Deeper into The Great Archive, various members of Squad Four and Eight were scattered, searching for the slightest hint as to where they could find the Soul Prince. Squad Four Captain Retsu Unohana theorized that perhaps the prince was hidden away in a special place, in which case they would need to know how to get there and break him out. Agreeing with her, Shunsui had his squad look for something similar. They covered every available area, the two Captains and Lieutenants venturing into the restricted area for high level information.
Retsu, a short woman with black hair braided in front of her and gray-blue eyes scanning the different texts, found a tome that grabbed her interest. It was a dark brown book about the history of the Soul Society. She thought perhaps there might be something pertaining to the Soul King in there. Taking it from the shelf she quickly scanned through its pages.
Three-quarters of the way through she stopped her shuffling, eyes catching an interesting detail among the black words.
"…It is known the Soul King's very existence keeps the Soul Society from ruin, but he does eventually reach a point where he must step down, and his successor must take his place. The successor is usually chosen randomly from among the Royal Families, but in rare cases the Soul King may have a blood related successor…" The healer read aloud. "So, it is possible to have a Soul Prince."
She continued the passage but nothing more was said on the matter, and the little else there was about the Soul King she already knew, such as the fact that he resided in the Soul King's Realm and didn't interfere with the affairs of the Soul Society. Slightly disappointed, Retsu returned the book and continued searching.
Her partner, Shunsui, wasn't having her luck and found useless book after useless book. There was nothing he could find that would give him even the slightest knowledge about the Soul King.
"There must be something I'm missing…" He grumbled. Nanao glanced at him before continuing her reading. Since she read books often, the girl could speed through three books at the same time her Captain had finished skimming one. "Okay, I'll try something else."
"And what would that be?"
"Obviously we can't find our little prince friend if we don't know anything about his daddy, so I'm going to learn more about our mysterious Soul King."
Nanao sighed.
"That's a good idea, Captain, but I doubt there's anything in here that would tell us about the Soul King himself and not just what he symbolized."
"Worth a shot, though."
Simply nodding, Nanao switched her target of search and continued reading. She also tried to remember if she had seen anything about the Soul King in the other books. After making sure she hadn't, she grabbed the next book and moved on.
Similar events of finding nothing continued in the Squad Twelve Department of Research and Development building, much to Mayuri's anger, and for the squads spread out in the Rukongai as well. In the west, Soi Fon was having each male spirit examined, both physically and spiritually, for any indication of being the Soul Prince. But she regrettably acknowledged that without proper background on their elusive prey she had no way of knowing if these frightened souls could be the hidden prince. In the Court of Pure Souls, the Squad Ten members weren't faring any better.
As for the Head Captain, he currently stood in the center of the Central 46 chambers. The members looked at him with mixed faces of suspicion, concern and shock. They had recently been contacted by two members of the Royal Guard, face to face, and told of the current orders to locate the Soul Prince. So, when Yamamoto arrived asking for information, they had no need to hold back anything.
"To be honest, Captain Yamamoto, we've never heard of the Soul Prince." One voice spoke up.
"I know that all of you are fairly new to the council," Yamamoto said huskily, "but to be initiated into the Central 46 you had to have been given top secret information about the Soul King's Realm. If we are to find the prince we need that information."
"We understand that, Head Captain, but it will take time for us to locate such information. We have not been able to search through the files thoroughly since our enlistment."
"Then I ask you hurry. I was given this mission by the Soul King himself while you were only recently informed by the Royal Guard."
"Don't think that means you can take charge, Yamamoto." A voice growled.
"If what you say is true, then perhaps the Soul King believes his son is hidden among your precious squads." Another practically sneered.
A hush fell over them as many of the members thought those words through.
"Actually," the one who sneered spoke, this time serious, "that may just be a possibility. If the Soul King truly contacted you before he sent his guard to us, then perhaps that is what he believes."
"We cannot jump to such a sudden decision." Another voice argued.
"Perhaps not, but it's a valid statement." The one who spoke that time turned back to the Soul Reaper in their midst. "I suggest you start your search with your own guard and see if you can't locate him among your ranks."
"Very well, I shall call back the squads."
"Yamamoto, its best you bring one squad at a time so the others can continue their work searching, in case they happen to find the prince elsewhere."
"I'll keep that in mind."
The aging Soul Reaper turned and left the chambers, hearing the many spirits begin to chatter amongst themselves about their situation. As he made his way back to his office, he thought about which squads were closest to begin his examination. Squad Twelve was nearby in their building, Squads Four and Eight also nearby, and he remembered Toshiro telling his squad to search throughout the Court of Pure Souls, meaning the prodigy had already thought of searching the Soul Reapers themselves as possible candidates.
Sighing, the Head Captain decided he needed to know more about what he was looking for before starting the search. He could only hope that someone had found something to give them a start.
In the Squad Ten barracks, Toshiro sat at his desk, the book he'd gotten from the newcomer sitting in front of him. Teal eyes glared at the offending object.
After he'd returned and set the book down, Toshiro saw the words shift. The ancient words were now in a different language, some kind of ancient calligraphy. It seemed faintly Egyptian but had characteristics of various Asian languages. All in all, he had no idea what it meant. But he also knew that the words could change and he was determined to figure out how so as to change it to Japanese.
And the lock…even if he could read the title how was he supposed to get anything out of it if he couldn't open it? As time went on and his frustration increased, the room began to grow colder. By the time Rangiku returned to see where her Captain had run off to the place was coated in frost.
"Hm, I'll come back later." The blonde started to walk away.
"Wait, Matsumoto." Toshiro called out, reigning in his Spiritual Pressure to let the room return to normal. "What do you need?"
"You never came back from the archive so I came here to see if you left any hints about where you went. Instead I find you in here and the room is frozen." She shivered, slightly pulling up her uniform from its revealing style to try and keep warm.
"I didn't come back because I found this." Toshiro pointed accusingly at the black book. "Or rather, a new recruit handed it to me."
"New recruit? Now?" Rangiku stepped inside and towards her Captain's desk to see what book he was talking about. "I don't remember the Academy sending anyone over with passing marks, and the semester isn't anywhere near over anyway."
"She probably finished early, that's not uncommon." Toshiro waved off the issue of the newcomer quickly. "Do you know what this says?"
Peering curiously at the icy blue letters, or symbols, Rangiku quickly shook her head. Sighing, Toshiro glared at the book once more before standing.
"I'm going to see Kurotsuchi. Perhaps he'll find a way to translate it." He reached for the book only to see the letters shift again. Now they were in some form of Hebrew, still far from the language he wanted and infuriating him still.
"Whoa, a book that changes languages." Rangiku snatched the book from the desk. "Wonder how you did that."
"I don't know, it's done that twice." Toshiro grumbled, snatching the book from her hands.
"Oh, look. There's something on the back." The Lieutenant pointed out, eyes lighting up at her discovery.
Hitsugaya flipped it over, frustrated with not thinking to look on the back. The language there was an ancient form of Japanese, but it was at least one he could read.
"The hand of royals is the key, the power of spirits is the sight." Toshiro read. His brow furrowed as he thought about what that could possibly mean. "It's just a riddle, Ma-"
When he didn't finish his sentence, Rangiku looked at him worriedly. He was completely focused on the second line of icy text, seemingly playing the words over in his head.
"Captain?" She leaned forward slightly to wave her hand in front of him for a reaction. He looked up and glared at her for the interruption before returning to his seat and setting the book back down.
Rangiku watched as Toshiro placed his hand over the front of the book, blinking when he let his Spiritual Pressure flare for the briefest of seconds.
The icy words changed.
"The power of spirits is the sight…" Toshiro muttered. "It meant Spiritual Pressure. Every time it changed I had been letting out mine unknowingly, so it also changed unknowingly. The one it was before probably wasn't even a language. If I intentionally focus it the message is clear."
Grinning at her Captain's genius, Rangiku looked at the now clearly Japanese title. They read it together…and froze in shock.
The title read Secrets of the Soul King.
So the book of secrets is found! Everyone's looking hard for that darn Soul Prince...though most of you readers probably already know who he is. I give too many hints Enjoy!