Hi, it´s Shadow Typhoon. I updated another chapter. This chapter is filled with surprises. So please enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don´t own Bleach

Dark Ice

Chapter 6: The Trial part two

by Shadow Typhoon

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Hitsugaya was panting. He was exhausted, tired and he bleed from a wound on his shoulder. His hair was no longer clear white, but a dirty grayish color just like ash. Blood was sticking unto his haori and dripping on the ground.

He clenched Hyourinmaru and dodged an attack from Ryushiro. To gain the powers of the Ice Flames, you have to force them out. That was what Ryushiro had told Hitsugaya when they started.

They had been fighting for hours, without landing the finishing blow on each other. Ryushiro was holding an exact copy of Hyourinmaru except for the color of the hilt. The hilt was pure black.

Ryushiro was pleased with Hitsugaya, and was waiting for the moment where he would activate his powers.

Hitsugaya knew that he couldn´t hold this pace for an hour more. Instead he tried to slow down, tried to gain some energy, but Ryushiro pressed him to fight with an even faster pace. Suddenly Ryushiro´s Hyourinmaru was aimed straight at his heart. Hitsugaya was paralyzed and knew that he couldn't dodge in time. Suddenly some words appeared in his mind. Some words which he faintly remembered.

"Soar upon the burning sky, Hyourinmaru", he whispered and suddenly the ground was cowered in ice blue flames. Ryushiro was thrown backwards, made a flip, but landed safely on his legs. Hyourinmaru shot out of Hitsugaya´s sword and soared upon the sky in his mindscape. Hyourinmaru looked quite normal. But only if you didn´t see the ice blue flames which cowered Hyourinmaru´s entire body. It was like the flames were dancing. The flames created designs on Hyourinmaru´s scale and were always in movement. Hyourinmaru looked so mighty and dangerous, and yet calm and reassuring.

Hyourinmaru dived and landed on the ground. It spread its wings and let out a ground shaking roar. Hitsugaya stepped forward and held out his hand to touch Hyourinmaru's flaming scales. The flames were burning him and yet they were freezing him, he wasn´t sure about it.

"You finally did it, Toshiro" Ryushiro grinned and gave thump up.

"Hey, It´s Hitsugaya-taicho to you", Hitsugaya snapped at him"

"We are the same person, so I have the right to call you Toshiro", Ryushiro said mockingly with a wide smile on his face.

Hitsugaya sighed but finally gave in.

"Why do you have to be so childish?" Hitsugaya asked with a lifted eyebrow.

"Well, that´s what I´m supposed to be, since I´m your opposite. Unlike you I´m childish, I love candy, especially with watermelon flavor, I hate doing paperwork and so on"

Hitsugaya groaned and covered his head in his hands. Why did he have to be stuck with such an inner hollow in his mind?

"But not entirely you're opposite. I´m very strong, I´m a prodigy as well, and I hate Aizen too. I just like you, but with some different traits." Ryushiro continued.

"So what now?" Hitsugaya asked him, actually happy to have Ryushiro in his mind.

"Well, since you can control your shikai, You´ll learn how to control your bankai. But the bankai is not like your normal bankai. I´s not like the Ice Flame shikai, which was a flaming version of your shikai, but a completely new bankai, including new attacks and powers."

Hitsugaya closed his eyes, trying to remember what exactly happened before. It was like the words just popped into his head. That was just before he was killed…

"But you can´t learn it in your mindscape, you have to fight a real fight outside the mindscape."

Ryushiro smiled goofy and then proceeded to kick Hitsugaya in the stomach.

"Ouch", was all that Hitsugaya could say, before all the air was pressed out of his lungs.

"What did you do that for?" Hitsugaya asked and wiped his mouth with his sleeve.

"Because I wanted to. I always wanted to see your face when you are kicked in the stomach. That was priceless."

Hitsugaya growled and pulled up his sleeves, indicating that he was very mad. Ryushiro saw this and then started to run away.

"I think it´s time for you to go back to the real world" he shouted before he disappeared from the sight."

Then everything brightened and blinded Hitsugaya. He tried to cover his eyes, but failed as the light grew stronger. The light surrounded him and he felt like he was pulled. Then the mindscape shattered.

Hitsugaya slowly opened his eyes and found himself in one of Aizen´s laboratories. He looked around and saw small tubes attached to his breast and arms. He was lying down on an operation table. He groaned and tried to get up, but failed. Aizen was standing in front of him and looking at a big TV screen. Hitsugaya saw himself on the left side of the screen and on the right side there was a lot of data.

"What are doing to me?" Hitsugaya asked while trying to read the data on the screen.

Aizen turned around and gave him a reassuring smile.

"Don´t worry Hitsugaya-kun. It´s just some data, which could be important in the future"

Aizen walked over to Hitsugaya and started to remove the tubes. As soon as they were removed, Hitsugaya jumped up and started massaging his legs, to help the blood circulate.

"Congratulations, you have passed the first part of the trial." Aizen said and gave a creepy smile.

"Huh?" was all that Hitsugaya could say in his surprise" Was this just a test?"

"Yeah, you can call it that", Aizen said and pulled him into the main hall.

"And now you can begin the next part of the trial. I want you to bring something very important from some hollows in the north. They have a tribe with a leader. The leader controls all the other hollows. So you have to defeat the leader to gain what I want."

"And what do I have to bring to you?" Hitsugaya asked suspicious. He was afraid that it would be some new kind of weapon.

"It´s a gem with some special powers, which I need. It is very easily described. It has the form of a diamond. It´s blue, but the blue color shifts from dark to light, from brilliant to dark and unclear."

Hitsugaya nodded and waited for further orders.

"You mustn't touch it with the bare hands."

Aizen gave Hitsugaya a white glove with runes imprinted on it, along with a bag in the same color and with the same markings.

"Wear the glove when you have to pick it up. Place it in the bag and tie it up. That way you will be a lot more secure. Now go!"

Hitsugaya bowed and flash stepped away. When he came out of Hueco Mondo, he looked closely at the glove and bag. The materiel felt like silk or water, always slipping out of his touch.

He ran for about ½ hour, when he reached the northern tribe of hollows. In front of him there was a very deep abyss. In fact that deep, so he couldn't see the bottom. He jumped in and immediately everything became pitch-black. He blinked and tried to refocus. After another half minute, his night sight kicked in. He looked around and found himself in front of a giant gate. He stepped closer and noticed two spider hollows guarding the gate. They sneered and attacked him. He jumped back and dodged a cero cast by the red spider type hollow. He unsheathed Hyourinmaru and slashed the two hollows to pieces.

He opened the gate and stepped inside. There were flames enlightening a long corridor. He began walking down the corridor, the lights reflected in his eyes. Suddenly there was a roar and the corridor shattered. He was now standing in a big hall, crowded with hollows in all sizes and shapes.

In the middle a giant hollow was standing alone. He looked Hitsugaya in the eyes and asked:

"What do you want, ssstranger", it hissed like a snake."You are a ssshinigami and yet a hollow. I know arrancar´sss, but I´ve never met sssomeone like you."

Hitsugaya shivered at its words, but gained courage.

"I have come to get a blue gem with abnormal powers. If you don´t, I will have to use violence."

"Hahaha! Do you really think that you can get it? It gives us power. With that, we can soon rule the world." The hollow leader laughed with a laughter, which sounded like dry leaves.

Hitsugaya unsheathed Hyourinmaru once again and waited for the hollow leader to attack. Why do all evil leaders want to take over the world? He thought.

The hollow leader was suddenly behind and Hitsugaya turned around to dodge. They clashed in what seemed to be an eternity. Then Hitsugaya saw an opening and decided to use his new attack.

"Soar upon the burning sky, Hyourinmaru"

Hyourinmaru flew upon the roof, but then turned around. With its mouth open and the fangs glittering, Hyourinmaru completely burned the hollow leader to dust.

All the surrounding hollows were blasted away and the rest of them were standing with mouths agape. Then, after some minutes of silence, they all bowed.

"Hail the new leader!" they shouted in chorus.

A small hollow ran out of the room and came back again with a pillow in his hands. When it came closer to Hitsugaya, he recognized the gem. The hollow stopped in front of him and held the pillow out. Hitsugaya wore the glow and carefully picked the gem up. He was fascinated with it. It was so beautiful; oh he wished it was his… No, he wasn´t allowed thinking like that. Hitsugaya opened the small bag and laid it in it. He closed the bag and nodded to the small hollow.

"What are you going to order, oh great and powerful leader?" the small hollow asked.

Hitsugaya stood thoughtful at it and then brightened up. He had just gained a wonderful idea.

"Regroup and wait here until I give further orders. You should be prepared for fight or even a war!"

All the hollows bowed and then ran out of the great hall. They wanted to be prepared, ´cause they loved war and fights. Two hollows were standing back, and Hitsugaya followed them out. He was standing in the abyss again, when the hollows left him. Hitsugaya flash stepped and soon got out of the abyss.

Half an hour later, he was standing in front Aizen again.

"I got what you want." Hitsugaya simply said and held out the bag.

"Oh, so you did it? Well, the gem´s actually not mine. It´s yours Hitsugaya."

Hitsugaya stood with his mouth agape. His? The beautiful and maybe also powerful gem was his?

"I see that you are surprised. Now take the gem out, with the glove on of cause"

Hitsugaya did as he said and was now holding the gem in his hand. It just fit perfectly in his hand.

"And now unsheathe Hyourinmaru." Aizen said.

Again Hitsugaya did as he said. He was holding the gem in his left hand and Hyourinmaru in his right.

"Now place the gem on Hyourinmaru´s blade."

On the blade? He didn´t know what was going to happen, but he didn´t like it. But he did as Aizen said.

As soon as the gem touched the blade it sank into it, just like a stone in water. Hyourinmaru began to glow and shockwaves were sending from it. It became colder and colder, and soon the whole room were covered in ice. Ice particles surrounded Hyourinmaru to the extent, that Hitsugaya couldn´t even see Hyourinmaru. Then all the particles disappeared and he was now holding a different Hyourinmaru.

Hyourinmaru had changed appearance. The blade was now made of ice, but it wasn´t transparent. The guard was still formed as a four pointed star, but was now pure silver. On each of the stars, there was a small gem, exactly like the original one. The hilt was also made of ice, but a deep blue one. Compared to the blade, the ice hilt was transparent.

Hitsugaya was shocked. How could Hyourinmaru change appearance? He had never witnessed such a thing in his life.

"I was pretty sure that this would happen. Hyourinmaru is now 4 times more powerful than before. "

Hitsugaya was listening with a half ear. He was studying Hyourinmaru, turned it so he could see it from every angle.

"Oh, and you have completed the trial. So, once again, welcome to Hueco Mondo"

Hitsugaya smirked and bowed. He sheathed Hyourinmaru and waited for Aizen to dismiss him.

"I will now give you the title of espada number cero. You are now the strongest espada in Hueco Mondo"

Cero? But that wasn´t even a proper number. But it was stronger than all of the other espada´s, so Hitsugaya was happy.

"You are now dismissed. Tomorrow you will get assigned your first mission." Aizen said and smirked. He had all what he needed. Now his final plan could begin.

Hitsugaya walked out and walked into his room. He jumped directly on the bed, tired and exhausted. He wasn´t sure, if he could tell Ukitake that he had become a vizard. So he decided not to tell him. Hitsugaya rolled around, excited over his new abilities. I want to find out, how strong Hyourinmaru exactly had become. That was his last thoughts before he fell asleep…

Hi. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. So many things have been revealed. Like what Ice Flames are and what the gem should be used to.

Be prepared for the next chapter. The next chapter about the mission, which he will get assigned. And you´ll see what the shinigami are doing.

So, until then, have sweet dreams.

See ya