AN: I don't own these characters or the show. Please read and review.
Many things have resulted from the doings of those who inhabit Soul Society, both good and bad. Thanks to an experiment gone wrong the Bounts were created only for them to turn against their creatures.
What if there had been another experiment, an experiment that was attempting to create living vessels that had more power than a bankai? What if this experiment had been a success and the created were devoted to their makers? What if the alliance had gone on for years until an unknown flaw in the genetic makeup of the creations started to destroy them as their unmatchable power tore at their bodies? What if all of the created had been assumed dead after fifty years?
Now what if all of these what ifs were real?
Before his exile, Kisuke Urahara had been one of the scientists heading this experiment. He successfully created gigai like body for the spirits they created and modified. These bodies were made to be able to withstand more so that it held together better through combat and through the excessive amount of power that flowed through them. The spirits themselves took on the form of dragons when unsealed and each one seemed to vary in power though all were fit for combat. Most of these spirits, which had simply been called Dragons, were perfect for fighting hallows or anything that threatened Soul Society and were simple minded enough not to bother asking why they should follow orders but a handful of others were different. These Dragons were the true weapons that everyone had both hoped for and feared. These were capable of controlling various elements; fire, water, weather, earth, wind, illusions, etc. These were also capable of higher intellect which would have made it possible for them to blend into society once inside the gigai if it were not for the dragon shaped seal that adorned the sides of their faces and the black chokers around their necks that sealed in the powerful spirits.
The alliance between creation and creature had been flawless from the beginning. Not even the most rebellious of the Dragons ever attempted to leave or go against their master. Unfortunately it didn't last. The weaker Dragons were the first to succumb to the pressure and pain that there power caused them before it finally destroyed the spirit and the body. These had lived no more than forty years though they looked older by shinigami standers than they should have been. The strongest ones died within the next decade despite the efforts of the scientist.
Upon further study it was proven that the gagais had not been made properly for their constant use and that the excess power which the Dragons had possessed had torn them apart from the inside as it forced the bodies to grow at the same rate as a humans'. Even with this knowledge however, the scientists could not perfect the bodies. Ten years later Urahara was exiled but unknown to everyone he had successfully made another spirit which he took with him, sealed into a small crystal where it laid dormant waiting for its birth.
A small boy looked across the vast land of ice and snow as he leaned against the giant boulder behind him. The small figure looked completely out of place in the blizzard. He had no jacket, scarf, or any other aid to keep him warm; instead he was wearing a tight black sleeveless top, some black pants, and a pair of black wooden traditional sandals. Upon further inspection one could see a black choker around his neck which concealed the tip of the tail of a teal dragon tattoo that stretched up the left side of his face where it twisted around the outside of his eye so that the head of the dragon was right above the corner of his eyebrow. Of course the most amazing thing about this boy was that his spiky hair was as white as the snow that surrounded him and that his eyes were a beautiful teal that matched his tattoo perfectly though his pupils were slits very similar to a cat's and they spoke of nothing but pain and sorrow.
As the boy continued to stare out at the snowy wasteland before him a figure began to form out of the snow drifts. A minute later a young girl with her hair up in a bun was standing in front of him with a sword pressed to his neck.
"It's your fault Captain Aizen is dead," Momo Hinamori screamed as tears fell from her eyes. "I begged you to save him from Ichimaru but you still let him die," she screamed as she began to push the tip of the sword against his neck harder. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised that a monster like you would betray me and let him die. I wish you were dead," she screamed as she went to slice open his throat but just as she was about to kill him she vanished and a group appeared before his motionless form.
"I can't believe I ever called you captain," Matsumoto spat at him with her back to him in rejection.
"I can't believe we let this midget order us around," Rengi as Ikkaku and Yumichika nodded in agreement.
"At least he didn't ensnare your younger sister with a stupid 'friendship.' As if anyone could be friends with a creature like him," Ichigo said angrily.
"He is weak, therefore he is insignificant," Ishida concluded. Both Chad and Orihime refused to look at him though they obviously agreed with everything said.
He just watched and listened as they too vanished and various members of the Gotei 13 appear in their place only to insult him some more.
Finally as the final face vanished he looked to the sky as he was enveloped in a white light.
Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya woke with a start as he sat up in his bed. Quickly he reached for his neck only to feel skin.
'It was only a dream,' he reassured himself as he forced himself to get out of bed and get ready for work. As he got ready his mind kept wondering back to his dream which was becoming a nightly event. Without realizing it he once again felt his neck and was slightly saddened to once again feel just skin.
The young captain knew that he should truly be relieved that his secret was safe for the moment but a part of him was just ready for the lies to end even if the results were like his dreams. He wasn't sure how the others would react if they discovered that he was a Dragon, a very young one at that. He knew that everyone thought he was a kid by shinigami standards but in reality he was only fourteen years old which is considered a toddler.
He had been placed in his body by Urahara fourteen years ago while the body was an infant and due to his power and genius he had been allowed to be brought to Soul Society by Yourichi by the time he was two. By then he had looked and been able to act like a young intelligent child so no one questioned him. Both Urahara and Yourichi had explained to him what he was and he had no problem with it. In a way it was an honor to be the last of what he saw as the protectors of Soul Society. Urahara had explained how he had modified his gigai to conceal his tell-tell markings as a Dragon but the gigai's ability only worked when he suppressed his power to that of a captains and one he failed at that there would be no way for him to conceal himself. The only reason he knew what he truly looked like was because of his dreams and he just knew that the figure was truly him. Urahara had also modified the body so that he could control his growth to match the rate of the other shinigami.
Once Yourichi had brought him to Soul Society she had explained how things worked before leaving him knowing that he would be fine. What no one had counted on was the fact the Hitsugaya's spiritual power was so great that he was actually hungry. When Yourichi came to check on him after a week she found him living off of watermelons. Despite her efforts she never could get him to eat much else and to this day Hitsugaya still kept a healthy supply of a dozen watermelons on hand at a time.
With a tired sigh Toshiro headed for his office with his fake zanpakuto on his back. He had always found it amusing how simply it had been to fool the people of Soul Society into believing he was simply a young genius. The sword he was carrying had been crafted by Urahara since he is actually incapable of forming one himself. He instead just pushes his own power through the blade; Hyorinmaru is just a nickname Yourichi had given him.
He arrived to his office with no problems and he wasn't surprised to see Matsumoto missing despite the huge pile of paper work on both of their desks.
"Damn paperwork," he muttered irritably as he took his sheet and started with the nearest paper.