Sooooooo... it's thursday... I'm rlly rlly tired... I had a doctor's appointment and they gave me a shot so now my arm rlly hurts... fooooo

tomorrow I'm leaving to go to Mount Washington for the weekend, and we will be driving ack on monday, so I can't update. So the next and final chapter should be next thursday, unless i'm feeling very nice and put it on on Tuesday.

Here's the next chapter, please do enjoy...

Toshiro could hardly believe his ears. As all eyes around the room settled on him, the boy's eyes grew wide and he stared at the Head Captain in shock.

Exile? Toshiro's thoughts and emotions rushed together suddenly as he realized what that would mean. At that moment, so much sudden confusion and disappointment ran through his mind he didn't stop to think the situation through.

"Hitsugaya." The Head Captain repeated the boy's name to get his attention. And as the boy looked up at him, Yamamotto continued. "This decision is not made lightly, and you must understand the implications involved."

The boy stared at the Captain, and he slowly forced himself to soften his expression, his eyes returning to the cold glare they had always been.

"As much as it isn't something we want to speak of, Aizen is still alive." As the boy slightly flinched at the sound of that name, the Head Captain's expression grew more grim. "We cannot ignore this fact. And based on what we have heard concerning his condition before his got away, he'll want vengeance. You are the one who defeated him, Hitsugaya, and you will be the one he goes after."

Toshiro glared at the hard floor, his expression unreadable.

"Because of this, we have no idea what he would do if you were executed. The risk of Aizen doing something reckless, and losing it more than he already has, bringing on grand destruction throughout the entire Soul Society is too great. We can't allow that to happen, do you understand, Hitsugaya?"

His face still unreadable, the boy nodded softly.

"However," The Head Captain spoke lowly, noting the completely buried emotions that the boy was struggling to hold back. "Aizen has lost Kyoka Suigetsu, and the power of his spiritual pressure, though is still strong, has lessened considerably. While he may attempt to enact a revenge, Hitsugaya, you are stronger than him. Defeating Aizen should no longer pose much of a problem."

There were a good number of other reasons, and the boy knew that. As a few other words were spoken, Toshiro ignored them, now understanding, and being able to correctly guess, all of the Seireitei's more selfish motives behind the banishment. Completely lost in his own thoughts, Toshiro obliged wordlessly when the guards opened the door and began to walk him out of the room. Any looks of sympathy or remorse that came from Ukitake or anyone else went unnoticed, the boy was too far gone in his swirl of emotions.


"Exile!" Ichigo's words bounded through the room, and Captain Ukitake flinched at the volume level.

"Yes, Ichigo, and it's-"

"What the hell is the Head Captain thinking? Does he realize what Aizen will do to Toshiro!" The teenager's voice raised further, his eyes wide and disbelieving. His glare rested on Ukitake, the only Captain within his ranting range.

"Ichigo, calm down, Toshiro is stronger than Aizen, he can handle it..." Though the reassuring words left Ukitake's mouth, he said them more to convince himself than Ichigo.

Ichigo gripped the edge of a chair in the fourth squad barracks before continuing, his voice high with rage. "You think Aizen's going to put himself in a fair fight with Toshiro! You think he has enough honor left to do something like that! I can't believe you guys are just giving him up to Aizen! I bet you just don't want the Seireitei to be endangered by his presence!"

It was Ukitake's turn to get angry. He had done everything he could to get the lightest possible sentence for Toshiro, and now Ichigo yelling at him while he was exhausted and feeling sick was only getting him in a fowl mood. "Toshiro isn't weak! And he's not stupid either! We're not giving him up to Aizen, I'm telling you, Toshiro can protect himself!"

"Aizen isn't weak either! He'll-"

"Would you two shut the hell up!"

Both of the arguing soul reapers turned at the sound of another voice. In the doorway stood Rukia, Renji standing behind her, looking irritated.

"Or perhaps you'd like Unohana to come in and tell you to be quiet!"

As Ichigo and Ukitake both shuddered, the petite soul reaper stepped inside the room, Renji following with a smirk.

"So, Ichigo, you've been too busy to say hello to your friends?" The red-head spoke obnoxiously, a lopsided grin covered his mouth. "Or have you just been busy contradicting every single thing the Soul Society commands?"

The substitute shinigami gave a grunt, folding his arms across his chest. "Your justice system is completely out of whack."

Giving a shrug, Rukia agreed, but dropped herself down onto a couch. "Really, Ichigo, you overreact to everything. It's like Ukitake said, Hitsugaya isn't a little kid, he can take care of himself."

Renji took a seat across from her and leaned into the cushioning casually. "And he'll still be in the Soul Society, just not within the Seireitei, so anyone can still visit him."

"Yeah, 'cause I'm sure that all those souls in the Rukongai are just so fond of him." Ichigo mentioned sarcastically, a scowl reminding them of the seriousness of the situation.

Renji was quiet a moment, before he finally continued sullenly. "I didn't say it wouldn't be painful for him, I just said he'd be fine."

Rukia cast a sidelong glance at Ukitake, who looked exhausted and still very sulky.

"Well, he doesn't have to leave until his injuries have healed, so we still have quite a while. Unohana said Hitsugaya's recovery would be very slow."


Buried under a layer of cool sheets, Toshiro stared silently at the blank wall before him, same as he had done for weeks since he awoke. He felt Momo's presence behind him, but he turned his back to her, wishing only to be alone. She understood this, but still remained with him, knowing that deep inside, Toshiro never wanted to be alone.

The boy looked over the white surface, examining the tiny cracks and every little scratch and stain present on the wall, trying to distract himself from the emotions that pounded him as if they had a mind of their own. He knew the effort was almost pointless. Separating himself from his feelings was becoming near impossible as the began to overflow against the gates he held tightly.

Toshiro had been told, over and over again, by several different people, to stop locking away his emotions, and to share them. Still, and it felt like it would never go away, the habit had become an instinct, and usually the boy couldn't help it.

But even as he forcefully blocked them away, a single thread of fear passed through his barrier, and it welled up in his chest, cause the boy only more heart ache.

Eventually, he would have to face Aizen again.

Alright, will you people let me know if you still want more info on Aizen before I finish? Originally I wasn't going to have anything more concerning him, but a lot of you have asked about him, so I suppose I should add something.

For a random piece of lalulweeb's life, I went to the mall yesterday, and I discovered they're closing the japanese bookstore there! That place is manga paradise! I was almost crying, it was so sad! on the bright side, everything was 75% off... but the bleach stuff was sold out, and that made me depressed but I still got a ton of manga for a rlly good price!

Well, there's some of Lalulweeb's life, now I need to go and pack of mt washington, plz review me!