Their first trial went well. Kurotsuchi had Toshiro stand in the middle of the field alone, with a portable tank of raiti and mask. Just like an oxygen tank, Ichigo thought. He turned it to the lowest setting and released the energy. It was nothing like before. Toshiro was able to maintain full control over th power, and it shot out the end of his blade, a torrent of ice aimed at the horizon. But this was no more powerful than his bankai. They increased the flow until he reached the maximum he could control. Now they were seeing more than his bankai. The storm gathered around a bolt of energy escaping his sword. He was able to both concentrate the storm on the plains as well as protect his allies.

Having achieved this only after a few hours they felt a bit of relief, but Kurotsuchi was hardly satisfied.

"We have only measured his tolerance, but he can't go into battle like that. It's a limited supply and it will weigh him down." He turned his back on them, making rapid calculations in the computer. When he faced them again, he produced a large syringe. Toshiro involuntarily took a step back. "Now, this will give him light weight, long lasting energy!"

"Wait!" Unohana jumped to her feet. Toshiro took another step back, but found himself trapped in Nemu's grip. Before he could react, the needle was in his arm, Kurotsuchi pumping the concentrated liquid energy into him.

"Too much." Was all the small captain could sputter as Nemu released him and he fell to the ground, raw power streaming out his blade. It was a white light, not ice, nor water, maybe lightning, Ichigo thought, in the instant he had to dive out of the way. But the storm was raging. Blinding. Pounding.

"Zabimaru!" the boy heard the cry as if from a great distance but it in fact came from his side. The storm faded, and Ichigo found himself in the giant baboon snake's coils. "Prepare yourself Ichigo." Renji said, blood already seeping out his hairline from the bombardment of hail.

"Right." Ichigo summoned his vizard mask, he coils unwound themselves and the storm hit them.


Toshrio crawled forward. His body heaved, he had no control. He couldn't even sense his friend's spiritual pressure beyond his own, they were unprotected. He tried in vain to let go of Hyorinmaru but his hand was fused to the hilt by the energy.

Master...

"Hyorinmaru, hold on." He felt the blade's repulsion of the foreign energy. He would do what he did before, let the earth take the energy. He drug himself onto his knees and hurled the blade down.

He struck solid, unrelenting ice.

His own blade could not cut what it created.

"No..."

His hand began to shake, his body heaved again and he fell flat on his stomach, his eyes glazed, staring ahead. He had no control over his body now, nor the direction of the lightning. If it struck one of his allies...

"Wake up!" Roared Zaraki, his massive hands clamping onto Toshiro's small shoulders and pulling him into a sitting position. Zaraki sat too, holding Toshiro's rigid body against his own while he directed the blade at where he hoped the bare west lay, and began pulling Hitsugaya's fingers off the blade.

"Stop!" It was Unohana, she was cut and bleeding badly, her hand gripped Zaraki's knee and he stopped.

"If you break his grasp, the energy will be trapped inside him. He'll die!"

"We'll die if we don't do something."

"No we won't. We're fine right here, at the eye of the storm. We just need to get the others." Zaraki indeed found himself untouched by the storm that raged all around him.

"Hey kid, can't you isolate them?" Zaraki hollered, shaking Toshiro a little. "Can you even hear me?"

Toshiro remained frozen as he was, his eyes hazed over, unfocused. But in his mind he and Hyorinmaru were fighting as hard as they could, to see past the raiti and identify their friends. It struggled for a long time before something shimmered in the dark of his mind. Renji! He knew that spiritual pressure well, and Hyorinmaru knew Zabimaru. Locked onto them, they made the path leading back to his body at the centre of the storm and relative safety.

"Renji!" Unohana cried, pulling him close to her so the edge of the storm wouldn't touch him. A moment later, Ichigo landed next to them, his vizard mask disintegrating.

"Kurotsuchi has some sort of barrier...what's going on?"

"We just have to wait for it to pass." Unohana shouted, pulling him in close too. They crouched, hugging Zaraki's body– something none of them had ever planned on doing– and waited out the storm.

It took an sixty seven minutes. The lightning stopped, the storm dissipated, and Hyorinmaru fell from Toshiro's grasp, the flesh on his hand seared red. He lay panting against Zaraki's chest, stray tears seeping from the corners of his eyes. His pupils returned to normal. Then, suddenly he was rigid again.

"Kid?" But Toshiro ripped himself from Zaraki's arms and crawled away. He began hurling relentlessly until it subsided into dry heaves. Meanwhile, Kurotsuchi appeared from wherever he'd been hiding, not the least bit concerned.

"It seems that one dose is too much. The flow must be continual, regulated, perhaps if I–"

No one saw Captian Hitsugaya rise. And no one could see the flash step he took to reach Kurotsuchi. His burnt hand was around the front of the madman's robes, the left swinging back, pounding into his painted face. His blows were more powerful than they should have been, more powerful than Zaraki even. Blood spurted from Kurotsuchi's nose, his mouth, but Hitsugaya did not stop, blinded by rage. A stabbing pain struck his back. Nemu, had stabbed him, her arm spinning like a drill. But still he could not stop. The scientist was on his knees, looking up at Hitsugaya, but even in such pain, some hint of that demonic grin appeared.

"Bastard!" Toshiro screamed, but his fist did not fall. Zaraki had caught it, yanking him off his feet. Nemu rushed to her captain.

"Kid, I understand, but.."

Toshiro screamed, twisted out of Zaraki's grip and ran for his sword.

"Captain Hitsugaya, no!" Unohana cried, but made no move to stop him. He reached the katana and held it before him in both his trembling hands. Somewhere, distantly, he was telling himself this was wrong, but the rage could not be contained.

Then the blade was gone. Hyorinmaru, the dragon of ice, reared before him. And he was on the icy fields of his inner world.

Master, you have gone too far.

"I know!" but the anger was still in him.

Master!

Toshiro Hitsugaya. It was a new voice, a voice he should never hear in his own world. A man with long dark hair, wearing a black flowing jacket stood next to Hyronimaru.

"I am Zangetsu."

"Hyorinmaru." Came yet another voice, but this one they recognized. "Losing control again are we?" chided the baboon king.


Toshiro was back in the plain. The ground melted, Hyroinmaru was his blade again. He caught Renji and Ichigo's astonished faced, their own zanpakuto rematerialising as he dropped to his knees. Pain seared through his right hand, he replaced his blade in its sheath. Unohana was approaching, the others behind her, but they were moving incredibly slow. He thought they were saying something but no sounds met his ears. He didn't want to be there anymore. Standing carefully, he planted a foot and shot into the air.

A few flash step later he was home. He knew there was something wrong, because it had taken him more than half an hour to get to the plains that morning. But exhaustion was hitting him, and he knew that after what he did, trouble was coming. All he wanted was to be alone. He shut his door, climbed into his bed, and passed out.