Ohayo, everyone!

(It's morning where I am, okay?)

As usual, I come out with a late post… Sorry 'bout that.

Anyway, here's the latest installment of Hyourinmaru's Wielder!

(Note: Last chapter was hastily written. I really need a beta, can someone volunteer?)

~oOo~

Strangely, Zanjutsu wasn't his favorite class.

Flash-step was.

Toshiro supposed it was because Zanjutsu was way too easy for him, despite the fact that he just moved up to the fifth year last week.

Unsurprisingly, Kidou was his least favorite class; he sucked epically at it, much to his embarrassment. Hyourinmaru couldn't stop laughing at him. He could barely do Sai efficiently, let alone the other spells.

Shinigami Studies was pretty boring, so he really had no opinion on it.

~oOo~

Apparently, in Zanjutsu, you learned Hakuda in the fifth month of training; or at least, how to defend against it. In flash-step, you did just the opposite.

Another reason why he liked flash-step.

~oOo~

Toshiro opened his eyes, rubbing them to wake up a little. He'd been feeling shier than usual since he'd enrolled in the Academy.

But today, he wasn't just feeling shy; he was feeling irritated, sad, and angry, all rolled into one.

He really wished Akane was here.

"Hyourinmaru-san?"

"Yes, child?"

"I don't understand why it's becoming a problem," he said, frustrated.

Hyourinmaru merely laughed. "You're creating quite a storm here. Akane's Zanpakuto, Akaiame, is a water-type Zanpakuto with temporary healing attributes, both physical and mental."

"Oh, I see. What's Akaiame like?"

Hyourinmaru paused. "She's kind but incredibly sharp-tongued."

Toshiro managed a laugh. "Sounds like Akiyama-san herself."

"Zanpakuto do reflect their owners, you know. And you need to get rid of that habit of calling everyone else 'san', child."

"I know, I know, I'm working on it," Toshiro responded sourly. "Can't help it though." Pausing, he scowled and added, "Why didn't you tell me about this earlier, when I asked?"

"Because it is amusing to see your reaction, child."

Toshiro glared at nothing in particular.

"Besides, when are you going to teach me Shikai anyway?"

"When you're ready."

"And I'm not ready now?"

"No."

'Rrgh."

~oOo~

Toshiro sighed, rubbing his face.

In less than half a year, he'd progressed to fifth year, and Hiroshi really didn't want to put him in the sixth, despite the fact that he exceeded his classmates by a lot.

His flash-step was coming along nicely too, and he'd managed to practice enough to reach year four, despite starting in year one at the beginning of the year. Shinigami Studies was easy (it was just memorizing dates and all) and he'd made it to fifth year, even though all the other students struggled.

Seriously, what was so hard about remembering a couple hundred dates, what happened, and who did what?

He'd begged Hiroshi to let him move on to the sixth year in Zanjutsu, but he'd refused.

"Hyourinmaru-san, what should I do?" Toshiro moaned.

"Don't worry, he'll move you up soon," the dragon merely replied, which Toshiro noticed wasn't really a response.

Lunch was terrible too, after a few weeks.

The gossip mill had been working like crazy about him, and people constantly tried to talk to him, much to his irritation. They were all asking stupid questions like who taught you? or how are you so smart?

It was really starting to grate on his nerves; he supposed it was part of the reason why he didn't make any friends at the Academy.

~oOo~

"Please, Saito-sensei!" he begged, clasping his hands together as if in prayer. "I really want to move up!"

It was lunch break, and he'd finished his lunch quickly to avoid the crowds, coming back to the Zanjutsu classroom.

"I said no," Hiroshi grumbled, sighing.

"Hyourinmaru-san, help me!"

"What am I supposed to do, anyway?"

"Oh, I don't know! Maybe you could talk to his Zanpakuto?"

Hyourinmaru laughed.

"Please, Saito-sensei!" Toshiro attempted his best "puppy-dog eyes" (which he learned from Yachiru, and they worked pretty effectively against Zaraki, surprisingly.)

Hiroshi looked quite bemused at Toshiro's "puppy-dog eyes", looking torn.

"I'll…I'll think about it. No promises though."

"YES!"

~oOo~

"You should thank me, child," said Hyourinmaru as Toshiro left the Zanjutsu classroom practically glowing.

"Huh? Why?"

"I talked to his Zanpakuto."

"Oh. Thank you, Hyourinmaru-san."

"You're welcome."

Toshiro paused.

"Hey, you're always telling me to stop using 'san'. When I use it for you, you never react. What's with that?"

"It's because I'm better than everyone else," Hyourinmaru responded cheekily.

"If I didn't exist, you wouldn't."

"Dang, you're right."

Toshiro smirked inwardly.

"Ha! Got you there, stupid dragon."

~oOo~

Three days later, Toshiro was allowed to go into the sixth year for Zanjutsu.

He practically cheered.

~oOo~

Toshiro walked into class, his schedule now changed beyond recognition—the times were all switched up and longer, since he'd been going up in classes.

(In other words, he had Shinigami Studies first, Kidou second, then lunch, and Flash-step and Zanjutsu.)

Used to all the blatant staring, Toshiro took his normal seat at the back of the classroom, Hyourinmaru in his lap. Looking around cautiously, he noticed that a handful of the students had their own Zanpakuto; much more than in the fifth and fourth year classes.

Hiroshi, at the front of the classroom, called for their attention, and class began.

He paired the students together to spar before they did a little meditating—apparently they were still getting to know their Zanpakuto, much like Toshiro himself. Despite the fact that he spoke with Hyourinmaru often, he didn't know much about him.

"Hitsugaya, you're with Hinamori."

Nodding, Toshiro stood with Hyourinmaru in hand, approaching Hinamori.

"Er, hello," he said awkwardly, still unused to socializing. "I'm, um, Toshiro Hitsugaya. It's nice to meet you."

Hinamori smiled easily. "I've heard about you, Hitsugaya-kun. It's nice to see you in person," she replied kindly. "I'm Momo Hinamori."

Strangely enough, Momo seemed sincere, unlike some others who just admired him for his intelligence.

"Shall we, er, start?" Toshiro said awkwardly.

Momo nodded, and drew her Asauchi.

They crossed blades for a little bit, and he realized he enjoyed sparring for once; he hadn't had this much trouble when sparring for a while now, and he felt nice, practicing for real.

He still ended up winning, but at the end, he was slightly out of breath.

Nice; she was pretty good.

They were still the first pair to finish, though, and Hiroshi barely looked surprised when he saw Toshiro and Momo heading over to him.

After reporting to Hiroshi, Toshiro sat down at the back, focusing and falling into a slight trance, careful not to release his reiatsu.

Once in his spirit world, Toshiro felt quite relaxed.

"It's interesting how you made a friend with someone as fiery as her."

Toshiro glared at the dragon when he opened his eyes.

"That's the first thing you say?" he snapped.

Hyourinmaru laughed, making Toshiro glare harder.

"Besides, we're not friends, you big fat dragon!"

The ice dragon, settled down, seemed to raise an eyebrow (if he had one). "Are you really that bent on not having friends, child?"

"Is there something wrong with that?" Toshiro snapped back, trying hard not to remember what had transpired not too long ago.

No longer teasing, Hyourinmaru sighed. "Yes. Yes there is something wrong with that," he responded. "Just because you lost your old ones doesn't mean that you can't make new ones. Open up a bit, child. Honor their memory. Don't pretend they don't exist. You can't possibly hope to become stronger if you fear me."

Toshiro opened his mouth to object, but the dragon cut him off.

"You can't become stronger if you fear that you'll hurt the others around you, child. You need to accept them, accept the fact that you killed your friends, accept the fact that they are not coming back until they die again. If you think that building an icy mask is going to help any, you're wrong. If you want that guilt to be gone, you're going to have to accept it and let someone else help you. You aren't alone, child."

Hyourinmaru glared at the trembling child before him. "You're going to have to deal with it, and it doesn't matter that you're trying to hide your feelings. I am you, and you cannot hide from yourself."

~oOo~

Toshiro was startled into consciousness when he felt someone roughly shaking his shoulder.

He opened his eyes immediately, suddenly realizing that ice coated the area around him. Embarrassment flooded through him from head to toe as he reined in his reiatsu.

Hiroshi's stern face was right in front of his.

"Is there something wrong, Hitsugaya?"

Immediately, Toshiro shook his head furiously. "No, no, it's okay. Hyourinmaru-san just…brought up some bad memories."

He could feel the curious stares from his peers.

"Class is over, Hitsugaya. Go back to your room and get some rest. You look terrible." Toshiro took that as his dismissal, and he scampered out, followed by a few lingering students.

Why did Hyourinmaru have to bring that up?

~oOo~

He felt absolutely terrible.

Hyourinmaru had spoken to him about it again, and it wasn't making him feel any better, even though he knew the stupid icy dragon was right.

Ice had coated his bed, which he wasn't all that surprised about. He thawed it out quickly.

Toshiro didn't want to go to class, but he got up anyway; when he went through Shinigami Studies and Flash-step, it was half-hearted, though the other students didn't notice. (The instructors did though.)

During lunch, he hung out in the corner, alone, until he saw Momo coming over, much to his surprise.

"Hello, Hitsugaya-kun," she said warmly.

"Hello, Hinamori-san," he responded absently.

Her brown gaze looked him up and down. "Are you okay?"

The question caught him off guard. "Huh?"

She repeated the question, "Are you okay?"

"Uh, yes," he replied quietly. "I'm fine."

"You don't look like it," Momo pointed out.

They hadn't even known each other for a day and she could tell?

"And yet you say you aren't friends."

"Go away, Hyourinmaru."

"At least you dropped the –san."

Toshiro sighed. "It's just that, well, a certain someone"—he glared at his sword, which was sitting innocently on his lap—"mentioned some unhappy things and I really don't want to think about them."

Momo smiled. "Well, at least you can talk to your Zanpakuto. I have no idea what mine thinks, or what his or her name is," she said.

Toshiro snorted. "Yes, that's true, but your Zanpakuto often gives you unwanted opinions and stupid comments."

"Hey!"

"My Zanpakuto happens to be a stuck-up little dragon."

"You little—!"

"He sounds kind of cute. I mean, baby dragons are cute, right?"

"—what?"

"…I think you have the wrong idea."

~oOo~

The days rolled by, and Toshiro's relationship with Hyourinmaru didn't improve, only worsening when the dragon forced him to relive the memories.

In other words, Toshiro was farther than ever from reaching Shikai.

Somehow, Momo had wormed her way into his life as he continued to exceed in all subjects except for Kidou, which he found out that Momo was incredibly good at, thus receiving her tutoring at lunch and after classes. She introduced her friends, Izuru Kira and Renji Abarai, to him, though it was quite awkward for Toshiro.

She'd greet him in the morning, waving hello as their paths crossed before class. During lunch she'd sit with him, dragging Izuru and Renji with her. Then during Zanjutsu, they'd chat a little before and after sparring.

Under Momo's tutelage, he progressed to year three, surprising Momo quite a lot.

Toshiro realized that he wanted to finish everything in under a year.

He wondered why.

~oOo~

"You still believe you and the girl, Hinamori, aren't friends? I'd go as far as to say that you're friends with the other two, Kira and Abarai."

"Go away, Hyourinmaru," he snapped.

"You've dropped the –san after everything," noticed Hyourinmaru, and he didn't fail to point it out. "If there's one thing that's good about our little spat, then it's the fact that you've stopped being submissive; more aggressive, like a dragon."

"Go away, Hyourinmaru," he growled. "I don't want any friends."

Hyourinmaru acted as if he never spoke. "You're stubborn though; I guess it would've been better if you're a little humbler around me while you embraced it."

Toshiro was getting ticked, very, very ticked. "Go. Away. Hyourinmaru."

Hyourinmaru laughed, and retreated into the recesses of Toshiro's mind.

"That's a lot better."

~oOo~

"Hitsugaya-kun?"

Toshiro looked up when he heard Momo call his name. "Huh?"

"I was just wondering, are we friends?"

Oh good god, she sounds like Hyourinmaru now.

"Is that a good thing? You can't say no without looking rude now, child."

"Shut up."

Toshiro averted his eyes, feeling incredibly nervous and twitchy. "Um, er…"

Momo tilted her head, looking at him with warm brown eyes.

"Ah…"

"You won't be able to stall for much longer, child."

"It depends on what you, um, call a friend," Toshiro blurted out quickly, and he could feel Hyourinmaru's smugness fade, replaced with surprise.

"Tricky little dragon."

Momo didn't look the least put out.

"Well, I consider you a friend," she declared.

Wait, what?

"Wait, what?"

"A friend is someone you care about and cherish!" said Momo cheerfully. "I care about you and I cherish our friendship."

Toshiro felt heat rush to his face.

Did she really just say that…?

"Um, well, I guess, er, we're, um, friends?" Toshiro managed, trying to ignore the annoying laughter that Hyourinmaru was releasing.

"Shut up shut up shut up shut up!"

"Ha-ha-ha-ha!"

"SHUT UP!"

"Hyourinmaru is laughing at me," he muttered, and Momo laughed.

"Not you too!"

~oOo~

During Zanjutsu, Toshiro didn't dread meditating quite as much now, oddly.

Well, not oddly, since he and Hyourinmaru resolved that whole "friend" thing with Momo. But still, he wouldn't back down without a fight.

"Just like a little feisty dragon."

"Shut up."

Toshiro entered his inner world, sighing.

"So, you finally admit that you can have friends?" Hyourinmaru asked, amused.

"Che. We're not friends! I just said that because if I didn't, she'd be upset!"

"Why would you care?"

Toshiro opened his mouth to respond but closed it. Why do I care?

"See, you're friends," Hyourinmaru said smugly.

"Shut up, stupid dragon."

"You didn't deny it, child."

"Shut up, stupid dragon."

"You know, I can only take that derogatory remark so much, child."

"…fine, we're friends. Are you happy now, you stubborn dragon?"

"I'll take it out on you when I teach you a little, child. But yes, yes I am a bit happier," said Hyourinmaru.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"…So, can I learn Shikai now?"

"No," said Hyourinmaru, and Toshiro could've sworn the dragon was laughing as he exited his inner world.

~oOo~

Toshiro was in higher spirits for a while afterwards.

I'm not arguing with the stupid dragon anymore.

"I told you, I can only take that remark so many times, child."

As a response, Toshiro mentally stuck out his tongue at Hyourinmaru, feeling childish.

Hyourinmaru gave a disgusted snort. "You're acting like a child."

"I look like one, so I can get away with it."

"You won't fool me with that, child," growled the dragon playfully.

Toshiro didn't dignify Hyourinmaru's comment with a response. Then, he remembered something.

Oh! I should say thank you to Hinamori.

"Yes, you should."

"Stop intruding on my thoughts, annoying dragon!"

"Tricky little dragon," muttered Hyourinmaru. "Using a different insult."

~oOo~

Once he found Momo outside, he waved hello. Renji and Izuru were with her, laughing.

"Good evening, Hinamori," he greeted.

"Good morning, Hitsugaya-kun," she responded. The honorific she used for him was oddly embarrassing and he managed to keep his face from flaming.

"Oh, hey, Toshiro," said Renji casually as he usually did. Izuru, being his shy self, merely nodded to acknowledge his presence.

"Are you finished with your homework yet?" Toshiro asked, tilting his head. "I mean, we do have a whole essay to write for Zanjutsu, you know?"

"I don't get the point of having written assignments for Zanjutsu of all classes," Renji grumbled, which Toshiro took as a no, I didn't do my homework.

Toshiro rolled his eyes. "Please, Kira, tell me that you were sensible enough to do it?"

Izuru laughed sheepishly.

"Hinamori, did you do it?"

Momo blushed.

Toshiro felt the urge to slam his face into the nearest wall.

"Well, er, you see, I was waiting for you to help me with it," said Momo. "I mean, you understand the concept of Zanjutsu so much better than I do, and, er, I don't understand what it means to connect fully with your Zanpakuto."

Toshiro considered that for a moment. It was true that Momo didn't have an established connection with her Zanpakuto, just hearing his or her voice occasionally. Izuru and Renji had a shaky connection with theirs, but it wasn't that strong either.

Sighing, he rubbed his eyes. "Fine, I'll help you with your essays," he relented, and Renji cheered.

~oOo~

Renji and Izuru left the library after they were finished so that Momo could help Toshiro with his Kidou.

"No! You're saying the incantation wrong!" exclaimed Momo. "You're supposed to emphasize on the last line, not the second!"

Toshiro repeated it, rolling his eyes. "Fine, fine. 'Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Inferno and pandemonium, the sea barrier surges, march onto the south!"

He forced every word out for the last line. "Happy now?"

"Yes, Shiro-chan."

Toshiro choked.

What did she just call him?

In his inner world, Hyourinmaru rolled on the floor laughing, flapping his large icy wings.

Toshiro's face turned bright crimson.

"W-where the hell did that come from?" he demanded. "Snowy, really?"

Momo smiled warmly. "It suits you. It's cute and your hair is white."

Did she really make the implication that I was cute, of all things?

"You are kind of adorable to people, you know."

"Oh shut up."

Momo suddenly smirked. "If you don't perfect Shakkaho by the end of today, I'll permanently call you Shiro-chan."

Toshiro openly gaped at Momo. Blackmail? Really? And here he thought she was nice of all things.

He glared at her. "Fine!"

Oddly enough, he perfected both Shakkaho and Sokatsui at the end of the day.

~oOo~

"You never thanked her, Shiro-chan."

"Don't call me that, annoying dragon!"

~oOo~

A few weeks later, he was placed into sixth year Shinigami Studies and Flash-step. He was raised to fourth year in Kidou, and it was steadily getting harder.

He had started learning Hadou #54 Haien in class, and Momo was helping refine the easier spells, and he truly appreciated it. In turn, he tutored her in Zanjutsu and thanked her for it.

~oOo~

He was over halfway into the year; seven months, to be exact. Surviving for five more months, and then he was on his way to the Eleventh Division. (Well, technically he'd skipped two months, so five months. Whatever.)

Toshiro walked to class, his schedule once again mutilated. He had Kidou, Flash-Step, lunch, Shinigami Studies, and Zanjutsu, in that order.

Fifth year Kidou was hard. In sixth year, he'd have to get a new teacher. Toshiro wondered how long it took for someone to master Kidou; he knew Momo had the skill, and that he didn't.

People were wondering just how he managed to get through so quickly. Well, he did have motivation, which he figured out was that he didn't want to be left behind by Momo, Renji, and Izuru, so he was moving up quicker.

His progress surprised Momo too.

~oOo~

"Do you need help again?" Toshiro asked, sighing as Renji sat down next to him during lunch.

"Yeah," said Renji with a laugh. Toshiro took a single glance at the paper and groaned.

"Shinigami Studies? You came to me for help on the easiest subject?"

"Er, you know, most people think it's the hardest subject, you know."

"Nonsense. Kidou is way harder," snorted Toshiro.

Renji thought for a moment. "I guess it is for some."

Izuru, after getting his lunch, sat down across from Renji. "Well, not everyone's a genius like you are, Toshiro," he commented.

Toshiro raised an eyebrow. "Genius? What has the gossip mill been saying about me now?"

Renji winced. "Are you sure you want to know…?"

Convinced something was up, Toshiro nodded. "What is it?"

At this time, Momo sat down next to Izuru, slamming her lunch tray on the table. Toshiro winced. Something pretty big must've happened if Momo was in a bad mood.

Anger was practically radiating off the girl, and Izuru unconsciously scooted away from her.

"Is there something wrong?" Toshiro asked tentatively.

"Those…those stupid bitches!" she spat vehemently.

Okay, something was definitely wrong.

"Do they really think that? Are they stupid? Hitsugaya-kun is a nice person and they're maligning him behind his back, badmouthing him to other people and saying such… such…terrible things about him!" Momo ranted, taking it out on a piece of sushi. He honestly felt pretty sorry for the food scrap as it was being shredded. "Do you know what they say about you?"

"Um, no. Renji was about to tell me, though," said Toshiro meekly, not wanting to infuriate his friend anymore. Poor Izuru looked ready to pass out.

"They say you're probably some rich kid who bought his way into school and that you're really just a stupid child who is fawned over by the teachers because you paid them! Some say that you're really a Hollow who's infiltrated the school, which is stupid. And…and…" Momo blushed furiously, "…and some even say you slept your way through and that's stupid because you're obviously too young for this kind of thing!"

Massive as his intellect was, it took him a few moments to register what Momo had just said and she was shoving food into her mouth rapidly. Noticing he'd left his alone, he picked up a piece and said, "Okay."

"It is not okay!" snapped Momo.

Sometime during Momo's rant, Izuru had fled, terrified of his friend's anger. (Rage was more like it.)

"Yeah, I was about to tell you but without all the screaming," Renji muttered, looking around.

Toshiro just realized that people were staring and were backing away because of Momo's outrage. He could feel the anger radiating off of Momo.

"Calm down, Momo," Toshiro said, raising his hands in a placating manner. "Yelling at us won't solve anything."

Momo took a deep breath. "I know, sorry. Did Izuru-kun leave?"

Toshiro nodded. "He was scared of your…outburst."

She blushed. "Oh, oops. But those things they said…"

"It's okay, it's okay!" said Toshiro frantically, waving his arms. "No need to go on another tirade," he muttered privately.

"She really cares about you, child."

"I know, I know. Like a mother hen."

"I was thinking more along the lines of 'lover.'"

"Hyourinmaru!"

He fought down a blush, squirming uncomfortably in his seat.

"Is there something wrong, Hitsugaya-kun?" asked Momo, tilting her head. "Is it the rumors?"

Toshiro shook his head. "No, just…something Hyourinmaru said."

Renji rolled his eyes. "And about the homework I asked you to help me with?"

"Oh! Okay, I'll help you."

~oOo~

"Hey, Toshiro?"

Toshiro looked up to see Renji standing in front of him, taking a seat across from him. The shorter one cracked open a book, flipping the pages.

"Yes?"

"Do you know what Division you want to join?"

"The Eleventh," was his immediate response.

Renji looked at him in surprise. "The Eleventh? Wouldn't you be better suited for, I don't know, a less wild Division?"

"If it's wild you're looking for, I can be worse than Kusajishi-san."

"Kusajishi, Kusajishi…who's that? Oh wait, you mean Lieutenant Yachiru Kusajishi?"

"Yes, why?"

"I don't know, Toshiro…she's pretty crazy."

"Yes, I know. I've been in her presence before, Renji. Hers and Zaraki-san's."

"Wait, you know them?"

"Yes, I do," he said, sighing. "Zaraki-san was my first mentor. Crazy teacher, he was. Tried to kill me as training, but not seriously."

Renji stared at him. "You're so lucky."

Toshiro groaned. "I know right," he said sarcastically.

~oOo~

I hope you enjoyed that chapter!

I NEED A BETA!

Thank you.