A/N: At first, I wanted this to be a somewhat serious Hitsugaya centered fic, but at some point, I just scrapped the idea and came up with this. It starts off all serious and stuff, but slowly turns into Ryuu trying not to go insane. Hope you all enjoy and feel free to leave a review about what scenarios you'd like to see Ryuu and the gang in. Thanks for reading.

Chapter 1:

The dust had settled. The Winter War had taken away many shinigami and changed the Gotei from 13 to 10, and at this current moment, 9. Many reports were still to be filed as the event's aftermath still sent shockwaves throughout every division. The Fourth had a line that nearly spanned to the Third, the Eleventh had lost almost 40% of its members, ceros, kido and zanpakutos left their mark as buildings were in ruins. The First was a ghost town.

Hitsugaya gulped silently. He had just barely managed to escape the clutches of death himself and had just been released from the Unohana's care. He hadn't seen his home, division nor his Vice-Captain for a week now and even before he could, he was summoned to the First. The message on the Hell Butterfly only served as a map and time frame, which made him question it's authenticity. Typically when butterflies were sent from the First, touching it let the holder hear the voice of Chōjirō, but this one came directly from the old man.

The wind howled gently as Tōshirō appeared before the large doors of the meeting hall. Never did they feel as heavy as they do now. A gust of wind and reiatsu hit him like a ton of bricks as he opened them and were met by three pairs of eyes. The first being Ukitake.

The older, white haired, sickly captain looked slightly paler than normal. However, his face and general aura rivaled that of a wild beast. He, for lack of a better term, looked intense. His hair was in a pony tail and the wind moved his haori just enough to show that the hilts of his swords.

Mirroring his position was none other than, Kyoraku. His look made the boy almost shiver. Never in his lifetime had he ever seen the man without his pink kimono, hat and with such a serious expression on his face. Tōshirō felt as though he was an enemy and Shunsui was seconds away from delivering the killing blow.

And lastly, in the middle, was the man himself. Yamamoto stood proud between his two pupil with his only arm clutching the top of his cane. His haori flocked about carelessly in the breeze until the door slammed shut behind the boy.

It was then that everything got serious.

"Hitsugaya Tōshirō." The ancient Head-Captain said slowly and with such a tone that the Captain in question felt less like a warrior and more like a child. "As you know, the past week has been devastating and we as a collective unit have been almost torn beyond repair. If there is anything that these past days have taught me is that, the vast majority of our fighting force are warriors who, no matter how afraid, are willing to lay down their life for the sake of the Seireitei." As he spoke, his eyes slowly opened, revealing the gaze of millions of battles.

"It has also showed me that…" The man paused. Hitsugaya watched as the Captains of the 13th and 8th shared a look of contempt before taking a step forward. "I'm not as young as I once was."

That statement almost made Tōshirō gasp. Never in his wildest dreams would be ever consider the Head Captain to be past his prime, though, in hindsight, he could very vaguely understand. Hitsugaya cleared his throat. "With all due respect sir, you can't possibly imply that you are getting weak." Surprisingly, the boy's voice was strong and firm.

"I've been alive for over 2,000 years. That is longer than most shinigami can even dream of living for. I've fought with gods, demons, creatures of a time long forgotten. Many have fallen at my blade and I've bared witness to the rise, peak and fall of children like you more times than you can count. But, at some point, my power simply began to stagnate."

"Sir." Hitsugaya interjected. "Even in another millennia, there will still be very few shinigami that can even hope to stand in your presence." Tōshirō had no idea where this conversation was going, but he didn't like it. The old man was being far too… human for his liking.

"I appreciate the kind words. However, you are here for a reason." With that, the somber air that had settled had been sucked out of the room like a vacuum. "These two," He gestured to the men besides him, "after many hours of discussion have come to the conclusion that you would be a likely successor."

The young Captain's eyes widen. Him? Head Captain? What a preposterous notion. He wasn't even strong enough to protect his best friend, so protecting the entire Gotei seemed like an impossible task.

Ukitake could practically see the boy's thought process and given the recent events, he could understand why he thought them. "Don't worry, Shirō-chan." He broke his facade easily and tried to calm the boy's nerves. "We're not asking you to become Head Captain today, or this year. Or even this decade." He said gently.

Tōshirō looked confused and eyed the trio cautiously. "Then what are you saying?" He said with a raised brow.

Shunsui was first to speak after a long pause. "We are simply offering a… push in the right direction." The man said coyly, which only served to confuse the boy more.

"I'm sorry?" Tōshirō tilted his head.

"Captain Kyoraku is trying to say…" Yamamoto injected as it suddenly got harder to breathe. "We are willing to train you for the position. Power isn't the only thing you need to be Head Captain; you need a lot of other qualities that simply cannot be taught."

After those words were spoken, there was a thick, heavy silence that hung over the four. Hitsugaya did his best to stand proud amongst the legendary shinigami but the pressure made his sweat very lightly.

"Do you accept this offer?" Yamamoto's voice returned to the firm, booming one that he had become accustomed to hearing.

There was another moment of silence. Tōshirō's mind raced faster than it ever had before and he wasn't entirely sure what he would choose. Every fiber of his being, Hyōrinmaru included, screamed yes. This was the perfect opportunity. Not only could he finally be strong enough to protect those he held dear, he could also finally gain the respect of his peers. He could be looked at as more of a warrior, like Captain Kuchiki and not like some cute kid. He went to voice his answer, but the seeds of doubt sprung. What if I'm not good enough? What if a few days in they suddenly realize I'm too young and weak for such a role?

As the what-ifs began to pile up, Hyōrinmaru spoke for his master. "I accept." The boy said without realizing it.

Yamamoto and co. all share determined grins before he tapped his cane on the floor. "It's settled. We shall leave tomorrow at dawn. You won't need anything besides your sword and a few changes of clothes."

"Don't worry, Hitsugaya-kun." Shunsui could see the question forming in the child's eyes before he could voice it. "There are kido spells for hygiene if you didn't know." He cheerfully waved away the boy's concerns as if that was his only one.

Tōshirō' didn't realize when he arrived at his home nor did he realize it when the night fell. Before long, he would be training with the three strongest shinigami alive and he wanted to be excited. He wanted to feel like a kid on a field trip. But he didn't.

He felt as though he was given an impossible task with very minor room for error. It felt as though the world was on his shoulders and surprisingly, that made him eager. Judging the time to be around 8:00, he walked around his abode for a last time. Who knows when he'll see it again.

He heaved a deep sigh and finished his tour in his bedroom, at his desk. Thankfully, he always had a brush and inkwell on hand and he prepared to write two letters. One for Momo and the other for Rangiku. Currently, they were both still in the Fourth and had yet to wake up and he knew he wouldn't be here when they did. The last thing he wanted on his conscience was either Hinamori or Matsumoto to get into any trouble while he's gone.

Before long, Tōshirō' found himself lying awake in his bed, staring at the blank ceiling above him. Hyōrinmaru's rumblings soothed his mind for a few moments before the torrent of thoughts kicked back up.

'Master, you must ignore all of the negative feelings. You will be a fine Head-Captain.' The ice dragon said as he dragged the boy into his inner world. 'You have far more power than you know.'

Tōshirō didn't look convinced. The elemental noticed the crease in the boy's eyebrow and blew a strong, crisp breeze way with one flap of his mighty wings. 'Hitsugaya Tōshirō, I would not have selected you to be my master if I didn't believe you had the potential to wield me.' Hyōrinmaru's words were fierce and prompted the boy to cover his ears.

Hitsugaya was suddenly thrust from his inner world and back onto his bed. He didn't really understand why, but suddenly, he felt a confidence that he had never felt before. Power surged through his veins, so much so that his body felt as though if it was about to be torn apart. Was this it? Was this the power that Hyōrinmaru claimed he had? He could practically see the dragon nodding before shutting his eyes.

Maybe he could do this after all.