Shikai

Disclaimer: I do not own bleach, or the wonderful characters within this story.

A/N: Hitsugaya, Toushirou, and Shiro are all the same person.

He gave a deep sigh.

'More paper work this morning, the same as always', thought Hitsugaya.

And of course, waiting for him was his Fukotaicho, Matsumoto, sleeping on her favorite sofa. He walked by her swiftly, not letting her physique freeze him this morning. He had plenty of work to do and he wanted to finish in time for dinner, his and Matsumoto's. He immediately lost himself in paperwork. Just as always, he let his mind wonder away from his desk and into his past…..

He gave a deep sigh, Hitsugaya couldn't remember the last time he had some peace to himself. Between his teachers' praise and the students' scorn, he found the Shimigami academy to be extremely annoying. The child prodigy was bestowed upon him a week after acceptance into the academy, much to his displeasure. To makes things worse, his teachers would always ask him to demonstrate a new technique, not adding to his popularity. He was after all, a genius, a celestial being that only appears in a thousand years.

'Shut up', he told himself.

He wanted to calm his mind, to let all things go, if only for a short period of time. He could understand people calling him short, or talking about his bleach hair, however much it annoyed him. However, he doubted he would ever get used to the name "child prodigy". A couple of weeks into the academy, he found a beautiful courtyard that had on blossom tree and a miniature lake in the middle. Though its beauty was unquestionable, he never seemed to sense that anyone came there, especially at night when he is supposed to be in bed. A year had past now and he found that this place was his safe haven from everyone around him. Lately, he thought that he was even more stressed. He wasn't sleeping well due to vivid dreams that he was having. Having too much pride, he never shared this detail with any of his instructors. However, when he laid his back under the tree, with his sword laid across his thighs, he felt at peace

Toushirou woke with a startle, not understanding how or where he was. At first, he thought that he was dreaming again. However, he knew he was awake without knowing. As for not understanding his situation, who could blame him, for how many people woke flying through the clouds? At first he was startled by the situation he found himself in.

However, all fear left his heart as a powerful yet soothing voice said "Be still child".

A thousand thoughts began to race through his head. 'Where am I, how is this possible, how am I flying?'

As if the voice could read his thoughts, it answered, "Child, you are not flying… I am".

And then it appeared beneath him. It was as if it was there all along, and yet Hitsugaya could have sworn that it wasn't. Even the child prodigy took what seemed to be hours to contemplate what he was riding on. He seems to be on a saddle, which was place in between the middle of the beast's back. As he turned his head to either side, he saw huge scaly wings, beating the sky with ease. He turned his head to see the creature's tail; which was extremely long and had what seemed to be a crescent moon shaped blade at the end of it.

"Drag…dragon", was all that Toushirou could muster.

The creature gave a deep chuckle and replied "Is that so, child?"

Hitsugaya, finally gaining some composure, retorted, "My name is Hitsugaya Toushirou", annoyed at being called child.

The Dragon grew firm, "Your name is child until I say it is not".

Hitsugaya, feeling as if he had been justifiably rebuked by a parent, could only muster a small apology.

"If you don't mind me asking, what is your name, and more importantly where are we?"

The Dragon gave a deep sigh, only at this moment had Shiro released the hint of sadness in its voice.

"Child, you believe that knowing where this place is… is more important than my name".

Toushirou was lost in the reply of the Dragon. The silence was deafening to him. "Hitsugaya, do you trust me?"

Startled by the sudden question, Shiro answered without too much thought, "Y, yes, I trust you. Would you please tell me your name?"

More Silence…Hitsugaya, finally getting a read on his companion, started to realize how wise the Dragon was. He also felt… no, he knew that it was only the tip of the iceberg.

"My Hitsugaya, I will ask you once more. Do you trust me, and do you truly wish to know my name?"

Toushirou was taken aback by the sudden intimacy of the Dragon.

"Yes", replied Shiro, "I trust you, and I want to know your name".

"Very well" said the Dragon.

And with this, the behemoth swiftly turned upside down, leaving Hitsugaya to fall to what was surely his death.

"Wha, WHY!" was all that Shiro could say as he was falling.

The Dragon's voice seemed to boom, he could hear it from everywhere at once.

"HITSUYAGA TOUSHIROU, IF YOU TRULY TRUST ME, SCREAM MY NAME OUT BEFORE YOU FALL TO YOUR FIERY GRAVE!"

'Fiery…grave?' thought Shiro.

He slightly turned his head to see where he was falling, and lost all courage he had. Below him, was a gigantic lake of lava?! Shiro struggled to keep his sanity in his unbelievable situation.

"BASTERD!!!" screamed Shiro.

"HURY HITSUGAYA, BEFORE WE BOTH PERISH IN THE FLAMES!"

Toushirou kept falling, with all thought escaping him but one; 'I am going to die…'

He accepted his fate, realizing he had no way of knowing the Dragon's name. Suddenly, Shiro felt a fire within him as he was closing in on the lava. He closed his eyes, focusing on the flame within. The flame took shape, molded into… a dragon! Hitsugaya thrust his eye open, determination flowing through his body.

Right before he hit the lava, he screamed out "Soar in the frozen sky, HYOURINMARU!"

Hitsugaya woke with a startle. He was covered in sweat and was panting. He was lost in the state between dream and reality, trying to separate the two. Finally, he realized that he fell asleep on the tree and had yet another vivid dream. Closing his eyes, he let in a deep breath and sighed it out. And then he heard it, from nowhere and yet from everywhere.

It was low, almost a whisper. "So Toushirou, you do trust me after all…"

He threw open his eyes… and was lost in the scene. He stood up, and looked around the entire courtyard. It was entirely shrouded in ice, even the blossom tree.

All Shiro could muster was Hyourinmaru…