, registration forms...
And that was when he found it.
A large and very heavy book, the cover declaring it as an index containing records of all the zanpaku-to of Soul Society.
With a grunt of effort, Ichigo lifted the heavy volume from its precarious perch on a shelf that looked as if it would collapse at any second. He placed it on the ground, brushing the dust off of its cover before flipping it open.
"Damn," he grumbled. "This is going to take a while." Nevertheless, he went quickly through the pages, his eyes on the lookout for the magic word: Hyorinmaru.
After what seemed like at least an hour of flipping and scanning and reading and searching, he finally came across a page that bore the kanji characters that spelled out the name of the most powerful ice-type zanpaku-to in all of Soul Society. Placing his finger on the words, and then moving it downwards, he wasn't too surprised to see his finger land on the name "Hitsugaya Toshiro." His eyes moved downward, with a frown.
The words "Second shinigami wielder" were written in miniscule print at the bottom, with an arrow indicating information about that would be on the next page. He flipped the page, and instead found an entirely different page with an entirely different zanpaku-to's information on it. That was when he noticed a strip of tattered paper wedged in the book's binding. The second page meant for information on Hyorinmaru's second wielder had been there at some point, but it had been torn out and disposed of.
Which, in short, meant, that Soul Society had gotten rid of all his records.
Everything about "Kusaka Sojiro" had been destroyed, save his gravesite. No wonder his name could not be found on any other source.
So according to Soul Society's government, he had never even existed.
"Why'd they do that?" Ichigo frowned. "Maybe they're trying to cover something up…"
Putting the book back where he had found it and rising to his feet, Ichigo moved hurriedly towards an adjacent room, which he found was locked, and on the door were the words, "Forbidden Access."
"Aha!" Ichigo thought to himself. "A secret room, eh? I bet only Central 46 is allowed inside to access the records in there. So there's got to be something about that Sojiro dude in there!"
He placed a hand on the lock, examining it. It wasn't very strongly reinforced, so he assumed that no one went in there anyway. All he had to do was give the lock a good burst of reiatsu, and the door swung open to let him in.
He hurried inside, noting that it was unusually dark and musty in there.
But he couldn't waste time complaining about it, he had work to do, and he had to do it fast before someone came in and discovered him snooping about.