The night had been stressful, that was certain. Toshiro had had a hard time finding his Lieutenant, who ended up being hidden in his own barracks with Lieutenants Izuru Kira and Shuhei Hisagi, drinking. Once that event was over, he'd managed to round up his squad and had them all call it a night so he could get some sleep of his own.
The morning wasn't much better, since Rangiku had a hangover. Falling into routine, Toshiro unceremoniously pushed her off the couch she was sleeping on to wake her up and then demanded she start on paperwork while she whined away. Though, he at least offered her a hangover cure: he could douse her in ice. She quickly set to work.
When he moved to his own desk, however, he noticed something immediately that set him on edge.
The black book was on his desk.
"Matsumoto, did you take this?" Toshiro questioned, lifting the book for her to see.
"That was there when I got up in the middle of the night for a bathroom break." She replied. "I know you took it to the Head Captain, I just thought you went to get it back."
"Well…I didn't." Now confused, Toshiro looked closely at the book. It was still unlocked and the words still shone up at him with its icy hue. The only problem was it was supposed to be with the Head Captain. "He must have had someone drop it off, though I'll have to ask him why."
"Can I come with?" Rangiku perked up, eager to escape her workload.
"No." He replied instantly. "That pile better be gone when I come back."
"But Captain!" Her whining tone didn't reach Toshiro's ears as he Flash Stepped away. "Honestly, he never seems to loosen up."
Speeding through the Court of Pure Souls, Toshiro once more made his way back to the Squad One barracks. Along the way a Hell Butterfly greeted him, so he paused upon a rooftop to receive its message, shifting the book under his arm and holding his hand out for the insect.
'This is a message to all Captains. A Captains meeting is to be held in five minutes to discuss a new strategy for locating the Soul Prince, please make haste.' Its message delivered, the butterfly took its leave and vanished into the wind.
"Glad I was already heading there." Toshiro muttered, taking off once more. He wanted to get there before the others to ask why the Head Captain had returned the book to him.
Fortunately, he made it to the barracks three minutes early, so only the Head Captain awaited him in the meeting hall. At his arrival the old man lifted his gaze to him.
"I was right, you did have it." He said, glancing at the black tome and noticing that the chains were gone again, the words once more aglow.
"What do you mean?" Toshiro raised a white eyebrow. "I found it on my desk this morning; I thought perhaps you had sent someone to drop it off."
"I did not, but if what you say is true, then we have a cause for worry. That book vanished from my desk last night as I left to check up on some things."
Toshiro quickly thought of any possibilities that would lead to their current situation.
"Could it have been Nakryin?" The ice Captain started walking towards where the Head Captain stood.
"Perhaps. It seems she also reopened it."
"Reopened?" Now standing in front of the old man, Toshiro once more paused in confusion. "Wasn't it already open?"
"It closed and chained itself shortly after you left. I believe this mysterious girl you've been seeing is responsible; she seems to have entrusted you and only you with that book. Once it left your hands it shut out any others."
"Strange…"
"If she truly is a Royal Family member, I cannot refuse her apparent wishes. You will keep that book with you and report to me the information you find." He paused as the Squad Two Captain made her appearance. "I shall speak to you about this later."
Toshiro bowed respectfully and took his place as they waited for the other Captains, Mayuri and Shunsui arriving just as he did so.
The others soon arrived and watched the Head Captain expectantly, some taking glances at the ancient book in Toshiro's hands. Mayuri and Byakuya seemed the most interested, as they were both in on trying to open it, and now it was open. They had questions for the young Captain but knew not to speak out of turn at the start of a meeting. The scientist had the hardest time containing his curiosity.
"Captain Hitsugaya, if you would explain your findings." The Head Captain started by immediately putting the spotlight on Toshiro.
Sighing heavily, Toshiro stepped out of line and up next to the aging Soul Reaper, holding up the book for all to see. While doing so he explained how Ruala had found him in The Great Archive and given it to him, as well as his discoveries along the way and his belief that she might have been a member of the Royal Family, which is why the book was open.
"What would a member of the Royal Family be doing in the Soul Society?" Shinji scratched his head.
"I still haven't figured that out, she hasn't shown up again." Toshiro replied. "But that's not the important part."
It was difficult to hold the book with one hand as he flipped through its pages, due to it being so big, but he managed and found what he was looking for.
"We're looking for a person with this mark." He explained, twisting the book around so the others could see the icy colored mark. "The passage explains that, for now, the mark will be slightly translucent and only in the star shape, no symbols. Also, it will only appear when the Soul Prince is using his powers."
"So the Rukongai denizens are out." Captain Unohana mused aloud. "Which means he must be a Soul Reaper?"
"Precisely." Yamamoto agreed. "It also means he has no idea who he is. We'll be testing every male candidate from each squad. For the sake of being orderly we'll start with my own squad and count up through the squads."
"What will the rest of us do while we wait?" Jushiro asked.
"Head Captain, wouldn't it be wise if each Captain tested the members of their own squad?" Soi Fon piped up. "We don't know how much time we have, it's best we get through these tests as quickly as possible."
Yamamoto mulled this over for a moment. Each squad did have their own training grounds, but they also had a multitude of Soul Reapers and there wasn't enough room. However, it was a far better method than his original idea.
"Very well, Soi Fon, we shall stick to that plan." He turned to the other Captains, Toshiro returning to his spot quickly as his part was done. "Each Captain will return to their squads and begin the tests. I expect a report from each of you by this afternoon with a list of those tested. Do not forget to test yourselves." For this he gazed between the male Captains. "Dismissed!"
Twelve forms left through the doors before vanishing to their squads, Toshiro remaining behind when the Head Captain had given him a silent signal to remain.
"Though you will be tested, I have a separate mission for you. Since you seem to be the only one allowed to read that book, I want you to glean as much information as you can about the Soul Prince from it and send in what you find. I also want you to report to me if that Nakryin girl returns."
"Understood." Toshiro bowed out and left to his squad barracks. He had a lot of work to do.
Remembering that Rangiku was supposed to be doing paperwork, he masked his Spiritual Pressure and entered the barracks quietly, knowing the only way to see if she was really working was to sneak inside. Her Spiritual Pressure signal was at least in the office, but that didn't mean she was working.
Silently sliding the door open, Toshiro peeked in to see Rangiku lazily writing on one of the thin sheets of paper. The pile was a quarter of the way done, which, considering Rangiku, was quite the achievement.
"Matsumoto." He spoke, smirking slightly as she jumped a foot off her chair with a startled squeak.
"Captain! Why did you sneak up on me like that!?" She huffed at him, putting her ruffled papers back in order.
"To make sure you were working. I wanted that whole pile done." Sidestepping her desk he quickly went to his own and set the book down. "But it looks like you get off easy today."
"Oh, what's the occasion?" Rangiku knew Toshiro wasn't one to let up on her.
"Gather the squad; we have a lot of work to do." At her inquiring look, he explained what they were to do in brief.
"Right, I'll have all the guys gather in the training ground. The girls can help me with the testing."
"Be quick, I'll join you shortly." Toshiro took his seat and flipped through the pages of Secrets of the Soul King, starting at the passage about the mark. It was going to be a long day.
Nodding to her Captain, Rangiku took her leave and immediately set to work spreading the word around for everyone to meet in the Squad Ten training arena. The seated officers sped off and rounded up the unseated Soul Reapers in their squad as well to assist. Similar events were happening within each squad, and Soi Fon was even rounding up her Stealth Force members to be absolutely sure the Soul Prince wasn't there, doubling her work load. Every Soul Reaper was accounted for.
Until the Head Captain remembered there was another Soul Reaper, a substitute, as well as their former Captains Kisuke Urahara. Though he doubted the Soul Prince could be a human with immense Spirit Energy, it was best to be absolutely certain. He sent a Hell Butterfly to summon the teen and ex-Captain and waited. Hopefully Ichigo Kurosaki wouldn't be too terribly busy with his college life and would arrive shortly. It had been three years since he regained his powers and the human-turned-Soul Reaper was finally settling into both lives; that of his normal one and that of his role as a Soul Reaper.
He turned to the windows as the Spiritual Pressure of several Soul Reapers rose in various directions, meaning the tests had started. He wondered what else would be hidden away in the icy text of the book currently in Toshiro's hands.
Said Captain was reading rapidly through the information, completely absorbed in the book. After the initial information about the Soul King and his duties, as well as the details of the Soul King's Realm, through which Toshiro had passed over, he found that there were records of each Soul King dating back even before the Thirteen Court Guard Squads was established and when humans were still in the Dark Ages and living like savages. To match with the times, the first Soul King looked like an intelligent caveman of all things.
As he skimmed through each profile, Toshiro noticed with interest that every Soul King had hair that was a variation of white; whether it be gray, silver or platinum blonde to the point of white. Perhaps that could be helpful, it would definitely narrow down the numbers. He didn't know everyone in his squad save for his seated officers and Lieutenant, but he had seen other people with gray, silver or bright blonde hair, and a few with hair nearly as white as his own. That also meant he was still a candidate, which he didn't like. He didn't really envy the position of Soul King.
"…the pride of rulers is marked by white." Toshiro whispered, remembering something Ruala had said before.
Using a discarded envelope as a temporary bookmark, Toshiro closed the book to once more view the two short lines on the back. He grabbed a blank sheet of paper and quickly wrote them down. He then wrote down the two lines Ruala had said to him in the forest.
"The hand of royals is the key, the power of spirits is the sight. Wisdom prefers the color teal to see, the pride of rulers is marked by white." He read aloud. "They rhyme…what does it all mean?"
He opened the book and searched through the profiles. They all had white, or semi-white, hair color to match the 'marked by white' part of the rhyme. As for teal…no, the several pictures of Soul Kings that were colored showed various colors, not teal. Then again it said wisdom preferred teal, not that it was. There were two or three Soul Kings with teal eyes, or colors close to teal, and they were considered 'wise men'.
He decided to leave out the teal for now and sent a message via butterfly to Rangiku about the hair color.
Out of curiosity, Toshiro flipped to the most recent entry, the one about their current Soul King. The pages were still fairly fresh, but there was no picture. It did, however, make note of his most recent major achievement.
The enlistment of a powerful being, not quite a Soul Reaper but as strong as one, by the name of Ruala Nakryin.
Toshiro slammed the book shut, startled. The girl who had been hiding in the shadows and giving him hints was a member of the Royal Guard? It was one thing for her to be a member of the Royal Family, but to be one of the immensely powerful guardians of the Soul King and be sneaking around the Soul Society was impossible. And she wasn't a Soul Reaper. Only Soul Reapers who had made some kind of huge impact on the Soul Society were allowed into the Royal Guard, usually Captains. If her enlistment was recent and none of the other Captains had heard of her then she truly had never been a Soul Reaper.
But then what was she?
Better yet, what did she want with him?
Eureka! He figured it out! A lot of you are probably like "About damn time, Shiro-chan!" XD So it finally clicked with him that he's the Soul Prince and now things get interesting. Enjoy!