"So…how are we getting over there?" Hitsugaya had followed his small cat guide to the top of the palace through a quick trick of the stairs. They were facing the direction of Ruala's home.
"Flying, of course." Sofia grinned before beginning to glow.
"What kind of animals can you turn into?" Toshiro muttered to himself as he watched the once tiny cat morph into something rather large, at least twice as tall as he was.
His question was answered as Sofia became a white furred creature with four short legs with brown paws and a long furry tail that ended in a fan of brown-tipped white feathers. Her neck was a long with a canine head, long ears tipped in brown. What's more, she had large wings of white feathers. She looked like a furry dragon of sorts.
Violet eyes, same as always, looked at the young prince with a glance that said 'now get on my back'.
"Are you sure?" A little skeptical about climbing onto the creature's back, Toshiro took a step back instead.
Sofia rolled her eyes and instead reached over him, grabbing the back of his haori, a plain white one this time with short sleeves and dark red lining, gently with her mouth.
"Hey!" He objected to being picked up.
She set him down just behind her wing joints and he shifted a little to be more comfortable, gripping tightly onto the soft fur. She sent him a look accompanied with a growl that told him 'pull any out and I'll skin you alive'. He loosened his hold slightly.
Without warning, Sofia lifted off the top of the palace and dove downward past the edge. Toshiro pressed himself against her furry body so the wind wouldn't try and rip him off, his years of flying in his Bankai form aiding him in remaining calm. His only discomfort now was that he couldn't control where he was flying. Once Sofia was going fast enough she spread her wings and the wind carried her back up.
Slight movements of her wings and tail allowed her to race towards the forested kingdom of her master. They'd be there in moments, a minute tops at their speed. Sofia looked back to check on her rider, surprised to see he was rather calm about things. Most flyers were either screaming or laughing their heads off. He was looking around in a sort of fascination at the landscape from this view but didn't seem all that worried about the flying.
Deciding to have a little fun, Sofia tucked in a wing and rolled to the side, feeling his grip on her fur tighten.
"Sofia!" He yelled, not happy with the change in flight.
He felt her laugh beneath him and scowled. This is why he preferred flying on his own. The furry dragon suddenly launched herself upward, climbing higher and higher into the sky.
'She's trying to have a little fun, join in.' Hyorinmaru offered, rather enjoying the flight.
'I thought I was supposed to be training!'
'Maybe she's trying to help you loosen up, then. Enjoy it while you can, I know you love to fly.'
'Not like this, she's crazy.' Sofia stopped climbing and twisted through the air, making him a little dizzy. He shook it off quickly but was finding it harder to deny that it was a little fun.
'Oh just relax and enjoy the ride. Not every day you get to ride a dragon. And don't bring up Bankai, because you're using your own wings, not flying on an actual dragon.' Toshiro silenced. 'Good. Now, have some fun, Master.'
'You're crazy.'
Shifting himself a little he realized he could tell what Sofia was about to do, feeling the movement of her muscles beneath him. He saw her turn back to him with a grin and this time, he grinned back.
And then she dove.
Straight down to the forested kingdom below. A lightning quick dive downward to a miniature lake near the center of the floating forest. The dragon was playing a game of chicken. Smirking, he held on tighter, refusing to tell her to pull up. The lake got bigger and bigger, until Toshiro thought they'd actually crash into it.
Sofia flared her wings out and her feet skimmed the surface of the water, the force of wind made by their speeding through the air creating a wave. That was close. Toshiro found himself laughing, the close call having scrambled his thoughts. Animals near the water darted away as Sofia brushed past.
Finally she slowed down, flapping her wings several times to slow their descent before landing gracefully in a field. Ruala was there, smiling softly, along with a large black and brown wolf. The wolf darted away quickly when the girl motioned for him to leave.
"I see Sofia took you for quite the ride." Ruala giggled, pointing out his spikier than usual hair. He ran a hand through it to try and calm down the strays before shrugging and leaving it alone.
"I had no control over that." Toshiro replied, returning to his passive expression.
The furry dragon snorted before shifting into a small white bird and perching on her master's shoulder. She chirped something and Ruala grinned knowingly.
"Alright then, I suppose we should get started." Ruala bowed her head. "Follow me."
"What are we doing?" Toshiro questioned as the Royal Guard made her way towards the single mountain. It was small for a mountain but still impressive.
"A technique I learned to raise Spirit Energy." She replied. After speaking to Kirio, Ruala seemed quieter than before, and he walked a little closer to hear her. "It will be difficult."
"It's something I need to do, though."
She simply nodded this time.
They stopped at the base of the mountain where a thin and winding trail wormed its way up and around to what he guessed was the top. It seemed like it would take two or three hours at most to climb. With Flash step, though, he guessed it would take only a few minutes. The mountain was only a few yards taller than the Sokyoku Hill if he judged it right.
"You must make your way to the top alone." Ruala said and he turned to her with surprise. "There will be trials, each one will test you and help you raise your Spirit Energy. You may not even make it to the top today."
Sofia leaped off her master's shoulder and flitted around in front of him with small tweets.
"She can guide you, but she will not help you with the trials." Ruala explained.
Teal eyes turned to the mountain path. The stones seemed sharp, meaning he definitely didn't want to hit one, and the path long. He had no doubt Ruala's magic would make it much longer, and the trials would be daunting. He took a deep breath and prepared to start up the trail. Whether he wanted to or not, he had to become Soul King, and this was a start. He needed to get stronger.
A weight was lifted off his back and he was quick to realize that Hyorinmaru had been stolen from him.
"Hey!" He whipped around to face Ruala. A large bird snatched the blade from her hands and carried it up to the mountain.
"The first few trials must be done without your zanpaktou." Ruala explained, her voice a little higher than before. She was serious.
"You can't just take a Soul Reaper's zanpaktou!"
"Hitsugaya, you're the first Soul Prince to ever wield a zanpaktou at the start of their training. It wasn't until it was time for them to take the throne did they earn one. You must pass the same trials they did, but your advantage will end up disabling you. You cannot depend on Hyorinmaru for these trials."
He scowled at her, very upset with the circumstances. Most of his skill was with zanjutsu. He was adept at hand-to-hand combat, yes, but it wasn't his strong suit and Kido was just a fallback for him.
"Fine…" There was no point arguing anyway, considering his sword was now somewhere up in the mountains with a giant eagle.
"Be careful."
The young prince just sighed and looked ahead with his normal cold expression. He set out and Ruala watched him go, a frown on her face. His trust in her had just dropped significantly, but it had to be done. If he depended on the strength of his zanpaktou his Spirit Energy would not rise as it should in these trials.
"Watch him carefully, Sofia." Ruala whispered to the tiny bird. "There is a point where it cannot be raised anymore and he will only end up losing power. Don't let him exhaust himself to that point."
Chirping in reply, Sofia darted off before landing gently on the boy's shoulder, rustling her feathers so he knew she was there. He spared her a glance but kept moving up the path.
The walk up was silent save for the occasional chirp from Sofia at his shoulder or the distant cry of an animal. He'd sometimes kick a rock ahead of him, wondering when something would show up. He kept on alert for anything. Hyorinmaru was strangely silent, which unnerved him. Was the spirit not allowed to even speak with him either? He hated this already and hadn't even found the first trial.
Something up ahead caught his attention and Sofia lifted off his shoulder, flitting ahead of him. There was a rock jutting out from the mountainside and he ducked behind it before looking out ahead at what was blocking his path.
It was a wolf…or at least he thought it was. A bright red wolf sat in front of a door. What was the door doing in the middle of a mountain path? Whatever the case, the wolf was in his way. It had bright amber fire enveloping its orange paws, crimson fur dotted with black like coal. It had three tails that faded from red, to orange, to bright blazing yellow. A fiery yellow mane burned down its back.
The wolf looked calmly ahead with amber eyes like liquid flame, a smile on its foxlike face.
'Great, a fire wolf of some kind. My exact opposite.' Toshiro growled to himself.
He moved further behind the boulder, wondering what he was supposed to do here. He was an ice wielder without his zanpaktou up against a wolf made of fire. All the trials had something to do with raising his Spirit Energy. Could it be he needed to put out the wolf's fire somehow? But then what was through the door? The wolf seemed intelligent so perhaps it wouldn't attack on sight. Cautiously, he stepped out from behind the boulder and began moving towards the fiery creature.
It watched him approach calmly until he was a few feet away, where the boy stopped.
"I'm assuming you're the first trial." Toshiro said aloud. The fire wolf tilted its head before grinning.
"Correct. Show me proof of your birthright."
That was easy enough. Toshiro held his right hand up and let his power raise just enough to reveal the icy mark. The foxlike wolf nodded to show he saw.
"Your power is that of ice and water." The wolf said. "This is the first time I have had to do this trial for a Soul Prince, but I can be sure it will be difficult for you."
The wolf stood, Hitsugaya tensing, before kicking open the door behind it. Instead of seeing through to the other side of the path, there was darkness swirling inside the doorway. More of Ruala's magic, he guessed. The wolf stepped inside and Sofia flitted by only to go inside as well. He supposed he was meant to follow and, with a deep breath, stepped into the darkness.
The breath was knocked right out of him as he walked into a chamber surrounded by roaring flames. He felt like he was in the middle of the Head Captain's Shikai and thought this was pretty close to how Aizen, Ichimaru and Tosen felt when trapped by those same flames. To him, though, it was much worse.
The wolf watched him calmly from the center of the black platform. The door behind Toshiro vanished, leaving him no escape from the towering fires.
"If you can counter my fire with your ice, the first part of my trial is done." The wolf explained. "Then you shall fight with me."
It was everything Toshiro could do not to pass out from heat exhaustion right there. How was he supposed to put out such towering flames without Hyorinmaru's ice? Beginning to feel drained, he fell to his knees, letting his Spiritual Pressure flare as high as he could to try and douse the fire. But it was useless. The most ice he could make was a thin sheet in a tiny circle around him.
"I…I can't!" Toshiro snapped at the fire wolf.
"Your Spirit Energy is low." The wolf sighed. "How do the Soul Reapers raise their Spirit Energy?"
"Through meditation and training with their zanpaktou."
"What a roundabout way." The wolf snorted, sitting down in the center. "Every Soul King before you had more Spirit Energy than all thirteen Captains combined when they first earned their zanpaktou."
"How?" Toshiro began to cough as smoke started coming down from the ceiling in wisps. With a jerk of the wolf's head the black air rose back up, allowing him to breathe.
"Sheer willpower."
Teal eyes widened. That was possible?
"Through force of will, past Soul Kings raised their Spirit Energy. It took time, but it was feasible. I'm sure any decent Soul Reaper can tell you they felt more powerful than before after fighting, forcing out their power, not sitting around chatting with their inner spirits."
The young prince thought about that. There was a perfect example of what the wolf was saying; Ichigo Kurosaki. The boy had a high amount of Spirit Energy from the beginning, sure, but Toshiro had never seen someone learn how to control and use it as quickly as the Substitute did. When he'd asked about it in a sort of offhanded way, Ichigo had just shrugged and replied that he pushed on, because he HAD to get stronger. He didn't give up until he got the power he wanted, and to his luck that power rose willingly to his call.
But Toshiro had thought it was just luck, tricks played by Kisuke to train the half Soul Reaper into a strong enough warrior to fight Aizen.
Then there was Bankai training. To earn that power, zanpaktous forced their masters to fight for it. Yet he still couldn't believe that all it took was willpower.
Perhaps he shouldn't say it like that. Willpower alone was a complicated affair. He just needed to be absolute like Kurosaki was. He needed this power or the worlds would collapse. If he could just find the power sleeping within him like Kirio had said, this fire should be no problem. He'd mastered Bankai faster than anyone except Ichigo, had become the youngest Captain in Soul Society's history. Surely he could put out a fire with willpower.
His ice circle melted and he scowled. This was not easy.
Not much to see of the kingdom, I know, but Shiro's a busy prince. He's got power to awaken and not much time to do it. Blazefang was a wolf I made a long time ago to represent Fire in a story of mine that ended up getting trashed, but I kept the character. Good thing, too, he turned out to be useful. Anyway, the rest of the trial will continue into the next chapter. Enjoy!