Of Birthdays and Siblings

Night Terror

The snow continued to fall outside and some people blamed it on his mood rather then it being a natural element. The fact so many thought of him as some sort of god or some kind of demon wasn't lost on him. When he grew up in the Rukongai he was referred to constantly as a demon or a monster by the other children as his rieatsu was off setting. He personally didn't know who he was, but everyone else was good at defining him.

Glancing up at the falling snow as he left the office, he found himself wishing he hadn't been so curt with Rangiku about celebrating his birthday. He found himself pulling his scarf closer to his mouth, wishing that it wasn't so cold. Ice and the cold was always a lonely element that he wished to do away with all together, but he honestly didn't know how to get rid of the icy shield that held in his feelings.

It was almost as if something was missing from his life, something he honestly couldn't place. In order to get to his quarters, he decided to take the short cut and cut across the court yard rather then taking the wooden paths around the outside. He set one small foot into the snow and heard a satisfying crunching sound as his foot crunched down on the ice crystals on the ground.

On the negative side of things, the snow got in between his sandal and his foot and soaked into the white sock. The sudden level of sheer coldness was a bit much and he pulled it back. Letting out a deep sigh, he stepped into the snow and hurried across. When he finally got to his quarters, he opened the door and slammed it shut, his small body shivering uncontrollably.

He stayed there for a few seconds, before flinging off his partially soaked clothing into the pile of clothes that he would have to get around to washing. His dragon zampaktuo suddenly spoke up in the back of his mind. "If Matsumoto Rangiku saw you right now, she would throw a fit at the fact you aren't taking care of yourself."

The boy choose to ignore the dragon and instead dove under the covers while he tried not to think about he fact it was approaching midnight and it was getting even closer to that dreaded day, He found himself curling up into a ball and wishing that he could sleep through tomorrow, despite the fact he knew otherwise.

His dragon wasn't content on letting him sleep and kept pestering him "You know better then anyone that what Rangiku said to you was right."

"She was right about what?" Toshiro found himself placing a hand over his head in order to placate the Dragon from telling him anything more.

"Just think about it. Your birthday does have a meaning to it, whether you wish to believe it or not."

"Shut up Hyorinmaru!" The boy snapped the words out. Two teal eyes blinked a couple of times upon realizing that he had said the words out loud. Taking a deep breath he found himself closing his eyes. "I'm sorry Hyorinmaru."

"I know that you believe that you died upon a plain of ice, but I think I should remind you of the fact that your inner world is a plain of ice. So how do you know for sure that you died on a plain of ice, rather then it being some other memory that you can't place?"

"Because... that would mean I have no memories of who I am. If I died on a plain of ice, then I am Hitsugaya Toshiro, captain of the tenth division. Everything is set in stone and I have something in my life I know is true and can't be taken away. Otherwise... without that knowledge..."

"You... dear child... dear young master... are not a demon and you are not a monster. You shouldn't think of yourself simply by the abilities you happen to loath, or the physical features you can't stand. You have a very warm heart, something that is not reflected by your inner world and that most people miss out on."

"You're likely the only one who sees it that way." Toshiro let out another sigh and received no response despite the fact he knew Hyorinmaru had a long list of people who felt that the small taicho had a warm heart. Not giving the list instead forced him to think about everyone he knew as he drifted off to sleep.

He was asleep for only a short time when he heard the alarm go off announcing that some sort of intruder had entered Soul Society. He found himself not waking up right away, but instead found himself completely waken up by the sound of a wooden door splintering. He opened his teal eyes upon realizing that it was the door to his room.

"How can the intruder have gotten here this fast?" The small taicho tried pushing his body up in order to react.

"You didn't fully wake up when the notice came. Everyone is likely wondering where you are, but they're also taking notice that you aren't there."

The boy suddenly felt a pressure on top of him as the person crashed on top of him. "Where's Matsumoto when you need her?"

"She's possibly out drinking."

Whoever crashed into him was around his size and weight. He managed to squirm a bit before pushing the person up and off of him. He found himself blinking a couple of times before his cheeks began to flush up as he took in the stranger. The girl was dressed in white clothing and had dark hair. And as she turned to look at him, he found that her eyes were the same color as his.

The small taicho found his mouth suddenly opening and then closing, before blurting out the words, "Who are you?"