Waking of the dragon

Coldness.
Ice.
Freezing winds howled all around him, tugging at his clothes and hair.
The dragon.
A huge dragon with a body made of ice towered in front of him. Its booming voice never came out of its mouth, rather it resounded inside his heard.
,Child, do you think you can wield me?‘
Always that question. Always that same question.
„Who are you?!“, the boy yelled. „I can’t understand your name!“
,I am…‘
But the words were swallowed by the wind.

Toshiro jolted upright, panting. Slowly, he got back to reality, realised where he was. The squad barracks. There was no plain of ice, no howling wind. Just the occasional snoring of some of his comrades.
,I cannot believe I’m still having this dream‘, he thought. ,I already know he’s Hyorinmaru. So why do I have the same dream again? What is he trying to tell me?‘
The young Shinigami sighed. Sleep was gone now. He might just as well do some meditation. So he dressed, grabbed Hyorinmaru and left. There was a quiet corner in the gardens of the barracks. He always liked to meditate there. However, he usually did it during the day. Now, as he quietly slipped out of the building, silver moonlight drenched the land in deep shadows.
He sat down, laid his sword on his knees and closed his eyes. Breathed in, breathed out. Slowly, deeply. Quickly he felt how his heart slowed down. He became calmer.
Then, in the darkness, there appeared a light and he suddenly fell.
He screamed.
And found himself on the plane again.
Toshiro looked around. Why was he here? And why was there no dragon, no storm? An idea came to him. Why not give it a try? It was still better than just standing around for all eternity.
„Hyorinmaru!“, he called as loud as he could.
,I am here, master.’
Indeed, a shadow glided by over him, and the enormous ice dragon appeared.
„Hyorinmaru!“, Hitsugaya called again, glad for a familiar face. „You’re here!“
,Yes, master.‘
„So, tell me… where is this? Why am I here?“
,What do you think, young master?‘
„Well…“ Toshiro thought about it. „This plane… it is the place we first met. The place you always appeared in my dreams. Is it…“ A thought struck him and he gasped. „Is this my inner world?“
,Very good, master‘, the dragon replied. ,Yes, this is your inner world.‘
„But… but why am I here?!“
, You had your dream again, didn’t you?‘
„Yes.“
Suddenly, a gigantic being invaded Toshiro’s mind, engulfing it fully. Darkness surrounded him and he could barely breath. Then, as quickly as it had come, it disappeared again.
,My power is growing‘, the Zanpakuto said.
„What do you mean?“
,You have only used me in Shikai, didn’t you?‘
„I did“, the boy replied. „But what does it have to do with… oh. You don’t mean…“
,Yes‘, came the answer. ,I do mean exactly that. Bankai. The strongest form a Zanpakuto cane ver achieve.‘
„But I’m not ready for this“, Toshiro yelled, a sudden fear rushing through him. „They say only the strongest Shinigami could achieve that state, and that it takes years to do so!“
,Are you not strong, master?‘
To that, the Shinigami had no answer. Hyorinmaru was right. The dragon wouldn’t have chosen him if he was weak.
Toshiro closed his eyes, exhaled deeply, and looked at Hyorinmaru with new determination.
„Tell me what to do.“
,As you wish. Normally, when training for Bankai, the spirit of the Zanpakuto is manifested and the Shinigami must bring it under control. But I am not just any Zanpakuto. With strong Zanpakutos, the battle is fought with the mind. You felt how I submissed your consciousness to my will?‘ The boy nodded. ,You goal will it be, to bring MY consciousness under your control. We will fight with our minds, not our bodies. Are you ready, master?‘
„Yes!“, Toshiro yelled. „Let’s do it!“


Rangiku Matsumoto was worried. The lieutenant of the tenth division was very caring with her subordinates. Thus, thanks to her watchful eye, she noticed a change in Toshiro Hitsugaya. It was only slight, but enough to tell her something was going on.
,What is going on with that boy?‘, she wondered. He became more and more tired every day, though he was always full of energy. It actually worried Rangiku.
She tried to tell her Captain, Isshin Shiba, about the boy’s change. But the head of Squad Ten dismissed it.
„The boy knows exactly what he does“, he said. „Let him go on and only intervene if his life is in danger.“
That did nothing to dissolve her worried.
So one week had passed when she decided to act. Rangiku figured, that if Toshiro was tired, he must be doing something at night. She decided to stay awake and see wether she was right.
After curfew, she hid behind a corner near the sleeping room of the squad members. Only Captain and Lieutenant had own rooms. She was glad about it, because it made her task easier.
Matsumoto didn’t have to wait long. She heard the sound of the door sliding open, so soft it was barely audible. Soft footsteps strode away from her. She rounded the corner in time to see a small figure rounding a corner down the hallway. Quickly and without a noise, she followed.
To her surprise, the figure led her to the garden. When Rangiku stepped out of the building, she looked around, but the silver light oft he moon revealed nothing. She sighed. This meant she had to search the entire garden with this bad light.
A quarter of an hour passed, when a sudden burst of spiritual pressure startled her. She recognised it immediately.
„That’s Toshiro!“, she yelled and bolted towards the origin of the boy’s spiritual pressure.
When she found him, she stopped dead in her tracks. Toshiro sat as if he was meditating, his Zanpakuto laying in his lap.
And he glowed.
He glowed in a white light, and the air around him was ice cold.
„What the hell?!“, she screamed and started towards him. A strong arm grabbed her colar and held her back. When she spun around, she saw Captain Shiba standing behind her.
„Captain!“, she yelped. „What are you doing here?“
„Well, I felt him“, Isshin replied with a nod towards Hitsugaya.
That turned Rangiku’s attention to the boy again. „We got to help him, Captain! He’s…“
„He’s perfectly fine“, the black-haired man interrupted. „Watch.“
Her gaze set on Toshiro again just in time. His eyes flew open. And he called something with a clear, loud voice.
„BANKAI!!!“
Light errupted from the Zanpakuto, engulfing him. Rangiku closed her eyes for it was too bright. When she dared open them again, the light had vanished, but Hitsugaya was hidden behind a cloud of dust. Her heart pounded as she waited for it to settle.
When it did, she gasped.
„Daiguren Hyorinmaru.“
Toshiro had spoken those words calm, quiet, the opposite from his yell before. His right arm was covered in ice, forming a dragon’s head where his hand usually was. On his back, it spread into two big wings and ended in a dragon’s tail. His other arm and his legs were covered in ice too, and it formed claws instead of human legs and hands.
„That’s… that’s…“, Rangiku stammered, whispering.
„That’s a bankai“, Isshin completed the sentence for her. „Yes, my dear Matsumoto. It looks like our prodigy has suprassed itself again.“ His face was radiant with pride.
Hitsugaya heard them and turned. „Captain? Lieutenant?“ He sounded insecure.
Isshin stepped out of the bushes, followed by Rangiku.
„How… how long have you been practising?“, she asked, dumbfounded.
„Well… one week“, the boy muttered.
„WHAT?!“
That fact even surprised Isshin. To Matsumoto, it seemed totally incredible. One week?! Other Shinigamis had trained ten years of more to achieve bankai!
The Captain got over his surprise first. He started laughing, deep, loud, and warmly. „Well there!“, he boomed. „I think our genius has got surpised left up its sleeve!“
„Captain Shiba…“, Toshiro muttered. „What… what will happen now?“
„Why?“, the black-haired man replied. „Nothing of course, except maybe for… the promotion to a seated rank. Is third seat okay with you? I’d make you Lieutenant, but that position is already occupied. “
„I… I’d be honored“, the boy stammered.
Suddenly, voices appeared in the garden and the light of torches illuminated the gardens.
„Well“, Isshin chuckled, „and of course the entire soul society will know. You had quite a burst of spiritual energy there, boy.“
The first soul reapers found them. When they saw Toshiro, they immediately swarmed around him. More and more Shinigami arrived, all congratulating their comrade for his achievement.
And through all that noise, Rangiku could hear Isshin mutter : „And so the dragon has awoken.“