Author's Note: Yay, an update! I'm sorry, I tried to make a plot twist here, but I think I failed...And, to make up for the lack of update, I'll make this chapter a little longer. There's a lot of action in this chapter, so read carefully.

Featured Comment: "DUN DUN DUN! zomg! i was excited at first. i thought Hichi was gunna rape Hitsu! sigh. guess not."

(Sorry to disappoint you, but I never write M-rated material without the consent/request of at least five readers first. Though I am aware of the fact that I do write a lot of fluff and a lot of suggestive things.)

"I warned you, didn't I?"

Ichigo looked up from his position from inside the cell he had been confined to. Without permission from the Central 46, however, the sotaichou did not have the authority to actually decide whether or not he actually should be excecuted. However, his reiatsu had been somehow sealed, and Zangetsu had been taken away. It had already been about two weeks or so since he had been arrested.

"Renji?"

"Like I said, Ichigo, I warned you about what would happen if you trusted Hitsugaya-taichou. You did exactly what I told you not to, and now, look at where you are," the redhead sighed. "Don't you see? He was using you. That's all he does to everyone, acts all buddy-buddy, and then, bam. You end up like shit, and he gets credit from the sotaichou for it."

"That's not true."

Renji blinked. "Oh, come on, strawberry, get a grip. It's already happened, and you're trying to deny it?"

"He didn't have a choice," Ichigo shot back angrily. "And, if you must know, Renji, he's been locked up, too. And you want to know why?"

"No, I don't want to know why, I want you to get a hold of yourself and-"

"It's because he was defending me!" Ichigo retorted in a voice that was almost a yell.

Renji blinked.

"If you insist, but let's go. The Central 46 determined that it'd be a stupid idea to have you executed. I mean, we need all the help we can get for fighting the Arrancar, and throwing you away would be about as smart as holding an umbrella and jumping off a cliff in hopes of flying. C'mon, the sotaichou gave me permission to get you out of here, and then we'll go get your zanpaku-to back."

Blinking in surprise, Ichigo stood up as Renji swung the cell's door open.

"What about Toshiro?"

Renji looked a bit surprised at this. "You mean, they haven't told you yet?"

"Told me what?"

"Told you what they did with him."

"No," Ichigo answered suspiciously, "What do you mean? What have they done with Toshiro?"

"Actually," Renji muttered, looking away, "I think it'd be best if I didn't tell you. I don't want you getting all upset over him and stuff, I mean, if I were you, I'd be upset...It is a shame, but hey, he comitted a crime, and the Central 46 determined it would be the best thing to do for the well-being of Soul Society..."

"Cut the shit!" Ichigo snapped, his voice rising. "Where is he!?"

"He, um...Well, you see..."

"Renji! Tell me what's happened to him. Now."

The redhead could most evidently feel Ichigo's reiatsu spiking dangerously, and he took this as a sign that the strawberry was not in the mood to mess around and that he would not take no for an answer, let alone his reluctance to tell him what had become of the former juuban tai taichou.

He sighed again, turning away, not wanting to see Ichigo's expression after he had broken the news. "Two days after you were arrested, the entire first division was held under siege by Arrancar that had shown up out of nowhere. It was really scary, but they weren't here to fight. They wanted to make a negotiation. Basically, they'd leave us alone, for nows, anyway, but they were sent because Aizen wanted something in exchange for not blowing the place up. And, well, he wanted them to hand over Hitsugaya-taichou, and, well...the sotaichou agreed. They released him from his cell and took him to the first division, So I guess Aizen took Hitsugaya-taichou back to Hueco Mundo with him. I guess he wants to use him for the war or something, or maybe let the Arrancar feed off of his reiatsu? But hey, I'm sorry, it's not like I could have done anything to stop them anyway..."

Ichigo was quiet for a moment.

"Are you telling me the truth?"

"Yeah."

There was another silence before Ichigo abruptly shoved his way past Renji, storming off through the dank corridors of the prison.

"Oi, strawberry! Where the hell do you think you're going!?"

"To see the sotaichou!" Ichigo yelled back. "I can't believe they'd do this to him," he fumed. "Why would anyone just...Just trade Toshiro off like he was some kind of...some kind of object!? I'm going to get him back, Renji, and don't you dare try to stop me."

"What the hell do you mean!?"

"It is a regretable fate for Hitsugaya-taichou, but there's nothing we can do," Yamamoto answered calmly, gazing at Ichigo over his wooden cane. "It would be selfish to have an entire division destroyed over just one little boy. I'm sure you agree as well."

"You're the selfish one!" Ichigo screamed back, completely losing his temper despite his better judgement. "You sent Toshiro to die, just to...Just to save your own cowardly ass!"

"Silence!" the sotaichou demanded, slamming his stick on the ground, hard. "He agreed to the terms himself, Kurosaki Ichigo. You are in no place to speak out against me, especially since I generously allowed you to be released from prison and cleared of charges. Now, if you have nothing more to say, then you are excused."

"You...You..." Ichigo's fists were clenched so tightly that his knuckles had whitened exponentially. He resisted the urge to scream and slice the old man into bits with Zangetsu, but that would be extremely unwise. Instead, he merely settled to state, quite plainly, "Fine. Then I'm going to get him back."

"You will do nothing of the sort."

"I'll do it if I want to."

"You are forbidden."

"Then you're basically condemning him to death, aren't you!? You expect me to just sit here and do nothing, when he could be dying, or maybe even worse!?"

"That is exactly what I expect you to do."

Ichigo clenched his fists again, giving Yamamoto one final glare, dripping with hatred, before turning tail and exiting the first division office without so much as a final backwards glance. He was way too pissed off to care what the old man said, and he certainly wasn't going to follow his orders, either.

"Ichigo! You going to Hueco Mundo or what?"

The strawberry stopped. In his rage, he hadn't noticed that Renji had been following him since he had left the first division office.

"Are you going to try to stop me?"

"Ichigo, let me go with you."

Surprised, the orange-haired youth blinked. "What?"

"I'm going, too," the sixth-squad fukutaichou insisted. "Don't want you diving in there alone and dying a useless death."

A small smile appeared on Ichigo's face as he nodded. "Fine," he replied, "But don't blame me if you get in trouble, baka."

"I'm not the only one, you know. Matsumoto-fukutaichou's coming, too."

"What!? Hey, what d'ya think this is, a party!?"

"Sorry, but Hitsugaya-taichou's her captain. It's not fair to not let her come if she wants to."

"You have a point," Ichigo mused. "Well, tell Rangiku-san she'd better be ready to leave by tomorrow morning."

Renji grinned. "Gotcha."

The secret rescue mission was underway.

Hitsugaya blinked, feeling vulnerable without his haori on his shoulders and without Hyorinmaru on his back. The Arrancar had taken the sword with them upon departure from Soul Society. It had all happened so fast, and he was still wondering what the hell he was doing in Hueco Munco and why the hell he had allowed himself to be taken there.

Then, he began to recall the past events, which had gone by in a blurry rush.

There had been three Espada; the fourth, the sixth, and the tenth, in the group and several other various leser Arrancar. They had the entire first division surrounded, but yet, Yamamoto had not permitted or sent for units to attack the invaders. Instead, he had merely asked them a simple question.

"What is that you want from us?"

"Aizen-sama requests that you hand over the juuban tai taichou."

"Very well."

Then, Hitsugaya had been released from prison, and informed of the situation.

"They want you to go with them to Hueco Mundo. The entire Soul Society is in danger...Will you do as they ask you?"

He didn't know why he had agreed.

"I will."

And so here he was, in the middle of Las Noches, in the middle of what seemed to be a gloomy-looking throne room of sorts. The entire hallway was dimly lit, and he could barely make out the outline of what seemed to be a figure reclining in the large chair at the room's front. He didn't even have to guess to know he was, or who the two people standing on either side of him was. They were all traitors, the lot of them, and he held them in the lowest regards.

"What do you want from me, Aizen?" he demanded, trying not to let the fear show through his shaky voice.

The man looked down at him through cold, amused eyes. "There's no need to speak to me so harshly, is there, Hitsugaya-kun? It's been a while, and I'm sure that you've missed me, correct?"

The Arrancar standing around the room laughed at this, and Hitsugaya stiffened. He was aware of the fact that there were two Arrancar standing behind him, and any wrong move would mean bad news for him if the Arrancar were to react.

"I'd rather die than say that I've 'missed' you, Aizen."

"Ah, so rude," Aizen sighed, "I don't know what to do with you, Hitsugaya-kun...But I highly suggest that you learn some manners soon and address me as "Aizen-sama." I would hate to have some kind of tragic misfortune falling upon you and ruining that pretty little face of yours. Wouldn't that be a shame, now?"

"You-"

"I don't remember giving you permission to speak, Hitsugaya-kun. Now, then, I will have you shown to your quarters, where you are to stay like a good boy until I have further instructions for you." He turned to a nearby Arrancar, snapping his fingers. "Bring little Hitsugaya-kun to his room," he ordered. "Quickly."

Before he had a chance to respond, Hitsugaya felt the Arrancar that Aizen had addressed seize him, twisting his arms behind his back in order to restrain his movement. "You bastard," he growled from between gritted teeth, glaring at Aizen through hateful eyes.

He didn't have the chance to say anything more, though, as the Arrancar dragged him off, cackling gleefully at the boy's helpless state.

"Move faster, boy," the Arrancar growled as it pulled Hitsugaya out of the room, attempting to drag him further down the hallway they had entered. Attempted being the keyword here, Hitsugaya seemed to be stubbornly resisting, dragging his feet and trying to make himself a deadweight. There was no way he was going to go quietly without at least some resistance.

"Shinigami," the Arrancar hissed. "Just sit still like a good little boy."

"I'm not inclined to."

"You little bitch!"

The next second later, Hitsugaya found himself being thrown viciously against the stark white wall, and then, a moment later, the Arrancar's hands shot out to grasp him by the throat.

"Let...Let go of me," the white-haired boy choked, his hands gripping hard at the Arrancar's hands, only to receive nothing more than having his head slammed against the wall again with a painful impact.

"You heard him. Release him."

Both Hitsugaya and the Arrancar froze.

"I said, release him. Aizen-sama did not specify that you were allowed to do anything more than taking him to his room."

The voice had come from a figure who had suddenly appeared behind the Arrancar. He appeared to be a tall young man, with inky-colored hair, but his face was not visible, as it had been covered by a blank white mask.

The Arrancar snorted in contempt. "Mind your own business."

There was a flash of steel, the sound of a katana being unsheathed, and the a fountain of blood spurted into the air. The Arrancar howled in agony, releasing Hitsugaya, who crumpled to the floor, gasping for breath.

With a roar, the Arrancar reached for its own zanpaku-to, but it was too slow. There was the sickening sound of a blade being drawn across its throat, before with a final wheeze of panic, it toppled to the floor, dead.

Confused, Hitsugaya looked up to see who his rescuer might be.

The figure knelt in front of him, his hand reaching out to tilt the young prodigy's chin upwards, seeming to be observe his face.

"It's been a while," the masked figure finally spoke. "You've changed, Toshiro. You have the same pretty face I remember you having...But your eyes. They're not the same...But you still bring back the memories, eh?"

"Who are you?" Hitsugaya demanded angrily, shoving the young man's hand from his face. "Don't touch me." There was something so familiar about this person and his reiatsu, but yet, he was still struggling to put his finger on who it might be.

"Toshiro, don't tell me you don't recognize me."

"Show me your face," Hitsugaya demanded simply. "I want to see your face."

"As you wish, Toshiro." The man reached to his mask, his fingers curling around its white edges, slowly pulling it from his face.

Hitsugaya's eyes widened.

"K...Kusaka..."