Author's Notes:

Based on Bleach: Episode 326

This one was a little tough to work on, and is rather long compared to my others. I have to say, It was rather interesting writing a fic based on an actual episode. I've done something similar before, but this one was interesting.

I didn't want to go too much into detail on the actual events of the episode for two reasons. 1: For those of you who have seen it, it'll be a bore just reading about what you already know about detail for detail. 2: I didn't want to sit there watching the episode over and over and over to get the perfect details (that episode makes my heart ache and makes me want to cry ;_;)

If you have not seen this episode yet, this contains slight spoilers! if you're one of those that HATES spoilers, don't read! If you don't give a crap, then read on~ :3 lol

A few paragraphs into the story is my reason why the Shinigami hadn't come to visit Ichigo after he lost his powers in the manga. It's most likely NOT the reason why, and the true reason was probably some stupid shit that Yama-baka or the suddenly resurected Central 46 came up with. Seriously. Why are they suddenly alive again? Dude. Aizen killed them all (one thing the bastard did that I was greatful for). Why are they suddenly alive again? Did Mayuri create clones of them or something? Are they like some form of hydra where you cut them and suddenly two more appear? o_o tell meee!

lol, aaaanyways. Enjoy~~

(Oh, by the way. This takes place during relationship :3)

Doppelganger

Toushiro couldn't help but feel the tension building all around the Seiretei as battles between originals and Reigai sprung up nearly everywhere. He'd hoped that he would be able to get to get through to Kageroza without having to encounter any Reigai. He honestly did not like fighting if he did not have to do it. He'd just have to hope that he wouldn't be noticed as he ran toward the 12th division.

After a moment, he hesitated for a moment when he sensed Ichigo's spiritual pressure appear in the Seiretei. It looked like he'd followed them in only a while after they'd left, and Urahara Kisuke no doubt didn't do much to try and stop him… honestly, there would be no point in trying to stop the man. That stupid dandelion was even more stubborn than Yamamoto, Kenpachi, and Toushiro, himself, combined. And that was saying something.

Toushiro clenched his teeth before running off again toward the 12th division.

Damn it… Why couldn't he have stayed put, just this once? Toushiro'd hoped that Ichigo would have just stayed away, this time; stayed in the world of the living to fight there, and protect Nozomi… Toushiro wished he'd just stayed where it was moderately safer and where he wouldn't have to use his Shinigami powers so often…

After the scare they'd all gotten from when Ichigo had suddenly fallen unconscious after his fight with Aizen, with no sign of waking up, how could anyone blame Toushiro for being worried and upset? All he could do was sit by helplessly while watching the man he loved just lay there, motionless other than the slight rise and fall of his chest. He'd prayed to every damned god out there to keep Ichigo alive, and hoped like hell that he'd wake up soon.

And when he heard the news that Ichigo was losing his Shinigami powers, and could become a normal human again, it felt like his world was ripped out from under him. A secret captain's meeting was held, and Head Captain Yamamoto informed everyone that when Ichigo would be completely stripped of his powers, they were not to see him, even in gigai.

"This is for his own good. If we were to put ourselves near him again, he would be put in grave danger in his weakened state. With not being able to sense hollows, or any other enemy that might be present, he could be killed. We owe him at least this much after the help we've received from him in the past."

For once, Yamamoto's thinking did make a bit of sense, but Toushiro wouldn't take it. He stepped out of the row of captains, fists clenched and teeth bared as he glared at Yamamoto,

"So what you're saying is we can't even go near him? I won't accept it! I have to-"

"Enough!" Yamamoto slammed the tip of his cane on the ground as the other captains all stared at Toushiro in shock. Never once did he step out of line or speak out against the head captain, no matter how badly he'd wanted to before.

Toushiro stood there, trembling with anger, and hurt. Yamamoto opened his eyes to look at Toushiro,

"We all know how much you care for the young substitute, Hitsugaya, but there will be NO exceptions. Would you rather risk the boy's life and be the potential cause of his death?" Toushiro stared at Yamamoto before clenching his teeth and swallowing hard, looking away.

After that incident, Toushiro became more and more paranoid of Ichigo losing his powers. By using them nearly every day now, like he'd had been, and coming to the soul society again and again, the day he'd lose his powers was approaching faster and faster. Toushiro just wished Ichigo would realize this, and stopped using his powers so often…

He was snapped from his thoughts when he saw Hinamori sitting there on the roof, skidding to a stop to stare at her. He felt a slight relief when he saw her, but that quickly faded to confusion and suspicion. He just knew there was something not right. Hinamori should have still been in bed; her injuries were too severe for her to be up again, much less enough to where she was out of her hospital garb and into her uniform again.

And she only proved his suspicions when she grabbed her sword, most likely aiming to kill him. He could see through her façade quickly, catching her wrist before her blade could get too far out of its sheath. Further examination showed that same bracelet the other Reigai wore. There was no way she could beat him, much less kill him. He could easily beat her in a single heartbeat.

But why… Why did she have to use that against him?

"Are you going to try to kill me… again?"

… 'Again'… That word continued to echo in his head. He couldn't stop himself from seeing the images of what had happened; the feel of her blood staining his hands, the sight of her nearly lifeless eyes fluttering open and closed, the sound of her wavering breath as she asked him 'why?'…

That day had been tormenting him since it had happened a month earlier. He was still tortured with it, among other things, in his sleep. He honestly found it amazing that he could still go through his days with the little sleep he'd got. And now, this Reigai was making him relive it again; knowing it would be his weakness.

His hand trembled faintly as his grip released the blade, and the Reigai was given her chance. After she'd said that, he just couldn't raise his blade to her, no matter how much blood he was losing. She continued to apologize to him as she went after him, seeming rather apologetic for what she was trying to do, but still continuing on with it.

His mind was in complete chaos. He didn't know what to do; he couldn't let himself be killed, but he just couldn't raise his hand to Hinamori, whether it was a Reigai or not. He wouldn't have liked to admit it, but he was scared. He was afraid of hurting Hinamori again, afraid of what may happen, and afraid he was going to die... And the worst part was, he'd had nowhere to run.

What happened next, though, completely tore him apart. Another Hinamori stood there in front of him, fighting against the Reigai in 'rage' over harming Toushiro as she'd done. But the Reigai seemed to have more strength than her, and she called out to Toushiro to help her, with each Hinamori calling the other an imposter. When the Reigai went in for what seemed like a final blow, Toushiro got in between the both of them, trying to protect who he'd thought was the true Hinamori. But when a blade pierced through his back first, rather than his front, he was completely shocked, and a second blade pierced through his front.

They were both Reigai. Both of them. They told him that Kageroza had come up with that plan in order to get to Toushiro, because they knew that only one of them wouldn't be able to kill him on their own.

In a way, Toushiro was glad. Because they were both Reigai, that meant that he didn't have to get the true Hinamori involved in anything, and that he wouldn't have to hurt her again, at all.

But something still ached inside of him. He was going to be killed then. He knew it. But… he just couldn't accept that. His chest hurt when he'd thought of the idea, and he felt sick; not just because of his many wounds. He was still frightened; still upset… He didn't want to die… No matter how much he tried to accept it…

At that moment, he'd wished he could have gone to where Ichigo was… After the fight with Kusaka, he'd found himself going to Ichigo more and more when he was afraid, hurt, or upset. He'd even had the silly thought of Ichigo suddenly rushing to the rescue to save him, like he so often did. Ichigo would then scold Toushiro for getting himself into the situation and for having him come to his rescue like that. He'd playfully mock the young captain for letting his guard down, and would then proceed to bring him to Unohana to be treated, completely ignoring the situation with Kageroza for the moment.

But he knew something like that wouldn't happen… not this time. Ichigo was too far away; there was no way he would have suddenly been able to get to Toushiro while being preoccupied with Kageroza, who had apparently set a trap for Ichigo. He knew he would die, and braced himself for the feeling. The only thing he regretted was not telling Ichigo he loved him before he'd left for soul society…

When the blow didn't come, however, with Yoruichi having knocked the Reigai away from Toushiro just before they'd got to him, Toushiro was fairly relieved that he was still alive. He looked down at the soul pill form of the Reigai, swallowing thickly. He began to feel a pain in his heart at the thought of Hinamori dying like that… No. He wouldn't let himself think about that. They were only Reigai, nothing more.

He turned, clutching at his wounds as he began to head off, ignoring his injuries and heading toward where he could sense Ichigo. His mind just went on slight autopilot, leading him to the comfort of the teen he'd trusted and loved. Everything that just happened… he knew if he dwelt on it at that moment, he'd break down, and be vulnerable for everyone to see… And he'd found that the only person he could be vulnerable with, and not feel ashamed, was Ichigo… He needed to get to him, and in the back of his mind, he was a little grateful for the fact that Ichigo did indeed come here, and that he didn't stay home.

After a while, he found himself beginning to slow down; vision blurring, body trembling as he'd continued to lose blood by the minute, making a small trail behind him. He needed to be healed right away, or else he'd end up dying from blood loss. He swallowed hard, stopping and clutching at his wound, leaning heavily against the walls of one of the buildings. After a moment, his vision blacked out, and he felt himself fall to the ground.

The next thing he knew, he was hearing someone call out to him, and felt himself being shaken slightly. The voice continued to call out to him, and Toushiro knew it wasn't just his imagination. He slowly managed to open his eyes, trying to see if he someone really was there. Sure enough, when he opened his eyes he was greeted with a pair of familiar, worried brown eyes, orange eyebrows furrowed in worry and what seemed like slight anger.

Ichigo sat there, holding Toushiro in his arms as he'd tried to wake him. When he saw Toushiro opening his eyes, a mixture of emotions washed over his face, the one most obvious of them being relief, most likely due to the fact that Toushiro wasn't dead.

"Thank god…! Damnit, Toushiro, I can't leave you alone for a second, can I?" Toushiro could barely manage a slight chuckle, a small smirk tugging at the corner of his blood-stained lips. In a raspy, quiet voice, he managed to answer.

"I suppose not." The substitute clenched his teeth, a small strangled sound emanating from the back of his throat. When Toushiro's thoughts cleared slightly, the pain started to stab back at him again, and he could feel one of Ichigo's hands pressing on his wounds, trying to get the blood to stop flowing.

Toushiro shook his head slightly to try and clear it, and Ichigo tore strips of his shihakusho off, managing to wrap Toushiro's wounds enough to at least slow the bleeding. But that wouldn't hold for long. Toushiro's vital organs had been punctured through when the Reigai stabbed him, and they needed to be healed quickly. But Ichigo couldn't sense Unohana's spiritual pressure anywhere, and the Seiretei was in too much chaos to bring him to the 4th district, where he wouldn't know who was a Reigai and who wasn't. Ichigo wouldn't put Toushiro through the possible danger of being tricked by a Reigai and possibly end up in an even worse state. The teen continuously cursed as he tried to get him to stop bleeding, growling to himself

"Damnit, why couldn't I have learned healing kido from Unohana?" Toushiro sighed a bit but said nothing as Ichigo tied off the makeshift bandages. Ichigo swallowed hard, clenching his teeth,

"Who did this to you?" Toushiro looked down, shaking his head,

"Toushiro, tell me who did this to you!" Toushiro swallowed hard, not meeting Ichigo's eyes,

"… They…. They were… They were Reigai of Momo…" Ichigo's eyes widened and he froze as he stared at the snowy captain. No wonder Toushiro allowed himself to be hurt like this…

The next moment, a side of Toushiro that very few people were able to see emerged.

Ichigo frowned, and when he looked closely, he saw Toushiro was on the verge of tears. Everything had just suddenly come crashing down on Toushiro, and his feelings had caught up to him. Even though she wasn't the true Hinamori, she'd tried to kill him. And every time he tried to defend himself, the look in her eyes reflected hurt and betrayal back at him. She'd made him relive the pain of that day one month ago, and she made him believe he wouldn't be able to see anyone again, even Ichigo. She'd made him believe he was going to die. After a moment, he completely broke down, and what little life he had in him seemed to be stripped away as he sagged against the young strawberry, tears staining the fabric of his slightly torn shihakusho.

"I couldn't do it…! I just couldn't hurt her! I knew she was just a Reigai, but I couldn't bring myself to do it!" Ichigo swallowed thickly before putting a hand on his head and resting his forehead in the soft snow he'd called hair. His heart ached just as much as Toushiro did. He wasn't able to protect him, or help him…. God, why couldn't he have gotten away from Kageroza sooner…?

Toushiro began to apologize over and over into Ichigo's chest, and Ichigo frowned down at him. Why was he apologizing for not being able to harm his sister…?

"Why are you apologizing…? You couldn't think to do harm to her… You-"

Toushiro shook his head, cutting Ichigo off,

"I'd almost allowed myself to be killed. I just sat there and waited for the finishing blow. If Ms. Yoruichi hadn't come and took care of them for me, I would be dead." At first, Ichigo didn't understand why Toushiro was apologizing for this. Yes, Ichigo was relieved that Yoruichi had saved him, and that he wasn't dead, but why…?

"I was afraid I'd never see you again, and that I wouldn't be able to say I love you again…! I'd almost allowed that to happen…! I'd almost allowed myself to leave you…!" Ichigo stared at him with slightly wide eyes.

Toushiro wouldn't forgive himself for nearly dying. He knew if he'd died, Ichigo's heart would be crushed, and yet he didn't even do anything to try and stop it…!

Ichigo sagged slightly as he looked down at Toushiro, and after a moment, he closed his eyes and gently resting his lips on Toushiro's forehead, managing to calm Toushiro down a bit. He sighed and chuckled faintly.

"You don't have to apologize. You're still alive. That's all that matters." Toushiro swallowed thickly, looking up at the teen,

"Ichigo…" Ichigo simply shook his head and Toushiro looked down, resting his head on Ichigo's chest.

'How is it that every time I break down, you're able to piece me together again…?'

End.

May possibly make this a two part if I get enough (GOOD) reviews :3