Sofia had become a small salamander, immune to flame thanks to the bright green flames surrounding her, and was watching the young prince struggle to fight off the heat. She wanted to give him some confidence, to tell him that these flames would have already incinerated any normal Soul Reaper. His fellow Captains would have already fallen to the blaze, not that the fire wolf would have allowed them in anyway. But she couldn't say a word, could only watch him struggle.

The boy didn't even have Hyorinmaru to offer him advice; he was purely alone in this trial. But it was necessary. One didn't rise to power and keep it with a crutch to lean on. Toshiro's father didn't even have a zanpaktou anymore and had managed to drive off Kamai's army time and time again, just long enough to let his people recover and hold the worlds together. The missing sword was the reason Toshiro's father was dying, though. He was exhausting himself.

"I was told you were strong." The fire wolf sighed and Toshiro glared at him. "They praised your position as youngest Captain, went on about how you'll be a mighty Soul King considering the power you already have. But if this is what they meant, I fear the end of days will come when your father lies dead."

"You're not exactly making this easy." Toshiro snapped back, forcing himself to his feet.

"Actually, I am." The wolf smirked as Toshiro froze, startled. "I come from Ruala's land, a land where the elementals rule. I am one of those elementals, Blazefang. Fire like this is as easy to create as breathing."

'This isn't even his best and I can hardly stand!?'

"You're obviously not trying to find your power if these candle flames can evaporate you power. Prove to me that ice can conquer fire; prove to me that water can douse my pure flame!"

Eyes narrowing, Toshiro released as much of his power as he could. If he had done so in the Soul Society, the sky would be dark with clouds and a quarter of the city would be frozen over, a blizzard raging around him wherever he walked. It would have killed any Soul Reaper too weak to handle his Spiritual Pressure.

But in the presence of the inferno around him all that stirred was a bitter wind that quickly turned hot again. It was obvious he was trying as the brand on his hand glowed a little brighter than before, an icy white light radiating from his body.

"Your ice is weak." Blazefang noted. "Like putting a single ice cube in a campfire. It will only melt and become nothing. Become the blizzard; make my fire look like a candle placed in the Arctic."

Toshiro had never tried to make his Spiritual Pressure so strong. He'd always been afraid that if he had he would freeze over the Soul Society. He was afraid he would hurt people he didn't want to hurt. He was quick to use Bankai but only because it gave him a little better control.

Here, however, he had to let his power rise or he would be consumed by fire.

Blazefang watched the boy carefully. It was beginning to cool down but not nearly enough. He wasn't finding the wellspring of power locked inside of him since birth. It was obvious they boy had chained it down even more, afraid he would hurt others. For good reason, too. The power of the Soul King was far too much for simple Soul Reapers, and the young prince was a fast learner.

"Deep inside your soul is a power like no other." Blazefang said in a clam tone. Toshiro opened one eye to look at the wolf, having shut them tight as he tried to force out his power. "When you went to the Rukongai it was locked away, fearing that even as a child you would damage others around you with that power. It was a precaution worth taking, considering how fast your powers grew even without your true strength.

"But now is the time to unlock it. If I must tear apart the chains binding it down I will, but you will not like it. Unlock it yourself, and watch as you earn a power far beyond anything you could imagine. Cast aside your fear of it and embrace it!"

'It's…locked away?' Hitsugaya closed his eyes again, mentally searching for anything. He recalled a dark part of his Inner World that he never went to. Hyorinmaru would stray away from it, as uncertain about it as he was, but would sometimes be seen staring into it. Could the ice dragon have found a way to draw upon that power? Is that why he was such a fast learner?

He couldn't exactly meditate and go to his Inner World in the middle of this blaze, so he had to find a way to unlock it without the usual method. Besides, his Inner World seemed to be as wild as outside, snow flying everywhere. His dragon was nowhere to be seen from the blurry image he could see without diving into the icy landscape himself.

'How do I get to it?'

The blaze seemed to be pushing down on him. Was Blazefang making his fire stronger? He pushed against the fire until it let up, but he was starting to feel tired. If he didn't find a way to get to the power the wolf had told him about he'd be toast, literally.

'I can't lose…' He tried harder, he needed that power. 'If I can't even make it past the first trial…I'm hopeless. Hyorinmaru would never speak to me again for being so weak.'

Blazefang lifted his head, ears perked. He could smell water…from where? He knew the boy's power utilized water in the air, but the tiny ice circle he'd managed earlier was already evaporated and dried out. There should be no water on this platform. The wolf grinned…the young prince was making it. He made the fire stronger and saw Toshiro grimace.

'Am I getting weaker?' He pushed back as much as he could only for it to weigh down on him once more. 'Dammit! Why can't I find it?'

He opened his eyes to see what the wolf was doing, but saw only blackness. He could hear the sound of the roaring flames, feel its pressure. But he seemed to be in darkness, floating in the air. He could not see what he heard and felt.

'What's going on?'

A cold wind brushed past him and he looked forward. The wind he felt inside, the same as when Hyorinmaru touched him while he was still interacting with reality.

'Could this be…that dark area in my Inner World?' He pushed towards it. The temperature got colder as he went, getting him excited. Had he found his power, the one locked away since his birth?

He blinked, finding himself standing in front of blank black door in the middle of nowhere. At least he could stand on solid ground now, stepping towards the new obstacle. He wondered what he was supposed to do with the door. It had no handle nor could it be pushed aside, considering it was firmly attached to the ground by shadows.

'If this is the power of a Soul King, what I inherited from my father…' he looked down at his right hand, the icy brand glowing faintly there, 'then it needs proof of my birthright.'

He put his hand to the door, hoping that would work. He faintly remembered something Ruala had once said. The hand of royals is the key…perhaps her prophecies did have multiple meanings. Then…the power of spirits is the sight…despite it being as high as he could release in reality, he let his Spiritual Pressure flare higher, mentally this time.

The symbol on his hand glowed pure white now, a copy appearing in a larger form on the door. He moved his hand to the center and now the one on the door glowed white.

'I did it!' The door vanished and light flooded the darkness of his Inner World.

Blazefang took a few steps back as the tiny wisps of Spiritual Pressure around Hitsugaya suddenly became thick beams of light. He howled loudly and his flames stretched higher into the sky. The floor began to glow white hot and Sofia in her salamander form was beginning to feel suppressed by the white hot flames.

She jumped up and used her tiny fangs to bite the wolf's ear as a clear message: don't push him too hard.

"He's only beginning to show his true powers." Blazefang replied and lit himself ablaze as well.

Toshiro opened his eyes, no longer struggling against the flames despite their intensity. Much like Ichigo's eyes glowed light blue when he exerted a lot of his power, Toshiro's had gone from teal to icy white, matching the color of his Spiritual Pressure as it rose above him in an icy blaze.

"Your blizzard is still lacking, young prince." Blazefang goaded. His fire wasn't out yet, Toshiro needed to use his new power to douse the flames.

"You wanted proof that ice could conquer fire." Toshiro stated calmly. The blazing wolf grinned. "Here is your proof."

He held his hand in front of him before thrusting it to the side. In response, a bitter wind stirred in the air and began to suffocate the white flames. As the temperature cooled, Toshiro was able to summon the water to him and froze the floor over, dulling it back to black beneath the fire wolf's feet. Steam rose as the flames on Blazefang's paws fought against the ice covering the platform.

Toshiro turned to the flames circling the platform. He'd never felt so powerful, but he was careful not to let it get to his head. All he had to do was put out the fire, nothing more. Even without Hyorinmaru, the ice followed his every thought. He held his hand out like he was using a Kido spell and watched with silent fascination as ice shot up from the ground in an icy wave and enveloped the inferno. Steam rose as the two opposite elements fought, but eventually Hitsugaya's power won out and the room became deathly cold.

"I recall only one other Soul King to have ice powers like yours." Blazefang said and Toshiro turned back to him, lowering the intensity of his power. "I stayed out of the Soul King's realm during his reign, but I'd heard of him. I believe he was an ancestor of yours."

The young prince did not reply and Sofia could see he was beginning to tire out from how much energy he'd used. He may have found where his true power came from but that didn't mean he was used to using it. Morphing into her cat form to both stay warm and speak, she trotted towards him.

"Your Spirit Energy has been raised quite a bit, perhaps you should rest." She offered.

Though he seemed to think about it, Toshiro eventually shook his head.

"You told me putting out your flame was only the first step." He looked pointedly at Blazefang. "Fighting you was the next."

"I did say that, yes. But you have only just retrieved your true power. Even Lady Ruala would have you rest now. Get used to your new power and recover what you've used up. I will be waiting."

"I'm going to at least pass the first trial today."

"I did not expect you to even get this far." The wolf let his flames die down on his body. "You've surpassed my expectations, Soul Prince. But…I do not think you're worthy of king yet. Not until you can prove to me your power in a fight with me. If you think my trial is difficult, you will not survive the next one."

"Hitsugaya, you can't raise your Spirit Energy any higher until you can handle how much you have now." Sofia warned, concerned. The young prince still seemed ready to fight at any given moment. "You may have unlocked it but your body can only handle so much at a time. You need to rest. My master expected this training to take several weeks even putting into consideration how fast your power grew in the soul Society."

Hesitation. Good. Blazefang summoned the dark portal and Toshiro turned to it before glancing back at the fire wolf.

"Tomorrow." He promised the beast. "Tomorrow I beat you."

"If you can, Ice Prince."

The white haired child stepped into the darkness, Sofia close behind him, and the fire wolf grinned. He liked this ice wielding prince much better than the last one. His ancestor's reign had been a grueling one indeed.

"I look forward to the day you become king, Toshiro Hitsugaya."

Alright, first part of the trial done with, hehe. So Shiro now has more power than ever and will still be growing it over the course of these trials. After all, the King has to be the strongest of all. So yeah, Toshiro managed to douse the fires, but now he's gotta fight the wolf. After some sleep, of course.