Author's Note: Woohoo, I'm back with another IchiHitsuKusa fic, proudly announcing this as the sequel to Smile! And a little of Aizen x Hitsugaya as well, very one-sided though, so do not fear. Yes, Kusaka is coming back (again) in this story. No, he won't be as nice as he was in Smile, well, not to Ichigo, at least. Jealousy will run rampant and many characters are going to die. Just a warning. My mind is love-triangle warped again ever since I re-watched The DiamondDust Rebellion. It was tons better than the first movie, except the part when Kusaka merged with Hyorinmaru was really fucking scary and nasty-looking, like something out of Power Rangers...So there will be quite a lot of KusaHitsu-ness in this fic, whether you like it or not, but of course, IchiHitsu will always prevail and whatever.

Weeks had passed since Aizen's infiltration of the Seireitei and the tenth division's struggle against the Arrancar. There were many casualties, but all the seated officers seemed relatively well-off, and as for Aizen, no one was really sure what had happened to him.

All that mattered was that the tenth division was flourishing.

The shinigami of the tenth division noticed that their captain had changed. The once icy and painfully austere Hitsugaya had loosened somewhat, and instead, they could see the bright, happy boy from the academy days slowly beginning to resurface.

They owed it all to Kurosaki Ichigo, the substitute shinigami who had saved their captain's life and heart.

Gossip would be flung around the tenth division, ever since the sixth seat had happened to see their captain and the substitute shinigami kissing through the office window.

Whatever the case was, though, even if Hitsugaya's personality was changing, he still refused to speak about what exactly had happened during his stay in Hueco Mundo, and when asked about it, his face would turn pale and he would turn away, muttering some excuse. It was apparent that something terrible had happened to him, but no one managed to figure out what it was and why their captain seemed to be so edgy at even the slightest mention of the dreaded dimension.

Only three other people knew what the young captain had witnessed and experienced, and they were Ichigo, Hitsugaya himself, and the third…Well, he was assumed to be dead.

As such, Ichigo didn't mention what had happened in fear of frightening or making his precious little dragon uncomfortable. They did talk, though. They talked about many things, some of it being pointless, and today was no exception.

"You alright, Toshiro?"

"Yes, I'm fine, and why, may I ask, would I not be?" Hitsugaya inquired, raising an eyebrow as he looked up from his paperwork, his eyes drifting upwards to meet the chocolate-brown pair of his orange-haired lover, who had just walked into his office.

"Nothing much," Ichigo shrugged, "It's a little hot outside, so I was just wondering if you were feeling okay, that's all."

"You worry too much," Hitsugaya answered as he went back to his paperwork. "I'm perfectly fine."

"You sure?" the strawberry asked more insistently.

"Yes, I'm sure."

"Positive?"

"Yes."

"One-hundred percent?"

"For the love of all things good, Ichigo, I'm perfectly alright. Why are you asking so much anyway?"

"Ah…Well, you see," Ichigo began sheepishly, looking away in embarrassment as his cheeks tinged a slight red, "I was kind of hoping that…erm, well, I was kind of hoping that you'd take a cold bath with me…"

There was a long silence.

"Even if I was feeling overheated, I would have declined," Hitsugaya snapped irritably, "You know I don't like immature things like that."

"Yeah, sorry," Ichigo chuckled, leaning downwards to plant a small kiss on the young prodigy's forehead. "Love you anyway, though."

"Whatever."

"I would love you more if you took a bath with…"

The cold stare he received before he had even finished the sentence was enough to tell him that Hitsugaya Toshiro meant business as he squeaked out the last words of his statement.

"…Me…?"

"You were saying, Kurosaki…?"

"I didn't say anything," the strawberry answered innocently. "Anyway, are you busy right now? Want to go hang around the Seireitei and poke some fun at Byakuya?"

"Does it look like I'm not busy?" Hitsugaya demanded, and Ichigo let out a low whistle as he caught sight of the monstrous tower of paperwork that loomed over Hitsugaya's desk.

"Fine, fine, you're no fun," Ichigo grumbled. "Well, I'm going to use your bathroom, okay?"

"No," the white-haired boy shook his head, "You really don't want to. It smells quite awful in there, since Matsumoto was vomiting the whole morning, since she drank so much last night."

"Ah, I see," the substitute shinigami winced, "Then I'm going to use Kenpachi's bathroom, since it's the closeset, and hopefully he won't chase me down first."

With that said Ichigo hurried out the door as Hitsugaya nodded and immersed himself back in his paperwork.

Quietly, the captain of the tenth division went through the papers, filling them out as needed, knowing that Ichigo probably wouldn't return for a while, so he would have to take advantage of the time in which he wouldn't have a distraction.

As he moved on to the next sheet of paper, he suddenly became aware of a strange reiatsu, one that he definitely recognized.

The boy's aquamarine eyes widened and his grip on the calligraphy brush loosened, causing the writing utensil to fall to his desk, ink splattering sloppily across the sheet of paper.

"No…" he whispered to himself, "Impossible…It can't be him…"

"And yet, here I am, Hitsugaya-kun."

A startled gasp found its way past Hitsugaya's lips, and before he could utter another sound, a large hand clamped over his mouth.

The young captain's eyes were rigid with fear as another hand reached to his face, forcing him to turn to face his unwanted visitor.

The brown-haired, ex-captain of the fifth division smiled back at him.

"It's been quite a while, hasn't it, Hitsugaya-kun?"

Hitsugaya's response was muffled.

"A…Aizen…"

"Yes, it's me, as you can see for yourself, Hitsugaya-kun," the ruler of Hueco Mundo chuckled, a most unpleasant smile on his face as he moved his hand away from his captive's mouth.

Hitsugaya opened his mouth to speak again, and a split second later, with a painful impact, he found himself being pinned by the traitor to the top of his desk, his back pressed against the oak wood as Aizen held his wrists to the surface.

"Let go of me," the boy hissed through gritted teeth, struggling uselessly against his captor.

"I don't think so," Aizen smirked, enjoying the fear he could see in those terrified, quivering teal eyes. "There is something I must speak to you about before your beloved Kurosaki boy returns."

"Let go," Hitsugaya repeated in a voice barely above a whisper.

"No. Like I said, I want a word with you. As you know, it was that very Kurosaki boy who robbed me of my victory against Soul Society, and of my time with you…"

"Get to the point," the white-haired boy growled, his anger penetrating through is fear, wondering what it was that Aizen wanted with him and why he was talking about Ichigo.

"As you wish," Aizen chuckled. "Anyway, I have been finding myself craving revenge against that insolent boy who dared get in my way," he continued, one of his hands moving towards Hitsugaya's throat as he ran a finger along the sensitive flesh, his touch trailing down to the collar of his shihakusho.

Ignoring the whimpers he received due to the unwanted physical contact, Aizen continued to speak. "I've been thinking, Hitsugaya-kun, and I've decided that the one person that can help me the most…is you."

"Never," Hitsugaya snarled, "I will never help you do anything."

"Oh?" the older man smirked, his fingers slipping beneath the fabric of the boy's kimono, causing the fearful teal orbs of his victim to widen as his touch teased the smooth flesh on the child's chest. "Perhaps you'd like to consider this then, Hitsugaya-kun. Your fiancée has already agreed to assist me, maybe you should follow his example?"

"K-Kusaka?"

"Yes, Sojiro-kun."

"But…But he…"

"Yes, I killed Sojiro-kun with my own hands…But with these hands, I had the power to bring him back, too…For your little welcome present when you return to Hueco Mundo with me."

"Kusaka would never help you…"

"That's true, but I warned him that I would be sure to see to it that you suffered if he refused," Aizen answered in an amused tone, "I know many ways to make you experience pain worse than anything you'd feel in hell…And the silly boy agreed at once. Now, isn't that precious? He was so worried for you that he didn't give a thought as to what would become of himself. I expect you to do the same, Hitsugaya-kun…Or do you want to see me torture those who mean the most to you? You wouldn't want Rangiku-san, dearest Hinamori-san, and Sojiro-kun to suffer because of you, would you? And you wouldn't want to see Ichigo-kun die a much more painful and slow death, would you? Isn't that selfish?"

"I-I…"

"That's what I thought," Aizen smiled, releasing Hitsugaya. "I eagerly anticipate your answer, little Hitsugaya-kun. Believe me, I can do terrible things to all of them. Meet me at the West Gate tonight, exactly at midnight. I am not a patient man, Hitsugaya-kun…And I will be expecting to hear the answer that I want to hear."

With that, the man disappeared, leaving Hitsugaya to stare in silent fear at the space where he had been moments before.