Disclaimer - I own neither -Man nor Bleach

A/N - thanx so much for all of the reviews, favorites and alerts. I appreciate all of you and just wanted to let you know. And this chapter is dedicated to hana no toshiro because she was the first one to review this fic. Now, on to chapter two! Enjoy!

Chapter Two - Beginning of Death

"Captain Hitsugaya," Head Captain Ukitake called out as he crossed the courtyard toward the spot where the young prodigy was standing underneath a weeping willow tree. He was thankful that he had managed to catch Hitsugaya before the white haired youth retired for the night.

"What is it Ukitake?" Hitsugaya asked as his teal eyed gaze shifted toward his superior.

"I need for you to travel to the world of the living and perform Konso on a newly departed soul," Ukitake explained. "And you can't waste any time because we cannot afford for this particular soul to be turned into a Hollow."

"Konso?" Hitsugaya repeated, convinced that he hadn't heard his superior correctly. Surely performing a simple Konso wasn't a job for a captain class Shinigami.

Ukitake knew that the young captain would feel this way however he had his reasons for sending Hitsugaya. "You're the perfect person for the job Captain Hitsugaya, I assure you."

"Fine," Hitsugaya muttered, knowing that he was defeated. He would have to travel to the world of the living and perform the Konso however he hadn't been ordered to be happy about the order. Not that it would be likely to happen even if he'd been issued such an order.

"Thanks," Ukitake said, offering the young captain a broad smile. "Make sure that you keep an eye on him."

"Right," Hitsugaya muttered.

"Cheer up Toushirou," Ukitake said with a wide grin, reaching into the sleeve of his haori.

"Oh no,"Hitsugaya thought to himself, knowing exactly what was coming and wanting desperately to avoid it. He made a move to leave however he wasn't fast enough and he soon found his arms filled to overflowing with sweets.

"And there's more where that came from," Ukitake called out over his shoulder as he walked away from his young subordinate. "We'll have to get together once your mission is complete."

"The hell I will," Hitsugaya muttered as he left the office. He would have to find somewhere to dump the 'gifts' that Ukitake had given to him before he traveled to the world of the living. Not that it would be all that hard. He was probably the only one around who didn't like sweets so it more than likely wouldn't be hard to pawn them off on someone. Actually he could probably just leave it in the office for Matsumoto.

It might serve to keep her there for awhile.

Allen was still confused about what had happened. First he was injured in a battle with the Akuma and now he was wandering down a deserted road, completely free of the injuries that he had sustained during the battle. And what was more, on top of everything else, now he was sporting a length of chain hanging from his chest. And no matter how much he pulled on the chain it refused to come off. This fact only made Allen want to pull harder and he yanked on the chain with all of the strength that he possessed and still it would not budge. The boy's eyes narrowed as he gazed down at it and, pulling it this way and that in an attempt to loosen it's hold, he exclaimed, "Why won't you come off?"

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," a strange voice called out, interrupting the young Exorcist's rant.

Allen instantly dropped the chain and whirled to face a young boy. This child was even shorter than he himself and his hair was also the pure white of newly fallen snow. He was wearing a strange outfit which consisted of baggy black pants, a black kimono-like top and a white coat trimmed with black diamonds and dots. The boy was gazing at him with a strange look in his teal eyes and Allen's eyes widened in surprise as he took a step back, away from the strange new arrival. "Who are you?" He normally would have had better manners however he was still slightly freaked out by his current situation and being polite wasn't high up on his list of priorities at this point.

Hitsugaya groaned as he took a couple of steps toward the boy, pulling Hyourinmaru from it's sheath as he did so. "I don't have time for this," he thought to himself as he held up his blade.

Seeing the long sword that the strange boy was holding in his hands Allen's eyes widened in fear and he turned and made an attempt to make a run for it. He had no idea what was going on however he had no desire to hang around and get hacked into pieces. He wasn't curious enough about the situation to stick around and die for it. He'd rather be confused and alive thus he was all for fleeing for his life.

This was horribly similar to the experience he'd had when first arriving at the Black Order and brought up memories that he'd made every attempt to banish.

"No!" Allen screamed as he fled, holding his hands up over his head. "I don't wanna die!"

"Stop!"

The commanding tone in the other boy's voice served to bring Allen to a stop and he warily turned back to face the new arrival. Seeing this as his opportunity Hitsugaya used his flash-step to approach the soul and, caught off guard, all Allen could do was stare as the stranger pressed the hilt of his sword against his forehead.

Allen completely freaked out as he began to glow.

"What did you do to me?" Allen demanded, his eyes wide and accusing. "Did you kill me?"

"Calm down," Hitsugaya snapped, annoyed by his companion's uncalled for outburst. "It's called Konso and it's used to send souls to Soul Society."

"What?"

"I'll explain when we get there," Hitsugaya muttered, knowing that he would have to accompany the boy to Soul Society and make sure that nothing happened to him when he arrived. Head Captain Ukitake wanted him to keep an eye on this strange soul and as much as he wanted to the young captain knew that he couldn't disobey a direct order.

And he REALLY wanted to. Probably had never wanted to more in his life as a matter of fact.

Allen had no idea where 'there' was however it didn't appear that he had any choice as to whether or not he went. When his body ceased with its strange glowing he was standing in a dense forest, apparently nowhere near the lonely road that he had been walking down mere seconds before. Turning he saw that the white haired youth with the sword was still standing behind him.

"What did you do to me?" he demanded, his hands clenched into fists.

"I sent your soul to the Soul Society through Konso," Hitsugaya replied calmly, completely unphased by the outburst of the white haired Whole. He didn't know why Ukitake had ordered him to escort this guy to Soul Society however thankfully the mission was nearly complete.

"Sent my soul?" Allen repeated, confused by the other boy's words.

Hitsugaya nodded. "I didn't kill you. You were already dead when I found you."

Allen gasped as the meaning of the boy's words sank in and flashes of memory returned to him. Surrounded by Akuma and fighting for his life. And if his new companion's words were to be believed he didn't win that fight. Was it true? Had he really been killed by the Akuma? "Are you serious kid?"

"I'm not a kid," Hitsugaya snapped, an anger mark appearing on the side of his forehead. "I'm the Captain of Squad Ten of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, Toushirou Hitsugaya."

"Captain?" Allen repeated, even more confused than he had been before. Was this strange youth a member of some military organization? And could they possibly somehow be connected to the Black Order? "Are you an Exorcist?"

It was Hitsugaya's turn to look confused. "Exorcist?"

Allen nodded. "Do you fight Akuma?"

"No," Hitsugaya said shortly. He didn't even know what an Akuma was and he didn't really have the time to listen to this strange guy rambling on. "I'm a Shinigami and I am charged with purifying the souls of Hollow."

"Hollow?"

Hitsugaya nodded.

Allen was still confused but decided not to pursue the topic of Hollow. There was something more pressing that he wanted to discuss with this strange youth. "If I died as you said then shouldn't my soul have emerged near my body? When my awareness came back I was walking along that accursed stretch of road."

"It's not uncommon for souls to block out the memory of seeing their corpse," Hitsugaya explained in a quiet voice. "After all that's a rather traumatic experience since most souls don't realize that they're dead until a Shinigami sends them to the Soul Society. That's more than likely what happened to you."

"Oh."

"Now come with me," the young captain ordered. "Head Captain Ukitake wishes to have a word with you."

Allen's first impulse was to refuse to follow the so called Shinigami however he quickly decided against that course of action. After all he had absolutely no idea where he was currently and didn't relish the idea of wandering around on his own. So instead of running away, even though this was what every instinct inside of him was telling him to do, Allen fell into step behind Hitsugaya. He had no idea where he was being taken however he had decided to trust the boy, at least for the time being.

Anxious for this deplorable assignment to be completed Hitsugaya quickly led the way to the Squad One barracks, more than ready to deliver this guy to Head Captain Ukitake and then have done with him. The young prodigy still couldn't believe that Ukitake had sent him out to perform a simple Konso.

It made absolutely no sense.

When the two white haired youths arrived at the Squad One barracks Captain Hitsugaya knocked lightly on the door and then stepped back, almost stepping on Allen who was following closely behind him. Allen yelped and jumped back however the young captain chose to ignore him. It was his own fault for walking too close after all so why should he feel any sympathy?

"Enter," a voice called out from within.

Obeying the summons Hitsugaya slid the door open and stepped inside the office. Then he paused briefly, reached back and grabbed Allen by his collar, pulling him into the room forcefully. Allen yelped once again however he ceased his complaints as his searching gaze fell upon yet another white haired person. This man was older and had a kind look about him.

"Welcome Allen Walker," Head Captain Ukitake called out, offering the young Exorcist a welcoming smile.

"Hello," Allen said as he made his way over to the desk behind which the white haired man sat. "Excuse me sir but how is it that you know my name?"

"I have my ways," Ukitake said cryptically, then chuckled softly to himself. "I suppose you're wondering why it is that you were brought here?"

Allen nodded and even Hitsugaya looked interested although he was trying his best to hide that fact.

"Our research department has gotten wind of a threat in the world of the living," Ukitake explained. "Machines that possess the souls of humans and are used for slaughter. I believe that you would call them Akuma."

Allen nodded while Hitsugaya looked confused. The young captain remembered the boy named Allen asking him if he fought against Akuma and he was intrigued by the fact that Ukitake knew about them.

"I am aware that you and your fellows are trained to combat these Akuma," Head Captain Ukitake said, his tone serious. "And due to your untimely death I would like to offer you our assistance. I realize that you are important to the battle and I would like to help you return to it."

Now Allen was confused and Hitsugaya more so.

"I cannot return you to life," Ukitake said sadly. "However what I can do is provide you with a special gigai that will allow you to continue your battle."

"But what about the Innocence?" Allen asked, his eyes wide as he gazed down at his left hand. "I don't even know if my anti-Akuma weapon will still work since I died."

"I can't promise that it will work," a new voice said, unexpectedly joining the conversation. "However after some experimentation on the matter I am fairly certain that it will.

"Ah Kisuke," Ukitake said, inclining his head in the direction of the Squad Twelve Captain. "Welcome." The Head Captain gestured toward the young Exorcist. "This is Allen Walker, the boy that we discussed. And Allen this is Kisuke Urahara, Captain of Squad Twelve and the head of the research and development department. He's been studying another Exorcist who was killed by the Akuma and we believe that you can still fight. And Kisuke can even design a gigai that will enable your Innocence to function as normal."

Allen's eyes lit up. "That's great. Thank you all very much."

"And Captain Hitsugaya," Ukitake said, turning his attention back to the other white haired youth. "You're going to go with Allen and help him with the fight."

"But. . ." the Squad Ten Captain began however Urahara interrupted.

"If the two of you will come with me I'll set Allen-kun up with his gigai and together we can explain the whole situation to Toushirou-kun."

And without waiting for a reply or protest from either boy Urahara turned and left the office. Hitsugaya narrowed his eyes, slightly irritated over the fact that Urahara, who was the same rank as he was, was giving him orders and then just expecting him to follow. He was about to turn and go the other way when he caught the look that Ukitake was giving him. This made him change his mind about ditching the Squad Twelve Captain but it didn't make him any less irritated over the situation.

For Allen's part he was somewhat reluctant to follow this stranger. The one thing that had stood out in his mind was the whole Research and Developement part of the introduction and he found himself having horrible flashbacks from his first meeting with Komui. "No!" he thought to himself as he watched Urahara and Hitsugaya leaving. "I don't wanna go through that again."

"It's okay," Ukitake said in a kind voice. "It really is safe to go with him. I promise that he won't hurt you."

Deciding to trust the kind looking man's word Allen nodded and then jogged to catch up with the others.

Ukitake sighed as he watched the group leave.

This fight would not be an easy one and it was way outside of what Shinigami normally did however humanity was doomed without their help and Allen Walker was an integral part of the fight that they had just became involved in. Urahara had been conducting research on the Exorcists for quite some time and had informed Ukitake the moment that Allen Walker had died that they had to find a way to put him back in the fight. How things would play out from this moment forth remained to be seen.

"But why did Urahara insist that Toushirou be sent along to protect Allen?"

TBC. . .

A/N - and there's chapter two and the Shinigami are now teamed up with an Exorcist to fight against the Millennium Earl. Hope you enjoyed, please review and tell me what you thought. And if you have any suggestions feel free to tell me. Til next time this is Hitsu-taichou signing out.