Hinata woke to the slightly blinding sheen of moonlight reflecting off the smooth floor and the rhythmic sound of breathing.

Hinata groaned softly as a small throbbing began in the back of her head and she slowly raised into a sitting position, dimly aware that she'd been sleeping on someone's sofa, and a hard one at that. Blinking, Hinata looked around the room and found it very nearly empty. There was a tiny, barred window about twenty meters above her head and watery light filtered through it; the walls were plain and a dark, depressing grey; the floor was flawlessly smooth and a little painful to look at in places; there was a tiny bed in the corner that seemed far to small for Hinata to sleep in, but it looked softer then the sofa, and apart from that, there was no other furniture. Hinata rubbed her eyes and swung her feet off the sofa and straightened her back, willing herself to wake.

"Ah." Someone said and Hinata jumped in fright. "You're awake. Good morning...well, as 'morning' as it can get here."

Hinata looked up and saw a sinister-looking man standing in the door way, clad in white and grinning like a hungry python. His eyes appeared to be closed, that or he was squinting. His hair was short and silvery, though the moonlight gave it a slight purple tinge. His arms were crossed over his chest and he was leaning casually against the wall, as if he didn't mind the fact Hinata had been kidnapped. She drew her legs back and regarded him wearily, trying to decipher he meaning behind the chilling smile.

"H-hello," She said carefully.

If possibly, his grin seemed to grow. "Hi to yerself. Yer Hyuuga Hinata-chan, ne?"

Hinata nodded slowly. Why did this person know her name?

"Good. They didn't screw up." He sounded a little surprised. "I'm Ichimaru Gin."

Hinata's eyes widened in horror. Ichimaru Gin was one of the two captains who abandoned his post and sided with Aizen Souske, the chocolate haired master mind and former captain of the Fifth Division.

Gin chuckled. "Come on, don't look so scared! I'm not gonna hurt ya, Hinata-chan."

Hinata just nodded in reply. Her throat was too dry with fear too speak.

"Okay...now, Hinata-chan, I'm gonna ask you to put that on."

Hinata followed his gaze and saw, lying on the arm of the sofa, was a snowy white outfit, strapped with black and void of stains. She touched it lightly and was surprised to find it was insanely soft, tickling the tips of her fingers and sparking the urge to smother her face in the silky material. She picked it up quickly and pulled it closer, tracing her fingers along the thick black lines and spreading it out over her lap so she could see it clearly. Hinata's cheeks flushed pink. The outfit was nothing more then a tight-fitting top that spilt apart at the end of her torso and widened to the point where it brushed against the ground a few feet away from Hinata. It left her mid-drift and legs completely bare!

Hinata turned to Gin with a fiery accusation in her throat, only to deflate when she saw there were pants waiting patiently on the arm, too, as well as some black shoes on the floor. She snatched them up and placed them by her side-

"Huh?" Hinata raised her arm and examined it. On her wrist was a bright blue band with weird fancy symbols scribbled on it, travelling around the band in one straight line. She frowned.

"That's a reiatsu controller." Gin informed her. "It stops yer from using yer reiatsu."

"What h-happens if I try?" Hinata asked softly and she dreaded the answer. Laughter was written all over Gin's face as he stepped away from the wall and gestured for her to stand. Hinata did so, albeit cautiously, and her eyes never left in and his calculating gaze.

"Try." He said simply and his arms fell limp beside his sides. When Hinata just stared at him in bewilderment, he laughed. "Try." He repeated. "Then yer'll see what happens!"

Hinata hesitated, then summoned her reiatsu. She suddenly felt light, felt free, like she could lift herself off the ground and fly forever, her reiatsu swirling around her like snowy mist, hugging her body and drowning her in bliss-

And suddenly her blood turned to acid; her skin was melting; someone was stabbing forks in her eyes; her skin was turning black and peeling away, collecting in a pile of smoking flesh on the floor; her throat had been slashed and blood was leaking all over the place, dripping off her front and pooling around her feet-

Hinata screamed and collapsed to her knees. She thrashed around on the floor, screaming and crying and screaming some more. She was in agony; never before had she felt such immense pain. She wished it would just disappear! It was horrible, so, so horrible! She couldn't breath, someone was suffocating her; she was being crushed by something hard and sharp and huge, squeezing her little body between monstrous fingers. Hinata screamed. She wanted to die!

And all of a sudden, the pain vanished and Hinata was left gasping and sobbing on the moonlit floor, trembling from head to toe, heart pounding against her rip cage. Sweat rolled down her cheeks and splashed against the floor, joining Hinata's silvery tears. And all the while, Gin looked on with that menacing grin plastered to his face.

Then he turned and walked down the out, pulling it shut behind him. Hinata only just heard him say "And now you know what happens," before the door clicked shut and she was left alone in her cell. Trapped in her box of pain and fear.

With shaky hands Hinata grasped the purple crystal of Toshiro's necklace, still dangling off her neck, and slapped her eyes shut, thinking of absolutely nothing but the silver haired boy for whom she cared so much.

0-0-0

Toshiro-kun...Toshiro-kun...help me...please...I'm scared...Toshiro-kun...

Hyuuga?

0-0-0

Toshiro awoke with a blinding headache and a sharp pang the base of his chest. With a drawn out moan the boy captain forced his sluggish body into a sitting position and looked groggily around at his surroundings, seeing nothing but a slush-like blur of white and black, mingling together to confuse his mind even further. After a few hard blinks, black became shinigami and white became the glinting walls and floors of a hospital wing. Toshiro swallowed and rubbed his eyes and muttered an oath unfit for a child of his age under his breath.

"Oh, you're awake, Hitsugaya-taichou." Unohana Retsu suddenly appeared in the corner of his sight and Toshiro turned to face her, slightly annoyed by the sweet smile lifting her cheeks. Toshiro grunted a good morning and winced when it only made his headache worse and began to rub his temples as Unohana sent a unseated shinigami to get some head medicine.

"How do you feel?" Unohana asked and Toshiro simply looked at her, his eyes speaking volumes. Unohana's eyes twinkled with amusement. "Not good, I guess. But that's to be expected after being poisoned. We almost lost you, Hitsugaya-taichou."

"Wonderful." Toshiro said and his voice was dripping with sarcasm.

Unohana chuckled. "In good spirits, I see. I sent someone to fetch Rangiku-san-"

"Taichou!" A busty blond charged through the ward and came to a shrieking halt at Toshiro's bed side, only to fling her arms around his neck and drag him into a bone-crushing hug. But before Toshiro had time to response appropriately (screaming at the top of his lungs), she pushed him away and cupped his head in her hands, twisting his chin from side to side and asking again and again if he hurt anywhere, if he felt something, it he was alright, and the list goes on. Her jerking of his head actually hurt more then his chest and his ears were so full of pain-induced buzzing that Toshiro could do nothing but mumble unintelligent gibberish, causing Matsumoto to freak out and demand that Unohana fix him.

"Let him go, Rangiku-san. You're hurting him." Unohana advised kindly and instantly Matsumoto's hands vanished and Toshiro let out a sigh of relief, rubbing his chin.

"Oh, taichou, I'm sorry!" Matsumoto squealed and her eyes never left the boy's face. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Toshiro grunted with a twitch of his eye brow. "Just tell me what the hell happened between then and now." No need to ask what 'then' meant.

And the moment he said that an icy hush fell over the room and Toshiro blinked in confusion. He looked questioningly at Matsumoto but she avoided his prying gaze and took to staring at the floor, her upper lip quivering. Unohana seemed just as reluctant to face Toshiro and when she did meet his stare, her eyes were dull. Toshiro's frown hardened.

"What happened?" He demanded and Unohana caved.

"He'll find out eventually, Rangiku-san." Unohana told the busty vice-captain in the softest voice she could muster. "You should tell him."

The stare which Matsumoto shot at the wise captain was not a glare but something close resembling it, then with a barely audible groan she turned away and to her captain, whose stomach was now full of butterflies. He didn't like where this was going; not one bit...

"Taichou," Matsumoto began and her voice was uncharacteristically flat. And that scared Toshiro more then anything. "When you were poisoned, arrancar attacked the Seireitei. They were all of Espada level and managed to escape without any casualties. Ichigo was badly wounded, and in recovering in another ward. As was Rukia."

"Why were the arrancar here?" Toshiro asked and Matsumoto visibly paled.

She hesitated before answering. "...They were here to collect something, which they got...Oh, taichou," Her eyes filled with pity and she looked away. "They came and took Hinata back to Hecto Mundo with them."

Toshiro felt like he'd been punched in the stomach. Slapped across the face and beaten with a bat. He had heard the words, those dreadful words, and yet his mind refused to accept them. He forced himself to replay the statement over and over in his bewildered mind until it eventually sunk in, that what Matsumoto had said wasn't his ears playing cruel tricks. That Hinata was really...

"...no..." Toshiro breathed. He couldn't believe it. Didn't want to believe it. He wanted to think Hinata would burst through that door any minute and collapse with a relieved sigh into the chair by his bed, hugging him close and threaded her fingers through his hair. To think that she'd been taken away...He shook his head, his hair bouncing. "No." He mumbled and his voice was firmer.

"Hitsugaya-taichou," Unohana said gravely and Matsumoto and Toshiro both turned to face her, her eyes void and his eyes wide with disbelief. Unohana's face was dripping with pity and sadness and Toshiro's insides churned with anger. They both pitied him. He didn't want to be pitied! "Hyuuga Hinata-san was taken by the arrancar. Why is still unclear. As is her fate."

Toshiro tried to swallow but his throat was dry and strangely sandy. Her fate. Just what had happened to Hinata? The thought that she was dead, lying bloody and mangled in the featureless deserts of Hecto Mundo, made Toshiro feel hollow with dread. If she died, he would die. He knew that for certain. He couldn't live without her...

Toshiro looked away and stared at his hands and nodded numbly, barely aware of what he was doing. Matsumoto's hand brushed against his shoulder but his muscles remained limp and unresponsive, to the blonde's surprise. Of all the times she'd touched him without warning, he would stiffen or jump or vanish all together, appearing seconds later directly behind her with his eyes burning with anger. But now...

"The poison was cleared from your system," Unohana continued mildly. "In a few hours, you should be good to leave, but take it slowly. Your body is still recovering. Also, at nine thirty tomorrow morning the So-taichou is holding a meeting at his barracks. He expects you to be there."

Toshiro said nothing.

0-0-0

Hinata wasn't sure how long she had laid dozing on the stiff sofa but when she was roughly shaken back into reality, the sky looked as bleak and black as every, and the moon was in the exact same place, thin and pale and glowing. The person who woke her up was Tia Harribel, the brown skinned and yellow-haired arrancar who had beat Ichigo to near-death while kidnapping Hinata.

"Rise." She commanded and Hinata quickly jumped to her feet. "Come with me. Aizen-sama wants to see you."

Hinata nodded shortly and Harribel lead the way out of the room, down the corridor. Hinata felt a horrible chill travel up her spin and shuddered. The walls that rose straight and high around her were pale green in colour and the silent air was icy. There appeared to be little warmth in this world, little space for love and joy. Hinata hugged herself close and unconsciously reached out for Toshiro's necklace, squeezing the purple stone between her fists. It was her only link to freedom now and if she concentrated hard enough, she could almost feel Toshiro, his warm breath and gentle touch.

Harribel walked Hinata to a gigantic set of doors, at which two skimpily-dressed female arrancar stood, banishing weapons twice their size and revealing far too much skin, and what little closed they wore hugged their frame shamelessly. Hinata flushed faintly and looked away and tried to ignore the amused gaze they directed at her back.

"Open." Harribel ordered and the purple-haired bunny-eared arrancar swiftly kicked the door with her boot clad foot and it swung obediently open. And then Harribel marched inside with Hinata stumbling after her, shivering from head to toe.

The room that met her eyes were huge and seemed to go on forever. The walls were lined with box like seats on which a variety of scary-looking individuals perched and all were clad in the standard wash-white gab of the arrancar. One particularly wild-looking brute glared hotly at Hinata despite the grin that raised his cheeks and revealed his inhumanly sharp canines, and his vicious blue eyes seemed to burn into Hinata's skull. She squeaked and looked away and her nails tug into her arms.

Up ahead was a series of raised platforms that extended high into the air to form a stair case and on the very top sat a high-backed chair; and in that chair sat Aizen Souske, his chocolate eyes observant and his classic smile breath-taking.

Hinata's breath caught in her throat as she recognized Aizen Souske as the man that walked in her dreams, accompanied by red-hot fire and the shrill song of ravens. Her legs wobbled beneath her and Hinata gritted her teeth and desperately tried to keep herself from fainting. His reiatsu was astounding!

"Thank you, Harribel." Aizen said and his voice was surprisingly casual for someone with such absolute power. "Please take your seat among your brothers."

Harribel bowed to Aizen and though the action was brief, it was obviously one of deep respect. Hinata blinked and when she opened them again Harribel was standing on one of the box-like chairs with her arms crossed over her chest and her aqua eyes gleaming sharply. The blue-eyed, blue-haired arrancar yelped something at her and Harribel replied with a toss of her hair and a cruel mutter, but Hinata heard nothing of the conversation that seemed to make Harribel so edgy.

"It's nice to meet you, Hinata-san." Aizen said and Hinata's eyes snapped back to him and his mocking smile. "In the flesh. Walking in your dreams was becoming tiresome, as it takes a massive amount of energy to do it. I trust you weren't treated too roughly? Arrancar can be very unreasonable at times."

Hinata nodded sullenly.

"Hinata-san, may I ask you something?" Aizen questioned but he gave no time for her to respond. "Are you aware of your ability?"

Hinata shrugged. She was more or less aware that she had a strange power which she could clearly not control, made evident by Bunko and Miyuki's sudden and extremely brief passing.

"I didn't think you would. You see, Hinata-san...you have the ability to bend space and time to your will."

Hinata frowned and titled her head slightly to one side, as was her habit when confused. Aizen noticed and chuckled, fascinated by her ability to look so calm now that she was confused, when moments ago she's been white as a sheet.

"The ability to bend space and time simply means to force other living or non-living thing to do your will." Aizen explained. "You are not the only person with the ability. Inoue Orihime, a human, and Ushoda Hachigen also have the power, but neither is nearly half as powerful as you. Both need to use some kind of incantation to use the power while you simply use your thoughts and wishes change reality. In time, when you learn to control this ability, you could 'erase' people from existence, or even whole civilizations, which is something neither Inoue Orihime or Ushoda Hachigen will ever be capable of."

Hinata cringed a little and took a shaky step back. If what Aizen said was true, did he intend to force her to use her 'power' to cancel out the shinigami, his one and only enemy? The thought terrified her. The shinigami were her family, her friends. Toshiro was a shinigami. And if Aizen could some how take control of her mind or something similar, what stop Hinata from learning to complete such horrific tasks? Her eyes widened and she took another step back, another and another. She had to run. To get away. She couldn't let Aizen control her...she couldn't...

And then Hinata felt herself growing faint as Aizen's reiatsu pushed down on her, suddenly twice as strong as it was before. She collapsed to her knees and lay gasping for breath and sweat tickled down her cheeks. The blue Reiatsu-controller on her wrist seemed somehow hot and sizzled slightly against her skin.

"Don't try to run. You have no where to go." Aizen informed her coldly. "Tousen, bring her. We need to begin."

And as Aizen stood up, his movements uncannily graceful, a man which Hinata hadn't noticed before jumped down the stairs three at a time and stalked up to Hinata and harshly took her arm, tugging her onto her feet. Though blurry eyes Hinata saw Tousen's skin was very dark, almost mud-coloured, and his hair was purple and tied in several thick braids. His grey and misty eyes were hidden behind a see-through visor and Hinata guessed he was blind.

Tousen followed Aizen out of the room and Hinata was dimly aware of the many sets of eyes watching them retreat through the enormous double doors. They sped past the guards and their seductive glances and flashed down hallway after hallway, taking turn after jerking turn, and eventually Hinata had no idea where they were or how to get back.

And then they reached a dimly light room, and Hinata felt a raven shriek in the back of her mind and froze, rooted to the spot. Tousen gave a surprised start and tried to shove her forward but Hinata remained as solid as a stone. In the centre of the room was a pale grey, rectangle-shaped thing protruding vertically from the floor and hovering on its surface was a small, round object no bigger then Hinata's palm. It glowed like a thousand diamonds but Hinata's eyes were not fazed by the mystical light. No...she was drawn to it, but at the same time longed to get away.

"Aizen-sama, she refuses to move." Tousen reported as Hinata continued to resist his pushing.

Aizen smiled. "It's perfectly fine, Kaname. Please leave. I must speak to Hinata alone."

Tousen did not even glance at his master as he left the room, closing the door with a resounding clink behind him, and Hinata was numbly shocked by the amount of power which Aizen held over the brown-skinned man.

And it was just them alone with the shimmering ball of light and suddenly Hinata wished Tousen had never left her side. He, at least, wasn't scary.

"Hinata, do you have any idea what this is?" Aizen asked and he indicated the floating ball with a slight tilt of his head, and Hinata shook her head slowly. "I didn't think you would. This, Hinata, is the hogyuku. It has the power to great your heart's desire." He stroked the thin glass case which surrounded the hogyuku with an almost lustful light in his chocolate brown eyes. "It can, in a way, bend space and time, just as you can, only at a much greater scale." He gently trapped against the case and suddenly it was gone, and Aizen reached in and closed his hand around the shimmering orb. He pulled it out and held it up to his face and he watched the colours whirling in its depths. Then he clenched his fist with such force that the hogyuku shattered with a faint hiss, and the colourful fragments filled the air like glitter.

Casually, Aizen plucked one of the fragments out of the air.

"The hogyuku gave me the ability to enter your dreams, not because I asked it to, but rather because it wanted to. The hogyuku is excited by your abilities, and wishes to become one with you. I plan to for fill its wish...though, probably in a different way then it had planned." And then Aizen started forward and blind terror gripped Hinata like winter frost gripped autumn. She stepped backwards, then again and again, only to stumble and fall onto her behind with a fearful yelp.

And then Aizen was there and his smug smile filled her vision, and he lightly touched the fragment to Hinata's forehead; and in a flash, it melted into her skin, merging with her and her reiatsu, and Hinata began to scream.

0-0-0

Toshiro woke with a hoarse cry that echoed through the silent hospital.

Instantly, Matsumoto was by his side with Unohana in tow, and she studied her sweating captain with wide, worried eyes.

"Taichou? What's wrong? Are you hurt...? Did you have a nightmare?"

"I-I don't know..." Toshiro gasped. He swallowed hard and gave himself a firm shake. "I just s-suddenly hurt all over. It was like my skin was on fire...I-I had to scream...but it was just a dream..." He shook himself again. "Sorry for worrying you."

"It's alright." Matsumoto soothed and Unohana quickly put a hand to his forehead.

"I suggest you get some more sleep," The healer advised as she straightened and slipped her hands into her sleeves. Toshiro nodded sullenly and the two women left, though Matsumoto stole one last worried glance before vanishing through the door. Toshiro stared at the place they had been standing for what seemed like hours before letting out a heavy sigh and falling back into his pillow, and he stared wearily at the chalk-white ceiling stretching out above his head like the sky.

It had been almost four hours since Toshiro's learning of Hinata's abduction, and Toshiro had been sleeping soundlessly up to this point. He couldn't remember his dream exactly, but knew that he'd been in a great deal of pain before waking up. But...But it hadn't seemed like his pain. It had felt somewhat...distant. A distant pain.

He sighed again and blinked slowly. He was so tired. His arms and legs felt like jelly and he was positive that if he tried to walk out of the hospital, he wouldn't be able to stand.

Is Hyuuga alright? He wondered. In the last four hours, he'd thought of Hinata at least four thousand times, and his stomach churned with anxiety. He'd had a chance to think it over and had come to the conclusion that Aizen never took something he didn't need, so he had obviously needed Hinata for some part of his master plan to work, there for she was probably still alive. Just thinking that made Toshiro feel ecstatic with joy.

But what condition was she it? 'Alive' simply meant the mind was still functioning properly and the heart was beating in muffled support. Aizen could play with her mind, her body, her soul, all without killing her; and doing so would crush the little fragile girl, crush her and her spirit into utter nothingness. There were worst things then death, and Toshiro knew that from experience. His muscles tensed. He gripped the sheets till his knuckles shone white. He had to get Hinata out of there before Aizen had a chance to destroy her.

With that thought in mind, Toshiro firmly closed his eyes and let his mind drift off into dream land.

And screams that were not his own rung in his ears like a siren.

0-0-0

Fuyu no Tsuki stood her ground as the gigantic black raven fell towards her and fire danced on its wings, red-hot and growling with a rapid animal. The huge bird flung back its steely beak and squeaked loudly, and the sound carried across the landscape like a thunder clap. Snow whipped at its sooty black wings as the gentle fall transformed into a blizzard but the raven did not notice.

It loomed over Fuyu no Tsuki, and with a furious bark of defiance, the wolf charged forward and threw herself up, up onto its throat, her teeth sinking into the feathery flesh.

But the raven simply slapped her away with a beat of its wing and Fuyu no Tsuki hurled through the air and crashed against the snowy ground, her side heaving. And then the raven was there, and in one swift movement, Fuyu no Tsuki was devoured by a shower of black feathers.

Master!

! I own neither Bleach nor Naruto !

Finally finished it! I apologize for taking so long, but I haven't been able to focus on Bleach nor Naruto recently. I'll try and get 18 up quicker ^^ I need motivation...they're a serious heat wave going on at the moments, and unless my hands really wanted to write, I couldn't get anything out.

The reason Toshiro can 'feel' Hinata's pain will be explained in due time~

Thanks for reading! Please review!