Disclaimer: I do not own FMA or Bleach.

Toshiro Hitsugaya let out a small groan as his eyes fluttered open. His expression immediately turned to one of confusion as it became blatantly obvious that he was not alone. A grinning man with a dark beard was looking at him with both curiosity and an air of excitement without real cause that Toshiro could only relate to his lieutenant.

"Where am I?" he asked.

The man frowned,

"A foreigner, ey'?" his smile disappeared as though questioning what he should do.

Luckily for him, Toshiro recognised the language instantly but wasn't so sure if he should let this be known. After all it was amazing what one could learn when others assumed that one didn't understand what they were saying. Toshiro sighed and made the quick decision that it would work better in his favour if he could question the man as to where he was and how he got here.

"I can speak English." Toshiro said reluctantly.

The man's grin instantly returned to his face,

"Well that's a relief. My name is Maes Hughes. Mind telling me how exactly you wound up unconscious on my front step?"

Toshiro raised an eyebrow at the sudden change of tone. He had been caught off guard by the cheery aura that Mr Hughes had been emitting that he hadn't even noticed the disciplined posture, the slight movements that could only come of years of battle and the subtle but calculating look in his eyes.

I must really be out of it, he thought to himself.

Toshiro shook his head,

"I don't know." He answered honestly, "The last thing I remember I was…back at home."
He wasn't going to give him too much information, just enough to satisfy the man. However, this information wasn't of any particular use, nor satisfactory. So Mr Hughes pressed on, the light air around him returning having the opposite effect of what it was supposed to and setting Toshiro more on edge.

"Can you tell me your name? Where you come from?" Hughes asked looking over the boy, frowning internally.

His clothing was odd, in fact it looked more like a style from Xing, though at the same time it was nothing he had ever seen before.

"My name is Toshiro Hitsugaya." Toshiro introduced remembering that given names and family names were said in different order in English speaking countries and it was probably the same here.

"Nice to meet you then Toshiro."

Toshiro bit his lip, disregarding the impulse to scream 'it's Hitsugaya Taichou.' Stupid English customs.

"You still haven't told me where you come from." Hughes said lightly.

Toshiro nodded,

"I come from Juranan."

"Where's that? Is that close to Xing?" he questioned.

Toshiro had absolutely no idea where Xing was and frowned. Was there a place in the world of the living called Xing? He didn't think so and he, being a captain had to have an extensive knowledge of geography in both the soul society and the world of the living. More importantly, he looked down to see that he was still wearing the traditional shinigami uniform and shihakusho. How was Mr Hughes able to see him?
Toshiro felt a sudden feeling of dread,

"May I see a map? I don't know all the countries names in English I'm afraid but I think I'll be able to recognise the geography if I see it." This seemed like a good lie and lucky for him Hughes appeared to buy it, nodding his head.

"I think I have one somewhere in this room, actually."

He looked around, then opened up the desk drawer beside the bed and pulled out a large looking map.

Toshiro nodded his thanks, his eyes narrowed as he looked at the brown paper in front of him. His heart hammered in his chest but he refused to show it.

Crap.

None of this looked familiar at all.

"What…country am I in?" he asked Hughes.

"Amestris." Hughes said pointing to one of the larger countries.

It was shaped almost like a circle.

Toshiro's eyes moved to the country marked 'Xing' and sighed,

"I come from a small island country." Toshiro said slowly, "It's…not on this map."

Hughes frowned as Toshiro's eyes moved towards the corner of the room where his zanpaktou was leaning against the wall.

"A rather odd thing, seeing a kid wearing a sword on his back." Hughes said carefully.

"Where I'm from everyone wears one." Toshiro said coolly.

Hughes raised an eyebrow at this,

"I've never heard of a society that allows a kid like you to wear a sword wherever he goes."

Toshiro shrugged using all of his self control to not get angry at the 'kid' comment. He knew that this wouldn't be a satisfactory answer as Hughes's eyes narrowed. If he wasn't careful then this man might just end up reporting him to the authorities or something. He wasn't sure yet if everyone could see him or if it was just Hughes but he didn't want to risk the possibility that he could get into some serious trouble if he didn't comply.

He let out a sigh and figured it probably wouldn't hurt if he let him have a little bit of information.

"The truth is that I come from a very militaristic society, thus the necessity to carry a weapon. I suppose you've suspected this already." It wasn't a question.

Hughes raised an eyebrow.

"You have the air of a soldier, no matter how hard you try to hide it."

Hughes let a small smile grow across his face and rubbed the back of his neck,

"That obvious, huh?"

"Out of curiosity…it would have been more convenient for you to simply turn me over to the authorities."

"Well, to be honest with you I don't have much faith in the military at the moment."

"You're apart of the military then?" Toshiro pressed.

"Yup." He nodded, "Plus I couldn't just dump you somewhere else, what would my wife say?" his grin grew wider, giving Toshiro the feeling that this man was probably a dotting husband. God help his kids if he had any.

As though on cue a small voice entered the room.

"Daddy?"

"Alicia!" Hughes sprung forwards momentarily surprising Toshiro as he embraced the small girl.

Figures, he thought as he rubbed his stubble against her cheek.

"Daddy, you're beard is itchy!" she giggled.

"Oh, Toshiro, this is my darling daughter, Alicia, isn't she just adorable!?" he no longer had a hint of the hardened soldier air about him.

"Um…sure." He shrugged.

Alicia looked at Toshiro with curiosity in her childish gaze. She walked over to him and smiled brightly,

"Big brother Toshiro, will you play with me?"

Toshiro was a little surprised by the request,

"I…"
"Of course he will Alicia!" Hughes cut him off before he could decline.

Toshiro shot him a glare but the other man didn't seem to notice, or he didn't care. He obviously had the inability to say no to the small girl.

"Yay!" the little girl squealed jumping on Toshiro before he could do anything.

Deciding there was no getting out of this he sighed and asked in an unenthused voice,

"What do you want to play?"

"Hmm…" she tapped a finger on her small chin, and then grinned widely, "Hide and go seek!"

Toshiro nodded, noting that the games here were the same as in the living world, not to mention the fact that English was also spoken here.

At least this would give him the chance to look around the house without acting suspicious.

"Fine, do you want to hide?" he suggested.

"Yes!" she grinned.

Toshiro held back a sigh at her enthusiasm,

"I'll…count to thirty, is that enough time?"

Alicia nodded enthusiastically. Toshiro turned away from her and covered his eyes. He started to count.

Awww, hide and go seek...with Toshiro...