A/N I was reading what I put for my summary (cuz I is stupid and forgot .), and I realized that I should probably put some flashbacks in the story. So this chapter is… dun dun dun… FLASHBACKS!

Okay, I'm sorry to all of those who love to read about Karin, but this chapter is strictly Toushirou ^.^ I feel bad for only writing about Karin the first chapters, and I don't really have an idea on Karin's past, so I'm saving it for a future chapter. This isn't going to be that detailed, just starting about seven months from the present. Don't worry, his past will be fully revealed later, cuz I'm evil…

IMPORTANT! The stuff set off by ~~~ is flashbacks in the flashbacks…or Toushirou's memory…It'll make sense when you read it. XD

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. Tite Kubo is the owner of the lovely creation *tears*

Chapter Four: In the Past

(Toushirou) (About seven months from the present…)

"And we now find the accused guilty. His sentence will be life in prison, for double homicide of his wife and son, and attempted homicide." With a tap of the gavel, he was taken out of the court, an eerie smile on his face, as if saying one final fuck you to the world before he was locked up for good. Or, that's at least how Toushirou wanted to think of it as. It's not like he could see it. He was far away, still unconscious. Multiple needles were attached to him, and his shallow breathing filled the room. The insomniac was finally sleeping, and it would have made his family happy to see that. If only he had family left.

The heart monitor skipped a beat, and it made a nurse look up from her clipboard. Again, a second later, another skip in the slow pattern that had been occurring for the past few months. "D-Doctor!" she called. "I think the patient is waking up!"

The Doctor, Retsu Unohana, hurried to the room, smiling at Nurse Kotetsu as she went. "Thank you," she said, "will you please alert the rest of the nurses?" Unohana knew that they all had taken a liking to the white-haired boy, and they would be glad to hear if he was waking.

Isane nodded, leaving to tell all the other nurses on the floor. Retsu walked up to the boy's side, reading his monitors. "Hmm…"

The beeps were coming in faster, and his breathing seemed to quicken. With anticipation, Unohana watched as the teen opened his eyes, the first time since he had been brought in. Retsu was surprised at their color: the vibrant teal that seemed to only brighten the cuts and bruises on his face. She found herself thinking God, I hope that those marks don't scar his face. She shook her head a little bit. Don't get attached to the patients, she reminded herself, because once he leaves, he'll never come back. Hopefully, she added as an afterthought.

The teal orbs landed on her, and she could see the unspoken question. Retsu smiled. "I'm glad you're finally awake. We were beginning to get worried." Staring into those eyes, she realized something.

There was no trace of fear, which she would have expected, considering the extent of damage he had obtained. All she could see was…

Nothing. Those eyes were utterly blank. And that could only mean one of two things. Either his mind ha shut down; all emotions were not going through to him, and he was at a stage of numbness. Or…he didn't remember what had happened to him.

Retsu was almost afraid to find out which it was. They needed the boy to be able to remember what had happened…Or was that just too painful for him to even register? What had happened to him?

"Can you tell me your name?" she asked, deciding it was time to figure out which of the two it was.

Toushirou. Toushirou. Toushirou Hitsugaya. Toushirou Hitsu- her train of thought was cut of with his hesitant answer.

"I-" he broke off. "I can't remember," he whispered, his voice full of confusion and…fear?

"It's going to be alright. Why don't you just rest for now. We can try again later." Retsu left the boy to sleep.

"How is the boy?" was the first question, from not only Isane, but her twin sister Kiyone.

Unohana sighed. "He can't remember who he is."

Toushirou had been awake for the past week, but no more than a few hours a day. The doctors and nurses had many questions, yes, but they needed to make sure the teen was healed enough. He hadn't regained any of his memories yet, and he hadn't spoken again after the first time he awoke. Currently, he was staring out the window, as he spent most of his time awake. His food that had brought in when he first woke up lay untouched on a side table.

"Toushirou."

The boy turned to see a slight women standing in the doorway. She had black hair, shoulder-length, and her eyes were a dark brown. She looked at Toushirou hopefully, her expression falling a little after a moment. "I see," she said, walking over to the boy. "You really did lose your memories."

Toushirou stared at her.

The lady smiled, coming to a stop next to him. She tried to look past all of his injuries, but instead she found herself staring. After a moment, she looked back at Toushirou's face, worry and caution now accompanying her expression. "You won't remember me," she said quietly, "because I wasn't around very much anyways, but my name is Soudou. I am your aunt." She smiled sadly. "When you get out of the hospital, I'm going to take you to my house."

"Going home...with you?"

Soudou was surprised that he spoke, having been warned that he would not by the doctors. His voice is the same, she found herself thinking, but there's something new…

"Yes," she answered carefully, aware of his next question.

"Why?"

Soudou had no answer for this question. What should he tell the boy? That his mother and father were-

"Excuse me miss, but it is time for Toushirou to get some tests run." Her train of thought was broken.

"Y-yes," she stammered. "We'll talk again, Toushirou," she said, making a quick exit.

"He's been recovering really well," Isane commented one day, about three weeks since the boy had first awoken. "Although he still doesn't speak."

"Yes." Unohana frowned. "He may be recovering well, but I'm beginning to wonder if he'll ever regain his memories."

"He might not?" Isane said surprised. She looked over to Toushirou, noticing that he was still not in his room. She checked the clock; he had about twenty more minutes in physical therapy. "Well," she said, still staring into his room. "Would that be good or bad?"

Unohana was silent for a few minutes. Isane thought she wasn't going to answer, so she started to leave.

"I just hope it doesn't happen when he's not here," she heard Unohana said.

Toushirou gritted his teeth, continuing his cadence of fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck-

"C'mon, Toushirou," a voice said timidly. Toushirou glared at the therapist, Hanataro Yamada, with distain. The man-No, kid- he corrected himself. He couldn't have been much older than Toushirou himself. Okay, that was an exaggeration. Toushiro was just mad.

Toushirou got up from the spot where he was sitting, walking slowly to Hanataro. He'd been in therapy with this guy for about a week, and he was ready to kill him. He had to admit, the guy was pretty good. When he had first started the therapy, he wasn't even able to get out of the wheelchair. Now, even though the nurses still kept a close eye on him, he was able to walk around in the halls by himself.

"What," he said, surprising Hanataro.

"Y-you are allowed to go now," he stammered, averting his eyes. Toushirou walked past him to the door. Before he could leave, he bumped into someone.

"What the hell!" that person yelled from the floor. Toushirou rubbed his forehead. Not only did he have a headache, it seemed like he was going to get a bruise, too.

"You're one to talk," he said. "You ran into me."

The person lifted their head to reveal…

A girl. She had black hair, a strand of that stubbornly hanging in front of her face, and her eyes were closed.

"Here's a suggestion," Toushirou muttered, half to himself, "walk with your eyes open next time."

"Really now," the girl said, hearing everything he said. She opened her eyes, and Toushirou held back a gasp. "Yeah, I didn't think so," she said. "That wouldn't really help BECAUSE I'M BLIND!" She waved a hand in front of her face. She sighed, holding a hand out for Toushirou to take.

"Umm…" for once, Toushirou was at a loss for words.

"Help me up," she said. "Duh."

Toushirou took her hand, pulling her up with him. For a moment, pain flashed through his arm.

"Get back here! I swear, don't run away! You'll never make it!"

Toushirou grabbed his head, doubling over.

"What's happening?" the girl asked as Hanataro called for Unohana.

He was on the floor now, curled in a ball. His breath came quicker, and it took him all of his might not to scream.

"What the hell is wrong with that child?" "He's a freak." "Freak. Freak, Freak, Freak!"

"Isane!" Unohana said. "Get Ms. Kuchiki away!"

"Yes, Ma'am!" Isane took the girl away, and Unohana turned her attention to the boy.

"Toushirou, can you hear me?" She put her hand on the boy's shoulder, and he went still. "Toushirou?" she said quietly.

Toushirou was silent, only his breathing making it to Unohana's ears. She could hear Ms. Kuchiki screaming down the hall at Isane to tell her what was happening in the distance.

"M-miss Unohana," Hanataro said. "What happened?"

"I think," she said quietly, "that he's gaining his memories back."

Soudou came back the next day, afraid of what had happened, and apologetic for not returning earlier.

"There was nothing you could do," Unohana said to her. " And Toushirou needs his rest. He was very confused at what was happening, and he seemed to be in pain."

Soudou sucked in a breath. "What exactly happened to him?"

Unohana looked grim. "That's what we're trying to figure out. Only he knows the extent of his injuries, and he has forgotten everything. If his memories return, well, that's what we're worried about."

"Oh god…" Soudou looked down at her nephew. "Poor Toushirou."

"Yes," Unohana agreed, "poor Toushirou."

"Toushirou."

"Toushiiiiiiiirou…"

Toushirou whimpered in his sleep, causing Isane to look up from her report. The teen looked fine, his back turned to her. He was silent, so she continued on with her report, glancing at the boy one final time. It was a few minutes before he whimpered again, this time louder. Isane put down the papers and hurried to the boy. His eyes were closed tightly, a troubled look on his face. Isane could've sworn the look was of fear.

"Unohana," she said, trying to get the nurse's attention. Unohana rushed over to the two.

"What is it, Isane?"

"I-I don't know," she said. "It just happened all of the sudden."

Unohana looked down at the boy, his face contorted. His eyes opened wide, and he flew forward, screaming. He grabbed at his head, pulling on the white hair through its bandages. No matter what happened, he couldn't stop screaming.

And Unohana couldn't help but watch in horror as the unseen in the boy's mind took control.

He was never the same after that, and Unohana would swear to it. He withdrew into himself, becoming more and more distant with the day. And his eyes…you could usually tell what he was thinking because of them, but now they were empty, lifeless. And Toushirou wouldn't talk. Not to Soudou, not even to Rukia, whom he'd become good friends with. He was released a month later, and the hospital seemed…emptier. Just like him.

Ukitake's look was one of regret and…pity. "Honestly, Toushirou," he said, starting to the door. "You've given me no reason to."

"Honestly, Toushirou. You've given me no reason to."

"You've given me no reason to."

Toushirou tossed in his bed, his arms wrapped around his sides. His eyes were closed tight, and he looked in pain.

Ukitake felt guilty. He was look at the boy through a two-way mirror, one that had been in the house longer than he had. No, he didn't place it there to spy on the boy after learning about what he had done. He just happened to have given the boy this room while "accidentally" forgetting it was there.

"Spying now, are we?"

Ukitake smiled a small smile. "And how did you get in here?" he said, turning to Shunsui.

Shunsui shrugged. "The door was open." He looked through the mirror. "Ah, is this Toushirou-kun?"

"Yes." Ukitake frowned. "Something's wrong, though."

"He looks different. How long has it been?"

"You saw him a week ago," Ukitake said.

Shunsui clapped his hands together. "That's why." He folded his arms across his chest. "But what happened to him?" he said seriously.

"I told him he'd given me no reason to trust him," Ukitake said. He sighed. "I'm horrible, aren't I?"

"Why don't you start by getting to know him? Find out what made him this way."

"I already know," Ukitake said, defeated.

"But he may not. Remember what Unohana-san said?"

Ukitake didn't have to answer. Instead, they stood there, watching the teal-eyed teen for a while, as he lay unmoving.

After a few minutes, Shunsui spoke up. "You didn't tell him what happened, did you?"

"No," Ukitake replied after a moment's hesitation. "Do you think I should have?"

Shunsui answered with a question. "Do you think he needs to know?"

A/N: Ahhhhhhh, my longest chapter!

I love Thanksgiving. This happened to be the best one I've had. And this is my gift to you, lovely readers. Please review and tell me what you think!