Chapter two people!
- Ice Changes the Story -
In the depths of the Rukongai, where those who are not Shinigami or a part of the Noble families live, a palpable tension hung in the air. Since Toshiro's arrival, the Seireitei has been on high alert for days, if not weeks, their senses attuned to any anomaly in the spiritual realm. One night, the Thirteen Division had been set to patrol an area in District 2 in the West Rukongai, Dragon.
Dragon is a District where the people within believe in the legends of the Heavenly Guardian and how Hyorinmaru was his partner. The district was named in the honour of the Heavenly Guardian, it was one of the very few districts that did not hate on Shinigami.
Further away from his squad members, Jushiro Ukitake was patrolling alone a little further away from the district, in between District 2 and 3. His frail form moved through the dark grass, guided by the bright moonlight. Each footstep crunched against the grass, occasion twig, and mud. But as he continued, his illness had other plans.
A sudden wave of dizziness washed over him as he started coughing up blood, his vision blurring at the edges. Jushiro stumbled, his hand instinctively reached out to steady himself against the rough and lumpy textures of a nearby tree. His breath came in ragged gasps, the weight of his sickness bearing down upon, his lungs tightening from the lack of oxygen from coughing so much.
As soon as he landed on the grass, unconscious, a pair of feet came up to Jushiro.
As consciousness slowly returned to him, Jushiro found himself enveloped in a warmth that seemed to seep into his aching bones. Blinking groggily, he attempted to focus himself, his senses gradually coming back into focus. The soft crackle of a nearby fire danced in the air, casting a flickering glow across the small, intimate space that surrounded him.
His eyes drifted across the room, taking in the humble surroundings of the makeshift hut. It was a place where boundaries blurred effortlessly; the boundaries between a bedroom, seating area, and kitchen melded seamlessly into one another. Yet, despite its simplicity, there was an undeniable charm to the space, a homely ambiance that whispered of comfort and solace.
Lying on a soft futon, Jushiro shifted slightly, feeling the cool touch of a small bag of ice resting gently against his burning forehead. He noted the careful arrangement of his surroundings-the crackling fire casting a warm glow, the cosy proximity of his resting place to the hearth, a silent guardian against the chill of the night.
"Where… Am I?" Jushiro croaked out, confused about where he was. He thought he was hallucinating as he couldn't sense anyone.
Suddenly a voice spoke up, cold and young. "You shouldn't move, you'll only make yourself feel even more shit than you do right now."
Jushiro's turquoise eyes shot straight to where the voice is. He blinked in surprise when he noticed someone at the kitchen, cutting up some fresh herbs at the kitchen counter.
The person was a child. From Jushiro's view from the back, the child has the purest white hair, more white than his own, spiky and messy yet it looked so soft, like a fluffy pile of snow. The view of the skin was tanned, like the child has been outside in the sun for too long. Hanging on his slim and small body was a dull purple kimono, the fabric thin and loose, the sleeves were long gone. As the child turned his head to the side to look back at Jushiro, Jushiro felt a cold pierce through his soul. The eyes of the child were the same colour, turquoise, but the emotions of the eyes were different. Cold, very cold like ice, Jushiro could tell by gazing into the child's eyes that the child has been through a lot, but there was something about the child that made Jushiro's hairs stand on his arms and the back of his neck.
He couldn't tell what it was but his instincts told him that the child was not who he seems to portray himself as. However, Jushiro being the soft-hearted man he is to children, he put on a soft smile and sat up slightly, removing the small bag of ice off his forehead.
"Hello there." Jushiro said, politely. The child nodded. "You shouldn't move much, otherwise you'll collapse again from your fever."
"Do you live alone, little one?" Jushiro asked, noticing that there were belongings that belonged to the child. "Yeah." The child simply said, looking back at the herbs before he scooped them up with the knife and his hand to put in the pot of stew he had set on a smaller fire he had created in the kitchen.
"I found you unconscious close to my hut. I dragged you here so no monsters can harm you." The child spoke up. Jushiro blinked in surprise. "You dragged me here? But you seem so-" "Weak and tiny?" The child finished. "They do say looks can be deceiving."
"I could have left you out there if you're that ungrateful, Shinigami." The child stubbornly said. "None of your subordinates were close by, so your illness would've gotten a lot worse."
Jushiro just sighed, the soft smile still remained. "Thank you then, little one." The child poured the soup into a small bowel. "My name isn't "'little one", it's Toshiro Hitsugaya."
Jushiro's eyes lit up. "Our names are quite similar, Hitsugaya-kun." His smile grew. "My name is Jushiro Ukitake. It's nice to meet you, Hitsugaya-kun."
Toshiro smiled slightly, his memories of the Ukitake from his timeline before Ukitake died ran through his head. "He's still the same man he was before he died. That's a relief." Toshiro thought before his smile dropped. He picked the bowel up and a cup of herbal tea. He walked over to Jushiro and placed the bowel and cup onto the coffee table next to the futon. "It's nice to meet you too, Ukitake-san."
Jushiro watched Toshiro, concentrating on the child's reiryoku. Within an instant, Jushiro could feel his inner world freezing over but in reality, it wasn't. Toshiro's reiryoku was so cold, so icy, and powerful, a seated officer's level of power. Jushiro couldn't believe it.
The power within Toshiro's body was a power that should not be left unsupervised. However, Jushiro could sense that the reiryoku wasn't uncontrolled like every soul with the same power as Toshiro has.
Jushiro's eyes widened before narrowing. "His reiryoku is so icy and powerful. It should be impossible for a normal soul like him to have this power and not destroy the environment around him. It's similar to a seated officer but I can sense that the reiryoku he has on show is not his full power. He's more powerful than he lets on. A truly dangerous individual, even as a child, he is more powerful than most Shinigami who have trained their entire life. The main question is… How hasn't anyone pin-pointed his reiryoku before this moment?" Jushiro was in deep thought as he drank the soup Toshiro made for him.
Toshiro noticed the thoughtful expression on the Thirteenth Division Captain's face and frowned before he smirked in a hidden way. "He's figuring out my reiryoku. Not surprised considering who he is. I've missed this, missed speaking to Ukitake-Taichou. It's been far too long since I last had a chat with him… before the war with Yhwach." He thought before he sat on a cushion.
Toshiro glanced at Jushiro. "How are you feeling, Ukitake-san?" Toshiro asked, snapping Jushiro out of his thoughts. Jushiro blinked for a few seconds before smiling warmly. "Much better. I apologise for taking up your time and space. Although… I am surprised none of my subordinates came to find me."
Toshiro hummed and rested his elbows on his knees to support his head. "That would be because of the barrier I have set up." Toshiro commented, surprising Jushiro. "Barrier?" Jushiro repeated. Toshiro nodded. "When I arrived at the Soul Society and began to travel here to Dragon, I saw a handwritten Kido Barrier book on the floor and decided to read and practice." Toshiro shrugged, scratching the back of his head. He was hiding the truth behind a harmless lie.
"A handwritten Kido Barrier book?" Jushiro repeated as he looked down at the soup. "Do you still have the book?"
"Nope. It got caught in a fire when I accidentally burnt down my previous home." Toshiro backed his lie up.
Jushiro's eyes travelled to Toshiro's eyes to see if he was telling the truth. However, Toshiro's cold, emotionless mask has made it impossible for Jushiro to read Toshiro's emotions. Jushiro didn't like that he couldn't read the child's emotions, it made a chill run down his spine. He couldn't blame his illness for this, there was something about Toshiro that made Jushiro believe that Toshiro is far different than any soul is, Shinigami or not.
The two Shiros stared at each other for a couple of moments before Jushiro sighed and looked down at his lap in thought. "He is far too dangerous to be left alone. His power is raw but very controlling. Has he been training but how long has he been here? Too many questions about this child but it won't get answered, the look in his eyes tells me he won't give me an honest answer. Hitsugaya… He is not normal, his eyes show horror far beyond his physical age. Then again, physical age proves nothing. Shunsui and I are roughly a thousand years old, even Unohana-Taichou is much older than she looks…. Could it be the same for Hitsugaya? It must be." Jushiro closed his eyes.
"His control, the Kido I can now sense around the small hut, the Reiryoku I can barely sense inside him, the iciness around his body, and the intelligence I can see in his eyes. I can't believe that a simple patrol like this, would have become a meeting of a being that comes every century." Jushiro thought before looking back at Toshiro.
"Hitsugaya-kun, have you ever thought about becoming a Shinigami?" Jushiro asked. Toshiro hummed, nonchalantly. "Would they accept me? I'm a child." Jushiro smiled slightly at Toshiro's down-to-earth question.
"You do have a point but we have special cases for people like you." Jushiro said, making Toshiro huff in amusement, the words brought back a few memories of when Rangiku tried getting him to go to the Shineoreijutsuin. "Alright then, I accept." Toshiro grinned, making Jushiro slightly confused.
"You agreed, just like that?" Jushiro asked. Toshiro shrugged and stood up. "I wanted to head to the Shineoreijutsuin someday. So this makes it easier."
"I see…"
Toshiro had sat at his desk, staring outside the window. "This feels so familiar…" Toshiro muttered to himself, remembering his academy days with Kusaka. It has been a few months since Toshiro entered the Shineoreijutsuin and he is now in his final year. He joined the academy half-way through the year but has already made a record in history of being the fastest to graduate. "Just like before." Toshiro thought, as he could hear his new classmates talk about him behind his back.
"Oi! Oi! Quit ya yabbering!" A loud, energetic voice broke through Toshiro's thoughts. Toshiro blink in surprise, looking over to see a person he never heard of.
The person was at least 6 feet, probably taller. He was a dark-skinned, muscular individual. White spiky hair, just like Toshiro's but a shade darker than Toshiro's, which goes down to the individual's shoulder and a plait was covering his right ear. Strikingly familiar golden eyes, a lot like Yoruichi Shihouin's eye colour. The guy was wearing the boy's academy uniform; the uniform is similar to the standard Shinigami Shihakusho uniform, but with a different colour scheme. He was wearing a blue shitagi, a white kosode with blue stripes, blue hakama, white socks and black sandals, on the kosode is a black circular symbol on both pectorals. Dangling down his ears are two golden rectangular shaped earrings.
"Shihouin-sama!" The class members exclaimed in shock, standing up straight. The guy grinned and glanced over at Toshiro. "Looks like we have a new member!" He cheerfully stated. "Yusuke, give the guy a break." Another voice from behind the golden-eyed guy, now named Yusuke.
Yusuke glanced behind him and smirked. "Sojun, I wasn't aware you were coming in today, I thought the Kuchikis had a ceremony or something." The voice, Sojun, shrugged. "I am still a student, it wouldn't look good on the Kuchiki name if I ditched my responsibilities as a future Shinigami."
Sojun was a 5 '9 1⁄2, 177cm, guy. He was a light-skinned, thin individual. Black shoulder length hair, which was neatly combed and his bangs pushed from his face, clipped around his fringe on the left side of his head is a single Kenseikan. His eyes reminded Toshiro of Rukia's eye colour, bluish purple eyes. Sojun was wearing the same outfit as Yusuke is.
Next thing Toshiro knew, Yusuke was right in front of Toshiro's desk, his hand grabbing Toshiro's chin. Toshiro's eyes widened for a split second before narrowing. Golden stared into turquoise for a good moment. Sojun watched from the side, face-palming as he sighed. Yusuke then grinned and patted Toshiro's head.
"Wow, you must be the famous Toshiro Hitsugaya everyone has been talking about. You're the talk of not only the Shineoreijutsuin but the Gotei 13, the taichous are talking non-stop about you." Yusuke grinned. "Huh?" Was all that Toshiro said, which annoyed Yusuke. "Don't say 'huh'! You should be at least complimented! What you have achieved in three months is nothing that anyone has ever seen!" Yusuke said, messing Toshiro's hair, digging his knuckles playfully into Toshiro's skull.
"Fuck off!" Toshiro scowled, slapping Yusuke's hand away and pulling his chin away from Yusuke's grip. Instead of being insulted, Yusuke grinned amused. "I like ya spirit, Toshiro. You're definitely nothing like anyone from the Rukongai."
Yusuke then pointed at himself with a grin. "My name is Yusuke Shihouin, the heir of the Shihouin Clan, it's nice to meet you!" "Um… It's a pleasure to meet you, Shihouin-san." Toshiro said, unsure as to what to say.
Yusuke was quiet for a moment before a tic mark appeared on his face. "The hell did you call me?" Sojun sighed and whacked Yusuke around the head. "Leave the new guy alone, Yusuke, you're scaring him." Sojun sighed before looking at Toshiro with a soft smile.
"Sorry about him, Hitsugaya-san. It's in his family's nature to drop formalities and be casual to anyone." Sojun said, knocking Yusuke down to the ground. "Oi, Sojun!" Yusuke cried out before falling down the stairs. Sojun chuckled softly and held his hand out to Toshiro.
"My name is Sojun Kuchiki, heir of the Kuchiki Clan, it's a pleasure to meet you, Hitsugaya-san." Sojun politely smiled. Toshiro hummed and nodded, taking Sojun's hand to shake. "It's a pleasure, Kuchiki-san."
Shineoreijutsuin - Spiritual Arts Academy.
Shitagi - Under shirt.
Kosode - Shirt
Hakama - Trousers
Kenseikan - A hair piece which symbolises the status of nobility as a member of the Kuchiki Clan.