Chapter 1: A Warning
Present day
Captain Hitsugaya Toshiro leaned back in his office chair, face turned to the windows. How could it be this hot in October? He thought.
Soul Society was experiencing the warmest Fall on record. The white walls of the Seireitei were baking in the bright afternoon sun.
Sitting in his office in his full captain's haori and his green scarf the heat was becoming a bit unbearable. Coupled with the lack of pressing matters to attend to in the lull following the defeat of Aizen, he had gone back to his routine of afternoon naps. When will she learn to get her reports in on time, was his last coherent thought as he fell asleep.
…He walked silently up the mountain. Something glittered in the darkness up ahead. Looking around he came to the understanding that he wasn't familiar with this mountain. None of the landscape was familiar to him. Slowly he turned around and the moonlight caught the object once again.
Using shunpo, the flash step technique, he crossed the distance in the space of a breath. Stopping to examine what was before him.
It was an intricate crystalline staircase made of…ice. He knew it before he even touched it, but this was imbued with…magic? He could sense an otherness, it wasn't riatsu or spiritual pressure…but somehow it was similar.
He stepped carefully up the staircase, not for fear that the ice would break, more out of reverence for the structure itself. It was an architectural marvel and as he crested the stairs his clear turquoise eyes widened. If the staircase was a marvel, then the palace before him was a masterpiece.
What magic is this, he wondered.
The doors opened and he walked in to see flying staircases, with no visible supports, only touching on the landings. Something drew him in, it was riatsu, and it felt familiar yet alien. He did not use shunpo now, deliberately taking every single stair. He felt a profound sense of peace in the cold structure.
As he reached the highest landing he felt Hyourinmaru his sword spirit awaken in anticipation because on the other side of the door was what he had come all this way to see.
He opened the door and was surprised to see the snow falling. Even though he had sensed the chill of it in the air, he hadn't anticipated the reality. The perfect crystal flakes were falling hypnotically and for a moment he forgot why he was here.
Then he saw it.
At the far end of the chamber was a small figure huddled on the floor, facing the open balcony doors overlooking the dark landscape. As he approached he noted that the color of the hair mimicked the properties of frost in early morning sunlight, white with an ethereal glow.
The figure was sobbing.
His heart went out to the child, the loneliness evident in the cold dark riatsu leaking from it. He was reminded of when he was a child and how he would make his grandmother cold, so cold in the night. He sought to comfort the person.
That was his will.
And that was Hyourinmaru's will…
"Taicho!" Matsumoto Rangiku, vice-captain of the 10th division, yelled in her captain's ear while shaking him.
The barracks had to be evacuated, not that any of them had minded when the rooms had initially cooled down. It had been so hot for so long. Most of the time when the captain was in a good mood his riatsu made it very comfortable to be in the Division 10 barracks because his cold riatsu kept the heat at bay. The real world might have those things Kurosaki Ichigo referred to as "air conditioner's" but the 10th division had Hitsugaya Taicho.
However when the temperatures plummeted and ice and snow started to fall it was clear something was amiss and the barracks were temporarily evacuated.
The blond voluptuous woman had entered the captain's office after Abari Renji had kicked in the frozen door. She pleaded for the vice-captain to help her but he refused as his hair was starting to freeze. So Rangiku had been forced to don a heavy cloak and enter on her own.
Losing control of his riatsu had not happened at a level of this magnitude in so long. It was completely snowing in his office. How could this have happened so suddenly it hadn't been fifteen minutes since he had chewed her out for not filing her reports in a timely manner? When she had left him he looked tired so she thought he would fall asleep. She just hadn't counted on the sudden snowstorm so here she was trying to save the barracks.
"TAICHOOO!" She shook him as hard as she could in the freezing conditions, drawing a relieved breath when his bright eyes opened.
She watched several emotions play out on his face, namely shock, as he opened his mouth to speak, "Why is it snowing?" he asked.
"You're awake, now make it stop!" She tried to yell but it came out petulant and whiny.
The captain didn't look very convinced, he was still sleepy, "I'm the one that made it snow?"
What is his deal why is he being so daft? She thought to herself. "Who else, 'Shiro-sama?"
His shocked features quickly smoothed into a hard mask of irritation, "It's Hitsugaya Taicho, infernal woman."
"I'll call you by the proper honorifics when you restore the 10th division back to its normal state."
Each persona staring at the other with furrowed brows. Any further argument between the two was cut short as two Hell Butterfly's appeared in the office. Sparing the duo of anything less than the professional conduct of a captain and vice-captain of the Gotei 13.
"Please be informed there is a large hollow disturbance approaching the human world in the Kingdom of Arrendelle. Your presence is required to investigate the hollow energy and ascertain that it is not a lingering force of Aizen's army.
Hitsugaya Taicho, and Matsumoto Fukutaicho your presence is requested immediately at Division 12's operating base. You both are to be dispatched there as soon as possible. Good luck."
The transmission ended and Matsumoto stared at her young captain. "Well that was unexpected. What do you think that was all about?"
Hitsugaya shook his head, the lingering vestiges of his dream disappeared the moment he got up, "I don't know." He responded to her question, an uneasy feeling growing as they made their way to the lab of Captain Kurotsuchi.
a/n: By way of explanation...I think I'm going to limit the use of "taicho" only to verbal speaking. The next update will follow sometime next week.
