Disclaimer - I do not own Bleach, nor the characters therein.

Chapter Three - Torment and Truth

Several days passed and Hitsugaya continued to be plagued by the strange dreams, each one longer and more vivid than the one that proceeded it. It was getting to the point where the young captain couldn't even close his eyes for a brief nap without being haunted by dreams of torture and as a result he was somewhat sleep deprived. And people were beginning to notice.

The past week had seemed much, much longer to Hitsugaya and he was beginning to wonder how much more he could take before he completely lost all shred of sanity. He was so exhausted that he could no longer concentrate on paperwork and yet he didn't want to sleep for fear of what images his tortured mind would conjure up.

The sun was barely visible over the horizon when the young captain stepped out into the courtyard of the Squad Ten barracks and Hitsugaya paused briefly to enjoy the silence. Moments such as these were exceedingly rare in his world and despite his exhausted state Hitsugaya was still able to enjoy it.

Walking across the courtyard Hitsugaya came to a stop underneath a large cherry tree that was positioned in one corner of the courtyard, situated near a koi pond. Taking a deep breath the young captain sat down underneath the tree and pulled his knees up to his body, wrapping his arms around them in a protective manner.

Without warning his mind flashed to a vivid and haunting vision. . .

("Get over here boy!" The voice that called out to him was harsh and biting however without hesitation the boy obeyed the angry summons. It didn't even enter his mind to run away and attempt to save himself from the abuse that he knew was coming. This was simply the way that life way and he had became so accustomed to it that he hardly noticed the physical pain anymore.

As he approached the woman, who's face was oddly obscured, grabbed him by the shoulders and gave him a rough shake. This didn't illicit any emotion from the boy who merely allowed her to shove him roughly away from her.

"You're as cold as ice aren't you?"

The child wanted to portray this stoic coldness to the harsh world however it wasn't true and he couldn't keep his lips from trembling slightly as the woman turned her back and walked away from him.)

"Shirou-chan!" a voice called out suddenly, breaking into Hitsugaya's thoughts and forcing him back to the present. The young captain jerked as his eyes came open and his blurry vision focused on a very familiar face. His childhood friend Momo Hinamori was walking across the courtyard toward him, a concerned expression in her chocolate colored eyes.

"Don't call me that," Hitsugaya growled. He had always despised that name, for reasons that were not entirely known to him. Sure part of it stemmed from his desire not to be seen as a child but there was something else about the nickname. . . something that he couldn't explain.

Completely ignoring the annoyed tone in her friend's voice Hinamori sat down under the tree beside Hitsugaya and gazed over at him. "Are you alright Shirou-chan? You look aweful."

"Thanks," Hitsugaya muttered, running a hand through his snowy hair. He knew that the lack of sleep was taking a toll on him however he hadn't expected other people to think anything of it. After all it was common knowledge among the inhabitants of the Seireitei that he had to do the work of both captain and vice-captain so why shouldn't he look tired?

"I'm being serious Shirou-chan," Hinamori persisted. "I'm worried about you. . ."

"I'm fine," Hitsugaya said, turning away from his childhood friend in an effort to hide from her the signs that he was suffering.

Hinamori didn't look convinced by his words. "What were you thinking about when I got here Shirou-chan? You were moaning softly."

"Damn it," Hitsugaya thought to himself, having once again revealed something that he wanted to keep secret. He didn't want people to think that he was losing his mind, even though he himself was beginning to wonder, which was why he didn't talk about the dreams. Involuntarily his mind flashed back to the brief vision that he had experienced before Hinamori had brought him back to the here and now. "It was nothing."

Hinamori didn't look even remotely convinced by the words of her childhood friend however she could tell, by the expression in his teal eyes, that it was useless to further pursue the matter. Sighing in defeat Hinamori wrapped an arm around Hitsugaya's shoulders and attempted to pull him into a comforting embrace however the young captain immediately pulled away.

Not wanting to show this weaker side of himself to the girl that he'd grown up with Hitsugaya got to his feet and began walking toward the Squad Ten barracks. He didn't want her to worry about him, didn't want anyone to worry, although he couldn't keep himself from thinking that he was losing his mind. He couldn't understand what the dreams could possibly mean and they were torturing him, making it impossible for him to rest.

The sun was rising in the sky now and the inhabitants of the Seireitei were beginning to emerge from their quarters and go about their business. Hitsugaya knew that Matsumoto wouldn't arrive at the office for several hours so he would have the office to himself. Maybe there he could find some peace.

Walking slowly across the office that he shared with his vice-captain Hitsugaya sat down on the sofa that was positioned in the center of the room. He didn't use it often, unless one of the other captains came by for some reason or another, however he wanted something more comfortable than the hard backed chair that was behind his desk.

With a sigh the young captain sat down on the sofa and leaned back, closing his eyes in an attempt to quell the burning feeling.

(A boy of about five years of age was standing against the wall of a small cottage, desperately trying to blend into the wood and disappear. He flinched as a woman walked toward him, her voice rising with every word that she screamed. The child couldn't keep his body from trembling however he didn't make a sound as a hand made contact with his cheek.

He raised a trembling hand to wipe away the blood that fell from his split lip but remained silent. Words would not take away the horror and he knew it. He watched, his eyes wide, as the woman raised her hand once again, preparing for a second blow.)

"Captain!"

Hitsugaya sat bolt upright as he felt a hand touch his shoulder. His eyes were wide and his breathing was ragged as he fought to escape the hold.

"It's alright captain," Matsumoto said in a soothing voice, attempting to reach her captain through the haze that seemed to remain from the dream that he'd been trapped in.

"Mat. . .sumoto," Hitsugaya gasped as he came back to full awareness. He gazed up at his vice-captain and couldn't fail to notice the concern that was contained in her blue eyes. It looked as though she'd seen something that had completely freaked her out. "I'm alright," he said, running a hand through his sweat drenched hair.

Matsumoto knew that he was lying, attempting to hide his pain from everyone, and she desperately wanted to ease that pain. But she had known Captain Hitsugaya long enough to know that he wouldn't share that pain with anyone, not even her.

With a sigh she decided to get down to business. Maybe that would be enough to get his mind off of the dreams that were haunting him. "I recieved word that Head Captain Yamamoto wants a word with you Captain."

Hitsugaya nodded, getting to his feet. The young captain of Squad Ten went into one of the washrooms and splashed cold water on his face before he made his way across the Seireitei to the Squad One barracks. When he reached the office of the Head Captain he knocked lightly on the door and called out, "Captain of Squad Ten, Toushirou Hitsugaya, reporting as ordered sir."

"Enter," a voice called out from within.

Hitsugaya slid the door open and stepped inside the office. His teal gaze surveyed the office and he saw that Head Captain Yamamoto was seated at his desk, his vice-captain standing a few feet behind him. The young captain walked across the office and bowed respectfully to his superior.

"Welcome Captain Hitsugaya," the old captain said as he focused his gaze on Hitsugaya. "I called you here to inform you that I have a mission for you in the World of the Living. An unknown force is attempting to breech one of the barriers between Soul Society and the World of the Living, in a town called Karakura Town, and I want you to find out what it is and stop it."

"Yes sir," Hitsugaya said. "When do I leave?"

"Immediately," Head Captain Yamamoto said.

With a nod Hitsugaya bowed to the Head Captain and then turned and left the office. He traveled back to Squad Ten and informed Matsumoto that she would be in charge of Squad Ten while he was away on his mission in the World of the Living. Then he made his way to the Senkaimon that would take him to Karakura Town. This town had a higher than normal concentration of people who contained above normal reiatsu and as a result seemed to be a magnet for trouble.

"Alright," Hitsugaya thought to himself as he pulled out the communicator that would help him locate anything unusual. "Let's get this problem taken care of so that I can get the hell out of here."

The young captain made a move to walk away from the Senkaimon however the communicator that he was carrying began to issue a series of obnoxious beeping noises. The young captain quickly scanned his surroundings and he caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of his eye. Whirling around Hitsugaya saw something that made his blood run cold. A woman walking away from him, surrounded by a crowd of people, a broken mask perched on the side of her head.

Hitsugaya's teal eyes opened wide in surprise.

("Shirou!" a woman's voice shouted from somewhere in the distance.

The child who was hiding behind a cluster of bushes heard her calling out to him and could tell by the tone of her voice that she was angry with him. He trembled as he thought about what she would do to him if he answered her call however he was more afraid of what would happen if he didn't.

His legs trembling the little boy got to his feet and slowly made his way through the snowdrifts to the spot where the woman was standing.

"You little. . ."

The child gasped in pain as the woman roughly shoved him to the ground and then pinned him there. He was completely unable to move and so all he could do was tremble as he watched her pull a knife from her pocket. There was a look of pure rage on her face she held the knife up so that it's blade glinted in the bright light from the moon that was shining overhead. "Mother. . ."

"Shut up!"

Tears stung the child's eyes as the woman pulled the blade across one wrist and then the other. The little boy began to tremble violently as he felt the tremendous pain caused by his wounds and watched as his blood fell to the ground to discolor the snow that he lay upon.

"Mother," he whispered, his voice breaking. "Please. . ."

"I said shut up!" the woman yelled, tears forming in her teal eyes.

The child couldn't stop the terror that was enveloping him as his own mother held him to the ground and allowed his life's blood to fall onto the ground, discoloring the snow that was underneath his small body. It was growing more difficult to breath and he felt a strange coldness enveloping him, not like the cold caused by the snow but something completely different. And as his vision began to blur the woman leaned forward and whispered, "Toushirou-san.")

Hitsugaya gasped as the memories came flooding back. He knew that it was supposed to be impossible for a Shinigami to remember their life before they died however the young captain was now certain that the dreams he had been experiencing were flashes of his former life.

And he had been killed by his own mother. The woman who now stood mere feet away from him. Forcing himself out of his shocked state Hitsugaya made a move to draw Hyourinmaru from the sheath that he wore secured across his back however in the blink of an eye the woman vanished.

"I don't believe it," Hitsugaya thought to himself as he sheathed his sword and pulled the communicator from the fold of his shihakusho. He was now certain that the one attempting to breech the barrier between Soul Society and the World of the Living was his mother. But not the woman who had taken his life, no this was a different being. More powerful and much more dangerous.

A/N - and there's chapter three. Yes I reused the last scene from the first chapter but it was important. And now Hitsugaya understands the dreams that had been haunting him. Now he has to find a way to move past them. Hope you enjoyed, please review and tell me what you thought. Til next time this is Hitsu-taichou signing out.