Hey, Again. This is BlAcK-vAlEnTiNe with another story. For those who read Right of the Fallen, I'm really sorry I haven't updated for so long but this idea wouldn't leave me alone since I started reading Bleach. Hopefully, I can continue with Right of the Fallen once this chapter is up. For now, enjoy the story and please don't kill the writer.

Prologue: Memories

"Just a bit longer, Midori-chan," a white-haired yet fairly young man said to the brunette woman on the futon. Fast, shallow breathing could be heard from said woman as she gripped the white comforter and her companion's hand. An older man, situated between her spread legs, instructed the younger to calm his wife down or else the delivery might go badly. What was happening in the candle-lit room had been going on for hours; to the young couple, it seemed as if time stopped altogether because of the pain and worry they felt for the fruit of their love. It had been nearly an entire day since the soon-to-be mother had gone into labor. Outside, the late December air began to dance while the pale full moon gave more light to the modest but well-cared for home.

Moments later, the sounds of a crying baby was heard. As the doctor cleaned and wrapped the newborn infant in a blanket, he said to young man and the still breathless woman, "It's a boy, Hitsugaya-san." Before he could say anything else, the doctor was interrupted by a pain-filled scream. The new mother gulped down a breath of air as she once again started to push. The doctor handed the bewildered father his son before returning to his previous position. Frankly, he was surprised that there was another child within Midori's womb but that, at least, explained why she went into labor nearly a month before her due date. Not long after, another crying baby entered the world and the lives of the new parents. Once the exhausted woman regained her normal breathing rate, the doctor gave her the second child. "This one is a girl, Hitsugaya-san. Congratulations," the village doctor said to the proud parents.

The husband and father, arms laden with his son, bowed, "Arigatou, Takamura-sensei." The medicine man accepted the couple's gratitude and, deciding to give the new family some alone time, said he would return to check on the children within the week. The pale-haired man escorted the older man to the door and returned to his wife and daughter. He found them already asleep, his wife's arms wrapped around the child lovingly and protectively. His son's eyes, still unfocused, began to droop and the father prepared his tired family for bed. He kissed Midori's cheek and did the same to his children's foreheads. "Oyasuminasai." It had been a long day for all of them.

Eight years have passed since that cold December night. The small relatively unknown village had not changed; the atmosphere was still safe and peaceful despite the bloody war the whole world was plunged into. The villagers, on the other hand, have changed greatly; the cycle of time stopping for no mortal. Two such mortals were the Hitsugaya twins, no longer defenseless babies. Both had the pure white hair of their father, Yukio, and the bright emerald eyes of their mother. Their pale skin complimented their snowy locks and enhanced their intelligent eyes.

Tōshirō had strong boyish looks that matched his short spiky hair. The lithe and toned stature he inherited from his father helped him excel in many fighting style despite being shorter than all the other eight-year-olds. His stubborn and serious attitude intimidated many of the other children yet his insightful and responsible statements amazed adults. Though quite proud and anti-social, he was very loving towards his family and extremely protective of his little sister, literally beating the snot out of the bastard who took away her smile.

Toshi, on the other hand, had their mother's petite and delicate features, accentuated by the chin-length straight hair framing her cherubic face. Her slim body structure hid the skills she had in swordplay and hand-to-hand combat. She has shown herself to be an intelligent and loving young lady and a good judge of character, knowing when someone has an alternative motive or not. Though she is just as skilled in fighting as her brother, she refuses to use them in less than dire situations.

For eight years, there have been no problems other than the occasional natural catastrophe. Unfortunately, the Second World War cast its black shadow over the small farming community. For the past week, the village was forced to play host to a battalion of violent soldiers. From the comfort and security of their home, little Toshi asked her mother, "Kaasan, the soldiers will leave soon, won't they?" Tōshirō, sensing his sister's worry, walked over to her and squeezed her hand to give the girl a small amount of comfort. He also wondered why they were here and when they would leave the village.

Midori embraced her children. "I don't know, Toshi-chan," she said, also answering her son's other question. "But I want you two to remember what to do in case something happens." She received small nods from her children. Turning to Tōshirō, she told him, "Tōshirō-kun, be sure to take care of your little sister during the time."

"Hai, Kaasan," the small boy answered with determination. His grip on his twin became slightly tighter to remind himself of his duty as the older brother while not hurting her.

The days passed swiftly and a light blanket of snow covered the village. As the twins were getting ready for bed one night, Yukio rushed into the house and told his small family that the soldiers have started to attack the villagers arbitrarily. The children wasted no time in grabbing their warmer clothes and running into the woods behind their home. They never saw their parents' sad yet smiling faces as they shut the door and ran out the front door.

Tōshirō kept a firm grip on Toshi's hand the twins dodged numerous trees and jumped over fallen branches and exposed roots. Once they arrived at a clearing, Tōshirō let go of his sister's hand. "We have to do something in case the soldiers follow us. Our footprints are really easy to follow because of the snow."

Gazing around the clearing, Toshi noticed that several trees still had there leaves. "Niichan, maybe we can split up and make fake trails. We can meet back here and stay in a tree while the soldiers follow the footprints." Tōshirō, though extremely reluctant to leave his little sister's side, agreed and said to hide in the tallest tree that still kept some reminders of autumn in an hour. With a final look begging the other to be careful, the twins ran in different directions; both chose to ignore the brightening orange glow from the village and the growing pain in their hearts.

Some time later, Toshi found herself hidden by the crisp leaves of the tree, 'It's a good thing our clothes match the color of the leaves,' the little white-haired girl thought as she waited for her twin brother. She regularly peeked out of the brown foliage to see if Tōshirō was coming or if any soldiers were walking through the forest. Once, she thought she saw a man wearing loose black clothing but he disappeared before she could get a better look so she thought she must have imagined him. Finally, she saw Tōshirō cautiously observing the clearing from behind a tree trunk and resisted the urge to call for him as he made his way to the tree. Minutes later, the protective brother was checking the younger for any injuries but thankfully found only a few scratches. The two green-eyed children stayed in their leafy hiding place until well past sunrise the next day.

It had been nearly a month since the twins left the destroyed village that had been their home for the entire length of their short lives. The light snow that had prevailed during that time had turned into a blizzard. They were no longer able to depend on the few travelers that took pity on them or the forest as the cold had driven both people and nature away. They had taken shelter in an empty cave for the night. As they did the night of their parents' death, they huddled together to stay warm. The older had fallen asleep next to her some time ago but Toshi stayed up to watch the howling wind toss the snow around. As she closed her eyes, she saw her brother standing in front of her with a depressed expression and a man wearing somewhat familiar black clothes.

When she woke up, she was in the arms of her brother, far from the stone wall they had leaned on to sleep. The black-clad man she saw sat cross-legged just before the spot they had rested on. When she snuggled closer to Tōshirō, she saw a chain protruding from the center of his chest. She looked at her own chest and saw an identical and somewhat longer chain. "We're dead, aren't we, Niichan?" she mumbled.

Tōshirō, knowing that it was useless to lie to someone who could also see spirits in life, made a sound of confirmation. The well-built rugged man sympathetically blocking the sight of their dead bodies waited for them to notice him before saying, "Since ya know yer spirits now, I can skip dat part." Clearing his throat, he continued, "I'm Hanajima Ryu, a shinigami."

"I though there was only one shinigami, "Tōshirō muttered.

"Hanajima-san also does not look the way Tousan described shinigami," Toshi shyly added.

Hanajima wanted to bash his head against the cave wall. No matter how many times he performed konsō, he would ALWAYS hear some version of certain lines, those two being the most frequent ones. Refraining from giving himself a headache and traumatizing the kids in front of him even more, he recited with more than a hint of annoyance, "There are a lotta shinigami and we look like normal people for da most part. Shinigami don't eat souls and we don't hunt down naughty brats who wander around at night. We send dead souls ta Soul Society, da afterlife, or Hell by performing konsō. Is there anything else ya wanna know?"

The twins were silent for a while. "…Will we still be together when we get to Soul Society?" asked Tōshirō as his grip on his little sister became tighter. Toshi seemed to worry about that fact as well since she clutched the boy's clothes in her tiny fists, her wide eyes silently begging the shinigami to let her stay with her brother.

Hanajima winced at the look the girl was giving him and said, "I doubt ya two would go ta Hell since the pair of ya seem like good bra…kids." Tōshirō twitched a bit at the brat-kid comment but otherwise did nothing. "Where ya end up is kinda random so I ain't sure but since da two of ya will be going there at around da same time, it could happen." The twins relaxed a bit at Hanajima's explanation but held on to each other. The shinigami sighed and muttered something about going soft before unsheathing a sword the twins were too preoccupied to notice.

The twins reacted immediately. Tōshirō unwrapped his arms from Toshi's body to let her up and took an offensive stance. The girl steeped back a bit and gracefully slid into a defensive stance, eyes scared yet determined not to allow the shinigami to hurt her or her brother. Hanajima sensed their dormant reiatsu shift a bit so he slowed his movements with a scowl. "Relax, brats." Tōshirō growled at him. "Ta perform konsō, all I do tap the base of my zanpakutou's, my sword's, pommel on yer forehead and send ya on yer merry way."

The two green-eyed children looked at each other before nodding. Tōshirō, though still wary of the armed man, slid into a semi-defensive posture and allowed the shinigami to do his job. Soon after, Toshi went through the same thing. Two bright blue flashes later, two black butterflies flew out of the cave. Hanajima gave one last look at the peaceful bodies of the children he just sent to Soul Society. 'Hope ya two really do stay together,' he thought before hoping the other guys in the Eleventh Division don't hear about this.

"Shiro-chan! Wake up!" a girl with long black hair whined as she tried to get the child out of bed. Behind her, a sleepy girl with bright green eyes was putting away her futon as a smiling old woman smiled fondly at the children's actions. Within a few minutes, a thin old lady, a peppy girl in a red and white school uniform, a grumpy boy with glaring green eyes and a fully awake girl with pure white hair were having breakfast and chatting.

Tōshirō and Toshi have been in Soul Society for six years now. They met Hinamori Momo, the dark-eyed girl seated with them, soon after arriving in the first district of Western Rukongai, Junrin'an. They were then taken in by Momo's guardian, an old lady all three children affectionately called Baachan. The girls were able to hit it off splendidly once Toshi got used to the overly cheerful girl. Tōshirō slowly warmed up to the girl, becoming nearly as protective over her as he was with his sister. However, he wasn't above insulting her, giving her the nickname Bed-wetter Momo just days after meeting her when he found her crying because of tripping over a rock.

Today was one of the few times Momo was able to come visit during the weekends this year. Both twins figured the girl was working so hard in the Shinigami Academy so she could get into the Fifth Division and closer to the captain, Aizen Sousuke, who the naïve girl had a huge crush on. With how much the infatuated girl rambled on about the shinigami captain, it was ridiculously easy for the mentally advanced children to make that deduction. Tōshirō, though he refused to admit it, was worried about Momo's crush as it bordered on obsession countless times.

The small family spent most of the day with each other before Momo went to spend time with her friends, Tatsukichi and Ayumi. The twins had told Baachan that they were going to buy more ama-natto and pickled cucumbers for dinner. While her brother went to get the soy beans, Toshi went to the other side of Junrin'an to buy the cucumbers. As she walked back to the well-kept home, thinking about the two odd voices she heard in her recurring sunrise/sunset dream the night before and dodging the few people on the streets, a handful of brutish men blocked her way. She discreetly took out a small home-made smoke bomb so she could distract the thugs and escape given the right opportunity. One of them, obviously the leader of the smirking ragtag gang, swung his bokken menacingly at Toshi and said, "Alright, brat! Give us your cash and…"

The rest of the threat was cut off as the wooden sword was suddenly cut; the piece remaining in the gang leader's hand ended less than a millimeter from his fist. "Don't cha know that it's rude ta block people when they're walkin'?" The men turned around to face the owner of the voice. Toshi, barely coming up to the grown men's stomachs, couldn't see who was standing up for her when none of the residents of Junrin'an ever did in previous incidents. The little she could see was part of a plain dark blue yukata and the tip of a short scabbard. The small gang flew into a rage and rushed at the armed man before they were pushed to the ground by an unknown force. Toshi herself felt the air get heavier but it was barely noticeable; this made her confused as she could see others fall to the ground or support themselves on something solid.

Green eyes took in the possible source of the strange pressure, the man who had helped her. Despite the incredible height difference, the thin man's short hair was one of the first things she noticed. Though in his late teens, his hair was silver. The color of his hair gave him an air of mystique and dangerous elegance. His closed eyes and eerie grin made the man resemble a particularly mischievous fox yet Toshi knew that there was a side to him that few people had noticed, if any had at all. While his appearance and demeanor would give most people the chills, Toshi didn't feel threatened by the man for some reason.

As the small girl observed him, Ichimaru Gin, the off-duty captain of the Third Division, raised an eyebrow, which caused her to look away. She seemed to be ten or so, possibly younger due to her height. The tips of her white hair barely brushed her clothed shoulders and went well against her smooth blushing cheeks. Two things stood out for the albino though. The first was that she didn't look the least bit wary of him even though most would rather 'kiss a pissed off viper than be with him for any amount of time,' he recalled another shinigami mutter once. True, she did avert her gaze after a while but the faint blush coloring her cheeks told him it was because she realized she was being rude by staring at him.

The second was that she was still standing even though he was emitting enough reiatsu to bring normal souls to the ground (1). Gin spent much time in the Shinigami Academy to watch over the three his captain had an eye on so he knew most of the faces of the students. As he would have remembered a little girl with shocking white hair in the academy uniform, this meant that she never had any shinigami training yet had a lot of power in her.

Gin reined in his reiatsu, amusement danced through his eyes as the crowd disbursed like agitated ants. The girl in front of him however, stood still as if she wanted something from him. When they were all alone, Toshi took several shy steps up to him. With a bright blush, she gave a deep bow and said, "Thank you for helping me." With that, she ran past him probably to get to her destination sooner, or maybe it was more to hide the even brighter blush from him. Gin couldn't help but think how cute the girl was when she blushed.

As he made his way towards the Western Gate of Seireitei, he saw a familiar orange-haired figure wearing a pink ascot walking towards him. His trademark mischievous fox grin became softer at seeing his friend before it turned into a confused frown at the well-endowed woman's thoughtful expression. It was not that Gin thought his (possibly) only friend was an idiot; it was just that Matsumoto Rangiku wasn't really a deep thinker. "Is something on your mind, Ran-chan? (2)" Rangiku was startled out of her thoughts by hearing his voice and told him her encounter with a white-haired kid with enormous and uncontrolled power. "I met her too but she didn't seem like the angry little kid you made her out to be."

At his comment, Rangiku gave him a weird look. "I'm pretty sure he's a boy, Gin. He might only look ten but his voice is too deep to be a girl's and his hair was really scruffy too. I saw him at the sweet shop (3) a few minutes ago." Gin, finally understanding what was going, gave Rangiku his usual smile and said they'd better report the TWO kids they met. The next day, Hitsugaya Tōshirō and Hitsugaya Toshi became the two newest students of the Shinigami Academy.

Toshi walked back from the Tenth Division. She and Tōshirō had just recently graduated from the Shinigami Academy and were assigned to different divisions. They graduated much earlier than everyone else, staying in the academy for no more than a year. Her brother, due to his personality and deductive skills, was given a place in the Tenth Division. Toshi, on the other hand, was assigned to the Eleventh Division.

Though everyone who knows her couldn't understand why such a gentle and shy soul was designated to the roughest and most violent division in Gotei 13, the captain of the Thirteenth Division who had grown fond of them, Ukitake Jūshirō, told the two of them that Yamamoto-soutaicho was concerned about her reluctance to injure an opponent, making her unfit for many of the divisions. Though it would have been ideal for her to stay in the Fourth Division, Unohana Retsu, like many others, believed that it would be a waste of a good fighter. It was the hope of many captains that she would learn to assert herself in battle by assigning her in that particular division (and survive her stay in one piece).

Kenpachi Zaraki wasn't overly pleased with the fact that he was given a newbie who wasn't into fighting like all the shinigami in his division should be but even he knew not to go against a direct order from the head captain. Besides, his vice-captain seemed to have gotten attached to her when she visited the academy unsupervised. He didn't know the exact details but it had something to do with the famous Hitsugaya twins, chocolate, several destroyed facilities and months of therapy for many of the teachers and students.

When she arrived at the receiving area of her assigned division, she noticed a few really important things. All the other new recruits were big and tough men and those who weren't sizing up one another were currently looking at her like she was something you would never let a pig roll in. Taking the hint, she crept to the back of the room to wait for the captain. The new recruits waited for their captain to appear or something to happen at the very least. The men were getting restless and Toshi grew more nervous. She knew that men who talk with their fists and weapons tend to get extremely violent and go for whoever they thought was weakest. Unluckily for her, she was the only one who did not develop a large amount of muscle or stand above five feet, making her the ideal target for a large crowd of impatient and extremely brutal men.

Just as a small group of irritated shinigami decided to go over and communicate with her, a strong reiatsu pressed down on them. Toshi, who only felt a little weight pressing down on her, was far better off than the other recruits who had collapse. Some of the more vulnerable ones had even fainted from the pressure. Toshi quickly did what she could to make them more comfortable; more than once did she have to help another shinigami stop a nosebleed caused by the increased gravity. Unconsciously, she thought it was Zaraki-taicho as he was the only person to become a captain of Gotei 13 by sheer power alone but reasoned that he would have to have more power than this if that were true. At the moment though, she was more worried about her fellow recruits and wondered if they would get into trouble than the owner of the reiatsu.

With her efforts to helping her fellow trainees, she failed to see a bald man observing the new recruits. 'Zaraki-taicho won't be happy with this year's batch,' Madarame Ikkaku, the third seat of the division, thought. Spotting Toshi dragging an unconscious recruit to make him lean against a wall, he pondered on the situation a bit more. 'The kid might be interesting if she can still move around and mother the idiots who can't even stand when Yumichika spars with the rest of the seated officers.' With a sigh, he went to report to his captain what he had observed. He would later thank the pink-haired vice-captain by the name of Kusajishi Yachiru for being unable to find said battle-loving captain.

Toshi grunted as she dodged another strike, her long white hair trailing after her like silk. She had made great progress behavior wise and it showed as she was now more confident in using her already excellent fighting abilities. For the past few years, she had trained hard in all aspects of zankensouki. She trained in zanjutsu with many of the members of the Eleventh Division, earning their respect in the process. She practiced kidou with Momo whenever she could and spent much time sparring with Tōshirō using hakuda and hohou.

Recently, she was transferred to the Tenth Division as she was requested to fill in the vacant position of the fourth seat. She had not only survived her duration in the Eleventh Division but also enjoyed her stay there as the division members found her to be strong and compassionate in sparring. Yachiru, who gave her the nickname Seppen-neechan, adored the older looking girl and was less likely to cause random mayhem and destruction when she was around. Even the fight-happy Zaraki Kenpachi had developed a soft spot for the white-haired girl once she became more dedicated in fighting. When she was given the transfer request, she got depressed because she wanted to be with her brother yet she was unwilling to leave her friends. The seated officers, especially Ayasegawa Yumichika and Madarame Ikkaku, had to reassure her that no one would get mad at her or think she was abandoning them. With a lot of assurances and several talks with her brother and Baachan, she accepted the transfer.

At the moment, she was fighting with the Tenth Division's third seat. Majority of the Tenth and Eleventh Divisions as well as many from other divisions have come to watch the match. Among them were several captains and vice-captains including Yamamoto-soutaicho, who had come to personally see her progress. While this made her more nervous than anything else, the presences of her twin brother and childhood friend, the newly instated Tenth Division Captain and Fifth Division Vice-captain respectively, encouraged her to do her best and make him proud. She parried a wild strike and countered with thrust that cut the skin where neck met shoulder as a warning on just how far things could be taken. It seemed that the man understood as he was now more wary of her.

The match continued a little longer until Toshi swept the fourth seat's feet from under him. The shinigami lost his footing and zanpakutou and felt the very tip of his opponent's sword poking his throat as he lay on the ground. Both knew that the battle was over now; the felled shinigami knew that before it had even begun as Toshi was able to fight on par with Ikkaku often. With a clear victor, the gathered audience cheered the small girl who tried and failed to contain the blush spreading across her cheeks. The former third seat congratulated her before leaving her to fend off an ecstatic Rangiku, a hyper Yachiru, a happy and relieved Momo and a proud Tenth Division Captain.

Unknown to many in the crowd, a sneaky captain also watched the proceedings. He had watched the Hitsugaya twins, especially Toshi, since they came through the gates of Seireitei. She had grown since they first met on the streets of Junrin'an. Before, she was no taller than his stomach maybe but now she came just below hid chest his chest. Her hair now reached her shoulder blades and she was starting to develop a more mature figure.

His inner musings were interrupted by the arrival of a dark-haired figure wearing a captain's haori over a standard shihakushou. The new arrival spoke to the fox-faced captain, "Any news, Ichimaru?" His voice was soft as not to attract attention from the cheering crowd.

Without looking away from the shy girl currently being suffocated by his childhood friend's enormous bust, Gin shook his head. He sometimes wondered why he agreed to this crazy plan and how he was supposed to stay sane with all the blathering and plots he had to listen to. "He's still lookin' fer it but sez he's getting' close." He glanced at his cohort and saw the ever stoic face of Kuchiki Byakuya. "He's found a bunch'a leads but it'll take time ta go through 'em all." The obedient captain nodded and told him to be careful. Not once did his face show emotion nor his voice change tone, however Gin knew that the noble was concerned about his colleague. Without another word, the two parted ways.

Gin sighed as he watched the older brother scold Rangiku for her actions towards his sister. The Eleventh Division Vice-captain had somehow situated herself on the gasping girl's shoulder while the remaining vice-captain held her steady. At the back of his mind, he idly wondered what it would be like to be within that tight group instead of hiding in the shadows of the Tenth Division Training Grounds.

So how was it? Mind you, this is only an experiment so if no one is really interested, I'll delete this and concentrate more on Right of the Fallen. In any case, thanks for taking the time to read my story.

Glossary: -chan: used to address children and female family members; may also be used towards animals, lovers, intimate friends, and people whom one has known since childhood

-san: used for surnames or given names as a common courtesy title like "Mr." or "Ms."

Arigatou: thank you

Ama-natto: fermented steamed soy beans

Baachan: grandmother

Bokken: wooden Japanese sword used for training

Futon: Japanese mattress

Gotei 13: 13 Division Imperial Guards; organization most shinigami join

Haori: hip- or thigh-length kimono jacket which adds formality

Junrin'an: part of West Rukongai

Kaasan: mother

Konsō: soul burial; the process by which a soul is sent to Soul Society by a shinigami

Neechan: big sister

Niichan: big brother

Oyasuminasai: good night

Reiatsu: spirit pressure; the energy in a soul that can be used to attack

Rukongai: Wandering soul city; the largest portion of Soul Society and the most populated. It is divided into 320 districts (80 in the north, 80 in the west, etc.)

Seireitei: Court of Pure Souls; center of Soul Society where shinigami and nobility live

Sensei: basically means teacher, master or doctor. Here though, it's used as doctor

Seppen: snowflake

Shihakushou: shinigami's uniform

Shinigami: If you don't know this, shame on you.

Soutaicho: commander-general

Taicho: captain

Tousan: father

Yukata: Japanese summer garment

Zankensouki: name for the 4 basic combat techniques of the shinigami, hakuda (hand-to-hand), hohou (walking method), kidou (demon arts), and zanjutsu (swordsmanship)

Zanpakutou: Soul slayer; weapon used by shinigami to kill hollows

Notes: (1) In this fic, those with reiatsu can negate the reiatsu of others if it is not too strong while normal souls have no defense against it.

(2) As much as I love Gin's accent, there is no way I can replicate it. I edited what he said to the thugs many times before I was satisfied. He'll use his accent when he's not around people he trust (A.K.A. everyone except Toshi, Kira and Rangiku).

(3) I checked a Kanji dictionary program, Jishop, and found out that the sign of the shop Tōshirō and Rangiku in chapter -15 page 11 said 'sweet' more or less.