Over the past three weeks, Prince Hitsugaya had been training very hard. He'd finally gotten past Eilsitha's challenge as well as the next, which was given by a white phoenix type creature called Trilamina, the Elemental of Light. He now had very finite control over his Spiritual Pressure.
What's more, he'd grown a few inches. It had taken him some time to notice but he was now at least four inches taller than before. Still small but it put him in a good mood. His mood was made even better as he was able to finally communicate with Hyorinmaru again. It was still quieter than usual and he couldn't see the ice dragon yet, but it was much better than just rumbles and roars.
His father had come to see him at Ruala's kingdom when he was feeling good enough, making his illness seem unimportant by laughing it off and saying 'I still have a few months left in me!' when they asked. Toshiro appreciated the effort and told his father what all had been going on in the Kingdom of Magika.
At one point, while Satoru was talking to the Greenleaf twins, Ruala pulled the young prince to the side.
"You're close to completing the fourth trial, are you not?" She asked.
"Yes. Aquafur thinks I've nearly mastered the physical form of my Spiritual Pressure." Toshiro replied cautiously, wondering what the woman was getting at. Aquafur was the Water Elemental in the form of a wolf with a fish tail for a back half. She had told him she was picked to assist him because his powers stemmed from water and formed into ice, so she could help him shape it while it was still water (or ice-water) into its physical form.
"Once you complete the fifth trial, you will have enough control over your power that you won't hurt anyone if you were to visit the Soul Society."
His eyes widened and he even gaped a little. Was she suggesting what he thought she was? Would he really be allowed to visit his friends? After Sofia had reported to him her visit with Karin, he'd come to terms with not being able to return. Now, however, he was being given a chance to see them.
"Is that safe?" He questioned instead. "I'm still a target, aren't I?"
"Yes, but one of the guards will go with you. I'll gladly travel with you."
He thought about it for a moment. He did want to see them all again, and now that he had control over his power he wasn't afraid to be near them.
"Alright. When I finish the trials." He nodded to the girl. "Thank you."
She gifted him a smile before walking away. Toshiro turned to see his father petting Myndræl, the dragon purring happily. He stepped over to them.
"Quite the friend you've made." Satoru said to him.
"I didn't even think real dragons existed until I came here." Toshiro replied, putting a hand on Myndræl's side.
"Must have been a big surprise to see Lilianna and me then." The blue dragon grinned.
"It was."
"Dragons are a symbol of power." The Soul King stated. "Every king has had one. It seems your dragon is to be Myndræl."
"But my zanpaktou is a dragon." Toshiro raised an eyebrow, confused.
"Two dragons." The man mused. "Hm, I guess that could be considered a sign. You're special, my son. I've always known that."
Dragon and prince shared a glance, wondering what the king meant, both too young to know. Myndræl decided to ask Lilianna later when he went back to the other dragons.
"I have to get back to the trials." Toshiro said. "Will you still be here?"
"Of course." Satoru grinned. "I have some things to discuss with the Greenleaf Head of House, she's returning today."
"From where?"
"She's down in the city visiting an old friend. Ruala had Sofia go down to pick her up. I'm sure you've been wanting to meet her."
"Yes, actually." Toshiro positioned himself on the ice dragon's back, letting frost spread over the scales to protect his legs from the sharp points. Being an ice dragon, Myndræl didn't mind, and since he was still technically a wild dragon he didn't want a saddle. "She's been gone these past few weeks."
"She's a busy woman." The king chuckled. "Alright, I know you need to get moving. Be careful, Toshiro."
The prince nodded and his dragonling took to the skies and off towards the mountain.
"I wonder what happened to his dragon." Toshiro mused aloud. "I've never seen one in the palace."
"I'm not sure, Lilianna never said." Myndræl replied, moving down as they approached the mountain. "We should ask her."
"When I come down from the mountain we will."
"Alright. I'll be at the lake, just call for me."
The blue dragon dropped off his rider before taking off for the body of water, Toshiro starting his way back up the mountain, using his improved Flash Step to get to the fourth trial door in moments. A sea blue wolf with darker blue swirls awaited him, a honey-golden color running down her back to the large fin at the end of her tail, paws dark violet and eyes coral pink. There were black ram horns behind her ears.
"You're almost there, sir." Aquafur beamed, using her water power to swim through the air and through the portal behind her.
The portal led to an island platform surrounded by water. This kind of atmosphere allowed the prince to better form the physical manifestation of his Spiritual Pressure, which the water wolf believed to be a dragon just like his zanpaktou spirit. He thought that made sense.
"Well?" The wolf dove into the water before poking her head up. "Start from step one and move up." She went back underwater before poking her head back up behind him. "Hopefully you'll get it today."
Toshiro sighed as she flipped backwards and went into the water. It had taken a while to get used to her playful nature. He closed his eyes and looked deep within where the pure ice crystal still lay glowing in his hands. Ice spread across the platform and water churned dangerously, Aquafur darting in and out with a laugh. His Spiritual Pressure weighed heavily in the air, cracking the platform where ice seeped in. Icy white tendrils wafted off his body and began to curl into a shape. This is where he always lost it, unable to create the form. It had a faintly serpentine outline but its form flickered and broke constantly.
'There must be something I'm doing wrong.' Toshiro mused. 'How did Zaraki and Kurosaki manage it?'
"You have to feel something." Aquafur leaped out of the water and hovered over the platform. He opened his eyes to look at her, the icy white of his Spiritual Pressure turning his teal eyes icy-blue.
"Feel something?" He asked while maintaining the level of his energy.
"The form shapes itself with a strong feeling. Joy or determination, anger or desperation. Something powerful. You're too busy focusing on the logic of it."
"It's the way I do things." Toshiro closed his eyes. "But I suppose I'll try your way."
"Emotion is not a bad thing, sir. It is a weakness, yes, but it also gives us the power to prevail."
'Many Soul Reapers could attest to that.' Toshiro thought to himself. 'A strong feeling…but what would mine form to?'
He tried to think of when he felt at his strongest, what he felt at that moment. Fighting Aizen he always had a strong anger in his blade. The memories of the traitor came to mind and he scowled slightly. However, the physical form faltered, not strengthened. Hate or anger was obviously not its trigger.
No, it wasn't the anger that made him feel stronger; it was always his need to strike back at the one hurting his companions, his need to make sure no one else got hurt. His strength lay within his protectiveness of those he cared about.
He heard something growl above him and looked up. An icy-white outline of a serpentine dragon looked back at him with dark blue eyes, its edges fluctuating into sharp points with thick shards of ice surrounding it. It did hold a strong resemblance to Hyorinmaru, just as Aquafur believed it would.
"I knew you'd get it!" The water wolf spun through the air, doing circles around the energy dragon. "My trial is done, Ice Prince!"
"Looks like my title as Ice Prince has stuck." Toshiro grinned slightly, letting his power fade and taking the dragon with it.
"It fits." The wolf shrugged, swimming over to hover in front of him. "I heard you used to be called Ice Captain, so it's not that different, we just changed Captain to Prince."
At the mention of his former position, Toshiro began to wonder how his former Lieutenant was doing. She'd be as upset as Momo about his leaving. He shook the thought aside; he'd see her after he finished the trials. He only had one last test.
Though technically her trial was done, Toshiro stayed with the water wolf and continued to practice forming the energy dragon. It still took a minute or two for him to form it, and in battle he knew he'd need to be able to form it in seconds. Aquafur attempted to help by using her power over the water to strike at him, and he'd have to use the physical manifestation to block it, freezing the water before it reached him.
It took a few hours, but soon he could form it without much effort. It left him tired to say the least.
"I suggest a day or two of rest before you try the next trial." Aquafur hovered behind him, her head on his shoulder.
"I can't wait too long." Toshiro countered. "I need to finish these trials…there's so much I still need to do."
"Well don't hurt yourself, Ice Prince." She created the portal before diving into the water and out of sight.
Sighing, he stepped through and was once more at the bottom. He was so close to the mountain top, so close to getting his zanpaktou back. No amount of patience could help him get over not having the blade with him like he always did. One or two days maybe, he'd had to do that before. Several weeks…that was pushing it.
He called for Myndræl with a burst of his Spiritual Pressure. He wanted to meet the Greenleaf Head of House, but he also wanted to know what happened to his father's dragon. And, for that matter, his zanpaktou.
"Ready?" The blue dragon said once he'd landed next to the Ice Prince.
"Is it really okay for me to go to where the dragons nest?" Toshiro asked, just to be safe.
"We consider you one of us." Myndræl grinned. "You're welcome anytime."
Toshiro nodded and once more mounted his dragon companion and let the ice spread to protect him from the scales. With one swift flap, the blue dragon was racing through the sky and towards an area of the forest kingdom closed off by a steep drop to the surface and then high rock walls. The dragons wanted to make sure only other dragons could get inside, what with that small island being where the young dragons stayed. Ruala used Sofia in dragon form to get in.
Time to figure some things out.
Get to see where the dragons live ^^ I forgot to mention: At one point further back Sofia mentions Ruala having five or so dragons. Just to be clear she meant Ruala has five or so PET dragons of a sort, ones that are friendly, but there are a lot of other dragons. Most aren't there on the island, just the ones that don't like to fight.
Anyway, here's that second update I promised ^^ What Shiro's been doing after three weeks.