Toshiro could not sleep that night.
'I'll be ten times stronger than my Bankai?' He put his head in his hands. That was an insane amount of power. Even Ichigo probably couldn't top that…well, give him three days with a doll made by Kisuke and he might. But still!
The Greenleaf Family, of which the Head of House seemed to be out at the moment, offered him their guest room for the few weeks he'd be training so he wouldn't have to go back and forth all the time. Compared to the others he'd met in the palace, they were a little more carefree in the way they spoke to him. They still called him prince or sometimes even Your Highness, to which he had spat out what he was drinking and gaped, but they said it in a more informal manner. He put it down to their Celtic roots, though he doubted all of them were this informal with nobles. It reminded him of Momo and Rangiku and…
…and Karin.
He still regretted not getting to say goodbye to her. She was probably swearing up a storm at home. He'd seen her do that first-hand the last time one of her friends left somewhere without telling her, and seeing as she considered him a friend whether he wanted her to or not she was probably doing it again.
Not like he could visit her now. Until he had better control over his new power, he'd probably crush her to the pavement the minute he got within range of her. If he remembered right she'd be about sixteen or even seventeen now, around the same age Ichigo learned to use his powers. He knew she had pretty high amounts of power herself for a human her age, just like her brother, and he wondered if she'd developed any Soul Reaper powers. Not that she'd tell him, of course, or her brother.
'You're daydreaming about her again.' Hyorinmaru rumbled.
'You act like I do that a lot, which I don't.' Toshiro argued.
'More than you think, master.'
'Yeah, right.' He sighed. 'I'm just wondering if she has Soul Reaper powers. At least the Soul Society won't make a big deal out of it considering her dad is a Soul Reaper and her brother saved the world.'
'Let's hope she isn't too strong or her dad might just be feeling her wrath at your absence.'
'She beats him to a pulp anyway. He's too soft on his daughters.'
'Well, it's understandable with Yuzu.'
'No one threatens that Kurosaki unless they want the other three breathing down their necks.' He shivered, remembering Rangiku telling him of what Ichigo had done to a creep attempting to lure the innocent Kurosaki twin into an alley to take advantage of her. Needless to say the man didn't leave the hospital because he was afraid the Substitute would find him again.
'You should really get some sleep.' His dragon said.
'Alright already.' Sighing again, Toshiro lay down and attempted to get some sleep. 'Maybe…maybe after I can control my Spirit Energy I'll go see Karin…just to say goodbye, at least, so she's not mad at me.'
The ice dragon wanted to make a jab at how he was worried about her being mad at him but kept quiet, knowing the young prince needed his sleep. With how tired he had been after coming off the mountain he could tell these trials would be hard on him, and he wanted to be back in his master's hands as much as Toshiro wanted him back.
Toshiro was awoken by a small brown paw poking his cheek.
"Stop it, Sofia." He grumbled, eyes still shut.
"Ooh, I knew you were a bad morning person." The she-cat snickered. "Last time you didn't even like that I was in the same room as you."
One teal eye opened to glare at her and with a final foxlike grin she leaped off of him and sauntered out the door, tail high in victory.
"Damn cat." Toshiro growled but got out of bed anyway. He wanted to get a move on with the trials.
The twins, as he'd learned when speaking to them at dinner, greeted him kindly and with a lot of energy. Curse these forest people; they always seemed to be perky at dawn. After they fed him breakfast, Ruala led him back to the base of the mountain.
"The spirit of the first trial will begin his fight with you today." Ruala said quietly, as always.
"How come you speak like you don't know who the first spirit is?" Toshiro asked. "Didn't you also take these trials?"
The girl blinked, surprised, before thinking about how to answer.
"The spirits are always different." She replied. "The one who will challenge you most in that trial will be the one to greet you. Who is your first spirit?"
"A fire wolf called Blazefang."
"Ah…" She gave a tiny smile. "Fire against ice. Blazefang taught me outside the trials, he was not a part of it."
"So who was your first spirit?"
"A shadow beast who only called himself Hunter. I was afraid of darkness when I first started these trials."
"Then I'm guessing the source of your power is light?" Toshiro pointed out.
She nodded.
"Your father calls it Hope."
"I remember…I guess I shouldn't leave him waiting." With Sofia in her bird form once more and on his shoulder, the young prince set out on the familiar path.
It was simple enough to get back to the familiar door with Blazefang resting in front of it.
"Your determined air has increased." The wolf grinned. "Perhaps you can defeat me in one day. Don't lose that cold fire of yours, prince. It may be the only thing keeping you alive."
Narrowing his eyes at the wolf, Toshiro said nothing. Blazefang stood and kicked the doors open again and they returned to the platform. The ice had melted but there was no fire either, small white lights around the edge and the wolf's own fire being their only light in the darkness.
"Now…" Blazefang turned around partly to face the young prince. "You showed me that water could douse my flame in our last encounter. But you have not yet proven that ice can conquer fire."
The wolf became coated in flames, bright white flames that lit up the room and made it hard to look straight at him.
"Show me what your power can do." Blazefang continued, crouching low as a wolf would do before pouncing. Toshiro became tense and held his arms up as though to fight using hand-to-hand. "Show me the power of the Ice Prince."
Fiery pressure began to weigh down on his body and Toshiro instinctively raised his Spiritual Pressure to counter it. This would be a battle of Spiritual Pressure, it seemed, whose was stronger. To prove it was his he would need to find the source. Scowling, Toshiro closed his eyes to attempt to search for it.
He sensed the wolf leap and quickly opened his eyes, dodging out of the way. Looks like there was more to the battle than he thought.
"Do not hesitate to harm me, prince. As long as fire exists so shall I. You can defeat me, but you cannot kill me. Now fight! Let your power out from its source and give me your worst!"
The wolf snarled at him and leaped again. By reflex, Toshiro reached back for his sword only to remember Hyorinmaru was at the top of the mountain, waiting for him to complete the trials. Since that option was out, he attempted a repeat of yesterday, letting his Spiritual Pressure flare wildly, wincing slightly as his body began to feel heavy. He wasn't used to that amount of power yet.
But it backed the wolf off as a blast of cold hit him, knocking him back a few feet.
"Stronger, prince." Blazefang growled. "That little chill won't stop me."
"I can't handle that much!" Toshiro growled back.
"You're holding it in, that's why."
"No, I can't handle that much power running through my body at once."
The wolf lifted out of his crouch, head high.
"There is still hesitation in your heart." Blazefang said calmly and Toshiro frowned, eyes narrowing. What did he mean? Lilianna had said the same thing. "You're not ready for this part of the trial, not until you are rid of what is making you hesitate."
The wolf flicked his three tails to the side and the dark portal opened.
"No, wait!" Toshiro scowled. "I'm not giving up that easily!"
"There is something you are afraid of, prince, something that prevents you from using your power to its full potential. Your body may not be used to that much power, but it will not hurt you. You will be sore, like yesterday, but you will not be beyond recovery.
"No, something else makes you hesitate…" The wolf stepped closer to Toshiro. "What is it you fear, Ice Prince? Why are you afraid to become stronger?"
Toshiro did not answer at first, only glared at the wolf. His Spiritual Pressure had fallen again, making him approachable by the wolf of flames. Keeping his space, however, Blazefang awaited an answer patiently. The boy had to find these things out on his own to move past them.
"Nakryin told me I could go back to the Soul Society to visit my friends." Toshiro said quietly after a moment. "But…when I spoke to the dragon Lilianna, she said my power would make me at least ten times stronger than I was before at my best. If that's true…going back to the Soul Society…is impossible."
"Yes, without control you cannot return or risk hurting those you care about." Blazefang nodded. Toshiro turned away, sadness in his eyes. "But listen closely prince, you can control it."
The boy did not look back at him and the wolf sighed.
"Do you remember Sosuke Aizen?"
The fire of hate that suddenly burned within those teal depths made it obvious that yes, he remembered Aizen.
"When he became merged with the Hogyoku, his power was so much that no one could sense his Spiritual Pressure. It was so all consuming they felt he didn't have any at all. That is what your power will be like to them.
"However," Blazefang was quick to bring Toshiro attention back to him as the boy scoffed and turned away, "With control, you can lower it down enough so they can sense you, so you don't hurt them. With finite enough control you can lock your power away and unlock it at will in order to protect the ones you care about. There is hope of returning to your friends."
Looking a little more hopeful than before, Toshiro turned back to the wolf.
"What about humans?" This question surprised the wolf. He had expected Soul Reaper friends; he had not known there was a human friend.
"If this friend has high enough Spirit Energy of their own, they should be fine. Who is this human friend, pray tell?"
"A Kurosaki."
"Ah, the Kurosakis." Blazefang grinned. It made more sense now. "I have heard of the famous Ichigo Kurosaki. But considering the fact that you're worried about hurting one of them and Ichigo has enough power of his own to survive even here in the Soul King's Realm, I can assume you mean one of his sisters?"
"Yes. We met when I was stationed in the World of the Living and, whether I want her to or not, she considers me a friend."
Blazefang grinned knowingly at that before standing and walking back to the center.
"Being a Kurosaki she shouldn't have a problem being near you if you control it well enough as you would with your fellow Soul Reapers. Now, stop hesitating and let out the blizzard!"
Clenching his hands into fists, Toshiro hardened his gaze at the opponent and released his hold on his power. Hot and cold air fought for dominance between wolf and prince.
"Find the source, prince." Blazefang reminded, crouching low again. "Come at me with all of your power!"
Nope! No fight for you! ^^ Three more chapters and then Karin comes in, I swear! I know it's taking forever but that chapter will focus on her ^^ and then there's a time skip... stuff happens...yeah. Well, anyway, Shiro is now on his way to powering up. He's just gotta get past the flame wolf...and his own hesitation ;) Enjoy!