Disclaimer - I do not own Bleach

Chapter Four - Forgotten Family

Hitsugaya could barely breathe through the tightness in his chest as he thought about what he had just seen. The woman who had passed him in the crowd was eerily familiar and yet at the same time visibly different. The angry look was gone, replaced by a vacant stare and the broken Hollow mask perched on the side of her head served as a reminder that she was no longer human.

("Shirou! How many times do I have to tell you not to wander off?" There was an angry expression on Midori's face as she gazed down at the child that she had just found hiding in the forest around their home. Reaching out she grabbed her son by the arm, ignoring the grimace that contorted his features and indicated that her actions caused him pain. "I will not lose you too."

"I'm sorry Mother," the young boy whispered, his teal eyed gaze focused on the ground.)

The images were far more clear now the Hitsugaya realized that the dreams and now visions that he was experiencing were linked to his life in the World of the Living and he could vividly call up the image of his mother, the woman who had ended his life.

"I have to find her," the young captain thought to himself as he fought to pull himself together. Now he knew that he wasn't crazy however he found himself unable to feel relieved about that fact. The enemy that he had been sent to battle was someone that he had been tied to in life. And although he know knew that she was the woman who had ended his life, try as he might he couldn't harbor anger towards her.

As a child he had always wondered what had happened to turn his mother into the angry woman that she had became. She had been overprotective of him as a small child but as he grew something about her changed and she began to treat him different. It was almost as though the very sight of him caused her pain and she sought to make him suffer that same pain. Sought to make him just as miserable as she herself.

"Captain Kurotsuchi!" a member of Squad Twelve called out as he frantically sprinted toward his captain. There was a terrified expression on the man's face however the Captain of Squad Twelve looked as though he couldn't care less as he gazed down at his subordinate.

"What do you want?" he demanded, looking up from the computer screen where he had been going over some experiment results. "I told everyone that I didn't want to be disturbed. Where is Nemu? She should never have allowed you in here, useless woman."

"I'm sorry my Captain," Nemu called out as she entered the room a couple of steps behind the man. "I stepped away for only a moment."

"I'll deal with you later," Kurotsuchi said before turning back to the man. "But first. . ."

"Forgive me sir," the man said as he sank to one knee before his captain. "But you issued standing order to inform you if anything unusual was detected in District 63 of the Rukongai."

That statement immediately gained Kurotsuchi's attention and he reached out and grabbed his subordinate by the collar of his shihakusho. Pulling the man closer to him the clown faced captain demanded, "What is happening in District 63?"

"There is an influx of reiatsu in that sector sir," the man said, his voice trembling slightly as he gazed at his superior. "Our sensors picked up on it but the reiatsu is unlike anything that we've encountered before and our equipment can't identify it."

"Damn," Kurotsuchi muttered as he roughly shoved the man away from him. "Get out of my sight," he ordered harshly.

"Yes captain," the man said, jumping to his feet and rushing from the room.

"Come Nemu," Captain Kurotsuchi said as he got to his feet and grabbed his zanpaktou. "We have to go to District 63."

Curious but knowing better than to question the orders of her captain Nemu bowed respectfully and fell into step behind her superior. She had no knowledge of what was going on however Captain Kurotsuchi appeared worried and that was never a good sign. Any time that he showed emotion other than anger or indifference things did not turn out well. She couldn't manage to quell the fear that she felt as she followed her captain out of Squad Twelve.

Captain Hitsugaya attempted to track down the strange woman using the communicator that he had been issued for his trip however it appeared as though her reiatsu had completely disappeared. There was no signs of anything out of the ordinary anywhere in Karakura Town and the young captain clenched his hands into fists.

"I can't believe I allowed this to happen," Hitsugaya berated himself as he shoved the communicator into the fold of his shihakusho. She had been right in front of him and he'd just stood there and watched as she walked away.

He was determined to track down the woman however he couldn't feel her reiatsu and was forced to resign himself to the fact that he wouldn't be able to find her until she made another move to breech the barrier between Soul Society and the World of the Living.

With nothing to do except wait until she made another move Hitsugaya made his way to the highest spot in Karakura Town and gazed down upon the landscape. The young captain knew that it was unlikely that he would catch a glimpse of the woman however it was worth a try none the less.

("Come on Toushirou-chan," Midori called out in a soft voice as she held her arms out to her child. The little boy was sitting on the ground a couple of feet away, just out of arms reach, and Midori was attempting to coax her son into taking his first steps. She had seen him attempt to walk a couple of times before however he had yet to be successful.

"Come on my precious," she cooed, her loving gaze focused on the child. He was her life and she didn't know what she would do without him. Probably go insane from the grief that she still felt over the loss of his father. The husband whom she had loved with every fiber of her being.

A few seconds passed and then the child slowly got to his feet.

"That's it," Midori called out, pride shining in her teal eyes. "You can do it Toushirou-chan. Come on."

The child took a couple of shaky steps toward his mother before he lost his balance. Midori saw that he was losing his balance and she quickly moved to catch him before he hit the ground. Hugging the little boy tightly Midori whispered, "Good job Toushirou-chan. You've almost got it.")

Hitsugaya smiled ruefully as this memory gave way to another.

("What the hell is wrong with you?" Midori shouted, her angry voice rising with each word that she screamed. Her narrow-eyed gaze was focused on the boy who was standing in the doorway. "I've been looking all over for you."

The child held up a small bouquet of flowers that he was clutching in his small fist. "I found a meadow," he said in a voice that was barely above a whisper. "And I wanted to pick you some flowers. I lost track of time Mother, I'm sorry."

"You're sorry?" Midori repeated as she walked over to the spot where her son was standing and slapped him across the face. "You know better than to run off. You're NEVER to leave me. Do you hear me? NEVER!"

"I'm sorry," the child murmured as he raised a hand to his throbbing cheek.)

"I don't understand why I remember this," Hitsugaya thought to himself as he leaned against a tree and stared up at the sky. Shinigami weren't supposed to remember anything about their lives before they died and yet he could vividly call up those memories. Memories that by all rights he shouldn't have. Memories that he didn't want. "And why now, after all this time?"

When he and his vice-captainarrived in District 63 Captain Kurotsuchi immediately led the way to a deserted portion of the district and over to a knarled old tree that appeared to have been there since time began. And yet even though it appeared as though it had been there forever this tree looked to be more than just a normal tree. It was surrounded by a glowing blue aura.

"Captain," Nemu said in a trembling voice, her eyes fixed on the tree. "Why is it glowing?"

"Silence!" Kurotsuchi commanded as he walked over to the tree and placed his hand on it's trunk. He could feel the energy fluxuating from within and knew that it wasn't a good sign. Removing his hand the Squad Twelve Captain turned away from the tree. "Move it, you useless lump. We have to get back to Squad Twelve."

Nemu was now more confused than ever however she obeyed the orders of her captain without question.

A/N - and there's chapter four. Are you guys confused yet? Why does Hitsugaya remember his past, what's up with Midori, and why is the tree glowing blue? Stay tuned to find out. Til next time this is Hitsu-taichou signing out.