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Title: Dead Man Walking
Author: windlily

Category: Bleach
Genre: Drama/Suspense
Status: In Progress
Rating: T; Rated for character death, whumping, and a couple of nasty concepts I'm considering adding in the future.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Bleach characters; they belong to Kubo Tite.
Summary: Hitsugaya's disappearance left Seireitei with plenty of unanswered questions, but when a boy, identical to the supposedly late taichou, appears on Earth, to what lengths will everyone go to find out why? And when the answer does come, will it be too late?

Setting: This story follows the manga's timeline, disregarding the Bounto Arc completely. It takes place after the war with Aizen has begun. And now it's divergent, seeing as I took so long to continue, and all of the shinigami have run off to Hueco Mundo without my permission.

Story Teaser:


“Ukitake-taichou!” Ukitake turned to see the third seat of the Tenth Division, Hideyoshi Kazuki, running toward him and cupping something tightly in his hands.

“Why has no one responded for Ten-”

“We’ve got a big problem, Ukitake-taichou!” Hideyoshi huffed. Blood and sweat mingled as they slid down his forehead into his fearful brown eyes. Ukitake did not like that expression. Kazuki-kun was many things, but he was never easily frightened. That desperate stare… It could only mean one thing. Something had happened to his superiors. Something bad.

“What’s happened?” he asked urgently.

“Hitsugaya-taichou and Matsumoto-san won’t respond! They were fine a second ago, then…! I don’t know! They just stopped reporting! It doesn’t make any sense! We were hoping you could help. We didn’t know what else to do. Maybe … maybe they’ll say something if it’s you.”

The third seat unfurled his hands to reveal a Hell Butterfly with a broken wing. That alone was a bad sign; the butterflies tended to take on similar injuries to their counterparts. That meant Hitsugaya’s Hell Butterfly was almost certainly damaged as well. Ukitake allowed himself a quick cough into the folds of his sleeve before he carefully took it from Hideyoshi’s fingers and held it to his ear. He could hear nothing for a long, agonizing moment, but then came soft, measured breathing accompanied by an unceremonious thud. He let out a sigh of relief at the proof of life, lowering the butterfly closer to his lips.

“Hitsugaya-kun? Rangiku-chan?” he whispered, no louder than the breathing he heard on the other end. He was aware of a sharp gasp, definitely Hitsugaya, followed by hasty shuffling. “Hitsugaya-kun,” he tried again. “Hitsugaya-kun, can you hear me?”

He heard something that sounded disturbingly like the young taichou vomiting.

“Uki…take…taichou?” The voice was strained and scratchy, but it was there.

“Yes, Hitsugaya-kun. It’s Ukitake-taichou. Where’s Rangiku-chan?”

A pause. “With me,” he finally managed. “She’s down, but … I don’t think … she’s gone.” The pain Ukitake realized he must be feeling manifested itself in every single word he spoke. Not good. Not only was Rangiku out for the count, but Hitsugaya didn’t sound far behind.

“What’s wrong with her? What’s going on?” Ukitake asked as he motioned for Hideyoshi to get someone in Twelfth Division to trace the other Hell Butterfly’s location. They needed to find him as soon as possible. Until then, it was best to keep him talking. A little pain was always better than death.

“I’m … not sure. I can’t … see … very well.”

“Why not?”

“Everything’s blurry. Minor … concussion … I think. And…”

“And what, Hitsugaya-kun?” he pressed.

“And … I only have … one eye left … to see with.”