I will try and stick as close to canon as possible, but no promises. Here's the fic!

He dreams of ice.

A vast tundra frozen over. A voice calls to him. It seems to say, "Call my name." He shivers.

The voice booms and echoes like lightning. Its violence shakes his frail frame. He frowns and straightens.

"Who are you?" he calls.

But the voice is gone and he is once again alone, standing on a glacier glinting with the dying sun.

Hitsugaya Toshiro was bored. Horribly so. He sat on the porch of the small house he shared with his grandmother and stared aimlessly into the sky. It was noon and fluffy white clouds ambled lazily across the teal expanse. Birds spiraled through the air. He closed his eyes. It was a busy day, he could hear children and their families bustling around. He could smell the fruits in his grandmother's garden. The watermelons were in season, but without Hinamori to share them with, what was the point?

How long had it been since she had left? Four years? Five? Shinigami Acadamy students could visit Rukongai, but why bother when you had all of Seireitei to entertain you? He and Hinamori had grown up together and reality, she was his only friend. Most of the other kids were frightened of his frigid personality and intense teal gaze. Hinamori's visits were becoming less and less frequent. She was probably going to parties with older, taller, guys, Hitsugaya thought bitterly.

How he longed to join her. He could care less for being a Shinigami. Even if he wanted to be one, he couldn't. The other kids no longer talked to him since she was gone. She left and took his life with her. He knew she had a dream, but he couldn't help but be a little selfish and wish that she had never left. Hitsugaya buried his face in his hands; he just missed her so much. Without her nagging and nattering it was too quiet. Sure, she annoyed him, but as she had once joked, he wasn't happy unless he was annoyed.

"Toshiro!" a voice rasped. "Come here, I need your help." Hitsugaya jumped and snapped out of his lazy musings. Ah yes.

His grandmother. She wasn't technically his grandmother, not related by blood. She had just been the one to find him when he arrived in Seireitei. He couldn't remember his old life. His entire life here, he had been spent with his grandmother and Hinamori and since Hinamori left he had been living alone with Grandma. It was a simple life with few thrills. But it was all he knew and his grandma was all he had. They tended their small garden, visited all Grandmother's old lady friends, and kept each other company. Such was the life of a small boy and an old woman in Rukongai's first district.

However much he wanted to join Hinamori, it was impossible. One had to have reiatsu to be a shinigami and he had never shown any signs of power. The shinigami had come for Hinamori when she had exploded a stall at the local market. He remembered watching Hinamori when she came to visit with envy. She had a Soul Slicer, a zanpaktou, and she moved differently. She was different.

But as he had already mentioned, it was impossible for him to cross those towering walls and join the residents of Seireitei. He had no power and he had a duty to his grandma-

"Toshiro!" Hitsugaya leapt up and raced inside.

"Yeah?"

"Could you go pick up some food for lunch? My back is bothering me and I don't feel like cooking."

"Sure, sure, I'll be right back." Hitsugaya grabbed the basket by the door and walked down to the local market.

It was a bustling place, packed to the brim with families, couples, and the rare stray child or two. Thursday was Market Day, when smaller seller could come and sell their wares. A flash of black caught his eye as he pushed through the throng. A shinigami? Maybe it was Hinamori! He shoved quicker racing towards the person. However the sea of bodies quickly closed in on him and he lost sight of the person in black. He sighed.

"Three ongiri please," he said absently at the vender holding up his money. Was that Hinamori? Better get an extra incase she showed up. The man placed the change on the counter. Oh, the bane of his existence. He may be seen as the 'Icy Toshiro,' but that apparently didn't defend him from the occasional taunt about his height. He stood on his tip-toes and jumped up, feeling around for the change. After the third try and a bruised knee, it was obvious that unless he grew another foot in the next few seconds, he wasn't going to get that change. Grandmother would flay him.

"Hey! Dropping change on the counter? Is the anyway to treat your customers?" a voice protested behind him. Startled Hitsugaya turned around to see who was yelling. He turned to find his head buried in a woman's chest. He gasped in surprise and found he couldn't breathe. When she leaned forward, he tripped. As he was knocked to the ground he kept an eye on the busty blonde who seemed to have taken an interest in him.

A shinigami! His excitement lasted for a moment before he realized the woman was still yelling at the shop keeper.

"Who would have thought you could possibly be so rude!" she chastised. "Think you can get away with it because he's a kid or something?"

She turned to face him. For the first time he got a good look at his self-proclaimed savior. She was tall. Much taller than he was, though that wasn't saying much. Wavy strawberry blonde hair cascaded down her back to stop at her shoulder blades. Intelligent eyes studied him. Her standard shinigami uniform was accented with a bright burn-your-eyes-out pink scarf. Suddenly she turned her fury on him.

"And you don't just lie there crying about it!" she yelled exasperated. "If you're a man you should stand up for yourself like one."

"You're the one who knocked me down!" Hitsugaya cried. Nosy woman. Why was she so interested in him? "And I wasn't crying- get off!"

He yelped when she hauled him up.

She gave the scrawny white-haired boy a searching look.

"I said get off!" Hitsugaya yelled at her knocking her hand away. Why did this woman keep trying to help? She didn't even know him. He didn't know her and certainly wasn't interested in pursuing the acquaintance. Why was this shinigami going out of her way to interact with him? The shinigami woman looked shocked. Hitsugaya took the chance to grab his purchases and run off.

"Ah!" she yelled at the fleeing boy. "Hey, wait right there!"

Hitsugaya ignored the crazy woman and put all his effort into getting as far away from her as possible. He didn't care if she was a shinigami, she was insane!

It was only when he arrived home that he realized that he never did get his change.

Idiot woman, he thought. And she didn't even tell me her name.

Ok, this is the revised first chapter. It is more like a prologue, so please read on even if it's just a few chapters. It gets better, I promise.