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

Chapter Thirteen - Demonic Rebirth

The assembled Shinigami could only watch as the blue aura that was surrounding the tree grew in size and strength and two beings became visible. The power of the Seal wasn't completely broken at this point and both seemed to be locked in a deep sleep. One was hanging from the top of the tree as though crucified while the other was leaning against the bottom of the tree as though he had merely fallen asleep there.

The one on the bottom appeared more human than the other and with a small gasp Midori ran toward the man. Falling to the ground beside him the Shinigami turned Hollow gently took his face in her hands, tenderly caressing the soft skin.

Hitsugaya's eyes widened as his gaze fell upon the man who, aside from the black hair, could have been an older version of himself. He knew instantly who the man had to be and he watched as his mother attempted to wake the man.

Kyouraku, Ukitake and Matsumoto could only stare in wonder as Midori ran over to the man who was leaning against the tree as though asleep. So that was the reason why she had to break into Soul Society, the reason why she had fought Hitsugaya with everything that she had.

It had all been for a man.

"Toushirou-san!"

There was a hopeful look in her teal eyes as she called out to the man that she had pined for these many years however the man remained completely motionless. The way that she had joyfully shouted out his name hadn't had any affect on him and tears appeared in her eyes. Without thinking she leaned forward and gently placed her lips to his and her gentle gesture turned passionate as she watched his brown eyes open and gaze at her.

Kneeling on the ground, supported by Matsumoto, Hitsugaya watched the tearful reunion of the two people that he now knew to be his birth parents. Midori looked so happy now that she had been reunited with her long lost love and the young captain felt some of his earlier anger dissipate. Despite himself he was happy that they were together once more. Perhaps this would help Midori return to the kind young woman that everyone in Soul Society remembered.

This dramatic reunion was cut short however as the air was pierced by the sound of maniacal laughter. All eyes went to the being that was hanging from the top of the tree and a collective gasp escaped their lips as they saw glowing red eyes glaring at them. Hatred radiated from the pores of the demon as he surveyed the group that was gathered before him.

Grinding his teeth together in an effort to cope with the physical pain from his wounds Hitsugaya forced himself to rise to a standing position. He knew that he had to do something before the situation went from bad to worse. Freeing himself from Matsumoto's grasp the young captain took a step away from the safety of her arms, fighting to remain standing. Matsumoto made a move to pull him back however Hitsugaya shrugged off her touch.

"Toushirou," Ukitake called out as the young captain began walking toward the demon, a determined expression in his clear teal eyes. The young Captain of Squad Ten was quite obviously fairly seriously injured and he didn't want the kid to rush into battle again, especially not against an enemy that he knew nothing about. Yet the kid's motives were painfully clear. He intended to fight, no matter the odds.

Hitsugaya completely ignored his mentor, more determined than ever to end this battle before anyone else was injured. He knew that Ukitake would attempt to talk him out of fighting in his condition however that was simply not an option.

The man who was standing beside Midori glanced up quickly as he heard Ukitake call out his name and his eyes widened as his searching gaze fell upon Hitsugaya. His heart began to pound as his gaze focused on the boy. If not for the white hair the child could have been his twin when he was that age and he had to know. Turning back to Midori his eyes asked a silent question.

"He is yours," Midori said in a quiet voice, her mind completely whole for the first time in so long and her eyes haunted by the memories of what she had done to their child. She had given up her life as a Shinigami in order to have a family and yet she had destroyed that very same family. After losing her husband she had forced her child to endure a life of torment and then she had taken his life from him.

Completely ignoring the two individuals that he now knew to be his birth parents Hitsugaya focused his attention solely on the demon. The reiatsu that surrounded the beast was immense, even greater than that which had surrounded Midori, however Hitsugaya remained determined to fight. It may be a losing battle however all of this had came about because of him and if his life must be forfeit in order to protect Soul Society, and more importantly his friends, then so be it.

He would do what he had to in order to ensure their survival.

Matsumoto's gaze was focused on her captain as he calmly walked toward the demon. She could tell by the expression on his face that he intended to fight and, glancing toward the other captains she could by the looks on their faces that he didn't stand a very good chance of winning.

No way was she going to let her captain face impossible odds without her.

"I will NOT let him do this on his own," the Squad Ten vice-captain said through clenched teeth, pulling her zanpaktou from the sheath that she wore secured at the small of her back and running to catch up with her captain. Hitsugaya briefly glanced over at his subordinate as she came to stand beside him however he made no attempt to dissuade her from fighting.

He merely nodded his head in her direction, respect for her glowing in his teal eyes.

"Come on Jyuu," Kyouraku said in an uncharacteristically serious voice as he pulled his dual blades from his sash. "We have to help the kid. We can't afford to lose our boy genius to the likes of this guy." A small smile appeared on his otherwise somber features as he added, "And my drinking buddy is completely off limits."

Ukitake nodded as he drew his own zanpaktou and released it's powers. Anyone else would have been shocked by Kyouraku's joking attitude right before a major battle however he knew from experience that it was his best friend's way of coping. Kyouraku had never liked to fight however he was more than willing to engage in battle if the situation called for it. If there was no other way to resolve an issue.

Completely unimpressed by their show of power the demon merely sneered as the group of Shinigami assembled in front of him. It was obvious that they had every intention of fighting however it was equally as obvious that they didn't stand a chance against him. This was half the number that had fought against him the last time and even then they had only been able to seal him inside a tree.

And there was no way in all the seven hells that he was going to allow that to happen again. Not now that he was finally free from that prison.

"Retreat now Shinigami," the beast snarled, baring it's fang like teeth at the group. His eyes glowed red as he gazed at them in a threatening manner. "Right now I have no interest in you but if you insist on fighting then you will all die."

"Not likely," Hitsugaya said, his voice holding a confidence that he didn't really feel. His wounds were throbbing their protest of his movement however he forced himself to remain standing. The physical pain would fade in time however he knew that if he allowed this demon to wreak havoc upon Soul Society he would never have another peaceful moment. Raising the tip of his zanpaktou he called out, "Reign over the frosted, frozen sky, Hyourinmaru!"

As before a dragon comprised of ice and water erupted from the tip of the young captain's sword and he directed it toward the demon.

Taking this as their cue the other Shinigami chose this moment to launch attacks of their own.

Briefly caught off guard by the strength of their attacks the demon barely managed to dodge the onslaught. He soon recovered from his momentary surprise however and quickly launched an attack of his own. Raising one finger the demon launched a burst of energy that strongly resembled those used by Hollow.

Seeing the path of the blast clearly in his mind's eye Kyouraku quickly knocked his best friend out of the way before Ukitake was caught up in the cero like blast. "Thanks," the Squad Thirteen Captain mouthed before unleashing an attack of his own.

"No problem," Kyouraku said as he resumed fighting.

Midori's eyes remained locked on the battlefield, her heart breaking at the sight. It was true that she had reclaimed her lost love but in the process she had damned their son for a second time. Just thinking about what she'd done was enough to haunt Midori and rob her of her will to live. "What kind of monster am I?" she murmured to herself as she watched a blast from the demon knock her child from the air.

The young captain hit the ground with an audible thump however he quickly jumped to his feet and held up his sword, still determined to fight despite the patch of raw skin that was left in the wake of the demon's attack. "Bankai, Daiguren Hyourinmaru!"

Midori found that she was once again awed by the strength of her son however despite that fact she didn't think that he and the others could win. The demon was so powerful and was knocking Hitsugaya around as though he were nothing.

The demon laughed as his gaze fell upon Midori and Toushirou. "You," he snarled as his gaze fell upon the man that had been used to seal him inside that damnable tree. "I have a score to settle with you."

This said the demon deflected yet another attack from Hitsugaya and then dashed toward Midori and her husband. Midori made a move to draw her sword so that she could protect the man that she had gone through so much to get back however her reactions weren't fast enough. The demon slammed into both of them, knocking them back a couple of feet.

"Damn it!" Hitsugaya swore as he saw that the demon had changed it's targets. Growling low in his throat the boy launched himself forward, propelled by his ice blue wings. He quickly flew to the spot where the demon stood, preparing to attack Midori again, and the boy used Hyourinmaru to stab the demon in the shoulder. He was well aware of the fact that this attack would be far from lethal but all he wanted to do was to draw the demon's attention away from his parents.

And it worked.

Surprised by the sudden attack the beast howled in anger and turned on Hitsugaya with a blood lust glowing in it's eyes. "Brat! For that your death shall be slow and painful."

Having successfully drawn the demon's attention back to himself, Hitsugaya held up the blade of Hyourinmaru. Determination was glowing bright in his teal eyes as he faced his opponant. There was simply no way that he was going to lose to this guy.

A/N - and there's the revised version of chapter thirteen. Hope you enjoyed. Til next time this is Hitsu-taichou signing out.