Hitsugaya sighed at his paperwork with a grim expression. He twirled the sake in his cup, staring vacantly at the wall.

He still hadn't found her. And it had been nearly a year since then.

He bit the inside of his cheek as he recalled what had happened just moments after he had first arrived from the human world. He had gone to the Commander-General demanding their reports on the soul flow, and with a warning of disappointment, he was given them. There were no records on who went where; it was only petty diagrams and charts that he found no use for. Even still, each day he visited Rukongai in hopes of seeing her. And each day, he returned, with empty hands but still, an overwhelmingly full heart.

When they had first come back, word had spread quickly. That he, a Captain, had fallen in love with a human girl, and not just any, but Ichigo's younger sister. At first, people were shocked, near disappointed at the idea, but when they heard news of her death; it had suddenly taken a turn to tragedy. He had neither denied nor confirmed, he had just kept walking whenever he heard those hushed whispers, saw those downcast eyes in pity. The first few months the other Captains had tried to comfort him, especial efforts were put in by Ukitake.

But those efforts did little for him.

It seemed these days there were too many things to worry about. With each turn he took, everything seemed to come colliding back to him; the fact that Hinamori had apparently, fallen back into a coma only a week before he had arrived had spelt out bad luck, or perhaps karma, to him.

Sometimes he wondered why he was being punished.

It was a shock to Matsumoto when he had asked her for advice. Asked her how he could forget, even if it were only temporary. She had replied with one word, a single noun, to which was 'sake'. She was even more surprised, when he had agreed, and asked for his first cup, when in every other instance he had refused the offerings.

Of course, then, the one time he asked, she was not willing to give him any; told him he was a minority, illegal. But when did Soul Society have laws on drinking? He didn't know. So instead, he took it himself. It wasn't stealing really; he'd always known where she stashed it. It had felt bitter going down his throat, but in that moment, he relished it – because it was exactly as he felt.

Bitter.

---

A/N: So here is the prologue to COMMITMENT, sequel to PROMISE. If you're a first time reader, it won't really be necessary to read the first but, I would recommend it. I know, this is extremely short, but I've got to get some other things sorted. Exams and such, so the first actual chapter won't be out probably for another week. Anyway, keep me posted on your opinions; as always, I love reading all your reviews. I would really hope to see some of the reviewers from Promise onto this story. : )

I am considering going in a different direction with this, by using first person point of view (of whom? Well, you can find out later…). I don't know if I'll be able to pull it off, but I would really love to hear your opinions if this would be a good idea or not. I'm still considering this; so don't rely on it!