"I can't be any clearer," Toshiro sighed, starting to get irritated with them. He knew they'd have a hard time coming to terms with it, but he hadn't expected this much difficulty.
"But we're human," Ichigo argued. "Well…my sisters are."
"It's not like I'm having you all move in today." The young king rolled his eyes. "That's why I made you promise not to say anything; I know you all need time to think."
"And me in the Royal Guard? Are you sure?"
"The fact that I'm personally requesting it instead of having another guard come for you means yes, I'm sure."
"Surely there's some kind of rule against it…"
"Since when did you care?"
"And besides, the only reason I became a full Soul Reaper was because the old man said I would be stationed as Karakura Town's protector."
"Kurosaki, listen," Toshiro sighed and the orange-haired man stiffened. Ever since the young man had opened up, Toshiro only called him 'Kurosaki' when things were serious. "Karakura Town is losing its status as the Spirit-Enriched Zone…especially since you came here. The Hollows won't be massing into the town as much as they used to, any representative sent there can protect it. In fact, the more you linger in that town, the more danger it's in considering how much Spirit Energy you have now."
The Reaper scowled. Ever since taking the Five Trials his already intense Spiritual Pressure had gotten stronger, but at least now he could control it. Hitsugaya had a point.
"Your actions over the years have done the Soul Society a great justice." Toshiro went on, a little calmer now that Ichigo was quiet. "You've changed a lot of the things we…well, the things they do here now, and to be honest it was for the better. You saved thousands, perhaps millions by stopping Aizen from creating the King's Key. That kind of contribution is worthy of being promoted to Squad Zero."
"But could we come back?" Karin questioned. Sure, human life was mundane now, but she wasn't about to abandon it.
"I did." Toshiro shrugged. "Not everyone likes me for it, but I still come back here."
"Because you're as stubborn as these kids," Isshin chuckled.
"I'm king, there's not much they can do about it." Toshiro turned away stubbornly.
"I suppose not."
"Anyway, I'm giving you all time to consider it." He turned back to them. "There's no need for an answer right now."
Ichigo gave a short grunt in reply and scratched his head in thought. Royal Guard? Promising, as he could still be a protector, but considering the sparse interactions of the Royal Guard in Soul Society's past he wasn't looking forward to it. The job of the Royal Guard was to protect the king, in this case Toshiro, and the king usually never left. However, Toshiro was far different from past kings. He visited rarely, due to the amount of work he had, but he still visited, and there was always at least one Royal Guard around the Seireitei. But that was because of the demons. When all this was over, who's to say they would stay?
There were too many things to think about and he was glad he'd been given time to give it some thorough thought. He glanced at Aberon, wondering if his dragon had any good advice.
"I for one prefer the Soul King's realm." The Dark dragon shrugged. "But that's because I lived there in the wilds."
So much for that.
"We go where partner goes!" Shimmer purred, voicing what all dragons knew in their heart of hearts. Yuzu giggled and scratched her dragon behind the ears.
Nodding her head in agreement, Dyrilæn turned to her partner. She knew the girl had an even harder choice. No doubt the raven-haired teen wanted to be with the young king and was itching to jump at the chance to do so, but her hesitation was caused by her worry of ever seeing her friends here in the Soul Society again. There had to be a compromise. Perhaps they could live in the Soul Society instead? The Royal Guard was meant to protect the Royal Families as well as the king, but with one of the Kurosakis being offered the chance of becoming a Royal Guard, surely he could fulfill that role just fine.
Myndræl alighted on the ground next to them, greeting Dyrilæn with a purr, the dragoness purring back and touching her nose to his, before stepping over to his partner.
"I'll be around for a while, take your time," Toshiro said while turning to walk away, his dragon following.
"O-okay." Yuzu gave a small wave. "See you later, Toshiro!"
"Well," Isshin spoke up once the king was out of earshot, "I never would have suspected that."
"That's an understatement," Ichigo grumbled. "Royal Guard? He can't be serious."
"He already told you he was," Karin pointed out. "And he wouldn't lie about something like that."
"He isn't lying."
They jumped, turning to the sound of the soft voice and spotting Ruala, the woman's hood up but not hiding her face.
"He talked about it with all of us." She continued in her soft tone. "Only one disagreed with the idea. Five of six thought you would be a good guardian, three of them thinking you'll be great."
"Yeah, but…" Ichigo trailed off, not sure how to put into words what he was feeling. "You guys don't come here. That would mean I couldn't either, right?"
"You're changing things again." Ruala put her hands behind her back, her small white feline Sofia appearing at her feet, violet eyes full of mischief. "The Soul King lived his life here. He may have taken his father's place, but his heart still lies here."
The young man chewed on that thought for some time. As he did so, Karin stepped forward to ask a question.
"If we do accept, do we have to live in the Soul King's Realm?" She asked.
"That is preferred, but there is no law to demand it."
"So we could live here!" Yuzu grinned. "We kind of already do…"
"So much for trying to keep you human," Isshin huffed. "Well, I suppose it was bound to happen eventually." A grin spread across his face. "How my daughters have grown up! Masaki would be so-"
He paused midsentence as Karin elbowed him in the gut; he'd grabbed both her and Yuzu and tried to swing them around.
"Knock it off already, we're nineteen," She growled. "I'm gonna go talk to Toshiro, I'll see you guys at dinner!"
She took off in the direction Toshiro had gone, Dyrilæn taking off into the air to follow.
"We'll be at Squad Ten barracks!" Ichigo shouted after her.
The girl just lifted a hand in acknowledgement and vanished around the corner, her position only given away by the scarlet dragoness flying above.
"Ah, those two," Isshin sighed. "Every time he visits she's close beside him."
"He's wrapped around her finger," Ichigo snorted. "She's practically got him on a leash!"
"That's not true," Yuzu argued, her arms crossed. "You don't look close enough. She does a lot of things for him she'd never do for anyone else. The other boys in our school all have bruises trying to get her to do things she does for him."
"Like what?"
"Well when he makes sarcastic remarks she just remarks back and if he asks her to wait or be quiet for a moment, she does. It's the little things, Ichi, boys wouldn't understand." The honey-blonde grinned at him mischievously.
Aberon let off a loud laugh at that while Ichigo scowled.
"Shut up," He snapped at the dragon.
The demand was ignored.
Karin caught up to Toshiro as he was heading towards one of the gates, Myndræl walking calmly beside him with his head high.
"Where are you going?" Karin questioned curiously. What did he want in the Rukongai?
"To visit my grandmother," He responded easily. "Since I'm staying a week, I thought perhaps I'd visit her again. It's been awhile."
"Oh, well, guess I'll see you later." She began to turn away but noticed he had an odd look on his face. He seemed confused by her leave, a frown forming, and he stopped walking to turn towards her. "What?"
"Why don't you come with me?" He said, tone calm with a hint of curiosity in it, as if wondering why she WASN'T going with him.
"I don't want to intrude or anything." She scratched her head nervously, fidgeting with her long black ponytail.
"Nonsense." He grabbed her hand and started walking again. "It'll be like visiting Grandma Haru in the World of the Living, only my grandmother is…much older."
"Well duh, she's a spirit." Karin rolled her eyes.
He raised a single eyebrow at her but smiled at her sarcastic tone. Behind them, their dragon partners grinned at the interaction, glad their companions were still getting along. It was a slow relationship, which tended to annoy them, but for people of such opposites the dragons understood that things took time. Besides, Myndræl and Dyrilæn tended to argue just as much as their partners did. They had their cute moments, both pairings, but like every couple there were the rough spots.
"How far out does she live?" Karin asked after a moment.
"She's in the first district in the West Rukongai area, so not far." Toshiro explained.
His right hand shifted position, moving into a pocket to hide his mark. For a moment she was confused, before remembering that not everyone knew he was Soul king, only higher ups. Most were told he had simply moved up a rank, which to Soul Reapers meant the Royal Guard, they had no idea the white-haired young man among them was their king. Would his grandmother know? Had she heard?
The West Gate was opened for them and they paused to greet the gatekeeper, Jidanbo, who Karin had come to know quite well as she visited her extended family the Shiba Clan, who were friends with the giant.
"Where are you off to, Hitsugaya?" Jidanbo asked with a smile.
"Just visiting family," The young king replied. "We'll come back later."
"Should we come too?" Dyrilæn asked, bending her head down to them. Myndræl was looking up at Jidanbo, the man taller than him, and felt a little put off. He was a dragon…he was supposed to be bigger.
"Probably not, you'll scare the locals," Karin snickered and her dragon gave a snort, looking like she would come anyway. "Go bother Abe and Ichi."
"As fun as that is I'm not in the mood for it." The dragoness rolled her eyes. "Well, you two have fun; I'll find something to do."
"I won't be gone all day; you can live without me for that long."
Snorting again, Dyrilæn turned away and stalked off with her head held high. Sighing, Myndræl followed after her to cool her back down, leaving their partners to walk off into the Rukongai after a goodbye to Jidanbo. Dragons were fiercely protective of their partners, which meant they felt uncomfortable being out of sight for too long. They had also been told stories of dragons that had been separated too long from their other half, driven mad by stress and worry, unable to know whether or not they were dead.
The death of a partner caused the other to go mad.
The longest any of them had been without a partner was Karin, when she was separated for weeks in the World of the Living. She'd felt the stress herself, anxiety, fear. What was her dragon doing? Were demons attacking her? Was she eating? Constant worry, unable to focus. Similarly, she'd been told her dragon had paced for hours, counting down the damn seconds until her partner returned to the Soul Society. It was tiresome to watch, and very taxing on both sides of the partnership.
"Myndræl didn't seem all that concerned with staying," Karin spoke up. The king and his dragon had probably the closest bond, the two of them having been together longer, and yet they were very calm about being separated.
"Concern leads to stress and stress leads to panic," Toshiro answered her comment. "If we believe we won't see each other again, the panic sets in faster. By remaining calm we can get through the separation easier. Myndræl wanted to come with us just as much as Dyrilæn, but even partners like us need our own personal space. We're still two different species altogether, not like a zanpaktou and its master. Both sides need time among their own."
"Makes sense." Karin nodded her head. "What about you? Lilianna told me the stress is worse for the dragons, because they're like the guardians. But…I dunno, sometimes I worry a lot about Dyrilæn." She scowled. "I don't like being in the World of the Living for too long because I'm worried she's gotten herself hurt."
"Lilianna is right about one thing, the dragons are like our guardians, but I don't think she quite understands the complexity of the partnership." He paused, thinking harder on the subject. "She's never had a partner, never experienced it, and she said herself once that because of that she cannot speak firmly about what it means to have a partner. I believe both sides feel the pressure because of the connection. The partner worries because the dragon worries, which makes the partner return to the dragon…it's almost like the dragon is sending out a signal that brings their partner back to them, a mother calling out their child to protect them."
"A mother, huh?" Karin mused. "Yeah, that makes sense too…But you didn't answer my question."
He sighed heavily.
"Yes, Karin, I feel it too. I don't like to be away for too long but considering what I do sometimes it can't be helped. So, we found a method that helps, and it's been working so far." He glanced at her. "Perhaps you should try it with Dyrilæn. It'll help for when you go to the World of the Living."
"Yeah…" Her expression quickly changed from contemplation to curiosity as she looked ahead.
Toshiro followed her gaze, spotting a crowd of people, gathered around something and muttering in tones that sounded horrified, scared, and angered. What was going on? What were they looking at?
"Soul Reaper!" One of them shouted, spotting Karin in her Shihakusho and running over. "Please! This way!"
She removed her hand from Toshiro's and followed the frightened man through the crowd, wondering if someone was hurt. If so, why had no one done anything? Toshiro was right behind her, people thinking he was a noble of some sort and moving aside quickly for him, though he kept his hand in his pocket to avoid any further alarm.
Once through, the sight they were met with was not a good one. A body, torn and beaten, hardly recognizable to anyone. Blood was still flowing, which meant it was a recent kill, though who had done it was a mystery. If it had been a Hollow, they would have spotted it. If it had been a person, someone would be reporting the killer. As it was, everyone, including the man who had led her forward, just stared at the body in horror. The cuts also did not look like that of a person's hand could make…they were definite claws.
Karin felt a trace of dark Spirit Energy and paled. Demons. Demons had done this.
The air grew cold and she knew Toshiro had figured it out as well. This was new, something they had never done before. The demons only ever tried to break into the Seireitei. They left the Rukongai alone, focused on the Soul Reapers. What was so important about this old spirit that they had to rip her apart so brutally?
While Karin knelt next to the body to try and discern where the demon might have gone, Toshiro looked very carefully at it from where he stood. For some reason he felt he knew this poor person. Someone from his childhood days? The old ones were kind enough to him, if a little more stiff than with the other children, and he always gave them their deserved respect. The figure was small from what he could tell…almost like…
His eyes went wide with shock. This wasn't just one of the old spirits he'd known here; this person was special to him. For a moment, his control slipped, frost spreading over the ground and startling the villagers, frigid air laced with anger and pain blowing sharply over them all. Karin looked straight back up at him with worry in her eyes, sensing the emotions being put out by her boyfriend.
She almost wished she hadn't looked up. Though his face remained relatively calm, his eyes were blazing with an icy fury that made her shiver and inwardly cower away. He was beyond furious.
Then he was gone, once again startling the others, and she quickly followed him. His sudden burst of Spiritual Pressure would alert Jidanbo that something was wrong and someone would be by to calm the people. For now, she needed to calm him down.
Into the forest he vanished, but she knew how to find him, she always could. He was leaned against a tree, his back to her, hands balled into fists and stance tight. A familiar pose. She'd seen Ichigo do it before several times, though not usually in a forest, and she'd seen Toshiro have that same stance before; it was a stance to try and hide his grief. That meant he knew the victim of the demons. She was smart enough to know what that meant, a saddened frown forming on her face as she stepped over to him, withstanding the untamed pressure causing the forest around her to freeze, and held him tight. He attempted to move away but she would not let him run, not from her. Eventually, he gave up, returning her embrace.
"I'll kill him," Toshiro growled out, though his voice held pain and sadness as well, burying his face in the crook of her neck. "I'll destroy him for this."
She said nothing. Trying to play it off as not a bother would just make him angrier, but she also didn't know the person well enough to offer any words of comfort to help him get through their death. All she could do was stand there quietly and let him fume.
Besides, if Kamai had sent demons to kill her grandmother, she'd probably threaten to kill him too.
And...plot twist! Enjoy...well, that depends on which part you're reading, I guess...