With the night shift of each squad stationed, things began to settle down from the first panic that had come with the surprise of orders straight from the Soul King. After hearing that the Head Captain had returned, Toshiro left Rangiku in charge of the office, albeit reluctantly, and headed off to the Squad One barracks with the book tucked under his arm.
Halfway there he decided to take a detour, taking himself to a secluded area where no one would stumble upon him. He hoped the girl would reappear for him to question. While waiting, he set the book on his lap. There were three chains wrapped tightly over the book's black cover, and the icy title stared up at him almost mockingly. It had so many answers, but to get to them they needed the very person that they needed the book to find. It was all just one big circle.
Toshiro yawned, finding he was far more tired than he first thought. Laying his head back on the hard stone of the pillar he sat against he took a moment to rest his eyes, hoping the girl and her cat would show up soon.
Something flashed and his hand felt like it was on fire. Letting out a startled yelp Toshiro dropped the book from his lap and held the hand that had been burned, his sword hand. When he checked for any damage, there was none, and the only indication left was a small tickle in his palm. Once sure he was unharmed the Squad Ten Captain searched for whoever had caused him such a sudden pain.
Teal eyes darted down to the book he had dropped. The lock had vanished, the three chains limp on the ground and slowly melting into the stone floor. The icy words had a strange glow to them they previously didn't possess unless switching languages.
He had access to the book now.
Eager for the information hidden inside, Toshiro snatched the book back and carefully opened it, noticing the letters inside were a similar icy color to the title and message on the back, and that they were a different language. Placing his hand over the page as he had done with the title, Toshiro quickly switched it to Japanese and began to read. He had to make sure it was the information he was looking for, after all.
"…Concerning the Soul Society, the Soul King is simply a symbol; to them he is just a being that holds their world together. The Soul King is much more, for he rules the Royal Family and its guard just as the Central 46 rules the Soul Reapers, only he does it alone. Each Soul King brings a new age to the realm, Soul Society, and the World of the Living. Each succession is marked by a great change in all realms, whether it be war or an imbalance in the cycle of souls…"
It was definitely what they needed, the possible answer to finding the elusive Soul Prince. That much was clear as he read on through what seemed like the prologue to the gritty details of what the Soul King was and his duties in the Soul King's Realm. Toshiro's rising question at the moment, however, was why it suddenly opened for him.
His thoughts turned to the mysterious girl and her cat. Could it have been them? Were they members of the Royal Family? Perhaps they had opened it and then woke him with whatever that burning sensation on his hand was.
Closing the book with a sharp snap the icy Captain stood and rushed off to the Squad One barracks. The Head Captain needed to see what was inside.
Yamamoto looked up as his doors were hastily pushed open, raising an eyebrow when he saw an out of breath Toshiro Flash Step straight to his desk. Both eyebrows raised as the child Captain placed a heavy black book in front of him.
"I've found something." Was all he said.
Curious, Yamamoto grabbed the book from Toshiro and pulled it closer, having to flip it around to read the title right side up. His eyes opened wide once he read it.
"Where did you find such a book?" The Head Captain demanded.
Toshiro retold the encounter with Ruala and Sofia in The Great Archive.
"Ruala Nakryin? No such name has ever been recorded into the squad files."
"I don't think she was a Soul Reaper." Toshiro said, and then told of his second encounter with her in the North Rukongai. "I don't know exactly who she is, but she knows something. And I think she's the one who managed to unlock it."
"A member of the Royal Family, perhaps?"
"That's what I thought, but then…what would she be doing here?"
The two of them took a moment to think. Members of the Royal Family never left the Soul King's Realm, so to have one hiding among them, not to mention helping them find the Soul Prince, was unheard of.
"Her only motive would be that she wants the Soul Prince found as well." Yamamoto mused aloud. "However, her reason for singling you out is unknown."
Toshiro shrugged; he didn't understand why either.
"I have spoken to Central 46; it is assumed that the Soul King believes his son to be among our own squads. I plan on bringing each squad in to examine. The information provided in this book may help us find the prince faster." As he said this, Yamamoto flipped through the pages. The book seemed to go in depth on the life a Soul King lead, some of the duties among them throwing the Head Captain for a loop. How was he supposed to know that it was the Soul King's duty to remain in contact with the King of Hell?
But the treaty between these two kings was unimportant for finding the Soul Prince, so Yamamoto flipped past it to a section he thought might shed some light. Toshiro still stood in front of his desk, reading upside down, and waited for any further orders.
"Hm…" Yamamoto had paused on a certain page with an intricately drawn picture. "This seems useful. Look here."
For Toshiro's sake, Yamamoto turned the book around and allowed the ice Captain to read the passage next to the picture. The picture itself was a four pointed star with a hole in the middle, the kanji symbol for king inside. On each of the four body points was a symbol as well. For the north prong, it was the kanji for tranquility, for the east it was eternity, south was honor and west was power.
The passage stated that the Soul King was given this mark on their dominant hand when they became the Soul King, though it started as a simple four pointed star, as each generation had to prove they would be next on the throne. Once passed, the symbol in the center would appear and the mark would become permanent.
For those who were the heir to the throne by blood, or as the son of the Soul King, the mark would already be branded into them yet invisible. It only made its appearance when it was time for them to take their father's place, where it would become a translucent ice blue color when the being it marked was using their power. They would then take the same trials as any other Soul King to be for the throne, the difference being that they could not step down nor give up the throne unless they were dying. That meant if the Soul Prince didn't become the Soul King before their father died, the Soul King's Realm and the Soul Society would fall apart.
The part about not finding the Soul Prince in time caused Toshiro to frown.
"At least we have something to go off of." Toshiro sighed. "We just need to find someone with this mark on their hand."
"They have to be using their Spirit Energy." Yamamoto reminded. "This leaves out nearly all of the Rukongai denizens. This prince may very well be among our ranks. If so, there's a chance they have no idea who they are."
"We'll need to test every male Soul Reaper to see if the mark appears." Toshiro, on some hidden instinct, grabbed the book before turning to leave.
"Please leave that here, Captain Hitsugaya." Yamamoto spoke up. "There may be more information inside that will give us a clearer goal. Have your squad return, I'll be sending out the same order to the others."
Normally Toshiro would have bowed in respect and handed the book back, but for some reason he didn't want to leave the book alone with another person. It was the same feeling he'd had when Mayuri had been walking away with it, though at the time he'd thought it was just caution that lead him to take it back.
The Head Captain took note of his hesitation and let his Spiritual Pressure rise. He only needed a little for someone like Hitsugaya, as the young Captain was more in tune to the rising heat due to his ice-type zanpaktou. Wincing from the now stuffy temperature of the room, Toshiro got the message and reluctantly set the book down before leaving in a hurry.
Once he was a good distance from the barracks, the unease at leaving the book lifted and he let out an unknown pent up breath. Now he just needed to round up his squad and wait for further orders. With the book in Yamamoto's hands they would surely find the Soul Prince quickly.
Back in Yamamoto's office, the aging Soul Reaper currently found himself in a fix. Not a whole minute since Toshiro had left did the book snap shut when he attempted to open it and chain itself closed once more, the keyhole-less lock in place and preventing him from taking any sort of information. What's more, the soft glow of the icy letters had vanished, making the book seem a simple black tome of no importance.
He was tempted to call Toshiro back to see if it was his presence that had kept it going. The words did seem to match the color of his Spiritual Pressure. Perhaps it was because the girl, a possible member of the Royal Family, who had given it to him had made sure only he could read it. It seems the girl only trusted the young Captain with the ancient tome.
But, Toshiro needed to gather his squad, and he needed to call back the others. He would solve this puzzle tomorrow, after he found an excuse for why he wanted Toshiro to study the book instead of himself. Perhaps he could say he needed to focus on testing the Soul Reapers and so wanted Toshiro to study the text. Yes, that would work.
Calling eleven Hell Butterflies to him, the Head Captain recorded the recall message and sent them off to each Captain not already informed, which was everyone besides Toshiro.
In the shadows, a pair of violet eyes watched him.
So this new information might throw him for a loop despite Ruala's help, but he's getting closer to the truth. All that needs to happen is for the Soul Prince to let his power rise just a little and then he'll see pretty quickly. Enjoy!