A/N- Sorry this chapter was so long coming! My muse dissapeared lately and since so few people reviewed last chapter I decided there were other things I wanted to prioritze first (not that I wouldn't get round to writing this anyway!). I managed to finish the story mode on Bleach 3rd Phantom! And finish Phoneix Wright: Ace Attorney on my ipod. So I'm in a good mood. Thank you to the people who reviewed the last chapter! And everyone who's read this so far! Points for anyone who realises who Toshiro bumps into before it's actually revealed! (Not that it's too hard tog guess!)

Like I always say- please read and enjoy! And I'd always like to hear your feedback!

Chapter 7

A sudden, sickening pang groped its way across his stomach. He had no name? How could that be? Who was he, exactly? As these thoughts passed through his head, another sudden realisation hit him. He had no memories either, other than that strange feeling of recognition when he'd seen the blue of the sky, and the odd phrase that had come into his mind to name the place where he had found himself. Who had he been, before he had lost his memories?

His head hurt as he struggled to remember- which brought back something else. An image flashed before his eyes- a dark room with a small square of light and a hand pressed against his forehead in pain.

He scrunched his eyes shut and grunted in pain at the picture. Seeing that had hurt his head even more. He needed something to clear this pain so he could think straight. Maybe some fresh air? Using his free hand, he pushed himself up to his feet and took another look around. There didn't appear to be anyone nearby- the whole street seemed deserted. Well, in that case, he would just have to keep moving until he found someone.

But as he brought one foot forward to begin his trek- not relishing the feel of the rough tarmac against the bare soles of his feet- he caught sight of a girl walking onto the street about twenty metres away. She was humming to herself and carrying two large brown bags of groceries, one in each arm. As he watched, her foot nudged against a lump in the pavement and her body was thrown forwards, her shopping leaving her arms as she found herself splayed across the ground, her groceries surrounding her and her gingery hair tangled around her face.

He let out a gasp, his eyes widening slightly as he registered that she'd fallen, and sprinted over to her, ignoring the grazes the road left on his feet.

"Are you okay?" he asked, crouching down to her and offering one hand out to help her up.

"Thank you, but I'm fine, really," the girl insisted, smiling. He nudged his outstretched hand towards her again, however, and she took it, supporting her weight on him as she wobbled to her feet. Not hesitating, he bent down and began to gather up her dropped groceries, part of his mind wondering what she planned to do with the bizarre combination of ingredients she had bought.

"I do hope nothing has broken," she fretted as she turned and picked up the last few items which had somehow tumbled behind her, not quite registering the boy who had helped her. She seemed to be half-focused, half-daydreaming. "I was going to try out a new European-inspired recipe tonight- chilled Spaghetti Bolognese with whipped cream and gravy-covered toast. Because, as you know, a healthy growing girl like me needs to make sure she eats a hearty meal or she'll end up as skin and bones, and then no-one would employ her and she might end up out on the streets! And then someone might come along and make her an offer and before she knows it she's working part-time at the local disco club serving mini-sandwiches to foreign gangsters on the run from the police! "

I feel sorry for her stomach and her mind, as well as her toilet... he thought as he turned around and handed her supplies over to her. "Here you go, then."

The girl's eyes suddenly opened very wide as she finally noticed who exactly it was who had helped her. "Toshiro! It's you! What are you doing here? Ichigo said something about you being in trouble before he and Rukia headed off to the Soul Society, and we were all really worried about you! You're not on the run are you?"

He blinked up at her in surprise. This girl knew him? "Toshiro. That's my name?"

She looked puzzled for a second before her mind came up with an answer for her. "Oh, sorry, I mean 'Captain Hitsugaya'!"

He blinked again. "What are you talking about?" Had she misinterpreted his question? And what had she just said- was he a Captain? He only looked about ten at most.

The girl gasped and her mouth formed a large 'o'. Only her brain could jump to the correct conclusion after such a short amount of time, if only because it was such an abstract conclusion to begin with.

"Oh no! You've lost your memories! And that's why you were in trouble! Although I'd have thought the Soul Society was a better place to find answers- I'm sure Rangiku would help you, once she'd finished laughing and playing tricks on you, that is." She laughed slightly embarrassedly and scratched the back of her head. "She's like that. But she's really nice!"

That rang a dim bell in his mind. An image of giant boobs filled his head. He almost gagged in surprise at the thought coming into his mind. Had he been some sort of child-pervert?

"Toshiro? Are you okay?" the girl asked in concern, leaning towards him. He saw her breasts coming towards his face and nearly leaped backwards for fear of becoming some sort of depraved individual.

"I-I'm okay..." he stuttered, shielding himself with her groceries. "Just t-tell me... I wasn't a... pervert, was I?"

The gingery girl looked stunned. "No. Why do you ask?"

"It's just, when you said 'Rangiku', all I could remember was a giant pair of breasts in my face..."

She stood back up and laughed, one hand covering her mouth. "Silly Toshiro! That's because you're right at boob-height! Every time she stood in front of you, you couldn't help but look right at them!"

For some reason he couldn't explain, he flinched at 'silly Toshiro', but was more relieved to find out he didn't have to beware the wrath of any women he may have known before he lost his memories. Now all he needed to do was regain his memories, and perhaps this girl could help.

"What's your name?" he asked, being as blunt and direct as ever when addressing someone- not that he remembered that.

The girl looked taken aback for a moment, before she remembered that the boy had forgotten everything. "I'm Orihime Inoue. I'm one of Ichigo's friends! I went to the Soul Society with him, along with Uryu, Chad and Yoruichi, to help rescue Rukia. Oh, you should know, Ichigo's a Substitute Soul Reaper, he was given his powers by Rukia- who really likes Chappy the rabbit- and then she was arrested by Renji and Captain Kuchiki- who incidentally is Rukia's adopted brother- and so we all went with Ichigo to go save her. And then-"

He decided he needed to cut her off, or they'd be stuck there all day. "I think that'll do for now. Why don't I help you carry your shopping home, and then maybe you could tell me a little more about myself and this 'Soul Society' you keep mentioning?"

Orihime smiled widely and ruffled his hair, inciting a small growl from him. "Okay! That's sounds like a good idea, Toshiro! Off we go then!" And with that, she started off down the road, leaving him to hurry along to catch up.

"Hey! Slow down!"

ooo

Once they arrived at Orihime's, Toshiro helped her unpack. She discovered he was surprising helpful at this, his small size allowing him access to the awkward areas in the backs of the cupboards. Once everything had been assigned to its proper place, she led him through to her living room, and offered him a chair to sit on. Once they were settled down, she smiled and, clutching her teddy bear which had been expertly repaired by Uryu after the incident with her brother, asked,

"So, Toshiro, where do you want to begin?"

Toshiro, still unused to the sound of his own name, glanced around the room and, feeling no nostalgia or any resurfacing memories, decided to ask about the place where he'd apparently met Orihime.

"Okay, tell me about the Soul Society. What is it, exactly?"

Orihime pursed her lips in thought, and scratched her head. "That's a hard one to explain..." Suddenly, she brought her fist down on her palm as an idea struck her. "Hang on a second!"

At this, she dived from her chair and scurried away into another room, leaving a rather bewildered Toshiro staring after her. After a minute or so of rummaging, and the occasional unnerving bang, she returned, clutching a notepad.

"Rukia left this behind last time she was here," she explained, sitting back down in her chair. She flipped through a few pages, before finding what she wanted and turning the page to face Hitsugaya.

Toshiro gawked at the picture, hardly believing what he was seeing. "H-how... how can anyone draw so badly?" he cried out.

ooo

In the Dangai Precipice World, Rukia looked up in shock, as if someone had just called her name. Ichigo, running beside her, looked at her in confusion.

"What is it?" he asked, frowning.

"I'm not sure..." she replied, musing. "But I just had the feeling that someone was insulting my drawings..."

Ichigo groaned.

ooo

"Okay," Orihime began once Toshiro had finished spluttering. "I'm not very good at explaining stuff like this, but I'll give it my best shot!" She had a look of fierce determination on her face, and her brows were furrowed with the strength of her fortitude.

"Right then, when people die, their souls leave their body. That's because the Chain of Fate which is attached to their chest has broken, I think."

Hitsugaya nodded, taking it in, although none of this was ringing any bells yet.

"There are two kinds of souls- Wholes and Hollows. Wholes-" She pointed to a small smiling rabbit head surrounded by lots of little pluses. "-are good souls. They either go to the Soul Society, or are sent there by Soul Reapers who perform konso- soul burial- on them."

Toshiro nodded again, although he still couldn't appreciate the crappy artwork.

"Hollows are souls who've gone bad. They've turned into these huge horrible monsters with this shrieking cry, and they have a hole in their chest!" She waved her arms around trying to demonstrate what she was saying, before pointing back to the page, to a drawing of a rabbit's head with horns and an evil glare. "Hollows eat other souls to fill the void in their hearts! Wholes will turn into hollows if their Chain of Fate reaches their chest before they're sent to the Soul Society."

There was that Soul Society again, Toshiro noticed.

"The Soul Society is the place where all souls eventually go to live," Orihime explained. "It's surrounded by the Rukon District, and in the middle of it is the Seireitei. That's where the Soul Reapers live."

Seireitei... That sounded familiar.

"The Seireitei is sort of like the base of operations for the Thirteen Court Guard Squads. You're the Captain of Squad Ten- Toshiro Hitsugaya, and your Lieutenant is Rangiku Matsumoto."

Toshiro nodded once more. So he was a Captain after all! And the woman who it seemed liked to shove her boobs in his face was his Lieutenant! More and more images were starting to come back to him now, although they were all seemingly inconsequential: piles and piles of paperwork; a small, dark-haired, smiling girl... Momo; a giant dragon made of ice sat upon an icy plain; and a rather disturbing trip to a... 'health land'.

He grimaced and clutched one hand to his once again aching forehead.

Just who am I? What does all of this mean?