Title: Icy Fear

Genre: Angst, Psychological

Characters: Toshiro and other characters.

Summary: Toshiro finds himself recognizing the place he is.

Notes: Well... I theorized that Juhabach wanted to get his hands on Toshiro somehow. Instead of bringing the kid to them, they go to the kid.

Rating: T

Icy Fear

The small taicho's wooden sword clattered to the ground as the walls of the dojo were replaced with an ice covered building. Toshiro's bright teal eyes widened in horror as he looked at the place he once considered to be home be replaced by something else, something that for some strange reason felt all to familiar. His arms went limp at his side and he could simply stare at the walls that felt like they were closing in on him.

"Taicho..." and... "Taicho, are you all right?"

Toshiro's mouth opened and closed as he tried to form words as well as thoughts in his head. "This place... it's like..."

"What is with all this ice?"

The boy's head shook as he continued to stare at the wall. "I died on a plain of ice and came to Soul Society... this..."

"Taicho..."

"I wasn't..." Two small hands came up to the sides of his head. "I wasn't..."

"Taicho..." The child taicho suddenly felt two calloused hands cover his, causing him to look straight into the eyes of the kendo instructor. "Taicho... it's going to be all right."

"You can't... you don't know. I don't want to remember."

"We should get him to the office." The kendo instructor carefully touched the small taicho's shoulders.

"But if everywhere else is changed, the office won't be there anymore."

"The location that would be equivalent to the office then. And watch out for their soldiers." The kendo instructor turned to the small taicho. "If I guide you by touch, do you think you can make it that far?"

"Yes... I need to think, but I don't want to."

"I understand that taicho. Please bear with us. Our job is to keep you safe."

"That's..." the thought didn't come out but did continue through the taicho's head. "...my job."

Some how they managed to get to the place and Toshiro frowned as he looked around what had been the office. "Everything's gone."

"Taicho..." One of the men spoke up, the one who had questioned what would happen to their division.

"Everything that belonged to the former taicho's gone..." Toshiro looked around before turning to old man thunder. "This can't... this is a nightmare. Tell me that it's just a bad dream and that I'll wake up."

"He's not doing well."

"What are we going to do."

"Until Matsumoto Rangiku gets back or the taicho becomes mentally stable I'm in charge." The kendo instructor suddenly grasped Toshiro under the arms and lifted him onto something to sit. "Taicho... no, Toshiro. I'm going to speak to you as an elder to one of the young ones under them. You know something we don't about this place."

"This place seems... no, it's not that I know this place." The boy looked around. "The style of building and all this ice." The boy began to look around carefully. "Particularly the outside area, it's very familiar."

"What were you saying about dying on a plain of ice?"

"Old man..." Toshiro turned to look at the man, frowning as he did so. "You're the only one old enough to remember back to the time when we fought the Quincy before, right?"

"Yes. Answer my question though."

"Ever since I was little I thought I had died on a plain of ice and came to Soul Society, but this place..." The boy looked around. "I remember this place as being the place I died." He then looked at his men crowded into the place. "I'm honestly not understanding what is going on here. And to be honest, I'm failing you guys even more then when I lost my Bankai as I'm scared out of my wits of this place. I don't like it."

A hand suddenly reached out and touched Toshiro on the top of the head. "You've verified what I and the former taicho theorized a long time ago." The man looked up at the men. "Our job right now is to protect the current taicho from harm. Understand me when I say this isn't just my order, but based on an order I received from the former taicho before he disappeared."

"Old man thunder..." The small taicho's hand's clenched the edge of the object he was set down on. "What kind of order from the former taicho would trump my own? I don't..."

"Hitsugaya Toshiro... I'm going to give you two facts and I want you to pose a theory based on those two facts. Fact one... the leader of the Vandenreich has been sealed for a thousand years. Fact two... this place is completely covered in ice. What do you think could have caused this?"

Toshiro frowned. "Under normal circumstances I would surmise that it was Sennen Hyoro that sealed him up, but I wasn't alive a thousand years ago. I mean, unless Ichimaru's wasn't joking about me being the reincarnation of some guardian..." There came then silence from everyone. "Wait... if the reason... if... Hyorinmaru and I aren't anywhere near powerful enough yet to envelope this entire area with Sennen Hyoro. That's absolutely impossible for another century or two!"

The man shook his head. "Hitsugaya Toshiro, I wouldn't call you a reincarnation of Lady Sakura despite the fact you do look like her. You are in truth your own separate person."

"I don't understand... and the men are as confused as I am here."

"There are certain zampaktuo that are unique in the fact it is passed down through the blood line. No, it isn't so much that the zampaktuo is passed down through the blood line but the zampaktuo's powers are passed down through the blood line almost as if the zampaktuo of the next generation are the children of the previous zampaktuo."

"So... I'm related to this Lady Sakura? If it's revenge on my ancestor he wants, then just hand me over to him. If he gets his revenge then he'll stop killing people, right?" A sudden protest came then from the men left in the room along with threats to kill the few who agreed. Toshiro held up his hand. "This is my decision, isn't it?"

More protest came from the men. Old man thunder shook his head. "Juhabach isn't the type person to let one person's death satisfy him."

Shivers ran down Toshiro's spine upon hearing the name. One of the men spoke up. "We would rather die then hand you over to that man."

"Particularly since you are still so young and have a long life ahead of you."

"At least they didn't call me a kid... but for some reason I feel like I'm being treated as one."

"That also said, what Juhabach wants from you isn't your death. He wants you very much alive."

"Then just hand me over..."

"I already told you he's not the type of man to be satisfied with mere tokens of piece Hitsugaya. Why do you think you recognize a place that has been frozen for a thousand years roughly?"

"I couldn't have known of such a place unless I was born a thousand years ago, so..." Toshiro paused, frowning as he did so. "Even if I was born in Soul Society I couldn't possibly be more then a hundred to a hundred and fifty years old. This..." The small taicho shook his head. "I'm not... I'm not..."

"You and I both know it is possible if you were born a thousand years ago and then frozen here. Juhabach..."

"Stop saying that name!" The boy's head darted down and he wrapped his hands around his shoulders. "I don't like that name."

"You do realize that's more proof of what I say? You know for some reason to fear that name despite never having heard it before." The man ruffled the boy's hair. "For you to be Lady Sakura's decedent means that you also have to be that man's decedent as the man she froze a thousand years ago was her own husband."

"No... that..." The boy closed his eyes. "I'm a Shinigami, not a Quincy!"

"Taicho... we don't care what you are." One of the men spoke up, causing the boy to look up at them.

Old man thunder sighed. "The Quincy and Shinigami were once part of the same group. That said, Lady Sakura was considered to be a Shinigami by us. Let us handle this."

Toshiro glanced away. "I don't think I have much choice in the matter."