Disclaimer - I do not own Bleach

Chapter Twelve - Broken Seal

Matsumoto could only stare in shock at her young captain; words could not express how surprised she was to find out that Hitsugaya's mother was the enemy that they had been pursuing. And what was more confusing was the fact that Hitsugaya remembered his life before he came to Soul Society. To her knowledge this had never happened before. She'd always known that the young prodigy was special but this was unexpected.

Midori shook her head as though to deny Hitsugaya's accusation. "You left me," she maintained, raising her sword. "I wandered alone for so long, lost and on the verge of completely losing myself. Luckily HE showed up before that happened. HE saved me and then told me about the atrocities committed by Soul Society."

"Who told you?" Hitsugaya demanded, his full attention focused on Midori. Who was it that had sent her on this path? And why?

"I do not know his name," Midori said as she held up her zanpaktou, her hands clenching the hilt so hard that her knuckles actually turned white. There was a stricken expression in her teal eyes as she gazed at the young boy however she vowed that she would not lose sight of her goal. Not now that she was so close. "However he saved me and then gave me the power necessary to reclaim my lost love."

At this point Midori's teal eyes once again shifted to the tree. Holding up her blade she made a move toward the tree, a strange glint in the eyes that were a mirror image of Hitsugaya's own.

"Captain!" Matsumoto cried out, attempting to break the trance that seemed to have enveloped her superior. "We can't let her break the seal!"

Quickly snapping back to himself Hitsugaya held up his sword and dashed toward Midori. Calling forth a speed that he did not know he possessed Hitsugaya managed to get between Midori and the tree however his reflexes weren't fast enough to completely block her blow and the young captain gasped in pain as he felt the tip of her blade pierce the flesh of his shoulder. Blood stained the young captain's hoari, pooling around the blade that was lodged in his shoulder.

"CAPTAIN!"

Midori pulled the blade of her sword free from the young captain's shoulder and jumped back a couple of feet. "Why?" she demanded as she glared at the boy, completely unable to comprehend his actions. The look she gave him was reminiscent of the look a parent would give an unruly child and the young captain found that he had to force himself not to lose himself to visions of his childhood in the world of the living.

"Because it's my duty," Hitsugaya replied, forcing himself to block out the physical pain from his wound. The emotional pain was a little more difficult to forget however he knew that he would have to if he were to emerge from this battle victorious. He had to stop looking at this woman as his mother and begin looking at her as his enemy. An enemy who had just stabbed him and was no going to once again attempt to break the Seal and release the demon.

Growling low in her throat Midori lunged toward the boy, attempting to shove him aside with pure brute strength. Having anticipated this move from his opponent Hitsugaya dodged to the side, avoiding her attack. Then, before she had the chance to recover, he swung the blade of his own zanpaktou.

Midori blocked the blow and swung her own sword. "You will not stop me."

"I will," Hitsugaya growled, swinging his sword furiously.

Shards of ice erupted from the tip of Hyourinmaru, flying toward Midori with deadly accuracy. Swinging her own sword by it's hilt Midori managed to block most of the shards. Unfortunately for her a few managed to make it through her defenses and the former Shinigami sucked in her breath as she felt a stinging pain in her left side.

Quickly regaining her composure Midori locked her gaze on Hitsugaya and held up her blade. An immense, blood red aura grew around her and Matsumoto made a move to join the fight. Jumping forward the Squad Ten vice-captain's hand went to the sheathed sword that she wore secured at the small of her back. She halted her advance however as her captain turned to face her, a piercing look in his teal eyes.

"Stay back Matsumoto," the young captain ordered as he quickly turned his attention back to his opponent. He knew that taking his eyes off of his enemy wasn't a smart move however he had to make sure that his vice-captain didn't interfere in his battle.

"Yes sir," Matsumoto said reluctantly.

She didn't want to maintain her distance and watch as her captain engaged in battle with the former Shinigami turned Arrancar however she respected him enough to obey his orders, despite her desire to help.

"Come on Shunsui," Ukitake called out as the two captains quickly made their way through the Rukongai. He could feel the aura caused by the battle that was being fought and he desperately wanted to get to the scene before anything happened to the young Captain of Squad Ten.

Kyouraku nodded, clearly feeling the growing reiatsu of Captain Hitsugaya and his opponent. It was obvious that the kid was involved in a difficult battle and the sooner reinforcements arrived then the better things would be.

And yet, as dire as the situation seemed, Kyouraku couldn't help but reflect on the situation. He glanced over at his long time friend, a smirk on his face. "I can't believe you're actually breaking the rules like this Jyuushirou."

"What are you talking about?" Ukitake asked as the two captains continued on their way toward the battlefield. "I've broken lots of rules with you. Or are you forgetting the time I provided an alibi for you after you painted Yamamoto-sensei's office pink?"

A smile appeared on the Squad Eight Captain's face as he recalled that incident.

Now angered beyond measure that this child was standing between her and the man that she loved a gleam appeared in Midori's eyes as she held her hand up in front of her face. Hitsugaya's eyes widened in shock as he watched the partial mask grow until it was a complete mask, covering the entirety of her face. And as the mask formed the reiatsu that was surrounding the woman grew in intensity.

"Captain!" Matsumoto called out as Midori raised her sword and lunged toward her captain, her speed now greatly increased.

"Damn," Hitsugaya muttered as he just barely managed to flash-step out of the path of her intended attack. A tremendous blue aura began to grow around the young captain and Midori paused as her gaze lingered on the child. The former Shinigami's teal eyes widened as she watched the aura grow around the young captain. This sight was reminiscent of the aura that her husband had possessed and she was momentarily spellbound by the transformation.

"Ban. . . kai. . ." Hitsugaya murmured as he held Hyourinmaru out in front of him.

Midori watched as huge wings of ice erupted from Hitsugaya's back while at the same time ice wound it's way from the hilt of the sword and completely engulfed the young captain's right arm. "Unreal," she thought to herself as she felt the child's powers swell.

Caught slightly off guard by Hitsugaya's powers Midori willed herself to summon forth untapped powers. She would need everything that she had to defeat this child and she had to defeat this child in order to break the seal and free her love.

Matsumoto had to brace herself in order to remain standing as the reiatsu of her captain combined with that of the enemy. Never before had she sensed such outrageous powers and she found herself silently praying for her captain's safety. She knew that Hitsugaya was powerful, one of the strongest captains that the Thirteen Court Guard Squads had seen in centuries, however he wasn't invincible.

The sound of steel clashing against steel rang out through the forest of District 63 as Hitsugaya and Midori once again engaged one another in combat. Matsumoto struggled to maintain eye contact with her captain however she found that it was almost more than she could do to keep up with them.

Hitsugaya furiously blocked blow after blow from Midori's zanpaktou, all the while marveling at her strength and speed. He was more of a match for her now that he had evoked his Bankai transformation however she still managed to keep up with him. Growling low in his throat the young captain jumped back a few feet, swinging Hyourinmaru out in an arch in front of him. Shards of ice flew from the tip of the zanpaktou with such force that Midori found herself unable to dodge.

Midori screamed in outrage as the shards of ice ripped her clothes and pierced her flesh. One of the shards of ice pierced Midori's left chest and Hitsugaya gaped in surprise as the ripped fabric of her kimono revealed a gaping hole right over the spot where her heart should be. So she really was like an Arrancar.

"Your power is impressive child," Midori said as she jumped back and prepared for a second attack.

Snorting in derision Hitsugaya kept his gaze focused on the woman. He couldn't tell by her actions exactly what he was planning however he fully intended to be prepared for her next move, whatever it turned out to be.

Raising her voice to a screeching pitch Midori screamed out, "SHIROU!"

For a split second Hitsugaya froze as his mind flashed back to the moment when Midori had ended his life. It was as though he were once again that small, frightened child only this time it was his emotions that were holding him down and preventing him from dodging her in coming attack.

"CAPTAIN!" Matsumoto screamed as she watched Midori's sword pierce her captain's chest.

"I'm sorry," Midori whispered in a voice meant only for him, her words floating on the wind as she flashed past the injured Hitsugaya and stabbed her sword in the center of the tree.

Slumping to the ground Hitsugaya could only watch as a tremendous aura exploded around the tree, the blue that had already been there mixing with blood red and an eerie black. The air rippled with a mix of different reiatsu, the overwhelming one obviously malicious. Maniacal laughter rang out as the aura grew and the reiatsu intensified.

The safety of her captain her first priority Matsumoto quickly flashed to the spot where her captain was kneeling on the ground. Wrapping her arms around his small frame she quickly pulled him toward her protectively, seeking to protect him from whatever had just been unleashed.

"What happened?!"

Both Matsumoto and Hitsugaya glanced back and watched as Captains Kyouraku and Ukitake ran into the clearing, a look of horror mirrored on both their faces.

"I failed," Hitsugaya murmured in a dejected voice, unable to believe that he'd allowed Midori to break the seal. There was a haunted look in his teal eyes as he gazed at the tree, waiting to see what horror had been unleashed due to his failure. If only he hadn't been weak, if only he'd been able to fight Midori like she was just any other enemy. Then none of this would have happened.

A/N - oh no! the Seal has been broken and the demon released. How are they ever going to defeat an enemy that could not be defeated in the past? to find out simply stay tuned to the story. Hitsu-taichou