Inside the Squad One barracks, its single occupant stroked his long silver beard in thought. The old man was bald with scars across his face, dark eyes closed in thought, silvery beard wrapped in purple ribbon. The white haori hung over his shoulders over his black Soul Reaper uniform. The hand not stroking his beard held tightly to the thick wooden cane.
The object causing the Head Captain, Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto, to think so deeply was the open letter resting in front of him. On it was a short note and was signed with the name Soul King.
This had never happened before.
Yamamoto stood and began to slowly pace, his staff every so often clicking against the wooden floor. Never had he gotten a letter directly from the Soul King, and never had the Soul King bothered to ask anything of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads.
But now he was, bypassing the orders of Central 46, whom the King had said was being informed by his Royal Guard, and the circumstances being presented before him were confusing indeed. Though the entire situation behind the orders were unknown, as far as Yamamoto could tell he was being asked to hunt down the Soul Prince himself.
When had there ever been a Soul Prince?
But when the Soul King wanted something done, they had to be done. There were no denying orders from a god.
The meeting was called and Yamamoto made his way to the meeting hall, taking his seat under the number of his Squad, the door opened by his Lieutenant so the other Captains and Lieutenants could step right inside.
"What is this about, Head Captain?" Chojiro Sasakibe, the silver haired, amber eyed Lieutenant of Squad One questioned. The man straightened out his small black mustache before also straightening the white jinbaori over his uniform.
"I shall tell you once the others arrive." Yamamoto replied, looking up as the first duo arrived. He'd only sent the message two minutes ago, and seeing as the squad to arrive was Squad Eight, one of the furthest squads from the barracks, they must have been either close by or eager to hear the information.
Squad Eight Captain Shunsui Kyoraku took his place quickly, tipping his straw hat in respect to the old man. Over his haori and uniform was a pink colored, flower covered robe. The man's curly brown hair was tied back in a ponytail, brown stubble forming along the man's jawline. His Lieutenant was a black haired woman, her hair up in a bun, with glasses over light blue-violet eyes and a slight frame.
"Captain Kyoraku, Lieutenant Ise." The Head Captain greeted.
Having already said hello, Shunsui just smiled while Nanao Ise bowed.
The other Captains and Lieutenants arrived in a steady stream after that. Once Squad Thirteen had made it, the Captain still looking a little worse for wear, the Head Captain cleared his throat to start the meeting. He sent a glare at the Squad Ten Lieutenant, Rangiku Matsumoto, when she continued to giggle at the Squad Eleven Captain and Lieutenant. The strawberry blonde, with her gray-blue eyes and pink scarf wrapped around her shoulders, straightened up at his gaze.
"As I reported in the Hell Butterflies, the situation we are currently facing is of top priority." He began huskily. "Just recently I have received a letter straight from the Soul King himself."
"The Soul King!" Squad Nine Lieutenant, Shuhei Hisagi, gaped. Shuhei had spiked black hair and stern gray eyes, triple scars running parallel down his face and the sleeves of his uniform cut off, with what seemed like chains wrapped around each upper arm, matching the one around his neck.
"What would the Soul King want with us?" Squad Thirteen Captain Jushiro Ukitake questioned, white hair falling into his face for a moment to cover brown eyes. His pale form was slouched as a sign of someone who was commonly sick. "Is someone else being promoted to the Royal Guard?"
"Not quite." Yamamoto silenced the unrest between the squads. "The letter states that there is a danger present in the Soul King's realm, though the situation is not properly explained, and that we are to search for a certain person that he says is here among the Soul Society."
Everyone listened with rapt attention to every word.
"We have been ordered to find the Soul Prince." Yamamoto spoke this sentence gravely.
"Soul Prince?" Questioned Squad Ten Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya, a small Captain with snow white hair and bright teal eyes, his zanpaktou on a chain at his back and a green scarf around his neck. "I've never heard of there ever being a Soul Prince."
"Neither have I." The Head Captain nodded to the young Captain. "But it is an order straight from the Soul King himself. We cannot back out. And so," he slammed the end of his staff to the floor to silence the chatter that had begun. "Under the orders of the Soul King we are to investigate into this Soul Prince, find him, and call the Royal Guard to bring him to the Soul King's Realm."
"Understood." Came multiple replies, along with a few grunts and bows.
"As for individual roles in this mission, Captain Soi Fon." He turned to a petite woman with short black hair and gray eyes, a yellow sash around her midsection and two white braids reaching down to her waist. She stood tall and faced the Head Captain. "You, the Second Squad and the Stealth Force are to search the West Rukongai."
"On it." She replied swiftly.
"Squad Three is to search the South Rukongai." This he said to a blonde haired man with purple eyes, Rojuro Otoribashi, who nodded as he was spoken to. "Squad Five the East." Another blonde haired man, this one with a straight cut and an annoyed look with brown eyes, a white scarf around his neck and vanishing into his uniform, Shinji Hirako. "And Squad Six will search the North." The Captain of that squad, Byakuya Kuchiki, nodded firmly. His black hair hung elegantly to his shoulders, onyx eyes never leaving the Head Captain. His haori had a gold lining around the edge and tassels on the haori's collar at his neck.
The four squads, Captain and Lieutenant, quickly left to begin their search.
"Squad Four and Eight will try to find any hint of the Soul Prince's whereabouts in The Great Archive."
"We'll get right to it." Shunsui nodded. He and his Lieutenant, along with the Squad Four duo, also left.
"Squad Twelve will attempt to search for this Soul Prince any way they can; keep in touch with Squads Eight and Four for research."
"Very well." Squad Twelve Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi muttered, golden teeth currently in a frown, amber eyes exploring the room. His face was painted with white and black, his hands also white though his nails were blue, one nail as long as the finger it stretched from, and there was a golden mantle on his head with blue horn-like projections curling around. He, too, left, the young Nemu Kurotsuchi following suit.
"Squads Seven, Ten, Eleven and Thirteen may spread yourselves out where you see fit." Yamamoto finished. "I myself will meet with the Central 46 for information on their end."
Three of the four Captains nodded and left with their Lieutenants, while the giant Captain Kenpachi Zaraki grumbled a bit before slowly following them out, the pink haired, red eyed girl on his shoulder giggling happily and pulling at his wild black hair to entertain herself. The man's scarred face held no emotion at the moment, one eye covered with a black eye patch.
By late afternoon the barracks of each squad were practically empty save for a seated officer or two with which to keep the place clean and organize paperwork. Word of the Soul Prince had spread like wildfire to each Squad and everyone wanted in on the action.
Squad Seven had joined with Squad Five in the east Rukongai, Squad Thirteen with Squad Two in the West. Squad Eleven spread themselves out between North and South while most of the Tenth Squad remained in the Court of Pure Souls to possibly find the Soul Prince among the Soul Reapers. Toshiro had deemed it a possibility and wanted to be careful. He left them under his Lieutenant's care and instead went to The Great Archive for his own research.
Being a prodigy, Toshiro had made note of the worry lines on Yamamoto's face, meaning even he didn't know who or what they were looking for. How were they supposed to find this person if they gave no hints as to what they looked like? Now with his curiosity peaked, Toshiro slipped into the enormous library to begin his search for the elusive Soul Prince.
A figure watched him walk by, a curious look on her face as the child passed her. She fell in step with him, determined to ask a few questions before he ventured into the area only Captains such as himself were allowed into.
Realizing he was being followed, Hitsugaya sighed and paused, turning to look over his shoulder at the figure. Teal eyes narrowed at her in question and suspicion.
Noticing the glare, the girl paused and seemed to shrink a little, making it obvious she was very shy about approaching him. Her hair was bright blonde almost silvery and braided down to her waist, part of her bangs falling in front of her left eye, which was amber colored while her right was, strangely, a grass green color. She was in a standard Soul Reaper uniform but he'd never seen her before.
"Which Squad are you from?" He questioned her, seeing as she wasn't about to speak anytime soon.
The girl blinked innocently, not seeming to register his words for a moment. He repeated the question and she bowed her head to him before pointing to her throat and shaking her head.
"You can't speak?" He turned to face her fully, looking her over once more.
"It's not that she can't speak." Another voice said, bringing the small Captain's attention to a second figure. "It's that she doesn't want to. She's a quiet person by nature."
The new person was, surprisingly, not a person but a large white cat. The cat's paws, ear tips and tail tip were light brown, the eyes bright violet. There seemed to be a mark on the cat's forehead but it was covered over by a silver headdress of some sort that dangled an emerald between the cat's eyes.
"Who are you?" Toshiro asked, doing his best to hide his surprise.
"Sofia." The cat grinned, her voice slightly high-pitched with a purr behind it. "She's Ruala Nakryin, my master."
The cat leaped onto the young girl's shoulder, rubbing her soft white fur against her cheek before turning back to the white haired Captain.
"Seeing as you can speak and she won't, answer my question." Toshiro got over his initial surprise. "Which squad are you from?"
"Well, we're new." Sofia turned to the blonde girl. "We were told to find someone."
"Oh?" Toshiro pondered what the cat had said. Could it be they didn't have a squad yet? Doubtful, and no Captain was currently in a position to take on a new subordinate.
The girl, Ruala, held a book out to him that he hadn't seen her carrying. The tome was rather thick, the pages yellowing from age. Its cover was black, but inscribed in icy blue ink on the front was ancient text that Toshiro didn't know how to read. He took the rather heavy book from the girl's hands, noticing a thick chain wrapped around it with a lock on the side. He frowned deeply as he noticed there was no keyhole to unlock it.
"What are you-?" His question was cut off as, when he looked up from the strange book, he saw no one in front of him. "Damn newcomers."
Holding the book at his side the icy Captain took a moment to rub his temple before taking off back to his office. He was sure the book was just a prank, likely set up by Yoruichi seeing as the cat did all the talking, but he wanted to make sure. It seemed like an expensive book and he wasn't about to throw it away. He'd learn its mystery later. He had more important matters to worry about, such as finding information on the Soul King and his family.
And so the search is on to find the mysterious Soul Prince :) Toshiro catches on quickly...too bad the newcomer is as sneaky as a cat, hehe. So, what's so important about the book, eh? Read on! Enjoy!