The next morning, Toshiro woke up and half expected to see his office or hear Rangiku moaning about her hangover. When he saw a large room covered in scarlet in silver his heart sank slightly. He had hoped everything was a dream. He thought he'd heard Momo's voice while he was sleeping and tried to talk to her, but he was too tired to get very far. He did, however, hear her tone shift to relief before she vanished, meaning she must have sensed him somehow and knew he was alright.
A ball of fur at the back of his neck brought him out of his thoughts and made him stiffen, eyes snapping open as he sat up in alarm. His sudden movement made Sofia flip over onto her back and startle her awake. With quick reflexes she flipped herself back over and sat on his pillow, promptly beginning to groom herself as though nothing had happened.
"What are you doing?" He asked, a single eyebrow rising in question.
"Grooming." The cat replied cheekily.
"I meant what are you doing here?" He rolled his eyes.
"Still grooming." She replied with a smirk.
"Fine. WHY are you still here?"
"What, don't like my company?" Sofia stopped grooming and sauntered over to the now empty bedside table. Toshiro noticed his haori was gone but said nothing of it, deciding it was better to forget about it than keep it and dwell on the memories of the past.
"I just want to know why you're here." He sighed as the cat continued to dodge his question.
"Ruala asked me to stay here." Sofia finally replied honestly. "Now come on, we need to go see Shutara and see if she's got something for you to wear."
"What's wrong with my uniform?"
"Can't exactly see your father dressed like a simple Soul Reaper." Sofia replied, leaping onto his lap from the table.
At the tiny cat's words, Toshiro's eyes widened. He hadn't expected to see his father so soon, not when he was still expecting to wake up to Matsumoto and run his squad as Captain.
"Let's go, prince, Shutara takes forever with her outfits. Always has to be perfect with her." Sofia said sarcastically and crawled around behind Hitsugaya and pushed on his back, trying to get him to move. He didn't budge, her tiny frame hardly managing to move him at all.
Curious, her tiny white head peeked back around to see Toshiro's face. Her violet eyes were unable to clearly see what it was the young prince was feeling like her master could. However, her animal senses told her he was nervous and somewhat afraid.
"Your father isn't all that bad." Sofia soothed. "In fact, he tends to be a big softie. He's a wise man, but he always seems to smile."
When Toshiro still didn't budge, Sofia huffed and sat beside him.
"Just so you know, if you don't go to Shutara, she comes to you. Trust me you don't want her to do that." Sofia grinned as Toshiro finally looked at her. "Ruala took your haori to her last night. She'll probably have it with her, though it will look different."
"I don't care about it anymore." Toshiro sighed. "Alright fine, I'll go."
"Good! Time's a wasting!" The cat leaped off of the bed, Toshiro following after her as she trotted back down the hall and into the main room.
The young prince took a moment to calm his nerves to the sound of the tiny creek and rustling greenery. Once done he caught back up to Sofia and through a set of sliding doors leading to another long hallway, though this one had more turns and far more rooms. The white and brown cat led her charge into a room filled with cloth and sewing equipment. Shutara was there, her back to them and obviously focused on something. Sofia meowed loudly and the woman halfway turned to see them.
"Morning, young prince." She smiled before returning to her work. "I'll be with you in just a moment, allow me to finish this."
"What are you doing?" Toshiro questioned, still sounding rather quiet.
"You'll see in a moment." Senjumaru replied mysteriously.
Being a rather nosy cat, Sofia leaped onto the table to investigate.
"No pets." Senjumaru snapped at her, pausing in her work to attempt to push the cat off the table. Toshiro thought he caught sight of something white with icy blue before the woman stood back in front of it.
"I'm a Royal Guard too." The cat hissed back, refusing to let the woman push her off.
"No, you're Ruala's pet. Pardon me for the tone but I don't want your fur getting all over this."
Sofia snorted at her but finally leapt down, sauntering back over to Toshiro and sitting next to him. Her fur seemed ruffled in annoyance and the white haired child smiled slightly at the cat's display of attitude. She was nothing like her master.
Toshiro took a moment to glance around the room. It was well lit with bright lamps and the room extended further back where several other women were busy sewing together clothing. All the cloth was very high priced fabric from what he could tell, as well as his experience in the Kuchiki Manor, and to know he would soon find such things common actually made him nervous. For a boy who'd lived in the Rukongai most of his young life, having to get used to the life of a noble flipped everything he knew upside down.
"Here, done." Senjumaru turned around with something in her arms.
The young prince realized it was his haori, but now it was completely different. The number on the back was gone – Sofia did warn him that it had to be removed – and had been replaced with the symbol now lying invisible on his hand, the ice blue mark of his birthright, with intricate silver and black markings curling outwards from the brand along the back. Instead of the black diamonds along the bottom there was an icy blue dragon curling around lined in silver. The edges of the sleeves were also lined in silver.
"You…you did this in one night?" Toshiro asked, confounded.
"Piece of cake." Senjumaru smirked. "Now put it on."
Stepping over to him, the guardian placed the haori over top of his uniform, the newly decorated robe contrasting sharply to the plain black outfit.
"Thank me later, your father is waiting." Senjumaru winked at him. "Sofia, your turn."
The white cat nodded and led the way back outside, Toshiro following at a slow pace as he admired his new haori. They walked back into the main room before taking the third and final door leading out of it which opened into a study room of sorts, a desk piled with work sitting off in the corner and crimson lamps along the wall. The floor was dark wood, the walls a little lighter and giving off a homey feeling.
"Your father is in there." Sofia said to him, motioning to another sliding door just ahead with silver markings across the cherry wood. He had no idea what they meant.
"Are…are you coming with me?" Toshiro questioned the cat, his nervousness starting to show through a little. He was meeting the Soul King, his father; it was understandable he was nervous in Sofia's eyes.
"Don't be silly, this is your father." Sofia replied, swishing her tail. "The rest of us can only go in when he calls for us; you're the only one who can go in anytime. He's happy to see you."
And with that the white cat left Toshiro in the room by himself.
Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, something he practiced often in his Academy days, Toshiro slid the door open and stepped inside.
The room was even bigger than his, one side an open balcony with silver railing, thick crimson curtains at the edges. A small sakura tree rested nearby so that when the wind blew the pink petals dusted across the room – some were on the floor already. The floor was the same cherry wood that persisted throughout the level and there was various furniture scattered around – a large table atop a silver rug with two elegant chairs, two large dressers, a nightstand by the bed, and a desk off to the side with a few stacks of paper there.
Teal eyes were drawn to the large bed with crimson and silver sheets. A figure sat in it, lower half covered by the blankets, the upper half concealed by a silky crimson kimono with silver embroidery. He held all the grace Toshiro expected a king to have, sitting tall with hands folded neatly. The man's skin was pale, suggesting illness and dulling some of the grandeur of his posture. What drew Toshiro the most was the bright white hair that touched the man's shoulders, some spiking up a bit at the top, and crystal blue eyes swirled with emerald that mesmerized him.
Upon noticing the child enter, the man smiled softly at him, beckoning the child over. Unsure what else to do, Toshiro obliged and stepped closer, stopping a foot or two from the bed, and bowed.
"Now now, you have no need to bow to me." The man's voice was husky with age but soft, making the nervousness fade from Toshiro's mind.
While his nervousness was gone, he was still unsure how to react. He stood once more and looked at the man who was his father with something akin to desperation, making the king frown. He wondered if perhaps the white haired child was scared of him.
"Do not fear me, child. I promise you, you are quite safe here."
"It's not that…" Toshiro replied, cursing himself mentally for how shaky his voice sounded.
"Ah…allow me to greet you properly, then." The king smiled gently again. "I am the Soul King, Satoru Hitsugaya. Welcome home, my son."
Meant to post this yesterday but I was away from home all day ^^'. Went to a flea market and found a sword booth; they had so many zanpaktous! I felt like a kid in a candy store, i could recognize a lot of them. I really wanted Hyorinmaru but i'm broke T^T. Anyway, Shiro meets his dad! I saved the whole conversation for the next chapter to preserve the feels ^^. You can kinda get the gist of what his dad's like in here, though, and I looked hard to find a name...sadly, I forgot what it meant, but it's supposed to fit his personality. I'll look it up and mention it in the next chapter in the comments. Enjoy!